zoospores in motion have a power of contracting and expanding very quickly, and of very considerably changing their form; this changing of form, he considers, constitutes in itself the mechanism of motion. In this essay he has clearly proved that in the algæ then under examination, the cilia cannot be the true organs of motion.

The zoospores originate always in the cells that lie on or near the margin of the frond; they afterwards appear in abundance in the upper parts of the frond, whence they spread gradually downwards, till they fill up all the cells of the monostromatic part.

When the motion finally ceases, the zoospores fasten them. selves to some object near at hand, and then begin to develop into young plants. The zoospores which, till this time, were formed of the bare protoplasm only, are now covered with a cellular membrane. The cilia disappear, and a process of division commences, which, however, in the species of this genus, has not been studied. In several other well-known Ulvæ, this division takes place first in one dimension, but afterwards in two; thus an expanded membrane is formed. This increase in size takes place, according to the observations of authors, principally, but not exclusively, in the periphery of the frond, or on the apex, if there be one. The youngest parts of the plants are thus always at the top, and the oldest at the base. In this way the frond acquires a tolerable leaf-like aspect.

As before-mentioned, the frond does not in all the species remain attached during its whole life to some object. It is often found, fresh and in full vigour, lying loosely at the bottom of the water in which it grew. Thus, according to the experience of authors, these free examples are entirely monostromatic. Hence there is reason for the opinion that, in this case, the frond divides itself into two parts, and that the divisionline between them falls just on the border between the upper monostromatic part of the frond and the lower, and not monostromatic. The upper part of the frond survives for a considerable time, and generally increases in size, until the formation of zoospores begins, when it gradually decays. The fate of the other part of the frond is involved in obscurity. Dr. Wittrock thinks it not improbable that the cells may detach themselves from each other, and become a kind of fixed gonidia, which finally develop into young plants. Such a mode of increasing would agree with that which, according to Kützing, occurs in several species of the genus Ulva of authors (Phycoseris, Ktz.), where the cells in the stipes of the plants, after the frond becomes free, put forth budding-cells. It also occurs in

Prasiola.

Kützing, in his works, speaks of another kind of reproductive bodies, the so-called Spermatia, which he says occur in the Ulvaceæ. He describes them as brown, and as detached from the surface of the frond, also as round bodies with a thick hyaline membrane, the contents of which are brown and granular. In Ulva latissima, Ktz., to judge from the figure, they appear to be about three times as long as the outer cells. Dr. Wittrock had been unable, after diligent search, to find them. To Thuret their use was unknown, and Jessen supposed that they proceeded from some accidental deformity of the common cellular tissue.

No genus in the whole vegetable kingdom has so wide a range as Monostroma. It has representatives in all parts of the world, but the greater part of the species prevail in the colder parts of the European temperate zone. Of the eighteen species which are known with tolerable certainty to belong to the genus twelve are found in this zone. In the southern part of the Polar regions the genus has not less than seven representatives; in the equatorial zone one species is found; south of the range of the "wild goat," only two. In Europe there are fifteen species; in Asia, two (or, including M. fuscum, three); in Africa, one; in North America, one; in South America, one; and in Australia, three species.1

Many of the species grow in salt water, some prefer brackish, others inhabit fresh water. They grow generally in shallow water, most frequently only one or two feet below the surface; but two species often grow many fathoms under water. Some species are found at nearly all times of the year, others in the spring and summer only. All are annuals.

To facilitate examination and to preserve as much as possible the natural order, Dr. Wittrock has subjoined a tabular view of the species which he has examined. The characters are here

At present three species only of Monostroma are known to grow on the British shores, namely, M. bullosum, M. Grevillei, and M. latissimum. The first inhabits fresh water, the others salt water. On the north coast of France five species are found.-M. P. M.

adduced partly from the form and position of the cells as shown in a transverse section of the frond, partly from the develop. ment of the chlorophyll bodies and the thickness of the frond. The arrangement of the species in this scheme is not altogether the same as that afterwards observed in the treatise.

