As an observer he de-
various temporary food taboos associated a lucid, explicit, and thoroughly
of the book, this hitherto unknown there seemed to be absolutely nothing serves to rank with the best.
various temporary food taboos associated a lucid, explicit, and thoroughly
of the book, this hitherto unknown there seemed to be absolutely nothing serves to rank with the best.
Athenaeum - London - 1912a
Sir Henry Smith ; "The Great Lone Land of
tions, do them the highest credit. We feel, 1817-21, 271. ; The Meteor, or Monthly Censor,
rick, British Stage and Literary Cabinet, 5 vols. , Australia,' by F. A. W. Gisborne ; . 'A Novel
Form of Chimney Construction'; The Associa-
however, that they aro, as a rule, overloaded 2 vols. , 1813-14, 711.
tions of the Strand and Fleet Street,' by E.
with ornament, and that more attention Works illustrated by Rowlandson: Combe, Beresford Chancellor; Tay Pearls, and a Few
should be given to displaying the fine Dr. Syntax's Three Tours, 1812-21, 201. 108. ; Fishers whom I Have Known, by w. Dow
qualities of the leather surfacó itself, instead
Compendious Treatise on Modern Education, • The Diesel Engine and Vegetable Oils'
1802, 301. ; Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, Heart of Things,' by Henry Leach ; When
of covering it with gold. The specimens of 1817, 291.
Private Stubbs Smiled,' by C. Benbow; and
writing, lettering, and illumination by The total of the sale was 3,1901. 38.
• The Month : Science and Arts. '
## p. 567 (#427) ############################################
No. 4412, May 18, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
567
on
an
on
a
to
the Year-Books of the courts at West- / of the Garter and the Great Officers of
Literary Gossip minster, with which we are more familiar. the State. Among those who have con-
The pleas are given in alphabetical order tributed special articles are the Rev.
PROF. GILBERT MURRAY, who was in of the causes of action, and in this volume A. B. Beaven, Sir Henry Maxwell Lyte,
vited by Amherst College, U. S. A. , to
range
from Account to “Mesne. ” A Dr. J. H. Round, and Mr. G. W. Watson.
lecture Greek study, has drawn third volume, also undertaken by Mr. A large part of vol. iii. is already in type.
audiences at Columbia University of Bolland, will complete the work.
nearly a thousand. In the course of his
THE GERMAN-ANGLO COMMITTEE for
remarks he stated it as his opinion that,
The Society hope to publish this year the promotion of friendly relations
additional bonus volume the
if one begins by understanding classical Charters of Trading Companies, by Mr. draw attention to a literary undertaking,
between the two countries desires to
Greek, one has as it were a clue to almost C. T. Carr. The publication for last year, several volumes of which will begin to
every great movement of thought that the fifth volume of the Year-Books of appear in a week's time. The general
has taken place since.
Edward II. , edited by Mr. Turner, is still title will be
title will be “ Modern England,” and Dr.
UNDER the presidency of Prof. R. unfinished.
E. Sieper, Professor of English Philology
Menendez Pidal a summer school is to
UNDER the general editorship of Mr. at Munich, will be the editor.
be held at Madrid, beginning on June 15th, s. E. Winbolt and Mr. Kenneth Bell will
for the purpose of furthering the study of shortly appear a series of
GENERAL HOMER LEA, in his new book
English The Day of the Saxon,' deals with the
Spanish literature and Spanish history History Source Books. ” Messrs. Bell
at home and abroad. By the aid of a & Sons are the publishers. The whole affect national existence, his object being
new phases of military science as they
Government subsidy about a hundred ground of English history, from Roman to examine the security of Britain's
Spanish students are now in residence at Britain to 1887, will be covered by some present position among the nations of the
foreign universities and technical schools. eighteen volumes of about 120 pages each. world. The book will shortly be issued
The Saturday Review is starting this Issued at a shilling each, these volumes by Messrs. Harper & Brothers.
week a series of " Saturday Portraits ”
should be a valuable aid to the rational
* THE GREAT STATE,' which the same
by a well-known writer-personal studies teaching of history in secondary schools.
of people of all sorts who are prominently Among the writers will be found public firm will publish very shortly, should
before the public eye. The Attorney- school masters and workers in the British be an interesting political symposium.
General, Sir Rufus Isaacs, will be the Museum and the Record Office.
It is not a collection of disconnected
but
papers,
concerted effort
opening subject.
By arrangement with Sir A. Conan present a modern social ideal. In it
THE SELDEN SOCIETY is about to issue Doyle and Messrs. Longmans, Messrs. individualists like Sir Ray Lankester
the twenty-seventh volume of its pub- Smith & Elder are including in their 38. 6d. (who writes on Science
in the Great
lications, being the work for the current edition of Sir Arthur’s works his four books State'), Mr. Roger Fry (who deals with
year. This is one of the “ Year-Books Micah Clarke, '. The Refugees,'The art), and Mr. E. S. P. Haynes (who fore-
Series," and makes the second volume Stark Munro Letters,' and 'The Captain shadows the legal methods of the Great
of the Year-Books of the Eyre of Kent of the Polestar. . Messrs. Longmans will State) combine with declared Socialists
held in the sixth and seventh years of continue to publish the volumes in other like Lady Warwick, Mr. Chiozza Money,
the reign of Edward II. (A. D. 1313-14). editions as hitherto.
Mr. G. R. S. Taylor, and the Rev. Conrad
Like the first, it is edited by Mr. William MESSRS. MACMILLAN & Co. have nearly Noel, under the general editorship of
Craddock Bolland, who has used for a ready for publication a study of the poetry Mr. H. G. Wells, to present a picture of
portion of his text materials collected by and art of the Catholic Church by Dr. the civilization of the future. Not
Maitland and the late William Leveson Yrjö Hirn, author of 'The Origins of Art,' the least interesting of its contents
Vernon Harcourt. But a considerable and Professor of Æsthetic and Modern should be the chapter on Women, by
part of it is new, and Mr. Bolland has Literature at the University of Helsingfors. Miss Cicely Hamilton, and another on
undertaken the revision of the whole, as Its title is 'The Sacred Shrine, and the Youth, by Mr. Herbert Trench. Mr. Bond,
well as the translation, notes, indexes, work was originally undertaken as an the well-known surgeon, will write on
and Introduction.
æsthetic and literary inquiry. As it Health, and Mr. Cecil Chesterton on
There are two interesting features proceeded, however, the author found Democracy.
noticed in his Introduction. One is the it necessary to widen considerably its
MRS. R. S. GARNETT, the author of
discovery and discussion of a method of scope by the inclusion of a study of
The Infamous John Friend,' will publish
informal procedure on Eyre initiated by the ideas to which religious sculptures shortly through Messrs. Duckworth & Co.
