Skitember 11, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



351 



cine a Russian Microbiological Society is be- 

 ing organized. 



Sir Thomas II.\sbury Las purchased and 

 presented to the Koy^l Horticultural Society 

 tlie estate and garden of the late Mr. G. F. 

 Wilson, F.R.S., at Wisley, near Woking. 



We quoted from the London Times some 

 lime since a statement that Sir William and 

 Lady Huggins had contributed a paper to the 

 Koyal Society not then published containing 

 the announcement of the discovery of lines 

 of helium in the light emitted by radium. It 

 was discovered subsequently that the lines 

 were of nitrogen, and this result was added 

 to the paper before publication. Sir Michael 

 Foster thus explains the matter in the London 

 Times. In mid July, during the recess, the 

 Royal Society received (the officially recorded 

 date is July 17) from the President, Sir W. 

 Huggins, a short communication stating that 

 by long exposure he had been able to obtain 

 from the glow of radium at the ordinary tem- 

 perature a photographic record of bright lines 

 in the blue, violet and ultra-violet regions of 

 the spectrum, and that several of these lines 

 coincided with those of helium, but not with 

 the most characteristic ones. A paper of such 

 importance was sent at once to the society's 

 printers with a view to its being published 

 as early as possible. Within a few daj"s, 

 however, continued observations convinced 

 Sir W. Huggins that the lines in question 

 were those not of helium, but of nitrogen. 

 Having arrived at this conclusion, he might 

 have wished to withdraw the paper which he 

 had sent in, replacing it by a wholly new 

 one. He preferred to let the former paper 

 stand as written, and to communicate the 

 new results in the form of a dated adden- 

 dum. The addition was printed as received 

 on August 5, and the whole paper was 

 published on August 15. In pursuing this 

 course, the president followed the usual cus- 

 toms of the societ.v, and, in my humble opin- 

 ion, chose the better way, since a knowledge 

 of the several steps through which an impor- 

 tant result is reached is second only in value 

 to the knowledge of the result itself. And, 

 had the matter been confined within the publi- 



cations of the society, nothing could have been 

 said. But a friend of Sir W. Huggins, who 

 saw the first part of the paper before it was 

 officially received at the societj', struck with 

 its great importance, and knowing the willing- 

 ness with which you. Sir, to the great benefit 

 of the public, publish in your columns early 

 notices of striking scientific discoveries, sent 

 you a communication on the subject which 

 you were good enough to print. ' Inquirer ' 

 complains that no similar communication con- 

 cerning the notable addition to the first part 

 of the paper has appeared. May I venture to 

 point out that, in the absence of any organized 

 arrangements, gaps, such as the above, in the 

 scientific information which you publish are 

 for one reason or another liable to occur with- 

 out anybody being to blame? 



Some rare lizards have been deposited by 

 Mr. Walter Rothschild, in the London Zoolog- 

 ical Garden. According to the London 

 Times his specimens of the Cuban anolis 

 (Anolis eqiiestris) are the first received alive 

 in Great Britain, though the species has been 

 known for nearly 200 years. Sir Hans 

 Sloane was the first to describe it, from speci- 

 mens obtained in Jamaica, and he compared 

 it to a small iguana with a short comb or 

 crest on the back, and a very long tail. ^ The 

 general color of the upper surface is bluish 

 green, and of the under surface pale green — 

 a color-scheme which is no doubt protective, 

 and a later observer says that thei reptile is 

 scarcely distinguishable among the foliage of 

 the trees on which it lives. The throat- 

 pouch is of a deep pink, and, when inflated, 

 gives the animal a very striking appearance. 

 In the same cage is a chameleon lizard 

 {Chamwleolis chamceleontides), from Cuba, 

 also exhibited for the first time. As one 

 would imagine, from the scientific names, 

 there is a superficial resemblance to the 

 chameleon ; this is very strongly marked in 

 the head and in the shagreen-like tubercles 

 covering the body. The general hue is ashy 

 brown, with rufous markings, and the throat- 

 pouch is tinged with purple. The arrival of 

 this specimen removes the doubt expressed In- 

 some writers as to whether the loose skin of 