The species are fully, even minutely described, and the monograph is illustrated by four plates, in which magnified figures are given of the surface and transverse sections of the fronds. These are extremely useful, since the species can be determined by microscopic observation only. MARY P. MERRIFIELD

SCIENTIFIC SERIALS

IN the most recent numbers of the Journal of Botany (MayJuly), the most interesting article is perhaps the de-cription of a new British Umbellifer, Selinum Carvifolia, by Mr. F. A. Lees, illustrated by a plate. The plant is widely distributed on the Continent, and has been now discovered in Lincolnshire by the Rev. William Fowler. It has apparently been confounded with Peucedanum palustre, to which however it is not very nearly allied, and should be looked for elsewhere.

THE recent numbers of the Scottish Naturalist (October 1881July 1882) contain the usual supply of articles on various branches of natural history, especially interesting to dwellers in or visitors to the northern parts of our island.

The American Journal of Science, June.-Respiration of plants, by W. P. Wilson.-On the question of electrification by evaporation, by S. H. Freeman.—Observations on snow and ice under pressure at temperatures below 32° F., by E. Hungerford. On the minerals, mainly zeolites, occurring in the basalt of Table Mountain, near Golden, Colorado, by W. Cross and W. F. Hillebrand.-On a new locality for Hayesine, by N. H. Darton.-Notes on the electromagnetic theory of light, II., by J. W. Gibbs.-New phyllopod crustaceans from the Devonian of New York, by J. M. Clarke.-An organ-pipe sonometer, by W. Le Conte Stevens.

THE Journal of the Franklin Institute, July.-Description of the Edison steam dynamo, by T. A. Edison and C. T. Porter.On the efficiency of the steam boiler, and on the conditions of maximum economy, by R. H. Thurston.-Note on the economy of the windmill as a prime mover, by A. R. Wolff.-Harmonic intonation of Chime bells (continued), by J. W. Nystrom.-An organ-pipe sonometer, by W. Le Conte Stevens.-Analysis of Helvite from Virginia, by R. Haines.-The absorption of metallic oxides by plants, by F. C. Phillips.-Applications of the principle of the phonodynamograph, by W. P. Cooper.Remarks made at the closing exercises of the drawing school, May 18, 1882, by C. Sellers, jun.-Conservation of solar energy, by P. E. Chase.

THE Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club for April contains an interesting article by Mr. T. F. Allen on the "Development of the Cortex in Chara," illustrated by 8 plates. The author divides the species belonging to the genus into eight groups, characterised by the mode of development of the cortical cells and cortical tubes. Three new species are described.

Annalen der Physik und Chemie, No. 6.-On the electricity of flame, by J. Elster and H. Geitel.-On double refraction in glass and sulphide of carbon produced by electric induction, by H. Brongersma.-On measurement of small electric resistances, by C. Dieterici.-Note on weakly magnetic and dia-magnetic substances, by P. Silow.-Some experiments on diffusion of gases through hydrophane of Czernowitza, by G. Hüfner.General formulæ for determination of the constants of elasticity of crystals by observation of the flexure and drilling of prisms, by W. Voigt. On the molecular attraction of liquids for each other, by P. Volkmann.-Reply to the memoir of Herr V. v. Lang: "Determination of the quotients of refraction of a concentrated solution of cyanin," by C. Pulfrich.-Experiments fon colour-mixtures, by R. Schelske.-A proof of Talbot's proposi tion, and remarks on some of its consequences, by F. Boas.On the replacement of a centred system of refracting spherical condensers, by W. Holtz.-On coloured sparks and their producsurfaces by a single one of this kind, by F. Kessler.-On singing tion by internal and external resistances, by the same.-Remarks on the production of Lichtenburg figures, by K. L. Bauer.

No. 7.-On transpiration of vapours (III. Memoir), by V. Steudel. On the same, (IV. Memoir), by L. Meyer.-General formulæ, &c. (continued), by W. Voigt.-Volume and angular

changes of crystalline bodies with omni- or uni-lateral pressure, by the same. On the absorption of heat by gases and a method based thereupon for determination of the amount of carbonic acid of atmospheric air, by H. Heine.-On the absolute system of measurement, by P. Volkmann.-Deduction of the funda mental law of crystallography from the theory of crystalline structure, by L. Sohncke.-On the molecular-kinetic laws of heat of vaporisation and the specific heat of bodies in various forms of aggregation, by A. Walter.--On the different systems of measures for measurement of electric and magnetic quantities, by R. Clausius.—On the metallic galvanic battery of Perry and Ayrton, by B. J. Goosens.-The Waltenhofen phenomenon and the demagnetisation of iron bodies, by F. Auerbach.-On the behaviour of electricity in gases, by F. Narr.

