! S 6 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



microbe of infinitesimal size — so small that probably 

 250 millions of them would be required to cover a 

 square inch of surface. Plague is infectious and con- 

 tagious, and is greatly influenced by pestilential 

 emanations from polluted and waterlogged soils. The 

 author gives accounts of various outbreaks of plague 

 in this and other countries, including the great plague 

 of London in 1665, when 7,165 deaths were recorded 

 in one week in September. Plague is undoubtedly a 

 disease of the poor, and attacks most readily 

 those living on a low diet. The conditions 

 which are conducive to the spread of plague are 

 identical with those which give rise to the escape 

 of malaria from the ground. That the ground itself 

 exercises an enormous influence upon plague is shown 

 by the fact that in all the epidemics, persons living on 

 the ground floors suffer to a much greater extent than 

 those who live in the higher storeys of the houses. 

 Mr. Latham says that there cannot be a doubt that 

 the conditions which ordinarily produce evaporation 

 from water or land surfaces are identical with those 

 which produce exhalations from the ground; and these 

 exhalations consist largely of vapour of water carrying 

 matters injurious to health with them. Mr. Latham 

 has discussed the meteorological observations (in- 

 cluding the temperature of the soil at the depth of 9, 

 20, 60 and 132 inches) made at the Colaba Observa- 

 tory, Bombay, and has compared them with the 

 number of deaths from plague during the recent epi- 

 demics in Bombay. He says that if the temperature 

 of the air increases beyond the temperature of the 

 ground so that its dew-point is above the temperature 

 of the ground, condensation takes place instead 

 of evaporation. To this increased high tempera- 

 ture ma) be due the sudden stoppage of plague 

 after a certain high temperature has been 

 reached; which by raising the temperature of the 

 dew-point, slops all exhalation from the ground and 

 may cause condensation to lake place instead of 

 evaporation. So also a sudden fall of temperature 

 causes plague to arise ; for a fall of temperature 

 means that the temperature of the dew-point must 

 fall and the tensional difference between a low dew- 

 point and a high ground temperature would at once 

 lead to exhalations escaping in large quantities from 

 the ground, and so lead to the liberation of the 

 plague bacillus from the ground, accompanied with 

 the exhalations necessary for its development. 



NOTICES OF SOCIETIES. 

 Ordinary meetings are marked +, excursions * ; names of 

 persons following excursions are of Conductors. \ Lantern 

 Illustrations. 

 Limerick Field Club. 



Jan. 2. — °fV Plates and Printing; Papers." 

 ,, 9. — fSeventh Annual General Meeting- of the Club. 

 23. — fi!" Irish Geological Notes." J. P. Dalton, M.A., 

 M.R.S.A.I. 

 Feb. 6. — °t3" Portraiture." 

 ,, 20. — fi" Early Christian Architecture." P. J. Lynch, 

 F.R.S.A.I. 

 March 6. — r *W Outdoor Photography." 

 ,, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27. 28. — Lectures by G. H. Carpenter. 

 B.A. 

 April 3. — t&Exhibition of Prize Lantern Slides, lent by The 

 Amateur Photographer. 



Francis Neale, Hon. Sec, Limerick. 

 South London Entomological and Natural History 



Society. 

 Jan. 11. — HPhotomicrographic Illustrations. Fred. Noad 

 Clark. 

 ,, 25. — Annual Meeting, 7 p.m. 



Stanley Edwards, Hon. Sec, 



Hibernia Chambers, S.E. 

 Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' Club. 

 Jan. 3.— tNatural History Notes in North Wales. R. H. 

 Philip. 

 ,, 17. — StSymbiosis. J. F. Robinson. 

 „ .31. — StCyclone and Cloud. C. H. Gore, M.A. 



T. Shetpard, Hon. Sec, 7S, Sherburn Street. 



Selborne Society. Field Club. 



Jan. 13. — Bird Section, Natural History Museum, Crom- 

 well Road- Bowdler Sharp. 

 Feb. . — Archaeological Meeting. 



Mch. .— Kew Gardens. Bulbous Plants and Museums. 



Professor Boulger. 

 Hampstead Astronomical and Scientific Society. 

 Jan. 12.— tNoteson SomeOddFish. E. R. Budden, F.I.C., 



F.C.S.. F.L.S., F.Z.S. 

 Feb. 2. — fThc Mechanics of the Bicycle and of Bicycle 

 Riding. C. O. Bartrum, B.Sc 

 Basil W. Martin, 7, Holly Place. Hampstead, N. II'. 

 Tunbridge Wells Natural History and Philosophical 



Society. 

 Jan. 12.— SThe Natural History of Malarial Fever. By A. 

 W. Brown. B.A., F.L.S. 

 ,, 19. — ^Haunts and Habits of British Wild Birds. By 

 R. Kearton. F.Z.S. 

 Feb. 2. — ^Microscopical Meeting. Paper on Mycetozoa. 

 By Mr. R. R. Hutchinson. 

 ,, 8. — Phenomena outside our Apprehension. By Mr. 



W. Brackett, at 94, London, Southborough. 



NOTICE. 



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The Editor will be pleased to answer questions and name 

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The Editor is not responsible for unused MSS-, neither 

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EXCHANGES. 



Notice. — Exchanges extending to thirty words (including 

 name and address) admitted free, but additional words must 

 be prepaid at the rate of threepence for every seven words 

 or less. 



Wanted, minerals, fossils, and English postage stamps 

 (not present issue under is.), for similar exchange. Also 

 want bicycle mud-guard, and nested boxes for small fossils. 

 Offered, electric bell apparatus, field glasses, telescope. — 

 Martin, 23, Campbell Road, Croydon. 



Wanted, Lang's "Butterflies of Europe," and Kane's 

 " Handbook of European Butterflies.'" What offers for 

 Newcomb's "Popular Astronomy," Webb's "Celestial 

 Objects," Ball's " Story of Heavens"? E.J.George, St. 

 John's Vicarage, Cambridge. 



Wanted, good authentic British flint implements, arrow- 

 heads, scrapers, knives, etc. A. Hartley, 19, Thorpe Garth, 

 Idle, Bradford, Yorkshire. 



Sirex gigas (females) in exchange for shells or Stamps. 

 John Roseburgh, 54, Market Street, Galashiels. 



Vertigo moulinsiana, etc., in exchange for Vertigo 

 angustior, V. minutissima, Helix revelata or H. obvoluta. 

 F. J. Partridge, 3, Carlyle Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham. 



Wanted, interesting micro-slides, particularly entomo- 

 logical. Can offer many rare and local British Coleoptera, 

 well set, neatly carded and named. List sent. Jas. Murray, 

 Close Street, Carlisle. 



Offered. Duplicate foreign postage stamps. Wanted, 

 foreign marine shells, especially Cyprea, Conus and Oliva 

 types, or stamps not in collection of 2,500, Jas. S. Wood, 

 Walker Gate, Newcastlc-on-Tyne. 



