NATURE 



{March iS, 18S0 



shall be supplied in the next volume ; those who take the trouble 

 to note such omissa are the truest friends wc hive. 



1, Savile Row, W. E. C. Rye 



[The writer of the review claims to know something ofj the 

 difficulties the editor of the Zoological Record refers to, with 

 which " haud ignai'tfj mali " he sympathises, and still he clings 

 to the idea that it might be expedient for the editor to keep his 

 young team in hand, but in thus suggesting a uniformity in 

 practice, nothing was further from his thoughts than an unfriendly 

 criticism. As to the accentuation of the a in infra, he quite 

 agrees with the editor that he would find the fact he mentions 

 in an "old Ainsworth," but no modern wi iter now ever thinks 

 of using an accent on Latin words under any circumstances, and 

 hence the query. As to Kalispongia, Wright, being spelt with a K 

 and not a C, though the subject is a tempting one for comment, 

 yet a controversy on it would hardly be suited for the columns of 

 Nature, but surely the editor will draw a distinction between 

 an attempt to preserve a uniformity in the style of the several 

 records, and an insistance on authors being uniform in their 

 spelling of generic names.] 



A Museum Conference 



Mr. Paton's suggestion about a museum conference is an 

 admirable one, although I think that it should not be confined to 

 officials only. The time has come when an Association for the 

 Promotion and Systematic Arrangement of Museums must be 

 formed. I trust, therefore, that those competent to do it will 

 take the matter up and produce some practical result. 



J. Rom illy Allen 



The Tay Bridge Storm 



In his interesting letter on the above subject (Nature, vol. 

 ::xi. p. 443) Sir Ralph Abercromby remarks that "there is a 

 good deal of evidence to show that where the velocity of the 

 [cyclone] centre is very great, the strength of the wind for any 

 given gradients is increased, or at all events becomes more 

 squally and gusty ; " and again (p. 444) that the Tay Bridge 

 storm " was exceptionally squally and gusty, doubtless owing to 

 the unusually rapid rate of its motion." I am far from wishing 

 to be understood to impugn the accuracy of these remarks, but X 

 would say that the law which is indicated in them has, if I mis- 

 take not, escaped general observation, and I believe that 

 meteorologists will be grateful to Sir R. Abercromby, than whom 

 no one can be found better able to do so, if he will point out the 

 evidence on which it rests. 



It is, I think, generally ac'mitted that in traversing the 

 continents both of Europe and of North America storms have on 

 some occasions a greater velocity of propagation than has been 

 recorded in the British Isles ; and it seems possible that an 

 increment in the quality of "gustiness " may be produced in an 

 air current by its passage over a very extensive surface whose 

 friction coefficient is large. But this scarcely seems to throw 

 light upon the relation, mentioned by Sir R. Abercromby, between 

 the gustiness of the wind for a given gradient over a particular 

 md very limited area, and the velocity of propagation of the 

 wind -system across that area. 

 The relation between the strength of the wind and the steep- 

 f barometrical gradient is somewhat complex, and has not 

 even yet received complete study. The relation between the 

 strength of the wind and the velocity of propagation, or rate of 

 progress of a storm, is a more intricate and obscure subject, and 

 I believe that any facts which tend to elucidate it will be of con- 

 siderable value, especially if this second relation can be shown 

 to be independent of the first. W. Clement Ley 



March 12 



Strange Arithmetic 

 In the March number of the Contemporary Rev, 

 article by Dr. C. B. Radcliffe, entitled "A Sequel to the 

 Pedigree of Man," in which some most startling theories are pro- 

 pounded. As an appendix to this article, he gives several tables 

 intended to prove that the mean time of higli spring-tide 

 throughout the world is about six o'clock (morning and evening). 

 For this purpose he gives the time at a considerable number of 

 stations, and the very large discrepancies led me to inquire how 

 he arrived at his results. This he does by adding the times 

 ogether, and dividing by the number of places ! It is surely 



clear that any miscellaneous selection of times treated in this 

 manner must give a result somewhere near six. 



His first table shows a result of 6h. 9m., but if you take his 

 figures, and number the hours from morning to evening, instead 

 of noon to midnight (that is, call six twelve, and twelve six), the 

 result is 6h. 27111., or on our hypothesis 27 minutes past noon! 

 The proper way of treating the figures would be to show at how 

 many places the tide is high during each hour, and the annexed 

 table shows that it is utterly impossible to fix any mean time. II 

 all Dr. Kadcliffe's theories rest on such hollow proofs as this, 

 they are certainly worthy of little attention. 



Hour. Table I. Table II. 



i 1 3 ° 



2 3 3 



3 4 2 



4 9 2 



5 1 3 



6 4 3 



7 7 1 



8 S 1 



9 o 7 



No. of places 42 

 Chester, March 6 



E. S. 



Fertilisation of the Grape Vine 



The season is favourable for an examination of the floral 

 development of the vine, and I recommend an inspection of the 

 flower of that plant to all who are curious. For my own part I 

 shall be glad if any one who has remarked more than is obvious 

 will tell us something about it, for the flower is c> rtainly remark- 

 able. On examination it is seen that each little knob, v> hich at 

 fir.-t sight seems to be the young grape, is, in fact, a little green 

 cap, which, when lifted off, discloses a group of stamens closely 

 surrounding the pistil. To all appearance this cap — which is all 

 that represents the flower (in the common acceptation of the 

 word) — must effectually prevent anything like cross-fertilisation. 

 Apparently it becomes detached below and is thrown off as soon 

 as the stamens, which continue to support it, lose their vitality, 

 and not before. It is, indeed, not easy to conceive any other so 

 simple an arrangement, by which, whatever of fertilisation is 

 necessary, can be ensured being done at home. It seems as if 

 by this arrangement every flower must fertilise, though there 

 were not another within miles, and cannot be fertilised by any 

 other but itself, though it be one among thousands. 



Collingwood, March 14 J. Herschel 



EXPLORA TION IN BORNEO 



HERR CARL BOCK has successfully accomplished 

 his journey across Borneo — from Koetei to Band- 

 jermassmg — arriving at the latter place on the last day of 

 1879. The journey was commenced on November 2r, 

 from Tangeroeng, the residence of the Sultan of Koetei, 

 who promised to accompany Hcrr Bock, but did all in 

 his power to dissuade him from going. From hence the 

 route was up the Mahakkan River, to the village of 

 Moara-Kaman, where the mosquitoes were so troublesome 

 that a retreat was almost determined on. On the 24th 

 the largest Malay village in the interior was reached — 

 Kotta Bangoen, containing more than a thousand in- 

 habitants. The whole of the lower part of the Mahakkan 

 is occupied by the Malays, the Dyaks dwelling only on 

 the smaller tributaries, or towards the source of the main 

 river. In this neighbourhood there is abundance of 

 rattang gutta, or edible birds' nests, and bees' wax, to 

 obtain which the Malays go in parties of twenty or 

 thirty into the forests for fear of the Dyaks. Owing to 

 the great drought of last year in this district, the 

 whole forest is leafless, a very unaccustomed sight in the 

 tropics, and as a result the birds had all deserted it, or at 

 least none were to be seen. At this village, as well as at 



1 That is, 1.0 to 1.59 (morning or evening). 



V 