Reale Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, Rendiconti, vol. xv. fasc. xi.-On some formulæ relative to calculation of errors of observation, by S. A. Maggi.-On two fossiliferous planes of the Lias in Umbria, by C. F. Parona.-On the variability of Cobitis tenia, by E. Cantoni.-On caffeic acid obtained from Cinchona cuprea, by G. B. Körner.-On an herbarium about 3000 years old, by G. Cornalia.

SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
LONDON

Anthropological Institute, June 27.-General Pitt-Rivers, 1.R.S., president, in the chair.-Mr. Villiers Stuart, M.P., exhibited and described a drawing of the funeral canopy or tent of an Egyptian queen, and some casts of bas-reliefs discovered by him within a short distance of the tent.-Mr. E. H. Man read a further account of the natives of the Andaman Islands, in which he treated more particularly of their home life; the food and methods of cooking were fully described; also the games, amusements, and dances.-A communication was received from Mr. H. C. R. Becher on some Mexican terra-cotta figures found near the ancient pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacan; from a comparison of these figures with those in the museum at Palermo the author argued that they were produced by people of the same race, and that the builders of these ancient monuments were Phoenicians.

Royal Horticultural Society, June 27.-Sir J. D. Hooker in the chair.-Hollyhock attacked by Fungi: Mr. W. G. Smith exhibited fruits, and an enlarged drawing, showing them to be often badly attacked by Puccinia malvacearum, and a Cladosporium, which would probably account for the presence of the Uredo noticed by Mr. Berkeley in the germinating plants.Hybrid Lily: Mr. G. F. Wilson exhibited a very remarkable hybrid between L. Washingtonianum and L. superbum, which had the foliage of the former, but flowers more like those of the latter.-Synanthic campanulas: Mr. G. S. Boulger mentioned that Mr. Gibbs, of Chelmsford, had fertilised a common form of Campanula (with catacorolla), with the pollen of a synanthic blossom. He had raised 200 plants, and many had synanthic flowers.-Retinospora sport: Dr. M. T. Masters exhibited a specimen of R. squarrosa, which had borne a branch

with the characters of R. pisifera, proving these supposed species

to be one.-Monstrous Flowers: Dr. Masters exhibited virescent

flowers of Auricula; Mr. Laing, a rose-pink double Begonia, with axillary prolifications of double flowers besides a terminal one, all proceeding from the centre of a male flower; the female flowers being compact and double, but not proliferous to the same extent.-The Rev. G. Henslow exhibited a branch of wallflower covered with minute and almost capillary leaves.

July 11.-Dr. M. T. Masters in the chair.-Hollyhock disease: Mr. W. G. Smith exhibited fruits of Malva sylvestris with Puccinia malvacearum. They confirmed the correctness of his view that the fruits infected by this fungus fall to the ground, and are then capable of producing seedlings diseased with Uredo without the intervening acidium stage, as in the case of the hollyhock mentioned above.-Scolopendrium, diseased: he also showed the harts-tongue fern attacked by Didymium effusum, Lk., a myxomycetous fungus, new to Great Britain. It occurs on both sides of the frond, and grows over the ruptured masses of spore-cases, and even amongst the free spores (for description and figures see Gardeners' Chronicle, July 15, 1882).-Clematis and oat roots attacked by vibrio (Tylenchus, sp. ?): Dr. Masters showed specimens and observed that it was only one variety of black oat which was attacked, but that to such an extent as to destroy whole crops.-Gardenia and Petroleum: he brought a spray to show its healthiness after being treated by syringing

