cS cae ne gnats PO ¢ Be re i 4 fa nil ut i . Ffor “ppm lefere to lexve at hese heats hed Girenty bokis 1-claad in blak ar red sk Of Aristotle % his philesa-plie bik Chan de touche orfede or gay sautri rl oni q i fs ne i iN tina i Lats qi We i vith t nh my ald fl lined rtm Ban MANAGE, SKY ‘ i vy ; Chinas 7 7 fi Tp Re (, meine Pie. AAW HN : ia nie Ny fy: Aen ‘seal ~ 72712 IATURE Ae WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOLUME XXV. NOVEMBER 1881 to APRIL 1882 “To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.’—WoRDSWORTH London and Few Jorh: MACMILEAN AND: CO. 1882 LONDON : R, CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, BREAD STREET HILL, E.C. “onl : : OT]. VN e Shin (tia Nature, Fune 29, 1882] INDEX Aspott (Chas. C.), ‘‘ Primitive Industry, or Illustrations of the Handiwork in Stone, Bone, and Clay, of the Native Races of the Northern Atlantic Seaboard of America,” 27 Abel and Roscoe’s (Profs.), Reception at the Crystal Palace, 491 Aberdeen, Sir Erasmus Wilson’s Chair of Pathological Anatomy at, 301 Abney (Capt., F.R.S.), Solar Physics, 162, 187, 252 Absolute Sine Electrometer, Geo. M. Minchin, 290 “© Abyssinia,” Father Lobo’s, 365 Accidents in Mines Commission, 97 Accumulators, Planté and Faure, Chemistry of the, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., and Alfred Tribe, 221, 461 Acetylene, the Spectrum of, 290 Acoustics, Light and Heat, Thomas W. Piper, 51 Actinium, a New Metal, 394 Adams (Prof. W. Grylls, F.R.S.), Magnetic Disturbances, Auroras, and Earth Currents, 66 Africa: Dr. Stecker’s Exploration of Lake Tana, 209 ; Reimer’s “*Beitrage zur Entdeckungsgeschichte Afrika’s, 232 ; Raven- stein’s New Map of East Central, 250; Relief Map of the Equatorial Region of, 275; German Exploration of, 302; Dr. Max Buchner’s exploration of the Lunda District, 395 Agram, Earthquake at, 63, 186, 326 Ainos, Bear Festival among the, 345 Air, Essays on the Floating Matter of the, in Relation to Putre- faction and Infection, John Tyndall, F.R.S., 6 Algz, British Freshwater, Dr. M. C. Cooke’s Work on, 565 Algz and Animals, Symbiosis of, 377 Algebra, E. J. Gross, 458 Algerian System of Meteorological Observations, 492 Alglave (Em.), and J. Boulard, “La Lumiére Electrique son Histoire, sa Production, et son Emploi,” 359 Algol Type, Variable of the, 186 Allen (Chas. H.), Parhelia in the Mediterranean, 339 Allen (Grant), ‘‘ Vignettes from Nature,” 381, 435, 459, 480, 554 Alps, Prof, Civiale’s work on the, 519 Amazons and Andes, between the, or Ten :Years of a Lady’s Travels in the Pampas, Gran Chaco, Paraguay and Matto Grosso, Mrs. M. G. Mulhall, 457 America: ‘*Aierican Naturalist,” 47, 210, 426; ‘‘ American Journal of Science,” 257; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 324 ; ‘‘ The Honey Ants of the Gar- den of the Gods, and the Occident Ants of the American Plains,” Dr. Henry C. McCook, G. J, Romanes, F.R.S., 405 Amorphophallus Titanum, 206 Ancient Monuments, Preservation of, 393 Andaman Islands, Earthquake in the, Col. H. H. Godwin- Austen, 386 Andromeda, the Great Nebula in, Rev. T. W. Webb, 341 Anemometers: Integrating, V. Ventosa, 79; Proposed Exhibi- tion of, 249, 450; J. K. Laughton on, 547 Animals: Illustrations of New or Rare, in the Zoological Society’s Living Collection, 295, 391, 608 Animals Containing Chlorophyll, Researches on, Patrick Geddes, 303, 361; Prof. H. N: Moseley, ..R.S., 338; Dr. E. Percival Wright, 361 Animals, Symbiosis of Alge and, 377 Animals, on the Sense of Colour among some of the Lower Animals, Sir J. Lubbock Bart., F.R.S., 422 Animals, Aristotle on the Parts of, translated by W. Ogle, Dr. B. W. Richardson, F.R.S., 453 505 Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 142, 282, 4o1, 522 Ant Trap, Natural, J. Harris Stone, 151 Antarctic Expeditions, 473, 613 Anthropological Institute, 71, 143, 235, 355, 380, 451, 475, 499, 571, 619 Antiseptic, New, Prof. Barff’s, 535 Anti-vivisection, versus Humanity, 73 Antlers in the Ruminants, Evolution of, Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S,, 84 Ants, Sound-producing, H. F. Blanford, 32; J. Fotheringham, 55; D. M. Lewis, 266 Apiculture, International Exhibition of, 493 “© Appalachia,” 493 Apus, Limulus and Scorpio, Studies on, Prof. E. Ray Lan- kester, F.R.S., 479 Archeological Discovery at Angleur, near to Liége, 419 Archer (F.), Replacing Flint Flakes, 8 Archibald (E. Douglas), Variations in the Sun’s Heat, 316; Conservation of Solar Energy, 504 Architects, Institution of Naval, 533 Archives des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles, 257, 401, 522, 618 Arctic Research: Dr. J. Rae, F.R.S., 53, 102; Clements R. Markham, C.B., F.R.S., 78; D. Wetterham, 102; General Hazen on, 112; the Search for the Feannette, 44, 62, 89, 275, 326, 350, 3753 the Ziva Expedition, 123, 209; the Season of 1881, 136; International Polar Research, 113 ; Ice Fields in the Arctic Regions, 536; an Arctic Night at the Geogra- graphical Society, 159 ; Arctic Success and Disaster, 169 Arendts (Dr. Carl), Death of, 63 Argentine Republic, Cameos from the Silver Land ; or, the Experiences of a Young Naturalist in the, E. W. White, 480 | Argyll (Duke of, F.R.S.), Struggle of Parts in the Organism, 6 Aristotle on the Parts of Animals translated by W. Ogle, Dr. Benjamin Ward Richardson, F.R.S., 453, 505 Aristotle on the Heart, W. Ogle, 528 Aristology ; or, the Art of Dining, Thos. Walker, 478 Aroid, a Gigantic, 206 Arosenius (Herr J. N.) on the Ethnographical Frontier between Finns and Swedes in Northern Sweden, 113 Artificial Deformation of the Human Skull in the Malay Archi- pelago, Dr. A. B. Meyer, 132 Asbestos Paint, Experiments with, at the Crystal Palace, 276 Asia, Central, Dr. Regel’s Journey in, 349 Askabad and Sarakhs, Levelling of the Country between, 421 “ Astral Origin of the Emblems and Hebrew Alphabet,” J. H. Broome, Prof. A. H. Sayce, 525 Astronomy: Astronomical Column, 19, 43, 94, 114, 126, 186, 209, 218, 278, 326, 349, 375, 421, 450, 471, 493, 519, 535, 566, 593, 616; Webb’s Celestial Objects for Common ‘lele- scopes, 98; Observatory added to the University of St. Petersburg, 230; Astronomical Observations, on the Climate of North Northumberland as regards its fitness for, Rev. Jevon J. Muschamp Perry, 317, 364; J. Lingwood, 339 ; New Astronomical Magazine ; ‘‘ Les Etoiles et les Curiosités du Ciel,” C. Flammarion, 456; ‘‘ Populare Astronomie von Sim. Newcomb, Astronom in Washington,” Dr. Phil, 456 Atacama, Climate of, Hyde Clarke, 9 Atkinson (A. S.), Telescopic Definition in a Hazy Sky, 483 Atlantic, Chemistry of the, J. Y. Buchanan, 387, 411 Atlas of Universal Geography, Stanford’s London, 383 Atmosphere, Movements of Jupiter’s, W. Mattieu Williams, 338 5 G. H. Darwin, F.R.S-, 360 Atmospheric Phenomenon, J. B. Hannay, 125 Atomic Weights, Prof. F. W. Clarke’s Recalculations of, 537 Atti della R. Accademia dei Lincei, 305, 353, 545 Attitudes retained by Soldiers who have Died on the Battle- field, 230 Audible Photometer, J. W. Giltay, 125 Aurora, the, 319, 368 Auroras, Earth Currents, and Magnetic Disturbances, Prof, W. Grylls Adams, F.R.S., 66 Aurora and its Spectrum, J. Rand Capron, 53 Auroral Display, Thos. Gwyn Elger, 386; W. G. Koch, 461 Australia, Water in, F. T. Mott, 507 ; Sparrows in South, 18 Autumn Sky, Rev. T. W. Webb, 9, 36 Aveling (Edward B.), Natural Philosophy for London Univer- sity Matriculation, 76 Awned Carpels of Erodium, Prof. G. Macloskie, 174 Axon (W. E. A.), Pronunciation of Deaf-Mutes who have been Taught to Articulate, 101, 409 Ayrton (Prof. ‘W. E., F.R.S.), on the Economical Use of Gas- Engines for the Production of Electricity, 280; Storage of Energy, 495 Az2 iv INDEX [Wature, Fune 29, 1882 Baboon, Pet, Julia Wedgwood, 217 Badcock (J., jun.), Red Flints in the Chalk, 529 Baildon (Sam.), ‘t Tea Industry in India ; a Keview of Finance and Labour, and a Guide for Capitalists and Assistants,” 551 Balfour’s (F. M., F.R.S.), Treatise on Comparative Embryo- logy, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 25 Ball (Prof. Robert S,, F.R.S.), a Glimpse through the Corridors of Time, 79, 103 Balloons : Accident to W. Powell, M.P., 159, 185, 208 ; Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon, W. de Fonvielle, 337, 436, 529 ; Dr. Hermann Kopp, 385, 507; Proposed Balloon Journey across the Channel, 373; Balloon Ascent from La Villette Gasworks, Paris, 373 ; Col. Brine and Mr. Simmons’ Expe- dition, 449 ; Col. Burnaby’s Trip across the Channel, 518 Barff’s (Prof.) New Antiseptic, 535 Barnard (E. E.), Meteors, 173 Barometer, New, Marshall Delaey, 290; Simple Registering, 374; Electric Barometer, J. Joly, 559 Barrett (Prof. W. F.), Antoine Breguet’s Appropriations, 364 Basque Provinces of Spain, on the Whale Fishery of the, Clements B. Markham, F.R.S., 365 Basque Whale in the Mediterranean, Prof. Henry Hillyer Giglioli, 505 Bast Fibre, Chemistry of, C. F. Cross and E. J. Bevan, 351 Bastian (Adolf.), ‘‘ Die heilige Sage der Polynesier-Kosmogonie und Theogonie,” Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., 28; ‘‘Der Volkergedanke in Aufbau einer Wissenschaft vom Menschen, und seine Begriindung auf ethnologische Sammlungen, 77 ; “* Die Vorgeschichte der Ethnologie,”’ 77 Batoum, Shock of Earthquake at, 250 Batrachia, Salientia, and Ecaudata in the, Collection of the British Museum, Catalogue of the, G. A. Boulenger, 601 Battery, New Electrical Storage, Henry Sutton, 198 Bauerman (Hilary), “‘ Text-Book of Systematic Mineralogy,” L. Fletcher, 49 Bavaria, Earthquakes in, 375 Bear Festival among the Ainos, 345 Bees, Dangers arising from, 420 Bela Lime Alps, Cave discovered in, 89 Belgium, Astronomy in, 53 Bell (Alex. Melville), Sounds and their relations, 503 Bell (F’. Jeffrey), Teaching of Practical Biology, $ Bell (Prof. Graham), Probing by Electricity, 40 ; Pronunciation of Deaf-Mutes who have been taught to articulate, 124, 458 Ben Nevis, Meteorology of, Alex. Buchan, 11; the Meteoro- logical Observatory on, 135 ; Clement L. Wragge’s Meteoro- logical Observations on, 491 ; Ascent of, 372 Berlin : Geographical Society, 44 ; Zeitschrift of, 538; Banquet in Honour of Prof. Virchow at, 62, 87 ; Aéronautical Society founded at, 89; Philosophical Society of, 114; African Society of, 302; Society of Commercial Geography, 492 ; Physiological Society, 620 Beryl and Tourmaline, Specimens of, at the Florence Institute, 373 Bevan (E. J.) and C. F. Cross, Chemistry of Bast Fibre, 351 ** Bilderschriften des Ostindischen Archipels und der Siidsee,” 17 Bilek, Earthquake at, 537 Billet (M. Felix), Death of, 395 Binary Stars, 421 ; y Virginis, 19 ; 7 Cassiopeice, 186 Binney Edward William, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Dr. J. P. Joule, F.R.S., 293 Biology: Teaching of Practical, F. Jeffrey Bell, 8 ; Biology in Schools, Geo. W. Peckham, 151; Biological Notes, 327; ‘* Biologische Probleme, zugleich als Versuch einer rationellen Ethik,” W. H. Rolph, 336 Birds : Jurassic, and their Allies, Prof. O. C. Marsh, 22; Dr. R. W. Schufeldt on the Osteology of, 136; New Birds from the Solomon Islands, 282; Intelligence in Birds, 410; Mrs. E. Hubbard, 461 Birmingham (J.), New Red Star in Cygnus, 198, 484 Birt (W. R.), Death of, 219 Bischoffsheim Observatory, 199 Bivalves, on the Dispersal of Freshwater, Chas. Darwin, F.R.S., 529; D. Pidgeon, 584 ; Frank J. Rowbotham, 605 Bjerknes’ Hydrodynamic Experiments, 271 Black Bass, Book of the, Dr. J. A. Henshall, 216 Blackley (Chas. H.), Heads and Hats, 55 Blanford (H. F.), Sound-producing Ants, 32 Bloxam (Prof.) and the Royal Military Academy, 591 Blum (R.), Current Meter, Prof, Harlacher, 494 Bock (Carl), ‘‘ Head-Hunters of Borneo: a Narrative of Travel up the Mahakkam and down the Barito, also Journeyings in Sumatra,” Alfred R. Wallace, 3 Bokorny (Thos.) and Oscar Loew, ‘‘ Chemical Cause of Life Theoretically and Experimentally Examined,” 457 Bolometer, the, 14 Bonney (Rev. T. G.) Silurian Fossils in the North-West High- lands, 603 Borneo, Head-Hunters of : a Narrative of Travel up the Mahak- kam and down the Barito, also Journeyings in Sumatra, Carl Bock, Alfred R. Wallace, 3 Boston, U.S.A., American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 260, 523; Society of Natural History, 1830-1880, 389 Boston Church, Meteorological Observations made on, 470 Boué (Ami), Obituary Notice of, by Prof. A. Geikie, F.R.S., 109 Bouillaud (Dr.), Death of, 42 Boulard (J.), and Em, Alglave ‘‘La Lumiére Electrique son Histoire sa Production et Son Emploi,” 359 Boulenger (G. A.), Catalogue of the Batrachia, Salientra and Ecaudata in the Collection of the British Museum, 601 Bowman (W., F.R.S.), elected Honorary Secretary to the Royal Institution, 346 Brady (Sir Antonio), Obituary Notice of, Dr. Henry Wood- ward, F.R.S., 174 Bramsen (William), Death of, 160 Breguet’s (M. Antoine) Appropriations, Prof. W. Barrett, 364 Bress (Dr. A.), Abriss der Zoologie fiir Studirende Arzte und Lehrer, 337 Brewster (Sir David), his Scientific Work, 157 Bridges, Tay and the Forth, 246 Brighton Health Congress, and Domestic and Scientific Exhibi- tion, 18, 161, 175 Bristol Naturalists’ Society, Proceedings, 208 British Association, Meeting for 1882, 324 British Museum, Fossil Fishes at the, 418 Brittany, disappearance of the Sardine from the Coast of, 493 Broome (J. H.), ‘‘ Astral Origin of the Emblems and Hebrew Alphabet,” Prof. A. H. Sayce, 525 Brown (Robert, Jun.), the Unicorn and Mythological Inyestiga- tion, Prof, A. H. Sayce, 525 Brownell (J. T.), Solar Halo, 290 Bubbles, Phenomena of the Bursting of, M. Plateau on, 160 Buchan (Alex.), Meteorology of Ben Nevis, 11 Buchanan (J. Y.), Chemistry of the Atlantic, 387, 411 Budden (W.), Vignettes from Nature, 529 Buenos Ayres, Continental Exhibition at, 591 ‘* Bugs, Overflow,” in California, C. V. Riley, 386 Bulletin de l’ Academie Royale des Sciences de Belgique, 48, 257, 545, 617 Bullains de la Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris, 545 Bulletin de Ja Société Impériale des Naturalists de Moscou, 571 Bulletin of the Terry Botanical Club, 571 Burg (Adam von), Death of, 372 Burnaby (Col.), Balloon Trip across the Channel, 518 Burrowing Larve, V. T. Chambers, 529 Bussy (M. Antoine Alexander Brutus), Death of, 395 “* Butterflies : their Structure, Changes, and Life Histories, with Special Reference to American Forms,” being an application of the ‘‘ Doctrine of Descent” to the Study of Butterflies, Sam. H. Scudder, 5 Cable, the Dover and Calais, 206 Ccesium, the Isolation of, 419 California, ‘‘ Overflow Bugs” in, C. V. Riley, 386 Callaway (C.), Hypothetical High Tides, 385, 436 Caltanisetta, Sicily, Series of Caverns Discovered at, 250 Cambridge, the New Professorship of Morphology, 543 Cameos from the Silver Land: or, the Experiences of a Young Naturalist in the Argentine Republic, E. W. White, 480 Cameron (Donald), a Strange Phenomenon, 437 Canada, Proposed Academy for, 326 Capron (J. Rand), Aurora and its Spectrum, 53; Solar Gas- flame and Electric Light Spectra, 152; Temporary Retinal Effects, 507 Carbon, Electrical Resistance of, under Pressure, H. Tomlinson, 459; Prof. Silvanus P, Thompson, 482 Carbon, on the Spectrum of, Prof. Liveing and Dewar, 545 Carbonate of Ammonia, Action of, on the Roots of Certain Plants, and on Chlorophyll Bodies, Chas. Darwin, F.R.S., 489 Carnac, Excavations at, James Miln, 99 “+, Nalure, F une 29, 1882] iNDEX Vv Carpels, Awned, of Erodium, Prof. G. Macloskie, 174 Carpenter (Dr. William B., F.R.S.), Struggle of Parts in the Organism, 6, 52, Vignettes from Nature, 435, 480, 554, the Microscope and its Revelations, 502 Cassell’s Popular Natural History, Edited by P. Martin Duncan, F,R.S., 107 Cassiopeix, Binary Star 7, 186 Castelfrentano, Earthquake at, 420 Cat, the, St. George Mivart, F.R.S., 286 «Catalytic Action,” so-called, 567 Caucasus, the Geology of, 277 Cave discovered in the Bela Lime Alps, 89 Cecil (Henry), Meteor, 78 “Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes,” Rev. T. W. Webb, 98 Cell, on an Experimental Form of Secondary, Prof, A. S. Herschel, 363, 527 Centaurea jacea, Polymorphism of the Flower Heads of, Dr. Hermann Miiller, 241 Central Asia, Dr. Regel’s Journey in, 349 Ceraski’s Variable Star U Cephei, 493 Cerebral Localisation, Prof. Sigmund Exner, Dr. David Ferrier, 214 Cerium Metals, New Compounds of, 568 Ceylon, the Lepidoptera of, Henry Trimen, 32, 338; F. Moore, 79; the New Ceylon, 315 Chalk, Red Flints in the, W. Fream, 437; J. Badcock, jun., 7 Ehallencer, Echinoids of the, Prof. H. W. Mackintosh, 41 ; Pressure Errors of the Challenger Thermometers, Prof. P. G. Tait, 90, 127 Chambers (V. T.), Burrowing Larve, 529 Channel Tunnel, A. Strahan, 463; Tele-dynamics and the Accu. mulation of Energy—their Application to the, E. Walker, 152 Charts, Daily Weather, in the North Atlantic, 605 Chemistry : an Error in the commonly-accepted Theory of, Prof. A. W. Williamson, F.R.S., 21; Chemical Society, 48, 95, 167, 192, 331, 379, 427, 474, 546, 547, 595, 619; “A Trea- tise on Chemistry,’’ H. E. Roscoe, R.S., and C. Schor- lemmer, F.R.S., H. Watts, F.R.S., 50; Student’s Handbook of Chemistry, H. Leicester Greville, 123; Inorganic Chemis- try, Theoretical and Practical, W. Jago, 150, 364; Practical Chemistry, J. Howard, 150; Chemistry of the Planté and Faure Accumulators, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., and Alfred Tribe, 221, 461 ; Annalsof Chemical Medicine, Dr. J. L. W. Thudicum’s 263 ; Chemistry of Bast Fibre, C. F. Cross and E. J. Bevan, 351 ; Chemistry of the Atlantic, J. Y. Buchanan, 387, 411; ‘‘Chemical Cause of Life Theoretically and Ex- perimentally Examined,” Oscar Loew and Thos. Bokorny, 457; Chemical Notes, 567; ‘‘ Chemical Repulsions,” 567 Chesterfield, Electric Light at, 42 Chieti, Earthquake at, 420 China: Telegraph in, 88 ; Competitive Examinations in, 160 ; Medical Women in, 206; Experiments in the Culture of Chinese Soja Bean, 250; Earthquakes in, 325; Gray’s Ana- tomy translated into Chinese, 394; Scientific Lectures in Chinese at the Schools in Peking, 449; E. C. Baber’s Travels and Researches in Western, 472; Railways in, 493; a Sys- tem of Meteorological Observations in the China Seas, 368 ; Dr. A, Woeikof, 410 ; Chinese Burial in Former Times, 518 ; Dr. Bretschneider on Chinese Botany, 614 Chios, Earthquake at, 492 Chisholm (G, G.), the Two Hemispheres: a Popular Account of the Countries and Peoples of the World, 337 Chlorophyll, Researches on Animals containing, Patrick Geddes, 303, 361; Prof. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., 338; Dr. E. Perceval Wright, 361 Chlorophyll Bodies, Action of Carbonate of Ammonia on the Roots of certain Plants and on, Chas, Darwin, F.R.S., 489 Christie (W. H. M., F.R.S.), Sun-Spots, 337 Christison (Sir Robert), Death of, 324 ; Obituary Notice of, 339 Chrystal (Prof. G.), Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, 237 **Cinchona,” 420 City and Guilds of London Institute, Distribution of Prizes and Certificates in the Schools connected with, 161 Clark (J. Edmund), Phenological Observations on Early Flowers and Winter Temperatures, 552 Clarke (Hyde), Climate of Atacama, 9 ; Alleged Diminution in the Size of Men’s Heads, 32 Clenching of Hands from Emotional and other Causes in the two Sexes, on the, Arthur Stradling, 364 Climate of Atacama, Hyde Clarke, 9 Climate of North Northumberland as regards its Fitness for As- tronomical Observations, Rey. Jevon J. Muschamp Pervy, 317, 364; J. Lingwood, 339 Climate, Glaciers and Glavial Periods in their Relation to, Dr. A. Woeikof, 424 Cloud, Rime, observed in a Balloon, W. de Fonvielle, 337, 436, 529; Dr. Hermann Kopp, 385, 507 Coal-Seams, Possibility of finding, workable under the Lond 1 Area, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 311, 361 Cobbe (Miss Frances Power), and Vivisection, H. H. Johnstn, 459; Muffs and Vivisection, 493 Cohn (Dr, Ferdinand), “ Die Pflanze. Vortrage aus dem Gebieic der Botanik,” W. Botting Hemsley, 359 Coins, Old, Transformation of, in a Lake, 93 Coins of the Jews, International Numismatic Orientalia, Fred. W. Madden; Dr. John Evans, F.R.S., 549 Cole (Sir Henry), Death of, 590; Obituary Notice of, 611 Collet (A.), “‘ Traité Théoretique et Pratique de la Régulation et de la Compensation des Compas, 382 Collieries, Dust-Explosions in, Prof. T. E, Thorpe, F.R.S., 48S Colliery Explosions, Means of Saving some Lives in, D, Rhys Jones, 508 Colorado River, Excavations of the Grand Cafions, 565 Colour, Experiments on, Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S., 64 Colour and Sound, Karl Pearson, 339 Colour, on the sense of, among some of the Lower Animals, Sir J. Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S., 422 Colours of Flowers, Seasonal Order in, Dr. J. C. Costerus, 481 Colours of Low-growing Wood Flowers, J. Innes Rogers, 554 Colour Perception, J. B. Hannay, F.R.S., 604 Colour-Disks, on Combining, Char. K. Wead, 266 Coltsfoot, T. S, Maskelyne, 290 Comets: Comet 1881 # (Denning), 19, 126, 413; Great Comet of 1861, 94; Photograph of Comet B, 1881, 132, 218; the Great Comet of 1881, 278, 349, 519; a New Comet, 126, 521 ; Comets of Short Period, 209 ; Comet 1882 a, 538, 593 ; Systematic Search for Comets, 566; the Present Comet, 616 Comparative Embryology, Treatise on, F. M. Balfour's, F.R.S., Prof, E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 25 Compass, ‘‘ Traité Théorique et Pratique de la Régulation et de la Compensation des Compas,” A Collet, 382 Compressed Air upon Tramways, W. D. Scott Moncrieff, 266 Comstock Lode, Temperatures of the Ground in, 592 Conductivity, Thermal, Specific Heat and, H. G. Madan, 507 Coniferze, Chapter in the History of, the Podocarpee, J. Starkie Gardner, 228 Conservation of Solar Energy, Dr. C. W. Siemens, F.R.S., 440, 504, 603; E. Douglas Archibald, 504; Prof. Chas. Morris, 601 ; Dr. J. Sterry Hunt, 602 Constable (Samuel), Geometrical Exercises for Beginners, 457 Constance, the Lake of, 348 Consumption, Physiognomy of, Francis Galton, F.R.S., and Dr, F, A. Mahomed, 389 Copper, on the Electrolysis of Sulphate of, G. Gore, LL.D., E.RS., 473 Coral, Precious, Prof, H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., 510; Prof. Henry Hillyer Giglioli, 552 Cordoba, Observatory of, 349 Corfield (W. H.), Fumifugium, 151 Corridors of Time, a Glimpse through, Prof. Robert S. Ball, LL.D., F.R.S., 79, 103; Dr. A. Dupré, 217; Prof. T. H. Huxley, F.R.S., 241 Costa Rica, Earthquake in, 471 Gores (Dr. J. C.), Seasonal Order in Cclours of Flowers, 481 Cricket’s Chirp varying with the Temperature, 229 Cross (C. F.) and E. J. Bevan, Chemistry of Bast Fibre, 351 Crystal Palace Electrical Exhibition, 16, 62, 135, 275, 292 ; Lec- tures in Connection with, 394 ; Edison’s Electric Light at, 446 ; Land Telegraphy, 515; Experiments with Asbestos Paint at the, 276; ‘‘ Electrical Accumulators” at, 561 Crystallography : ‘‘Rammelsberg’s Handbuch der Krystallo- graphisch; Physikalischen Chemie,” 287 Cumming (G. F, Gordon), Lady’s Cruise in a French Man-of- War, 289 Currents, Earth-, W. H.' Preece, F.R.S., 289; William Ellis, 315; Rev. S. J. Perry, F.R.S., 316; G. M. Whipple, 316 ; J. Parnell, 316 Current Meter of Prof. A. R, Harlacher, R. Blum, 494 Cyanogen, Prize tor the Investigation of the Chlorides, &c., of, 420 vi INDEX [Nature, Fune 29, 1882 Cygni, New Red Star in, J. Birmingham, 198; Variable, 1881, J. Birmingham, 484 D’Abbadie (Antoine), Function of the Ears on the Perception of Direction, 172 Danish Society for the Protection of Animals, 300 Dakota Group, Fossil Insects of the, Dr. H. A. Hagen, 266 Daltonism, Curious Case of, 492 Dante and the Southern Cross, Dr. Samuel Wilks, 173; J. J. Walker, 173, 217; N. Perini, 197 Darkness, Mid-day, of Sunday, January 22, J. Herschel, 289 Darwin (Chas., F.R.S.), Parasitic Habits of Molothrus, 51 ; Action of Carbonate of Ammonia on the Roots of Certain Plants and on Chlorophyll Bodies, 489 ; on the Dispersal of Freshwater Bivalves, 529; Obituary Notice of, by Prof. T. H. Huxley, F.R.S., 597 Darwin (Francis), Prof. Wiesner on the Power of Movement in Plants, 578, 597 ; Geotropism and Growth, 616 Darwin (G, H., F.R.S.), Lunar Disturbance of Gravity, 20 ; Geological Importance of the Tides, 213; Movements of Jupiter’s Atmosphere, 360 Davis (Geo. E.), Practical Microscopy, 502 Dawkins (Prof. W. Boyd, F.R.S.), on tke Evolution of Antlers in the Ruminants, 84 Dawson (J. W., F.R.S.), Erect Trees in Coal Formations, 354 Daylight Observation of Stars, Earliest, 421 Deaf Mutes who have been taught to Articulate, Pronunciation of, W. E. A. Axon, ror, 409; Dr. Alex. Graham Bell, 124, 458; F. J. Faraday, 458 Decaisne (Prof. Joseph), Death of, 372 ; Obituary Notice of, W. T. Thiselton Dyer, 390 Deep-Sea Exploration in the Mediterranean, Prof, Henry Hillyer Giglioli, 505 Defences, our National, 261 Deformity, Fashion in, as Illustrated in the Customs of Bar- barous and Civilised Races, W. H. Flower, F.R.S., 480 De La Rue’s Diaries, &c., 161 De La Rue (Dr. Warren, F.R.S.), Elected Manager of the Royai Institution, 346 Delta, Proposed Excavations in the, 537 Denning (W. F.), Markings on Jupiter, 223 ; Remarkable White Spot on Jupiter, 265 ; Comet f 1881, 126, 413 Desor (M.), Death of, 449 Determinants, Introduction to, with numerous Examples, William Thomson, 216 Determinants, Treati-e on the Theory of, with Graduated Sets of Exercises for use in Colleges and Schools, T. Muir, 551 Deutsche Geographische Blatter, 232 Dewar (Prof.), and Prof. Liveing on the Spectrum of Carbon, Dillinger, near Saarlouis, Discovery at, 250 Dining, Aristology ; or the Art of, Thos. Walker, 478 Dinosauria, Classification of the, Prof. O. C. Marsh, 244 Dionex, the Electromotive Properties of the Leaf of, Prof. Burdon Sanderson, F.R.S., 258 Dipladenia amabilis, Mrs. Mulholland, 79 Diseases of the Nervous System, Treatise on, Dr. James Ross, 172 Dispersal of Freshwater Bivalves, Charles Darwin, F.R.S., 529; D. Pidgeon, 584; Frank J. Rowbotham, 605 Distant (W. L.), ‘‘ Rhopalocera Malayana,” 300 Dixon (William Gray), ‘‘ Land of the Morninz; an Account of _ _ Japan and its People,” 384 Doderlein (Dr. L.), on Oshima, 43 Double Stars, 43; Observations of, made at the United States Naval Observatories, Prof, Asaph Hall, 122 Draper (Prof. J. W.), Death of, 248 ; Obituary Notice, 274 Du Chaillu (Paul B.), ‘* Land of the Midnight Sun,” 59 Duncan (P. Martin, F.R.S.), Popular Natural History, 107 ; Morphology of the Temnopleuride, 257 "yaaa or Denge-nesse, Sea-shore Alluvion, J. B. Redman, 593 Dupré (Dr. A.), Glimpse through the Corridors of Time, 217 Dust, Collection of Meteoric—a Suggestion, B. J. Hopkins, 339 Dust-Explosions in Collieries, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., 488 Dutch East Indies, New Map of, 19 Duthie (J. F.), Curious Formations of Ice, 78 Dutton (Capt. C. E.), the Excavations of the Grand Cafion of the Colorado River, 565 Dyer (W. T. Thiselton, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Prof. Joseph Decaisne, 390 | Ears, Function of the, or the Perception of Direction, S. E, Peal, 124; Antoine D’Abbadie, 172 “«Earth’s Crust, Physics of the,” Rev. Osmond Fisher, Rey. E. Hill, 433; Prof. A. H. Green, 481 Earth-Currents, W. H. Preece, F.R.S., 289; William Ellis, 315; Rev. S. J. Perry, F.R.S., 316; G. M. Whipple, 316 ; J. Parnell, 316 Earth-Currents, Magnetic Disturbances, Auroras, and, Prof, W. Grylls Adams, F.R.S., 66 Earthquakes: at Agram, 63, 186, 326; on the Continent, 87 ; at Izentes and Izarvas, 87 ; in Switzerland, 137, 208; at Sion and Sierre, 161 ; at Kiangari in the Province of Kastamoumi, 231; at Iquique, 302; in China, 325 ; in Bavaria, Roumania, and Hungary, 375; in the Andaman Islands, Col. H. H. Godwin-Austen, 386 ; in North Schleswig and South Jutland, 396 ; at Chieti and Castelfrentano, 420; at Tongatabu, 450 ; in Costa Rica, 471; at Chios, 492; at Roverado, Olivone, Bellinzona, St. Johann, and Metkovich, 492; at Ljubinge, Trebinje, and Bilek, 537 ; Earthquake Vibrations, Prof. John Milne, 126 Eaton (Rev. A. E.), Zira Arctic Expedition, 123 Echinoids of the Challenger, Prof. H. W. Mackintosh, 41 Eclipses: Lunar Eclipse on December 5, 114; Total Solar Eclipse of May 17, 375, 450, 472, 587, 594; Eclipse Notes, J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., 573 Edinburgh: Royal Society, 120, 192, 259, 380, 403, 427, 476, 523, 572, 595; the Chair of Natural History at, 469, 607 ; Fishery Exhibition at, 530, 589; Pisciculture in the, 606; Honorary Degrees, 517 Edison’s Electric Light, Electricity at the Crystal Palace, 446 Education Code, the New, and Science-teaching, 536 Education in Japan, 186; Science in Education, Sir Stafford Northcote, 206; Scientific Education in Liverpool, 270; Technical Education, 477 Eel, Life History of the, 610 Egg, Double, E. Howarth, 174 Egypt of the Past, Erasmus Wilson, F.R.S., 74 Fira Arctic Expedition, 112, 209; Rev. A. E. Eaton, 123 Electricity : Electric Tramway, 13; Electrical Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, 16, 62, 135, 275, 292; Lectures in connection with the, 394; Edison’s Electric Light, 446; Land Tele- graphy, 515; Jurors, 536; “Electrical Accumulators,”’ 561 ; List of the Rare and Curious Books relating to Electricity, 18 ; Probing by Electricity, Prof. Graham Bell, 40; Exhibition at St. Petersburgh, 230; Electric Light at the Paris Opera, 18, 42; Photographic Experiments with Electric Light, 54 ; Spectrum of the Electric Light, J. Hopkins Walters, 103 ; J. Rand Capron, 152; Fire Risks of Electric Lighting, 223 ; Electric Light in a Paris Bank, 347; Flashing Signals by Electric Light, 493 ; Electric Light between Hatton Garden and the Old Bailey, 564; Siemens’ Electrical Railway, 42; Train of Pullman Carriages Lighted by Electricity, 138; Scheme for Lighting the Quarters of the Prefecture of the Seinesin the Tuilieries with Electricity, 230; Prof. J. Clerk Maxwell’s Electricity and Magnetism, Prof. G. Chrystal, 237 ; New Electrical Storage Battery, Henry Sutton, 198, 331 ; Edmund P. Toy, 289 ; on the Economical Use of Gas-engines for the Production of Electricity, Prof. W, E. Ayrton, F.R.S., 280; ‘‘La Lumiére Electrique, son Histoire, sa Production et son Emploi,” Em. Alglave and J. Boulard, 359; Electrical Resistance of Carbon under Pressure, H. Tomlinson, 450; Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson, 482; a New Electric Regulator, 450; the Discharge of Electricity by Heat, 