Literary Gossip. 66 The LAST WEEK there were sold in Edinburgh two volumes described in the auctioneer's catalogue as Burns's Common-Place Books,' ," "in the handwriting of the poet." Both were purchased by Mr. Hugh Hopkins of Glasgow for 651. each. volumes originally formed part of the Whitefoord Mackenzie collection, sold in Edinburgh in 1886. At that sale one was bought for Sir Robert Jardine of Castlemilk for 310 guineas, and the other for Lord Rosebery for 270 guineas. The purchasers found, however, that the catalogue statement to the effect that the thirty-three pieces in the volumes were unpublished was misleading, as they were not the composition of Burns, but merely transcripts of verse which was in print before his day. In these circumstances the volumes were returned to the Misses Mackenzie, who have since died. The writer of a special article in The Glasgow Herald of February 24th gives good reasons for the contention that the volumes are not even the holograph of Burns. Caution is needed in such cases. Some verses of similar origin were sent to us recently, and described as not in the published works of Burns. That was true, but the sender did not take the trouble to ascertain that they had been familiar as the work of a well-known contemporary and admirer of his for a century or so. PROF. HOPE MOULTON delivered the first of his course of Hibbert Lectures on 'Zoroastrianism' at the University of London on Tuesday last. The course, as announced in the syllabus, covers the early history of the faith only, and the lecturer further announced that it would stop at the period of Alexander the Great. In his first lecture Prof. Moulton took the view, now common among philologists, that the original home of the Aryan or Indo-European race was in Europe, whence they migrated to Asia, and there split into two peoples, one stopping short in Persia, where they became the ancestors of the Iranians, while the other proceeded to India, and founded the Sanskrit literature. This separation, he thought, might be dated as early as the second millennium B.C. In the course of his lecture Prof. Moulton expressed his entire dissent from the late James Darmesteter's theory that the Gâthas, now supposed to be the oldest part of the literature of which the Zend-Avesta forms part, owed much to borrowings from Philo of Alexandria, generally called Philo Judæus. The resemblance between the Powers of Philo, whom he makes intermediate between God and the world, and the Amshaspands or archangels of the Zend-Avesta, is too close to be accidental, and affects besides nearly all the religious speculation of the first Christian century. There does not seem enough evidence to decide definitely whether Philo, as Darmesteter thought, invented this doctrine, the reformers of the author has been to record various the Zoroastrian religion borrowing it matters of public interest contained in the from him three centuries later, or whether century covered by a father and a son the Jews, as Prof. Moulton evidently-Samuel Thornton, Admiral, 1797-1859, thinks, acquired it during the Babylonian and Percy Melville Thornton, 1841-1911, captivity, and carried it with them when for seventeen years M.P. for Claphamsent back by Cyrus. In the latter case, members of the family of Thorntons of what became of it between the days of Birkin in Yorkshire, and allied to the Rices of Mothvey in Carmarthenshire. Cyrus and those of Philo? MR. JOHN GALSWORTHY is publishing through Mr. Heinemann his first book of poetry, entitled 'Wild Oats: Moods, Songs, and Doggerels,' which will be ready on the 21st inst. Uniform with this volume will be 'The Lure of the Sea,' by Mr. J. E. Patterson, whose vivid autobiography, 'My Vagabondage,' we noticed last autumn. A MEETING of those favourable to the formation of a Bibliographical Society in Glasgow was held in the Council Room of the Royal Philosophical Society there on Thursday, February 22nd. Dr. David Murray occupied the chair. After a statement by the chairman showing the need for a body of the sort mainly designed to cover the West of Scotland, it was agreed to form the society, MISS MARGARET B. CROss has a new and a large and influential committee was appointed to draft the necessary rules novel appearing with Messrs. Chatto & and constitution. Over fifty have alreadyUp to Perrin's,' and, as the title implies, Windus next week. The book is entitled intimated their intention of becoming the scene is laid in the West Country. members. The interim secretary is the Rev. W. J. Couper, 26, Circus Drive, Glasgow. MR. EDWARD CARPENTER'S new book, 'The Drama of Love and Death: tion of the a Study of Human Evolution and Transfiguration,' will be published by Messrs. George Allen & Co. next Friday. The earlier chapters will be a kind of continuaof Age,' while the latter part deals with author's 'Love's Coming the problems of death and the world beyond. Throughout copious reference is made to recent discoveries in physics, biology, and psychical research. MESSRS. LONGMANS are bringing out a sixpenny_edition of Dr. J. N. Figgis's Hulsean Lectures, which, as was anticipated in our columns, have had a remarkable success. The new edition will contain a reply to criticisms. The same firm will shortly publish the lectures delivered by Dr. Figgis last spring at Harvard, which will be called 'Civilization at the CrossRoads.' 'Some Things we have Remembered,' by Mr. P. M. Thornton, will also be published by the same firm. The object of Messrs. Chatto & Windus also announce a cheaper issue of Sir Walter Besant's four topographical books-' London,'' Westminster,' East London,' and South London.' The new edition will contain all the original illustrations. 'ONE LOOK BACK,' the latest book by Mr. G. W. E. Russell, is a volume of reminiscences, not a collection of miscellaneous essays, and it covers the greater part of the social and political changes witnessed by Mr. Russell during his life. It will be issued by Messrs. Wells Gardner & Co. 