Machines of this class have many defects. The feeble steering power, combined with their unsymmetrical driving, render them altogether untrustworthy. If any power is applied to the driver, which can only have its share of the weight upon it, it slips on the ground; if the machine is quickly stopped, owing to the small weight on the steering wheel, it is apt to swing round and upset; nevertheless, those who are content with pottering about on our wood pavement and gravel roads find this class of machine answer their purpose, and owing to their cheapness and simplicity they do not care to get a better.

The second arrangement of the model, in which riders must have recogised the Coventry Rotary, is free from most of the defects of the form just described; there is more weight on the driver, but not enough to prevent its being made to slip round; there are two steering wheels a long way apart, with plenty of weight upon them, so that the guiding power in this type of tricycle is all that can be desired.

Let me now return to the first arrangement, in which two parallel wheels are opposite one another. If by any possibility both wheels could be driven, and yet be free to go at different speeds, then there being so large a weight on the drivers they could not be made to slip; the driving being symmetrical, most of the twisting strain would be taken off the steering wheel, and still the machine would be capable of rolling round a curve with perfect freedom.

All the methods of solving the problem of double driving come under two heads, one depending on the action of a clutch and the other on differential or balance gear.

The clutch action being the simplest, I shall describe that first. In going round a corner the inner wheel must lag behind, or the outer wheel must run ahead of the other; as either wheel may be inner or outer according to the direction of the curve, each must be able to lag behind or each must be able to run ahead. If both were able to lag behind, the machine could not be driven forward, and it would be of little use; if both were able to run ahead, the machine could not be driven backwards-a matter of small importance. There is on the table a large working model, showing how a four-sided wheel is free to revolve in a ring, but is instantly seized when turned the other way, owing to a jambing action on one or more of four rollers. The four-sided wheel then can be employed to drive the ring one way but not the other. One of these "clutches" or "friction grips" is placed at each end of the crank shaft in the "Cheylesmore" tricycle, and a chain round the ring of each drives the corresponding wheel. The machine named is a rearsteerer; the clutch is also employed in some front

steerers.

The other method of double driving depends on the use of the well-known gear of three bevel wheels or of some equivalent mechanism. If the axle of the middle of the three wheels is turned round the common axle of the other two, the applied force is divided between those two wheels, yet the pair are free to move relatively. Let then the chain drive a wheel carrying the middle bevel, and let the side bevels be connected with the two drivers. Whatever happens, the power of the rider will be equally divided between them, yet the machine will be free to roll round a curve.

There are a great number of devices which are exactly equivalent to this the simplest of all, which is known as Starley's gear. There is on the table a beautiful model of the gear used in the Sparkbrook tricycle, which has been lent me by the makers of that machine, Bown's differential gear, and some others; but time will not allow me to describe them. There is one gear, however, which presents many peculiarities, which I have devised, and which may be of interest. A large working model is on the table. Between the

conical edges of two wheels which are connected to the drivers lie a series of balls, outside which is a ring with sloping recesses. If the ring be turned by a chain or otherwise, the balls jamb in the recesses as the rollers do in the clutch gear. Nevertheless they are free to turn about a radial axis, and so allow the two driven cone wheels independent motion. The bursting strain on the ring and the side thrust on the cones acting on rolling balls balance one another. With this gear the rider can cause the balls to jamb one way or both ways, and so have or avoid the "free pedal" as he pleases.

In almost all good designs of front-steering tricycles the power applied to the cranks is transmitted to a differential gear by a chain. The crank and connecting rod have also been used to transmit the power, but then the clutch is necessary.

There is, however, another type of tricycle, in which the use of cranks is avoided, among which may be mentioned the "Omnicycle," the "Merlin," and that highly ingenious machine, the rowing tricycle. On the table there is the Omnicycle gear. In all these the power is applied direct to the circumference of a wheel or sector, and so dead points are avoided, which is a point in their favour when meeting with much resistance. On the other hand, the sudden starting and stopping of the feet in the two former machines and of the body in the latter make this type utterly unsuitable for obtaining anything more than a moderate speed. In the Omnicycle ingenious expanding drums are employed, so that the power may be applied with different degrees of leverage according to circumstances.