475; Exhibition of Electricity at Vienna, 518 ; Medical Electricity 521; Elementary Lessons in Electricity and Mag- netism, Silvanus P. Thompson, 550; Electric Barometer, J. Joly, 559; Application of Electricity to Ship’s Logs, 584 Electrolysis of Sulphate of Copper, on the, G. Gore, M.D., F.R.S., 473 Electrolytic Diffusion of Liquids, Dr. G. Gore, F.R.S., 234 Electrometer, Absolute Sine, Geo. M. Minchin, 290 Electromotive Force, Determination of, in Absolute Electro- static Measure, Geo. M. Minchin, 278 Electromotors, Little, 226 Elements, New, 394 Elger (Thos. Gwyn), Auroral Display, 386 Ellis (William), Earth-Currents, 315 Elm, Annihilation of, 63 Elsden (J. Vincent), Hypothetical High Tides, 408 Elton (Chas.), ‘f Origins of English History,” Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., 501 Nature, Fune 29, 1882] Embryo of Azolla, Prothalluim and, 327 Embryology, Treatise on Comparative, F. M, Balfour’s, I’.R.S,, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 25 Encyclopzedia Britannica, 313 Encyclopedic Dictionary, a New and Original Work of Refer- ence to all the Words in the English Language, Robert Hunter, 288 Encyklopzdie der Naturwissenschaften, 114 Energy, Accumulation of and Tele-dynamies, their Application to the Channel Tunnel, E. Walker, 152 Energy, Storage of, Prof. W. E, Ayrton, F.R.S,, 495 England, Geology of the Counties of, and of North and South Wales, W. Jerome Harrison, 408 England, Making of, J. Richard Green, 415 English History, Origins of, Chas. Elton, Edward B, Tylor, F.R.S., 501 Entomological Society, 120, 235, 332, 403, 475, 619 ‘* Kophyton,” A. G, Nathorst, 483 Epping Forest Field Club, Transactions of, 208 Equatorial Solar Spot, Wentworth Erck, 481 Erck (Wentworth), Equatorial Solar Spot, 481 Erodium, Awned Carpels of, Prof. G, MacLoskie, 174 ’ Essex Field Club, 394; at the Natural History Museum, 537 pencarzphical Sciences, International Congress for at Geneva, 20 Etna, Mount, Proposed Railway to the Summit of, 395 ; Active Condition of, 565, 615 Etna Observatory, 301, 394 Eubcea, Island of, reported Discovery of Fossil Human Re- mains, 346 Evans (W. F.), Solar halo, 386 Evolution of the Palzozoic Vege'ation, J. S. Gardner, 8 Evolution of Antlers in the Ruminants, Prof, W. Boyd Daw- kins, F.R.S., 84 Exner (Prof, Sigmund), ‘‘ Untersuchungen iiber die Localisation der Functionen in der Grosshirnrinde des Menschen,” Dr. David Ferrier, 214 ae nese Dust-, in Collieries, Prof. T. E, Thorpe, F.R.S., 4 Eye, Gas-Flame, Electric and Solar Spectra and their Effects on the, Prof, W. H. Pickering, 340 Faber (Rev. E,), the Mind of Mencius, 99 Fairbairn (Sir William), Death of the Widow of, 277 Falling Water, Moths attracted by, J. Starkie Gardner, 436 Faraday (F. J.), Pronunciation of Deaf Mutes who have been taught to Speak, 458 Fashion in Deformity, as illustrated in the Customs of Barbarous and Civilised Races, W. H. Flower, F.R.S., 480 Fata Morgana observed at Riigenwalde, $8 Fauna and Flora of the White Sea, 328 Feeding, Food and, Sir Henry Thompson, 478 Ferrier (Prof.) charged with a Breach of the Vivisection Act, 42; Cerebral Localisation, Prof. Sigmund Exner, 214 Fiji, a Year in; or, an Inquiry into the Botanical, Agricultural, and Economical Resources of the Colony, John Horne, 527 Fire-Extinguishers, Maxim’s Self-Acting, 511 Fire-flies, the Spectrum of the Light of, 277 Fire Risks of Electric Lighting, 223 Fish, New and very Rare, from the Mediterranean, Prof Henry H. Giglioli, 535 Fisher (Rev. O., F.R.S.), Physical Cause of the Ocean Basins, 243; ‘*Physics of the Earth’s Crust,” Rey. E. Hill, 433; Prof. A, H. Green on, 481 Fisheries, Report of the German Union, 208 Fisheries Exhibition, International, 410 Fishery Exhibition at Edinburgh, 530, 589 Flammarion (C.), “‘ Les Etoiles et les Curiosités du Ciel, 456 Fletcher (L.), “ Text-Book of Systematic Mineralogy,” by Hilary Bauerman, 49 Flint Flakes, Replacing, F. Archer, 8 Flints, Red, in the Chalk, W. Fream, 437; J. Badcock, jun, 529 Floating Matter of the Air, Essays on, in Relation to Putrefac- tion and Infection, John Tyndall, F.R.S., 6 Floors Palzolithic, Worthington Geo, Smith, 460 Flora of New South Wales in its Geological Aspect, 543 Flower (W. H., F.R.S_), Fashion in Deformity, as illustrated in the Customs of Barbarous and Civilised Races, 480 Flowers Phenological Observations on Early and Winter Tem- peratures, J. Edmund Clark, 552 INDEX vil Flowers, Seasonal Order in Colours of, Dr. J. C. Costerus, 481 Flowers, Colours of Low-growing Wood, J. Innes Rogers, 554 Fluor-spar of Switzerland, Lenses from, 290 Fonvielle (W. de), Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon, 357, 436, 529 Food and Feeding, Sir Henry Thompson, 478 Forth and Tay Bridges, 246 Fossil Flora of Sumatra, Dr. Oswald Heer, 200 Fossil Insects of the Dakota Group, Dr. H, A, Hagen, 266 Fos:il Fishes at the Briti h Museum, 418 Fossils, Indian, 218 Fossils, Silurian, in the North-West Highlands, W. H. Huddleston, 582; Rev, T. G, Bonney,: 603; Chas. W, Peach, 603 Fotheringham (J.), Sound-producing Ants, 55 France, Provincial Observatories of, 18, 126 France and Germany, Scarcity of Water in, 593 French Man of War, Lady’s Cruise in, G, F. Gordon Cumming, 289 French Metropolitan Railway, 346 Fream (W.), Red Flints in the Chalk, 437 Freshwater Medusa, Further Observations on the, made during the Summer, 1881, Prof. E, Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 444 Freshwater Bivalves, on the Dispersal of, Chas. Darwin, F.R.S., 529; Frank J. Rowbotham, 605 Froth, Sea, Capt. S. P. Oliver, 268 Fulminate of Mercury, the expulsion of, 568 Fumifugium, W. H. Corfield, 151 Gaine (William Edward), Death of, 565 Galle’s Method for Solar Parallax, 472 Gallium, the Atomic Weight of, 394 Galton (Francis, F.R.S.), Physiognomy of Consumption, 389 Gardner (J. S.), Evolution of the Palaeozoic Vegetation, 8 ; Chapter in the History of Coniferae—the Podocarpex, 228 ; Moths attracted by Falling Water, 436 Gas-Flame, Solar and Electric Light Spectra, J. Rand Capron, 152; Prof, W. H. Pickering, 340 Gas-Engines, on the Economical use of, for the Production of Electricity, Prof. W. E. Ayrton, F.R.S,, 280 Gases, Resistance of, to the Motion of a Solid Body, 325 Gases and Liquids, Action of, on the Vitality of Seeds, Prof. Italo Giglioli, 328 Gautier (Jean Alfred), Death of, 137 219 Geddes (Patrick), Further Researches on Animals containing Chlorophyll, 303, 361 Gegenbaur’s Morphologisches Jahrbuch, 23 Geikie (Arch., LL.D., F.R.S.), a Recent Find in British Palzeon- tology, 1; Obituary Notice of Ami Boue, 109 ; Appointed Director-General of the Geological Surveys of the United Kingdom, 159 ; Presentation of an Address to, 544 Geminorum, Variable Star U, 450 Geneva Observatory, Micro-Telephone in the, 207 Geneva, Earthquake at, 615 ; Geography: Bibliography of, 19; Geographical Congress at Venice, 19, 20; Geographical Notes, 19, 43, 89, 209, 232, 302, 349, 375) 421, 472, 538; Society of Tokio, 232; Jena Geographische Gesellschaft, 346; Geographical Society, see Royal Geslony : International Geological Congress, 34; Geological Results of the late Gales, Prof. G. A. Lebour, 79 ; Geological Survey of Italy, W. Topley, 86; Prof. G. A. Leboar, 126 ; Geo- logical Society, 120, 143, 235, 259, 307; 379, 451, 475, 523 547, 618; Presentation of Medals by, 448 5 Geological Im- portance of the Tides, Dr. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 213; Geological Discovery at Leghorn, 249 ; Tidal Evolution and Geology, Dr. Samuel Haughton, F.R.S., 265; Geologists’ Association, 403 ; Geology of the Counties of England and of North and South Wales, W. Jerome Harrison, 408 ; Geolo- gical and Mineralogical Map of Sutherland, M. Foster Heddle, 526; Economic Geology of India, 508, 554; Flora of New South Wales in its Geological Aspect, 543 Geometrical Exercises for Beginners, Samuel Constable, 457 Geotropism and Growth, Francis Darwin, 616 Gerland (Dr. E.), Papin, 125 Geyser, New, Discovery of, at St. Etienne (France), 493 Geysers, Models of, 374 Giebel (Dr. Chr. G. A.), Death of, 137 Giffard (Henry), Death of, 591 ; : Giglioli (Prof. Henry Hillyer), Basque Whale in the Mediter- ranean, 505; Deep-Sea Exploration in the Mediterranean, vill INDEX [Nature, Fune 29, 1882 505 ; New and very Rare Fish from the Mediterranean, 535 ; Precious Coral, 552 Giglioli (Prof. Italo), Action of Liquids and Gases on the Vitality of Seeds, 328 Gilchrist Educational Trust, Lectures, 229 Giltay (J. W.), Audible Photometer, 125 Gilyaks of Eastern Siberia, 209 Glaciers: the Morteratsch, Hugo Leupold, 77; Glacier action in Finland, 301 ; Study of the Rhone, 593; M. Forel on, 184; Glaciers and Glacial Periods in their Relations to Climate, Dr. A. Woeikof, 424; Changes of Movement observable in Norwegian Glacier-, 449 ; J. Innes Rogers, 460 Gladstone (Dr. J. H., F.R.S.), Sea Froth, 33; and Alfred Tribe, Chemistry of the Planté and Faure Accumulators, 221, 461 Glarus, Landslip at, 277 Glimpse through the Corridors of Time, Dr. R.S. Ball, F.R.S., 79, 103; Dr. A Dupré, 217; Prof. T. H. Huxley, F.R.S., 241 ee ay Aristen (Col. H. H.), Earthquake in the Andaman Islands, 386 Gore (Dr. G., F.R.S.), Electrolytic Diffusion of Liquids, 234 ; on the Electrolysis of Sulphate of Copper, 473 Gottingen Royal Society of Sciences, 48 Government, the, and Science, 87, 89 Graminez, Mr. Bentham’s Paper on, 229 Grass Barriers of the Nile, 130 Gravitation, the Balance and, 137 Gravity, Lunar Disturbance of, G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 20 Green (Prof. A. H.), ‘‘ Fisher’s Physics of the Earth’s Crust,” 481 _ Green (J. Richard), ‘‘ Making of England,” 415 Greenland, Exploration of, 209 Greville (H. Leicester), Student’s Handbo_k of Chemistry, 123 Gross (E. J.), Algebra, 458 Growth, Geotropism and, Francis Darwin, 616 “* Guesses at Truth,” Some, of the Emperor Khang-hi, 82 Guppy (H. B.), Yellow River and the Pei-ho, 584 Guthrie (Fred., F.R.S.), First Book of Knowledge, 288 Haeckel (Prof.), Researches on the Coast of Ceylon, 469 Hagen (Dr. B.), Exploration of Sumatra, 89 Hagen (Dr. H. A.), Fossil Insects of the Dakota Group, 266 Hailstorm, Solar Spectrum in a, C. H. Romanes, 507 Hailstorms, Tornadoes, Whirlwinds, Waterspouts, and, 155, 291 Hale (A.), Hypothetical High Tides, 385 Haliburton (R. G.) Primitive Traditions as to the Pleiades, 100, 317 Hall (Prof. Asaph Hall), ‘‘ Observations of Double Stars made at the United States Naval Observatory, 122 Hall (Maxwell), and Jamaica Meteorology, 17 Halo, Solar, J. T. Brownell, 290: W. F. Evans, 386 Hands, on the Clenching of, from Emotional and other Causes in the two Sexes, Arthur Stradling, 364 Hann (Dr.), on the Temperature of the Southern Hemisphere, 3 Hannay (J. B), Atmospheric Phenomenon, 125; Colour Per- ception, 604 Harlacher (Prof. A. R.), Current Meter of, R. Blum, 494 Harrison (Park), on an Incised Slate, 18 Harrison (W. Jerome), Geology of the Counties of England, and of North and South Wales, 408 Harvard College, U.S., Observatory of, 326 Harvey (Dr. Reuben J.), Deatk of, 248 Hats, Heads and, Dr. W. B. Kesteven, 8; Hyde Clarke, 32 ; F. F. Tuckett, Chas. Roberts, Chas. H. Blackley, W. G. Smith, Edward F. Willoughby, 55 on (Dr. Samuel, F.R.S.), Tidal Evolution and Geology, 205 Hayes (Dr. Isaac J.), Death of, 184 Hazen (Gen. W. B.), International Polar Research, 112 Hazy Sky, Telescopic Definition in a, Dr. G. W. Royston Pigott, F.R.S., 77; A. S. Atkinson, 483 Heads, Men's, an Alleged Diminution in the Size of, Dr. W. B. Kesteven, 8; Hyde Clarke, 32; F. F. Tuckett, Chas. Roberts, Chas. H. Blackley, W. G. Smith, Edward F. Willoughby, 55 ““Head-Hunters of Borneo: a Narrative of Travel up the Mahakkam and down the Barito, also Journeyings in Sumatra,” by Carl Bock, Alfred R. Wallace, 3 Health Congress, Brighton, and Domestic and Scientific Exhi- hibition, 161, 175 Heart, Aristotle on the, W. Ogle, 528 Heat, and Light, Acoustics, Thomas W. Piper, 51 Heat, Variations in the Sun’s, E. Douglas Archibald, 316 Heat, Influence of, on the Molecular Structure of Zinc, 374 Heat, Specific and Thermal Conductivity of, H. G. Madan, 507 Heddle (M. Foster), Geological and Mineralogical Map of Sutherland, 526 Heer (Dr. Oswald), Fossil Flora of Sumatra, 200 Heights of the Rivers Nile and Thames, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S.: 261, 268 ; Heine (Dr. Eduard Simon), Death of, 63 Helium, the Element, discovered in Lava, 185 Helophyton Williamsonis, Prof. Wm. C. Williamson, F.R.S., 124, 173 Hemispheres, the Two, Popular Account of the Countries and Peoples of the World, G. G. Chisholm, 337 Hemsley (W. Botting), ‘‘Die Pflanze. Vortrage aus dem Gebiete der Botanik,” von Dr, Ferdinand Cohn, 359 Hennessey (J. B. N.), Outburst of Sun-Spots, July 25, 1881, 241 Henshall (Dr. J. A.), Book of the Black Bass, 216 Herbaceous Stem on a Palzolithic Implement, Worthington G. . Smith, 173 Herbarium of Plants taken from Mummies, 493 Herschel (Prof. A. S.), on an Experimental Form of Secondary Cell, 363 ; ona Perpetual Form of Secondary Cell, 527 Herschel (Major J.), Pendulum Observations in London, 197 ; Mid-day Darkness of Sunday, January 22, 289 Higgens (Henry H.), Meteor, 78 Highlands North-West, Silurian Fossils in, W. H. Hudleston, 582; Rev. T. G. Bonney, 603 ; Chas. W. Peach, 603 High Tides, Hypothetical, C. Callaway, 436 Hill (Rev. E.), “ Physics of the Earth’s Crust,” Rev. Osmond Fisher, 433 Hoffmann (Dr. H.), Phaenology—an Appeal, 506 Holden (Prof. Edward S.), New Red Star, 410 Holtz Electrical Machine, 232; the unequal Heating of the Electrodes of, 376 Hongkong, an Observatory for, 39 Honolulu, Earthquake at, 250 Hopkins (B. J.), Collection of Meteoric Dust—a Suggestion, 339 Horne (John), ‘* A Year in Fiji; or, an Inquiry into the Bota- nical, Agricultural, and Economical Resources of the Colony,” 27 Fakes given to any Part of a Circuit by Intermittent Light, John Perry, 198 “* Horse in Motion,” Dr. J. B. D. Stillman, 591; J. Muybridge, 605 Hoskyns-Abrahall (Rey. John), Meteor, 198 Hospitals in Japan, 63 Housman (Rev. Henry), ‘‘ The Story of our Museum, how we Formed it, and what it Taught us,” Alrred R. Wallace, 407 Howard (J.), Practical Chemistry, 150 Howarth (E.), Meteors, 173 ; Double Egg, 174 Hubbard (A. J.), Igneous Rocks of Iceland, 8 Hubbard (Mrs. E.), Intelligence in Birds, 461 Palle H.), Silurian Fossils in the North-West High- lands, 582 Huggins (William, F.R.S.), Photographic Spectrum of the Great Nebula in Orion, 489 Hughes (Prof. Thos. McKenny, F.R.S.), Steno, 484 Hulke (T. W., F.R.S.), the Osteology of Aypsilophodon Foxit, 426 Hull (Prof. Edward, F.R.S.), Ancient Tidal Action and Planes of Marine Denudation, 177; Palzo-geological and Geogra- phical Maps, 518 Humanity, Anti-Vivisection versus, 73 Hungary, Earthquakes in, 375 Hunt (Dr. J. Sterry), Honorary Degree conferred on, by the University of Cambridge, 119 ; on the Conservation of Solar Energy, 602 Hunter (Robert), Encyclopedic Dictionary, 288 Huxley (Prof. T. H., F.R.S.), Resignation of the Secretaryship of the Royal Society, 16; ‘‘Science and Culture,” Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 333; ona Glimpse through the Corridors of Time, 241; Salmon Disease, 437; Charles Darwin, 597 Hydrodynamic Experiments, Bjerknes’, 271 Hygrometer, Integrating, MM. Mignan and Renard’s, 565 Hypothetical High Tides: Prof. J. S. Newberry, 357 ; A. Hale, 385; C. Callaway, 385, 436; S. V. Wood, 408; J. Vincent Elsden, 408 ; ¥ Nature, Fune 29, 1882] INDEX ix eeetep hod Foxit, the Osteology of, J. W. Hulke, F.R.S., 42 Ice: Curious Formations of, J. F. Duthie, 78 ; Severance of Rocks by, 347 Iceland, Igneous Rocks of, A. J. Hubbard, 8 “*Tcones Flora: Danicz,” Completion of, 347 Igneous Rocks of Iceland, A. J. Hubbard, 8 Ihne (Dr. Egon), Pheenology—an Appeal, 506 Imperial Dictionary of the English Language, Dr. J. Ogilvie, 288 India: Rod in, H. S. Thomas, 215 ; Economic Geology of, 508, 554; Wild Silks of, W. Odell, 563 Indian Fossils, 218 Indigo, Baeyer’s Method for Preparing Artificial, 593 Indium, the Physical Properties of, 290 Infection and Putrefaction, Essays on the Floating Matter of the Air ia Relation to, John Tyndall, F.R.S., 6 Inoculations, Pasteur’s, a Student, 483 ‘Inorganic Chemistry,” William Jago, 364 Insects, Fossil, of the Dakota Group, Dr. H. A. Hagen, 266 Institute of Jamaica, 419 Institution of Civil Engineers, 144, 355, 403 Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 301, 350 Institution of Naval Architects, 517, 533 Integrating Anemometer, V. Ventosa, 79 Integrating Hygrometer, MM. Mignan and Ranard’s, 565 Intelligence in Birds, 410; Mrs. E. Hubbard, 461 Intermittent Light, Horse-Power given to any part of a Circuit by, John Perry, 198 International Geological Congress, 34 International Medical Congress, Transactions, 43 International Polar Research, General W. B. Hazen on, 112 International Fisheries Exhibition, 410 Iquique, Earthquake at, 302 Irawaddy, Exploration of the Sources of the, 421 Isotherms, Displacement of, 185 Italy, Geological Survey of, W. Topley, $6 ; Prof. G. A. Lebour, 126; Public Instruction in, 396 Tzeutes and Izarvas, Earthquakes at, 87 Jackson (James), Bibliography of Geography, 19 Jago (W.), Inorganic Chemistry, Theoretical and Practical, 150, 364 Jamaica, Meteorological Observations in, 17; Jamaica Petrel, D. Morris, 151; the Colony of, 152; Institute of, 419 Japan: Modern, Japanese Porcelain, 17; Hospitals in, 63; Education in, 186, 325; a Society for the Protection of Ancient Monuments in, 301 ; Ernest Satow and Lieut. Hawes’ Work on, 374 ; ‘‘ Land of the Morning: an Account of Japan and its People,” William Gray Dixon, 384; Fires in, 396; Prof. Milne on the Volcanoes of, 420; Telegraph Lines in, 450 ; Art Metal Work of, 514; Works licensed to be Printed in, 518; Tokio University Calendar, 519; Distribution of Seismic Activity in, 613 Jeannette, the Search for, 44, 62, 89, 275, 326, 350, 375 Jena, Geographical Society of, 34 Jews, Coins of the International Numismata Orientalia, Fred. W. Madden, Dr. John Evans, F.R.S., 549 Johnstone (H. H.), Miss Cobbe and Vivisection, 459, 506 Joly (J.), Electric Barometer, 559 Jones (John), First Steps to a New Selenograph, 288 Jones (D. Rhys), Means of Saving some Lives in Colliery Explosions, 508 Joule (Dr. J. P., F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Edward William Binney, F.R.S., 293 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 23, 211, 401 Journal de Physique, 48, 282, 353, 522 Journal of the Franklin Institute, 142, 257, 522, 545, 617 Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, 210, 378 Journal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Society, 211, 426 Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, 305 Journal of Physiology, 378 Journal of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana, 419 Judd (Prof. J. W., F.R.S.), ‘*Life, Letters, and Journals of Sir Chas. Lyell, 145, 170; Possibility of finding Workable Coal-seams under the London Area, 311, 361 Jumbo, 386, 393; Zoological Society, and, 487 Jupiter, Markings on, W. F. Denning, 223, 265; G. P. Serviss, 436; Movements of Jupiter’s Atmosphéres, W. Mattieu Williams, 338 ; G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 360 Jura, Movements of the Ground in, 471 Jurassic Birds and their Allies, Prof, O. C, Marsh, 22 Keestner (M. Eugene Frederic), Death of, 612 Keller (M.), Accident in his Laboratory, to, 42 Kesteven (Dr. W. B.), an Alleged Diminution in the Size of Men’s Heads, 8 Kew Gardens, Report of, 206 Khang-hi (Emperor), some ‘‘ Guesses at the Truth ” of the, 82 Kiangari, in the Province of Kastamoumi, Earthquake at, 231 Kingsford (Dr. Anna), Vivisection, 482 Kippist (Richard), Death of, 275 Kleciak (Blasinus), Death of, 395 Kletzinsky (Prof, Vincenz), Death of, 565 Knowledge, First Book of, Fred. Guthrie, F.R.S., 288 Knowles (W. J.), Paleolithic Man and Loss, 409 Koch (W. S.), Auroral Display, 461 Konig’s Great Tonometer, 346 Kopp (Dr. Hermann), Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon, 385, 07 Kit (Rey. Dr. John Ludwig), Death of, 184 Krause, Brothers, safe arrival at San Francisco, 44 Kufra, Reise von Tripolis, nach der Oase Kufra, Dr. Gerhard Rohlf’s, 264 Kunnungs, the, S. E. Peal, 529 Lacustrine Relics, discovery of, at Steckborn, on Lake Con- stance, 470 Lady’s Cruise in a Freneh Man-of-War, G. F. Gordon Cum- ming, 289 Lake, Transformation of Old Coins in a, 93 Lake Constance, 348 Lake Tanganyika, Mr. E. C. Hore’s Paper on, 112 “*TLand of the Midnight Sun,” Paul B. Du Chaillu, 59 **Land of the Morning; an Account of Japan and its People,” William Gray Dixon, 384 Land und Leute in der brasilianischen Provinz Bahia, 240 Landslip at Glarus, 277 Lankester (Prof. E. Ray, F.R.S.), Treatise on Comparative Em- bryology, by F. M. Balfour’s, F.R.S., 25; Obituary Notice of Theodor Schwann, 321; Further Observations made on; the Freshwater Medusa made during the Summer, 1881, 44 4 Studies on Apus, Limulus, and Scorpio, 479 ; and Edinburgh Chair of Natural History, 607 Lansdell (Henry), through Siberia, 582 Larve, Burrowing, V. T. Chambers, 529 Lebour (Prof. G. A.), Geological Results of the late Gales, 79 Geological Society of Italy, 126 Leeds Naturalists’ Club and Scientific Association, 419 Leghorn, Geological Discovery at, 249 Leichhardt (Dr. Ludwig), alleged Discovery of Relics and Journals of, 112; Letters of, 230 Lena, Russian Expedition to the Mouth of the, 135 Lennep (John H. van), Nepotism, 266 Lenz (Dr.), on the Sahara, 210 Lepidoptera of Ceylon, Henry Trimen, 32, 338; F. Moore, 79 Lepidoptera, Rare, Table of the Appearance of, in this Country in Connection with the Sun-spots, A. H. Swinton, 584 Lepidosteus, Dr, F. M. Balfour on, 305 Lepidosteus osseus, Development of the Skull in, W. K. Parker, F.R.S., 330 Leupold (Hugo), the Morteratsch Glacier, 77 Level of the Mediterranean, L. Luiggi, 436 Lewis (D. M.), Sound-producing Ants, 266 Lick Observatory, 298 ; the large Flint-Glass disk for, 537 Liebig (Baron Justus von), Monument of, 471 Life, Chemical Cause of, Theoretically and Experimentally examined, Oscar Loew and Thos, Bokorny, 457 Life-History of the Eel, 610 Light, Velocity of, Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S., 52 Light, Intermittent, Horse-Power given to any Part of a Circuit, by John Perry, 198 Light and Heat, Acoustics, Thomas W. Piper, 51 Lightning, Injury from, near Geneva, 160 Lightning, Effect of, on trees near a Telegraph Wire, 593 Lightning-rod Conference, 184 Liquids, on the Application of Photometry in the Study of the Phenomena of Diffusion in, Dr, S. Wroblewski, 45 Liquids and Gases, Action of, on the Vitality of Seeds, Prof, Italo Giglioli, 328 Limulus, Prof. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., 582 x INDEX [Wature, Fune 29, 1882 ‘ Limulus, Apus, and Scorpio, Studies on, Prof. E, JRay Lan- kester, F.R.S., 479 Lingwood (J.), Climate of North Northumberland as regards its Fitness for Astronomical Observations, 339 Linnean Society, 94, 166, 211, 331, 379, 517, 522 Linnean Society of New South Wales, 42 “Timnocodium Sowerbii,” Further Observations on the, made during the Summer, 1881, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 444 Liveing (Prof.) and Prof. Dewar, on the Spectrum of Carbcn, 545 Liverpool, Literary, Scientific, and Art Societies, Seié, 208 ; Scientific Education in, 270; Royal Commissioners on Tech- ' nical Education at, 346 Lives, Means of Saving some, in Colliery Explosions, D, Rhys Jones, 508 Lizard, Song of the, Francis P. Pascoe, 32 ; Capt. S. P. Oliver, 174 Ljubinge, Earthquake at, 537 Lobo’s (Father), ‘‘ Abyssinia,” 365 Lockyer (J. Norman, F.R.S.), Eclipse Notes, 573 London University Matriculation, Natural Philosophy for, Edward B. Aveling, 76 London, a Smokeless, Edmund McClure, 173 London, Pendulum Observations in Major J. Herschel, 197 London Area, Possibility of finding Workable Coal-Seams under the, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 311, 361 16 s, Palzolithic Man and, W. J. Knowles, 409 Loew (Oscar) and Thos. Bokorny, ‘‘Chemical Cause of Life Theoretically and Experimentally Examined,” 457 Lubbock (Sir J. W., Bart., F.R.S.), an Elementary Treatise on the Tides based upon that of the Late, Rev. J. Pearson, 360; on the Sense of Colour among some of the Lower Animals, 422 Lubomirski (Prince Wladislaus), Death of, 565 Luiggi (L.), Level of the Mediterranean, 436 Lunar Disturbance of Gravity, G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 20 Lunar Eclipse on December 5, 114 Lung Capacity of Children, Researches on the, 114 Lyell (Sir Chas), Life, Letters, and Journals of, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 145, 170 McClure (Edmund), A Smokeless London, 173 McCook (Dr. Henry C.), “The Honey Ants of the Garden of the Gods and the Occident Ants of the American’ Plains,” Geo, J. Romanes, F.R.S., 405 j Mackintosh (Prof. H. W.), Echinoids of the Challenger, 41 McLachlan (R., F.R.S.), the Weather, 241 Macloskie (Prof. G.), Awned Carpels of Erodium, 174 Madan (H. G.), Tables of Qualitative Analysis, 264; Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity, 507 Madden (Fred. W.), ‘‘ International Numismata Orientalia, Coins of the Jews, Dr. John Evans, F.R.S., 549 Mag giore, Lake Examination of the Water of, 348 Magnetic Survey of Missouri, Francis E. Nipher, 40 Magnetic Disturbances, Auroras, and Earth Currents, Prof. W. Grylls Adams, F.R.S., 66 Magnetic Declination, New Determination of the, 230 Magnetic Storm, G. M. Whipple, 583, 604 Magneto-Electric Action, Matter and, Dr. W. Spottiswoode, Pres. R.S., 539 Magnetism, Electricity, ‘and, Elementary Lessons in, Silvanus P, Thompson, 550 Mahomed (Dr. F. A.), Physiognomy of Consumption, 389 “* Making of England,” J. Richard Green, 415 Makua and Lomwe Countries, Exploration of, 472 Malay Archipelago, on Artificial Deformation of the Human Skull in the, Dr. A. B. Meyer, 132 Mallet (Robert, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of, 59 M‘Alpine (D.), Zoological Atlas (including Comparative Ana- tomy), with Practical Directions and Explanatory Text for the Use of Students. Invertebrata, 122 Man, Palzolithic, and Loss, W. J. Knowles, 409 Manchester: Literary and Philosophical Society, 23 Manitoba, Books on, 538 Map, Relief, of the Equatorial Regions of Africa, 275 Marine Denudation, Ancient Tidal Action and Planes of, Prof. Edward Hall, F.R.S., 177 Markham (Clements B., C.B., F.R.S.), Arctic Research, 78 ; on the Whale Fishery of the Basque Provinces of Spain, 365 Marreco (Prof. A. Freire), Death of, 469 Mars, Satellites of, 94, 209; Solar Parallax from Observations of, 278 ; Photography of, 493 Marsh (Prof. O. C.), Jurassic Birds and their Allies, 22 ; Classi- fication of the Dinosauria, 244; Wings of Pterodactyles, 531 Maskelyne (T. S.). Coltsfoot, 290 Mathematical Society, 95, 167, 283, 336, 379, 475, 571 Mathematics, Influence of, on the Progress of Physics, Dr. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 397 Matter and Magneto-Electric Action, Dr. W. Spottiswoode, Pr.R.S., 539 Maxim’s Self-Acting Fire-Extinguishers, 511 Maxwell (Prof. James Clerk), 229; Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, Prof. G. Chrystal, 237 . Measurements, Wind, 486 ; C. H. Romanes, 505; Richard B. Prosser, 505 Medical Congress, International, Transactions, 43 Medical Women in China, 206 Medical Electricity, 521 Mediterranean, Parhelia in the, Chas. H. Allen, 339; Albert Riggenbach, 364; Level of the, L. Luiggi, 436; Basque Whale in the, Prof. Henry Hillyer Giglioli, 505; Deep-Sea Exploration in the, Prof. Henry Hillyer Giglioli, 505 ; New and Rare Fish from the, Prof. Henry H. Giglioli, 535 Medusz of the White Sea, 300 Melbourne, Observatory of, 349 Melting Point, on, E. G. Mills, F.R.S., 354 Mémoires de la Société des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles de Bordeaux, 408 Mencius, the Mind of, Rev. E, Faber, 99 Men’s Heads, an Alleged Diminution in the Size of, 55; Dr. W. B. Kesteven, 8; Hyde Clarke, 32 Menelaus (William), Death of, 536 Mercury, Transit of, November 8, 19, 375 Meridian Distances from Vladivostok to Madras, 394 Merrifield (Mrs.), Weather in South Australia, 483 Metal, Art, Work, of Japan, 514 Metals, Various, Rotational Co-efficient in, 46 Meteorology : of Ben Nevis, Alex. Buchan, 11 ; Meteorological Observations in Jamaica, 17; Meteorological Society, 119, 259, 307, 427, 450, 547, 619 ; Weather of November, 1881, 131; Ben Nevis Observatory, 135; the Comptes rendus on Polar Meteorological Stations, 159 ; a System of Observations in the China Seas, 368; Dr. A. Woeikof, 410; Report of the Weather, 1881, 449; Meteorological Observations on Boston Church, 470 Meteors : Rev. S. J. Perry, F.R.S., 78; M. L. Rouse, 78 ; Henry Cecil, 78; Hemy H. Higgens, 78; E. E. Barnard, 173; E. Howarth, 173, Rey. John Hoskyns-Abrahall, 198 ; seen at Byejetsk, 250 Meteoric Dust, Collection of—a Suggestion, B. J. Hopkins, 339 Meteoric Stones, Fall_of, at Vevey, 88 ; in} Transylvania, 420 ; at Mirotch Planina, 471 Meyer (Dr. A. B.), on Artificial Deformation of the Human Skull in the Malay Archipelago, 132 Michigan Catalogue of the Phaenogamous and Vascular Cryp- togamous Plants of, Indigenous, Naturalised, and Adventive, Chas. F. Wheeler and Edwin F. Smith, 182, 196 Microscope and its Revelations, W. B. Carpenter, F.R.S., 502 Microscopical Science, Quarterly Journal of, 6 Microscopy, Practical, Geo. E. Davis, 502, 545 Micro-Telephone in the Observatory, Geneva, 207 Mid-day Darkness of Sunday, January 22; Major J. Herschel, 289 Midnight Sun, Land of the, Paul B. du Chaillu, 59 Mills (E. J., F.R.S., on Melting Point, 354 Miln, (James), Excavations at Carnac, 99 Milne (Prof. John), Earthquake Vibrations, 126 ; Volcanoes of Japan, 420; on the ‘‘ Koro-pok-guru,” 470 Minchin (Geo. M.), Determination of Electromotive Force in Absolute Electrostatic Measure, 278; Absolute Sine Electro- meter, 290 Mineralogical Society, 212 Mineralogy, Systematic Text-Book of, Hilary Bauerman, L. Fletcher, 49 Mines, Accidents in, Commission, 97 Minor Planets in 1882, 218 Mirotch Planina, Fall of a Meteorite at, 471 Missouri, Magnetic Survey of, Francis E. Nipher, 40 Mivart (St. George, F.R.S.), the Cat, 286 Moir (James), a Strange Phenomenon, 410 Molecules, Action of Free, on Radiant Heat and its Conversion thereby into Sound, J. Tyndall, F.R.S., 232 ~ Nature, Hum 29, 1882] INDEX Mollusca of India, Col. Godwin-Austen’s Papers on, 373 Molothrus, Parasitic Habits of, Charles Darwin, F.R.S., 51 Moncrieff (W. D. Scott), Compressed Air upon Tramways, 266 Mongolia, Proposed Telegraph Across, 301 Monos Island, Trinidad, 57 Moon, the Apparent Size and Distance of, 347 _ Moore (F.), Lepidoptera of Ceylon, 79 Moore (Chas ), Death of, 184 More (A. G.), appo’nted Curator of the Dublin Natural History Museum, 249 Morgan (Lewis H.), Death of, 248 Morphologisches Jahrbuch, 378 Morphology of the Temnopleuride, Prof. P, M,. Duncan, E.R.S., 257 Morris (D.), Jamaica Petrel, 151 Morris (Prof. Chas.), on the Conservation of Solar Energy, 601 Morrelli (Dr. Henry), Suicide ; an Essay on Comparative Moral Statistics, Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 193 Morteratsch Glacier, Hugo Leupold, 77 Moscow Society of Naturalists, 326 Moscow, Observatory of, 616 Moseley (H. N., F.R.S.), Elected to the Linacre Chair of Physiology in the University of Oxford, 112; Researches on Animals containing Chlorophyll, 338; Precious Coral, 510; Limulus, 582 Moths attracted by Falling Water, J. Starkie Gardner. 