with this oil and water (a wine-glass to a gallon), to destroy mealy bug.-Water-lily with foliaceous sepal: he also exhibited a specimen in which one sepal had developed a leaf-blade at its apex, proving that (as is usually the case) a sepal is homologous with the basal part of the petiole only.-Coloured pea-poa's: Mr. Laxton of Bedford sent green, purple, and speckled pods, the latter a result from crossing the two former. The purple colour appears to overlie the chlorophyll, which it thereby conceals.Antirrhinum Hendersoni: Mr. Cannell forwarded sprays of this race, which has white flowers with crimson border, but which will not set seed, this being apparently due to atrophy of the pollen. The anthers had dehisced even in bud, and such few pollen-grains as were present were minute and abortive. The ovules, however, appeared to be normal; yet the race does not seem capable of being crossed. Mr. Henslow remarked that when white and purple snapdragons werh crossed the result is usually a streaked corolla with no certainty in the markings as in the present case.-Aerial petato-tubers: the Rev. G. Henslow exhibited tubers found in the axils of leaves. He also showed plum leaves perforated with small circular holes, caused by raindrops concentrating the sun's rays, which had thus burnt them.

EDINBURGH

Royal Society, July 3.-Prof. Maclagan, in the chair.Prof. Tait, in a note on the kinetic theory in relation to dissociation, stated that it followed from that theory as ordinarily enunciated that dissociation should take place at all temperatures, though of course very slowly at low temperatures. This, according to the chemists, was irreconcileable with the facts. It appeared, then, that a slight modification of the kinetic theory is necessary, so as to restrict the utmost ratio in which the velocity of an individual particle may exceed the velocity of mean square. This would entirely remove the difficulty, while in no way interfering with the success of the theory in other directions. A strong analogy in favour of this is afforded by the equation of diffusion and of conduction, from which an infinite velocity is assigned under certain cases to a particle of salt in water. This arises at once from the assumption that the diffusion is always directly proportional to the gradient of strength, however small that gradient may be.-Dr. Knott communicated a brief paper by Mr. Albert Campbell on experiments on the Peltier effect, in which the author had obtained by a very simple method the ratio of the Peltier effect for a given pair of metals at 20° C. to that at 100° C. The pairs he experimented on were iron-lead, iron-zinc, iron-german silver, and lead-silver; and the ratios obtained for these differed in no case more than 8 per cent. from the values indicated on Prof. Tait's thermo-electric diagram-a remarkably close agreement, considering how much metals of the same name differ in their thermo-electric properties.-Prof. Marshall read the continuation of the paper by himself, Prof. C. Michie Smith, and Mr. R. T. Omond, on the lowering of the maximum density point of water by pressure. They had repeated their former experiments with fresh water, and had investigated similarly salt water of about the same density as sea-water. Salt water apparently had no maximum density point at ordinary pressure-a fact previously known-or rather the maximum density point as calculated from a modification of Thomson's formula expressing the thermal effect due to any sudden compression in terms of that compression, is, so to speak imaginary, lying below the freezing point. The results with salt water are important, as giving greater confidence in their method, so that the lowering of the density-point of fresh water by 5° C., by a pressure of one ton weight on the square inch may be accepted as not far from the truth.-The Rev. J. L. Blake read a paper on vocalisation and articulation, which was a continuation of his former paper on breath-pressure, and in which he considered specially the actions of the various muscles on the lungs and vocal organs in producing speech, pointing out what he considered the chief differences in the actions which accompany breathing, speaking, and singing.

BERLIN

Physiological Society, June 2.-In our account of this meeting (NATURE, vol. xxvi. p. 216), by an oversight a page of the report was omitted. At the close of the notice of Prof. Kronecker's report on Dr. Melzer's experiments on the action of the vagus, and before the words Since Hunter's time," the following paragraph should have been inserted :"Prof. du Bois-Reymond read a second report on the recently instituted researches of Prof. Fritsch in Egypt and the Mediter. ranean, on electric fishes. After Fritsch had satisfied himself

