SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



We have received an anonymously written book, 

 "Was Alfred King of England?" published by 

 Harrison & Sons, London. Being entirely a criti- 

 cism of certain historical statements, it hardly 

 comes within our province. 



Among the reprints recently received is one of a 

 Paper read before the South London Natural His- 

 tory Society by Mr. F. Noad Clark. It deals with 

 the ova of lepidoptera, and is illustrated by an 

 interesting plate. 



The Imperial Geographical Society of St. Peters- 

 burg is preparing to send an expedition to the 

 Pamir region, under the direction of Dr. Fedshenko, 

 the object being to make geological, botanical, and 

 zoological investigations. 



The death is announced of Sir Cuthbert Peek at 

 the age of forty-six. His loss will be much felt in 

 .scientific circles, not only as an active worker, but 

 also as a liberal patron of scientific work. Many 

 valuable meteorological and astronomical observa- 

 tions have been made at his observatory at Rous- 

 don, near Lyme Regis, Devon. 



The event of the month in the scientific world 

 has been the important Congress held in London 

 upon tuberculosis and other forms of " Consump- 

 tion." We must all have read the long reports 

 which have appeared in the newspapers of each 

 day's proceedings. Until he had further evidence 

 on the subject, we doubt very much the policy of 

 Dr. Koch's bringing forward his theory that tuber- 

 culous milk and meat do not infect human beings. 

 It will nevertheless have the effect of creating 

 further independent research, which cannot fail to 

 be valuable. 



The following are the subjects proposed for 

 inquiry by the Committee for Collective Investiga- 

 tion of the Conchological Society for 1901-1902. 

 Returns should reach A. E. Boycott, Secretary, 

 The Grange, Hereford, not later than Septem- 

 ber 1st, 1902: — I. Are Yallonia pulcliella and the 

 form costata found together or separately in dry or 

 moist situations 1 Do intermediate forms occur, 

 and does each form seem to affect a particular 

 kind of habitat? II. Do Tacliea nemoralis and 

 T. hortensis occur together or separately ? — in 

 the same district ; in the same locality, hedge- 

 bank, etc. 1 Is there any difference in the nature of 

 the habitat most affected by each species ? III. Do 

 Clavsilia ritgosa (var. ?) bidentata and Balea per- 

 versa occur together 1 In what habitats are they 

 found ? IV. Are there any constant differences 

 between the radulae of (1) Hyalinia cellaria and 

 H. alliaria, (2) Limnaea peregra and L. miricu- 

 laria; (3) Succinea putris and 8. elegans ; (4) Tacliea 

 nemoralis and T. hortensis 1 V. Record the circum- 

 stances attending the periodical disappearance to 

 which certain species, such as A. glutinosa, H. 

 fusca, and V. edentula, are subject. How and in 

 what manner can such disappearances be ac- 

 counted for 1 



The " Zambesi Misson Record" for July contains 

 an article of interest on the spinning spider of 

 Rhodesia. The illustrations have, unfortunately, 

 evidently been taken from dried specimens not 

 very well preserved. 



The new species of mammal recently discovered 

 in Central Africa, and whose nearest living relative 

 is the giraffe, is to be named Oliapia johnstoni. 

 This most interesting species is now set up and 

 can be seen in the North Hall of the Natural 

 History Museum, South Kensington. 



Dr. Carl Peters has returned from his archaeo- 

 logical expedition to Mashonaland, where he has 

 been exploring the district from the Zambesi to 

 the Sabi River. Among other objects of interest, 

 he has brought a small figure of the goddess Isis, 

 believed to date back quite 2,500 years before the 

 Christian era. As usual, the discoveries of Dr. 

 Peters are of the highest value. 



We regret to notice the death of Professor P. G. 

 Tait, who died on July 4th at the age of seventy 

 years. He was the well-known Professor of 

 Natural Philosophy in Edinburgh University who 

 not long ago resigned that position in consequence 

 of serious illness. He was born at Dalkeith in 

 1830, and held the professorial chair from 1860 

 until February last. Dr. Tait's publications were 

 numerous and chiefly of a physical character. 



The malarial problem will be considered from a 

 zoological point of view by Professor G. B. Grassi 

 at the International Congress of Zoology at Berlin. 

 Amongst other interesting papers will be one by 

 Professor Forel on the psychological attributes of 

 ants, and another on the fossil remains of man by 

 Professor Branco. As previously stated in these 

 pages, applications for tickets should be made to 

 the Prasiclium des V. Internationalen Zoologen- 

 Congresses, Berlin N. 4, Invalidenstrasse 43. 



Arrangements for the fifth International Con- 

 gress of Zoology, to be held in Berlin on August 

 12th to 16th, have now been completed. Rooms in 

 the German House of Parliament have been placed 

 at the disposal of the Congress, and all meetings 

 will be held there, with the exception of a few 

 lectures to be delivered in the Chemical Institute of 

 the University. The sections will be : I. General 

 Zoology ; II. Vertebrata (biology, classification, 

 distribution) ; III. Vertebrata (anatomy, histology, 

 embryology) ; IV. Evertebrata, except Arthropods ; 

 V. Arthropoda ; VI. Economic Zoology (fisheries, 

 etc.) ; VII. Nomenclature. 



We have received from the Philosophical Society 

 of Washington, U.S.A., a small pamphlet on the 

 language of Hawaii, by Mr. Erasmus Darwin 

 Preston. It contains much of great interest to 

 students of ethnology. The author shows a pa- 

 rallel between the Hawaiian expression for 

 "ghosts " and the Italian. The Hawaiians believe 

 that each man has two souls — one dying with the 

 body, the other living as a ghost. The word 

 "loko," which means "within," is applied to the 

 moral or " ghostly" state ; Polynesian ethics teach- 

 ing that the seat of the moral powers is in the 

 small intestines. This peculiar thought, says Mr. 

 Preston, " is not very far removed from that con- 

 tained in the Italian expressions, amieo sviscerato 

 — bosom friend — and un amore sviscerato — an 

 intense passionate love, literally a disembowelled 

 love." 



