1885.] 
Notes. 
373 
In the early morning of May 8th a temperature of 24 0 F. was 
registered at Aylesbury, and the following morning one of 28°. 
It is remarkable that these unseasonable frosts were accompanied 
by a wind hovering from S.W. to due W., but having all the 
features of the Polar current. 
Earl Onslow, in the House of Lords, recently called upon the 
Government to “ discourage ” cremation. We are sorry to find 
that this great reform receives little support from our medical 
contemporaries. 
M. A. Lavocat points out a new genus in the tetratological 
family of cyclocephalians. In individuals of this group, for 
which he proposes the name “ ophthalmocephalians,” the nose 
and the eyes are entirely wanting, the place of the orbits being 
occupied in the median plane by a cavity formed by the junction 
of the temporal fossae. The vomer, the ethmoid, and the bones 
of the nose are entirely suppressed. 
Syphilis has made its appearance amongst horses and mules 
in the neighbourhood of Burgos, and it is feared that the pest 
may extend to cows, &c. We suppose that the “ Anti ” genus 
will rejoice at the extension of the vested interest which they 
cherish. 
Prof. C. E. Bussey (“ American Naturalist”) gives some inte- 
resting fadls on the migration of weeds and grasses in Iowa and 
Nebraska. Old settlers say that notable migrations, not diredtly 
due to human interference, have been observed within the last 
twenty to thirty years. 
A correspondent of the French Academy of Sciences observes 
that phylloxerised vines near Malaga, which had been considered 
as dead, have sent out vigorous shoots since the earthquakes of 
last winter 1 
According to “ Cosmos ” hens, ducks, and geese having a dark 
plumage lay earlier and more frequently than those of a light 
colour. This difference holds good only if the birds live in the 
open air and are freely exposed to the sun. 
“Ciel et Terre” tells us that in France, since 1835, 4609 
persons have been struck dead by lightning, 1000 have received 
fatal injuries, 4000 have been seized with momentary and tem- 
porary paralysis, and 20,000 have been struck without sustaining 
any injury. 
The “ Lancet ” remarks, hand inepte, that if Mr. Mundella 
hopes to sweep back the tide of public opinion concerning the 
ruinous effects of educational over-pressure, he must find better 
brooms than Lord Aberdare and Sir Lyon Playfair. 
Dr. Lydekker (“Geological Magazine”) finds that the pha- 
langeal bones in the British Museum referred to Dromceus 