There remains one type of tricycle which, for rapid running, surpasses many: I refer to what is known as the Humber pattern. So excellent is this form in this respect that the leading manufacturers have, by turning out machines on the same lines, paid the original makers a compliment which is not altogether appreciated. This pattern departs less from the ordinary bicycle than any other; it is one, in fact, in which, instead of one, there are two great wheels, giving width to the machine, between which the power is divided by the usual differential gear.

Having spoken of the differential gear and the clutch, I had better show the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the two methods of double driving. With the differential gear the same force is always applied to each wheel, so in turning a corner the outer one, which travels furthest, has most work expended upon it (work= force distance). In this respect the differential gear is superior. On the other hand, when one wheel meets with much resistance from mud or stones, and the other with hardly any, the latter has still half the strength of the rider spent upon it, which is clearly a mistake. With a clutch-driven machine running straight, the wheels take such a share of the rider's power as is proportional to the resistance they individually meet. When the machine is describing a curve, that is generally, only the inner wheel is driven, and the machine is for the time only a single driver, with the driver on the wrong side.

I must now describe some devices which are attracting much attention at the present time, the speed and power gears. Let us suppose there are two machines with wheels of different sizes, but in other respects alike. Then each turn will take the larger wheeled machine further than the smaller. In going up a bill the larger wheel will take its machine up a greater height than the other in one revolution, which involves more work and therefore more strength. If on the large wheel the chain pulley were increased in size, then for the same speed of the treadles it would not turn so quickly, it would not take the machine so far up the hil as before, it would in fact be equivalent to a smaller wheel, so that less strength than before would be necessary. This diminution of speed, though of great advantage when climbing a hill, is the reverse on the

experiments, it is suggested that lycopod powder mixed with sugar and water is a good material, as the lycopod spores are easily detected.

It is self-evident that if the mouth-apparatus of the fly will admit of the introduction of such objects as have been above noted, that there will be no difficulty in its admitting scores of the spores of many parasitic fungi, and above all of those belonging to the Schizomycetes, the possible cause of so much disease. Already has Dr. Grassi detected in fly excrement the spores of Oidium lactis, and the spores of a Botrytis, this latter taken from the bodies of silkworms dead of muscardine.

There arises, of course, the question of how far the active digestion in the intestines of the flies may not destroy the vitality of germs or spores thus taken in, but it would seem probable that in many instances the larger bodies swallowed may not serve as objects for assimilation, but may be got rid of as foreign bodies, and it will be borne in mind that the flies themselves fall victims to the growth of a parasitic fungus (Empusa muscæ, Cohn), which is probably taken first into their own stomachs.

Dr. Grassi promises to publish the results of his experiments in fuller detail. Judging of their interest by this abstract, they will well deserve to be followed up, and though in these countries our modern sanitary arrangements do not tend to the development of such immense swarms of flies as are so constantly to be met with in Italy, still the dangers to be apprehended from them there are possibly, though in a less degree, to be encountered here, and the investigation of the fact is easy to any one possessing a fairly average microscope and the power of catching a fly. E. P. W.

A

EDINBURGH MARINE STATION

T the half-yearly meeting of the Scottish Meteorological Society held on Monday last, Mr. Murray submitted a statement on the work done by the Fisheries Committee. This included preliminary reports from the Rev. A. M. Norman on the invertebrate fauna of the Scottish fresh-water lochs; Prof. Herdman's report of his researches connected with the fisheries of Loch Fyne, and similar reports from Messrs. Hoyle and Beddard from Peterhead and Eyemouth. After reading several interesting extracts from these reports, which will shortly appear in the Society's Journal, he then stated that the marine station at Granton would be formally opened for scientific work about the 10th of next month by Prof. Haeckel of Jena. The floating laboratory, which has been named the Ark, was successfully launched on Saturday last, and it has accommodation for seven biologists. The steam yacht of thirty tons, which is to be called the Medusa, is to be launched on the 26th inst. at Glasgow, and will be at the station ten days thereafter. The Station will then be possessed of the three most important requisites, viz. the floating laboratory, with abundance of sea water; a steam vessel fitted with all modern appliances for sounding, dredging, and other biological and physical investigations; and lastly, a most complete library in marine biology and physics. Mr. J. T. Cunningham, B.A. Oxon., Fellow of University College, Oxford, has been appointed Naturalist in charge of the Station; Mr. Hugh Robert Mill, B.Sc., who holds a Research Fellowship in the University of Edinburgh, is to carry on physical and meteorological investigations under the superintendence of Prof. Tait; Mr. Alexander Turbyne, fisherman, Keeper; Mr. William Bell, late Royal Navy, Engineer; and it is hoped the arrangements will shortly be made that will enable a botanist and geologist to carry on systematic work at the Station. The captain of the yacht will be appointed next week.

