i86 



NA TURE 



[June 25, 1908 



RUSSIAN SCIENTIFIC WORKS. 



T^HREE volumes of the Bulletin of the Academy of 

 Sciences, containing the proceedings of the physico- 

 niathematical section, have been received recently. In 

 vol. xxii. Mr. Wyragevitch describes certain Actinozoa of 

 the Black Sea in the neighbourhood of Balaclava, and Mr. 



A. Borissiali contributes notes on the Black Sea plankton. 

 Mr. K. N. Davidoff's article on the islands of the Indo- 

 Australian archipelago deserves mention. The confusion 

 of European and Malay races in Amboina has produced a 

 curious type, and the Malay tongue has absorbed, it is 

 shown, Dutch and Portuguese vifords. The barbarous 

 custom of wooing with the head of an enemy still prevails. 

 The Solifugje of Persia are discussed by Mr. A. Birula. 

 In vol. .\xiii. Mr. V. Bianchi writes on Passeriformes 

 and PalcEarctic larks, basing his remarks on studies in the 

 museums of London, Tring, and Paris. Mr. N. Donitch 

 contributes observations of the annular solar eclipse in 

 March, 1904, made at Cambogia, and of the total solar 

 «clipse in August, 1905. The latter was observed from 

 Alcala and Assouan. Notes on inundations at St. Peters- 

 burg are contributed by Mr. S. Griboyedoff, and studies 

 of rainfall in that capital, with diagrams and tables, are 

 given by Mr. E. Rosenthal. Vol. x.xiv. contains the results 

 of lengthy investigations, by Mr. A. Bielopolsky, of the 

 radial velocity of the variable star Algol, and another 

 astronomical paper, by Mme. Zhiloff, on the orbit of the 

 minor planet Doris (48). .'\ new species of pheasant from 

 the mountain regions of western China is described by 

 Mr. \'. Bianchi. Details of balloon experiments at the 

 aerodynamic institute at Kutshino are furnislied by Mr. 

 V. Kuznetsoff. From fossils collected by the Polar ex- 

 pedition of the late Baron Toll in 1900-3, Mme. M. 

 Pavloff is able to draw deductions as to the changes of 

 climate in east Siberia since the Tertiary period. Several 

 papers on aerial mechanics are contributed by Mr. D. P. 

 Riabushinsky. Mr. M. Golenkin writes on a botanical 

 visit to Java, and the report of the geological museum of 

 Peter the Great concludes the volume. 



In series vi., part i., of the Bulletin of the Imperial 

 Academy of .Sciences, Prince B. Galitzin describes the 

 seismic station at Pulkovo. Mr. P. Vannari writes on the 

 •duration of sunshine in Russia. Part ii. opens with 

 suggestions, by Mr. M. A. Nikatshev, for the establish- 

 ment of a commission to arrange atmospheric observations 

 In different parts of Russia. A memoir of Prof. D. I. 

 MendeMeff appears in part iii. Memoirs of the geologist 

 N. A. Sokoloff, the chemist H. Moissan, the German 

 meteorologist W. von Bezold, and .Signor G. I. Ascoli, 

 philologist, appear in part iv. Among short abstracts of 

 papers is one by Mr. A. Kuliabko on the application of 

 artificial circulation to heads of fishes after cutting them 

 off, and one by Mr. V. Bianchi on Muscicapid?e. In a 

 note on the temperature of lakes, Mr. V. B. Shostakovitch 

 confirms the opinion of Middendorf that a mass of water 

 heated in summer will retain this heat for a long time in 

 spite of heavy frost and snow on the surface. Part v. 

 contains memoirs of the geologist Bertrand and the 

 chemist Berthelot. Mr. A. S. Skorikoff has made elaborate 

 investigations of the plankton of the Taurida pond, St. 

 Petersburg. Mr. S. P. Popoff has studied crystalline 

 ■phosphates from the shores of the Gulf of Kertch. Prince 



B. Galitzin writes in part vi. on lines in the spectrum of 

 mercury vapour. Mr. N. Korostelev reports on actino- 

 metrical observations at Tashkent in February of last 

 vear. Of geological interest are the papers by Mr. A. 

 Fersmann on stolpenite from the Rhone and pyrargyrite 

 from the Pervoblagodatsk ore in the Urals. In part vii. 

 Mr. V. Bianchi describes forms of Pyrrhospiza. 



Papers by Mr. A. Karpinsky on the results of soundings 

 in the Pripet basin, and by Mr. A. Fersmann on the 

 mineralogy of the Simferopol district, will be found in 

 part ix. In part x. Mr. F. N. Tshernisheff writes on the 

 discovery of Upper Trias in the northern Caucasus, based 

 on the researches of Mr. V. I. Vorobieff. Mr. Y. S. 