Bill, and specially adapted for the speedy and pictures give expression. Prof. Hirn's her second novel, • Amor Vincit. ' The
disposal of the suits of poor persons, volume, therefore, presents a homogeneous story, which portrays country life fifty
without any of the technicalities of the narrative which should interest
ordinary common law actions : a pro- whom the purely artistic aspect of the moorlands is concerned with a feud be-
years ago in the North Staffordshire
cedure not hitherto observed or treated subject would not strongly appeal.
of by any legal historians or writers. The R. L. STEVENSON'S Memoir' of his is famous in the country round for strength
tween a yeoman hero and his rival, who
other is the reproduction, with a transla- friend Fleeming Jenkin was originally and daring.
tion, of a short fourteenth-century MS. published in January, 1888, as the first
treatise on Mediæval Anglo-French ortho- | portion of 'Papers, Literary, Scientific,
MR. ARTHUR DILLON'S book-which
graphy, recently found in Lincoln's Inn &c. , by the late Fleeming Jenkin," edited Mr. Elkin Mathews has already in prepara-
Library, and printed with the permission by Sir Sidney Colvin and Mr. J. A. tion --- will consist of a trilogy, or three
of the Benchers. This the editor considers Ewing. Since then it has been repub- tragedies in a sequence.
to be the original MS. , of which later lished in the three editions of Steven- COL. ARCHIBALD GRACIE, U. S. A. , a
variants are known.
son's collected works, viz. , the Edin- survivor from the wreck of the Titanic,
In another section Mr. Bolland supplies burgh, the Pentland, and the Swanston, had just completed in England & diplo-
a searching criticism of Mr. Pike's theory but is now for the first time to be matic history of the events of the War of
of the origin of the Year-Books, as set reissued by Messrs. Longmans in separate 1812; but he lost the MS. in the wreck,
forth in his latest volume, and supports form in this country.
and has no duplicate.
Maitland's rival views adding some in- THE ST. CATHERINE PRESS announces THE death in his sixty-second year is
genious suggestions of his own.
that the second volume of The Complete announced from Leipsic of the author
The first volume was confined to the Peerage,' edited by the Hon. Vicary Edwin Bornemann, the chief supporter
general opening of the Eyre and pleas of Gibbs, will be published on the 30th inst. in Germany of the Bacon-Shakespeare
the Crown and criminal procedure. The The volume contains the articles Bass to theory. He enjoyed a considerable repu-
second is concerned with the civil pleas, Canning and eight Appendixes, the most tation as a writer of poems in the dialect
and thus more nearly corresponds to l important of which are those on the Order of Saxony.
many to
## p. 568 (#428) ############################################
568
THE ATHENÆUM
No. 4412, May 18, 1912
SO
a
peoples, such as the Andamanese, the from Dr. Haddon's Evolution of Art,'
Semang of the Malay Peninsula, and the that the absence of totemism will largely
Aetas of the Philippines. Anthropologists account for this absence of an imitative
SCIENCE
have hitherto been divided over the ques- stimulus directed towards the realistic
tion whether these dwarf peoples repre- or conventional representation of living
sent a distinct branch of the negroids, or forms,
merely stand for so many sporadic failures
on the part of the negro stock to display
Lack of space forbids more than a
The Mafulu Mountain People of British its full power of physical development. passing glance at another special feature
New Guinea. By R. W. Williamson. Our author plausibly argues that, if that might serve to fill in this tentative
(Macmillan & Co. )
further observations bear out his conten conception of a Pygmy culture. The
tion that amongst Pygmies generally a
burial practices differ in the cases of
Those who preside over the destinies of dwarf stature goes together with brown ordinary people and chiefs. The former
Anthropology in academic centres have hair, we must concede to them the status
are interred in shallow graves; the latter
doubtless much to answer for ; yet we of a separate type on the strength of this are buried above ground, either in trees
must trust and believe that, on the whole, double variation.
or on a platform constructed of poles.
Wisdom is justified of her children. It is
Mr. Williamson is able to supply important
legitimate by means of precept and The Pygmy type once established, we parallels from the Semang and the Anda-
example to encourage bold spirits to become profoundly interested in the manese, both of whom expose the dead
trees
explore cannibal countries, so long as a accompanying culture. Of late anthro-on or platforms as a special
certain proportion of them return home pology has tended to put its chief trust honour paid to important persons.
with the needed information about the in an ethnological, or, as it might almost
It is perhaps worth noticing, regarding
peculiar habits of the natives. Prof. be termed, stratigraphical method, which
Haddon confesses in his Introduction that seeks to correlate different types of
customs relating to the dead, that a
woman who has lost a child—and possibly
he supplied inflammatory literature in institutions with different elements com- the rule holds in the case of other relatives
the shape of MS. notes and books on posing the population of a given area.
Melanesia to Dr. Williamson, in whose Thus in the adjoining Melanesian region and not once only, but, if several such
as well—will amputate a finger joint,
bosom the orderly career of a solicitor
some authorities are inclined to postulate losses occur, repeatedly; that
had failed to stifie "a great longing to an ethnic stratum to which the surviving
woman has been seen with three fingers
see something of savage life. ” So forth traces of totemism may be referred, and mutilated in this way.
went the latter into the
wilds, to be to suppose it to have been subsequently of the hand-prints displaying similar
We are reminded
baffled in his original plan, which was to overlain, as it were, by the cultures of mutilations in the Aurignacian cave of
attack Melanesia by way of Fiji, yet
not successive immigrants. In these Pygmies Gargas in the French Pyrenees, and, in
to give in; but, on the contrary, to pene-
of New Guinea, however, we possibly view of the alleged Pygmy affinities of
trate right'into the mountainous hinterland strike a still earlier deposit of humanity, these prehistoric Europeans, it is at least
of the Mekeo district of New Guinea-enabling us to exhibit a pre-totemic
a most plucky feat, especially when it is layer in our imaginary section. Certain possible that we have here something
more than a pure coincidence.
considered that, “ owing to climatic and it is, at least, that Mr. Williamson was
other conditions, he was unwell during the unable to discover amongst the Mafulu
For the rest, if Mr. Williamson cannot
whole of his time in New Guinea, and had the faintest trace of any idea which be said to mitigate the severity of his
an injured foot and leg that hurt him might be regarded as being totemistic, statement of facts for the benefit of the
every step he took. "
or having a totemistic origin. There were casual reader, at least he deserves praise
To proceed at once to the main interest with special conditions and events ; but careful writer.
As an observer he de-
various temporary food taboos associated a lucid, explicit, and thoroughly
of the book, this hitherto unknown there seemed to be absolutely nothing serves to rank with the best. Perhaps
people turn out to be Pygmies, or at any referable to any system of restrictions he learnt in the days of his solicitorship
rate to approximate closely to such a prohibiting the Killing and eating of some to look closely and shrewdly into details
pedition organized by the British Orni animal or plant for a social group as and to weigh evidence. We conclude
such.
thologists' Union reported Pygmies from
with a quotation that somewhat amusingly
a mountain range standing some two Clans there are indeed, the members of reveals how the lawyer in him was never
hundred miles back from the coast of which are so closely bound together that wholly suppressed, but was able to supply
Dutch New Guinea, and a book on the they take full corporate action to revenge too, with food for reflection :-
the anthropologist, and the ordinary man
subject is announced by us this week. a wrong done to the individual, such as
We may add that Dr. Rudolph Pöch had murder or wife-stealing. The clanship, “As regards both movable effects and
already found dwarf peoples in the Ger- however, seems to follow directly upon gardens and bush land there must be endless
man division of the island.