'PICKWICK,' as is well-known, contains some lapses, "oversights," contrarieties, &c., owing to the haste and boisterous spirit of the writer. No true Pickwickian would wish a single one away. Messrs. Gay & Hancock are issuing a collection of these oddities, gathered by Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, who has already furnished some six treatises on Pickwick.' 6 CANON R. L. OTTLEY's new volume for Lent, entitled The Rule of Faith and Hope,' is announced for immediate publication in Mr. Robert Scott's "Library of Historic Theology." This work is an exposition of the Apostles' Creed from the devotional standpoint, the subject the Incarnate Life,' The Reality of headings including The Mysteries of Redemption,' and 'Mysticism and Prayer. carelessness which attributed in our last OUR apologies are tendered for the issue Mendelssohn's setting of the words "Watchman, will the night soon pass? to Handel-a slip which more than one correspondent has already pointed out. In answer to others we may say that The Athenæum of April 24th, 1909 (p. 496), contains the verses, a quotation from which concluded our article on Industrial Unrest.' BEGINNING with next week, we propose to follow our List of New Books' with a List of Forthcoming Books, particulars of the dates of which we shall be glad to receive as early as possible. SCIENCE Ruins of Desert Cathay Personal Narra tive of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China. By M. Aurel Stein. 2 vols. (Macmillan & Co.) As some authors publish their works first in parts and afterwards in book-form, so recent important contributions to geographical science have usually been preceded by shorter popular versions. Thus Sir Sven Hedin issued Adventures in Tibet' before his monumental Scientific Results,' and Trans-Himalaya' before another great work which has yet to appear. So also Dr. Stein sent forth "Sand-buried Ruins of Khotan' before his Ancient Khotan,' and now he presents two massive volumes preliminary to a 'Detailed Report.' The procedure is sound because there are many readers for a well-told tale of travel, and few, comparatively, who would or could wade through the detailed works. But, unless great care be taken, the popular story is apt to exceed reasonable limits and encroach on the domain of the record on which it is based. 6 The object of the present book is to "furnish the general reader with a personal record of the archæological and geographical explorations which, during the years 19061908, I carried out under the orders of the Government of India in remote parts of Central Asia and Westernmost China.' In recognition Dr. Stein received the Founder's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society; his detailed report, we are told, must take years to compile, and for many reasons be inaccessible to the general public whose interest he desires to enlist. We hope he may succeed, for his labour and judgment justify a favourable result; but many persons will have difficulty in tackling the 1,038 pages of this book, whilst others, frightened at its size, may avoid the task. The work was undertaken in favourable circumstances with the prestige of official patronage. The Indian Survey Department provided men and money for the field operations, the results of which are shown in the creditable maps attached to the volumes. The Sappers and Miners supplied a Sikh corporal, Ram Singh (of whom more hereafter), who developed photographs, drew plans, and was in general a handy man. It is impossible to mention the names of all the distinguished experts who have helped Dr. Stein, but a few may be given: Prof. A. Foucher of Paris assisted in Græco - Buddhist art; Sir Arthur Church in analyzing materials; M. E. Chavannes and Dr. Hoernle in the investigation of ancient Chinese and Indian Brahmi records; and Dr. Francke in Tibetan matters. Examination of the scientific results of Dr. Stein's discoveries must be deferred till details are published; for the present some account of his journeys must suffice. To make this clear without a map is not easy, for even geographers fail to remember the relative positions of towns or districts when they are not familiar with their names. The simplest plan is to horseshoe set in the heart of Asia, with imagine the scene of work as a great the open end to the East; the area enclosed is mainly desert, the Taklamakan to the West, and Gobi to the East. The toe of the shoe is the vast range of hills, the Roof of the World, about the Pamirs and the sources of the Oxus. From them the drainage of the western sides flows towards the Sea of Aral; that from the eastern slopes forms the Tarim or river, which, passing through the Takla-makan with ever-diminishing volume, is eventually lost in the terminal and migratory lake known as Lob- or Lop-nor. The northern boundary of the horseshoe is formed by the T'ien Shan; the southern by the Kuen-lun and the Altin Tagh, which bound Tibet on the north and extend to the ranges near Suchou and Kan-chou. The best-known towns in the enclosure are Kashgar, where Great Britain and Russia have representatives; Yárkand, the commercial capital; and Khotan. Ak-su and Karashahr on the north side are the gates towards Russia. Dr. Stein approached this country by a route nowadays unusual, though one whereby Greek influence and Buddhism He left Abbottabad late in entered. April, 1906, and marched through Swát and Dir to Chitrál and Afghan Wakhán, where he was well received and taken care of by order of the ruler, whose liberality deserves recognition. Here he reached the Oxus near the part visited by Olufsen (Athenæum, November 25th, 1911), but on the opposite bank, and made his way by its sources to the Pamirs; thence he descended by Sar i-kol to Kashgar. The description of this journey fills a hundred pages, and is full of interest, recalling many events connected with frontier expeditions, such as the Edwardes and Fowler episode of 1895 and the siege of Chitrál. At Kashgar final preparations were made, and a Chinese secretary, by name Yin Ma Chiang, a "Ssu-yeh " or candidate for office, like