Jan. 1, 1874J 



: NATURE 



16' 



caustic soda in excess to a solution of copper sulphate and tar- 

 taric acid, with which has been mixed a little grape sugar (a 

 small quantity of "set " honey) : the formation of yellow cuprous 

 oxide commences at the surface of the liquid, and is seen gradu- 

 ally to extend to the lower parts, showing, hat the upper parts 

 first attain the temperature requisite to cause the reaction to 

 occur which precipitates cuprous oxide. 



These experiments are easy of execution, and by the above 

 arrangement, or still better by being projected on the screen, 

 may be rendered visible at a considerable distance. 



Queenwood College " FrAiNK Clowes 



Mr. Garrod's Theory of Nerve-Force 



The thermo-electric theoiy of nerve-force propounded by Mr. 

 Garrod (Nature, vol. viii. p. 265) seems capable of extension. 

 If a pole of metal, cased in a non-conducting sheath, were sunk 

 ni an artesian boring so as to reach from the level of constant tem- 

 perature to the greatest depth attainable, how far would such 

 pole fulfil the conditions of a sheathed nerve penetrating from 

 the cool surface of an animal to the warmer interior? And with 

 so little cliflercnce of temperature in so great a length, would its 

 dynamic eflect be at all appreciable ? 



A quarter of a mile of submarine cable let down the shaft of 

 our Carnbrea mine might rejiresent a sheathed nerve ; and any 

 existing nerve-force might there be tested. Abandoned mine- 

 shafts are the terrors of our Cornish moorlands. Is it 

 within the power of Science to convert them into earth-nerves, 

 say by lining their sides with non-conducting material, and then 

 packing them tight with conductive slag or some kind of metallic 

 refuse ? And is it possible, even in theory, to make such earth- 

 nerves worl; some kind of earth-muscle ? For ignorant me to 

 speak of this subject is ultracrepidism (Nature, vol. vii. p. 262), 

 \ et It seems a fair extension of Mr. Garrod's insienious theor 



Carnbrea, Cornwall 



s ingenious theory. 

 Augustine Chudleigh 



Genesis in Borneo 



Mr. Cameron's paper read at the Society of Biblical Archaeo- 

 logy, testifies to the early diffusion of .Semitic traditions by the 

 agency, it maybe inferred, of Moslem converts. 



The same traditional coincidences recorded of Borneo are 

 found in New Zealand and elsewhere, and would naturally ac- 

 company the diffusion of Malayan dialects throughout Poly- 

 nesia, an influence the duration of which may be counted by 

 centuries. A. Hall 



Dec. II 



Indian Snakes 



In a small treatise on Indian snakes by Dr. Nicholson, R.A., 

 the author states his belief that cobras will not feed in captivity 

 unless forced to, starving themselves voluntarily to death. He 

 thinks, also, that jugglers in this country either "feed their 

 cobras with liquid nourishment, or else let them loose when their 

 lives are in danger,'' recapturing them at a future time. 



To test the correctness of this, I questioned a snake-charmer 

 a few days ago, and he informed me that he fed his cobra every 

 week with frogs. His snake had then been recently fed, so he 

 was told to bring it to the bungalow again in a few days. A 

 frog (A', fi^riiia) was procured, and placed in the small basket 

 in which the cobra was kept. The latter seized it at once ; but 

 as I was anxious 10 see the whole process, which could not be 

 done whilst the snake was coiled up in the basket, I requested 

 the man to place the frog on the ground. As it struggled away 

 (the hind limbs of the poor reptile had been broken) the cobra 

 followed it eagerly, and again and again seized it. The want of 

 fangs, and the size of the frog, which in its inflated state ex- 

 ceeded considerably the circumference of its enemy, rendered 

 these attempts ineffectual ; soasmaller frog was caught, and placed 

 with the cobra in the basket. This was swaUowed in a short 

 time, the snake pushing its victim against its coils, and working 

 down the hind limbs by a lateral motion of the lower jaw, very 

 similar to that of a cow chewing the cud. 



The large frog was now placed in the basket, and the cover 

 put on, and in about half an hour had followed its companion. 

 The cobra's appetite was now appeajed, for after seizing a third 

 frog it let it go, on its croaking a remonstrance. 