436 Mott (F. T.), Water in Australia, 507 Mouchez’s (Admiral) Sozvée at the Paris Observatory, 493 Mount Etna, 565, 615; Observatory, 301, 394; Proposed Rail- way to the Summit of, 395 Mount Vesuvius, Eruption of, 218 Mueller (Ferd. Baron yon, F.R.S.), Select Extra Tropical Plants Readily Eligible tor Industrial Culture or Naturalisa- tion, with some indications of their Native Countries, and some of their Uses, 480 Miiller (Dr. Hermann), Polymorphism of the Flower-heads of Centaurea jacea, 24% Muffs and Vivisection, Frances Power Cobbe, 483 Muir (J.), Treatise on the Theory of Determinants; with Graduated Sets of Exercises for Use in Colleges and Schools, 551 Mulhall (Mrs. M. G.), ‘‘ Between the Amazons and Andes; or, Ten Years of a Lady’s Travels in the Pampas, Gran Chaco, Paraguay, and Matto Grosso, 457 Mulholland (Mrs.), Difladenia Amabilis, 79 Mummies, Herbarium of Plants taken from, 493 Museum, the Story {of our, showing how we Formed it and what it Taught us, Rev. Henry Housman, Alfred R. Wallace, 407 Muybridge (J.), Horse in Motion, 605 Nachet (M. Camille Sebastian), Death of, 87 eee (Hungary), Discovery of the Remains of a ‘Roman ar, 03 Natal, Proposed Observatory at, 394 Nathorat (A. G.), “* Eophyton,” 483 National Defences, Our, 261 Natura, La, 522 Natural History, yopnle Edited by P, Martin Dunean, F.R.S. 107; Rev. W.' Tuckwell’s Lecture on, at the Birmingham Town Hall, 348; Boston Society of 1830-1880, 389; Edin- burgh Chair of, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 607 Natural Philosophy !for London University Matriculation Edward B. Aveling, 76 : Naturalists, Institute for, Dr. J. Rae, F.R.S., 126 Nature, Vignettes from, Alfred R, Wallace, 381; Grant Allen, 381, 459; Dr. W. B, Carpenter, F.R.S., 435, 480, 554; W. Budden, 529 Naval Architects, Institution of, 533 Naval and Marine Engineering Exhibition, 587 Nebula in Andromeda, the Great, Rev. T. W. Webb, 341 Nebula in Orion, Photographic Spectrum of the Great, William Huggins, F.R.S., 489 Nepotism, John H. Van Lennep, 266 Nervous System, Treatise on the Diseases of the, Dr. James Ross, 172 Nettleton (J. A.), Study of the History and Meaning of the Expression ‘* Original Gravity,” 384 Newberry (Prof. J. S,), Hypothetical High Tides, 357 Newcastle-on-Tyne Free Library Report, 347 New Code and the Teaching of Science, 491, 536 New Guinea, the Maiwa District) 376 New South Wales, Science in, 44; Royal Society of, 324; Flora of, in its Geological Aspect, 543 New Zealanders, the Vegetable Food of, in Prehistoric Times, 318 New Zealand Journal of Science, 591 Nicols (Arthur), Vivisection, 506 Niederlandisches Archiv fiir Zoologie, 378 Nile, Grass Barriers of the, 130 Nile and Thames, Heights of the Rivers, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 268 Nipher (Francis E.), Magnetic Survey of Missouri, 40 Noggerath (Prof. Jakob), Monument to, 137 Nomenclator, Steudel’s, 223 Nordenskjéld (Baron), Visit to London, 112; ‘* Voyage of the Vega,” 179, 200; Notice of (with Portrait), 309 Nordrup, near Ringsted, Discovery at, 249 Norfolk and Norwich Naturalist’s Society, 615 North Atlantic, Daily weather Charts in the, 605 North Middlesex Natural History Association, 208 North Schleswig, Earthquake in, 396 Northcote (Sir Stafford), on Science in Education, 206 Northumberland, on the Climate of North, as regards its Fitness for Astronomical Observations, Rev. Jevon J. Muschamp Perry, 317, 3643 J. Lingwood, 339 Norway, the Ancient Floras of, 207; Changes of Movement Observable in Norwegian Glaciers, 449; J. Innes Rogers, 460 Notelephas australis, Owen, 571 Notornis Mantelli, 568 November, 1881, Weather of, 131 Niirnberg Natural History Society, 62 Observatories: French Provincial Observatories, M. Loewy or, 18, 126; Observatory for Hongkong, 39; Bischoffsheim Obsérvatory, 199; Microtelephone in the Geneva, 207 ; Lick Observatory, 298; Etna Observatory, 301, 3943 Observa- tory of Harvard College, U.S., 326; of Cordoba, 349; of Melbourne, 349; Proposed Observatory at Natal, 394; Ob- servatory at Paisley, 471; Temple Observatory, Rugby, 472; Observatory of Moscow, 616; of Trinity College, Dublin, 616 Ocean Basins, Physical Cause of the, Rev. O. Fisher, F.R.S., 24 Odell (W.), Wild Silks of India, 563 Ogilvie (Dr. John), Imperial Dictionary of the English Lan- guage, 288 Ogle (W.), Aristotle on the Parts of Animals, translated by, Dr. B. W. Richardson, F.R.S., 453; Aristotle on the Heart, 528 Oleo-Margarine, 269 Oliver (Capt. S. P.), Song of the Lizard, 174; Sea Froth, 268 Organ-pipe, the Investigation of the Nodes in an, 290 Organic Chemistry, Adolph Strecker’s Short Text-book of, Dr. Johannes Wislicenus, H. Watts, F.R.S., 148 Organism, Struggle of Parts in the, Duke of Argyll, F.R.S., 6; Dr. William B. Carpenter, F.R.S., 6, 52; George J. Romanes, F.R.S., 29 “Original Gravity,” Study of the History and Meaning of the Expression, J. A. Nettleton, 384 “ Origins of English History,” C. Elton, E. B. Tylor, F.R.S., 501 Orion, Photographic Spectrum of the Great Nebula in, William Huggins, F.R.S., 469, 489 Oshima, Dr. L. Déderlein on, 43 ; Notes on the Island of, 43 Otago (New Zealand), Trout in, 18; Notes from the University Museum, Prof. T. Jeffery Parker, 352, 568 “€ Overflow Bugs” in California, C, V. Riley, 386 Owen (Prof., C.B., F.R.S.), Description of Portion of a Tusk of an Australian Proboscidian Mammal, 571 Oxford, H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., elected to the Linacre Chair of Physiology in the University of, 112 Oxygen, Manufacture of, 229 ; Delicate Test for, 327 Ozonised Air as an Anzesthetic, 470 Paisley, New Observatory at, 471 Paleeo-geological and Geographical Maps, Prof. Hull, F.R.S., 18 Papwolithic Implement, Herbaceous Stem on a, Worthington G. Smith, 173 Paleolithic Man and Léss, W. J. Knowles, 409 Paleolithic Floors, Worthington G. Smith, 460 Palzontology, British, a Recent Find in, Prof. Arch. Geikie, F.R.S., I xii INDEX (Nature, Fune 29, 1882 Palzozoic Vegetation, Evolution of the, J. S. Gardner, 8 Palliser (Major Sir William, C.B.), Death of, 346 Palms, Growth of, 328 Papin, Dr. E. Gerland, 125 Parallax, Galle’s Method for Solar, 472 Parasitic Habits of Molothrus, Chas. Darwin, F.R.S., 51 Parhelia, Francis Porro, 437 Parhelia in the Mediterranean, Chas. H. Allen, 339; Albert Riggenbach, 364 Paris: Electric Light at the Opera, 18, 42 ; Academy of Sciences, 23, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, 168, 212, 235, 260, 284, 308, 332, 356, 404, 428, 452, 476, 500, 524, 548, 595, 620; Prizes of, 350, 375, 377; Paris Observatory, the Astronomical Museum at the, 113 ; Admiral Mouchez’s soirée at, 250, 493 ; Observa- tory of Popular Astronomy, 518 ; Success of Lectures at Ex- hibition of Electricity, 183 ; the Electric Light at the Comptoir d’Escompte, 347 ; Annual Meeting of the Geographical Society, 186 ; Comptes Rendus of, 473; Balloon Ascent from La Villette Gasworks, 373 Parker (Prof. T. Jeffery), Notes from the Otago University Museum, 352, 568 Parker (W. K., F.R.S.), on the Development of the Skull in Lepidosteus osseous, 330 Parts, Struggle of, in the Organism, Duke of Argyll, F.R.S., Dr, William B. Carpenter, F.R.S., 6 Pascoe (Francis P.), Song of the Lizard, 32 Pasteur’s Inoculations, 483 Patent Bill, Society of Arts, 30 Pathological Research, Society for aiding, 517 Peach (Chas. W.), Silurian Fossils in the North-West High- lands, 603 Peal (S. E.), Function of the Ears, or the Perception of Direc- tion, 124, the Kunnungs, 529 Pearson (Karl), Colour and Sound, 339 Pearson (Rey. J.), an Elementary Treatise on the Tides, based upon that of the late Sir J. W. Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S., 360 Peckham (Geo. W.), Biology in Schools, 151 Pei-ho, Yellow River, the, H. B. Guppy, 584 Peking, Scientific Lectures in Chinese at the Schools in, 449 Pendulum Observations in London, Major J. Herschel, 197 Perception of Direction, Function of the Ears on Atomic, D’Abbadie, 172 Perception, Colour, J. B. Hannay, F.R.S., 604 Perini (N.), Dante and the Southern Cross, 197 Peroxidised Wire, a pretty Experiment with, 112 Perry (Rev. S. J., F.R.S.), Meteor, 78 ; Earth Currents, 316; Sun-Spots, 337 Perry (John), Horse-Power given to any Part of a Circuit by Intermittent Light, 198 Perry (Rev. Jevons J. Muschamp), on the Climate of North Northumberland as regards its Fitness for Astronomical Ob- servations, 317, 364 Persia, Dr. Polak’s Exploring Tour to, 137 Perthshire Natural History Society, 208 Petermann’s Mittheilungen, 44, 302, 538 Peters (Dr. Karl), Death of, 87 Petrel, Jamaica, D. Morris, 151 Petroleum, Solidifying, 325 Pflanze, Die. WVortrage aus dem Gebiete der Botanik, Dr. Ferdinand Cohn, W. Botting Hemsley, 359 Pflanzen, Elemente der Anatomie und Physiologie der, Dr. Julius Wiesner, 503 Phaenogamous and Vascular Cryptogamous Plants of Michigan, Catalogue of the, Indigenous, Naturalised, and Adventive, Chas. F. Wheeler and Edwin F. Smith, 196 Phznology—an Appeal, Dr. Hoffmann, Dr, Egon Ihne, 506 Phenological Observations on Early Flowers and Winter Tem- peratures, J. Edmund Clark, 552 Phenomenon, a Strange, 410, 484, 437 ‘*Philosophische Studien herausgegeben,” Wilhelm Wundt, 336 Photograph of Comet B, 1881, 132 Photographic Experiment with Swan’s Incandescent Light, H. Baden Pritchard, 54 Photographic Spectrum of the Great Nebula in Orion, William Huggins, F.R.S., 489 Photography, Year-Book of, for 1882, 249 Photometer, Audible, J. W. Giltay, 125 | Photometric Studies, Keport on, 17 Photometry, on the Application of, in the Study of the Pheno- mena of Diffusion of Liquids, Dr. S. Wroblewski, 45 Phyllomic Nectar Glands in Poplars, 327 Phylloxera at Elba, Sardinia, &e., 250 Physical Society, 95, 167, 355, 403, 426, 475, 571 Physical Notes, 231, 290, 376 Physical Cause of the Ocean Basins, Rey. O. Fisher, F.R.S., 243 Physicians and Chinese Authorities, 301 Physics, Solar, Capt. Abney, F.R.S., 162, 187, 252 Physics, Influence of Mathematics on the Progress of, Dr, Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 397 “Physics of the Earth’s Crust,” Rey. Osmond Fisher, Rey. E, Hill, 433; Prof. A. H. Green on, 481 Physiognomy of Consumption, Francis Galton, F.R.S., and Dr. F. A. Mahomed, 389 Physiology, University College Course of Practical Exercises in, Dr. J. Burdon Sanderson, F.R.S., 408 Piaggia (Signor Carlo), Death of, 299 Pickering (Prof. W. H.), Gas-Flame, Electric and Solar Spectra and their Effects on the Eye, 340 Pidgeon (D.), Dispersal of Bivalves, 584 Pimento Tree and Umbrella Sticks, 299 Piper (Thomas W.), Acoustics, Light, and Heat, 51 Pisciculture in the Edinburgh Fishery Exhibition, 606 Planets, Minor, in 1882, 218 Plant Labels, Prize for the best, 42 Plants, the Power of Movement in,? Prof. Wiesner, Francis Darwin, 578, 597 Planté Accumulators, 376 Planté and Faure Accumulators, Chemistry of the, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., and Alfred Tribe, 221, 461 Plateau (M.), on the Bursting of Bubbles, 160 Platinum, Dr. Nichols’ Experiments on, 291 Pleiades, Primitive Traditions as to the, R. G. Haliburton, 100, 317; Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., 150 Pterodactyles, Wings of, Prof. O. C. Marsh, 531 Podocarpezx, the, A Chapter in the History of Conifers, J. Starkie Gardner, 228 Polymorphism of the Flower-heads Centaurea jacea, Dr. Hermann Miiller, 241 ‘* Polynesier, Die heilige Sage der, Kosmogonie und Theogonie,” Adolf Bastian, Edward B. Tylor, ¥.R.S., 28 Poplars, Phyllomic Nectar Glands in, 327 Porro (Francis), Parhelia, 437 Port (Dr. A. Dodel), Anatomisch-physiologischer Atlas der Botanik, 300 Preece (W. H., F.R.S.), Earth-Currents, 289 Primitive Industry, or Illustrations of the Handiwork in Stone, Bone, and Clay, of the Native Races of the Northern Atlantic Seaboard of America, Chas. C. Abbott, M.D., 2 Primitive Traditions as to the Pleiades, R. G. Haliburton, Ico, 317; E.B. Tylor, F.R.S., 150 Pritchard (H. Baden), Photographic Experiment with Swan’s Incandescent Light, 54 Probing by Electricity, Prof. Graham Bell, 40 Proctor (Richard A.), ‘‘ Easy Star Lessons, 358 Pronunciation of Deaf Mutes who have been taught to Articu- late, W. S. A. Axon, 101, 409; Dr. Alex. Graham Bell, 124, 458; F. J. Faraday, 458 Prosser (Richard B.), Wind Measurements,i505 Prothallium and Embryo of Azolla, 327 Purification of Sewage, 410 Putnam (J. D.), Death of, 277 Putrefaction and Infection Essays on the Floating Matter of the Air in Relation to, John Tyndall, F.R.S., 6 Qualitative Analysis, Table of, H. G. Madan, 264 Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 6, 375 Question for Naturalists, Dr. J. Rae, F.R.S., 126 Quillaia Tree, Commercial Value of the, 373 Rae (Dr. J., F.R.S.), Arctic Research, 53, 102; Question for Naturalists, 126 Radiant Heat, Action of Free Molecules on, and its Conversion thereby into Sound, J. Tyndall, F.R.S., 232 Railway, Success of Siemens’ Electrical, 42 Rammelsberg’s (Prof.) Handbuch der Physikalischen: Chemie, 287 Rayenstein’s Map of East Central Africa, 250 Rayleigh (Lord, F.R.S.), Velocity of Light, 52; Experiments on Colour, 64 Reale Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, 48, 258, 353, 522 ; New Subjects for Prize Competition announced by, 348 Red Flintsin the Chalk, W. Fream, 437; J. Badcock, jun., 529 Krystallographisch- | Nature, Fune 29, 1882] INDEX Xill Red Star, New, in Cygnus, J. Birmingham, 198 Red Star, New, Prof. Edward S$. Holden, 410 Redman (J. B.), Seashore Alluvion—Dungeness or Denge-nesse, 583 Refuges, Winter—the South of England, 11, 154 Regel (Dr.), Journey in Central Asia, 349 Rendiconti della Sessioni dell’ Academia delle Scienze dell’ Istituto di Bologna, 1880-81, 48 Retinal Effects, Temporary, J. Rand Capron, 507 Revue des Sciences Naturelles, 211 Revue Internationale des Sciences biologiques, 211, 379 Revue d’Anthropologie, 618 Rheometer, a New, 290 Rhone Glacier, Study of, 593 **Rhopalocera Malayana,’’ W. L. Distant, 300 Ricci (General Marquis I.), Death of, 17 Richardson (Dr. B. W., F.R.S.), Aristotle on the Parts of Animals translated by W. Ogle, 453, 505 Riggenbach (Albert), Parhelia in the Mediterranean —the Weather in Switzerland, 364 Riley (C. V.), ‘‘ Overflow Bugs” in California, 386 Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon, W. de Fonvielle, 337, 436, 529 ; Dr. Hermann Kopp, 385, 507 Rivers, Tidal, Velocities in, 280 Rivista Scientifico-Industriale, 48, 211, 282, 401, Roberts (Chas.), Heads and Hats, 55 Robinson (Rey. Dr. Thomas Romney), Death of, 449 ; Obituary Notice of, 468 Rocks, Igneous, of Iceland, A. J. Hubbard, 8; Severance by Ice of Rocks in Iceland, 347 Rod in India, H. S. Thomas, 215 Rogers (J. Innes), Advance of Norwegian Glaciers, 460; Colours of Low-growing Wood Flowers, 554 Rohlfs (Dr. Gerhard), Kufra, Reise von Tripolis nach der Oase Kufra, 264 Rolph (W. H.), “‘ Biologische Probleme zugleich als Versuch einer rationellen Ethik, 336 Roman Car, Discovery of the Remains of a, at Nagy-Look (Hungary), 63 Romanes (Geo. J., F.R.S.), Struggle of Parts in the Organism, 29 ; Suicide; an Essay on Comparative Moral Statistics, Dr. Henry Morselli, 193 ; Prof. Huxley’s ‘‘ Science and Culture,” 333 ; ‘‘ The Honey Ants of the Garden of the Gods and-the Occident Ants of the American Plants,” Dr. H.C. McCook, 405 Romanes (C. H.), Wind Measurements, 505 ; Solar Spectrum in a Hailstorm, 507 Rookeries, 508 Roots of Certain Plants, Action of Carbonate of Ammonia on a and on Chlorophyll Bodies, Chas. Darwin, F.R.S., 409 Roscoe (Prof. H. E., F.R.S.), and C. Schorlemmer, F.R.S., ‘* A Treatise on Chemistry,” H. Watts, F.R.S., 50 Ross (Dr. James), ‘‘ Diseases of the Nervous System,” 172 Rotational Co-efficient in various Metals, 46 Roumania, Earthquakes in, 375 Rouse (M. L.), Meteor, 78 Rowbotham (Frank J.), Dispersal of Freshwater Bivalves, 605 Royal Society : 142, 211, 234, 258, 283, 305, 330, 354, 401, 426, 545, 571, 594; Prof. Huxley’s Resignation of the Secre- taryship of the, 16; Anniversary Meeting, 42; Medals awarded by, 61; Annual Meeting of, 112; Address of the President, Dr. W. Spottiswoode, Pres..R.S, 115, 138 Royal Geographical Society, 89; Proceedings, 19, 210, 349, 472, 539; Arctic Night at, 159; Medals of, 612 Royal Institution, 113, 517, 591 Royal Microscopical Society, 143, 259 Royal Horticultural Society, 192, 283, 451, 572, 595 Royal Astronomical Society, 278 Royston-Pigott (Dr. G. W., F.R.S.), Telescopic Definition in a Hazy Sky, 77 Rugby School Natural History Society, 593 ; Temple Obser- vatory, 472 Riigenwalde, Fata Morgana observed at, 88 Ruminants, Evolution of Anthers in the, Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., 84 Russia : Expedition to the Mouth of the Lena, 135; Provincial Museums in, 277; Telephone in Russian Turkestan, 277 ; Severe Weather in South-Eastern, 449; Existence of a Bottom Moraine in Northern, 470; Russian Geographical Society, 472; levestia>of, 472, 539, 503; Medals awarded by, 539 Sahara, Dr. Lenz on the, 210 St. Gothard Tunnel, the Zimes on the present Condition of, 18 St. Petersburg, Electrical Exhibition at, 230; Astronomical Observatory for, 613 St. Etienne (France), Discovery of a new Geyser at, 493 Salmon Disease, Prof. T, H. Huxley, F.R.S., 437 Sanderson (Dr. J. Burdon, F.R.S.), University College Course of Practical Exercises in Physiology, 408 Sanitary Assurance Association, 42 Sanitary Institute of Great Britain, 43, 160, 161; Exhibition of Sanitary Apparatus and Appliances at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 449 Sanitary Protection Society, 418 Sardine, Disappearance of the, from the Coastof Brittany, 493 Satellites of Mars, 94, 209 Saturnian System, 114 Sayce (Prof. A. H.), ‘The Unicorn: a Mythological Investi- gation,” Robert Brown, jun.; ‘‘ Astral Origin of the Em- blems and Hebrew Alphabet, J. H. Broome, 525 Schlegel (Dr. Franz), Death of, 395 Schliemann (Dr.), his Trojan Excavations, 420 Schorlemmer (C., F.R.S.), and H. E. Roscoe, F.R.S., ‘A Treatise on Chemistry, H. Watts, F.R.S., 50 Schuster (Dr. Arthur, F.R.S.), the Influence of Mathematics on the Progress of Physics, 397 Schwann (Prof. Theodore), Death of, 290; proposed Monu- ment to, 449 Science in New South Wales, 44 Science in Education, Sir Stafford Northcote on, 206 Science, The New Code and the Teaching of, 536 Science and Art Department, Report of, 557 “« Science and Culture and other Essays,” Prof. Huxley, LL.D., F.R.S., Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 333 Science Teaching, Prof. Goldwin Smith on, 373 Scientific Education in Liverpool, 270 ScienTiric WorrHtrs—Adolf Erick Nordenskjéld (with Portrait), 309 Scientific Lectures in Chinese at Peking, 449 Scorpio, Apus and Limulus, Studies on, Prof. E. Ray, Lan- kester, F.R.S., 479 “Scottish Naturalist,” 617 Scudder (Sam. H.), ‘‘ Butterflies: their Structure, ‘Changes, and Life Histories, with Special Reference to American Forms.” Being an Application of the ‘‘ Doctrine of Descent” to the Study of Butterflies, 5 Sea, Ingenious Apparatus for Discovering the Depth of the, 471 Sea-froth, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 33; Capt. S. P. Oliver, 268 Sea-shore Alluvion—-Dungeness or Denge-ness, J. B. Redman, 83 Serer Order in Colours of Flowers, Dr. J. C. Costerus, 481 Secchi (Padre), Proposed Monument to, $7 Secondary Batteries, the Charging of, 232; Experiments with Faure’s, 299 Secondary Cell, on an Experimental Form of, Prof. A. S. Herschel, 363, 527 Seeds, Action of Liquids and Gases on the Vitality of, Prof. Italo Giglioli, 328 Selenium, the Action of Light on, 376 Sella (Signor), Ascent of the Matterhorn, 537 Selenography, First Steps to a New, in which it will be Recog- nised that the Moon was once an Inhabited World, John Jones, 288 Serviss (G. P.), Markings on Jupiter, 436 Sewage, Purification of, 410 Sharp (Samuel), Obituary Notice of, 319 Shells, Tanganyika, Edgar A, Smith, 218 Ships’ Logs, Application of Electricity to, 584 Siam, Education in, 325 Siberia, the Gilyaks of, 209 Siberia, Joseph Martin’s Exploration of, 376 Siberia, throngh, Henry Lansdell, 582 Siemens’ Electrical Railway, 42 Siemens (Dr. C. W., F.R.S.), Conservation of Solar Energy, 440, 504, 603 Sievers (Herr J. J.), Death of, 469 Silks of India, The Wild, W. Odell, 563 Silurian Formation, New Find of, on the Western Coast of Norway, 18 Silurian Fossils in the North-west Highlands, W. H. Huddle- ston 582; Rey. T. G. Bonney, 603; Chas. W. Peach, 603 XIV INDEX (Nature, Fune 29, 1882 eee ee Silver-Land, Cameos from the, or the Experiences of a Young Naturalist in the Argentine Republic, E, W. White, 480 Singh (Nain), Death of, 472. 539 Sion and Sierre, Earthquakes at, 161 Skull, Artificial Deformation of the Human, ‘in the Malay Archipelago, Dr. A. B. Meyer, 132 Skuthorpe (J. R.), and the Relics of Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt, 112 Sky: the Autumn, Rev. T. W. Webb, 9, 36; Telescopic De- finition ina Hazy, A. S. Atkinson, 483 Slate, an Incised, Park Harrison on, 18 Smith (W. G.), Heads and Hats, 55 Smith (Worthington G.), Herbaceous Stem on a Paleolithic Implement, 173 ; Palzeolithic Floors, 460 Smith (Edwin F.) aud Charles F. Wheeler, Catalogue of the Phzenogamous and Vascular Cryptogamous Plants of Michigan —Indigenous, Naturalised, and Adventive, 196 Smith (Edgar A.), Tanganyika Shells, 218 Smith (Prof. Goldwin), on Science Teaching, 373 Smith (Sydney), Death of, 536 Smoke-abating Appliances, Exhibition of, 111 Smoke-Abatement Exhibition, 121, 219 Smokeless London, Edmund McClure, 173 Snakes, Notes about, Arthur Stradling, 377 Society of Arts Patent Bill, 30 Society of Chemical Industry, 469 Society of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians, 192 Solar Parallax from Observations of Mars, 278 ; Galle’s Method for, 472 Solar Physics, Prof. Stokes’s Lectures on, G. G. Stokes, 30; Capt. Abney’s Lectures on, 162, 187, 252 Solar, Gas-Flame, and Electric Light Spectra, J. Rand Capron, 152 ‘© Solar ” Locomotive on the French Northern Railway, 161 Solar Halo, J. T. Brownell, 290; W. F. Evans, 386 Solar Eclipse of May 17, Total, 375, 450, 472, 594; Eclipse Notes, by J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., 573; M. Bischoffs- heim’s Expedition to Egypt, 418 Solar Observations, Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., 316 Solar Energy, Conservation of, Dr. C. W. Siemens, F.R.S., 440, 504, 603; E. Douglas Archibald, 504; Prof. Chas. . Morris, 601 ; Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, 602 Solar Spot, Equatorial, Wentworth Erck, 481 Solar Spectrum in a Hail-Storm, C. H. Romanes, 507 Soldiers who have died on the, Battle-field, Attitudes retained by, 230 Soldier’s Bed, New Design for a, 537 Solomon Islands, New Birds from the, 282 Song of the Lizard, Francis P. Pascoe, 32 Sound, Action of Free Molecules on Radiant Heat and its Con- yersion thereby into, J. Tyndall, F.R.S., 232; Coloured, Karl Pearson, 339 Sounds and their Relations, Alex. Melville Bell, 503 Sound-prodneing Ants, H. F. Blanford, 32 ; J. Fotheringham, 55; D. M. Lewis, 266 South Australia, Weather in, Mrs. Merrifield, 483 South Jutland, Earthquake in, 396 Southern Cross, Dante and the, Samuel Wilks, 173; J. J. Walker, 173, 217; N. Perini, 197 Spain, on the Whale Fishery of the Basque Provinces of, Clements R. Markham, F.R.S., 365 Sparrows in South Australia, 18 Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity, H. G. Madan, 507 Spectrum Analysis: Spectrum of the Electric Light, J. Hopkins Walters, 103 ; Solar, Gas-flame, and Electric Light Spectra, J. Rand Capron, 152; Photographic Spectrum of the Great Nebula in Orion, William Huggins, F.R.S., 489; Solar Spectrum in a Hailstorm, C. H. Romanes, 507; on the Spectrum of Carbon, by Professors Liveing and Dewar, 545 Spottiswoode (Dr. W., Pres.R.S.), Address at Royal Society, 115, 138; Matter and Magneto-Electric Action, 539; and J. F. Moulton, F.R.S., on the Movement of Gas in ‘* Vacuum Discharges,” 594 Stamkart (Dr. F, J.), Death of, 395 Stanford’s London Atlas of Universal Geography, 383 Stars: Binary, 421 ; Star y Virginius, 19 ; Binary, 7 Cassiopeia, 186; Double, 43; Variable, 114, 186, 209, 278, 471, 538; U Geminorum, 450; Ceraski’s U Cephei, 493; New Red in Cygnus, J. Birmingham, 198; New Red, Prof. Edward S. Holden, 410 ; ‘‘Easy Star Lessons,” Richard A, Procter, 358 ; Earliest Daylight Observations of Stars, 421 Steckborn on Lake Constance, Discovery of Lacustrine Relics, 47° Stecker (Dr.), Exploration of Lake Tana, 209 Steeten on the Lahn, Prehistoric Remains Discovered at 421 Steno, Prof. Thos. McKenny Hughes, F.R.S., on, 484 Stendel’s Nomenclator, 223 Stevenson (Chas. Alex.), Velocity of Wind, 102; Vivisection, 48 Gece (Thomas), on the relative Resistances of Land and Water to Wind Currents, 607 Stewart (Prof. Balfour, F.R.S.), Heights of the Rivers Nile and Thames, 268 Stieler’s Hand Atlas, 232 Stillmann (Dr. J. B. D.), ‘‘ The Horse in Motion,” 591 Stockbridge, Hants, Storm Petrel found near, 18 Stokes (Prof. G. G., F.R.S.), Prof. Stokes’s Lectures on Solar Physics, 30 Stone (J. Harris), Natural Ant Trap, 151 Storage of Electricity, Edmund P. Toy, 289 Storage of Energy, Prof. W. E. Ayrton, F.R.S., 495 Storm, Magnetic, G. M. Whipple, 583, 604 Storm-Petrel found near Stockbridge, Hants, 18 Stradling (Arthur), on the Clenching of Hands from Emotional and other Causes in the two Sexes, 364; Notes about Snakes, 377 Strahan (A.), Channel Tunnel, 463 Strange Phenomenon, 484 ; James Moir, 410 ; Donald Cameron, 437 Strecker’s (Adolph), Short Text-Book of Organic Chemistry by Dr. Johannes Wislicenus, H. Watts, F.R.S., 148 Stress and Strain, Influence of, on the Action of the Physical Forces, Herbert Tomlinson, 401 Struggle of Parts in the Organism, Duke of Argyll, F.R.S., 6; Dr. William B. Carpenter, F.R.S., 6, 52; Geo. J. Romanes, BRIS: 2 Submarine Ships, Invention of, 325 Suicide ; an Essay on Comparative Moral Statistics, Henry Morselli, M.D., George J. Romanes, F.R.S., 193 Sullowsky (M.), Dispatch from, 249 Sulphate of Copper, on the Electrolysis of, G. Gore, LL.D., F.R.S., 473 Sulphur, Sainte-Claire Deville’s Studies in, 231 Sulphuretted Hydrogen, Occurrence of, at Aetolikon, 420 Sumatra, Dr. B. Hagen’s Exploration of, $9; Fossil Flora of, Dr. Oswald Heer, 200 Sun, Land of the Midnight, Paul B. du Chaillu, 59 Sun, the, C. A. Young, LL.D., 262 Sun’s Heat, Variations in the, E. Douglas Archibald, 316 Sun-Spots, Outburst of, July 25, 1881, J. B. N. Hennessey, 241; W. H. M.- Christie, FIR.S., 3375 Reveisoemeenay, F.R.S., 3373; Problematical Sun-Spots, 349; Table of the Appearance of Rare Lepidoptera in this Country in connec- tion with the, A. H. Swinton, 584 Sutherland, Geological and Mineralogical Map of, M. Foster Heddle, 526 Sutton (Henry), New Electrical Storage Battery, 198 Swan’s Incandescent Light, Photographic Experiment with, H. Baden Pritchard, 54 Swinton (A. H.), Table of the Appearance of Rare Lepidoptera in this Country in connection with the Sun-Spots, 584 Swiss Seismological Commission, 251 Swiss Lake Dwellings, 519 Switzerland, Earthquake in, 137, 208; Weather in, Albert Riggenbach, 364 Sydney, N.S.W., Linnean Society, 355 Symbiosis of Algze and Animals, 377 Symons (W.), Growth of Trees, 218 Syrski (Dr. Simon), Death of, 395 Systematic Mineralogy, Text-Book of, Hilary Bauerman, L. . Fletcher, 49 Sze-chuan, E. H. Parker’s Notes on, 89 Tait (Prof. P. G.), Pressure Errors of the Challenger Thermo- meters, 90, 127 enwoe New South Wales, Discovery of Copper and Iron at, 34! Tana, Lake, Dr. Stecker’s Exploration of, 209 Tanganyika, Lake, E. C. Hore’s Exploration of, I12, 232; Tanganyika Shells, C. A. White, 101 ; Edgar A. Smith, 218 Tay and the Forth Bridges, 246 Taylor (Dr.), Curator of the Ipswich Museum, Presentation to, 137 _ Telegraph : Nature Fune 29, 1882] INDEX XV Taylor (Chas. J.), the Recent Weather, 365 **Tea Industry in India ; a Review of Finance and Labour, and a Guide for Capitalists and Assistants,” S. Baildon, 551 Technical Instruction, Royal Commission on, 42, 137, 161 Technical Education, 477 ‘Teeth, Cause of the Decay of, A. Weil, 136 Tele-dynamics and the ‘Accumulation of Energy—their Applica- tion to the Channel Tunnel, E. Walker, 152 in China, 88, 179, 325; in Japan, 450 Telephone in Russian Turkestan, 277 Telescopes, Celestial Objects for Common, Rey. T. W. Webb, 98 Telescopic Definition in a Hazy Sky, Dr. G. W. Royston- Pigott, F.R.S., 77; A. S. Atkinson, 483 Temnopleuridze, Morphology of the, Prof. P. M. Duncan, F.R.S., 257 Temperature of the Southern Hemisphere investigated by Dr. Hann, 395 Temperatures, Winter, Phenological Observations on Early Flowers, J. Edmund Clark, 552 Temple Observatory, Rugby, 472 Thames and Nile, Heights of the Rivers, Prof, Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 268 Thermal Conductivity, Specific Heat and, H. G. Madan, 507 ae Pressure Errors of the Challenger, Prof. Tait, 90, I cms. {H. S.), ‘The Rod in India,” 215 Thompson (Sir Henry), Food and Feeding, 478 Thompson (Prof. Silvanus P.), Electrical Resistance of Carbon under Pressure, 482; ‘‘ Elementary Lessons in Electricity and Magnetism,” 550 Thomson (Sir Chas. Wyville), Obituary Notice of, 467 Thomson (Joseph) , Exploration of Africa, &c., 299, 302 Thomson (J. J.), on Vortex Rings, 354 Thomson (Sir William, F.R.S.), Solar Observations, 316 Thomson (William), Introduction to Determinants, with nume- rous examples, 216 Thorpe (Prof. T. E., F.R.S.), Dust Explosions in Collieries, 488 Thudicum’s Dr. J. L. W.), Annals of Chemical Medicine, 263 Tides : Ancient Tidal Action and Planes of Marine Denudation, Prof. Edward Hull, F.R.S., 177; Tidal Evolutions and Geology, Dr. Samuel Haughton, F.R.S., 265; Velocities in Tidal Rivers, 280 ; Taylor and Francis’ Tide-Table for 1882, 249; Geological Importance of the Tides, Dr. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 213; Hypothetical High Tides, Prof. J. S. New- berry, 357; A. Hale, 385; C. Callaway, 385, 436; S. V. Wood, 408 ; J. Vincent Elsden, 408 ; an Elementary Treatise on the Tides, based upon that of the Late SirJ. W. Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S., Rev. J. Pearson, 360 Tiflis, Snow in, 250 Timbo, Exploration of, 349 Time, a Glimpse through the Corridors of, Prof. Robert S. Ball, ELD.) F.RS., 79, 1035 Prof. T. H. Huxley, F.R.S., 241 Time, Synchronisation of, for the United States, 276 Tokio, Geographical Society of, 232; Calendar of the Uni- versity, 519; Memoirs of the Science Department, 614 Tomlinson (Herbert), the Influence of Stress and Strain on the Action of Physical Forces, 401; Electrical Resistance of Carbon under Pressure, 459 Tongatabu, Earthquake in, 450 Tonnage Question, 585 Tonometer, KGnig’s Great, 346 Topley (W.), Geological Survey of Italy, 86 Topographical Botany, H. C. Watson’s, 248 Topography of the Planet Mars, 493 Tornadoes, Whirlwinds, Waterspouts, and Hailstorms, 155, 291 Total Solar Eclipse of May, 375, 450, 472, 587 Tourmaline and Beryl, Specimens of, at the Florence Institute, 373 Toy (Edmund P.), Storage of Electricity, 289 rons, Primitive, as to the Pleiades, Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., 150 Tramway, Electric, 13 Tramways, Compressed Air upon, W. D. Scott Moncrieff, 266 Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute for 1880, 305 Transit of Mercury, November 8, 19 Transit of Venus in 1882, 242, 493 Transylvania, Fall of Meteorites in, 420 Trap, Natural Ant, J. Harris Stone, 151 Trepinje, Earthquake at, 537 Trees, the Growth of, W. Symons, 218 Tribe (Alfred) and Dr. J. H, Gladstone, F.R.S,, Chemistry of the Planté and Faure Accumulators, 221, 461 Trimen (Henry), the Lepidoptera of Ceylon, 32, 338 Trimen’s Journal of Botany, 571 Trinidad, Monos Island, 57 Trinity College, Dublin, Observatory of, 616 Trondhjem, Remarkable Phenomenon observed at, 450 Tropical Plants, Select Extra, Readily Eligible for Industrial Culture or Naturalisation, with some Indications of their Native Countries and some of their Uses, Ferd. Baron von Mueller, F.R.S., 480 Trout, Acclimatisation of, in New Zealand, 18 Tuckett (F. F.), Heads and Hats, 55 Tunnel, proposed, through the Col de Somport, 63 Tunnel, Channel, A. Strahan, 463 Turkestan, Destruction of Vineyards in, 450 Tylor (Edward B., F.R.S.), ‘‘ Die heilige Sage der Polynesier- Kosmogonie und Theogonie,” Adolf Bastian, 28; Primitive Traditions as to the Pleiades, 150; Origins of English History, Chas, Elton, 501 Tyndall (John, F.R.S.), Essays on the Floating Matter of the Air in Relation to Putrefaction and Infection,” 6; Action of Free Molecules on Radiant Heat, and its Conversion thereby into Sound, 232 Ulven (Western Coast of Norway), New Find_of Silurian forma- tion at, 18 Umbrella Sticks and the Pimento Tree, 299 Unicorn, the, a Mythological Investigation, Prof. A. H. Sayce, 525 United States Naval Observatory, Observations of Double-Stars made at, Prof. Asaph Hall, 122 United States, Synchronisation of time for, 276 ; Census, 324 University College, Course of Practical Exercises in Physiology, Dr. J. Burdon Sanderson, F.R.S., 408 University Intelligence, 47, 71, 94, 119, 142, 166, 191, 257, 329, 353, 378, 401, 426, 451, 474 499, 522, 543; 594» 617 Uranium, the Atomic Weight of, 567 Robert Brown, Valencia, the Geology of, 566 Vapour-tension of Liquid Mixtures, 231 Variable Stars, 114, 186, 209, 278, 471, 538; U Geminorum, 450; Ceraski’s U Cephei, 493; of the Algol Type, 186; ME ee Cygni (Birmingham) 1881, 484 Vega, the Voyage of the, A. E. Nordenskjéld, 179, 200 Vezetable Food of the New Zealanders in Prehistoric Times, on the, 318 Vegetation, Palzeozoic, Evolution of the, J. S. Gardner, 8 Velocity of Light, Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S., 52 Velocity of Wind, Chas. Alex. Stevenson, 102 Velocities in Tidal Rivers, 280 Venice : Geographical Congress at, 19, 20 ; Royal Italian Scien- tific Institution at, Prizes offered by, 185 Ventnor, the Climate of, 33 Ventosa (V.), Integrating Anemometer, 79 Venus, Transit of, in 1882, 137, 242, 493 ; Expeditions, Arrange- ments, 565 Verhandlungen der k.k. geologischen Reichsanstalt, 211 Vevey, Fall of a Meteoric Stone at, 88 Victoria Philosophical Institute, 144, 283, 380, 403, 548, 620 Vienna: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 23, 48, 96, 168, 235, 308, 500, 524, 548; Imperial Institute of Geology, 144, 260, 308, 404, 524, 572; Exhibition of Electricity at, 518 ‘‘Vignettes from Nature,” Grant Allen’s, Alfred R. Wallace, 381; Grant Allen, 459; Dr. W. B. Carpenter, F.R.S., 435, 480, 554; W. Budden, 529 Vineyards, Destruction of, in Turkestan, 450 Viper, New Species of, Discovered in Egypt, 302 Virchow (Prof.), Banquet in Honour of, at Berlin, 62, 87 Vivisection Act, Prof. Ferrier and the, 42 Vivisection, 429; Miss Cobbe and H. H. Johnston, 459, 483, 506; Dr. Anna Kingsford, 482 ; Chas. Alex. Stevenson, 483 ; Writer of Article on “ Vivisection, 506 ; Arthur Nicols, 506 ; B.Sc., Student of Medicine, 552 Voleanoes of Japan, Prof. Milne on, 420 Vortex Rings, J. J. Thomson, 354 452, 523) Wagner (Prof.), on the Medusze, &c., of the White Sea, 300 Walker (E.), Tele-dynamics and the Accumulation of Energy— their Application to the Channel Tunnel, 152 Xvi INDEX = . , 1 e z ‘ : % x = F : ; [Vature, Fune 29, 1882 Walker (J. J.), Dante and the Southern Cross, 173, 217 Walker (Thos.), Aristology ; or, the Art of Dining, 478 Wallace (Alfred R.), “ Head-hunters of Borneo ; a Narrative of Travel up the Mahakkam and down the Barito. Also journeyings in Sumatra,” by Carl Bock, 3; Grant Allen’s “* Vignettes from Nature,” 381; ‘‘the Story of our Museum, showing how we Formed it, and what it Taught us,” Rev. Henry Housman, 407 Walters (J. Hopkins), Spectrum of the Electric Light, 103 Watches which do not require Winding, Invention of, 18 Water, Colour of, 276; Moths attracted by Falling, J. Starkie Gardner, 436 ; Waterin Australia, F. T. Mott, 507; Scarcity of in France and Germany, 593 Waterspouts, Tornadoes, Whirlwinds, and Hailstorms, 155, 291 Watts (H. F.R.S.), a Treatise on Chemistry, by H. E. Koscoe, F.R.S., and C, Schorlemmer, F.R.S., 50; ‘* Adolphe Strecker’s Short Text-book of Organic Chemistry,” Dr. Johannes Wislicanus, 148 Wead (Chas.«K.), on Combining Colour Disks, 266 Weather, the, 285 ; Richard M. Barrington, 79; R. McLachlan, F.R.S., 241; Chas. J. Taylor, 365; (in Switzerland) Albert Riggenbach, 364; in South Australia, Mrs. Merrifield, 483 ; Daily Weather Charts in the North Atlantic, 605 Webb (Rev. T. W.), the Autumn Sky, 9, 36; ‘‘ Celestial Ob- jects for Common Telescopes,” 98; the Great Nebula in Andromeda, 341 Wedgwood (Julia), a Pet Baboon, 217 Weith (Dr. Wilhelm), Death of, 185 Wetterham (D.), Arctic Research, 102 Whale Fishery of the Basque Provinces of Spain, on the, Clements R. Markham, F.R.S., 365 Whale, Basque, in the Mediterranean, Prof. Henry Hillyer Giglioli, 505 Wheeler (Chas. F.), Edwin F. Smith, Catalogue of the Phaeno- gamous and Vascular Cryptogamous Plants of Michigan, In- digenous, Naturalised, and Adventive, 196 Whipple (G. M.), Earth-Currents, 316 ; Magnetic Storm, 583, 0. Whirlwinds, Tornadoes, Waterspouts, and Hailstorms, 155, 291 White (C. A.), Tanganyika Shells, ror White (E. W.), ‘‘ Cameos from the Silver Land ; or, the Expe- riences of a Young Naturalist in the Argentine Republic,” 480 White Sea, Fauna and Flora of the, 328 Whitehead (Dr. J. L.), Climate of the Undercliff, Isle of Wight, 33 Wiesner (Dr. Julius), ‘‘ Elemente der Anatomie und Physiolo- gie der Pflanzen, 503; ‘‘ Das Bewegungsvermégen der Pflan- zen: eine Kritische Studie iiber das gleichnamige Werk von Chas. Darwin nebst neuen Untersuchungen,” Francis Darwin, 578, 597 Wilks (Samuel), Dante and the Southern Cross, 173 Williams (W. Mattieu), Movements of Jupiter’s Atmosphere, 338 Williamson (Prof. A. W., F.R.S.), an Error in the commonly- accepted Theory of Chemistry, 21 Williamson (Prof. Wm. C., F.R.S.), Helophyton Williamsonis, 124, 173 Willoughby (Edward F.), Heads and Hats, 55 Wilson (Sir Erasmus, F,R.S.), Egypt of the Past, 74 Wind, Velocity of, Chas. Alex. Stevenson, 102 Wind Measurements, 486; C. H. Romanes, 505; Richard B. Prosser, 505 Wind Currents, on the Relative Resistances of Land and Water to, Thos. Stevenson, 607 Wings of Pterodactyles, Prof. O. C. Marsh, 531 Winter Refuges. our: Ventnor, 33 ; the South of England, 11, 154 Woeikof (Dr. A.), System of Meteorolozical Observations in the China Seas, 410; Glaciers and Glacial Periods in their Relations to Climate, 424 Women, Success of, in the Honours Examinations of the Uni- versity of London, 16 Wood (S. V.), Hypothetical High Tides, 408 Woodward (Dr. Henry, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Sir Antonio Brady, 174 Woorara, 323 Wright (Dr. E. Perceval), Researches on Animals containing Chlorophyll, 361 Wroblewski (Dr. S.), on the Application of Photometry in the Study of the Phenomena of Diffusion in Liquids, 45 Wragge (Clement L.), Meteorological Observations on Ben Nevis, 491 Wundt (Wilhelm), ‘‘Philosophische Studien herausgegeben,” 336 Yellow River and the Pei-ho, H. B. Guppy, 584 Young (C. A., LL.D.), the Sun, 262 Zaragoza (Don Justo), on Ancient Canal Schemes between the ~ Atlantic and Pacific in Central America, 113 Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie, 23, 305, 401 Zinc, Molecular Structure of, Influence of Heat on the, 374 Zodiac, Origin of the Signs of the, ‘The Unicorn: a Mytho- logical Investigation,” Robert Brown; ‘‘ Astral Origin of the Emblems and Hebrew Alphabet,” J. H. Broome, Prof. A. H. Sayce, 525 Zoological Atlas (including Comparative Anatomy), with Prac- tical Directions and Explanatory Text for the Use of Students. Invertebrata, D. M’Alpine, 122 Zoological Gardens, Additions to, 18, 43, 64, 89, 114, 138, 161, 186, 208, 231, 251, 277, 302, 326, 348, 375, 396, 421, 450, 471, 493, 519, 538, 566, 593, 616 Zoological Record 1880, 240 Zoological Society, 95, 143, 234, 258, 307, 402, 474, 499, 547, 594, 619; Jumbo, 386, 393, 487; Zoological Society’s Living Collection, Illustrations of New or Rare Animals in the, 295, 391, 608 “* Zoologie, Abriss der, fur Studirende, Arzte und Lehrer,” Dr. A, Brass, 337 ee A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL. OF SCIENCE °° To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.” —\WORDSWORTH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1881 A RECENT “FIND” IN BRITISH 3 PALAZONTOLOGY HE world is but rarely startled nowadays by the dis- covery of whole groups of new organisms from the rocks of Britain; it is only from the Far West that such surprises come. Two or three generations of active collectors have ransacked our strata so thoroughly that only now and then by some happy chance is a new vein of research opened, the finder of which may be con- gratulated rather on his good luck than on his special acuteness in observation. Such a vein has recently been | struck by the Geological Survey among the Lower Car- -boniferous rocks of the south of Scotland. Some account | of the more important features of this “find’’ may be of interest to the general reader. Travellers who enter Scotland from the south, remark that after leaving the plains of the Tweed on the east side, or those of the Solway on the west, they find them- | selves in a range of hills or uplands, not lofty and pic- turesque indeed, but with sufficient height and individuality of feature to form a notable barrier between the valleys of the border on the one hand and the Scottish Lowlands pe the other. This belt of pastoral high grouncs, so | bright with the glamour of poetry and romance, has a special interest to the geologist. He can trace it back ce its origin about the close of the Silurian period, when it first began to rise out of the sea, and served, by its up- heaval, to define one or more of the great inland basins in \which the Old Red Sandstone was deposited. From that ancient time down to the present the ridge seems to have ‘formed a barrier between the basins on its northern and ‘southern margin. No doubt it has been enormously worn ldown in the general denudation of the country, deep valleys have been trenched through it ; much of it has now and again been submerged and covered by masses of sedimentary material. Nevertheless it has preserved kits existence. Lying along aline of terrestrial weakness, its strata, originally horizontal sheets of mud and sand, piled ver each other toa depth of many thousand feet, have een crumpled and corrugated to a vast extent. The \ VOL. Xxv.—No. 627 movements by which these contortions were produced have doubtless recurred at many intervals, so that we may conceive them to have in some measure, if not en- tirely, compensated by occasional elevation for the lower- ing of the level of the ridge by continuous denudation. ‘During the early part of the Carboniferous period these southern Silurian uplands of Scotland formed a barrier between the lagoons of the Lowlands and the more open waters to the south which spread over the north and centre of England, That the ridge was not continuous, or at least that there was now some water-way across it or round its end, between the basins on either side, is indicated by the similarity of their fossils. Yet that it formed on the whole a tolerably effective barrier is indicated partly by the marked difference between the corresponding strata on its northern and southern flanks, and partly by the singular series of organic remains to which attention is here called. For some years past the Geological Survey of Scotland has been engaged in the detailed investigation of the Carboniferous rocks between the Silurian uplands and the English border. The whole region has now been mapped ; the maps are partly published, and partly in the hands of the engraver for speedy publication. The rocks have been collected, and their chemical and microscopic analysis is in progress. Their fossils have been gathered from every available stratum, and have already been in large measure named and described. So that materials now exist fora tolerably complete review and comparison of the stratigraphy, petrography, and paleontology of the Carboniferous rocks of the Scottish Border. In the course of the work one particular zone of shale on the banks of the River Esk has been found to possess ex- traordinary palzontological value. From this stratum where exposed for a few square yards by the edge of the river a larger number of new organisms has been ex- humed by the Survey than has been obtained from the entire Carboniferous system of Scotland for years past. As a whole the remains are in an excellent state of pre- servation. Indeed in some instances they have been so admirably wrapped up in their matrix of fine clay as to retain structures which have never before been recognised in a fossil state. B 2 NATURE The more important treasures from the shales of Eskdale and Liddesdale are fishes, crustaceans, and arachnids. The fishes were at once placed in the hands of Dr. R. H. Traquair, whose devotion to fossil ichthyo- logy has made him our /acé/e frinceps in this department of paleontology. The first part of his report on them, devoted to the Ganoidei, has been completed and is pub- lished by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Zvans. Roy. Soc. Edin. xxx. (1881), p. 15). He points out the extra- ordinary interest of the collection, both as opening up an almost entirely new fish-fauna, and as revealing remark- able structural peculiarities in many of the new forms. Out of twenty-eight species of ganoids no fewer than twenty at least arenew. Of the sixteen genera in which these species are comprised five are now for the first time added to science (Phanerosteon, Holurus, Canobius, Cheirodopsis, and Tarrasius), of which one (Zarrasius) is altogether so peculiar that no place can be found for it in any known family. To the family of Palzoniscidz fifteen new species and three new genera are added. The most abundant species is a form of Rhadinichthys, which occurs also on the north side of the Silurian barrier. Another fish of common occurrence in the latter region is Eurynotus crenatus, of which only a single scale has been found in the Eskdale and Liddesdale region. A third species common to the two sides of the barrier is probably Wardichthys cyclosoma. But with these and possibly one or two other exceptions, all the fishes in the southern area are as yet peculiar to it, while at the same time the common forms of the Lothians are conspicuous by their absence in Eskdale and Liddesdale. These facts suggest | interesting problems in Carboniferous geography and in ancient zoological distribution. Without entering here into structural details, we may refer to the peculiarities of one or two of the new forms described by Dr. Traquair. He proposes the term Phanerosteon for a genus of Palzoniscid fishes, possessing | a fusiform body, apparently for the most part devoid of scales, with a peculiarly rounded off dorsal fin, and desti- tute of fin-fulcra. If the nakedness of the body be due not to the non-preservation of scales, but, as seems almost | certain, to the original absence of them, we are here pre- sented with a Palzoniscoid fish showing a condition of squamation almost identical with that of Polyodon. Only one species, but a number of specimens of it have been obtained. The new genus //o/urus, though placed by its author among the Palzoniscide, offers in its non-bifur- cated caudal and rounded long-based pectoral fin a con- tradiction to his definition of this family ; but the cranial - osteology is in the main so decidedly Palzoniscid that he prefers to regard the genus as standing most fittingly where he has put it. Two species are described. Stil] more aberrant from the typical Palaoniscidz is the genus Canobius, which to the general configuration of the family | unites a disposition of the suspensorial and opercular apparatus almost identical with that of the same parts in the Platysomid Euryzotus. Four species are described, But the most remarkable of all this singular group of fishes is included by Dr. Traquair in a new family, to which, from the more characteristic Sof two specimens having been found at the foot of the Tarras Water, he has given the name of Tarrasiidz. Zarvasius, the typical and only known genus possesses rhombic, minute, | | out the structure of the insects in great detail. [Mov. 3, 1881 shagreen-like scales, persistent notochord, well ossified neural and hzmal arches and spines, with the slender interspinous bones penetrating between the extremities of the vertebral spines as in teleostean fishes, and a long dorsal fin composed of closely-set jointed rays. Only two specimens, conjectured to belong to the same | species, have as yet been obtained. Their state of pre- — servation is such as to leave in doubt some important parts of the structure of this curious fish. It is to be hoped that future exploration in the same prolific locality may furnish Dr. Traquair with additional evidence on the subject, and enable him to complete his work. Associated with the skeletons of the fishes are the re- mains of some new phyllopod and decapod crustaceans, which have been worked out by Mr. B. N. Peach, the Acting Palzontologist of the Scottish Geological Survey, who has described them in a memoir also communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh (7yvams. Roy. Soc. Edin. vol. xxx. (1881) Part 1). The Phyllopods consist of two new species of Ceratiocaris, which differ from the Silurian species of this genus in having the body rela- tively much larger than the carapace. The numerous specimens are ina good state of preservation, one indi- vidual having been found with its intestinal canal dis- tended with food. Of Macrurous Decapods several new species occur that differ in no essential respect from their living representatives. They belong to the genera Anthrapalemon, Paleocrangon, and Paleocaris, upwards of forty specimens of one species of Anthrapalemon having been obtained. Mr. Peach has worked out their structure with great skill) Among his observations is — the occurrence of abundant minute calcareous calculi on | the tests of these crustacea, precisely like those of the | common shrimp. One of the most singular features in our recent additions | to the palzeontology of the Lower Carboniferous rocks of the Scottish Border is the abundance in which the remains of | scorpions have been discovered. The existence of these arachnids (Zoscorpius) in strata of this agein Scotland was made known some years ago by Dr. H. Woodward. But we are now in possession not of mere single and imperfect fragments, but of numerous and often admirably-pre- served specimens which have enabled Mr. Peach to work In an- ticipation of the early publication of his descriptions the following notes may be given here. He finds that these Palzozoic forms differ in no essential respect from. the living scorpion so far as regards external organs. He has recognised in them every structure of the recent form, down even to hairs and hooks on the feet. The sting alone has not been certainly observed, but that it) existed may be inferred from the presence of the poison) gland which Mr. Peach has detected in the fossil state. The chief difference between the living scorpion and its) ancient progenitors lies in the fact that in the fossil form the mesial eyes are much larger in proportion to the lateral ones, and also to the size of the whole animal. The two mesial eyes are placed on an eminence near the anterior margin of the carapace formed by two con verging tubes, and so arranged that the creature could look with them upwards, outwards, and forwards. Theré are at least four lateral eyes on each side. The man: dibles, palpi, and four pairs of walking legs are beauti, Nov. 3, 1881] NATURE 3 fully distinct on many specimens. The combs are much like those of the modern scorpion, but with a very remarkable sculpturing which at once recalls that so characteristic of the Eurypterids. The genital orifice, combs, and eight breathing stigmata occupy positions similar to those of the same organs in the modern scorpion. As regards theories of descent these fossils afford no more help in tracing the pedigree of the scorpion than is furnished by the living form, for it is )bvious that the scorpion has remained with hardly any change since Carboniferous times, There can be little Joubt that it is the most ancient type of Arachnid, whence he others have been derived. Since the first specimens of scorpion were found by the Geological Survey among the Lower Carboniferous beds of the Border further research has brought many more to ight from other and distant parts of the country. No ewer than five species belonging to a single genus Loscorpius) have been recognised by Mr. Peach, some of which must have contained individuals eight or ten nches in length. Most of these specimens, and also the srustacea and fishes above referred to, have been obtained oy the Survey fossil-collector, A. Macconochie, One further interesting fact deserves mention here. When the Geological Survey first began its work in Scot- and, and was engaged in mapping the east of Berwickshire und Haddingtonshire, a remarkable and hitherto unique specimen was found there which was described by Salter inder the name of Cycadites Caledonicus, as the most ncient cycad yet known. Among the specimens recently Blected by A. Macconochie from the Border ground are everal apparently of this same form which are so well reserved as to show that they are not plants at all. They yecur together with species of EwryPferws,and are almost ertainly a yet undescribed comb-like organ belonging that creature. This fact, coupled with the singular jurypterid-like sculpture on the combs of the fossil scor- jions, lends support to the suggestion which has been ade that the eurypterids are ancestral aquatic arachnids. ARCH. GEIKIE THE HEAD-HUNTERS OF BORNEO he Head-hunters of Borneo: a Narrative of Travel up the Mahakkam and down the Barito ; also Fourneyings in Sumatra, By Carl Bock (late Commissioner of the {Dutch Government). With thirty Coloured Plates, Map, and other Illustrations. (London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1881.) [HIS large and lavishly-illustrated volume derives its chief value from the fact that the author is a clever ist, and that all the handsome coloured plates which m the main feature of the book are evidently careful awings made on the spot, not imaginary designs con- Hicted from more or less imperfect sketches or descrip- ms. The houses, villages, and forest scenes are all true nature, and the same may be said of the numerous htrait of the Dyaks and illustrations of their domestic and customs. The figures are indeed wonderfully -like and the drawing accurate, the only fault being ery slight tendency to Europeanise the features—a d of personal equation due to Mr. Bock’s artistic \dies having been made from European models. This is visible in the small and well-formed mouths of the two women in Plate 16, and in the perfectly straight and well-developed nose of the “ Chief of the Forest People’’ in Plate 24. When, however, he has taken special pains and has had ample time to finish his drawing, as in “Hetdung, my favourite Dyak Boy” (Plate 23), he avoids this fault, and gives us a portrait as perfect and as characteristic as a good photograph. Mr. Bock went out to the East to collect birds in Sumatra for the late Marquis of Tweeddale, and spent about nine months in that island. He was then em- ployed by the Dutch Government to make an excursion through the interior of Borneo, to report on some of the Dyak tribes and collect specimens of natural history for the museums of Holland. This journey, which occupied in its preparation and execution about six months, was partly over ground new to European travellers; first to the country of the Poonau Dyaks in about 1° 4o’ N. lat., 116° 30’ E. long,, and then up a western tributary of the Mahakkam or Koti River, and overland for a short distance to the head waters of the Teweh, a branch of the Barito or Banjermassin River. This watershed is in about o° 5’ S. lat. and 115° 35’ E. long., and appears to consist of an undulating country with a few detached hills. It is however marked by a curious geological phenomenon very rarely met with in the tropics, a large area covered with huge angular rocks, of every shape and size and tossed about in the greatest confusion, It is called by the natives ¥a/an bat, or the Stony way, and our author’s description of it will bear quotation ;— “Covering an area of several square miles, and crop- ping up as it were in the centre of a vast forest, this Field of Stones is well calculated to arouse the super- stitious dread of a savage people. Here scattered in wonderful confusion like the remains of a ruined castle : there standing erect and orderly as if carved by chisel and levelled by plumb-line and square: some in pon- derous masses as large as a house, fifty or sixty feet in height and of still greater width and thickness : others heaped like so many petrified cocoa-nuts, or like a pile of forty-pounder cannon-balls : here bare and gaunt like the pillars of Stonehenge ; there moss-covered and decked with ferns or gorgeous flowers : in all directions for miles and miles the stones lie scattered. Some of them have assumed fantastic shapes, in which the imagination can easily picture a travesty of the human form, or of other familiar objects: others again are marked with quaint devices, where wind and rain have put finishing touches to natural cracks and crevices, and made them assume the appearance of deliberately carved inscriptions, like those seen on ancient weather-beaten tombstones—or rather, like the curious ‘ picture-writings’ found on scat- tered stones and rocks in British Guiana and other parts of South America, . . . For miles our route lay through this wilderness of sterility and fertility combined—some- times creeping between two parallel walls of stone, thrown so closely together that there was scarcely room to walk sideways ; sometimes making a considerable défour to avoid a more than usually rough spot. In some places the earth was covered with small loose stones, most diffi- cult and painful to walk over; in others, the ground seemed to be of solid rock, and great care was necessary in walking to prevent one’s feet being fixed in one of the innumerable crevices, which were the more dangerous from being partially covered by vegetation. Many of the large stones were so lightly balanced on a small founda~ tion that it seemed as if the exercise of a moderate force would be sufficient to overturn them.” 4 NATURE [Nov. 3. 