the "ummedwar " of India, was engaged. His help throughout was of great value, and is suitably acknowof great value, and is suitably acknowledged. Here also Chinese hospitality was enjoyed; the Tao-ta'i entertained Mr. Macartney and Dr. Stein to lunch, a small, informal feast of eighteen courses, "but all so neatly served and relatively wholesome that my apprehensions as to its results on one long accustomed to simple diet proved wholly unjustified....At his table I first realized how much the attitude of the Chinese official class in the 'New Dominion' towards Western, in this case specially Russian, customs and imports had changed during the few years since my previous visit. There were clean well-ironed napkins, instead of the damp hot towels, for use during the meal. My conservative feelings received a shock when I was asked to seat myself at a table spread in white, that colour of mourning formerly tabooed on all festive occasions. Knife and fork were handled with perfect familiarity by our convives, and eating-sticks seemed to lie on the table merely out of deference for time-honoured convention. It was curious significant effects of that great historical to recognize in such changes small but the Russo-Japanese War has given the final movement of Chinese reform' to which impulse." From Kashgar, by way of Khargalik and Kökyar, the Kuen-lun range was explored and Khotan was reached; the oases are reported as extending into the desert further than they did five years before, the result of improved irrigation, which has led to expansion of towns and increased population. The mountains were again entered, special attention being given to the upper basins of the Kara Kash and Yurung Kash rivers. Here Dr. Stein was close to where Schlagintweit had passed, it is stated, in 1862; the date seems to require verification, for 1857 is, according to Chambers's Encyclopædia, the year in which Adolf Schlagintweit crossed the ranges and was put to death by Yakub Beg. Hermann as well as Adolf seems to have penetrated into the Kuen-lun range, which in 1865 was crossed by Johnson, a surveyor whose route Dr. Stein wished to verify. As winter approached, hill surveys were abandoned, and excavation of ruins in the desert was begun : first, near Khotan, and then westwards to Keriya, Endere, Charklik, &c., names familiar to readers of Sir Sven Hedin's and Dr. Stein's former books. Relics of the usual sort were found, including inscribed tablets with seals showing classical origin, which, strange to say, old manure heaps yielded in the greatest profusion. To the lay mind this would not seem testimony to their value; indeed, in view of the destruction resulting from war and fanaticism, treasure-hunting, and age and natural causes, it is a marvel that anything is left. The winter of 1906-7 was thus spent not far from the routes of Hsüantsang and Marco Polo; at a site marked Miran many interesting discoveries were made, the most remarkable being frescoes of winged figures, and a fresco frieze in a Buddhist shrine, representing, according to Prof. Foucher, a portion of the legend of King Vessantara, which is related on p. 490 of vol. i. Before passing from Miran and Abdal, it is interesting to note that, in the records discovered, the name Nob seems to supply the phonetic link between Na-fo-po, used by Hsüan-tsang, and Lop, by Marco Polo, to describe the district. In Yule's Marco Polo' (ed. Cordier, i. pp. 197– 203 fn.) an excellent note about the locality of the lake usually called by English geographers Lob-nor will be found. From Abdal Dr. Stein went westward to Tun-huang, otherwise Sha-chou, and on the way there first saw the remains of the Great Wall, with its watch-towers, and the site of the Jade Gate, the barrier of the pleasant valley," where dwelt the officer in command of the fortifications. Returning from the desert, he explored the cave temples of the "Thousand Buddhas." They are still a place of pilgrimage, so that archæological activity has to be restrained, and near them is the sanctuary of the crescent lake, with the famous rumbling sandhill. In one of the temples a library, in rolls of manuscripts, mostly Chinese, was discovered, and how Dr. Stein overcame the scruples of the priest in charge and became possessed of many beautiful paintings on silk showing scenes from the life-story of Buddha, figures of Bodhisattvas, &c., is well described. The manuscripts have not yet been, nor will they soon be, translated, as they filled twenty-four cases, which, with five more of paintings and art relics, are now in the British Museum. Some of the paintings are reproduced in colour, Plates VII. and IX. deserving special commendation. the man At Yárkand Dr. Stein reduced his camp, sold his camels, and went on to Khotan, arriving on June 9th, 1908. There he packed his collections, but had not been long in the place when Naik Ram Singh, selected for photographic work, returned hopelessly blind. This Sikh, with the courage of his race, after losing the sight of one eye, persevered with his work; the other eye soon failed, but still he remained at his post in hope of recovery. That proving desperate, he rejoined at Khotan, but still believed he would regain his sight, and for reasons of caste he insisted on cooking his own food, in spite of burns and other accidents. But his case was hopeless, and he was taken to his native village, near Firozpur. He lived for a short time on a pension, which, in part, has been continued to his widow and daughter. A final expedition to the sources of the Kara Kash and Yurung Kash was undertaken, and Dr. Stein had the misfortune to get frostbitten; he had to be carried to Leh, some 300 miles distant, where an operation was performed. It has, happily, proved successful, and he hopes "that the gate will open for work in those fields to which cherished plans have been calling me ever since my youth, and which still remain unexplored.' Such is the story, greatly condensed, of some two and three-quarters years' work, and on the whole it is well