March 



19C9] 



NA TURE 



105 



prcsorvrd in museums, was published in Xatcre on 

 November 26 last (vol. Ixxix., p. qS). It will be remem- 

 bered that a blue whale cast on to the beach at Okarito, 

 on the west coast of South Island, New Zealand, was 

 measured by Mr. Waite and found to be 87 feet in length. 

 .■\ reply to this letter has been received from Mr. F. A. 

 Lucas, curator-in-chief of the museum of the Brooklyn 

 Institute of .Arts and Sciences, New York, in which he 

 states that in 1903 he measured a number of blue whales 

 taken off the coast of Newfoundland. Of twenty-six whales 

 measured, only si.x reached a length of 74 feet, from the 

 lip of the nose to the notch of the fluke, the tape-line being 

 carried along the side of the body. The six whales ranged 

 in length from 74 feet 4 inches to exactly 75 feet. Adding 

 to this the under-hang of the lower jaw, which is i foot 

 4 inches, and the depth of the fork of the flukes, which 

 is 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet, a total length for the largest 

 w'halc of a little under 80 feet was obtained. Mr. Lucas 

 points out that the. measurements taken from a mounted 

 skeleton arc of little value, as the inter-vertebral cartilage 

 is made too thick almost invariably. Mr. Lucas's letter 

 was submitted to Mr. Waite, who, in his reply, says he 

 is at present unable to give the exact length of the skull 

 of the Okarito whale, but the length of the ramus of the 

 lower jaw in a straight line is 20 feet 8 inches, and round 

 the outer curve 22 feet 6 inches. Respecting the statement 

 that there is the skeleton of a whale in Copenhagen 150 feet 

 in length, Mr. Waite adds he has received a private letter 

 from Prof. Jungersen saying the largest whale in the 

 Copenhagen collection measures 75 feet. 



We have received a copy of the report of the Maidstone 

 Museum, Library, and Art Gallery for 1908. \% regards 

 the museum, the year has seen an important advance in 

 the arrangement and display of the collections, more 

 especially those of minerals and fossils. In response to 

 an appeal for providing cases for the Kent county room, 

 the amount available for that excellent purpose is now just 

 more than 174/. 



-•V STRONGLY endorsed appeal has just been issued at 

 Berlin for the purpose of obtaining funds for the fitting up 

 of the Phylogenetic Museum recently established by Dr. 

 Ernst Haeckel at Jena. Preparations, models, and 

 diagrams for the proper illustration of phylogeny are 

 urgently needed, and for this purpose a sum of 5000/. is 

 required, in addition to the funds already expended or in 

 hand. The appeal is backed by a number of the leading 

 German professors and teachers. 



In vol. .xcii., part ii., of Zeilschrifi fiir wissenschaftlichc 

 Zoologie, Dr. F. Fritz, of Stuttgart, describes the carpal 

 vibrissa; and underlying structures situated on the under 

 surface of the lower part of the fore-arm of the cat. 

 These vibrissae are connected with a dermal sinus supplied 

 by a relatively large branch of the ulnar nerve. Beneath 

 the sinus occur structures of the so-called " lamellen 

 Korperchen " type, and the vibrissa themselves contain 

 minute sweat-glands. The whole organ, the details of 

 which are fully described in the paper, is evidently sensor.y 

 in function. It is suggested that the presence of such 

 vibrissae in most Carnivora and their absence in Ungulata 

 is connected with the active functions of the claw-s of the 

 former. In the introduction to his paper the author 

 mentions that these vibrissa! organs have an important 

 bearing on the nature of the callosities on the limbs of 

 the horse, and it may be inferred, although this is not 

 definitely stated, that he regards the latter as the 

 degenerate representatives of the former. Several papers 

 on the nature of the equine callosities are quoted, but no 

 NO. 2056, VOL. 80] 



reference is made to one by Mr. Lydekker, in which these 

 structures are regarded as degenerate glands — an inter- 

 pretation not far from the one apparently adopted by the 

 author. 



The advice given by Mr. G. G. Lewis in the Amateur 

 Photographer, that tree outlines provide a suitable study for 

 the landscape photographer in spring, can be thoroughly 

 endorsed, but it will be apparent from the snapshots repro- 

 duced that photographs should be taken of the whole tree 

 where possible. All the trees mentioned can be found in or 

 around London. With regard to the specific outlines of 

 different trees, it should be the aim of the photographer to 

 evolve these from his own prints. 



The spit of land known as Wilson's Promontory has been 

 reserved by the Government of Victoria as a national park, 

 and the authorities of the Victorian National Herbarium 

 have been deputed to make a botanical survey of the area. 

 The first report by Prof. A. J. Evvart regarding the plants 

 collected on an expedition in 1908 is published in the 

 Victorian Naturalist (January). The list consists of 350 

 phanerogams and ferns, including a dozen naturalised aliens. 

 The rarest species are Fieldia australis and Xanthosia 

 tridcntata. The reserve contains many fine trees, amongst 

 which are specimens of Eugenia Smithii, the bright flower- 

 ing Coirea speciosa, Banhsia serrata, Prostanthera 

 lasiantha, Acacia melanoxylon, Hedycarya Cunninghaini, 

 Eucalyptus globulus, E. amygdalina, and E. obliqua. 



Under the title of " Flora von Paderborn," Dr. M. P. 

 Baruch contributes to the Verhandlungen des nature 

 historischen Vereins der prcussischen Rheinlande iind West- 

 falens (part i, igo8) an account of the general features of 

 the vegetation, and a list of plants collected in the north-east 

 of Westphalia. The scene is a sandy and marshy tract 

 forming part of the Miinster inland " bay," where 

 Scleroderma verrucosa, Polytrichum piliferum, and Racomi- 

 trium canescens are typical cryptogams in the sand-dunes, 

 and Myrica gale grows by the streams. In the neighbour- 

 hood of Salzhotten, where salt is worked, Aster Trepolium, 

 Samolus Valerandi, Triglocliin maritimum, and other 

 halophytes may be collected. Aconitum bycoctonum, 

 Thalictrum flavum, Galium boreale, and Scrratula tinctoria, 

 are noted as rare plants in the district. The ridge known as 

 the Haarstrang provides chalky soil where many calci- 

 philous plants are to be found. 



The subject of the latest issue — a double number — of 

 the V c getationsbilder , published by Gustav Fischer, Jena, 

 is the volcanic region of Java and Sumatra, including the 

 adjacent island of Krakatau, for which Dr. A. Ernst has 

 supplied the material. The first set of illustrations repre- 

 sents the strubby vegetation in the craters of extinct vol- 

 canoes, where the composite Anaphalis javanica takes a 

 prominent place. The vegetation of the sulphur and hot 

 springs is too diverse to be discernible in a photograph, but 

 an expanse of Acorus calamus on a crater lake is depicted. 

 The next topic is the colonisation of land that has been 

 devastated by eruptions. The photographs taken on Mount 

 Gunung Guntur, the scene of eruptions in the years 1840 

 to 1847, show masses of Imperata arundinacea and 

 Saccharum spontaneum in which a few bushes are 

 gradually forcing their way. The last illustrations talcen 

 from the island of Krakatau indicate the remarkable growth 

 made since the eruption in 1883. The littoral formation 

 of Ipomoea pes-caprae is well established, and behind rises 

 a belt of trees. The author states that he collected 92 

 phanerogams and 16 ferns ; of the former he estimates that 

 about 55 per cent, were sea-borne, 25 per cent, wind-borne, 

 and about 15 per cent, were introduced by birds. 



