In the writings of comparative anatomists, considerable difference of opinion is expressed respecting the position and relations of the thyroid gland in the Cetacea, and some authorities even have asserted that it does not exist in these Mammalia.

John Hunter states that he has examined several porpoises, balænæ, and other cetacea, yet “could not observe anything like a thyroid gland.”

Meckel believed that he found, in a fœtal porpoise (D. phocœna), eight inches long, a thyroid gland. He describes it as half an inch broad, two lines thick and high, and of equal depth and thickness both on the middle and sides of the air-tube, in the same position as that in which the gland is found in other mammals. From this examination, however, of so young a fœtus, he does not feel disposed to affirm that, contrary to the opinion of Hunter, it exists in full grown cetacea. In a subsequent paper he mentions incidentally, that in the dolphins the gland is formed of two quite separate lobes. Cuvier states that he has found the gland very distinct in many dolphins and porpoises. In these animals it was divided into two parts, and suspended from the trachea opposite the upper border of the sternum, and some distance from the larynx. Carus describes the gland in the dolphin and porpoise as consisting of two parts, entirely separate from each other. It is difficult to say, however, from the text, whether he is giving the result of his own observations, or simply adopting those of Cuvier. Dr Martyn repeats the statement that the cetacea do not possess a thyroid, and he ascribes the supposed absence of the voice in these animals to the want of this glandular structure.

On the basis of Graham's (1949) work, the stomach of the neogastropods is currently regarded as a secondarily simplified structure exhibiting loss of the cæcum, abbreviation of the major typhlosole and intestinal groove, anterior migration of the opening of the œsophagus, loss of the sorting areas, and in the muricids, of the gastric shield. The present investigations, however, reveal that the stomachs of, at any rate, some neogastropods are less simplified than has been realized. There are well developed typhlosoles, an intestinal groove, gastric shield, and sorting areas resembling those of primitive gastropods.

The obligations of Experimental Physics to the labours of Lord Bacon, have been largely acknowledged by the generality of those who have treated of the History of Modern Science; insomuch, that the title of Father of experimental Philosophy has been oftener conferred upon him than upon any other of its benefactors. There are some, however, who seem to think, that there is no good ground for honouring him with this title, either on account of the merits or the effects of his writings. They do not indeed deny, that his views as to the proper objects and method of philosophizing were extensive and just; but they contend, that he had no peculiar merit in having stated these views; that all that he taught was virtually and more effectually taught by the discoveries of some of his contemporaries; and that, in fact, there are no traces of his agency to be found in the discoveries that followed.

Though first described so long ago as 1842, the remarkable fossil fish named by Germar Dorypterus hoffmanni has never become well known among palæontologists. This fact, due no doubt to its extreme rarity, is exemplified in the figures of the fish which appear from time to time in text-books: there is a decided tendency for the more recent figures to show less resemblance to Dorypterus than the earlier ones. The present paper is an attempt to make the structure of this interesting fish better known. It gives the results of a study of the four known English specimens, and, as far as possible, it embodies these results in a new restoration which, it is hoped, will help towards making future illustrations of Dorypterus rather less misleading than those now current.

As is well known, one of the chief problems relating to the vertebrate nervous system is the question of its continuity or discontinuity both in the adult and in the embryo. The upholders of the latter theory believe that the neurones of the adult are not in continuity but only come into close contact by means of the synapses, while in the embryo the young nerve grows out through the tissues with a free end, and only secondarily unites with its particular end-organ. Much experimental, physiological, and pathological evidence has been brought forward in support of this view, and its upholders include most of the neurologists of the day, whose knowledge, however, relates chiefly to the higher vertebrates and who have made no, or at most very little, detailed study of the phenomena presented by the more primitive forms.

It is natural to suppose that soon after it became known that injurious effects follow the introduction of certain substances into the system, attempts were made to remedy these effects, and also to discover counteragents, or antidotes, to the hurtful substances. The success attending these attempts must, of necessity, have been closely related to the existing state of knowledge regarding the actions of active substances. When the effects of poisons were referred to supernatural manifestations, it was chiefly charms and superstitious rites that were trusted to as protectives and remedies. At a somewhat more advanced period in the progress of human knowledge, vague notions of physiological laws and processes supplied the indications of curative treatment.

To those who study the progress of exact science, the common spinning-top is a symbol of the labours and the perplexities of men who had successfully threaded the mazes of the planetary motions. The mathematicians of the last age, searching through nature for problems worthy of their analysis, found in this toy of their youth, ample occupation for their highest mathematical powers.

No illustration of astronomical precession can be devised more perfect than that presented by a properly balanced top, but yet the motion of rotation has intricacies far exceeding those of the theory of precession.

Among the specimens from the Yorkshire Coal Field which have been collected by Mr W. Hemingway, Barnsley, and submitted to me for examination at various times, are the remains of several cones which are referable to the genus Sigillariostrobus, Schimper.