British and foreign naturalists are invited to make use of the resources of the Station free of charge, and those who desire to do so are requested to communicate with

Mr. John Murray, Challenger Office, Edinburgh, stating the kind of work they propose to undertake and the length of time they will probably remain. Efforts are now being made to provide living accommodation for the naturalists and others who may be working at the Station. Immediately after the meeting Mr. Murray received anonymously a donation of 100l. towards the further equipment of the Station. We wish every success to this undertaking, and, from the liberal spirit shown in placing at the service of scientific men the unique facilities afforded by the Station for the prosecution of inquiries of the highest practical importance, we have every confidence that the public will not be slow in seeing that the funds required for its efficient maintenance are forthcoming.

THE DEEP-SEA FISHES OF THE

"TALISMAN"

A MONG the many wonderful animal forms collected during the voyage of the Talisman none surpass the fishes in interest. In the exhibition, now open at the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, of the various specimens collected during this voyage, the collection of fishes holds a chief place. During the cruises of the Travailleur, owing to the apparatus employed, the capture of a fish was a rare event, but by the employment of a kind of drag-net on board the Talisman the number both of species and individuals taken was quite surprising. Once, on July 29, in 16° 52′ N. lat. and 27° 50′ W. long, in one haul of the dragnet no less than 1031 fishes were taken from a depth of 450 metres. The chief surface fish noted in M. Filhol's very interesting papers, which are in course of publication in our French contemporary La Nature (to the editor of which journal we are indebted for the illustrations accompanying this notice), were the well-known shark (Charcharias glaucus), very common between the Senegal coast and the Cape de Verde Islands; its strange attendant fish, the so-called pilot fish (Naucrates ductor), and the very curious and odd-looking fish of the Sargassum Sea, Antennarius marmoratus. It is noted that not only were the pilot fishes never molested by the sharks but that they constantly swam around them, sometimes even they were seen placing themselves against the shark's sides between their pectoral fins. Many observations were made on the strange Antennarius, the colour of whose body so closely approaches to that of the alga amidst which it lives that it enables these fish to approach almost unseen, and so quite easily take their prey. It is not, however, altogether unworthy of remark that this prey, consisting for the most part of small crustacea and mollusks, is also of the same general shade of colour as the mass of the weed, so that the assuming of this uniform dull tinge of colour must mean a heightened danger to some of these forms of life.

The great interest, however, of the fish captures of the Talisman centres in the remarkable forms taken from the depths of the sea, which were both considerable in the number of individuals and in the newness of the forms. The question of whether certain fish inhabit certain zones of depths was closely considered, and is answered in the affirmative. These zones are of very considerable depth, varying from 600 to over 3650 metres, and in bringing up specimens from such areas of great pressure these suffer immensely through the phenomena caused by the rapid decompression of the air, the more remarkable effects being dilatation of the swim bladder, the eyes being squeezed out of their orbits, and the scales clothing the body are shed. In some cases even the fish's body has become smashed into pieces. Notwithstanding all these phenomena, the area in depth of the distribution of many of the deep-sea fish is very considerable. Thus Alepocephalus rostratus is met with between a depth of 868 and that of 3650 metres; Scopelus maderensis, between