told. There are, however, defects, some rather annoying, such as the introduction of foreign words when English equivalents are available and references in one volume to maps and plates or figures in another, and to ruins by letters and numbers nowhere to be found on the maps, while the maps themselves are on easily torn paper, and bound into volumes which weigh four pounds apiece. The spelling of Oriental words seems in cases to be odd, but a note prefixed to the index (which is well prepared) intimates that the system adopted by the International Congress of Orientalists has been followed. The illustrations, 333 in number, are admirable, well chosen, and well reproduced; besides these, there are coloured plates, panoramas, and the maps. Dr. Stein's work is a valuable contribution to our limited knowledge of a country abounding in interest, in which extremes of rigour are met alike on the hills and glaciers and in the sandy desert. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Men and Measures: a History of Weights and Measures, Ancient and Modern, by Edward Nicholson (Smith & Elder), is a perfect monument of industry, and teems with information on out-of-the-way points connected with the history of weights and measures of all kinds and in all countries. The author holds that there are no arbitrary standards of weights and measures, but that all have a directly scientific basis, or a lineage reaching, perhaps far back, to such a basis. Proceeding on these lines, Col. Nicholson goes on to unfold the history of measures of length-the story of the cubits; and the history of measures of capacity and of weight--the story of the talents-from the earliest Chaldean and tions in Greek and Roman times, down to Egyptian times, through their transformatheir modifications as introduced into Britain, and the modern world generally. The earliest measures were, undoubtedly, those of length, but Col. Nicholson has a with which measures of a definite length on greatly exaggerated idea as to the accuracy the earth's surface (the meridian mile, as he calls it) could have been made sixty centuries ago. Not until the time of Eratosthenes, in the third century B.C., would it have been possible to determine such a length with any approach to modern accuracy, and a very little experience in the unsoundness of the view held on this practical measurements would demonstrate point by the author. and on wind and wave, but holds that land com- that in the reconstruction of ancient geo- ALREADY known as an enthusiastic student by way of Spitzbergen. Whilst the Atlantic was thus shut off from the Arctic Sea, the Pacific was also closed northwards by land southern shores of these great land-bridges across Bering Strait. It is held that the would be under the influence of comparatively Scharff's contention that, from biological warm ocean-currents, thus supporting Dr. evidence, the Glacial period was not one of extreme cold. Such a view has been occawriters, but it can hardly stand against the sionally held by certain other scientific strong body of opposing evidence which the The chapters on measures of value-glacial geologist can bring forward. the history of currency measures of time are full and interesting. There is an obvious misprint on p. 195, where the date of full moon in November, 1912, should be November 25, not '17" as printed; and we are amazed at the statement same page) that agriculturists (on the find the Epact useful in reckoning the moon's age. We should rather expect the farmer to exclaim with Bottom the weaver, "A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac." We note another misprint on p. 198, in the chapter on Measures of Heat and of Density,' where, in the directions for converting Fahrenheit degrees into double the degrees centigrade, read halve the degrees. The final chapters (on the metric system) are of such character as to detract from the value of the work as an impartial and scientific survey of the entire field of its subject. book itself, which demonstrates in a full and able manner the complexity and multiplicity of existing systems of weights and measures, might surely be used as an argument in favour of simplification and 66 unification in these matters. should a The IN 1908 Dr. Robert Francis Scharff delivered in London a course of Swiney Lectures on 'The Geological History of the American Fauna.' These lectures, rewritten in an expanded form, and including brief references to the American flora, constitute (Constable). The title is, perhaps, rather Distribution and Origin of Life in America misleading, inasmuch as the work does not discuss the profound problem of the "Origin of Life," nor among the living things that are described is any place found for Man. But even with this limitation the work is sufficiently extensive : it evidently represents a great amount of research in the literature of zoology, palæontology, and zoogeography, and it is rich in interest to the geologist. Dr. Scharff is not a great believer in the accidental dispersal of organisms by means of of evolution by his epic entitled 'Nebula to Man,' Mr. Henry R. Knipe now sends forth Evolution in the Past (Herbert & Daniel), which is planned on practically the same lines as its predecessor, but this time in sober prose. It is a comprehensive work, giving a popular yet accurate account of the long procession of living forms which have appeared upon the earth throughout the ages of the Past, and seeking to show the relationship between the successive forms and their forerunners. The subject is one of much fascination for the inquirer, but obviously needs for its successful treatment a wealth of 66 paleontological knowledge. Fortunately the for the undertaking. The value of the book author has shown himself not ill-equipped would perhaps not have been lessened by the omission of the tabular Chronology of the Earth,' which stands at the beginning of the volume. It needed a bold pen to write such words and figures as these: Surface of the Earth so far solidified as to support vast seas, 100,000,000 B.c."; or the following item: Foundational Ages extending over 70,000,000 years." Where so much is pure speculation and the opinions of the highest authorities are subject to serious modification as science advances, it seems rather dangerous, notwithstanding safeguards, to make any attempt at numerical precision physical side of the volume is, however, but in a work intended for the layman. The slight; its strength lies in its paleontology. To any one who desires to read the story of life upon our planet as revealed by the record of the rocks, and interpreted in the light of evolution, it would be difficult to recommend a safer or more pleasant guide than Mr. Knipe. His story is illustrated by many excellent plates, mainly by Miss Alice Woodward, who happily unites much scientific knowledge with artistic ability. SOCIETIES. ROYAL.