Notwithstanding the great frequency of the genus Sigillaria in the Coal Measures, and especially in the Middle Coal Measures, examples of their fructification are very rare. This is the more remarkable, as specimens of Sigillaria, showing cone scars, though not common, are occasionally met with. Possibly, however, the apparent rarity of Sigillarian cones is due, in part, to our inability at present to distinguish them in all cases from cones generally placed under the name of Lepidostrobus, which latter genus there is every reason to believe comprises cones that belong to several genera of Lycopods.

There are several problems of great practical importance in electro-magnetic measurements, in which the value of a quantity has to be calculated by taking the sum of the logarithms of the distances of a system of parallel wires from a given point. The calculation is in some respects analogous to that in which we find the potential at a point due to a given system of equal particles, by adding the reciprocals of the distances of the particles from the given point. There is this difference, however, that whereas the reciprocal of a line is completely defined when we know the unit of length, the logarithm of a line has no meaning till we know not only the unit of length, but the modulus of the system logarithms.

Carboniferous sandstones from within the thermal aureoles of igneous intrusions in the Midland Valley of Scotland sometimes have a strong, black colour and are termed ‘black sandstones’. Tait (1926) concluded that the black sandstones are the products of the thermal metamorphism of petroliferous sandstones, a theory which is discussed here in the light of modern petrological and geochemical techniques.

The black colour of the sandstones is due to an amorphous, opaque bitumen which usually coats illitic clays, fills porosity and was mostly emplaced at a fairly late diagenetic stage. This solid bitumen has a low reflectance (c. 0·15% R0), no fluorescence under blue-light excitation, is insoluble in organic solvents, is isotopically heavy and has a very low H/C atomic ratio. These data, together with the field relationships of the black sandstones and igneous intrusions, suggest that the bitumen was formed by the thermal alteration of hydrocarbons, as described by Tait (1926), rather than by other possible mechanisms such as the deasphalting of an oil, or the generation of hydrocarbons from organic-rich rocks heated by igneous intrusions, followed by fractionation during migration. This conclusion suggests that by the time of emplacement of the quartz-dolerite intrusions, and some of the alkali-dolerite sills, there had been widespread generation and migration of hydrocarbons which possibly could have been preserved to the present day where not thermally altered.

The Steel Mountain terrane of the southern Long Range Mountains forms a fault-bounded massif of (meta)plutonic rocks including the Disappointment Hill complex (DHC), a sequence of granulite-facies lithologies containing charnockite emplaced at 1498 Ma (U-Pb, zircon). Quartzofeldspathic gneiss of the DHC contains garnet + biotite + orthopyroxene ± cordierite assemblages indicative of metamorphic P–T conditions of ca 750°C and 400 MPa. The relatively high thermal gradient (ca 70°C km−1) inferred for the DHC is attributed to a magmatic heat source.

On grounds of lithology, age and metamorphic grade, the DHC correlates to granulites of the Long Range Inlier (LRI) exposed farther north. Both complexes occur in blocks thrust westward over Taconic allochthons capped by ophiolite nappes. The block containing the DHC, however, preserves younger cover rocks, suggesting that it originated at a higher structural level than the LRI. This model is supported by lower pressure estimates for the DHC relative to the LRI (400 MPa vs 500–800 MPa). The DHC forms a link between Grenvillian rocks of the northern Long Range of Newfoundland and those of Cape Breton Island. The structural position of these massifs suggests that their emplacement was a post-Taconic event.

Soil moisture is a key factor affecting vegetation growth and survival in arid and semi-arid regions. Knowledge of deep soil moisture dynamics is very important for guiding vegetation restoration and for improving land management practices on the water-limited Loess Plateau. Temporal changes and vertical variations in deep soil moisture (at soil depths of 0–600cm) combined with soil moisture availability were monitored in situ under Caragana korshinskii shrubs of different ages (named CK-10a, CK-20a and CK-35a) in the Loess hilly region during the growing season of 2013. The soil moisture content (SMC) under C. korshinskii shrubs of different ages was highly consistent with the seasonal precipitation variations and generally decreased as follows: CK-10a>CK-20a>abandoned land>CK-35a. The SMC varied greatly over time during the growing season (P<0.01), decreasing from April to May and then slowly increasing with some fluctuation from June to October. The SMC drastically decreased with depth from 0–300cm and then gradually increased with some fluctuation from 300–600cm. A critical turning point and transition zone connecting the shallow and deep soil moisture occurred at 200–300cm. Therefore, the soil profile was divided into active, secondary active and relatively steady soil layers in terms of soil moisture. The SMC fluctuated at depths of 0–100cm and 300–400cm and was relatively stable in the deeper soil layers. The amount of available soil moisture gradually decreased as the forest stand age increased, especially at CK-35a, where most of the soil moisture was unavailable for plant use. In addition, our study indicates that a large-scale restoration strategy with pure shrubland or woodland may not be suitable for soil moisture recovery in arid environments.

