May 6, 190 >] 



NA TURE 



28; 



the direction of Dr. Pearson and Mr. D. Laurie. The 

 ground-floor laboratories have been occupied during the 

 last si.\ weeks by about ten or twelve investigators, in- 

 cluding Dr. H. E. Roaf, working on the digestive fer- 

 ments of various Invertebrata ; Mr. W. J. Dakin, working 

 on the nervous system of Pecten, and also making hydro- 

 graphic observations on samples of sea-water ; Mr. W. 

 Riddell, assisting Prof. Herdman in his plankton investi- 

 gations at sea ; and several others. In the fish hatchery 

 Mr. Chadwick has this year increased the output of 

 young plaice ; between nine and ten millions of eggs have 

 been dealt with in the hatchery boxes during March and 

 April, and Prof. Herdman has set free between seven and 

 eight millions of young fry of the plaice from the S.Y. 

 Ladybird at distances of from five to thirteen miles off 

 land, in directions ranging from south-west to north of 

 Port Erin, so that some millions have been carried by 

 the south-going tide around the Chicken Rock to the 

 eastern side of the Isle of Man, while others have been 

 carried by the northern tidal system up the west and round 

 the northern end of the Island. In each year, recently, 

 some fry produced in the fish hatchery have been retained 

 in the spawning ponds until they underwent their meta- 

 morphosis and appeared on the bottom as healthy young 

 fiat-fish. These specimens reared in captivity were found 

 on investigation to be feeding on diatoms, and at the 

 present time, in the Irish Sea, the vernal Increase In 

 diatoms seems to be at about its greatest height. 



We have received a communication from Dr. J. B. 

 Charcot, leader of the French Antarctic E.xpedltlon, from 

 Deception Island, South Shetlands, dated December 24, 

 190S. The Pourquoi-pas ? left Puntas Arenas on 

 December 16, and arrived at Deception Island on 

 December 22 in company with a Norwegian whaler that 

 was met with off Smith Island. At Deception Island 

 Dr. Charcot met two other Norwegian and one Chilian 

 whaler, and thirty tons of coal were taken on board from 

 the whaling station set up in Pendulum Cove by La 

 Sociedad Balllnera Magellanes. So far, Dr. Charcot 

 has naturally little news of Interest, since the voyage has 

 only begun. In fact, the chief Interest Is that now, for 

 ihe first time for nearly a century, an exploring ship has 

 met with sealers and whalers south of the latitude of 

 I'.ipe Horn. That an exploring ship can obtain its last 

 -apply of coal in 63° S. Instead of 53° S. is of the utmost 

 importance. Ships are able to cross the heavy seas of 

 Drake Strait in better time, and have 600 miles extra 

 start towards the south. The fact of this whaling station, 

 with 200 men, two large steamers of more than 3000 tons, 

 and eight small ones, existing at Deception Island is an 

 eloquent testimony of commercial success following up 

 scientific investigations. There was no word ot such an 

 industry being opened up before the departure of the 

 Scottish and Swedish expeditions In 1901-4. When 

 Dr. Charcot left Deception Island on December 25 general 

 physical and biological Investigations had begun, in- 

 cluding actinometric observations during the eclipse of the 

 sun on December 21, and pendulum records at the same 

 point as Foster made them in 1S29. He intended to steer- 

 for Port Lockroy and Port Charcot, and thereafter to 

 the south and west along the west coast of Graham Land. 

 During the three years the whaling station has existed, 

 this region has never been so free of ice, which augurs 

 well for the success of the French expedition. 



April was a record month for bright sunshine over the 



southern and eastern portions of England, and the duration 



of sunshine was In excess of the average in most parts of 



Ihe kingdom. At Dover the sun was shining for 273 



NO. 20C2, \OI.. Si)| 



hours, and at several places in the south and east of 

 England the duration exceeded 250 hours. At the London 

 reporting station of the Meteorological Office, in West- 

 minster, the bright sunshine amounted to 220 hours, whilst 

 the previous brightest April occurred in 1906, with 207 

 hours. At Greenwich the duration of bright sunshine was 

 250 hours, which Is 103 hours more than the normal, and 

 there was only one day without sunshine. The mean 

 temperature at Greenwich was 23° In excess of the aver- 

 age, and rain fell on, thirteen days, yielding a total of 

 171 inches, which is 014 Inch more than the average. 

 The summary of the weather Issued by the Meteorological 

 Office shows an excess of sunshine since the beginning of 

 the year over the whole of England and Ireland, but a 

 slight deficiency in Scotland. In the south-east of England 

 the excess of sunshine for the past four months amounts to 

 loi hours, and In the north-west of England to ninety-four 

 hours. 



In No. 1665 of the Proceedings of the U.S. National 

 Museum (vol. xxxvl., pp. 191-6) Dr. O. P. Hay describes 

 specimens of two fossil chelonlans, one of which forms a 

 new species. 



In the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society {1908, 

 pp. 529-43) Messrs. E. Heron-Allen and A. Earland 

 describe, under the name Cyclolocullna, a new genus of 

 Foraminlfera collected from the shore-sand of Selsey Bill 

 between Bracklesham Bay and Chichester Harbour. The 

 specimens on which the genus is founded are fossils, and 

 were found In company with many other Foraminlfera 

 washed out of Secondary and Tertiary strata. They 

 resemble Planorbulina in their general appearance, but 

 when mounted In balsam are seen to have quite a different 

 mode of growth. Two species are described as C. annulala 

 and C. polygyra. 



In commemoration of Mr. Roosevelt's projected hunting 

 trip in East Africa, the National Geographic Magazine 

 devotes its March number to papers on Africa. Sir H. 

 Johnston gives a delightful account, illustrated by admir- 

 able photographs, of the region which . the ex-PresIdent 

 hopes to explore. The Nandi forests he believes to be 

 vestiges of the ancient forest-belt that stretched from the 

 Indian to the Atlantic Oceans, and he points out that its 

 fauna is more closely allied to that of East India and 

 Malaysia than to West India or East ' Africa. The dis- 

 covery of the okapl encourages the hope that if he ex- 

 plores this region In a systematic way, Mr. Roosevelt may 

 discover other beasts and birds unknown to science. He 

 may obtain specimens of the giant pig first discovered in 

 Stanley's Ituri forest by Mr. N. E. Copeland, and he Is 

 anxious to secure the white or square-lipped rhinoceros, 

 long supposed to be confined to Africa south of the 

 Zambezi, where It Is nearly, if not quite, extinct; it is 

 now reported to exist In the north-western parts of British 

 East Africa. He may also encounter the wonderful earth- 

 worm as large as a snake and coloured a brilliant verditer- 

 blue. At any rate, he will find forests rivalled In luxuriance 

 only by those of the Congo Free State and the Kameruns, 

 the finest conifers in Africa, the largest continuous area 

 of marsh, the largest lake, and the highest point in the 

 continent. As for the people, he will meet pygmies, 

 fanatical Mohammedans, enthusiastic Christians, and speci- 

 mens of nearly all the most marked and interesting types 

 of African man. 



Some years ago Sir Lauder Brunton suggested that it 

 might be possible to relieve certain forms of heart disease 

 by a surgical operation on the valves of the heart. Dr. 



