197 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



WHITBY JET. 



In an interesting paper appearing in ' The Quarry,' by 

 Messrs. A. Greenwell and J. V. Elsden, we find under the heading 

 ' Jet,' that ' small and variable quantities of jet are obtained 

 from the Upper Lias formation of Yorkshire, in the neighbour- 

 hood of Whitby. It is a compact variety of lignite, occurring 

 in the shales, and is occasionally thrown up on the shore 

 during rough weather. There are no regular workings, the 

 farm labourers filling in their leisure time by burrowing for the 

 mineral at odd times. The production is rapidly declining. 

 In 1886, 4670 lb. of jet, valued at fy34, were produced, but in 

 1897 the amount had fallen to 84 lb., valued at £8. Since 1897 

 no jet appears to have been obtained. 



THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, still places 

 scientific workers in various parts of the world under a deep 

 debt of gratitude for the excellent and generous way in which 

 it puts before them the latest details of important discoveries. 

 No institution in Britain or her colonies, nor indeed anywhere, 

 private, or under Government control, accomplishes as much in 

 the furtherance of science, as does this excellent American 

 National Institution. Its publications deal with the most 

 recent researches in almost every branch of science, and these 

 are published in a way which excite the envy of British 

 Institutions, be they National or Municipal. To our disgrace 

 also be it said, the Smithsonian Institute has published the 

 work of Englishmen, which has been carried out in England, 

 and has then generously distributed the publications amongst 

 the institutions in this country which should have done the 

 work at their own cost. 



THE MAMMOTH. 



In the Annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for 

 1906,* just to hand, besides an account of the year's work of 

 the Institution, there are several important monographs by 

 various specialists. Amongst many items there is a paper on 

 ' Recent Advances in Wireless Telegraphy,' by Mr. G. Marconi. 

 Dr. C. W. Andrews, of the British Museum, writes on ' The 

 Recently Discovered Tertiary Vertebrata of Egypt,' and Mr. E. 

 Pfizenmayer has a valuable contribution on ' The Morphology 

 of the Mammoth.' In this last, the author has had the advan- 



* Washington, Government Printing Office, 546 pp. and plates. 

 1908 Juna I. 



O 