188% Mr. Bock was at first inclined to attribute this pheno- menal region to volcanic agency; but, considering that no earthquakes or volcanic phenomena occur throughout Borneo, and that these rocks are all “a rubbly limestone,” he concludes that they owe their origin to “the denuding force of the torrential tropical rains, which have gradually bared the limestone deposit.” This however is a very lame conclusion, and in no way accounts for the extra- ordinary way in which the rocks have been fractured and heaped over each other. The only sufficient explanation is to be found in the action of subterranean waters dis- solving away the limestone rock and thus forming exten- sive caverns, the roofs of which have at length fallen in over a large area, and thus produced the unmistakable appearances of violent upheaval and fracture. This phenomenon is however very rare on so extensive a scale, and, so far as we can recollect, this Bornean “ field of stones’’ is almost unique. The nature of the surrounding country is not described, but the locality appears to be a low and nearly level watershed between the lateral tribu- taries of two great river systems, so that there might be a subterranean drainage in two directions. In many other parts of Borneo there are indications of long-continued denudation, and it may be that the very absence of vol- canic phenomena, and the consequent stability of the surface for long periods, has rendered possible the amount of uninterrupted subterranean denudation re- quired to produce this mimic representation of great volcanic convulsions. Mr. Bock gives us a pretty full account of the Dyak tribes of Southern Borneo and all that he could learn about them, and the general impression of his descriptions, aided by his life-like portraits and domestic scenes, is, that there is a wonderful similarity between all the chief tribes of this great island both in physical and mental charac- teristics, though there are many specialities in habits. In the south we find a decided indication of Pacific influence in the general practice of tattooing, in the custom of omali or “taboo,” and perhaps even in the practice of canni- balism by one tribe—the Tring Dyaks. In the south, too, the use of the blow-tube seems to be almost universal, whereas it is comparatively rare in the north ; but in their general character and habits, customs, ideas, and super- stitions, there is a practical identity which renders much of Mr. Bock’s volume a repetition of what has been more fully and accurately described by St. John, Grant, and other writers. We may however note a few of the more novel or | interesting facts recorded Mr. Bock never saw an Orang-utan, so that this animal is evidently far less abundant in the southern than in the north-western parts of the island. He describes the effects of a great drought in 1878—a year before his visit—which destroyed the forest-trees over large areas and caused the destruction of birds and game, and the failure of crops, to such an extent as to cause a famine, and this on the equator in an area of dense forest where rains are usually of almost constant occurrence. Almost the only amusing episode in the book is the account of an earnest attempt to discover the much-talked-of “tailed men” of Borneo. Tjiropon, an old and faithful servant of the Sultan of Koti, declared, in the Sultan’s presence, that he himself had seen some of these people in the Passir country. He called them | their nests as much as possible.” | illustrations however furnish the real vazson a’étre of ‘thi “Orang-bontoet,” or tailed men, and added the usual statement, that the tail was from two to four inches long, and that the people cut holes in the floor to receive it, se that they could sit down comfortably ! Mr. Bock thought this so absurd that he disbelieved the whole story, but the Sultan of Koti was greatly impressed by it, and it was decided to despatch Tjiropon on anembassy to the Sultan of Passir with a letter requesting him to send by ‘the bearer two of the “ Orang-bontoet.” After a long absence he returned, and met the party at Banjermassin as agreed; but he was very crestfallen, and would say nothing except that he had delivered the letter, and had not been able to procure any tailed men. Thereupon the Resident of Banjermassin, at Mr. Bock’s request, himself sent a party to Passir with a letter to the Sultan, request- ing him to say if there really were any tailed men in his country, and what had happened to the former messenger. After twenty-five days’ absence the party returned, with a message from the Sultan of Passir explaining the whole matter. It appears that the Sultan’s personal attendants are known by the term “ Orang-boentoet di Sultan di Passir’’—literally “the tail-people of the Sultan of Passir..’ The Sultan declared he had never heard of any other “ orang-bontoet.” He was very angry at two of his suite being so unceremoniously asked for, and ordered the messenger to depart instantly on pain of being flogged—a threatened indignity which sufficiently accounted for poor Tjiropon’s silence. When again spoken to, however, he exclaimed,—“ Before Allah! J have seen the Orarg-bontoet long ago, and have spoken to them, but I could not see them this time.” Among the few natural-history facts noted, are, the con- spicuousness of the wild bees’ nests “at variance with the almost universal habit among all animals to conceal But these nests evi- dently come under the category of objects which exhibi warning colours, being sufficiently protected by the stinz: of their inhabitants. The remarkable tenacity of life of the Loris tardigradus is well illustrated in the followin passage :— “One day I wounded one, and knowing its tenacity of life I strangled the little animal, then cut it open and pierced its heart. An hour elapsed before I waited .ta skin it, and when I took down the body I found it still alive, its lovely eyes wide open. When, hoping ta finally despatch it, I pierced its brain with a needle, if began to shriek, and still some minutes elapsed before if was actually gone.” An equal tenacity of life is found in the allied Galeo: pithecus, which could be killed neither by breaking thé spine nor piercing the brain, and it is not improbableé that the continued survival of these very anci2nt types it the midst of higher forms may be in part due to this extreme power of endurance. The journal of the Sumatra expedition contains little w importance, and all that is new or valuable in the volumt might have been well compressed into a couple of maga zine articles or papers for the Geographical Society. Thi book; and besides the portraits of natives already ferred to, attention may be called to the plate “Crossing the River Benangan,” which gives the very best and mos accurate idea of an equatorial forest that the presen writer has ever met with. ALFRED R, WALLACE | Nov. 3, 1881] NATURE 5 BUTTERFLIES Butterflies : their Structure, Changes, and Life-Histories, with Special Reference to American Forms. Being an Application of the “‘ Doctrine of Descent” to the Study of Butterflies. With an Appendix of Practical Instruc- tions, By Samuel H. Scudder. (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1881.) \ [ R. SCUDDER’S great reputation as an entomolo- gist will cause many readers to turn to this beauti- fully got up volume with eager curiosity. They will expect to find a tolerably full account of all those interesting and complex phenomena of metamorphosis, variation, dimor- phism and polymorphism, protective colouration, mimicry, and distribution, for the elucidation of which no class of organisms offers such abundant and striking materials ; while they might not unreasonably anticipate that the bearing of the whole series of these phenomena on the “Doctrine of Descent” would be clearly indicated and the necessary conclusions to be drawn from them strongly insisted upon. The first separate work ever published on the general history of butterflies, as distinguished from their classification or specific description, would naturally excite some such expectations as these; but those who have entertained 'such ideas will? be disappointed, and may perhaps be inclined to give the book less credit than it really deserves. We will therefore briefly indicate its contents and point out a few of its merits and deficiencies. The first four chapters—‘‘ The Egg,” “The Catter- pillar,” “‘The Chrysalis,’ and “The Butterfly ”—respec- tively, give a very good general account of the form and structure of the insect during the stages of its existence, and they are illustrated by a large number of very excel- lent woodcuts, many of which seem to be original. Then follow descriptions of the internal organs, and their trans- formations during development, and a good chapter on habits, illustrated almost exclusively from North American species. We now come to the more important and in- teresting part of the volume, and find chapters on “ Sea- sonal Changes and Histories,” “ The Colouring of Butter- flies,” “ Diversity of the Sexes in Colouring and Structure,” “The Origin and Development of Crnamentation,” “‘ An- cestry and Classification,’ and “ Geographical Distribu- tion,” the titles of which cover a wide range, and seem to include all the chief points required for a full exposition of the subject. The treatment however is by no means satisfactory, since it is a rare thing to find any fact even alluded to beyond the range of North American species ; and though the valuable observations of Edwards and Riley are frequently referred to, the important researches of Weismann and Fritz Miiller are hardly mentioned. Far more important however is the almost total silence on the whole question of protective and warning coloura- tion in larva and perfect insects and the wonderful phe- nomena of mimicry, which play so large a part in deter- mining both the forms and colours of insects all over the world, and which are so marvellously developed in butterflies. The absence of all these considerations renders the chapter on “ The Crigin and Development of Ornamentation” most unsatisfactory, since it is almost wholly devoted to suggestions as to the probable lines which have been followed in the development of the ornamentation, while we are left without any clue to the reasons for such special and wonderfully diversified re- sults, or the laws by which they have been produced. Equally meagre is the chapter on “ Geographical Distri- bution,” which is treated solely from the point of view of the North American collector. A more important fault than these deficiencies, in a work presumably intended for popular reading and to excite young American entomologists to a more complete study of their subject, is the very peculiar system of nomenclature adopted by the author, which, by the need- less difficulties it will cause, must tend to disgust begin- ners with the whole study of natural history. The writer who has done more than any other person to facilitate the study of North American butterflies is Mr. William H. Edwards, who, besides a great work on ‘The Butterflies of North America,’”’ illustrated by fine coloured plates, has published, so recently as 1877, a complete “ Catar logue” of the species. He is in fact ¢#e authority on North American butterflies, to the conscientious study of which he has devoted his life. When any such standard systematic work exists in a country, it seems to us the obvious duty of all who write popular books to follow its classification and nomenclature, not as endorsing their correctness, but simply to facilitate reference to works which every student szzs¢ constantly refer to. Instead of doing so Mr. Scudder follows a quite different order in his systematic list of species, adopts a complex system of families, sub-families, tribes, and genera, mostly with un- familiar names ; and uses a generic nomenclature so totally unlike that of the above-named standard work, that out of a list of fifty-eight genera referred to in his volume only ten have the same names as those adopted by Mr. Ed- wards. As an example of the difficulty and confusion this must cause to a beginner we may mention that the North American species of the old genus Papilio are here given under five distinct generic names; Lyceena under the same number, and Argynnis under four. The family Papilionides, which Mr. Scudder retains, no longer con- tains the genus Papilio, after which it is named, because he transfers this name to our old friend the Camberwell Beauty, which he styles Pafilio Antiopa. The old Satyride, or Meadow Browns, are now named Creades, and they are placed at the head of all the butterflies instead of near the end, as in the works of Edwards and of all the old writers. This. must be all the more puzzling, because throughout the body of the work these names are everywhere given without the least indication that they are not in universal use. Thus.at pages 100-102 we have Bastlarchia Archippus many times mentioned, with a reference to Riley. But that author always uses the old | name Limenitis disippus, and in the copious index to his Missouri Entomological Report, just issued, the name Basilarchia is not to be found, neither does it appear, even as a synonym, in Mr. Edwards’ “Catalogue”! No one will object to differences of opinion on questions of nomenclature, when kept to their proper place in strictly scientific treatises; but every one who has at heart the extension of a taste for natural history has a right to pro- test against such totally unnecessary difficulties being thrown in the path of beginners. We regret having to speak so strongly in animadversion of a book which contains much interesting matter and much valuable information, which is written in a pleasant 6 NATORE [Mov. 3, 1881 style and is illustrated in a very attractive manner. But we feel that an opportunity has been missed of producing a volume which should open up one of the most marvel- lous pages in the book of nature, in a manner to interest a wide class of readers and attract many new votaries to the study of these most beautiful and in many respects most instructive members of the great class of insects. OUR BOOK SHELF The Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. (London : Churchill.) THE twenty-first volume of the second series of the above journal—published during the four quarters of this year— lies in its complete form before us, and it seems to merit more than a passing record at our hands. The volume contains over 650 pages of text, and, besides woodcuts, thirty-four plates, many coloured, and the majority of double size; but it is not the quantity of the material, gratifying though it be to see that the British school is not wanting in this respect, so much as the quality of the contributions that we would call attention to. In the importance of its Memoirs this journal, now in its majority, may fully claim to rank on the level of the highest of those comparable to it published in Germany, and its editor and his assistants are to be congratulated on seeing that all the subjects coming under their province are so fairly dealt with. It is not proposed to treat here of the individual memoirs from a critical point of view—no one individual could write such a criticism—but as a general 7ésvmé of the workdone. Slightly classified, vegetable histology and physiology is enriched by the papers on Welwitschia mira- bilis by F. Orpen Bower ; on the development of starch grains, by F. W. Schimper; on the water glands in the leaf of Saxt/raga crustata, by W. Gardiner. As contributions to zoology may be mentioned the memoir by G. Busk on Polyzoa; by H. B. Brady on Reticularian Rhizopods ; a most important paper on Limulus an Arachnid, by the editor ; to embryology the researches of Lankester on Limnocodium, Scott on Lampreys, Wilson on Actino- trocha; to anatomy the memoirs, on the head cavities and nerves of Elasmobranchs, by Dr. Marshall; on the nasal mucous membrane, by Dr. Klein; on the Bran- chiate Echinoderms, by Herbert Carpenter; on the organ of Jacobson, by Dr. Klein; on the lymphatic system of | the skin and mucous membrane, by Dr. Klein; on the | Wolffian duct and body in the chick, by Adam Sedgwick ; | on the cranial nerves of Scyllium, by A. Milnes Marshall ; and on the structure and significance of some aberrant forms of Lamellibranchiate gills, by Dr. K. Mitsuri. Nor must the papers by Mrs. Ernest Hart on the micrometric numeration of the blood corpuscles; by J. F. Dowdeswell on some appearances of the blood corpuscles ; nor those by Dr. Cunningham on microscopic organisms in the intestinal canal, and Prof. Lister on the relations of | micro-organisms to disease, be overlooked. The value of this volume will thus be apparent to the reader who | ows of the subjects of which the above is a condensed ist. viz. a really efficient index to its valuable contents. The two pages and a half of index to these 650 pages of matter form an index only in name. Would it not be well to have an index volume published to the twenty-one volumes of this series, and then with volume xxii. commence a yearly index which would be both a help and a service to the student ? Essays on the Floating-Matter of the Air in Relation to Putrefaction and Infection. By John Tyndall, F.R.S., LL.D (London: Longmans and Co., 1881.) TO reprint these essays in an easily-accessible form was a happy thought of the author’s. It is of vast importance to the public at large that they should at least know what One thing alone, to our mind, the volume needs, | views are being held by a large majority of working and thinking men on the subjects of putrefaction and infection. Quite apart from the question of how germs originate is the question of what evils arise from their presence ; and although, with most of those who have investigated the matter, we regard it as well proven that, except froma pre-existing germ, no new germ arises, yet we would be prepared almost to overlook this part of the matter in our anxiety to see proper notions diffused as to the effects produced by these “ floating matters of the air.” The benefits that mankind has gained by the researches of the biologist, chemist, and physicist into this subject are already beyond calculation ; nor is there yet any appa- rent limit to them. From the pages of this small volume some ideas may be gleaned of what the modern treatment of surgical cases has gained by a knowledge of this sub- ject; nor do we think the day far distant when medicine may reach to the rank of surgery through an insight into the germ causation of febrile disease. The history of the silkworm disease in Italy and France bears witness to the enormous value, even if measured in a commercial sense, of the labours of Pasteur, Quatrefages, and others in work- ing out from this point of view the parasitic diseases that caused at one time the almost total destruction of the silk industry in Europe; and the history of Pasteur’s researches on fermentation, even when told in a few words, as in the fourth chapter of this volume, does it not tell of discoveries full of benefit to one portion at least of mankind? Prof. Tyndall well writes : “The antiseptic system of surgery is based on the recognition of living contagia as the agents of putrefaction.” Keep these away, de- stroy them either by an excess of cold or heat, and the putrefaction is prevented. But this is true not of surgery only; it makes itself felt in the routine of every-day life. An account was laid before the Academy of Sciences of Paris, in May of this year, of an examina- tion of the feeding-bottles in use ata créche in Paris. The milk for the children put into these contracted a nauseous odour. Of thirty-one examined, twenty-eight contained in the eaoutchouc tubes or nipples germs (microscopical microbes), and even in some cases there were masses, more or less abundant, of fungoid vegetations. The milk found remaining in some was acid, with numerous bacteria ; and this in spite of what was thought to be clean- liness. No wonder Prof. Tyndall writes of such material —such matter out of place—as dirt. We cannot all con- trive to live in the grand, pure air to be found in such places as the Bel Alp; but all could help towards making the air of their dwellings freer from the contagion of dirt ; and if right and accurate notions were held on such mat- ters by all interested in them, prevention would soon be seen to be much better than cure. This little volume will be found exceedingly interesting reading, and its contents will furnish the reader with abundant material for thought, wkich perhaps may, in floating through his brain, take root there and bring forth a crop of good fruit. E. P. W. LEDLERS LO LHE BOTIROR [Zhe Lditor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) The Struggle of Parts in the Organism MR. ROMANES, in his ‘etter published in your number of Oct. 27 (vol. xxiv. p. 604) draws a distinction between the ‘‘ Argument from Design as elaborated by the Natural Theologians of the past generation,” and another argument from design which he Nov. 3, 1881 | NATURE 7 attributes to me, and which he describes as a ‘‘ metaphysical” teleoloey—the idea of ‘‘an ultimate design pervading all nature, and blending into one harmonious Cosmos the combination and _ co-ordination of physical causes.” The first of these arguments from design he says he has a right to contest in your columns and to represent as ‘‘sub- verted”? by Mr. Darwin: whilst as regards the second of these arguments from design, he admits the truth of my position that “no possible amount of discovery concerning the physical causes of phenomena can affect it.” I am not able to accept this distinction, or to withdraw on the strength of it my protest against the original communication of Mr. Romanes. ‘The distinction is, in my opinion, purely imaginary and fallacious. The fundamental proposition of all arguments from design is simply this: that the exquisite adapta- tions to special ends which are conspicuous in organic natureare, and can only be, the work of physical forces when these are under the combination and direction and control of Mind. But the whole force of this general proposition, and the whole power of it to produce conviction, depends on its applicability to particular cases of adaptation. There may be, and there are in nature, a few cases of apparent adaptations and of orderly arrangements of a very simple kind which do not necessarily suggest Mental Purpose. They may be the effect of what we call accident, or of the action of elementary laws under no guidance or direction, Inorganic phenomena furnish many examples of such arrangements. Even among organic things there may be a few examples of them. But in the special and elaborate adaptations of organic structures to their particular work and function, the human mind recognises the operation of mental faculties having a fundamental analogy with its own. Mind is a known agency, producing well-known effects. Thee effects can be recognised with as much certainty as the effects of any material force acting by itself. The Argument from Design is founded on this recognition. The writers of the last genera- tion were perfectly right in resting the general Argument from Design on the separate instances of adaptation in which the mark of Mind is most signal and conspicuous, I hold, as they held, that each particular instance of adaptation which cannot be due to chance, and which cannot be due to the uncombined action of elementary forces, is “a separate piece of evidence pointing to operations of special de-ign.” Mr. Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection no more touches this argument than his hand could touch the fixed stars. When Sir Charles Bell wrote his beautiful and classical Treatise on the Hand, he knew that the hand of every individual man has been “developed” in the wom). He knew that in the course of that development it passed through many successive stages. He knew that the vital processes concerned in this development weie organic processes forming part of ‘‘natural law.” But it never occurred to him to imagine that the “law” under which such intricate and wonderful adaptations were reached was a “law” in which Design had no part, or over which Mental Purpose had no control. He saw in physical causation the instrument of Mental Purpose, and not its rival or its enemy. He knew, moreover, the close relations between the hand of man and the less perfect, but the equally adapted structures of the same limb in the lower animals. He knew, farther, that the theory of Evolution had been started, and that just as individuals were born and grew, so it was suggested that all Animal forms had been born of each other, and that the Human Hand was the result of a long gestation in the womb of Time. He alludes to these theories and sets them aside—not as being untrue, but as being immaterial to his argument. And he was right. Mr. Romanes is much mistaken if he supposes that the present generation is satisfied with the purely materialistic explanations of adapted structures which are erroneously sup- posed to be the final result of Mr. Darwin’s theory. So thoroughly dissatisfied, on the contrary, with these explanations is the mind of the present generation, that it is breaking out in revolt against them along allthe line. The old school of ‘Theism is as alive as ever, and is as ready as ever to appropriate every new fact into the structure of its well-worn defences. And outside this school—among men who’'reject Christianity altogether, and who sit loose from every known theology—a conviction. has arisen that somehow—by whatever name it may be called— Mind is indeed ‘‘immanent” in nature, working everywhere with an awful and an abiding Presence. This view has been supported of late in Germany in a power- ful argument by an author whose philosophy may seem grotesque, but who certainly has at his command all the resources of scien- tific knowledge, and who accepts and incorporates every fact which has been establiched in the whole field of biological investigation. I wish Mr. Darwin’s disciples would imitate a little of the dignified reticence of their master. He walks with a patient and a stately step along the paths of conscientious observation. No fact is too minute—no generalisationis too bold. But for the most part the whole is kept well within the limits, actual or sup- posed, of physical causation, and the rash dogmatism on higher questions of Philosophy and Theology which are common among his more fanatical disciples, are ‘‘ conspicuous by their absence” in his writings. ARGYLL Ir will be instructive to many, I doubt not, as to myself, to receive from Mr, Romanes an explanation of the precise sense which he attaches to the phrase ‘*a general law whose operation is presumably competent to produce” any set of phenomena. No one is more desirous than I am to see science freed from all theological complications ; and it seems to me that every one who speaks of laws as ‘‘ governing,” ‘‘ controlling,” ‘‘regu- lating,” or ‘‘ producing” phenomena, is really mixing up ideas belonging to two entirely distinct categories. That in the purely scientific sense, a ‘‘law of Nature” is nothing mcre than a general expression of a certain set of uni- formities which the intellect of man discerns in the surrounding universe—that such a law holds good just so far as it has been verified, and not necessarily any further—that it accounts for nothing, and explains nothing—and that the power of predic- tion which it is supposed to give, depends entirely on an assumption of its universality, which may or may not be justified by facts—was the teaching of the great masters (Herschel, Whewell, and Baden-Powell), who aimed to form correct habits of thought among what half a century ago was the “rising generation” of scientific men. And as all subsequent writers on the logic of science, from J. S. Mill to W. Stanley Jevons, have taken the same view, I venture to think that it rests with Mr. Romanes to show that there is anything in the /aw of Natural Selection (which is simply the generalised expression of the fact of ‘‘the survival of the fittest’’), that places it ina different category from every other. The whole series of expressions to which I have taken excep- tion may Le regarded either as a ‘‘survival” of the theological conceptions by which science was formerly dominated, or as the result of a very common confusion between a ‘‘law ” of science and a “law” of a state. For a ‘‘law” can only ‘‘ govern,” “‘control,” ‘‘ regulate,” ‘* produce,” or exert any kind of coercive agency, when there is a power to give it effect ; the ‘‘law,” in that :ense, being simply the expression of the will of such governing power, divine or human, as the case may be. But as science (and in this I am quite at one with Mr, Romanes) knows nothing of such ‘‘ metaphysical” conceptions, I cannot but think that it would be much better that scientific language should be cleared from expressions that have no mean- ing at all, ifit be not one based upon them, Tf I have not made my meaning sufficiently clear, I may refer any one who wishes to see this matter more fully discussed to my paper on ‘Nature and Law,” in the Modern Review for October, 1880, WILLIAM B, CARPENTER 36, Regent’s Park Road, N.W., October 29 P.S.—I regret that my reference to what Mr. Simon (in_his address on Public Med cine at the International Medical Con- gress) designated as ‘‘the very remarkable series of facts ? adduced by Dr. Creigh:on in support of his view of the com- municability of bovine tuberculosis to man through the medium of milk, should have been so worded as to make it appear that Dr. Creighton accepts the doctrine of Klebs as to the ‘micro- coccus” origin of tubercle, his dissent from which he had explicitly recorded. As Mr, Simon spoke of Klebs’ doctrine as having been ‘solidly settled and widely extended” by the recent researches of Schiiller, and as Dr. Creighton’s difficulty of con- ceiving ‘a neutral (?) living organism” to be “charged with the power of conveying complex details of form and structure from one body to another,” affords no disproof of it, there seemed to me no occasion, in writing for the gencral public, to take any special notice of a point which Mr. Simon, in addressing a professional audience, had thought it better to pass without mention.—W. B. C. 8 NATURE ps | [ Woo. 3, 1881 An Alleged Diminution in the Size of Men’s Heads ALLOW me to draw the attention of your readers to a state- ment which is certainly strange, if true. An o inion is preva- lent in the hat trade that the size of men’s heads has undergone a decrease within the last thirty or forty years. The following statement has been given to me by a hatter whose name has attained a pre-eminence of a duration of more than one genera- tion. ‘‘ Five-and-thirty years ago,” he says, “‘when I was a young man, we used to purchase hats for retail trade in the following ratio :— Sizes... ... ... ... 21—213—22—224 —23—23} inches. Relative number... oO— I — 2— 4 3-1 At the present time,” he adds, ‘‘I am selliag hats in this ratio :— Sizes ... Fe . 