the manufactory of dynamite in Birmingham was due, in the first instance, to a youth who passed through the Science system of the Birmingham Board Schools, including the evening instruction. He had, I believe, been taught the relation of glycerine to explosive compounds, and living near Whitehead's premises, and seeing what he recognised as cans of glycerine, and carboys and bottles of acid, go in there, he communicated his suspicions to a friend, who happened to be a detective policeman.

I trust that the reading of this paper, and the discussion thereon, may have some influence in drawing attention to this essentially practical scheme for Science demonstrations in Board. Schools a scheme suggested by the matured experience of most eminent men of science; worked out in practical detail by Boards controlling the education of two of our largest centres of population; (would that it were adopted in London also!) and proved to have given, under their management, such admirable results. I will conclude by simply recording my very firm conviction that, if this work can be but set moving, it will end in an intellectual revolution for the mass of our people, and that the national results of it will be great.

NOTE. After this paper was read, the chairman, Prof. G. C. Foster, inyited discussion. Among the speakers, besides the chairman, were Dr. J. H. Gladstone (London School Board), Mr. Walter Baily (H.M. Inspector of Schools, London district), Prof. Chandler Roberts, and Dr. Carpenter, C.B. A unanimous expression of approval of the scheme was elicited, and Dr. Carpenter stated that he had been for some time waiting for a suitable opportunity to bring before the public just such a scheme, which he had worked out in his own mind. It afforded him very great satisfaction to find that it was already actually an accomplished fact.

It may be noted also that, at the public Presentation for Degrees in the University of London last May, Sir John Lubbock, M.P. for the University, referred in terms of strong approval tɔ this scheme.--W.L.C.

REVIEW.

The Fertilisation of Flowers, by Prof. Hermann Müller, translated and edited by D'Arcy W. Thompson, B.A. London : Macmillan & Co.

Up to the present time Dr. Müller's valuable researches on the fertilisation of flowers, described in his chief works, "die Befruchtung der Blumen durch Insekten," and "die Alpenblumen, ihre Befruchtung durch Insekten, und ihre Anpassungen an dieselben," as well as in his numerous articles in German publications, have been inaccessible to the majority of English

readers. This has been all the more to be regretted, because Hermann Müller, in Germany, and his brother Fritz Müller, in Brazil, have done more to add to our knowledge of this extremely interesting branch of biological study than any other naturalists, with perhaps the exception of Charles Darwin. Mr Thompson has therefore done an excellent service in preparing a translation of this work. The present work is not, however, merely a reproduction of the original German edition. Since "die Befruchtung" was published (in 1873), great additions have been made to the literature of the subject by others as well as by the Müllers, and the translator has incorporated the gist of these along with Dr. H. Müller's most recent observations.

A short preface by Charles Darwin, "full of suggestion, full of kindly appreciative feeling, is of peculiar interest as one of the last of his writings."

An excellent introductory chapter gives the history of our knowledge of the subject. It is remarkable to note here how accurately Sprengel, nearly a century ago, worked out the idea that many flowers are fertilised by one or more species of insects, and that the bright colors, honey, scent, &c., which he noticed and described, were contrivances to aid in this work. And yet, with all the remarkable insight into the subject which he gained, he missed the chief point in it. He saw, that pollen was carried by insects from flower to flower, and was the first to observe the common occurrence of dichogamy, or the maturing of anthers and stigmas in the same flower at different times, and yet he failed to detect the reason of these phenomena. For seventy years his valuable observations remained mere dead letters, because no one seemed to see the direct application of them, or if they saw them at all, as in Knight's case, they failed to bring general conviction to their views. It was one of the great merits of Darwin's "Origin of Species," that it suddenly, as it were, vivified all these dead facts, uniting what previously seemed purposeless and disjointed observations into one harmonious whole, and utilising them all in the exemplification of the great law of natural selection. Since the date of Darwin's chief work numerous observers have entered this field of biological study, and the work now before us brings the most of of the information thus accumulated into a compact form.

After describing briefly the insects which affect the fertilisation of flowers, and showing in some detail the chief modifications in their structure, which serve to adapt them for this work, the author describes the mechanisms of flowers at considerable length. The translator has arranged this part in accordance with English systematic ideas, which certainly is a convenient aid in finding out any known group.

Naturally, the greater portion of the work is occupied with European plants, briefer notices being accorded to extra European species. But so numerous are the types and species of flowers whose mode of fertilisation is here described, that anyone desirous of acquiring a knowledge of the subject will find

numerous examples among our garden or introduced wild plants, and may study them text-book in hand.

To the New Zealand botanist the most noteworthy feature of this work will be, that while full of suggestion, instruction, and interest to him, it still leaves the field almost untouched as far as he is concerned. He will find in its pages a fund of valuable information, but the main problems regarding the fertilisation of flowers here are still to be worked out. Not only are the individual features of the several species still but imperfectly known; there are the wider questions of the prevalence of white flowers, the brilliancy of our Alpine flora, the remarkable tendency towards separation of the sexual organs, and others of a similar nature, still requiring investigation. And side by side with this, we require a more complete knowledge of our insect life. This branch of biology has only recently been attacked with any degree of energy, but thanks to the labours of various systematists in our midst, a considerable amount of work is now being done. We shall soon have tolerably complete lists of our Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera ; but as yet hardly anything is known of the Diptera, which are great insect-fertilisers, and in my opinion (judging necessarily from very imperfect data) are relatively of much more importance here than in Europe.

An excellent feature in Mr Thompson's translation is the compendious bibliographical list at the end of the work, a list containing over 800 references, and including nearly all the books and papers which have been written on the subject since Sprengel's time. The excellent woodcuts which illustrate the work are reproduced from the original German edition.

GENERAL NOTES.