-Feb. 22. Sir Archibald Geikie, President, in the chair.-The Bakerian Lecture was delivered by Prof. H. L. Callendar, 'On the Variation of the Specific Heat of Water, investigated by the Continuous Mixture Method.' The experiments of Callendar and Barnes 'On the Variation of the Specific Heat of Water between 0 and 100° C. by the Continuous Electric Method' (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., A, 1902), with platinum thermometers, agreed with those of Lüdin by the method of mixture with mercury thermometers more closely than with those of any previous observers, but gave results nearly 1 per cent lower than Lüdin's over the range 60° to 90° C. Within the last year the results of Lüdin have been very closely reproduced by W. R. and W. E. Bousfield (Phil. Trans., A, 1911), employing a Dewar calorimeter electrically heated by a mercury resistance, the rise of temperature being observed by means of mercury thermometers standardized to 01° C. every 5°. The present investigation was designed to verify the results of Callendar and Barnes by a new and independent method, called the Continuous Mixture Method. Dr C. Chree read a paper on a Short Index to Reports of Physical Observations-Electric, Magnetic, Meteorological, Seismological-made at Kew Observatory.' Messrs. R. T. Lattey and H. T. Tizard read a paper On the Velocities of Ions in Dried Gases.' The authors have determined the velocities of positive and negative ions in dried hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The results obtained are completely parallel to those already obtained in a previous investigation on air (R. T. Lattey, Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. lxxxiv. p. 173). The velocity of positive ions is but little affected by the presence of moisture in the gas, and is proportional to the force (x), and inversely proportional to the pressure (p). The same relation approximately holds good for the velocity of negative ions in moist gases. When the gas is extremely dry, however, the negative ions are apparently very easily deprived of their customary envelope. Their velocity, therefore, does not increase proportionately to x/p, but at a very much greater rate. Prof. T. H. Laby and Mr. P. W. Burbidge read a paper on The Observation by means of a String Electrometer of Fluctuations in the Ionization produced by y-rays.' The authors claim to have demonstrated that there are fluctuatios in the ionization produced by y-rays, and have worked out the technique for future experiments, where the absolute amount of the fluctuation is very small. Further experiments are necessary before the experiments can be said to support either a corpuscular or pulse theory of y-rays. Mr. F. B. Pidduck read a paper on The WaveProblem of Cauchy and Poisson for Finite Depth and Slightly Compressible Fluid.' The paper is in some respects a completion of a former one on the propagation of a disturbance in a fluid under gravity. The solution of the two-dimensional Cauchy-Poisson problem for finite depth is worked out numerically, the effect of limiting the depth being very considerable. The fact is brought to light that up to a certain point a limitation of the depth causes an increase in the elevation at a given point for a short interval of time after the beginning of the motion. The wider question presents itself as to the sense in which the initial disturbance can be said to be confined to a definite portion of the fluid. Difficulties connected with the assumption of incompressibility are avoided by considering a heavy compressible fluid. The application of an extension of Fourier's theorems, due to Orr, gives the solution of the problem of such a fluid held with every part in a given state of compression and then released, the free surface being maintained at constant pressure. known formulæ for incompressible fluid for both finite and infinite depth follow as limiting expressions, and it is possible to detect the existence of an advancing wave-front when the compressibility is different from zero. The Some papers originally announced for the meeting of February 15th, which was adjourned on account of the death of Lord Lister, were taken as read. SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES.-Feb. 22.-Mr. W. Dale read a paper on The Implement-bearing Gravel Beds of the Valley of the Lower Test,' in which he described the gravel pits which occur near Ramsey and Dunbridge, and showed a large quantity of paleolithic implements from them. These implements are diverse in form and in the condition of their patination. The gravel is usually Iwhitish at the top, which is attributed to the action of the weather in dissolving the iron and depositing it lower down. Implements from this horizon are whitish, while those at a lower depth are yellowish or brown, according to the colour of the gravel. At the base the implements usually have a double patination, caused by ferruginous matter being deposited more on one side than the other. Implements of various forms occur at all depths. At the Kimbridge Pit there is a preponderance of the rough ovate implements to which the name of "Chelles" has been given, while at the Dunbridge Pit