Icacinaceae Miers are a family of trees, shrubs, and lianas with a current pantropical distribution. The family is well known in the fossil record, especially from the Palaeogene of Europe and North America, with the modern genus Iodes being particularly well represented. Here, we describe five new species of Iodes based on fossil endocarps with horn-like protrusions from the late Palaeocene Rivecourt deposits (Oise, France). Moreover, we propose a new combination for Iodes israelii Soudry & Gregor, as Icacinicarytes israelii (Soudry & Gregor) Del Rio, Thomas & De Franceschi, because it lacks the diagnostic morphological and anatomical characters of the genus Iodes. The significance of papillae, which has been emphasised in the literature, is discussed in light of new data, and a more standardised system of terminology is proposed. Given that, among modern members of Iodes, horn-like protrusions are only known from Asian species; the fossils described here suggest an affinity between the late Palaeocene flora of Europe and the modern flora of Asia. Finally, this study represents the first detailed investigation of Icacinaceae from the Paris Basin, where palaeocarpology remains understudied.

Soil moisture is a key issue for eco-hydrological research in arid and semi-arid regions, and is primarily concerned with water availability for vegetation. Shallow and deep soil moisture occurs according to the maximum infiltration depth. Soil moisture has three-dimensional characteristics: inter-layer variability, horizontal heterogeneity and temporal variability. Soil moisture is affected by various factors including terrain, soil characteristics, climate and vegetation, and the effects of these change with time (e.g., rainfall patterns) and space (e.g., soil depth). In arid and semi-arid regions, deep soil moisture is of particular importance to vegetation restoration and the evaluation of vegetation sustainability; however, accurate prediction of the spatial distribution of deep soil moisture in the Loess Plateau of China still faces numerous challenges. Therefore, future research should focus on the mechanisms, models and scale effects of soil moisture, particularly for deep soil moisture.

New cranial material of the ‘rhynchodipterid’ lungfish Soederberghia groenlandica from Upper Devonian (Famennian) strata in East Greenland is described. Previously unknown structures identified here include components of the hyoid arch (ceratohyal, hypohyal) and the lower jaw (prearticular, dentary). Earlier interpretations of the cheek and mandible of Soederberghia are reconsidered in the light of new fossil specimens. Some of the difficulties in assessing the homologies between cheek bones in Soederberghia and those of other lungfishes stem from confusion over the arrangement in Rhynchodipterus, and a revised interpretation of this genus is proposed. The single infraorbital bar found in Soederberghia probably originates, in part, from an expanded bone 10 (quadratojugal) of the kind found in Griphognathus. Hypotheses that posit ‘rhynchodipterid’ polyphyly seem unlikely in light of a set of derived cranial characters that define a coherent radiation of long-snouted, denticle-bearing lungfishes known from the Late Devonian. The hypothesis presented here places ‘rhynchodipterids’ as a paraphyletic grade with respect to fleurantiids. Rhynchodipterus, Soederberghia, and fleurantiids form a clade to the exclusion of the species of Griphognathus. G. minutidens is the sister taxon to this apical group, while G. sculpta and G. whitei are more remote from it.

In a former memoir (1934) the author described the early development of the ferret from fertilisation to the formation of the prochordal plate. The following is a continuation of that work and describes the development of the mesoblast and notochord from their incipient phases to a stage with seven somites when the definitive notochord begins to separate from the notochordal plate. As far as can be ascertained these phases have not been previously described in the case of the ferret, although the literature on gastrulation and the formation of the notochord and mesoblast is voluminous. A résumé of the descriptions and theories of gastrulation has already been fully summarised by Rabl (1915), and later by Van Oordt (1921). Opinions concerning notochord and mesoblast formation will be referred to in the following pages, and as there is great confusion of nomenclature in it I have appended a Glossary of the terms which I have used and the meanings that I attach to them (p. 188).

Through the kindness of Dr. A. Geikie, Director-General of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, I have had the pleasure of examining the fossil plants collected by the Scottish Geological Survey from the Calciferous Sandstones of Eskdale and Liddesdale.

The special interest of South Georgia depends on its evidence regarding the geology of the part of the Southern Ocean which lies south of the South Atlantic. According to Professor Suess, the island is an extension of the Andes, which, at the southern end of South America, turn eastward, and by a great horse-shoe-shaped curve pass through South Georgia to the South Orkneys and Graham Land.

The geology of South Georgia is but little known. Thürach † described the island as consisting of metamorphic rocks, ranging from granular gneiss to clay-slate, and of diabase tuff.

In this paper the results of observations of the elevation of the boiling point of aqueous solutions of electrolytes are given, and a few results of observations of the depression of the freezing point, together with conductivity data obtained by observations of conductivity at about 99·4° and 0° Centigrade.

In the specimen under consideration there were fifteen pairs of ribs, of which nine pairs were vertebro-sternal. The costal cartilage associated with each of these was long and very flexible. The articulation of the first pair of costal cartilages with the sternum was effected by means of a short but strong band of fibrous tissue, which permitted considerable freedom of movement and did not form a junction of the more or less rigid character seen in man.