 Edelstein writes on the discovery of Upper Silurian layers 

 in the neighbourhood of Samarkand. The longest paper 

 Is that of Mr. V. I. Vernadsky, on striation in crystalline 

 surfaces, with mathematical illustrations. In No. 11 brief 

 ■notices are given of papers on different investigations, 



NO. 2017, VOL. 7a J 



which are to appear in extenso either in the Annals of 

 the Zoological Museum or the Transactions of the Academy. 

 One of the most interesting of these is the abstract of Mr. 

 L. S. Berg's paper on the fish of the Amur basin, where 

 the fish consist of a mixture of Palaearctic and tropical 

 forms. Two articles are devoted to crystallography ; Mr. 

 V. V. Karandeieff writes on rotatory power and symmetry, 

 and Mr. V. I. Vernadsky discusses the physical theory of 

 twin formation and crystalline groups. Some critical forms 

 of Centaurca, L., are described by Mr. A. Petunnikoff. A 

 controversial article, " In Defence of Natural Genera," 

 written in En,glish, is contributed by Mr. V. Bianchi, who 

 differs from Dr. E. Hartert over what he calls " genus- 

 lumping." 



In No. 12 Mr. V. Lubimenko gives a paper on the 

 influence of light on the absorption of organic substances 

 by green plants. Investigations were directed to (i) has 

 light any influence on the assimilation of organic com- 

 binations, where photo-synthesis is entirely absent? 

 (ii) what is the influence of light of different intensities? 

 (iii) is the influence of light dependent on the absorption 

 of different wave-lengths? Experiments connected with 

 light and the absorption of saccharose, glucose, and 

 maltose are described, and Mr. Lubimenko hints that 

 further experiment will provide interesting results. Mr. 

 P. K. Kokovtsov's paper on some Central Asian tombstone 

 inscriptions of Syrian-Christian character belongs to 

 literary archaeology. Astronomers will be interested in 

 the calculations (in French) of the elements of Encke's 

 comet, by Mr. Kamensky and Mdlle. E. Korolikov. There 

 are short communications by Mr. O. Backlund upon the 

 rhombic pyroxene of a hypersthenic gneiss, and by Mr. 

 P. Stepanov on the L'pper Silurian fauna of the Lake 

 Balkhash district. Prof. G. D. Romanovsky studied the 

 pala?ontological materials of Turkestan gathered by 

 different investigators, and sedimentary formations belong- 

 ing to all periods from the Silurian, w'ith the exception of 

 the Permian period, have been identified in that province. 



Much research is recorded in vol. iii. of Mr. G. E. 

 Grum-Grzhimailo's description of a journey in western 

 China, round Kuku-nor, through Nan-shan, Bei-shan, and 

 along eastern Tian-shan to Russia. There are handsome 

 maps of Nan-shan, Bei-shan, and Tian-shan, showing the 

 route of the expedition, twenty-five phototypes, and twenty- 

 nine zincographs. The earlier chapters describe the route 

 and adventures ; the later chapters and appendices deal with 

 natural history. The women of the Panaks (Kuku-nor 

 Tanguts), who are in a position of humility, maintain an 

 immemorial custom of veiling their faces in their plaited 

 hair before strangers. There are two chapters on the 

 ethnology of Amdo and the Kuku-nor region, the native 

 names of localities being given with explanations and com- 

 parisons. One conclusion is that there is a strong white 

 admixture among the Tibetans, who have a legend that 

 their first king came from India. Butterflies (e.g. Agrntis 

 xanthographa, F., and Pseiidohadena pcxa) approached the 

 encampment when the temperature was surprisingly low. 

 The Mongols and Tibetans consider the bear as king of 

 beasts, and in the nature of a missing link between man 

 and beast. It is thought that tales of " dumb, hairy 

 savages " may sometimes be traced to inexperienced 

 travellers who have seen bears. A rock was seen bearing 

 an inscription in Mongolian and Tibetan, the Buddhist 

 prayer " Hail, Pearl hidden in the Lotus," probably re- 

 ferring to nirvana, the translation and interpretation of 

 which are a mystery. There are explanatory notes by 

 Gabet and Waddell. Two legends with regard to the 

 origin of kite-flying among the Chinese are recorded. 

 When the expedition refused the offer of a convoy, the 

 Chinese commander remarked, " Your men are a hundred 

 times braver than our soldiers." A chapter is devoted to 

 the climate of Tibet. Extensive study of the fauna shows 

 that many examples of Siberian forms occur in Tian-shan. 

 Han-su. and Pamir fauna, and our author traces the prob- 

 able route of these forms by way of the Caucasus and 

 Hindu-kush. .^s regards Lepidoptera, the interior regions 

 of Tibet are a terra incognita. Several pages are occupied 

 with the distribution and classification of Parnassius and 

 Colias. The wanderings of the Old Believers, mentioned 

 bv Prievalsky and Kozlow, are the subject of a separate 

 chapter. 