21—214—22 —224—23—23} inches, Relative number... — 1I— I— 0” A manufacturer writes : ‘* I should say that heads generally are two sizes less than at the time you refer to. A head of more than twenty-four inches’ circumference is now quite a rarity, whilst we make thousands of hats for heads with a circum- ference of about twenty-one inches.” I have received similar statements from other members of the trade, both wholesale and retail, and therefore feel that n> further apology is required for bringing them under your notice. Accepting the statement quantum valeat, 1 have endeavoured to ascertain whether I could find any explanation or confirmation thereof. I have mot succeeded, and therefore venture to ask information ‘or opinions through your columns. The statement comes to me not only from men of ex »erience in the trade, but from men of intelligence and observation exercised beyond ‘the limits of the shop or the factory. It is, I am in- formed, extensively believed among hatters; it may, neverthe- Tess, be merely a general impression. The diminution, it is said, is observed mostly among grooms and men of that class in | the social scale. If this be really the case the change should be moticeale also among soldiers. The diminution is possibly more apparent than real, and may be traceale to alteration in the style of hair-cutting, or of wearimz the hat. It has been suggested to me that men of the present generation have from birth smaller heads, dependent upon an alteration in the dimen- sions of the female pelvis, im consequence of modern fashion in dress. Of this opinion, however, I obtain no confirmation from eminent obstetricians of whom I have made inquiries. The statement then, as it stand<, is wanting in explanation, and calls for further investigation. I may here quote the reply sent me by Prof. Flower to my question as to his opinion on the statement made by the hatters ‘that men’s heads were s ualler than they “were twenty years ago” :-— “« Before drawing any important conclu-ion from such a state- ment it would be necessary to know much about the authority upon which it is made. Who, for instance, are the hatters that make ii Do all hatters concur in the same statement? Is ita mere general impression, or is it founded upon actual arithmetical data? Does it refer to any particular class of men, and does it refer to the same class of men? If it should be true, may it not arise from some change of fashion (if only founded upon the size of the hat, and not of the head) other even than the one you | suggest, of hair being worn shorter—such as hats being worn more on the top of the head than formerly (in old-fashioned prints one sees the hat well down over the ears, which is certainly not the case now), or perhaps hats of the kind specified | being now worn by a different (perhaps lower) cla the Society of Arts by the late Dr. Cantor. Since that date three or more courses have been given every session, each course dealing with some application of science or art to industry or manufactures. WE understand that Mr. Donald McAlister, Fellow and Lec- turer of St. John’s College, Cambridge, has undertaken to prepare for Messrs. Macmillan and Co. an English edition of Prof. Ernst Ziegler’s ‘‘ Text-Book of General and Special Patho- logical Anatomy,” which is on all hands regarded as the standard authority on its subject. The book will range with Dr. M. Foster’s ‘‘ Text-Book of Physiology,” Gegenbaur’s ‘‘ Compara- tive Anatomy,” and other works published by the same firm. ss \ Nov. 3, 1881] NATURE 17 THE eminent Italian geodesist, General Marquis J. Ricci, of Genoa, died at Novara on September 27, at the age of seventy years. The geodetic methods of Gauss, Bessel, and Baeyer were introduced into the geodetic work of Italy in great part through General Ricci, who was one of the original members and for long president of the Italian Commission for measuring the European degree. Ir is stated that Mr, Robert Hart, C.B., Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, is getting a series of elementary science works translated into Chinese. Many foreign books have already been translated into that language, but they have been intended either for the higher officials or for the students at the free Government schools. Mr. Hart however intends, it is said, to endeavour to have the present translations circulated amongst all classes of the people ; and his high official position would doubtless give him facilities for this purpose not possessed by any other foreign servant of the Chinese Government. It was, we believe, owing to the enlightened exertions of this gentleman that the Tungwe7, or Foreign College of Peking, was extended so as to embrace a scientific curriculum, as well as to train interpreters in foreign languages, which was its original aim. From a recent calendar it appears that this institution now has nine foreign professors, besides numerous native tutors, and is attended by 102 students. One department of the College is devoted to the preparation of books for the diffusion of scientific and general knowledge. This is said to haye been kept in view as a prominent object from the beginning. Among the scientific subjects taught we find chemistry, natural history, mathematics, animal physiology, and astronomy. Students who display conspicuous merit are entitled to the first step of the nine degrees of official rank. They are then appointed to the discharge of official functions in connection with some leading department of the Government, but they are required to continue their studies at the College as “‘resident graduates.” A complete course lasts for eight years, the first three of which are given exclusively to foreign languages, and the remainder to the acquisition of scientific and general knowledge. Most of the students, moreover, as they are intended for a special service, receive a stipend varying with the length of their study, but which never exceeds about 3/.a month. This is certainly a good sign of the value attached ‘by the rulers of China to Western knowledge; but everything does not present the same roseate hue in that country. We read that the line of telegraph erected from Soochow to Shanghai is being opposed by the agriculturists, who are placing all manner of obstacles.in the way of the workmen employed. They pull up and destroy the poles, thinking that they act against the Fheng-shui, or geomantic influence, and are likely to lead to spiritual complications. Troops are stated to have been de- spatched to protect the line. Doubtless in time these deeply- ‘rooted prejudices, which stand so much in the way of real internal improvements in China, will pass away ; at present it must be acknowledged with regret that they are as living and active as ever. We notice that telephonic communication is about to be extensively employed in the large foreign settlement at Shanghai. Lovers of Japanese porcelain will be glad to hear, on the authority of the Consul-General of the United States in Japan, that the moderna productions will in time, if indeed they do not already, far surpass the older manufactures of Satsuma, Owari, Imari, and Kutani wares. The chief want of Japanese porcelain is regular symmetry in the pieces, and uniformity in a set or number of pieces, The absence of these is due, he says, to the fact, that machines or forms for moulding are not used, and the ovcns are so. defective that the heat is not evenly distributed. The native manufacturers are now manifesting much interest in the improvement of their wares. At one place the clay pits are said to have been worked fo: two thousand years or more, and the deposits seem scarcely more than scraped. Cobalt, used in colouring, is found in the same hills. The total value of the earthenware and porcelain exported from Japan to foreim countries during last year was valued at nearly one hundred thousand pounds sterling. WitH the Bilderschriften des Ostindischen Archipels und der Siidsee, Dr. A. B. Meyer begins the first part of a serial publica- tion, which promises to be of great value to anthropologists. The distinguished curator of the Dresden Zoological Museum has undertaken, with the assistance of the Department of the Arts and Sciences, to issue a series of fac-similes, photographic or otherwise, of the most important objects in the extensive col- lection entrusted to his charge. This first part of the compre- hensive project is devoted to the pictorial writings from Malaysia and the Pacific Islands, of which either the originals or exact copies are preserved in the Dresden Museum. As a detailed account of the series will be given on its completion, it will suffice here to state that the present number contains six folio photographic plates of the curious and hitherto undeciphered hieroglyphics or pictorial writings from North Celébes, the Pelew Islands and Easter Island. These are accompanied by eight folio pages of letterpress full of extremely interesting matter. For although no direct attempts are made-at interpreting the texts, all previous essays of any value are collected, as well as such local myths or legends as may be likely to suggest a key to the interpretation of the writings. These are partly on wooden tablets, partly on prepared bast, partly also on the lintels and doorposts of the native houses that have been brought bodily to Europe. That they are all true writings, and not merely so much conventional ornamental work, a careful study of these plates will convince the most sceptical. Both the illustrations and the letterpress are produced in the sumptuous style charac teristic of such publications in Germany. Tue Committee on Photometric Studies appointed by the Board of Trade, have issued their report. Among other things they recommend that, for the determination of the illuminating power of coal gas, the use of the sperm candle should be dis- continued, and that, for the future, Mr. Harcourt’s air-gas flame, as defined in the appendix to the report, should be employed instead, as a means of affording with constancy the light of one average sperm candle. And in the event of any other mode of measuring the illuminating power of coal gas, such for instance as some modification of Messrs. Keates and Sugg’s lamp or Mr. Methven’s limp being resorted to on account of its practical convenience, this other mode of measurement should be stan- dardised, and from time to time checked, by comparison with Mr. Harcourt’s air-gas flame, which should alone be taken as the official standard. The details of the experiments and evidence, on which the recommendations are based, are given in an appendix, These experiments were mostly conducted under the Cominittee’s direction by Mr. Harold B. Dixon, the secretary to the Comniittce. A JAMAICA correspondent writes that Mr. Maxwell Hall, M.A., F.R.A.S., has succeeded, with some aid from the Local Government, in establishing a regular system of meteorological observations throughout the island, and a summary of these is published monthly in the famaica Gazette. A daily telegram is also sent round the island, giving results of readings at the chief stations, and any premonitory hints that may be considered necessary in view of telegraphic information from the United States signal stations at Key West and Cuba. Thus both shipping and agri-ultural interests are well prepared for any storms or hurricanes that may be expected. ‘‘Mr, Maxwell Hall’s work,” our corresponde it writes, ‘‘ though not yet fully recoznised by the Government, is carried on in a most com- mendable spirit, and there is no doubt that wheu the benefits of regular and trustworthy meteorological observations areapparent, 18 and Mr. Maxwell Hall’s numerous contributions to astronomical science are more fully appreciated, we shall have in Jamaica a properly equipped meteorological department, doing valuable ~ work in this region, in which the distribution of hurricanes, and sometimes earthquakes, have so important a bearing on human life and the general prosperity of the island.” A Weather Observatory, we learn from the Famaica Gleaner, has been established by Mr. Hall at the Government Cinchona Planta- tions, at the residence of Mr. Morris, director of the Botanical Department, who has undertaken voluntarily to give it personal and daily attention, This observatory is at a height of 4900 feet, SpPaRRows have multiplied to such an alarming extent in South Australia that a Commission appointed by the Government have sent in a report recommending means to be taken for their destruction, and rewards to be given for heads or eggs. Mr. J. H. WILLMOoRE, of Queenwood College, near Stock- bridge, Hants, writes under date November 1: ‘A ‘Storm- Petrel was found not far from here on Sunday week. The little bird was lying on its back on the top of a hedge, and had evidently been dead some days. On opening it one side of its body was found to be black, as if it had died from a blow. I imagine the very rough weather had driven it inland, and it had come into contact with one of the trees close by. These birds are, I believe, very rarely found so far inland, and, so far as I can learn, this is the first instance in this neighbourhood.”’ Mr. ParK Harrison has jublished, through Quaritch, an | interesting account of an incised slate and various other objects discovered in an old structure at Towyn, Merionethshire. The slate is coyered with many curious figures, evidently cut by the hand of man ; and these Mr. Harrison endeavours to interpret. There are numerous illustrations, including an autotype repro- duction of the slate itself and another with only the figures clearly brought out. SINCE 1869 the Otago (New Zealand) Acclimatisation Society has, we learn from the Colonies and India, liberated 157,041 young trout, and has sent 135,110 trout ova to various parts of Otago. Since 1874 it has liberated 34,900 salmon fry, and in 1879 and 1880 it liberated 790 perch and 60 tench. Young American ‘‘ White-fish” (Coregonus albus), let loose in the lakes in the Rotorua district about two years ago, have been recently met with by the natives ; but as soon as it was discovered what the fish were they were returned to the water. delighted at the discovery. want of support, been compelled to sell by auction its stock of animals and plants. THE Brighton Health Congress and a ‘‘ Domestic and Scientific Exhibition” will be held in the Pavilion Dome and Museum in the second week of next month. The president of the Congress is the Earl of Chichester, and the president of the Exhibition is Dr. B, W. Richardson. M. Lorwy, sub-director of the National Observatory of Paris, has been appointed by the Government to report on the state of NATURE The natives are | The Auckland Society has, through | French provincial observatories, which have recently received a | credit of 4000/. from the French Parliament, Stephan, with MM. Borelly and Coggia and two computers, has a credit of 1250/, The principal work is observation of nebulz by Stephan, revision of Rumker’s catalogue, discovery of comets and small planets, study of intra-Mercurial planets by Borelly, determinations by the Gauss method of absolute magnetic declination, &c. (2) Toulouse Observatory, directed by Bail- laud, with a budget of $80/. and a municipal subvention of 200/, for printing the obseryations, A magnetic pavilion has been built with compass constructed by Briimer. The principal work These establish- | ments are five in number:—(1) Marseilles, directed by M. | [NVoz. 3, 1881 is the observation of sun-spots, cataloguing variable stars, and observation of August meteors; not less than 1300 were tabu- lated on the last occasion of their appearance. (3) Bordeaux, directed by Rayet, with a credit of 1200/. The regular work has not yet begun, but observations have been made on comets and the red spot on Jupiter. (4) Lyons, directed by Andié, the credit given by the Government being 800/. ; the amount of subyentivn paid by the city is not stated. The prin- cipal feature of this observatory is its connection with three meteorological stations situated in the vicinity—one at Tete d’Or, the second at Mont Verdun, and the third at Ampius. The regular astronomical work has not yet been begun. (5) Algiers, directed by M. Trepied, has a credit of 1500/. from the Government. The principal work has been the observation of Jupiter’s satellites, A VETERAN watchmaker at Vouvry, Switzerland, claims to have invented a process by which watches will run for years without winding up. A sealed box containing two watches in- trusted to the municipal authorities on January 19, 1879, has just been opened, and the watches were found going. THE Council of the Institute of Civil Engineers have issued their usual lists of subjects for papers in connection with the various premiums which they award. consider the sodium as being here combined coe NATURE [Mov. 3, 1881 with gold as such, it is combined with the whole group AuCl,, a radicle that is doubtless far more chlorous than chlorine itself, If any were inclined to doubt the truth of this view, they should write the formula CINH, under NaAuCl,, when they would perceive that the radicle AuCl, corresponded to NH,, ammonium, the basylous properties of which no one doubted nowadays. In ammonium we have the basylous energies of four hydro- gen atoms concentrated by the inert nitrogen, and the result was a powerfully basylous radicle;,in AuCl, we have the chlorous energies of four chlorine atoms giving a powerfully chlorous radicle, Among other examples of the kind the Professor cited : K,AsF, with nonovalent atom, K,PtC), K,SiF O1(OH); KSbF¢ K,Fetk's K,Mgbr, a K,CuCly KMgC}, with tetravalent atoms. And he concluded his address by drawing attention to the condi- tions that affect the atomic value of an element, which he said were, firstly, the nature of the combining atoms; there was a limit to the number of atoms of one kind that can combine with a given element, but if the element combined at the same time with one or more atoms of a different character, this limit might be passed ; and secondly, the temperature, a sufficient rice of temperature being always accompanied by a diminution of atomic value. He thought it of great importance that these points should be considered by those who had artificially limited their horizon. The properties of many of the atoms in complex sub- stances having been in great measure concealed from view by the practice of giving specific names, such as the word ‘‘ molecular,” he thought it would be much better to say at once that we are ignorant of the constitution of these bodies than to resort to such names, with octovalent atoms. with heptavalent atoms, with hexavalent atoms, JURASSIC BIRDS AND THEIR ALLIES! BOUT twenty years ago two fossil animals of great interest were found in the Jithographic slates of Bavaria. One was the skeleton of Archeopteryx, now in the British Museum, and the other was the Com/sognathus y reserved in the Royal Museum at Munich. A single feather, to which the name Archaeopteryx was first applied by Von Meyer, had previously been discovered at the same locality. More recently another skeleton has been brought to light in the same beds, and is now in the Museum of Berlin. These three specimens of Archaeopteryx are the only remains of this genus known, while of Compsognathus the original skeleton is, up to the present time, the only representative. When these two animals were first discovered they were both considered to be reptiles by Wagner, who described Compsognathus, and this view has been held by various authors down to the present time. The best authorities, however, now agree with Owen that Archeopteryx is a bird, and that Compso- gnathus, as Gegenbaur and Huxley have shown, is a Dinosaurian reptile, Having been engaged for several years in the investigation of American Mesozoic birds, it became important for me to study the Furopean forms, and I have recently examined with some care the three known specimens of Arche@opteryx. I have also studied in the Continental museums various fossil reptiles, in- cluding Compsognathus, which promised to throw light on the early forms of birds. During my investigation of Archeofteryx I observed several characters of importance not previously determined, and I have thought it might be appropriate to present them here. The more important of these characters are as follows :— 1, The presence of true teeth, in position, in the skull. 2. Vertebre biconcave. 3. A well-ossified broad sternum, 4. Three digits only in the manus, all with claws. 5. Pelvic bones separate. 6. The distal end of fibula in front of tibia. * Read by Prof. O. C. Marsh before Section D,'British Association, at York, September 2, 188x, Communicated by the Author. 7. Metatarsals separate, or imperfectly united. These characters, taken in connection with the free metacar- pals and long tail, previously described, show clearly that we have in Archeopteryx a most remarkable form, which, if a bird, as I believe, is certainly the most reptilian of birds. If now we examine these various characters in detail, their importance will be apparent. The teeth actually in position in the skull appear to be in the the premaxillary, as they are below or in front of the nasal aperture, The form of the teeth, both crown and root, is very similar to the teeth of Hesperornis, The fact that some teeth are scattered about near the jaw would suggest that they were implanted in a groove, No teeth are known from the lower jaw, but they were probably present. The presacral vertebree are all, or nearly all, biconcave, re- sembling those of /chthyornis in general form, but without the large lateral foramina. There appear to be twenty-one pre- sacral vertebra, and the same, or nearly the same, number of caudals, The sacral vertebree are fewer in number than in any known bird, those united together not exceeding five,fand probably less. The scapular arch strongly resembles that-of modern birds. The articulation of the scapula and caracoid, and the Jatter with the sternum is characteristic; and the furculum is distinctly avian, The sternum is a single broad plate, well ossified. It probably supported a keel, but this is not exposed in the known specimens, In the wing itself the main interest centres in the manus and its free metacarpals. In form and position these three bones are just what may be seen in some young birds of to-day. This is an important point, as it has been claimed that the hand of Archeopleryx is not at all avian, but reptilian. The bones of the reptile are indeed there, but they have already received the stamp of the bird. One of the most interesting points determined during. my investigation of Archeopteryx was the separate condition of the pelvic bones. In all other known adult birds, recent and extinct, the three pelvic elements—ilium, ischium, and pubis, are firmly anchylosed. In young birds these bones are separate, and in all known Dinosaurian reptiles they are also distinct. In birds the fibula is usually incomplete below, but it may be co-ossified with the side of the tibia. In the typical Dinosaurs, Zguanodon, for example, the fibula at its distal end stands in front of the tibia, and this is exactly its position in Archeopieryx, an interesting point not before seen in birds. ‘The metatarsal bones of Archeopteryx show, on the outer face at least, deep grooves between the three elements, which imply that the latter are distinct, or unite late together. The free metacarpal and separate pelvic bones would also suggest distinct metatarsals, although they naturally would be placed closely together, so as to appear connate. Among other points of interest in Archeopteryx may be men- tioned the brain-cast, which shows that the brain, although com- paratively small, was like that of a bird, and not that of a Dinosaurian reptile. It resembles in form the brain-cast of Laopteryx, an American Jurassic bird, which I have recently described. The brain of both these birds appears to have been of a somewhat higher grade than that of Hesferornis, but this may have been due to the fact that the latter was ‘an aquatic form, while the Jurassic species were land birds, As the Dinosauria are now generally considered the nearest allies to birds, it was interesting to find in those investigated many points of resemblance to the latter class. Compsognathus, for example, shows in its extremities a striking similarity to Archaeopteryx. Thethree clawed digits of the manus correspond closely with those of that genus; although the bones are of different proportions. The hind feet also have essentially the same structure in both, The vertebra, however, and the pelvic bones of Compsognathus differ materially from those of Archeo- pteryx, and the two forms are in reality widely separated. While examining the Compsognathus skeleton, I detected in the abdominal cavity the remains of a small reptile which had not been previously observed. The size and position of this in- closed skeleton would imply that it was a feetus; but it may possibly have been the young of the same species, or an allied form, that had been swallowed. No similar instance is known among the Dinosaurs. é A point of resemblance of some importance between birds and Dinosuurs is the clavicle. All birds have those bones, but they have been considered wanting in Dinosaurs. Two speci- Nov. 3, 1881] NATURE 23 mens of Zguanodon in the British Museum, however, show that these elements of the pectoral arch were present in that genus. Some other Dinosauria possess clavicles, but in several families of this sub-class, as I regard it, they appear to be wanting. The nearest approach to birds now known would seem to be in the very small Dinosaurs from the American Jurassic. In some of these the separate bones of the skeleton cannot be dis- tinguished with certainty from those of Jurassic birds, if the skull is wanting, and even in this part the resemblance is strik- ing. Some of these diminutive Dinosaurs were perhaps arboreal in habit, and the difference between them and the birds that lived with them may have been at first mainly one of feathers, as I have shown in my Memoir on the Odontornithes, published during the past year. It is an interesting fact that all the Jurassic birds known, both from Europe and America, are land birds, while all from the Cretaceous are aquatic forms. The four oldest known birds, moreover, differ more widely from each other than do any two recent birds. These facts show that we may hope for most important discoveries in the future, especially from the Triassic, which has as yet furnished no authentic trace of birds. For the primitive forms of this class we must evidently look to the Paleozoic. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 1. part 2, No. 2 1881 (July 30), contains :—H. F. Blanford, F.R.S., on the rela- tions of cloud and rainfall to temperature in India, and on the opposite variations of density in the higher and lower atmo- spheric strata, and description of a rain-gauge with evaporimeter for remote and secluded stations (plate 15).—J. Wood-Mason, on some insects belonging to the Rhopalocera from India and Burmah.—W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., on the Voles (Arvicola) of the Tibet Himalayas and Afghanistan (plates 1 and 2); and on Myospalax fuscicapillus, Blyth. Gegenbaurs morphologisches Fahrbuch, vol. vii., part 2, 1881, contains—R. S. Bergh, on the organisation of the cilio-flagellate Infusoria ; a phylogenetic study ; plates 12-16. Contains dia- gnoses of the genera Ceratium, Dinophysis, Protoperidinium (noy. gen.), Peridinium, Protoceratium (nov. gen.), Diplosalis (nov, gen.), Glenodinium, Gymnodinium, Polykrikus, and Pro- tocentrum, with descriptions of several species in each.—Dr. W. Pfitzner, on the minute structure of cell-nuclei.—Prof. Bischoff, on the third or lowermost frontal gyrus(Stirnwindung), and the inner upper lobulus-parietalis gyrus in the gorilla. Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie, August, 1881 (vol. xxxvi. part I), contains ; Dr. H. Simroth, on locomotion and the organ of locomotion in Cyclostoma elegans and other indigenous land and freshwater mollusca (plate 1 and many woodcuts).—Dr. P. Stohr, on the development of the skull in the Anura (plates 2 and 3).—Dr. A. Gruber, on division in the monothalamous rhizopods (plates 4 and 5).—F. Blockmann, on the development of Neritina fluviatilis (plates 6, 7, and 8).—Prof. W. Krause, on the human allantois (plate 9). SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES MANCHESTER Literary and Philosophical Society, October 4, 1881.— J. P. Joule, F.R.S., &c., in the chair—On drops floating on the surface of water, by Prof. Osborne Reynolds, F.R.S. It is well known that under certain circumstances drops of water may be seen floating on the surface for some seconds before they dis- appear. Sometimes during a shower of rain these drops are seen on the surface of a pond, they are also often seen at the bows of a boat when travelling sufficiently fast to throw up a spray. Attempts have been made to explain this phenomenon, but I am not aware of any experiments to determine the circum- stances under which these drops are suspended. Having been deeply engaged in the experimental study of the phenomena of the surface-tension of water and the effect of the scum formed by oil or other substances, it occurred to me that the comparative rarity of these floating drops would be explained if it could be shown that they required a pure surface, a surface free from scum of any kind. For, owing to the high surface-tension of pure water, its surface is rarely free from scum. The surface of stagnant water is practically never free except when the scum is driven off by wind. But almost any disturbance in the water, such as the motion of a point of a stick round and round in the water, or water splashed on the surface, will serve to drive back the scum for a certain distance. This may be shown by scatter- ing some flowers of sulphur on the surface. This powder is insoluble and produces no scum, and hence it serves admirably to show the motion of the surface and whatever scum there may be upon it. If when the surface is s> dusted a splash be made by a stick so as to throw drops on to the sulphured surface, at the first splash no floating drops are produced ; but after two or three splashes in rapid succession it will be seen that the ‘sul- phured scum has been driven back by the falling water, leaving a patch of clear surface, and on this drops will float in large numbers and of all sizes. These drops are entirely confined to that portion of the surface which is clear. The drops, either by their initial motion or by the current of air, glide rapidly over the surface from the point at which they are formed. When, however, they reach the edge of the scum they disappear, apparently somewhat gradually. I have this summer made the experiment on several ponds and on various days, and I have never found any difference. Any scum, however transparent, prevented the drops, and they always floated in large numbers when the scum was driven back in the manner described, by the wind or any other way. This result points to the conclusion that whatever may be the cause of this suspension, it depends only on the surface of the water being pure, and not at all on the temperature or condition of the air.