214 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 815 



more careful scientific study of the question, 

 especially in hospitals. 



Laboratory methods to explain the inner proc- 

 esses in disease have been applied to hospital 

 patients for twenty years or more in Germany 

 but in the United States little has been done in 

 this regard. If such investigations are in any 

 way promoted by their discussion here, this 

 writing will not have been in vain. 



In the second edition the scope of the book 

 has not been changed, but advances that have 

 been made during the past three years are 

 included. 



W. D. BiGELOW 



REPORT ON NEW ZEALAND SAND DUNES 

 The New Zealand Department of Lands 

 has recently published a paper, by Dr. L. 

 Cockayne, entitled " Report on the Sand 

 Dunes of New Zealand " which treats of the 

 geology and botany of the sand dunes and 

 their economic bearing. 



The first part of the article deals, in a gen- 

 eral way, with the damage done by dunes, the 

 objects of dune culture or reclamation and 

 the description and acreage of the principal 

 dune areas. 



The dune question is attacked geologically 

 in the second part of the paper. Here are 

 discussed the origin of dune material; dune 

 building, and the effects of various factors on 

 the processes of dune formation and move- 

 ment; and the various land forms of the dune 

 area. 



In treating the botanical features of the 

 New Zealand dunes, in the third part, Dr. 

 Cockayne sets forth the ecological factors 

 governing their flora, and describes the most 

 characteristic plants of the region and their 

 " adaptations." He divides the plant life of 

 the dunes into three groups, namely, sand 

 binders, sand collectors and wet-ground 

 plants. The methods of spreading of dune 

 plants are also discussed. The subject of 

 dune-plant associations is confined to dunes 

 of western Wellington, though the author 

 states that these may be taken as typical of 

 those of the central floristic province of New 

 Zealand. It is shown that each stage in the 



evolution of the dune possesses its character- 

 istic plant association and also that " the 

 plant-covering is an exact index of the wind 

 force." 



Among the important conclusions dravra 

 by the author, the following may be men- 

 tioned: 



It is useless to attempt artificial planting on 

 many wandering dunes without shelter of the 

 proper kind. 



The neglect of wounds in the turf of stable 

 dunes is perhaps the greatest source of danger 

 to the adjacent fertile lands. 



Under certain conditions a dime exposed to 

 wind-tearing action may be naturally covered with 

 shrubs and rendered stable without any previous 

 preparation, except such shelter as is afforded by 

 sand grass {Spinifex hirsutus) . 



In selecting shelter-plants for dune-afforestation 

 purposes, tolerance of drifting sand is a matter of 

 prime importance, without M'hich drought or salt- 

 resisting power are as nothing. 



The paper is admirably illustrated by thirty- 

 five excellent photographs and concludes with 

 the citation of one hundred and thirteen 

 works consulted in its preparation. 



Charles S. EmowAY 

 Alabama Polytechnic Institute 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



^-hlS THE CONSERVATION OF HAILSTONES AND THE 



■ INVESTIGATION OF THEIR 3MICR0STEUCTURE 



The investigation of microstructure of hail- 

 stones being till now very difiicult if not 

 impossible in summer, I constructed an appa- 

 ratus (Fig. 1) for their conservation till win- 

 ter-time. It consists of three coaxial cylin- 

 ders; the inner space is intended for hail, the 

 middle space for a mixture of ice and cupric 

 sulfate (approximatively in proportion corre- 

 sponding to eutectics, t = — 1°.6), the outer 

 space for ice, which forms a sort of guard- 

 mantle. 



During the summers 1908 and 1909 I had 

 only once the chance of meeting a hail-storm 

 — the 2/15 August, 1909, when I was at sea 

 near Helsingfors on my way from Aland to 

 St. Petersburg. This hail lasted from three to 

 four minutes, the hailstones were very small 