there are found remarkably fine pointed implements, not water-worn, and with a white patina. Photographs of the sections were shown, and it was suggested that at Dunbridge, where the gravel rests on Bagshot sands and clays, the gravel may have been deposited under sub-glacial conditions. Some of the implements seem to have been made on the spot, while others must have travelled far. Mr. L. Salzmann read a paper on Excavations at Selsey in 1911.' The earthwork at Selsey is a roughly circular work about 250 ft. in diameter, consisting of ditch and vallum, evidently thrown up to protect the entrance of the harbour. Excavations undertaken last year showed that the vallum rests on a deposit of black earth 2 ft. in thickness. As this black earth contains pottery, not only of the Roman period, but also of the type usually ascribed to the fourteenth century, and in the case of one small fragment possibly as late as the sixteenth century, it is clear that the vallum is of comparatively late construction. The whole evidence points to the truth of the local tradition that the mound was thrown up at the time of the threatened Spanish invasion in 1588. Within the enclosed area were found two fragments of walls and quantities of building materials, of which the few worked stones are chisel-tooled. Of the smaller finds, the most interesting was a small bronze belt tag of the tenth century, ornamented with human figures, apparently unique. ZOOLOGICAL.-Feb. 20.-Dr. A. Smith Woodward, V.-P., in the chair.-Dr. A. T. Masterman gave a demonstration, illustrated by a large number of lantern-slides, of recent investigations on agedetermination in the scales of salmonoids, with special reference to Wye salmon. 66 Dr. H. Lyster Jameson read a paper On the Structure of the Shell and Pearls of the Ceylon Pearl-Oyster (Margaritifera vulgaris, Schum.), with an Examination of the Cestode Theory of Pearl Production.' The author began by reviewing the work on the subject of pearl production carried out in Ceylon by Prof. Herdman and his successors. He examined the theory, enunciated by Prof. Herdman, that most Ceylon "fine pearls had for their nuclei the remains of cestode larve, and that these larvæ, which are abundant in the liver and connective tissues of the pearloyster in Ceylon, were the cause of the most valuable pearls. Dr. Jameson maintained that the evidence adduced in support of this theory by Prof. Herdman and Mr. Hornell was insufficient, and that the only drawings in Prof. Herdman's 'Report on the Ceylon Pearl-Oyster Fisheries,' published by the Royal Society, that purported to show the remains of cestodes in the centres of pearls, were capable of other interpretation. Moreover, he could not find in any of the sections of pearls by Prof. Herdman, numbering some twenty-five or more, which the Professor had kindly allowed him to examine, a single instance of a cestode larva forming the nucleus. This observation was borne out by the results of the examination of between 300 and 400 pearls from Margaritifera vulgaris, mostly from Ceylon, but also comprising examples from the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Cutch, the Mediterranean, Madagascar, New Caledonia, &c., none of which, on decalcification, showed cestode or other platyhelminthian larvæ as nuclei. The centre of such a pearl was (where it consisted of material other than the nacre or other normal constituents of the shell) nearly always composed of an abnormal form of shell-substance, analogous to that formed to repair an injury to the shell, which, owing to its opacity, might easily be mistaken for a foreign body. These repair-substances were sometimes associated with granular matter, the origin of which was obscure; this matter might perhaps be derived from the tissues, or might possibly be of parasitic origin, but Dr. Jameson saw no reason for regarding it as derived from a cestode larva. He considered the presence of these cestodes as a disease parallel to, but independent of, "margarosis"; and compared the case of a pearl-oyster containing both cestodes and pearls to that of a man suffering simultaneously from echinococci and scabies, or of a dog infested at the same time with tapeworms and mange. The author then discussed the systematic position of these cestode larvæ. He claimed that he had found Tylocephalum ludificans in specimens of the Ceylon pearloyster in Dr. Kellart's collection in the British Museum, and had considered the possibility of their being concerned with pearl production, and dismissed the theory as untenable, previously to Prof. Herdman's original departure for Ceylon. The second part of the paper dealt with the structure and formation of the shell and of pearls. The various repair-substances, which replace the ordinary shell- substances under abnormal or pathological conditions, were described, their relations to the normal substances of the shell discussed, and their occurrence in the pseudonuclei of pearls dealt with. The "calcospherules" which Prof. Herdman regarded as free concretions, and as the cause of "muscle pearls," were considered to be in fact minute pearls, composed of the hypostracum, or special shell-substance to which the muscles are attached. This conclusion had been reached independently by Rubbel, in Marburg, The author said that his observations on the real cause and mechanism which led to the formation of pearls in the Ceylon pearl-oyster were still too incomplete to communicate; but he maintained that, as he had already laid down in his 1902 paper, the real cause of pearl production would have to be sought, not in the nuclei or pseudonuclei of pearls, but rather in the pathological conditions under which the tissues of the mollusc gave rise to the pearl-sac. It was only in a few cases, like the trematode pearls in the common mussel, that the cause of the pearl-sac-i.e., in this case the trematode-remained to form the "nucleus " of the pearl and tell the tale of its origin. The author had found that, as observed by Prof. Herdman, a minority of Ceylon pearls may have foreign bodies, such as sandgrains, in their centres. Mr. R. Shelford communicated a paper on 'Mimicry amongst the Blattidæ, with a Revision of the Genus Frosoplecta Sauss.,' in which he dealt with a number of exceptions to this usually cryptically coloured type of cockroach, and in greater detail with the Prosoplecta, nearly all the members of which present a remarkably close and detailed resemblance to other insects. A paper entitled 'A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Spiders and Other Arachnids of Switzerland' was contributed by the Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge. It was based on a number of specimens collected for the author by various persons at different times, and contained the description of one new species. METEOROLOGICAL.