the fact of social intercourse, since, if occasions for dispute. How are the movable
The average height of the adult Mafulu
a man leaves his village to reside per- things to be divided among the inheritors,
male works out, according to Mr. William- manently in another, he forthwith becomes and, in particular, who is to take perhaps
one valuable article, which may be worth
son's measurements of twenty of them, clan-brother (imbele) with his new asso-
at 61. 1 in. , with 57. 9 and 64. 2 as the lower ciates, though without forfeiting the right of doubtful claims to heirship to bush and
all the rest put together? How are questions
and upper limits of variation. The aver- to claim a similar connexion with his garden land to be determined? How is the
age cephalic index is about 80, a figure former mates.
joint ownership of the gardens to be dealt
which exactly coincides with the dividing
with, and how is the work thero to be appor-
line established by convention between It may be added that the Mafulu show, tioned, and the products of the gardens
medium-heads and round-heads, and like in the designs scratched upon their belts, divided ? How are the mutual rights of the
bush land to be regulated, and especially
wise marks the mean displayed by Pygmies aprons, gourds, pipes, and so forth, an
in general. The excellent photographs artistic capacity of the most limited joint owners desires to clear and allocate to
what is to happen if each of two or more
with which the book abounds show kind ; since it confines itself to simple himself as a garden a specially eligible piece
a slightly built, but lithe - looking geometric patterns of straight lines and of bush? Such situations in England
Their frizzly hair is not black, as spots, as may be seen in the many valuable would bristle with lawsuits, and I tried to
is that of their neighbours of the coast, illustrations of perineal bands and dancing find out how these questions were actually
the Papuan and Melanesian negroes, but finery. Their Papuo-Melanesian neigh- dealt with by the Mafulu; but there is no
is predominantly brown. On this bours present a marked contrast, with judicial system there, and the only answer
feature Mr. Williamson lays a good their gift for representing a curving line. the case of inter-community bush boundaries
I could get was that in these matters, as in
deal of stress, because he finds the same It may well be, then, as Mr. Williamson and personal bush boundaries, disputes were
tinge to be characteristic of other Pygmy suggests, proceeding on a hint derived practically unknown. "
as
us
race.
## p. 569 (#429) ############################################
No. 4412, May 18, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
569
EA
OF
SHIRE.
especially for the layer just below the
METEOROLOGY.
stratosphere, which, it is thought, must NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.
DURING recent years meteorologists have be regarded as controlling the conditions
[Notice in these columns doos not proclade longer
devoted much attention to the study of throughout the atmosphere beneath. The roviow. )
the upper atmosphere by means of kites book is, well illustrated by forty-seven
Davenport (C. B. ), HEREDITY IN RELATION
and balloons, either carrying small self- figures in the text, and a series of dia-
To EUGENICS. Williams & Norgate
recording instruments, or simply used for grams, placed at the end, giving the
results of a selection of the balloon ascents,
A book founded on data collected in
the purpose of observing the direction
America. It goes further, we think, than the
and velocity of air-currents at different confronted with the pressure distribution
present knowledge of the science warrants.
heights above the surface of the earth. and the wind at the surface at about the
The recent rise of aviation has given an
time of each ascent.
Gladstone (Hugh S. ), A CATALOGUE OF THE
VERTEBRATE FAUNA DUMFRIES-
additional impetus. to such studies, and
Prof. Milham's is a closely printed
Dumfries, Maxwell
makes it more than ever necessary that
As lucid and careful a catalogue as it has
our knowledge in this direction should be and profusely illustrated volume, which
been our pleasure to meet with for some time.
placed on a firmer basis. The discovery of deals, in some cases in great detail, with
Mr. Gladstone contributes a charming and
the isothermal layer or stratosphere, as under the term Meteorology. The work natural features, climate, and congenial
of now
informative Introduction, summarizing the
it is now called, lends a further interest to
such researches. It is situated (in middle reader will notice, here and there, indica- incidentally protesting against the ruthless
,
habitat of the fauna of Dumfriesshire, and
latitudes) at a height of 9 or 10 kilometres, tions of the professorial manner that tends slaughter of such valuable and beautiful
up to which the temperature falls more
or less regularly, but after this height is to supply the answers to examination rarities as buzzards, kestrels, and the like.
Extinct animals are printed in Old English
reached remains nearly constant as far questions rather than to draw the student's
attention to general principles. But, in and comprehensive description. There is a
type. To each species is appended a succinct
upwards as exploration has extended.
At the suggestion of Dr. W. n. spite of this, a great amount of indispen- detailed map at the end of the book.
Shaw, the Director of the Meteorological logist, and especially for the young Guppy (H. B. ), STUDIES IN SEEDS AND
:
investigations on air-currents, the results American meteorologist, will be found
Such
BALANCE, 15/ net.
of which he has now published in an presented in a judicious manner.
Williams & Norgate
attractive volume.
careless statements as that the amount
The observations here
of land “at the North Pole is much there is ample room for new work. The
An important work on a subject in which
recorded and discussed were mostly made
at Ditcham in Hampshire, and consist in greater than that “at” the South author has drawn largely on his investigations
the determination by theodolite of the omission, however, occurs in the descrip- shrinking and swelling processes of seeds;
Pole are fortunately few. A serious of West Indian plants. Ho discusses the
positions of free balloons at definite
intervals from the time of their release tion of meteorological instruments, no
until they become lost to view. The reference being made to the method of their hygroscopicity, the dehiscence of fruits,
balloons were set free generally a little photographic registration of barometer and various questions of weight and pro-
and thermometer readings. Photography | elaborate index.
portion. There are several tables and an
before sunset, and in clear weather,
these conditions being favourable for has proved an efficient handmaid to many
prolonged observation of their move-
Hübner (Julius), BLEACHING AND DYEING
branches of applied science, but in no
case has it been more useful than in
ments. The reduction of the observations
VEGETABLE FIBROUS MATERIALS,
with Introduction by Raphael
a laborious work entailing much tedious providing an easy and certain method for
Constable
Meldola, 14/ net.
calculation
the continuous record of the readings of
- gives the horizontal tra-
A careful and thorough study of the
jectory of the balloon, from which the the chief meteorological instruments.
direction and velocity of the wind at turn to the chapter on Weather Predic- and judgment to combine in his book the
But the general roader will probably complex and shifting subject of tinctorial
different heights are obtained. The com-
plete determination of consecutive posi- esting in the book. The dweller on this publications outlining new discoveries. com
tions' as being, to him, the most inter- essence of the standard works and technical
tions of a balloon entails the use of two side of the Atlantic will
, perhaps, be a sequently, it should be of general utility to
theodolites, placed at opposite ends of an little disappointed to find that, in a large bleachers and dyers Accessories, such as
to consider that observations made with measure, the subject is dealt with as sub- diagrams, index, and the like, are satis-
A drawback is the
one theodolite give nearly, if not quite, Weather Bureau. The author emphasizes
ordinate to the operations of the U. S. factorily, complete.
weight of the publication.
as accurate results as can be obtained by the fact that there is no royal road to Hutchinson’s Popular Botany, Part III. ,
the more laborious method. This is con-
7d, net.
trary to the general opinion of meteoro becoming a skilful forecaster practice is
the essential thing. Further, as the
logists, and it is to be regretted that Mr. local conditions in the United States and readable, and abounds in attractive illus-
Like the previous parts, this one is very
Cave has made extensive use of the less
trations.
complete method of observation. The Great Britain are so different, the details
heights reached by the balloons varied in one case are inapplicable in the other. Kerr (J. Graham), ZOOLOGY, 1/ net.
considerably. In one case 18 kilometres The statement is usually made (the author
A detailed account of the amoeba, hydra,
was recorded, but in many cases 5 kilo- says that the accuracy attained by the and earthworm precedes and explains the
official forecasters of the U. S. Weather system of grouping of animals.