as mentioned in the former communication, that Mormyrus was an electric fish, he thoroughly examined its central nervous system. He found the spinal marrow, when in a fresh state, to be a soft mass, which could be hardened by no medium so as to be made accessible for examination. On the other hand, the brain was of so high a degree of development, that it is even beyond that of the birds, and has a resemblance to that of a rabbit. Furthermore, Prof. Fritsch has examined a great number of Torpedoes from the Mediterranean, and he had made out four distinct species with their respective varieties. Into the specific diagnoses he introduced the number of the columns or pillars in the electric organs, and this because he found-as the result of a long series of careful countings-that the proposition as to the pre-formation of the electric organs (i.e. the doctrine that in the electric organs, after their first formation, no new elements are added), was true. The opposite view, that during growth new pillars were continually being formed, until very lately was almost universally held, and seems to have rested on Hunter's authority, who, towards the end of the last century, had made two series of countings, one on a common Torpedo, eighteen inches long, in which were 470 pillars, and one on a giant Torpedo, caught at Torbay, four feet in length, which contained 1182 columns. Hunter seems to have taken it for granted that the larger animal was but an older specimen of the same species, and had thence concluded that the pillars had increased during growth."

June 30.-Prof. du Bois-Reymond in the chair.-Dr. G. Salomon read a paper on his attempt to investigate more exactly the xanthin bodies of urine. He especially investigated the hypo-xanthin and its reactions, and in doing so found a new substance which easily crystallised, and which for the present he called para-xanthin, from its relation to xanthin. From the small quantity it was as yet not possible to make an accurate analysis of it, even though 500 litres of urine had been used in the investigations.-Dr. A. Baginski spoke of the anatomy of the colon in children. He endeavoured to find in the minute anatomy of the colon in infants, an explanation of the wellknown fact that children during the first few years of their life can either not digest food containing starch, or at least do so with greater difficulty than adults. He found on the examination of the colon of the human embryo, and of infants up to their fourth year, that in the foetus, and even after birth, there were no drusæ as yet in the mucous membrane of the stomach and colon, while in the infant the deeper lymphatic vessels were more strongly developed than in the adult.

PARIS

Academy of Sciences, July 10.-M. Blanchard in the chair. The following papers were read :-On the differential equation which gives immediately the solution of the problem of three bodies to quantities of the second order inclusively, by M. Gyldén.-On various hydrates formed by pressure and release from pressure, by MM. Cailletet and Bordet. They compressed phosphuretted hydrogen in presence of water; on sudden release, crystals of what is doubtless a hydrate of phosphonium were formed within the tube. The critical point was + 28°. Other hydrates were had on treating similarly equal volumes of carbonic acid and phosphuretted hydrogen with water, dry phosphuretted hydrogen, and sulphide of carbon, and ammoniac gas in presence of a saturated solution of that substance (a hydrate of ammonia was formed in the latter case on the admission of some air).— Note on Brisinga, by M. Perrier. The Travailleur expeditions have yielded a splendid specimen, almost complete, sixteen wellpreserved discs, two very young individuals, and a great many isolated arms. They are mostly B. coronata, the large one B. endecacnemos. A distinct form got in the Atlantic in 1880 is named B. Edwardsii. The development of Brisinga, bordering with that of crinoids on the one hand, is singularly like that of Ophiurides and Stellerides on the other.-Researches on the law of activity of the heart, by M. Dastre. He gives experimental proof that the law of periodic variation of the excitability (Marey) is an attribute of muscle, and that the law of uniformity of work or of rhythm (E. Cyon, Marey) is an attribute of the nervous apparatus.-Generalised and contagious acné indurata, having for origin varioliform or varioloïd acné, by M. Brame.On a linear equation with partial derivatives, by M. Darboux. -On the ratio of the circumference to the diameter, and on the Napierian logarithms of commensurable numbers or of algebraic irrationals, by M. Lindemann.-Rectification, by M. Tannery.On the conditions of achromatism in phenomena of interference,