A NEW SPECIES OF NOTORNIS.-Most of our readers will recollect that a Notornis-the third known specimen-was obtained about four years ago near lake Te Anau, and though every effort was made at the time to acquire the skin and skeleton for one of the colonial museums, its owner sent the specimen to Europe for sale. It was purchased for the Dresden Museum, and we learn from "Nature," of the 16th August, that Dr. Meyer proved in his "Abbildungen von Vogelskelettes" that it belonged to a different species from that originally described by Prof. Owen from a skull and bones found in the North Island. It would thus appear that N. mantelli, the North Island species, has become extinct, while N. hochstetteri, the South Island form, has still a few living representatives. We have no copy of Dr. Meyer's paper, and therefore do not know on what characters he founds these species, but they are evidently sufficient to show

how a comparatively recent separation of the islands has led to considerable alterations even in the skeleton of these birds.— G. M. T.

TIDAL WAVES.-In our last issue we suggested that the tidal disturbances at the end of August were probably due, not to the terrific volcanic outbreak in the Straits of Sunda, as was suggested by Dr. Hector, but to the earthquake disturbances induced in the volcanic belt lying to the north of Australia and New Zealand. We advanced this opinion because no record of similar tidal disturbances had been received from Australia. Since the publication of the "note," however, telegrams have been received showing that in West Australia, Tasmania, and the West Coast of N. America very extensive oceanic disturbances took place. Following shortly after the great outbreak at the Straits of Sunda, viz., on 30th and 31st August, sharp shocks of earthquake were felt in various parts of New South Wales and Queensland, accompanied by considerable tidal disturbances.

A NEW DORIS.-One day last week, when exploring some tidal pools at this place for Polyzoa, my eye was attracted by a brilliant patch of color in the clear water at the bottom of a pool. Upon examination, I found a beautiful Doris, which I had not previously met with; and as it is not possible in this remote spot to ascertain whether it has or has not been described, I give here a description of it :-Shape oblong; mantle small, not covering the foot, the posterior end of which projects beyond it like a tail, but extending beyond the head like a hood; eyes large and globular; tentacles two, club-shaped, laminated, retractile within cavities, gill plumes also retractile; color, very pale violet, with brilliant scarlet spots, irregular oval in shape, and arranged in lines both on mantle and foot, except four spots on the mantle over the head, which form a cross; the mantle has also a narrow border of opaque white; gill plumes and tentacles dark purple, with a tinge of red. Total length, a little over an inch. This specimen was kept alive for some days, and is now preserved in spirits. In general appearance it is rather like Goniodoris castanea, figured by Gosse on page 105, vol ii., of his "Marine Zoology;" the mantle, however, projects beyond the head in my specimen.-C. H. ROBSON. Portland Island, Hawkes Bay.

A NEW ZEALAND FRESH WATER SPONGE.-The sponges preserved in the Canterbury Museum have lately been examined by Dr. v Lendenfeld. Among them was a specimen of the fresh water sponge, found by me in the Kakahu river (see page 383 of this Journal). Dr. Lendenfeld finds that this is Spongilla fluviatilis, the fresh water sponge found in running streams in England.-C.C.

HABITAT OF PERIPATUS NOVA-ZEALANDIA.-I was much surprised to read on p. 518 of the N.Z. JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, that "hitherto Peripatus nova-zealandia appears to have only been found in one locality in New Zealand-viz., at Forbury, near Dunedin." As it is of some importance that a correct list of habitats should be made, I venture to send you notes of printed records of its occurrence in various parts of the Colony. (1) Professor Hutton, in the "Annals and Magazine of Natural History," (vol. XVIII. p. 361), says "That a species of Peripatus inhabits New Zealand, was first brought under my notice by Mr. W. T. L. Travers, who showed me a good locality for them near Wellington. I have since found the same species at Nelson and Dunedin, so that it probably occurs all over New Zealand." (2) On p. 86, vol. XIX, of the same journal, Mr. Mosely says"When H.M.S. 'Challenger' was at Wellington, Mr. W. T. L. Travers .. brought me off some specimens of the animal to the ship, and gave me such information about its whereabouts, that collectors sent from the ship were able to procure me about fifty living specimens." (3) On p. 279 of "Notes by a Naturalist on the Challenger,'" Mr. Mosely particularises the locality where these specimens were procured; he says "the New Zealand Peripatus (P. nova-zealandia) is abundant near Wellington amongst dead wood, and I had 40 or 50 specimens brought to me as the result of a day's search in the Hutt Valley." (4) I am informed by Dr. Hector that Mr. J. Buchanan obtained specimens in the North-East Valley, near Dunedin, as early as 1861, though, of course, he was not then aware of its systematic position. Its abundance throughout the Wellington Provincial District is evidenced by its occurrence at the following places -Botanic Gardens, South Karori, Hutt Valley, Lowry Bay, Masterton, Wanganui, Porirua (T.W.K.), and Ohario (H. B. Kirk).-T. W. KIRK, Colonial Museum.

MACHINE FOR TESTING STRENGTH OF TIMBER.-Several years ago on examining the late Mr. Balfour's machine for testing the strength of the timbers of the Colony, I found that the machine was faulty in three respects, tending to give too high results. I then concluded that these faults caused the discrepancy between the experiments at the Sydney Mint and those made by Mr. Balfour. To satisfy myself, I made a direct-acting machine, which proved that Mr. Balfour's results for ultimate transverse strain are on an average 17 per cent. too high. I communicated to Dr. Hector the fact that the Balfour machine was faulty. That gentleman took no notice, but, I believe, conducted another series of experiments with the same machine. I would warn engineers that all ultimate strength results by that machine are unreliable. Subjoined you will see in the first column my experiments, in each case a mean of ten tests. The second column contains Mr. Balfour's results :