The author
metres was the highest point reached.
Altogether, 200 ascents of free
Bureau is between 80 and 85 per cent, has given a concise but lucid statement of
balloons are discussed in this volume, and and it would be interesting to know if the principle of evolution. The diagrams
U. S. forecasts leave as much scope for
are clear and true to nature. One of Dent's
the author has been able to differentiate
Scientific Primers,
types of structure in the air-currents
variation as many of our own do. Prof.
revealed by the observations that are of Milham is unsparing in his denunciation Stewart (A. M. ), BRITISH BUTTERFLIES, 1/6
of what he calls “ long-range " weather
A. & C. Black
considerable interest and importance,
predictions, and pertinently remarks :- As an aid to the young entomologist this
The Structure of the Atmosphere in Clear
textbook will prove extremely useful. The
They are no better than mere guesses, author advises the Paisley method of
Weather : a Study of Soundings with and it should be remembered that å mere setting as being quicker and more certain
Pilot Balloons. By C. J. P. Cave. (Cam- guess should be correct half the time, so
bridge University Press. )
than the normal process, and his instructions
that there should be no surprise at some are clear, and, with the help of the illustra-
Meteorology: a Textbook on the Weather, chance verifications. "
tions, will be easily followed by the careful
the Causes of its Changes, and Weather
student. It is not a book to inspire enthu-
Forecasting for the Student and General But the imperfectly trained mind, we siasm, but to train it; and the coloured
Reader. By Willis Isbister Milham. (New fear, hankers after such predictions, and plates and the photographs are excellent and
York, the Macmillan Company. )
the supply follows the demand.
helpful.
OF
an
net.
66
## p. 570 (#430) ############################################
570
No. 4412, May 18, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
nean
existed between the amplitude of the daily on record Lord Headley's statement that it was
SOCIETIES.
range of the magnetic elements and the sunspot quite common on the island, no fewer than
Royal. —Hay 2. —Sir Archibald Geikie, Presi- / viously. The object of the present research was
area, not on the same day, but several days pre- eleven having been trapped, while others had
been seen ; and that it did not occur, so far as
dent, in the chair.
to inquire into the reality of this connexion. A was known, on the mainland. Typically coloured
Dr. Marie C. Stopes read a paper on ‘Petri; selection was made of the 5 days of each month brown rats lived on the island as well.
factions of the Earliest European Angiosperms.
of the 11 years 1890 to 1900 which had the largest Mr. D. Seth-Smith exhibited two horn-like
The paper gave an account of the anatomy and sunspot areas as given by the Greenwich annual sheaths which had been shed from the orange-
the geological bearing of three new petrified | lists. Mean values of the sunspot areas were coloured patch at the base of the lower mandible
angiospermic stems. These three fossils are all
derived for the 650 days thus selected (two of the king penguin (Aplenodytes pennanti) living in
in the British Museum collections. Their age
months were omitted as having less than 5 days the Society's Gardens. Mr. W. E. de Winton had
appears undoubtedly to be Lower Greensand showing any sunspots) and for 30 other groups of observed the shedding of this epidermal sheath
(Aptian), and they are consequently the earliest days of the same number, corresponding to the in a bird living in the Gardens in 1898 (P. Z. s. ,
angiosperms of which the internal anatomy is
15 days immediately preceding and the 15 days 1898, p. 900); but although the present specimen
known. They are also of interest as coming immediately succeeding each of the 650 selected had been carefully watched during two successive
from Northern Europe at a time when angiosperms days. In this way one
got 31 representative moults in March and October, 1911 (P. Z. S. ,
1912,
have hitherto been supposed not to have pene successive days, of which the central day had P. 60), no sign of this process was observed. The
trated to that region. The three specimens about twice as large a sunspot area as the average. bird, "however, went through another complete
differ so considerably in their structure that it The sunspot area rapidly and regularly declined on moult in March to April of the present year,
seems justifiable to place them in three distinct either side of the central day to an almost dead and shortly after this was completed the epidermal
new genera.
level, thus giving a very prominent “pulse” of covering of these orange-coloured patches became
Dr. F. Keeble and Dr. E. F. Armstrong read
sunspot area. The Kew daily horizontal force loose and finally, fell off ; the pieces somewhat
a paper on The Distribution of Oxydases in the
ranges were got out for the 650 representative resembled the wing-cases of a large boetle, being
Plant and their Role in the Formation of Pig; days of large sunspot area, and the allied 19,500 semi-transparent and of a clear orango colour.
ment. ' The methods of investigation in general days, and mean values obtained again for the Dr. Francis Ward showed a number of photo-
use do not admit of the determination in detail
31 representative days. These
values graphs and diagrams illustrating a method of
of the distribution of oxydases in the tissues of
gave a marked pulse, corresponding to the sun- observation of fishes, birds, and mammals under
plants and animals. Hence the hypothesis that spot area pulse, but with its crest about 4 days the water, the principle being that the subjects
pigments are produced
by the action of oxydases later. They
gave also a minor or secondary under consideration were illuminated by natural
in colourless chromogens, though rendered pro- pulse about 15 days prior to the principal pulse. light, and the observer, being in a dark chamber
bable by recent researches, cannot be regarded as
Several attempts were made to arrive at the in the water, was not seen. The appearance of
established. Methods are here described which
cause of the secondary pulse. It was found to be black-feathered birds was shown; these by
allow of the macroscopic and microscopic recog. largely a disturbance effect.
carrying down air-bubbles among the feathers
nition of plant oxydases, and these methods
Sir Walter Noel Hartley and Mr. Henry Webster were converted into reflectors; and a water-hen
appear to be capable of wide application in the
Moss read a paper · On the Ultimate Lines, and was shown bright red, and then green, as it re-
study of the distribution of oxydases.
the Quantities of the Elements producing those flected the different surroundings in which it bad
Dr. B. R. G. Russell read a paper on · The Lines, in Spectra of the Oxyhydrogen Flame and been
placed. Otters and seals were also shown
Manifestation of Active Resistance to the Growth
Spark,'— Messrs. E. Marsden and 0. G. Darwin as seen under the water. The demonstration was
of Implanted Cancer. (1) The reaction which is
read a paper on
The Transformations of the illustrated by numerous slides and by the cine-
evoked by the implantation of transplantable Active Deposit of Thorium, —and Mr. W. Wilson matograph.
tumours of the rodent varies widely with different
read a paper 'On the B-Particles reflected by Mr. G. A. Boulenger presented a paper on a
tumour-strains. The reaction has been deter-
Sheets of Matter of Different Thicknesses. '
collection of fishes made by Mr. A. Blayney
mined by exercising all the growths in a series of
Percival in British East Africa to the east of
animals on a given day, and then testing the
Lake Baringo. This collection was of special
suitability of the animals for the growth of a
importance as coming from a district the fishes
tumour-strain growing in 90 to 100 per cent of SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. —May 9.