by M. Hurion.-Apparatus, with which may be recorded, in the form of a continuous curve, the liberation or the absorption of gases, and specially those which result from phenomena fermentation and of respiration, by M. Regnard. Briefly, the gas from a vessel of liquid in fermentation acts on mercury in one arm of a manometer, a float in the other arm rises and pushes up one arm of a balance, making a platinum wire on the other arm dip in mercury and close a circuit. The current passes through two electro-magnets, one of which affects a style on a rotated blackened cylinder (through a ratchet and screw arrangement); the other, by raising a small bell out of mercury, releases the gaseous tension, so that the circuit is broken, and so on. The second apparatus, for respiration, is a slightly modified form.-Reply to M. Berthelot on the subject of the note "On the electromotive force of a zinc-carbon couple," by M. Tommasi. -On basic salts of manganese, by M. Gorgeu.-Action of bromine on quinoleine and pyridine, by M. Grimaux.- Researches on the curves of solubility in water of the different varieties of tartaric acid, by M. Leidie.-Botanical, chemical, and therapeutical researches on globularia, by MM. Heckel, Mourson, and Schlagdenhauffen. They differ from Walz about the chemical nature of the glycoid globularine, obtained (along with tannin, colouring matter, and cinnamic acid) by means of boiling water from the leaves. Instead of two products of decomposition under acids, they obtain only one, for which they keep the name globularetine; it is oily and resinous-looking after preparation, and becomes a transparent uncrystallisable mass. In hot caustic alkalis it dissolves, fixes the elements of water, and is transformed into cinnamic acid. Globularine contains also a little of a very volatile aromatic substance, which seems to be partly formed of cinnamate of benzyl.-On the presence of glycol in wine, by M. Henninger.-On the duration of the luminous perception in direct and indirect vision, by M. Charpentier. The person gave an electric signal on perceiving light through a hole in the bottom of a dark lined box, when a shutter fell from it. The interval studied (duration of luminous perception) varies in the same individual under like conditions, from simple to double, but a constant mean may be reached (e.g., 13-hundredths of a sec., with daylight). It varies with different persons; is about the same with both eyes; is notably increased by other brain occupation; is greater in indirect than in direct vision; exercise attenuating but not suppressing the difference. Exercise for many days lessens the duration, but in certain curious ways for different parts of the retina.-Regeneration of peripheric nerves by the process of tubular suture, by M. Vanlair.-Experimental researches on the contractility of the uterus under the influence of direct excitations, by M. Dembo. The remarkable uterine excitability of the rabbit, may be connected with the fecundity of that animal. Dogs and cats gave slight contractions. -Analysis of the waters of the isthmus of Panama, by M. Aillaud. The waters of the Rio Grande, at a certain height, and before entrance into the marshy region, are potable.-On the coal basins of TongKing, by M. Fuchs. The workable coal, to only 100 m. below the

sea level, is estimated to be over five million tons. There are four different species in distinct groups of beds.

Lastly, we must protest against the treatment given to Reis's Telephone, of which the book declares that it "has always remained a purely musical apparatus." It is perfectly clear that neither M. Hospitalier nor Dr. Maier can have read Reis's own papers when they make this assertion, which those papers amply refute, and which a careful trial of Reis's own instruments will also amply contradict. Reis invented his instrument, taking the human ear as pattern, because the human ear can vibrate to all kind of sounds. He invented it, meaning it to transmit speech, and though it transmitted music better than speech-and both imperfectly-it did, to a certain degree, fulfil its inventor's aim. The author seems in fact to have viewed Reis's invention through the hazy medium of the writings of Count du Moncel, or some less reliable authority; for he mentions Yeates's experiments of 1865 (in which articulate speech was transmitted by a modified Reis instrument with such accuracy that the voices of individual speakers were recognised), and then adds: "The musical telephone might have become an articulating telephone under these conditions, but this result was not obtained, partly on account of the imperfection of the instrument, and partly because Yeates had no such result in view!" How this extraordinary distortion of well-known facts has crept into the book before us we are at a loss to conjecture. Doubtless the numerous excellent illustrations with which the book is adorned will procure for it a ready sale.

HANDBOOK FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL JAPAN

A Handbook for Travellers in Central and Northern Japan, &c., with Maps and Plans. By Ernest Mason Satow, Second Secretary and Japanese Secretary to H.B.M. Legation, and Lieut. A. G. S. Hawes, Royal Marines (Retired). (Yokohama: Kelly and Co.; Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, 1881.)

