434 



NA TURE 



TSeptember ■;. tqo8 



Two fascicles of ihe conlributions lo the flora of Africa 

 are included in the volume, in which the most general 

 article is a revision of the African genera and species of 

 the order Flacourtiacea;, that has been prepared by Dr. 

 E. Gilg. A phytogeographical study based on an explora- 

 tion of the mid-Amazon is presented by Mr. E. Ule. The 

 expedition, primarily undertaken to obtain information with 

 regard to rubber trees and their distribution, has yielded 

 much botanical treasure, and the author gives an elaborate 

 description of the floras of the various tributaries. In the 

 pages of the " Beibliitter " will be found the proceedings 

 of the Society of Systematic Botanists at their meetings 

 in Hamburg (1906) and Dresden (1907). An important 

 paper was read at the Dresden meeting by Prof. O. Drude 

 on mapping methods in connection with botanical surveys. 

 Colours are used for certain broad, distinctive formations, 

 such as moors and swamps or coniferous forest ; on these 

 are superposed special signs and letter combinations in- 

 dicative of plant associations. 



Under the title of "Classification palcthnologique," the 

 eminent French anthropologist, M. A. de Mortillet, 

 publishes a pamphlet intended to provide a scheme for 

 the seriation of early art from prehistoric times down to 

 the age of Charlemagne. His plan of grouping is founded 

 on typical specimens, the terminology being based on the 

 names of those Continental sites at which the most 

 characteristic examples have been discovered. The pre- 

 historic period, or age of Stone, falls into three sub- 

 groups : — Eolithique, including Thenaysien and Puy- 

 cournien ; Palif'olithique, with its subdivisions, Chell^en, 

 Acheuli!"en, Moust('rien, .Solulr('c'n, and Magdal^nien ; 

 N^olithique, confined to Robenhausien. Similarly, the 

 protohistoric time divides itself into an age of Bronze and 

 of Iron, the former represented by the Tziganien period 

 subdivided into the Morgien and the Larnaudien. The age 

 of Iron falls into three periods, Gaulois, Romain, and 

 M^rovingien, the first divided into Hallstattien and 

 Marnien, the second into Lugdunien and Champdolien, tlie 

 third including Wab^nien. Each period is illustrated by 

 excellent drawings of typical specimens, with descriptions 

 and details of provenance. The scheme will be of much 

 use in classifying the objects of human art in Continental 

 museums, to which the survey is largely confined. 



Two important communications on the subject of stone 

 implements appear in .1/aij for July and August. In the 

 earlier number the Rev. H. G. O. Kendall describes a 

 collection of Neolithic microliths from Welwyn, in Hert- 

 fordshire, and other sites in the Quaternary gravels of 

 Essex. Many of the specimens are carefully chipped, and 

 were probably used as boring tools. Those at Welwyn 

 were found at a depth of 12 feet in some thin layers of 

 gravelly sand. They seem to be analogous to the so-called 

 " P.^g'""'y " flints discovered by Mr. R. A. Gatty at Scun- 

 thorpe, in Lincolnshire, which were described in Man 

 (February, 1902), and closely resemble specimens found 

 by Mr. A. C. Carlleyle in the Indian Vindhya range. 

 In the August number of the same periodical Mr. C. G. 

 Seligmann describes a collection of quartz implements from 

 Ceylon, found in various parts of the island in sites vary- 

 ing from a height of a few hundred feet above sea-Ievcl 

 to about 4000 feet. The range of their distribution 

 indicates that at one time there must have been a con- 

 siderable population using tools of this kind. They are 

 found in places at present occupied by the V'eddahs, and 

 Mr. Seligmann accepts the view of the brothers Sarrasin 

 that they may be attributed to this race. The caves in 

 which they were discovered seem to have been seized by 



NO. 2027, VOL. 78] 



the Sinhalese some two thousand years ago, when they 

 expelled the Veddah occupants. In later days the Veddahs 

 re-occupied these sites. These recent discoveries seem to 

 indicate a closer connection between the two races than is 

 usually realised. 



The report on the work of the Survey Department, 

 Egypt, in 1907, shows that good progress is being made 

 in the various branches of its useful and far-reaching opera- 

 tions. .Among these are included, inter alia, (i) the topo- 

 graphical survey comprising the i : 10,000, i : 50,000, and 

 1 : 250,000 series of maps ; (2) the cadastral survey, which 

 prepares maps on large scales, showing property boundaries 

 and the land registers which accompany them. These 

 sheets are utilised for the production of maps on smaller 

 scales, but since the country is changing very rapidly in 

 parts, owing to perennial irrigation, barrage, and re- 

 clamation, the cadastral sheets have usually to be revised 

 in the field. (3) The geological survey ; Captain Lyons 

 states that during the past ten seasons' work the general 

 outline of the geological structure of the country has been 

 laid down in considerable detail, and that a geological 

 map of the country on the scale of i : 1,000,000 is now in 

 hand. In addition, the department tests the gas and water 

 supplies of Cairo, and analyses materials supplied to 

 various departments to see if they are in conformity with 

 specification ; it also superintends the meteorological 

 stations in Egypt and the Sudan, and the preparation of 

 observations for publication. We notice several important 

 additions to the meteorological work, e.g. the publication 

 of daily synoptic charts for the Mediterranean and adjacent 

 parts (to which we have before referred), the discussion 

 and immediate utilisation of observations made in Cyprus 

 (by arrangement with the Meteorological Committee), and 

 the exploration of the upper air. Although the latter 

 service was only begun in July, 1907, some very valuable 

 results have already been obtained. 



W'k have received for notice eight further volumes of 

 the water supply and irrigation papers issued by the 

 Department of the United States Geological Survey. 

 These relate to the geology and water rcisources of districts 

 along the Mississippi and Hudson Bay, in California, 

 north-west of the Pacific, Nebraska, and Beaver Valley, 

 Utah. The information contained is comprehensive and 

 useful locally, but there is nothing of a special character 

 that calls for further notice here. The methods of gauging 

 the streams and the instruments employed, which are 

 described and illustrated, have been already dealt with in 

 previous articles. 



In the July number of the National Geographic Magazine 

 Mr. A. H. Sylvester, of the United States Geological 

 .Survey, gives an interesting account, illuslr.Tted by 

 admirable photographs, of "our noblest volcano," Mount 

 Hood, which rises to a height of 11,225 f^et in the State 

 of Oregon. It is an almost perfect volcanic cone, the 

 fourth in height of the snow peaks of the Pacific North- 

 West, being surpassed only by Rainier, Shasta, and .Adams. 

 It was built up of andesitic lavas which were ejected 

 from a single summit crater. Recently the volcano has 

 displayed signs of renewed activity. Prof. Russell, in his 

 book on " .American Volcanoes," gave a picture taken in 

 1882 of a so-called fumarole on the south slope, which 

 has since that time apparently become inactive ; but steam 

 has recently been observed to issue from fissures on Crater 

 Rock, and something resembling a glow was noticed at 

 the same point in 1907. It is interesting to note that this 

 activity was synchronous with changes observed in the 

 Bogaslof group of volcanic islands ofT the .Alaskan coast. 