tions, do them the highest credit. We feel, 1817-21, 271. ; The Meteor, or Monthly Censor,
rick, British Stage and Literary Cabinet, 5 vols. , Australia,' by F. A. W. Gisborne ; . 'A Novel
Form of Chimney Construction'; The Associa-
however, that they aro, as a rule, overloaded 2 vols. , 1813-14, 711.
tions of the Strand and Fleet Street,' by E.
with ornament, and that more attention Works illustrated by Rowlandson: Combe, Beresford Chancellor; Tay Pearls, and a Few
should be given to displaying the fine Dr. Syntax's Three Tours, 1812-21, 201. 108. ; Fishers whom I Have Known, by w. Dow
qualities of the leather surfacó itself, instead
Compendious Treatise on Modern Education, • The Diesel Engine and Vegetable Oils'
1802, 301. ; Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, Heart of Things,' by Henry Leach ; When
of covering it with gold. The specimens of 1817, 291.
Private Stubbs Smiled,' by C. Benbow; and
writing, lettering, and illumination by The total of the sale was 3,1901. 38.
• The Month : Science and Arts. '
## p. 567 (#427) ############################################
No. 4412, May 18, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
567
on
an
on
a
to
the Year-Books of the courts at West- / of the Garter and the Great Officers of
Literary Gossip minster, with which we are more familiar. the State. Among those who have con-
The pleas are given in alphabetical order tributed special articles are the Rev.
PROF. GILBERT MURRAY, who was in of the causes of action, and in this volume A. B. Beaven, Sir Henry Maxwell Lyte,
vited by Amherst College, U. S. A. , to
range
from Account to “Mesne. ” A Dr. J. H. Round, and Mr. G. W. Watson.
lecture Greek study, has drawn third volume, also undertaken by Mr. A large part of vol. iii. is already in type.
audiences at Columbia University of Bolland, will complete the work.
nearly a thousand. In the course of his
THE GERMAN-ANGLO COMMITTEE for
remarks he stated it as his opinion that,
The Society hope to publish this year the promotion of friendly relations
additional bonus volume the
if one begins by understanding classical Charters of Trading Companies, by Mr. draw attention to a literary undertaking,
between the two countries desires to
Greek, one has as it were a clue to almost C. T. Carr. The publication for last year, several volumes of which will begin to
every great movement of thought that the fifth volume of the Year-Books of appear in a week's time. The general
has taken place since.
Edward II. , edited by Mr. Turner, is still title will be
title will be “ Modern England,” and Dr.
UNDER the presidency of Prof. R. unfinished.
E. Sieper, Professor of English Philology
Menendez Pidal a summer school is to
UNDER the general editorship of Mr. at Munich, will be the editor.
be held at Madrid, beginning on June 15th, s. E. Winbolt and Mr. Kenneth Bell will
for the purpose of furthering the study of shortly appear a series of
GENERAL HOMER LEA, in his new book
English The Day of the Saxon,' deals with the
Spanish literature and Spanish history History Source Books. ” Messrs. Bell
at home and abroad. By the aid of a & Sons are the publishers. The whole affect national existence, his object being
new phases of military science as they
Government subsidy about a hundred ground of English history, from Roman to examine the security of Britain's
Spanish students are now in residence at Britain to 1887, will be covered by some present position among the nations of the
foreign universities and technical schools. eighteen volumes of about 120 pages each. world. The book will shortly be issued
The Saturday Review is starting this Issued at a shilling each, these volumes by Messrs. Harper & Brothers.
week a series of " Saturday Portraits ”
should be a valuable aid to the rational
* THE GREAT STATE,' which the same
by a well-known writer-personal studies teaching of history in secondary schools.
of people of all sorts who are prominently Among the writers will be found public firm will publish very shortly, should
before the public eye. The Attorney- school masters and workers in the British be an interesting political symposium.
General, Sir Rufus Isaacs, will be the Museum and the Record Office.
It is not a collection of disconnected
but
papers,
concerted effort
opening subject.
By arrangement with Sir A. Conan present a modern social ideal. In it
THE SELDEN SOCIETY is about to issue Doyle and Messrs. Longmans, Messrs. individualists like Sir Ray Lankester
the twenty-seventh volume of its pub- Smith & Elder are including in their 38. 6d. (who writes on Science
in the Great
lications, being the work for the current edition of Sir Arthur’s works his four books State'), Mr. Roger Fry (who deals with
year. This is one of the “ Year-Books Micah Clarke, '. The Refugees,'The art), and Mr. E. S. P. Haynes (who fore-
Series," and makes the second volume Stark Munro Letters,' and 'The Captain shadows the legal methods of the Great
of the Year-Books of the Eyre of Kent of the Polestar. . Messrs. Longmans will State) combine with declared Socialists
held in the sixth and seventh years of continue to publish the volumes in other like Lady Warwick, Mr. Chiozza Money,
the reign of Edward II. (A. D. 1313-14). editions as hitherto.
Mr. G. R. S. Taylor, and the Rev. Conrad
Like the first, it is edited by Mr. William MESSRS. MACMILLAN & Co. have nearly Noel, under the general editorship of
Craddock Bolland, who has used for a ready for publication a study of the poetry Mr. H. G. Wells, to present a picture of
portion of his text materials collected by and art of the Catholic Church by Dr. the civilization of the future. Not
Maitland and the late William Leveson Yrjö Hirn, author of 'The Origins of Art,' the least interesting of its contents
Vernon Harcourt. But a considerable and Professor of Æsthetic and Modern should be the chapter on Women, by
part of it is new, and Mr. Bolland has Literature at the University of Helsingfors. Miss Cicely Hamilton, and another on
undertaken the revision of the whole, as Its title is 'The Sacred Shrine, and the Youth, by Mr. Herbert Trench. Mr. Bond,
well as the translation, notes, indexes, work was originally undertaken as an the well-known surgeon, will write on
and Introduction.
æsthetic and literary inquiry. As it Health, and Mr. Cecil Chesterton on
There are two interesting features proceeded, however, the author found Democracy.
noticed in his Introduction. One is the it necessary to widen considerably its
MRS. R. S. GARNETT, the author of
discovery and discussion of a method of scope by the inclusion of a study of
The Infamous John Friend,' will publish
informal procedure on Eyre initiated by the ideas to which religious sculptures shortly through Messrs. Duckworth & Co.