March 20, 1884]

depths of 1090 and 3655 metres; Lepioderma macrops, between 1153 and 3655 metres; and Macrurus affinis, between 590 and 2220 metres. The explanation would seem to be not only that the organisation of these fishes is such as enables them to support the enormous pressures at the greater depths of the ocean, but that in the course of their movements of ascent and descent they proceed very slowly so as gradually to get accustomed to the alterations in pressure. These fishes are all flesh eaters, with well developed dental systems; the absence of light prevents the growth of marine algæ in these depths, and as a general rule all the fish found below 150 metres are of necessity predatory. These deep-sea fishes, as Dr. Günther reminds us, do not belong to any peculiar order, but are chiefly modified forms of surface types; some of these modifications being no doubt very extreme, but serving as indications not only of the struggle for existence, but also of the plasticness of the forms to adapt themselves to the extreme conditions under which they live. The most remarkable phenomena in connection with their deep-sea life is doubtless the tremendous pressure which has to be borne. No one seems to doubt but that these deep-sea forms live as active a life as surface forms, indeed their very appearance seems to indicate a swiftness and energy of movement not to be surpassed by surface swimmers; and we may believe that the abyssal pressure has a great deal to do with keeping their feebly calcareous bones and delicate muscular system compact and in a condition for effective use. The placid state of the water at these depths must also be borne in mind-no storms affect them, and the extraordinary attenuation of some organs may be directly ascribed to this phenoimenon. Thus Macrurus globiceps (Fig. 1), which forms one of a family of deep-sea Ganoids, known as living at depths of from 600 to 2200 metres, and occurring in considerable variety and great numbers over all our oceans, is a new species, described by M. L. Vaillant as found at a depth of between 1500 and 3000 metres. Its body, globular in front, will be seen to be very greatly attenuated

behind.

5000 metres.

We hope again to have the opportunity of referring to other of the deep-sea forms taken by the Talisman.

ANCIENT JAPAN1

HIS volume contains a literal translation of the oldest TH Japanese book in existence, accompanied by introductions, notes, and appendices, and is beyond European scholarship has yet produced from Japan. Of the many important propositions on the early history of the Japanese race established by it we shall have to speak later on; but of the work itself it may be said now that the translator claims it to be "the earliest authentic connected literary product of that large division of the human race which has been variously denominated Turanian, Scythian, and Altaïc, and it even precedes by at least a century the most ancient extant literary compositions of non-Aryan India." Indeed more than this may be said; for if the claim of Accadian to be an Altaïc language be not substantiated, not only the archaic literature of Japan (to which the Kojiki belongs), but also its classical literature, precedes by several centuries the earliest extant documents of any other Altaïc tongue. This alone would render the work an object of much interest, but it derives additional importance from its contents as well as from It is the earliest the period at which it was written. record of the language, customs, mythology, and history of ancient Japan, and soon after the date of its compilation, as Mr. Chamberlain points out, most of the salient features of distinctive Japanese nationality were buried under a superincumbent mass of Chinese culture; it is therefore to these "Records" and one ancient works that the investigator must look if he would not be misled at every step into attributing originality to modern customs and ideas which have simply been borrowed wholesale from the neighbouring continent. appears beyond doubt that, though the work existed in tradition for some years before that period, it was not committed to writing till the year 712 of our era, and from it a picture can be formed of the Japanese of that remote epoch. It is to the sections devoted by the translator to the manners and customs of the early Japanese and their political and social ideas that we propose to direct special attention now.

doubt the most learned and remarkable work which

or two other

It

As pictured, then, in these "Records," the Japanese of the mythical era had emerged from the Stone Age and from the savage state. They were acquainted with the use of iron for weapons of the chase, such as arrows, swords, knives; but there is a curious silence about ordinary implements, such as axes and saws, though they had the fire-drill, pestle and mortar, wedge, and shuttle for weaving. The art of sailing appears to have been quite unknown, but boats for use on the inland lakes are mentioned. As would naturally be expected, the population was scattered along the seashore and on the banks Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. x. Supplement. By Basil Translation of the "Kojiki" or "Records of Ancient Matters." Hall Chamberlain. Yokohama, 1883.