A laughabie incident occurred whilst ihe snake was following the 

 frog over the gravel path. A performing monkey belonging to the 

 juggler, in a spirit of mischief, or peihaps fearing that its master's 



property was escaping, stepped gravely after the snake and laid 

 hold of It by the tail. As a natural consequence, round came 

 the cobra and menaced the monkey, which, retreating with sun- 

 dry gi-imaces, took refuge with the juggler, in great alarm at the 

 turn events had taken. 



This cobra is a small one, and as it is one of those very pale, 

 almost cream-coloured varieties, that finds no mention in Giin- 

 ther's able work, I am anxious to examine it thoroughly. The 

 owner, however, aflirms that he has to draw its fangs about once 

 a month, and as he is most cautious in handling the reptile, it is 

 probable that the fang matrix has not been destroyed, and ex- 

 amination wiU be safest just after the operation of extracting the 

 fangs. 



Mangalore, Sept. 12 E H. Pringle 



CLASSIFICATION OF CLOUDS^ 



T N an essay on the " Modifications of Clouds, read to 

 ■*; the Askesian Society in 1S02, Howard first proposed 

 his classification of clouds, which has since been the 

 generally received authority on the subject. His system 

 has thus stood its ground for more than half a century, in 

 spite of its defects and of the misconstruction not unfre- 

 quently put on the two terms, " stratus" and " nimbus" 

 since the publication of Kaemtz's Meteorology. These 

 misapprehensions and the obscurity and confusion arising 

 from them are pointed out by Prof. Poey, but the errors 

 have not been followed so generally as is asserted, at least 

 by British meteorologists. In a series of papers issued at 

 intervals during the past eleven years, Prof. Poey has en- 

 deavoured to develop a new classification of clouds, of 

 which the volume before us is the result. 



The following is Poey's classification compared with 

 that of Howard : — 



Poey's Classification. 



Cloud composed of 

 First type : cirrus Upicules of 



(cirro-stratus / ice. 

 Derived : ^cirro-cumulus i 



(pallio-cirrus f"""- 



Second type : cumulus (vesicular 



Derived ■ I pallio cumulus! aqueous 



\lricto-cumuIusVvapour. 



Howard's Classification. 

 First type : cirrus. 

 Derived : jcfiTo-stratus. 



t cirro-cumulus. 

 Second type : cumulus. 

 Derived : cumulo-stratus. 



Third type stratus. 

 Derived from j 



r 



In forming his system, Prof. Poey first strikes out the 

 " stratus " as being from Howard's own definition not a 

 true cloud, but only "mist ;" the "cumulo-stratus" as not 

 differing really from the cumulus ; and the " nimbus " as 

 being not a single cloud, but rather a system of clouds. 

 He retains the word " stratus " as part-descriptive of the 

 '■ cirro-stratus," but in this case it is exclusively restricted 

 to those instances where the cirrus arranges itself in a 

 stratified form, and is not applied when the arrangement 

 is an extended sheet or continuous layer of considerable 

 thickness totally impervious to the sun's rays. To this 

 latter condition, the new term " pallium " is applied. 



In his classification Poey arranges the clouds in the 

 order in which they severally appear, from the cirrus, the 

 inost elevated, its height being from 2°fioo to 50,000 feet, 

 to the fracto-cumulus, the lowest of all ; and groups them 

 into three divisions according as they are composed of 

 ice-crystals, snowy particles, or vesicular vapour. 



But the most fundamental change which he has intro- 

 duced irito the system is \\\t pallium or sliecl-cloud, in its 

 two distinct forms oi pallio-Lirrus, a.nA pallio ciiiniiliis, 

 according as it is formed from the cirrus or the cumulus. 

 The pallium is the greyish, or ash-coloured cloud which 

 overspreads the whole sky, and from which rain falls 

 continually for hours or days together. On the approach 

 of rain the pallio-cirrus is formed by the rapid increase and 

 thickening of the cirrus downwards from the enormous 



* '* Nouvelle Classification des Nuages suivie d'histruclions pour servir a 

 rObservation dcs Nuages et des Cour.inLs Atniospheriques.* Par Andre 

 Poey, Havane. (Extrait des Annales hydrographiques, 1872.) Paris, 1873. 

 (17 I^lanclies), 