Bill, and specially adapted for the speedy and pictures give expression. Prof. Hirn's her second novel, • Amor Vincit. ' The
disposal of the suits of poor persons, volume, therefore, presents a homogeneous story, which portrays country life fifty
without any of the technicalities of the narrative which should interest
ordinary common law actions : a pro- whom the purely artistic aspect of the moorlands is concerned with a feud be-
years ago in the North Staffordshire
cedure not hitherto observed or treated subject would not strongly appeal.
of by any legal historians or writers. The R. L. STEVENSON'S Memoir' of his is famous in the country round for strength
tween a yeoman hero and his rival, who
other is the reproduction, with a transla- friend Fleeming Jenkin was originally and daring.
tion, of a short fourteenth-century MS. published in January, 1888, as the first
treatise on Mediæval Anglo-French ortho- | portion of 'Papers, Literary, Scientific,
MR. ARTHUR DILLON'S book-which
graphy, recently found in Lincoln's Inn &c. , by the late Fleeming Jenkin," edited Mr. Elkin Mathews has already in prepara-
Library, and printed with the permission by Sir Sidney Colvin and Mr. J. A. tion --- will consist of a trilogy, or three
of the Benchers. This the editor considers Ewing. Since then it has been repub- tragedies in a sequence.
to be the original MS. , of which later lished in the three editions of Steven- COL. ARCHIBALD GRACIE, U. S. A. , a
variants are known.
son's collected works, viz. , the Edin- survivor from the wreck of the Titanic,
In another section Mr. Bolland supplies burgh, the Pentland, and the Swanston, had just completed in England & diplo-
a searching criticism of Mr. Pike's theory but is now for the first time to be matic history of the events of the War of
of the origin of the Year-Books, as set reissued by Messrs. Longmans in separate 1812; but he lost the MS. in the wreck,
forth in his latest volume, and supports form in this country.
and has no duplicate.
Maitland's rival views adding some in- THE ST. CATHERINE PRESS announces THE death in his sixty-second year is
genious suggestions of his own.
that the second volume of The Complete announced from Leipsic of the author
The first volume was confined to the Peerage,' edited by the Hon. Vicary Edwin Bornemann, the chief supporter
general opening of the Eyre and pleas of Gibbs, will be published on the 30th inst. in Germany of the Bacon-Shakespeare
the Crown and criminal procedure. The The volume contains the articles Bass to theory. He enjoyed a considerable repu-
second is concerned with the civil pleas, Canning and eight Appendixes, the most tation as a writer of poems in the dialect
and thus more nearly corresponds to l important of which are those on the Order of Saxony.
many to
## p. 568 (#428) ############################################
568
THE ATHENÆUM
No. 4412, May 18, 1912
SO
a
peoples, such as the Andamanese, the from Dr. Haddon's Evolution of Art,'
Semang of the Malay Peninsula, and the that the absence of totemism will largely
Aetas of the Philippines. Anthropologists account for this absence of an imitative
SCIENCE
have hitherto been divided over the ques- stimulus directed towards the realistic
tion whether these dwarf peoples repre- or conventional representation of living
sent a distinct branch of the negroids, or forms,
merely stand for so many sporadic failures
on the part of the negro stock to display
Lack of space forbids more than a
The Mafulu Mountain People of British its full power of physical development. passing glance at another special feature
New Guinea. By R. W. Williamson. Our author plausibly argues that, if that might serve to fill in this tentative
(Macmillan & Co. )
further observations bear out his conten conception of a Pygmy culture. The
tion that amongst Pygmies generally a
burial practices differ in the cases of
Those who preside over the destinies of dwarf stature goes together with brown ordinary people and chiefs. The former
Anthropology in academic centres have hair, we must concede to them the status
are interred in shallow graves; the latter
doubtless much to answer for ; yet we of a separate type on the strength of this are buried above ground, either in trees
must trust and believe that, on the whole, double variation.
or on a platform constructed of poles.
Wisdom is justified of her children. It is
Mr. Williamson is able to supply important
legitimate by means of precept and The Pygmy type once established, we parallels from the Semang and the Anda-
example to encourage bold spirits to become profoundly interested in the manese, both of whom expose the dead
trees
explore cannibal countries, so long as a accompanying culture. Of late anthro-on or platforms as a special
certain proportion of them return home pology has tended to put its chief trust honour paid to important persons.
with the needed information about the in an ethnological, or, as it might almost
It is perhaps worth noticing, regarding
peculiar habits of the natives. Prof. be termed, stratigraphical method, which
Haddon confesses in his Introduction that seeks to correlate different types of
customs relating to the dead, that a
woman who has lost a child—and possibly
he supplied inflammatory literature in institutions with different elements com- the rule holds in the case of other relatives
the shape of MS. notes and books on posing the population of a given area.
Melanesia to Dr. Williamson, in whose Thus in the adjoining Melanesian region and not once only, but, if several such
as well—will amputate a finger joint,
bosom the orderly career of a solicitor
some authorities are inclined to postulate losses occur, repeatedly; that
had failed to stifie "a great longing to an ethnic stratum to which the surviving
woman has been seen with three fingers
see something of savage life. ” So forth traces of totemism may be referred, and mutilated in this way.
went the latter into the
wilds, to be to suppose it to have been subsequently of the hand-prints displaying similar
We are reminded
baffled in his original plan, which was to overlain, as it were, by the cultures of mutilations in the Aurignacian cave of
attack Melanesia by way of Fiji, yet
not successive immigrants. In these Pygmies Gargas in the French Pyrenees, and, in
to give in; but, on the contrary, to pene-
of New Guinea, however, we possibly view of the alleged Pygmy affinities of
trate right'into the mountainous hinterland strike a still earlier deposit of humanity, these prehistoric Europeans, it is at least
of the Mekeo district of New Guinea-enabling us to exhibit a pre-totemic
a most plucky feat, especially when it is layer in our imaginary section. Certain possible that we have here something
more than a pure coincidence.
considered that, “ owing to climatic and it is, at least, that Mr. Williamson was
other conditions, he was unwell during the unable to discover amongst the Mafulu
For the rest, if Mr. Williamson cannot
whole of his time in New Guinea, and had the faintest trace of any idea which be said to mitigate the severity of his
an injured foot and leg that hurt him might be regarded as being totemistic, statement of facts for the benefit of the
every step he took. "
or having a totemistic origin. There were casual reader, at least he deserves praise
To proceed at once to the main interest with special conditions and events ; but careful writer.
As an observer he de-
various temporary food taboos associated a lucid, explicit, and thoroughly
of the book, this hitherto unknown there seemed to be absolutely nothing serves to rank with the best. Perhaps
people turn out to be Pygmies, or at any referable to any system of restrictions he learnt in the days of his solicitorship
rate to approximate closely to such a prohibiting the Killing and eating of some to look closely and shrewdly into details
pedition organized by the British Orni animal or plant for a social group as and to weigh evidence. We conclude
such.
thologists' Union reported Pygmies from
with a quotation that somewhat amusingly
a mountain range standing some two Clans there are indeed, the members of reveals how the lawyer in him was never
hundred miles back from the coast of which are so closely bound together that wholly suppressed, but was able to supply
Dutch New Guinea, and a book on the they take full corporate action to revenge too, with food for reflection :-
the anthropologist, and the ordinary man
subject is announced by us this week. a wrong done to the individual, such as
We may add that Dr. Rudolph Pöch had murder or wife-stealing. The clanship, “As regards both movable effects and
already found dwarf peoples in the Ger- however, seems to follow directly upon gardens and bush land there must be endless
man division of the island.
