308 Scientific Intelligence. 



III. Miscellaneous Scientific Intelligence. 



1. On a Period of 33 -33 years in the Earth's Climate, and its 

 connection with Sun. Spots ; by Jonas Zilius. Reprinted from 

 Das Weltall, the astronomical periodical of the Treptow Observ- 

 atory. Pp. 10, 4to. — This is one of a series of papers on the 

 subject of the periodicity of terrestrial phenomena in general and 

 their connection with sun spots. Since Fabricius discovered sun 

 spots in 1611 and the apothecary Schwab detected with his 

 " imperturbable telescope" their periodicity in 1843, and Wolf in 

 1879 fixed the length of the period at 11 years, the idea of the 

 influence of these solar disturbances on terrestrial affairs has con- 

 tinually grown until, in the investigations of Dr. Zilius, it has 

 reached formidable proportions. How many new cases of this 

 connection he has discovered and investigated does not appear 

 from this article. 



He presents tables of deficiency and excess of rainfall at Paris, 

 Prague, Madias, and Bernaul from 1815 to 1884. The wettest 

 and dryest years do not fall exactly together at these stations, 

 but they average up to show a maximum of dryness in 1833-4 

 and 1866-7. 



These agree with minima of sun spots at 1833"3 and 1866-8, 

 and these in turn coincide with the displays of the Leonids or 

 November meteors. 



One cannot but be impressed with the author's power of mar- 

 shalling statistics, but there also comes to mind the saying that 

 " figures cannot lie but they are prone to prevaricate." w. b. 



2. The Elements of Statistical Method ; by Wilford I.King, 

 M.A., University of Wisconsin. Pp. xvi, 250. New York, 1912 

 (The Macmillan Company). — The author claims, and no doubt 

 correctly, that no book published in America has attempted to 

 cover the field of statistical method in its present state of advance- 

 ment, while those published abroad are either partial or technical. 

 This volume presents the subject simply and free from all intri- 

 cate mathematical arguments. It is in form suitable for use as a 

 text-book, but at the same time it is convenient and attractive for 

 general reading. w. b. 



3. Archiv filr Zellforschnng, edited by Dr. Richard Gold- 

 schmiot, Professor in the University of Munich. — Part I of the 

 eighth volume of this well-known journal, devoted to cytological 

 investigation, is really a botanical number. In addition to four- 

 teen brief reviews of recent botanical papers, it includes the fol- 

 lowing original contributions : Kernstudien an Pflanzen, by H. 

 A. C. Midler ; Etudes sur le developpement du sac embryonnaire 

 et sur la fecondation du Gunnera macrophylla, by J. A. Samuels; 

 and Cell Structure, Growth, and Division in the Antheridia of 

 Polytrichum juniperinum, by Charles E. Allen. l. l. w. 