As a mere handbook this work is indispensable to the

European traveller in Japan. But it is much more than a handbook, it not only indicates what is sightworthy, but explains by illustrative myth or legend, drawn from local tradition or from the little explored treasures of Japanese literature, the special interest with which mountains, temples, mounds, groves, and places are invested in the eyes of such Japanese as have not yet abandoned their nationality. To readers of this journal the most valuable portion of the book will be the description as accurate as minute of the Alpine region formed by the provinces of Etchiu and Hida (now the prefectures of Ishikawa and Gifu)—a region difficult of access even to natives, and almost untrodden by Europeans. The mountain range bounding this wild and remote tract on the East is the most considerable in Japan, extending nearly due north and south for some sixty or seventy miles, and rugged with innumerable peaks, the most conspicuous of which, beginning from the north, are Tatéyama, 9500 feet, Goroku-daké, 9100 feet, Yari-ga-také, 10,000 feet, and Norikura, 9800 feet. The chain is not of homogeneous structure, nor are the peaks of contemporaneous origin. The basis is a closegrained granite, not unfrequently rich in garnets. Through this backbone or axis vast masses of igneous and volcanic rock have been ex

truded, the volcanic rock principally trachytic, often coarse-grained, and occasionally (Tate-yama) columnar. Of the peaks, Yari-ga-také (spear-peak) seems the most ancient, and consists of an intensely hard, foliated rock with curiously contorted siliceous bands and of an almost Nori-kura (ride-saddle) equally hard porphyry breccia. and Tatéyama (steep-hill) are both volcanic. Gorokudaké or Renge (Lotus flower Peak) consists of a mass of trachytic porphyry piled upon and against a close-grained granitic rock. The lower slopes of the range are overlaid, say our authors, by sedimentary rocks, but I am inclined to doubt the accuracy of this statement. Under the fierce sun and incessant rain of summer aërial denudation proceeds at a great rate, especially in the granitic districts of Japan, as may be well seen in the neighbourhood of Kobé, and the existence of a quasi-sedimentary rock may thus be easily accounted for. But true sedimentary rocks, excluding lacustrine deposits or fluvial alluvia, require the agency of the sea, and the greater part of the covering strata of the Japanese islands, is of very recent origin, and has never been under the sea. Only for a few days in early autumn does snow disappear from these peaks, the curiously abrupt and jagged outlines of which recall and even justify the mountain-forms common in Chinese pictures. The fauna of the district is little known. Ptarmigans are common, so also are flying squirrels, as well as bears, two species, of wild boar, and the curious goat-faced antelope. The flora has been more studied. Dense forests clothe the slopes, principally of beech and of several species of oak, mostly evergreen. Conifers are less abundant thar is common in Japan. But the pretty 5-leaved Pinus parviflora, S. and Z., as well as, though to a less extent, Cryptomeria japonica, Chamaecyparis obtusa, S. and Z., and C. pisifera, S. and Z., are not infrequent. I am not sure, for reasons too long to state here, that the Cryptomeria, despite its frequency, is indigenous to Japan. Two or three kinds of Betula show themselves at elevations of 4000-5000 feet, Below this level many examples of the genera Epilobium, Scabiosa, Hypericum, Parnassia, Euphrasia, Lilium (L. auratum and L. tigrinum), Hydrangea, Smilax, Akebia, Tylophora, &c., constitute a vegetation by no means without a western European aspect. Above 5000 feet Vaccinium, Diphylleia, Trollius, Paris, Fragaria vesca, and Anemone make their appearance. The common Pinguicula is also found, and probably Loiseleuria procumbens, which I have gathered on the slopes of Asamayama, finds a home on those of the Hida mountains. Above 8000 feet a small Dicentra (D. pusilla, S. and Z. ?), a yellow violet, Shortia uniflora, and Schizocodon soldanelloides are to be seen interspersed among bushes of a dwarf azalea. But it is doubtful whether any true Alpine flora exists in Japan.

On Taté-yama the climber passes by some hexagonally columnar examples of andesite, said to have been origin. ally prostrate trunks of trees over which a woman incautiously stepped, which so offended the deities that they were changed into useless blocks of stone. The spot is called Zai-moku-zaka or timber-steep to this day, in commemoration of the fact. Solfataras, it should be mentioned, are as common in this district as in other parts of Japan. A curious means of crossing deep ravines and precipitously walled valleys, known as Kago