-Feb. 21.-Dr. H. N. Dickson, President, in the chair. Mr. J. Fairgrieve read a paper on The Thunderstorms of May 31, 1911.' He dealt with the thunderstorm which visited the London district on the Derby Day, and especially with the movement of the rain which accompanied the storm. Having obtained information from nearly 700 observers as to the time of rainfall or absence of rain, he has been able to prepare an interesting series of maps for each quarter of an hour from 12.30 to 8.45 P.M., showing the areas over which rain was actually falling. Mr. R. G. K. Lempfert read a paper on The Thunderstorms of July 29, 1911.' This storm was of the line-squall type. The author has been able to trace the spread of the phenomenon across the British Isles, and he showed by a map of isochronous lines that it first struck the extreme end of Cornwall about 2 P.M. on July 29th, and passed across Shetland at 3 P.M. the next day. He pointed out that the disturbance may be regarded as the displacement of an easterly by a southerly current, but the process of displacement was unusually complicated. The general sequence of events seems to have been somewhat as follows. A moderate east wind was interrupted suddenly by a squall from the south. After the squall had passed, the wind returned temporarily to an easterly direction, to be again interrupted by another squall from the south. A period of several hours of light and variable wind, during which easterly directions predominated, supervened, and finally the wind settled down to a steady southerly or south-westerly wind of moderate force. In many cases the squalls were not accompanied by rainfall. What appears to have struck observers most forcibly was the way in which huge quantities of dust were whirled up by the wind. Accounts from Cardiff state that dust was brought from the south side of the Bristol Channel by the squall winds, which did much structural damage. Mr. S. Skinner read a paper on 'The Drosometer,' an instrument for measuring the amount of dew. BRITISH NUMISMATIC.-Feb. 21.-Mr. CarlyonBritton, President, in the chair.-The Rev. W. A. Laughlin and Messrs. H. J. Farrow, J. H. Searey, and L. A. Woodward were elected Members. Mr. H. A. Parsons read a paper on The Dunwich Mint,' in which, after reviewing the history of the city in Saxon times, when, after attaining the height of its prosperity in the closing years of Ethelred II., its decline gradually set in owing Science Gossip. THE problems of genetics are coming very rapidly to the front, and seem likely to receive a great deal of attention in the present year. M. Blaringhem, in his inaugural address at the Sorbonne published last Saturday, summed up recent discussions on the subject by declaring that sudden and transmissible changes in pure stocks are the way in which the characteristics of species and varieties make their appearance; and that the cause of these must be looked for in differences of the chemical constitution of the protoplasm. We are therefore brought back to chemistry to discover the ultimate cause of the differentiation of species, which, as M. Blaringhem reminded his audience, is what M. Armand Gautier predicted twenty-three years ago. EVERY new science seems to demand an "Institute" nowadays; and the foundation at Brussels is announced of one for what is to the denudation by the sea, he attributed four magniloquently called Universal Plasmology coins to the mint, namely, one of each of the last two types of Ethelred II., and one of each of the first two types of Canute. The author explained that the coins thus synchronized with its history, for only at that particular period would Dunwich be likely to have exercised its privilege of a mint. Mr. B. Roth exhibited the contents of a remarkable archæological hoard found at Peterborough in 1886. It comprised Roman coins and other relics, a bronze torque, and three ancient British coins. One of these was a gold stater similar to Evans, Plate B, No. 8, and the other two were silver money of the Iceni. Amongst other exhitions were a copper siege-piece issued at Cork in 1647, by Mr. L. L. Fletcher; and the original die for the obverse of William Mossop's medal to Dr. Henry Quin, by Mr. F. W. Yeates. Mr. Henry Symonds presented a series of numismatic works to the Society's library. MEETINGS NEXT WEEK. Royal Institution, 5.-General Meeting. Aristotelian, 8.-A Theory of Material Fallacies,' Mr. H. S. = Royal Academy, 8.-' Oils, Varnishes, and Mediums,' Prof. A. P. Laurie. Society of Arts, 8.-The Loom and Spindle: Past, Present, and Future,' Lecture II., Mr. L. Hooper. (Cantor Lecture.) TLES. Royal Institution, 3.-Optical Determination of Stress, and some Applications to Engineering Problems,' Lecture 11., Prof. E. G. Coker. - WED. = British Museum, 4.30.- Early Christian Architecture,' Mr. B. Fletcher.. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 4.30. Institution of Civil Engineers, 8.