the fact of social intercourse, since, if occasions for dispute. How are the movable
The average height of the adult Mafulu
a man leaves his village to reside per- things to be divided among the inheritors,
male works out, according to Mr. William- manently in another, he forthwith becomes and, in particular, who is to take perhaps
one valuable article, which may be worth
son's measurements of twenty of them, clan-brother (imbele) with his new asso-
at 61. 1 in. , with 57. 9 and 64. 2 as the lower ciates, though without forfeiting the right of doubtful claims to heirship to bush and
all the rest put together? How are questions
and upper limits of variation. The aver- to claim a similar connexion with his garden land to be determined? How is the
age cephalic index is about 80, a figure former mates.
joint ownership of the gardens to be dealt
which exactly coincides with the dividing
with, and how is the work thero to be appor-
line established by convention between It may be added that the Mafulu show, tioned, and the products of the gardens
medium-heads and round-heads, and like in the designs scratched upon their belts, divided ? How are the mutual rights of the
bush land to be regulated, and especially
wise marks the mean displayed by Pygmies aprons, gourds, pipes, and so forth, an
in general. The excellent photographs artistic capacity of the most limited joint owners desires to clear and allocate to
what is to happen if each of two or more
with which the book abounds show kind ; since it confines itself to simple himself as a garden a specially eligible piece
a slightly built, but lithe - looking geometric patterns of straight lines and of bush? Such situations in England
Their frizzly hair is not black, as spots, as may be seen in the many valuable would bristle with lawsuits, and I tried to
is that of their neighbours of the coast, illustrations of perineal bands and dancing find out how these questions were actually
the Papuan and Melanesian negroes, but finery. Their Papuo-Melanesian neigh- dealt with by the Mafulu; but there is no
is predominantly brown. On this bours present a marked contrast, with judicial system there, and the only answer
feature Mr. Williamson lays a good their gift for representing a curving line. the case of inter-community bush boundaries
I could get was that in these matters, as in
deal of stress, because he finds the same It may well be, then, as Mr. Williamson and personal bush boundaries, disputes were
tinge to be characteristic of other Pygmy suggests, proceeding on a hint derived practically unknown. "
as
us
race.
## p. 569 (#429) ############################################
No. 4412, May 18, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
569
EA
OF
SHIRE.
especially for the layer just below the
METEOROLOGY.
stratosphere, which, it is thought, must NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.
DURING recent years meteorologists have be regarded as controlling the conditions
[Notice in these columns doos not proclade longer
devoted much attention to the study of throughout the atmosphere beneath. The roviow. )
the upper atmosphere by means of kites book is, well illustrated by forty-seven
Davenport (C. B. ), HEREDITY IN RELATION
and balloons, either carrying small self- figures in the text, and a series of dia-
To EUGENICS. Williams & Norgate
recording instruments, or simply used for grams, placed at the end, giving the
results of a selection of the balloon ascents,
A book founded on data collected in
the purpose of observing the direction
America. It goes further, we think, than the
and velocity of air-currents at different confronted with the pressure distribution
present knowledge of the science warrants.
heights above the surface of the earth. and the wind at the surface at about the
The recent rise of aviation has given an
time of each ascent.
Gladstone (Hugh S. ), A CATALOGUE OF THE
VERTEBRATE FAUNA DUMFRIES-
additional impetus. to such studies, and
Prof. Milham's is a closely printed
Dumfries, Maxwell
makes it more than ever necessary that
As lucid and careful a catalogue as it has
our knowledge in this direction should be and profusely illustrated volume, which
been our pleasure to meet with for some time.
placed on a firmer basis. The discovery of deals, in some cases in great detail, with
Mr. Gladstone contributes a charming and
the isothermal layer or stratosphere, as under the term Meteorology. The work natural features, climate, and congenial
of now
informative Introduction, summarizing the
it is now called, lends a further interest to
such researches. It is situated (in middle reader will notice, here and there, indica- incidentally protesting against the ruthless
,
habitat of the fauna of Dumfriesshire, and
latitudes) at a height of 9 or 10 kilometres, tions of the professorial manner that tends slaughter of such valuable and beautiful
up to which the temperature falls more
or less regularly, but after this height is to supply the answers to examination rarities as buzzards, kestrels, and the like.
Extinct animals are printed in Old English
reached remains nearly constant as far questions rather than to draw the student's
attention to general principles. But, in and comprehensive description. There is a
type. To each species is appended a succinct
upwards as exploration has extended.
At the suggestion of Dr. W. n. spite of this, a great amount of indispen- detailed map at the end of the book.
Shaw, the Director of the Meteorological logist, and especially for the young Guppy (H. B. ), STUDIES IN SEEDS AND
:
investigations on air-currents, the results American meteorologist, will be found
Such
BALANCE, 15/ net.
of which he has now published in an presented in a judicious manner.
Williams & Norgate
attractive volume.
careless statements as that the amount
The observations here
of land “at the North Pole is much there is ample room for new work. The
An important work on a subject in which
recorded and discussed were mostly made
at Ditcham in Hampshire, and consist in greater than that “at” the South author has drawn largely on his investigations
the determination by theodolite of the omission, however, occurs in the descrip- shrinking and swelling processes of seeds;
Pole are fortunately few. A serious of West Indian plants. Ho discusses the
positions of free balloons at definite
intervals from the time of their release tion of meteorological instruments, no
until they become lost to view. The reference being made to the method of their hygroscopicity, the dehiscence of fruits,
balloons were set free generally a little photographic registration of barometer and various questions of weight and pro-
and thermometer readings. Photography | elaborate index.
portion. There are several tables and an
before sunset, and in clear weather,
these conditions being favourable for has proved an efficient handmaid to many
prolonged observation of their move-
Hübner (Julius), BLEACHING AND DYEING
branches of applied science, but in no
case has it been more useful than in
ments. The reduction of the observations
VEGETABLE FIBROUS MATERIALS,
with Introduction by Raphael
a laborious work entailing much tedious providing an easy and certain method for
Constable
Meldola, 14/ net.
calculation
the continuous record of the readings of
- gives the horizontal tra-
A careful and thorough study of the
jectory of the balloon, from which the the chief meteorological instruments.
direction and velocity of the wind at turn to the chapter on Weather Predic- and judgment to combine in his book the
But the general roader will probably complex and shifting subject of tinctorial
different heights are obtained. The com-
plete determination of consecutive posi- esting in the book. The dweller on this publications outlining new discoveries. com
tions' as being, to him, the most inter- essence of the standard works and technical
tions of a balloon entails the use of two side of the Atlantic will
, perhaps, be a sequently, it should be of general utility to
theodolites, placed at opposite ends of an little disappointed to find that, in a large bleachers and dyers Accessories, such as
to consider that observations made with measure, the subject is dealt with as sub- diagrams, index, and the like, are satis-
A drawback is the
one theodolite give nearly, if not quite, Weather Bureau. The author emphasizes
ordinate to the operations of the U. S. factorily, complete.
weight of the publication.
as accurate results as can be obtained by the fact that there is no royal road to Hutchinson’s Popular Botany, Part III. ,
the more laborious method. This is con-
7d, net.
trary to the general opinion of meteoro becoming a skilful forecaster practice is
the essential thing. Further, as the
logists, and it is to be regretted that Mr. local conditions in the United States and readable, and abounds in attractive illus-
Like the previous parts, this one is very
Cave has made extensive use of the less
trations.
complete method of observation. The Great Britain are so different, the details
heights reached by the balloons varied in one case are inapplicable in the other. Kerr (J. Graham), ZOOLOGY, 1/ net.
considerably. In one case 18 kilometres The statement is usually made (the author
A detailed account of the amoeba, hydra,
was recorded, but in many cases 5 kilo- says that the accuracy attained by the and earthworm precedes and explains the
official forecasters of the U. S. Weather system of grouping of animals.