—On the mean intensity of light that has passed through absorbing media, by James Bottomley, D.Sc., F.C.S.—Note on the colour relations of nickel, cobalt, and copper, by James Bottomley, D.Sc., F.C.S. VIENNA Imperial:Academy of Sciences, October 13.—V. Burgin the chair.—The following papers were read :—A. v. Liebenberg, experiments on the part of lime in germination.—E. Weiss, computation of the elements and ephemeris of Barnard’s comet. —E. Briicke, on some consequences of the Young-Helmholtz theory.—T. W. Briihl, on the connection between the optic and thermic properties of liquid organic bodies. PARIS Academy of Sciences, October 17.—M. Wurtz in the chair. —The Secretary presented the instructions formulated by the In- ternational Conference for Observation of the Transit of Venus. —Crystalline sulphurated copper (cufréine), formed at expense of old coins, apart from thermal springs, at Flines-les-Roches, Departement du Nord, by M. Daubrée.—Observations of the comet 4 1881 (Tebbutt-Gould-Cruls) at Paris Observatory, by M. Bigourdan.—On a remarkable configuration of circles in space, by M. Stephanos.—On Fuchsian functions, by M. Poincaré. —On an experimental peculiarity relative to the equipotential law of Nobili’s rings, by M. Guébhard. He has studied, under strong light, the trajectories of minute bubbles between electrodes in badly-conducting liquids; these are quite determinate and independent of gravity, and (friction and agitation of the liquid apart) seem to represent lines of force of the electric flow. With variously formed electrodes he has repeated Antolik’s and Mach’s experiments made with static discharge ; and profiting by certain effects of polarisation, and counter-currents arising on quick reversal of the principal current, has obtained a fixed trace of the lines of flow.—Theory of a rapid vessel, by M. Pictet.—On the currents generated by atmospheric elec- tricity and earth-currents, by M. Landerer. At Tortosa he stretched a wire between the roofs of two houses in a direction making a small angle with the magnetic meridian, and connected it with the water-pipes. The currents ‘generated are variously due to condensation of aqueous vapour, to lightning-discharges, to action of wind, and to earth-currents. The first two and the fourth affect a telephone in the circuit, but not the third (these, however, as well as the second and fourth, deflect a galvano- meter). The earth-currents are distinguished from atmospheric currents by their regularity and continuity during pretty long intervals. Variation of the earth-current is a sign of change of weather.—Action of sulphur on alkaline sulphides in very dilute solution, by M. Filhol. In such action on dilute solutions of monosulphide of sodium a polysulphide is formed, without notable production of hyposulphite, and it seems as though the original monosulphide has subsisted, spite of the dilution. But more probably it is decomposed and reconstituted.—On a new series of bases derived from morphine, by M. Grimaux. —On a new alkaloid of quinquinas, by M. Arnaud. The formula adopted for cinctonamine (this new alkaloid) is 24 NATURE [WVoo. 3, 1882 Cy9HyN.O. The author found it, simultaneously with cincho- nine, in a very dense dark brown-red bark, of resinous fracture, from Santander; there being o°$ to I per cent. of cinchonine, and o°2 of the other. It differs from cinchonine in having two atoms more of hydrogen.—On the dissociation of carbamate of ammonium, by MM. Engel and Moitessier.—On the subcuta- necus cacs and the lymphatic sinuses of the cephalic region in Rana temporaria, L., by M. Jourdain. He modifies the enumera- tion of sacs by Dugés, and indicates some relations hitherto over- looked. Jnver atta, the lingual sinuses, forming cavities which communicate with the neighbouring reservoirs only by narrow orifices, form a nearly closed system, and M. Jourdain finds in this an explanation (different from that of Dugeés) of the mechanism by which the tongue, become turgid, is protruded.— On a curious case of prefecundation observed in a Spionide, by M. Giard.—Coptribution to a study of the Flagellata, by M. Kamstler. He has observed m Cryf‘omcenas ovata, Ehrbg., tran-verse striation of the two flagellums serving for locomotion ; also a group of long fine flagellums (hitherto unknown), which are also stnated and serve for prehension of focd ; four layers in the body-wail, the outer one colourless, the others having chlorophyll (their structure is decribed) ; a spacious stomach with a sort of vestibule (but no cesophagean tube), intestme, and anus ; small organisms therein, proving that Cryptomonas does not live on hquid food alone; a pore through which the con- tractile vesicle communicates with the exterior ; an organ which is pro! a! ly a male apparatus, &c. He also describes the oculi- form point in Phacus Pleuronectes, Dugard, which organ he develo; ed by cultivation in imtense light. He considers the structure to prove its visual function beyond a doubt.—On the cause of immunity of adults of the bovine species towards sym- ptomatic or bacterian charbon in localities where this malady is prevalent, by MM. Arloing, Cornevin, and Thomas. Most of the young animals in an infected district are spontaneously Moculated with various quantities of the virus, and while those receiving much take the disease in fatal form, those receiving little have a mild attack, sufficient to insure future immunity. M. Bouley remarked on the bearing of hereditary influences, and M. Pasteur on the error of supposing that young animals had a vreater aptitude to receive contagion. Octoher 24. M. Wurtz in the chair.—The following papers were read :—Detonation of acetylene, cyanogen, and endo- thermal combinations in general, by M. Berthelot. Gases formed with absorption of heat (acetylene, &c.), which do not detonate under simple heating, may be brought to explosion through sudden shock (e.g. through fulminate of mercury); this shock acts only on acertain layer of gaseous molecules, communicating enormous kinetic energy ; the molecular edifice loses its relative stability and falls to pieces, and the initial energy is instantly increased by that corresponding to heat of decomposition of the gas. Hence a new shock produced on the next layer, which causes the same decomposition, and so on, to total destruction of the system.—On a general determination of the tension and volume of saturated vapours, by M. Clausius.—On an apparatus for determining, without pain to the patient, the position of a projectile of lead or other metal in the human bedy, by Prof. Bell. This is a modification of Hughes’ induction-balance. One flat coil is superposed on another, so that the edge of the former is near the axis of the latter. One has thick wire, and is the primary circuit, the other has thin wire, and is the secondary. The two are dipped in paraffin and fixed in a wocden frame with handle. A vibratory current from a battery traverses the primary coil, and a telephone is put in circuit with the other. When the common part of the two coils comes near a metallic body silence gives place in the telephone to a sound which varies in intensity according to the nature and form of the body. It is found advantageous to insert in the two circuits two other coils similar to the first, but much smaller, and the common surface of which can be altered with a micrometric screw ; also to insert an electrostatic capacity in the primary.—On the parasitic nature of disorders arising from impaludism, by M. Leverson. The efficiency of sulphate of quinine as an antidote is thus accounted for (various parasitic elements in the blood are described).—Note on the quality of waters of the Isére as regards the project of an irrigation-canal from the Rhone. Owing to the presence of salts of soda and magnesia in considerable quantity, the water of the I-ére is absolutely unfit for irrigation.—On a configuration of fifieen circles, and on the linear congruences of circles in space, by M. Stephanos.—On the mathematical theory of the vibratory movement of bells, by M. Mathieu.—On the electro- | different metals, by M. Richet. lysis of water, by M. Tommasi. A zinc-copper or zinc-carbon element, immersed in dilute sulpburie acid, does not decompose water, conformably to theory, if the two electrodes are of platinum. For this decomposition to take place, the positive electrede must be formed of a metal which, under influence of the voltaic current, can combine with the oxygen of the water.— On a proportion-compass (4eussole de proportion) for measure- ment of resistances, by M. Carpentier. Suppose on the surface of a sphere, the vertical diameter of which is taken as polar axis, two similar circuits along two meridians at right angles to each other. Currents along these circuits affect a small mag- netic needle hung at the centre of the sphere, which needle sets: in the direction of the resultant of the two forces. This depends on the ratio of the intensities, and this ratio of the strength of one component to that of the other is precisely measured by the trigonometric tangent of the angle formed by the resultant with the other component, For mea-urement of resistances a current is made to divide between the circuits, and of course does so equally. Then the resistance to be measured is added to one circuit, and the current then divides inversely as the resistances. Two ways are indicated of eliminating the influence of terrestriab magnetism.— On the variation of the annual number of thunder- storms at Rio de Janeiro, by M. Cruls. In the period 1851— 1876 (during which the annual number of thunderstorms is found to vary between eleven and forty-nine), he makes out a close correspondence between the curve of storms and that of solar spots. A curve for Toronto shows the same thing, though less distinctly. M. Faye expressed a feeling of reserve as to this correspondence The period of spots could be reproduced im that of thunderstorms only if the spots sensibly affected the heat sent us by the sun; but no trace of an eleven-years’ period has been found in annual temperatures. The conclusion is that solar spots and our thunderstorms are not in the relation of cause and effect. The correspondence indicated by M. Cruls is not sufficient to prove the necessity of finding a connection between the two phenomena.—On a new hydrate of carbon, by M. Morelle. He calls it dergentte instead of bergenin, the name given (1850) by its discoverer, M. Garreau, who did not study it very fully. It is got from Siberian saxifrage. M. Morelle arrives at the formula C,,(C,H,O,); (which corresponds to 75°75 per cent. of acetic acid). is a pentatomic alcohol, ranking with pinite and quercite.—On the comparative toxicity of Instead of injecting, he rendered the medium poisonous (e.g. the water for a fish). He named the /imit of toxictty the quantity of poison per litre of water, allowing a fish to live more than forty-eight hours. Thus he shows that there is no precise relation between the atomic weight, or the chemical function of a body, and its toxical power. —Researches on the circulatory system of Sfatengus purpurense by M. Kiehler. CONTENTS A Recent “Finn” ix British Par sontTowocy. Geixre, F.R.S. . . Pact By Prof Arcu. Tue Heap-Hunters oF Borngo. By AtFrep R. WALLACE . . . 3 BUTESERLIES!S/ =o Goan) i) els aan) ot be ee 5 Our Book SHELF :— “ Fhe Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science”. . . . . . 6 Tyndall's “« Essays on the Floating-Matter of the Air in Relation to Purrefactioniandinfectiorrs: |=) 0.) is) Gl eles inasihs nnn LETTERS To THE EpiItoR:— The Struggle of Parts in the Organism.—The Duxe of Arcytt, F.R-S.; Dr. Witttam B. Carpenter, C.B.,F.RS.. .... 6 An Alleged Diminution im the Size of Men’s Heads.—Dr. W. B. Kesteven « = 2 fs ws (<5 ophs SRieene ee The Evolution of the Paleozoic Vegetation.—J.S.GARDNER . . 8 The Teaching of Practical Biology.—F. JEFFREY Bett . ... 8 The Igneous Rocks of Iceland.—A. J. HupBARD. . . .... 8 Replacing Flint Flakes.—F. ARCHER . . . ~ . . ee ee 8 Climate of Atacama.—HYpE CLARKE . 4. “eg: angel cate ie etal 9 Tue Autumn Sky, I. By Rev. T. W. Were (With Diagrams) . 9 METEOROLOGY oF Bsn Nevis. By ALexanpDeER Buchan (With Eluctsatiens) 3) je eho «3.5 2 Eee eee Tur Erecrric Tramway (Weth Illustrations). . . . .. +... Tre Botometer (With Diagrams). . « «+. 2.2 «e+ ._-% Notes .« o 5 OF SR aes eee Our AsTRONOMICAL CoLUMN :— The Binary Stary Virginis. . . ....- ay rage ‘ne The Transit of Mercury, November8 . . . 2. - - - = + + 19 Comet 1881 (Denning). . Selgery hee ° Guocmirmicac Nexmetig vse) 2.6 2 io seen ane Lunar DisturBance oF Gravity. By G. H. Darwin, FERS. . . 20 Aw Error InN THE COMMONLY ACCEPTED THEORY OF CuEMiISTRY. By Prof. A. W. Wii.iaMson, F.R-S, Jurassic Birps AND THEIR ALLIES. By Prof. ‘0.C. Mars ed = Scrumwrmic SERIALS «© . . « . » © - © ~ s oe | Sociucnmsianp ACADEMARS.. A’ @ Pe | s- n= h-* 5 , a = 4 ees wih , 5 * van. 12, 1882 see it does not come to nearly such a sharp point as when a thermo-pile is used, and you ask why. The reason is that at that particular part the bromide of silver—blue bromide—does not entirely absorb the radiations, but allows a certain amount to pass through. Nevertheless you will see that there is a striking similarity between the two. Now I wish to show you how you may combine the thermo- graphs of two or more temperatures. I must, first of all, show you the thermographs of varying temperatures (Fig. 23). have a temperature of 250°. 500° ; next 2,000, next 4,000, In diagram (Fig. 24) we have a combination between the thermograms of two temperatures, one of about 2,000°, and the other of about 4,000°. By measuring the height of these curves We Fig. 24.—Combination thermogrem. and taking the mean you get the central curve. You should compare this with Prof. Tyndall’s curve. very different from the curve taken from the combination of the two curves. My time, however, is drawing to a close, and I am obliged to go but shortly through this part. In my last lecture I showed you how the diffraction spectrum was spread out in the infra-red in comparison with the prismatic spectrum, and I think that it may interest you here to show you the way in which a thermogram of the solar spectrum is spread | out when the prismatic thermograph is altered into a refraction thermograph or thermogram. In Fig. 26 I givea diagram of a solar prismatic spectral ther- mogram (Fig. 25) as obtained by Lamarsky spread out into a diffraction curve. You see that instead of the maximum heating effect of the solar spectrum being beyond the red, it Jies well between E and D. In other words the maximum energy of the solar spectrum lies in the yellow and not in the ultra red as has usually been considered. The energy of a wave, or a series of waves, is measured by the square of the amplitude divided by the square of the wave length into a constant. The area of wave section is equal to the amplitude—that is to say the height of the wave multiplied by the length of the wave into a constant. If these waves have equal sectional areas, the energy varies inversely as the fourth power of the wave length. And what I wish to draw your attention to is this—that starting from the theoretical limit of the prismatic spectrum to the maximum heating effect of any continuous spectrum a law seems to hold that the energy of any portion of the spectrum below its point of maximum energy does vary inversely as the fourth power of the wave length. I am sorry I haye not time to go farther into the detail of this, Next we have a temperature of | but it has been the result of some considerable calculation, and experiment. After my last lecture I was asked whether the photograph taken by the kettle in the manner explained was not due to the heat rays. Iam afraid my reply was somewhat short as I said, ‘ There are no such things as heat rays.” I think that now may be an opportunity in which to express my views on the subjeet ina less curt manner than that in which I answered my ques- tioner. It is true that we often do hear of dark heat rays and of radiant heat, and the rays which are principally concerned in | the latter definition are taken to lie in the infra-red region of the | spectrum. I would ask, ‘‘ Why give them a name to which, it | seems to me, exception can be justly taken?” In 1800, Sir | William Herschel proved that these dark rays could be refracted } Fic. 25.— Prismatic thermogram of solar spectrum obtained by Lamansky. ; and reflected like those rays which, falling on our retina, give us the sensation of colour. Professor Forbes, in his celebrated | experiments, proved the same thing ; but, in addition, he like- wise proved that they could be polarised. I think I have laid before you proofs that these same rays can expend their energy in chemical action causing a disruption of a molecule by their successive impacts. Those rays, by whose agency we see, exer- cise the same functions as these dark rays.” All rays are alike, and whether they causea rise in temperature, or cause a chemical decomposition of a body, depends solely on the nature of that body on which they fall. The waves, as I have tried to demon- strate, carry energy and nothing else; and they must meet with some obstruction which shall destroy their motion before they You see it is not, can show that they possess energy. The work done by them is Fic. 26.—Difiraction thermogram from Fig. 25. manifested by either molecular motion, or atomic motion, or both; the molecular motion of the body showing itself perhaps as heat, and the atomic motion as chemical action. If we must have the word ‘‘radiant” tacked on to a definition, (and the word radiant” is a remnant of the corpuscular theory of heat,) alt the wave motion in the ether should be classed under the head of ‘*radiant energy.” If a shorter nomenclature is required, let us simply call it ‘‘ light,” including in it the energy carried. Light is an old word understood in one sense by all, and we need only talk of the heating effect of light, and so on. The word “‘actinism ” falls into an equal condemnation, We have un- luckily none of our most eminent philosophers who are scientific photographists, if there were I do not believe any would defend the retention of the word ‘‘actinic” ‘or chemical rays” amongst “ ae a 4, > ae > Pi 7 4 ; Yan. He), 1882] our scientific terms. In the expression actinism and radiant heat, the cause has been mixed up with the effect. To be consistent, given one class of bodies the rays falling on it should be ealled actinic rays ; whilst, given another, they should be called heat rays. In 1840 Dr. F. W. Draper, of New York, clearly pointed out the identity in quality (if I may so call it) of the light, heat, and actinic rays, and that identity, I hold, has been confirmed more than once by recent investigators. I speak, perhaps, ~ somewhat strongly on this point as no one knows better than myself the immeasurable mischief which a wrong definition causes in the progress of a scientific education. Men matured in science can afford to use any definition since they can care- fully guard it by mental reservations as to what they really understand by it; but I hold it as a misfortune of no mean order that definitions, which are not so exact as our present state of knowledge can make them, should be given to the uninitiated whose reasoning powers must at the outset be feeble. A definition containing but half a truth must of necessity lead a student of science to a wrong conclusion at some time or another. If our writers of text-books could but be persuaded to write as they believe in this matter, and as some have written (for instance, Clerk Maxwell), we should have fewer mistakes made in explaining the ordinary phenomena met with in daily life. I think I have now explained what I meant when the answer was given, ‘‘ There are no such things as heat rays:” a source of energy may be darkly hot as was the kettle, some of the energy radiating from it was expended in heating bodies round it, but that portion which radiated through the holes perforated in the card and which struck the plate was, at all events, partially expended in converting the silver bromide into the sub- bromide. In the course of these lectures, which I now finish, it has been my endeavour to show you the principles on which experi- ment in the infra-red region has been carried out, and also to point out the necessity for further work of no light kind in this part of the spectrum. The preceding lectures will also have shown you that work is required to investigate the visible part of the spectrum, and also in the observation of the various phenomena presenting themselves on the solar surface which must of necessity react upon our earth, It has been ignorantly ‘said that the study of solar physics will be exhausted in ten or twelve years, but from what you have heard my colleagues tell you it will surely last our lifetime. If I live till the exhaustion takes place, my allotted threescore and ten years will, I should say, be greatly overstepped. I prophesy, though it can hardly with decency be called a prophecy, that many generations will pass away before all is known of the exact relationship between solar and terrestrial phenomena. What we do know already is hardly the alphabet of the language in which the sun addresses us, and until that alphabet is mastered the whole story that he would tell us must remain undeciphered, MORPHOLOGY OF THE TEMNOPLEUVURIDE “THE following is an abstract of a communication read before the Linnean Society, Dec. 15, 1881 :—The Temnopleuridz, a sub-family of oligopores, are remarkable for their sutural grooves and depressions at the angles of the plates. The author ex- amined the grooves and depressions or pits in Sal/macis sulcata, Agass, andfound that these last are continued into the test as flask shaped cavities sometimes continuous at their bases which are close to the inside of the test, but do not perforate. This is the case in the median vertical sutures of the interradium and ambulacrum. Between the interradium and the poriferous plates of the ambulacra are numerous pits in vertical series which are the ends of cylinders closed and often curved within. Altogether the undermining is considerable. The grooves over the sutural margins are losses to the thickness of the test. The edges of the contiguous plates are sutured together, by a multitude of knobs and sockets y$> of an inch in diameter visible with a hand lens, In the vertical sutures there is an alternate development of knobs and sockets on each plate corresponding to a similar development on the opposed plates. Between the horizontal plate edges are sutures remarkable in their distinctness and posi- tion. The apical edges of the interradial plates have multitudes of sockets and the actinal edges, knobs : whilst the apical edges of the ambulacral plates have knobs and the actinal have sockets. The ambulacra, on their interradial edge have nothing but knobs and the interradial plates corresponding sockets, so that a great NATURE 257 series of kmobs and socket ‘‘dowelling ” prevails. Zemnopleurus torematicus, Agass,, gave similar results modified by the great development of the grooves and the young form was shown to differ from the adult, and to have rows of knobs and sockets, and barely penetrating pits, The arrangement in Sa/macis bicolor and Amblypneustes ovum was considered. The pits have an importance for they increase the superficies of the derm and near the peristome, as indicated by Loven, they contain Spheridia. The paucity of knowledge respecting the union of the plates of the Echinoidea was noticed and the nature of the suturing of Echinus and Diadema was explained, the first resembling part of that of a young Zemmnopleurus, but it was without knobs and sockets. _The author concluded by separating the Temno- pleuridze into two divisions, those with pits and those with grooves without pits. The last are the oldest in time and resemble young modern forms which subsequently develop pits. He reduced the number of genera considerably. P. M. DUNCAN UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE WE are glad to learn that the number ‘of students who have entered the Chemical Laboratory of Firth College, Sheffield, this session, has been so great, that the present accommodation has been quite insufficient. The Council, therefore, decided at their last meeting to erect working benches for sixteen more students. The University of Edinburgh have recently recog- nised Dr. Carnelly, Professor of Chemistry in Firth College, as a Teacher of Medicine in Sheffield, whose lectures on Che- mistry, and course of instruction in Practical Chemistry shall qualify for graduates in Medicine in that University. The lectures on Chemistry and Laboratory Practice at Firth College have also been recognised by the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Physicians. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS American Fournal of Science, October, 1881.—Cause of the arid climate of the western portion of the United States, by C. E. Dutton.—Embryonic forms of trilobites from the primordial rocks of Troy, N.Y., by S. W. Ford.—Observations of comet 4, 1881, by E.S. Holden.—Thickness of the ice sheet at any latitude, by W. J. McGee.—Notes on earthquakes, by C. G. Rockwood, Marine fauna occupying the outer banks off the southern coast of New England, by A. E. Verrill.—Note on the tail of comet 4 1881, by L. Boss.—Geological relations of the limestone belts of Westchester Co. New York, by J. D. Dana. November, 1881.—Jurassic birds and their allies, by O. C. Marsh.—The remarkable aurora of September 12-13, 1881, by J. M. Schzberle.—The stereoscope and vision by optic diver- gence, by W. L, Stevens.—The electrical resistance and the co- efficient of expansion of incandescent platinum, by E. L. Nichols, —Local subsidence produced by an ice-sheet, by W. J. McGee. —wNotes on the Laramie group of Southern New Mexico, by J. J. Stevenson.—Polariscopic observations of comet ¢ 1881, by A. W. Wright.—The relative accuracy of different methods of determining the solar parallax, by W. Harkness.—The nature of Cyathophycus, by C, D. Walcott. Fournal of the Franklin Institute, December, 1881.—Report of the committee on the precautions to be taken to obviate the dangers that may arise from electric lighting.—Report of com- mittee on fire-escapes and elevators.—Chemical methods for analysing rail steel, by M. Troilius.—Notes on the properties of dynamo-electric machines, by E. Thomson.—Blast-furnace hearths and linings, by J. Birkinbine.—Sand-filtration at Berlin, by W. R. Nichols.—Report of committee on Griscom’s electric motor.— Weighing the sun by a soap-bubble, by P. E. Chase. Bulletin del’ Académie Royale des Sciences de Belgique, Nos. 9 and 10,—Afrofos of determination of latitude, by M. Folie.— On the origin of Devonian limestones of Belgium, by M. Du- pont.—Application of accidental images {second note), by M. Plateau.—A means of measuring the flexure of telescopes, by M. Rouzean.—On the micaceous substance of veins of Nil St. Vincent, by M. Renard.—Reports, &c. Archives des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles, December, 1881. —International Geological Congress of Bologna, September and 258 October, 1880, by M. Renevier.—Meteorological résumé of the year 1880 for Geneva and Great St. Bernard, by M. Plantamour. —Periodical movements of the ground indicated by the air- bubble of spirit-levels, by the same.—On the movements of the ground, by Col. von Orff. Reale Istituto Lombardo di Scienze ¢ Lettere. Rendiconti, vol. xiv., fasc. xvii.—On recent discoveries of Silurian fossils in the province of Udine, by M. E. T. Taramelli.—Synthesis of 8 methylpyridine (8 picoline), by G, Zanoni, PI EEE eee SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES ; LONDON Royal Society, December 15, 1881.