- Roller and Ball Bearings,' and The Testing of Anti-Friction Bearing Metals,' Prof. J. Goodman. and Bio-mechanics. Its committee claims to be international, and the names upon it which should be most familiar to readers of The Athenæum are those of M. Raphael Dubois (of Lyons), Dr. Stéphane Leduc (of Nantes), Dr. von Schrön (of Naples), and Prof. Jacques Loeb (of New York). To judge by the recent work of these distinguished scholars, the Institute will chiefly concern itself with researches into the origin of life, as illustrated by the experiments in the production of artificial cells by M. Dubois and Dr. Leduc, in the formation of crystals by Dr. von Schrön, and in parthenogenesis by Dr. Loeb. It will issue a periodical review, and the Secretary is Prof. Léon Guinet of Brussels. THE BRITISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION has just published a memoir of original observations of variable stars made by twenty-five of its members in the five years 1905-9 inclusive. This particular branch of astronomy, which is likely to prove of much value in the study of stellar physics, and already forms the basis of promising hypotheses, is not practised at the national observatories, that at Harvard College being the only large observatory where it is followed systematically, and this amateur organization ably fills the want, so far as its resources allow, for Great Britain. That its task is worthily done may be Anthropological Institute, 8.15. The Tribes of the Central judged from the facts that the Royal Society Province of Southern Nigeria,' Mr. N. W. Thomas. Zoological, 8.30.-The Classification, Morphology, and Evolution of the Echinoidea Holectypoida,' Mr. H. L. Hawkins; 'Blood-Parasites found in the Zoological Gardens during the Four Years 1908-11,' Mr. H. G. Plimmer; and other Papers. Archæological Institute, 4.30.-'Old Bridges in England and Wales, Mr. A. Vallance. Entomological, 8. Royal Academy, 8.-'Grounds, and the Methods of Painting,' Prof. A. P. Laurie. odern Problems of Illumination : the Measurement and Comparison of Light Sources,' Mr. T. Thorne Baker. Society of Arts, 8.-*Some Royal, 4.30.-'On the Devitrification of Silica Glass,' and The Volatility of Metals of the Platinum Group, Sir W. Crookes: An Optical Load-Extension Indicator, together with some Diagrams obtained therewith,' Prof. W. E. Dalby; The Velocity of the Secondary Cathode Particles ejected by the Characteristic Röntgen Kays,' Mr. R. Whiddington; and other Papers. British Archaeological Association, 5.- The Site of the Globe Theatre,' Mr. W. Martin. Institution of Electrical Engineers, 8.-'Tariffs for Electrical Linnean. 8.-*Internodes of Calamites,' Prof. P. Groom: On Royal Academy, 8.-The Chemistry of Building Stones and Royal Institution, 9.-The Effects of the Thirty Years' War,' Dr. A. W. Ward. DR. E. T. WHITTAKER, who has been appointed Professor of Mathematics in Edinburgh University in succession to the late Dr. Chrystal, has filled since February, 1906, the Chair of Andrews Professor in the University of Dublin, which carries with it the Directorship of the Observatory at Dunsink, and the title of Royal Astronomer of Ireland. Dr. Whittaker had an astronomical record before 1906, for he held the Sheepshanks Astronomical Exhibition when at Trinity College, Cambridge, and served as Hon. Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society for five years, but his tastes evidently lie in the direction of mathematics and physics rather than in Royal Institution, 3.-'Molecular Physics,' Lecture III., Prof. that of practical astronomy. Sir J. J. Thornson. Greece and Babylon : a Comparative Sketch of Mesopotamian, Anatolian, and Hellenic Religions. By Lewis R. Farnell. (Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark.) THESE very interesting and suggestive lectures are the work of a master who has devoted years to the study of ancient religions, and published standard books on the subject. His style is easy and correct, though he does use the word phenomenal loosely when he speaks of the keeping of sacred prostitutes about a temple as a "phenomenal practice.' It seems to have been a very real one, and widely spread through Semitic lands. sacrifice of virginity, of which Herodotus He rightly distinguishes it from the tells us among the Babylonians, and he is much perplexed concerning its meaning. Quite apart from mystical explanations, there is an obvious, but probably too vulgar solution. Such a class was undoubtedly a perennial source of income to the temple. A city like Corinth was exactly the place where these people would be most profitable. It is, indeed, among the curious vagaries of the human mind that in some highly civilized societies sexual asceticism was not in high esteem, and the opposite was practised as a religious rite, while in others the latter was regarded as the lowest degradation, and the repression of all such animal instincts as the ideal of purity and piety. On the other hand, the likenesses between the religious beliefs and practices of widely separate nations are often, in primitive conditions at least, so great that it requires all Dr. Farnell's authority to prevent us from assuming that there must be a common origin. Take, for example, the Babylonian and the Greek beliefs about the next or lower world :— Both accept as an undoubted fact the continued existence of the soul after death, and both imagine this existence as shadowy, profitless, and gloomy. Both also vaguely locate the abode of the soul under the earth, with a downward entrance somewhere in the West. In both we find the idea of a nether river to be crossed, or the waters of death'; of a porter at the gates of hell, and of a god or goddess rulers of the lower world." Yet all this likeness is worth nothing as evidence, if we find some strong contrasts, because such similarities are perpetually cropping up in all ethnological studies. Striking differences weigh far more with Dr. Farnell, and we are disposed to agree with him, but it were well if we had from him some general discussion on this curious subject. We find him much less inclined to dogmatize on remote and uncertain things than the folk-lorists, but even he is sometimes betrayed into a trenchant judgment like the following:-- "It has often been popularly and lightly maintained that the Hellenic deities were subordinate to a power called Fate. This |