The author
metres was the highest point reached.
Altogether, 200 ascents of free
Bureau is between 80 and 85 per cent, has given a concise but lucid statement of
balloons are discussed in this volume, and and it would be interesting to know if the principle of evolution. The diagrams
U. S. forecasts leave as much scope for
are clear and true to nature. One of Dent's
the author has been able to differentiate
Scientific Primers,
types of structure in the air-currents
variation as many of our own do. Prof.
revealed by the observations that are of Milham is unsparing in his denunciation Stewart (A. M. ), BRITISH BUTTERFLIES, 1/6
of what he calls “ long-range " weather
A. & C. Black
considerable interest and importance,
predictions, and pertinently remarks :- As an aid to the young entomologist this
The Structure of the Atmosphere in Clear
textbook will prove extremely useful. The
They are no better than mere guesses, author advises the Paisley method of
Weather : a Study of Soundings with and it should be remembered that å mere setting as being quicker and more certain
Pilot Balloons. By C. J. P. Cave. (Cam- guess should be correct half the time, so
bridge University Press. )
than the normal process, and his instructions
that there should be no surprise at some are clear, and, with the help of the illustra-
Meteorology: a Textbook on the Weather, chance verifications. "
tions, will be easily followed by the careful
the Causes of its Changes, and Weather
student. It is not a book to inspire enthu-
Forecasting for the Student and General But the imperfectly trained mind, we siasm, but to train it; and the coloured
Reader. By Willis Isbister Milham. (New fear, hankers after such predictions, and plates and the photographs are excellent and
York, the Macmillan Company. )
the supply follows the demand.
helpful.
OF
an
net.
66
## p. 570 (#430) ############################################
570
No. 4412, May 18, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
nean
existed between the amplitude of the daily on record Lord Headley's statement that it was
SOCIETIES.
range of the magnetic elements and the sunspot quite common on the island, no fewer than
Royal. —Hay 2. —Sir Archibald Geikie, Presi- / viously. The object of the present research was
area, not on the same day, but several days pre- eleven having been trapped, while others had
been seen ; and that it did not occur, so far as
dent, in the chair.
to inquire into the reality of this connexion. A was known, on the mainland. Typically coloured
Dr. Marie C. Stopes read a paper on ‘Petri; selection was made of the 5 days of each month brown rats lived on the island as well.
factions of the Earliest European Angiosperms.
of the 11 years 1890 to 1900 which had the largest Mr. D. Seth-Smith exhibited two horn-like
The paper gave an account of the anatomy and sunspot areas as given by the Greenwich annual sheaths which had been shed from the orange-
the geological bearing of three new petrified | lists. Mean values of the sunspot areas were coloured patch at the base of the lower mandible
angiospermic stems. These three fossils are all
derived for the 650 days thus selected (two of the king penguin (Aplenodytes pennanti) living in
in the British Museum collections. Their age
months were omitted as having less than 5 days the Society's Gardens. Mr. W. E. de Winton had
appears undoubtedly to be Lower Greensand showing any sunspots) and for 30 other groups of observed the shedding of this epidermal sheath
(Aptian), and they are consequently the earliest days of the same number, corresponding to the in a bird living in the Gardens in 1898 (P. Z. s. ,
angiosperms of which the internal anatomy is
15 days immediately preceding and the 15 days 1898, p. 900); but although the present specimen
known. They are also of interest as coming immediately succeeding each of the 650 selected had been carefully watched during two successive
from Northern Europe at a time when angiosperms days. In this way one
got 31 representative moults in March and October, 1911 (P. Z. S. ,
1912,
have hitherto been supposed not to have pene successive days, of which the central day had P. 60), no sign of this process was observed. The
trated to that region. The three specimens about twice as large a sunspot area as the average. bird, "however, went through another complete
differ so considerably in their structure that it The sunspot area rapidly and regularly declined on moult in March to April of the present year,
seems justifiable to place them in three distinct either side of the central day to an almost dead and shortly after this was completed the epidermal
new genera.
level, thus giving a very prominent “pulse” of covering of these orange-coloured patches became
Dr. F. Keeble and Dr. E. F. Armstrong read
sunspot area. The Kew daily horizontal force loose and finally, fell off ; the pieces somewhat
a paper on The Distribution of Oxydases in the
ranges were got out for the 650 representative resembled the wing-cases of a large boetle, being
Plant and their Role in the Formation of Pig; days of large sunspot area, and the allied 19,500 semi-transparent and of a clear orango colour.
ment. ' The methods of investigation in general days, and mean values obtained again for the Dr. Francis Ward showed a number of photo-
use do not admit of the determination in detail
31 representative days. These
values graphs and diagrams illustrating a method of
of the distribution of oxydases in the tissues of
gave a marked pulse, corresponding to the sun- observation of fishes, birds, and mammals under
plants and animals. Hence the hypothesis that spot area pulse, but with its crest about 4 days the water, the principle being that the subjects
pigments are produced
by the action of oxydases later. They
gave also a minor or secondary under consideration were illuminated by natural
in colourless chromogens, though rendered pro- pulse about 15 days prior to the principal pulse. light, and the observer, being in a dark chamber
bable by recent researches, cannot be regarded as
Several attempts were made to arrive at the in the water, was not seen. The appearance of
established. Methods are here described which
cause of the secondary pulse. It was found to be black-feathered birds was shown; these by
allow of the macroscopic and microscopic recog. largely a disturbance effect.
carrying down air-bubbles among the feathers
nition of plant oxydases, and these methods
Sir Walter Noel Hartley and Mr. Henry Webster were converted into reflectors; and a water-hen
appear to be capable of wide application in the
Moss read a paper · On the Ultimate Lines, and was shown bright red, and then green, as it re-
study of the distribution of oxydases.
the Quantities of the Elements producing those flected the different surroundings in which it bad
Dr. B. R. G. Russell read a paper on · The Lines, in Spectra of the Oxyhydrogen Flame and been
placed. Otters and seals were also shown
Manifestation of Active Resistance to the Growth
Spark,'— Messrs. E. Marsden and 0. G. Darwin as seen under the water. The demonstration was
of Implanted Cancer. (1) The reaction which is
read a paper on
The Transformations of the illustrated by numerous slides and by the cine-
evoked by the implantation of transplantable Active Deposit of Thorium, —and Mr. W. Wilson matograph.
tumours of the rodent varies widely with different
read a paper 'On the B-Particles reflected by Mr. G. A. Boulenger presented a paper on a
tumour-strains. The reaction has been deter-
Sheets of Matter of Different Thicknesses. '
collection of fishes made by Mr. A. Blayney
mined by exercising all the growths in a series of
Percival in British East Africa to the east of
animals on a given day, and then testing the
Lake Baringo. This collection was of special
suitability of the animals for the growth of a
importance as coming from a district the fishes
tumour-strain growing in 90 to 100 per cent of SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. —May 9.
