126 



NA TURE 



[August 6, 1896 



important ; but it involves so much detail that a full abstract, 

 short of a complete translation, is impracticable. It concludes 

 with a short list of characteristic flower-frequenting beetles, by 

 H. Ilahn and V. Breddin-Magdeburg. On the coloured plate 

 which illustrates this paper, the figures representing species of 

 the curious Homopterous genus Uml'onia, which resemble large 

 thorns, are specially remarkable. 



Mr. W. E. Nicholson's translation of the treatise in which 

 Dr. Weismann described and discussed " New Experiments on 

 the Seasonal Dimorphism of Lepidoptera," is concluded in the 

 August number of the Entomologist. It may be remembered 

 that the same journal published during last year a translation, by 

 Dr. Dixey, of Dr. Standfuss's paper on the efiects of artificial con- 

 ditions on the development of butterflies (see Nature, vol. liii. 

 p. 540), and this translation, together with the one of which the 

 publication is just completed, will doubtless be highly valued by 

 British entomologists unacquainted with the German language. 

 The concluding paragraph of Weismann's paper, in its English 

 form, reads as follows : " We may now at any rate go so far as to 

 say that the temperature before pupation has no influence on the 

 colour and marking of the perfect insect. My experiments with 

 phlocas already pointed to this, in so far as in this case the 

 larvEE which hatched from Neapolitan eggs produced very different 

 butterflies, although the pupa; only had been subjected to 

 different temperatures, but the larvce were all treated exactly 

 alike. Merrifield has shown for Eiinomos aiitumnaria, that the 

 very different temperatures in which the larva; may be reared are 

 without influence on the colouring of the perfect insect. There- 

 fore although, as we have recently learnt, the form of the wings 

 of the imago is outlined very early in the larva, yet the decision 

 as to which of two wing-determinants of an adaptively seasonally 

 dimorphic species shall become active is, at the earliest, given at 

 the beginning of the pupal period." 



The resources of bacteriology are seemingly inexhaustible, 

 and its beneficent applications as varied as they are com- 

 prehensHfe, whilst investigations of theoretical interest are 

 daily assuming a practical importance hardly dreamt of 

 by their original discoverers. Little did Hellriegel, Wilfarth, 

 and Beyerinck imagine that when they announced that 

 certain leguminous crops are able by means of root-nodules 

 to fix the free nitrogen of the atmosphere, and that this was 

 accomplished by the aid of particular bacteria contained in such 

 nodules — little did they anticipate that a few years later the great 

 German firm of colour-manufacturers, Messrs. Meister, Lucius, 

 and Briining, at Hochst-am-Main, would undertake to deliver, 

 as an article of commerce, cultivations of such bacteria under the 

 name of Nilragin, wherewith to inoculate, and so supply the 

 wants of, various leguminous crops. This is, however, what Dr. 

 Nobbe, the distinguished follower in the footsteps of Hellriegel, 

 has rendered by his brilliant researches an accomplished fact. 

 Pure cultivations of nodule-organisms suitable to the growth of 

 no less than seventeen different varieties of leguminous field 

 crops may now be purchased from this enterprising firm. Each 

 bottle bears a different coloured label according to the crop for 

 which it is destined, whilst the German as well as the botanical 

 name of the plant is also afti.xed. About half an acre of land 

 may be inoculated for half-a-crown, which represents the price 

 of a single culture bottle. The cultivations are prepared at the 

 Ilochst Works, under the direction of a former assistant to Dr. 

 Nobbe, and the result of this latest development of practical 

 bacteriology will be awaited with the greatest interest. Mean- 

 while the English Government, whilst contemplating extensive 

 financial a.ssistance to the agricultural interests in the country, 

 might do well to consider whether more lasting benefit to the 

 community might not be derived from the better endowment of 

 science in our local colleges, and the encouragement of original 

 NO. 1397, VOL. 54] 



research. It is the lack of this support, which in Germany is 

 fostered so jealously, that handicaps the work, and places the 

 worker at such a great disadvantage when compared with our 

 more fortunate continental neighbours. 



We have received from the Deutsche Seewarte, Hamburg, a 

 circular setting forth proposals on various questions to be raised 

 by it at the Meteorological Conference in I'aris, in September 

 next ( I ) on the improvement and simplification of the exchange of 

 weather telegrams over Europe. The introduction of the 

 circuit-system of telegraphy, which already exists in the United 

 States, would greatly accelerate the arrival of weather reports. 

 Also the omission of certain details, such as the readings of wet- 

 bulb thermometers, and maximum and minimum temperatures, 

 not being of great importance in the preparation of weather 

 forecasts, would lessen the cost of telegrams. (2) Uniformity 

 of hours of observation. At present, dift'erences of time of 

 from one to two hours exist between the observations of different 

 countries. So far as this country is concerned, the proposal is 

 to take observations at ^\\. a.m. instead of Sh. a.m. To carry 

 out this recommendation, it would be necessary to open many 

 provincial telegraph stations specially for the weather reports, as 

 generally they do not open till 8h. a.m. Greenwich time ; and in 

 Ireland, where Dublin time is used, the offices would have to be 

 opened still earlier. (3) Extension of the international system 

 of meteorological publications, by means of monthly reports, 

 and five yearly resmnt's ; the investigation of the anomalies of 

 pressure and temperature to appear only in the year-books. 

 (4) Instruction in meteorology in schools and universities. (5) 

 Comparison of the various sunshine recorders, and uniform 

 instructions for the observation and exposure of the instruments. 

 The instruments mostly in use are Jordan's photographic recorder, 

 and the Campbell-Stokes frame and glass sphere in which the 

 sun scorches a trace on prepared paper. (6) Maritime 

 Meteorology. The Deutsche Seewarte will present two special 

 papers to the Conference on the discussion and utilisation of 

 observations made at sea. 



The Report of the Botanical Department of the State 

 Agricultural College for Michigan is chiefly occupied by a list of 

 the hardy plants, 1335 in number, grown in the Botanic 

 Garden. It also contains a report of the present condition of 

 the Herbarium (42,861 species of Flowering Plants), and some 

 notes on Forestry. 



A LARGE portion oi Botany Biilhtiii, No. 13, of the Depart- 

 ment of Agricidture, Brisbane, is occupied by a descriptive 

 paper on the Chemistry and Economic Products of a number of 

 Queensland Gums and Resins, by Dr. J- Lauterer. It also 

 contains descriptions of a number of new Queensland flowering 

 plants ; additions to the Mosses, Hepaticn;, Lichens, and Fungi 

 of the colony ; and two additions to the Flora of New Guinea. 



The Helmholtz Memorial Lecture, delivered by Prof. G. F. 

 Fitzgerald before the Chemical Society in January last, is printed 

 in the July number of the Society's Joiiritat, with a heliogravure 

 portrait of the great investigator in honour of whom the lecture 

 was given. It would be difficult to compose a better apprecia- 

 tion of a man's contributions to science than that contained in 

 Prof. Fitzgerald's discourse. 



In another part of thisissue (p. 329) will be found a notice of the 

 fifth of an attractively produced series of reprints of old meteoro- 

 logical papers, edited by Dr. Hellmann. The sixth of these, 

 " Neudrucke von Schriften und Karten iiber Meteorologie und 

 Krdmagnetismus," is a facsimile reprint of Hadley's paper 

 " Concerning the Cause of the General Trade-Winds," pub- 

 lished in the Royal Society's Transaetions in 1735. The paper 

 occupies little more than four pages of the publication, but Dr. 