—‘‘On the Electromo- tive Properties of the Leaf of Dionez in the Excited and Un- excited States.” By J. Burdon Sanderson, M.D., F.R.S., &c. (Abstract.) f i The paper consists of five parts. Part I. is occupied by the examination of two experimental researches, relating to the sub- ject, which have been published in Germany since the date of the author’s first communication to the Royal Society, namely, that of Prof. Munk on Dionza, and of Dr. Kunkel on electromotive action in the living organs of plants. According to Dr. Munk, the electric properties of the leaf may be explained on the theory that each cylindrical cell of its parenchyma is an electromotor, of which the middle is, in the unexcited state, negative to the ends, and that on excitation the electromotive forces of the cells of the upper layer undergo diminution, those of the lower layer anincrease. He accounts for the diphasic character of the elec- trical disturbance which follows mechanical excitation by attri- buting it to the opposite electromotive reactions of the two layers of cells. According to this theory, each cell resembles in its properties the muscle-cylinder (‘‘ Untersuchungen,” vol. i. p. 682, 1848) of du Bois-Reymond, differing from it in so far that its poles are positive instead of being negative to its equatorial zone. Dr. Kunkel’s experiments have for their purpose to show that all the electromotive phenomena of plants may be explained as consequences of the movement of water in the organs at the surfaces of which they manifest themselves. Neither of these theories is consistent with the author’s observations. Part II. contains a description of the apparatus and methods used in the present investigation. In Part ILI. are given the experimental results relating to the electromotive properties of the leaf in the unexcited state, a subject of which the discussion was deferred in the paper com- municated by the author (with Mr. Page) in 1876.1 The funda- mental fact relating to the distribution of electrical tension on the surface of the leaf when in the unexcited state is found to be that (whatever may be the previous electrical relation between the two surfaces) the upper surface becomes, after one or two excitations, negative to the under, and remains so for some time. Under the conditions stated, this difference of potential between the two surfaces occurs constantly ; the ‘differences of potential which present themselves when other points of the surface of the leaf are compared, may be explained as derived from, or dependent on, it. Part IV. relates to the immediate electrical results of excita- tion, z.e, to the electrical phenomena of the excitatory process. In investigating these the author takes, as the point of departure, an experiment which includes and serves to explain those ob- tained by other methods, and is therefore termed the ‘‘ funda- mental experiment.” It consists in measuring the successive differences of potential which present themselves between two opposite points on the upper and on the under surface of one lobe of the leaf, during periods which precede, include, and follow the moment at which the opposite lobe is mechanically or electrically excited. In this experiment it is found that, pro- vided that the conditions are favourable to the vigour of the leaf, the changes in the electrical relations of the two surfaces (called the excitatory variation) occur in the following order :-— Before excitation (particu- Upper surface negative to larly if the leaf has been pre- under. viously excited). At the moment of excitation. Sudden negativity of under surface, attaining its maximum in about half a second, the difference amounting to not less than y'; Daniell. ™ «(On the Mechanical Effects and on the Electrical Disturbance conse- quent on Excitation, &c.,’” Proceedings, December 14, 1876. NATURE a i ies Rapidly increasing negativity of the upper surface, beginning 1°5”, and culminating about 3" after excitation, and"slowly subsiding. This subsidence is not complete, for, as has been said, the lasting difference between the two surfaces is augmented—the upper surface becoming more negative after each excitation (‘‘after-effect ”). When by a similar method two points are taken for com- parison on opposite lobes, the phenomena are more compli- cated, but admit of being explained as resulting from the more simple case above stated, in which only a few strata of cells are interposed between the leading off electrodes. In Part V. the relation of the leaf to different modes of exci- tation is investigated. As regards electrical excitation the results are as foliows:—If a voltaic current is led across one lobe by non-polarisable electrodes applied to opposite surfaces (the other lobe being led off as in the fundamental experiment) a response (excitatory variation) occurs at the moment that the current is closed, provided that the strength of the current is adequate, and not much more than adequate. No response occurs at breaking the current. When a current of more than adequate strength is used, and its direction is downwards, the response at closing is followed by several others. This effect does not happen when the current is directed upwards. To evoke a response a current must be much stronger if directed up- wards than if directed downwards through the same electrodes. Weak currents cease to act when their duration is reduced to xiv’; for stronger ones the limit is shorter. Inadequate cur- rents, if directed downwards, produce negativity of the upper surface, which lasts for several seconds after the current is After excitation. broken. This effect is limited to the surfaces through which the current is led. Its direction shows it is not dependent on polar- isation. By opening induction-currents, if their strength does not much exceed the limit of adequacy, a leaf may be excited at intervals for several hours without failure. Weaker currents are more effectual when directed downwards than when directed upwards. If two inadequate induction-currents follow one another at any interval less than o”*4 and greater than 002, they may evoke a response. In this case a response follows the second excitation. When a leaf is subjected to a series of induc- tion currents at short intervals (3,”) the response occurs after a greater or less number of excitations. If the temperature is gradually diminished the number is increased by each diminu- tion. All of the above statements relating to excitability refer to plants kept in a moist atmosphere at 32—35° C. From the preceding facts and others which are stated in the paper, the author infers (1) that the difference observed between different parts of the surface of the leaf are the expressions of electromotive forces which have their seat in the living proto- plasm of the parenchyma cells. (2) That the second phase of the excitatory variation is probably dependent on the diminution of turgor of the excited cells, and therefore on the migration of liquid; (3) but that no such explanation can possibly be accepted of the phenomena of the first phase, the time relations of which, particularly its sudden accession and rapid propaga- tion, show it to be the analogue of the ‘ negative variation ” or ‘action current” of animal physiology. Zoological Society, January 3.—Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Mr. W. A. Forbes exhibited and made remarks on the horns of the Prong Buck (Anéslocapra americana) lately shed by the specimen living in the Society’s Gardens. This was, it is believed, the first instance on record of the same individual having shed its horns in captivity in two ™ | ¥an. 12, 1882 consecutive years.—A communication was read from Prof, © Owen, C.B., on Dinornis (Part xxiii.), containing a description of Dinornis parvus, a new species of about the size of the Dodo, of which a very complete skeleton (now in the British Museum) had been lately discovered in a cavern in the province of Nelson, New Zealand. —A communication was read from M. L. Taczan- owski, C.M.Z.S., containing an account of the birds collected by Mr. Stolzmann during his recent journey in North-Eastern Peru, with descriptions of some new species. —A communication was read from Mr. Martin Jacoby, containing the descriptions of three new genera and fourteen new species of Phytophagous Coleoptera from various localities.—Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a paper on the African Mungooses (Herfestine), in which he reduced the described species of this group to nineteen, divisible into seven genera, —The Rey. Canon Tristram read the descrip- Fan. 12, 1882] tion of a new species of Land-rail obtained at Ribé, East Africa, by Mr. R. C. Ramshaw, which was proposed to be named Crex suahilensis—Mr. W. A. Forbes read a paper on the existence of a gall-bladder in, and on other points in the anatomy of, the Barbets and Toucans (Cafitonide). The peculiar form of the gall-bladder in these birds, as well as other features in their myology now described for the first time, were stated to make the relationship of this group to the Woodpeckers (Piczd@e) still more certain than it had previously been from the observations of Nitzsch, Kessler, Garrod, and others. Meteorological Society, December 21, 1881.—Mr. G. J- Symons, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The following were elected Fellows of the Society :—H. P. Bell, F. B. Edmonds, T. C. Evans, S. L. Fox, J. J. Gilbert, M. Henry, J. B. McCallum, J. Parry, and B. C. Wainwright.—The papers read were—The rainfall of Cherrapunji, by Prof. J. Eliot, M.A., F.M.S. Cherrapunji is notorious for its excessive rainfall, larger in amount it is believed, that any at other place, so far as is known, Cherrapunji is a small Indian station situated in the south-west of Assam, ona small plateau forming the summit of one of the spurs of the Khasia Hills. These hills rise on the south with exceeding abruptness, and have the Bengal plains and lowlands at their base, Cherrapunji stands on the summit of one of these hills, at an elevation of about 4100 feet. The hill on which it is situated rises precipitously from the lowlands of Cachar and Sylhet, which are barely 100 feet above sea-level. During the south-west monsoon the lower atmospheric current advancing across the coast of Bengal has a direction varying between south-south-west and south east in Lower and Central Bengal. In thus advancing almost directly towards the hills of Western Assam, the mountain ranges cause a very considerable deflection of the current ; one portion is forced upwards as an ascending current with a velocity directly dependent upon the strength of the current in the rear, and upon other condi- tions which need not be enumerated. The rapid diminution of temperature which accompanies expansion due to ascensional movement of air is usually followed by rapid condensation in the case of a moist current, such as the south-west monsoon current. Thenormal annual rainfall in Cachar and in the plains of Northern Bengal is about 100 inches, The average annual rainfall of Cherrapunji is 493 inches, that is, 393 inches in excess of that at the foot of the hills on whichitis situated. The rainfall of Cherrapunji is not due to any abnormal local condi- tions of atmospheric pressure, air movement, &c., but simply and solely owing to the presence of a vast mechanical obstruc- tion which converts horizontal air motion into vertical air motion.—On the meteorology of Cannes, France, by Dr. W. Marcet, F.R.S., F.M.S.. This is a discussion of the observa- tions made at this celebrated health-resort during the six winter seasons ending 1880.—Report on the phenological observations, 1881, by the Rev. T. A, Pre:ton, M.A., F.M.S. Royal Microscopical Sociey, December 14, 1881.—Prof. P. Martin Duncan, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Eight new Fellows were elected and nominated.—Mr. J. Deby exhibited his method of turning the correction-collar of objectives by a worm-wheel, acted upon by a tangent screw with a long arm, and Mr. Crisp exhibited Parkes’ drawing-room microscope and two new homogeneous immersion fluids from Dr. van Heurck of Antwerp.—Mr. T. Charters White described a new growing slide devised by him, and Mr. Stephenson exhibited scales of Machilis maritimus and Tomocerus plumbeus, mounted in phos- phorus under the binocular, with 1-25 inch objective, showing that the scales were plane on the under side and corrugated on the upper, a view which Mr. J. Beck controverted.—A note was read by Dr. Anthony on the statoblast of Lophopus crystallinus as a test for high powers. —Mr. Guimaraens exhibited the Echino- rhynchus of Lofa vulgaris, suggested to be a male specimen containing ova described as ‘‘dedans par hasard.”—Mr. A. D. Michael read a paper, further notes on British Ovibatide, which Prof. Huxley and others state to be wholly viviparous. He finds, however, that they are chiefly oviparous, as stated by Nicolet and others, and that the young are brought to maturity in at least four different modes ; (1) the egg is deposited in a slightly advanced stage, as in insects{ (2) deposited with the larva almost fully formed ; (3) the female is occasionally vivi- parous (in these modes only one egg is usually ripe at a time) ; (4) several ezgs are matured at once, but not deposited The mother dies, the contents of her body, except the eggs, dry up, and her chitinous exterior skeleton forms a protection throughout the winter to the eggs. The occurrence of a deutovium stage in NATURE 29 the egg is recorded, #.e. the egg has a hard shell, which splits into two halves as the contents increase in volume, the lining mem- brane showing between, and gradually becoming the true exterior envelope of the egg.—Several new and interesting species were described and figured, and exhibited under microscopes, Mr. W. H. Symons also read a paper on a hot or cold stage for the microscope. Geological Society, December 21, 1881.—Mr. R. Ethe- ridge, F.R.S. president, in the chair.—Messrs. Charles Duffin Barstow and Joseph Lundy were elected Fellows, and Prof, E. D. Cope, of Philadelphia, a Foreign Correspondent of the Society.—The following communications were read :—The Torridon Sandstone in relation to the Ordovician rocks of the Northern Highlands, by Mr. C. Caliaway, M.A., D.Sc., F.G.S. —The Precambian (Archean) rocks of Shropshire, part 2, by Mr. C, Callaway, D.Sc., F.G.S.—The red sands of the Arabian Desert, by Mr. J. A. Phillips, F.R.S., F.G.S. The author described the general characters of the Nefiid, of great red desert of Northern Arabia, which consists of a series of parallel ridges of considerable elevation, no doubt at some period piled up by the action of strong winds, but now no longer undergoing much change of position, as is evidenced by the fact that sticks and stones remain for many days uncovered on the surface, and that the landmarks made use of in crossing the desert appear to be permanent. A specimen of the sand of this desert received by the author from Lady Anne Blunt, ‘is composed of well- rounded red grains from 1-50th to 1-30th of an inch in their longest diameter, which are rendered colourless by treatment with hydrochloric acid, the material thus removed amounting to *21 per cent., or a little more than 1-5o0oth of the total weight operated upon, and consisting of ferric oxide with a small quantity of alumina. The sand dried after the action of hydro- chloric acid gave on analysis :— Silica Ss ees 98°53 Protoxide of iron 028 Alumina seg Bee ab0 088 Lime, magnesia, and alkalies trace 99°69 The external coating of ferric oxide must therefore have been deposited subsequently to the rounding of the grains ; it could not have been derived from an external decomposition of the grains themselves ; and it becomes difficult to imagine in what » manner the superficial red coating can have been produced, The author compared these grains with those of the millet-seed sand- stones of Triassic age, with which they closely agree in character, but remarked that the conditions of their occurrence were appa- rently quite different.—Analyses of five rocks from the Charn- wood Forest district, by Mr. E. E. Berry, communicated, with notes, by Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.G.S., Sec. G.S. EDINBURGH Royal Society, December 19, 1881.—Mr. D. Milne Home, vice-president, in the chair.—The Makdougall Brisbane prize fur the period 1878-80 was presented to Prof. Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer-Royal for Scotland, for his extremely valuable paper on ‘‘The Solar Spectrum in 1877-78.’—Sir Robert Christison communicated a short paper on the application of the rocks of the great precipice of Ben Nevis to ornamental work, in which he drew attention to the little-known but most magni- ficent view of the great precipice from below, characterising it as the grandest in the whole island. From the various kinds of granitic and porphyritic rocks there found, all of which are susceptible of a high polish, he had got constructed a very graceful obelisk, which was shown to the Society.—Dr. D. J. Hamilton exhibited and described certain physical experiments bearing on the circulation of the blood-corpuscles, from which he explained many points hitherto unexplained. ‘Ihus the rapid gliding central motion of the coloured corpuscles, and the slower rotational peripheral motion of the colourless corpuscles were to be explained by the fact that the latter were specifically lighter than the blood plasma, while the former were of the same specific gravity as the fluid in which they were borne along. Such a physical difference was sufficient to explain the phenomenon ; and that such a difference existed could easily be demonstrated by observation as to the parts of a blood-vessel in which the colourless corpuscles abound. The second part of the paper dealt with more purely pathological questions, referring, for example, the migration of the blood corpuscles from the blood- 260 vessels into the surrounding tissues simply to the increase of fluid pressure caused by stasis, and not to the amoeboid movements of the corpuscles, which are generally urged as the true cause. Dr. R, S. Marsden read a paper on the state of carbon in iron and steel, in which it was argued that the molten metal held the carbon in solution, and that, on cooling, the carbon crystallised out in minute diamond crystals, so giving to the metal its peculiar hardness and temper. Much would depend on the size and number of the crystals, and the size was obviously a function of the rate of cooling ; so it was quite conceivable that too much, as well as too little, carbon might have a deleterious effect upon the physical properties of the metal. Boston, U.S.A. American Academy of Arts and Sciences, December 14, 1881.—Prof. J. Lovering, president, in the chair.—Prof, C. L, Jackson and Mr, A. E. Menke presented the results of an investigation upon curcumin, The formula was shown to be C,4H\,O,. By the study of the potassium salts it was proved to be a diatomic monobasic acid. Powerful oxidising agents destroy it ; weaker agents, not in excess, give vanillin, but in too small quantity for purification; by oxidising diethyleurcu- min, however, with potassic permanganate the authors obtained ethylvanillic acid, with melting-point at 195°.—A paper on a comparison of the Harvard College Observatory Catalogue of Stars for 1875, with the fundamental systems of Auwers, Boss, Safford, and Newcomb, was read by Prof, William A. Rogers.—Dr. Wolcott Gibbs announced the discovery of the following new complex acids :—Arsenoso-molybdie acid, ar- senoso-tungstic acid, antimonoso-molybdic acid, antimonoso- tungstic acid, vanadoso-molybdic acid, vanadoso-tungstic acid, yanadio-phosphoric acid, vanadio-arsenic acid, vanadio-antimonic acid. All of these acids have well-defined series of salts.—A paper on the law of diffusion of gases was read by Mr. N. D, C. Hodges, PARIS Academy of Sciences, January 2.—M. Jamin in the chair. —M. Blanchard was elected Vice-President for 1882.—The Academy has lost three members during 1881, viz. MM. Delesse, Deville, and Bouillaud ; and two correspondents, MM. Kuhl- mann and Pierre. —M. Faye presented the Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes for 1882 ; it contains, zter alia, a complete table, with history, &c., of the comets of the last decade, by M. Leewy, and a fac-simile of M. Janssen’s photograph of the comet of last summer.—On the correction of compasses, and on M. Collet’s recent ‘‘ Treatise on the Regulation and the Compensation of the Compass,” by M. Faye.—Craniology of the Mongolian and white races, by MM. de Quatrefages and Hamy. They presented the tenth and last volume of their ‘‘ Crania Ethnica,” and gave a résumé of the contents. The different general forms of the human skull are found in each of the three chief races; but while among the black races, globular skulls, and among the yellow, elongated skulls, are rare, among the white the two cephalic types coexist in nearly equal proportions, The authors regard craniology as one of the most powerful means of scien- tific study of human races.—On the diffusion of solids, by M. Colson. Toa given temperature corresponds a constant coeffi- cient of diffusion of carbon in iron, This law holds only so long as the iron is transformed into steel. Among substances that diffuse very easily in carbon, silica holds the first place. Platinum wire, heated long enough with lampblack in an earthenware crucible, becomes crystalline, and has the com- position SiPt, (the silicum being from the crucible, whose silica is diffused in the lampblack), Repeating the ex- periment with lampblack holding 60 per cent. of precipitated silica, one obtains SiS,Pt;.—On the diffusion of carbon, by M. Violle. He had observed, in 1878, a diffusion of carbon in porcelain (temperature under 1500°),—Anchylostoma (duodenal anchylostoma of Dubini) in France, and the disease of miners, by M. Perroncito. ‘The miners’ anemia of Saint Etienne has the same parasitic cause as that of the workmen in the St. Gothard, the Schemnitz miners, &c, cleanliness and treatment of excrementitious matters with heat of 50° C, (to kill eggs, larva, and worms), or better, with concen- trated solutions of chloride of sodium, sulphuric, hydrochloric or carbolicacid, or Depernis’s insecticide liquid. Patients should be treated with doses of etherised extract of male fern,—On algebraic forms with several series of variables, by M. le Paize, —Integration of certain equations with partial derivatives, by means of definite integrals containing, under the sign s, the NATURE > | by M. Pouchet. The malady may be prevented by | product of two arbitrary functions, by M. Boussinesq.—On the theory of motion of planets, by M. de Casparis——On the determination of the ohm; reply to M. Brillouin, by M. Lippmann,—Measurement of potentials corresponding to de- terminate explosive distances, by M. Baille. The potential of an electrified plane increases nearly regularly with the explosive distance which can be traversed. The electric densities decrease at first slowly, reaching a constant value about 0.5 ctm. | The pressure of electricity on the air when a spark of o‘or m. passes 1s only 1-2000th of atmospheric pressure.—Note on the temperatures of the sea observed during the mission to Lapland, In the roadstead of Vadsé the mean sea- temperature rose about 9° in 50 days from June8 (or abont 0°°2 a day). A cooling influence of the coast was observed to 1} miles and to a depth of room. at the Vadsé anchorage (a difference of about 1° for depths of 20 to 3om.), The temperature always decreased very regularly to the bottom.—On the ratio of potash to soda in natural waters, by M, Clooéez. This relates to water of the Seine, Marne, Dhnis, Vanne, &c. In general the potash counts for more than 1-5th in the sum of alkalis (potash 25, soda 100), and while the potash comes from decomposition of felspathic rocks, the soda is probably from chloride of sodium impregnating all the strata, except granitic soils. The Vanne, rising in the chalk and not meeting argillaceous deposits, has no salts of potash.—On the complex function of morphine, its transformation into picric acid, and its solubility, by M. Chastaing.—On artificial production of the forms of organic elements, by MM. Monnier and Vogt. He obtains cells, tubes, &c., by bringing together two salts in a liquid, forming by double decomposition one or two insoluble salts. —Researches on development of cryptogamic vegetation without and within hens’ eggs, by M. Dareste. Such vegetation he found on most of sixty eggs submitted singly to artificial incubation in a small vessel hermetically closed with a caoutchouc stopper. He con- siders the spores to have entered the oviduct from the cloaca and to have been incarcerated in the egg during its passage in the oviduct. The vegetation may be fatal to the embryo.—On a parasitic tuberculosis of the dog and on the pathogeny of tuberculous follicle, by M, Laulanié. He observed in a dog’s lung alterations very like those of tuberculosis, produced by eggs of a nematoid (Strongy/us vasorum, Baillet). VIENNA Imperial Institute of Geology, December 6, 1881.—G, Laube, on melaphyry-stones inclosed in the porphyry of Lie- benau (Bohemia). — R. Hoernes, on the remains of mam- malia found in the brown coal at Goeriach, near Turnan, Styria.—Th. Fuchs, on the relations of heat and light of the ocean,—L. Szajnocha, exhibition of the geological map of Taslo and Krosmo in Western Gallicia. December 20.—C. Doelter, on the voleanic rocks of the Cape Verde IJslands:—R. Hoernes, exhibition of remains of mam- malia from the Styrian brown coal-deposits.—G, Stache, new data on the occurrence of olivin-rocks on the gneiss mountains of Southern Tyrol.—V. Uhlig, on the composition of the lime- rocks at Lublau (Hungary). CONTENTS CLERK-MAXxwetv’s ‘f ELECTRICITY AND MaGneTisM.” By Prof. G. CHRYSTAL., © oie 8 ee) oe we! EN oP all Cee on ee Our Book SHELF :— “« The Zoological Record for 1880"" . . » + e+ + + ss 5 240 Naeher’s “Land und Leute in der brasilianischen Provinz Bahia 240 Letrrrs TO THE Epirok :— : A Glimpse through the Corridors of Time.—Prof. T. H. Huxtey. rR Pace Outburst of Sun-Spots, July 25, 188x.—J. B. N. HENNESSEY. . . 24 Polymorphism of the Flower-Heads of Cenfaurea Facea,—Dr. HERMANN Micurr . elle 2 6 oe en a ny The Weather.—Ri MCLACHLAN « + » 0 es w ele « = THe TRANSIT OF VENUS IN 1882. . . + 5 + + s 4 5 se 0 B42 On THE Puysicat Cause oF THE OckAN Basins. By the Rev, O Fiswgr, F.R.S. . . - 243 CLAsstFICATION oF THE DinosauRtA. By Prof.O.C. MARSH. « . 244 THe TAY AND THE FortH BripGes (With Diagram). . « « « + 246 NOTRR SE seas ib) 48 kee 5 Bh Suan Paysite, ile By Capt. Abvey, RES RRS. UM uiomaetanes or cite TRMNOPLEURIDA. i By Prof. P. M. Duncan, 7 Univebires ‘AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE - 3% ; 3 ved a Savesngere SERIALS 1.8 ec }) @ oe ds a ae 8 Ne Be SS eae SocigTigs AND ACADEMIES I) I aa am 261 THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1882 OUR NATIONAL DEFENCES HE inaugural address of the President of the Institu- tion of Civil Engineers, delivered last week, was of more than usual interest. Selecting as his subject our national defences, Sir William Armstrong was enabled by his great experience and world-wide reputation to give much greater weight to his opinions than any other engineer at the present day. The subject, too, is one to which attention can now be readily directed, as the public mind has of late been somewhat rudely awakened to the fact that our national armaments have not been making the same progress as those of certain foreign powers, and the comfortable belief that we were strong enough to withstand the attack of any possible combination of other nations has given place to a feeling of distrust in our Government establishments. There can be no doubt that the general public was not a little surprised to find that ironclads and heavy guns of a power at least equal to the best in our service were for sale ready made, so to say, in the shop-windows of some of our manufacturers, and had, on the alarm of war with Russia, to be hastily purchased by the Government to prevent their falling into the pos- - session of a hostile power. Sir William Armstrong first discusses the question of armour. The early ironclads, such as the Wavvrior, were plated throughout nearly their entire length with 44-inch armout ; aS guns were produced of greater penetration, the thickness of armour was increased and the protected area diminished until in all the latest ships it has come to be restricted only to the battery, all vital points of the machinery being placed out of harm’s way below the water-line. “Everything of importance that projectiles could destroy would be kept below water-level, and so far as artillery-fire was concerned, the ships would be secured against sinking by an under-water deck and ample division into compartments. Armour therefore seems gradually contracting to the vanishing point.” Sir William plainly considers that the days of armour-plating are numbered, and he strongly argues in favour of its abandonment at least in many types of ship. As the basis of his argument he takes the comparative cost of an unarmoured and an armoured vessel capable of carrying the same weight and number of guns, and states that three of the former could be constructed for one of the latter; which then, he asks, would be the better investment? In the first place the three unarmoured ships could have higher speed, and if their guns were capable of piercing the plating of the ironclad there can be no doubt that their numerical superiority would enable them to win an easy victory if the three were matched against the one. If the ironclad was impenetrable by the guns of her adversaries they could still, by their greater speed and handiness, be enabled to come to close quarters and attack to the greatest advantage with torpedo and by ramming, unless disabled by their opponent’s fire ; and this Sir William considers may be provided against without difficulty by means of an underwater deck, and by- placing all ma- chinery below the water level. It would still remain for the ironclad to strike a fatal blow, by means of torpedoes, VOL. xxv.—No. 638 at any one of her adversaries who came to close quarters; but as the chances of this would be equal for either ship the advantage still remains with the larger number. We quite agree with Sir William Armstrong in his conclusion that light unarmoured ships of high speed, with every possible means of protection other than armour-plating, are what the country would most require in case of war, but they must be provided in sufficient numbers. In estimating from the basis of cost the proportionate number of armoured and unarmoured ships as one to three, we cannot but think that Sir William has over- looked the cost of repairs and of the maintenance and pay of the officers and crews; if this were taken into consideration, as well as the original outlay, the propor- tion would have to be reduced to something like two to one. In addition to the many advantages so ably pointed out by Sir William in favour of his policy, it should be borne in mind that an unarmoured vessel could always be brought up to date by the substitution of new engines and boilers and guns of an improved type, until fairly worn out, while an ironclad cannot be prevented from becoming obsolete a few years after completion. “Tt might perhaps be rash entirely to abandon armour so long as other nations continued to use it, because nothing but the experience of an actual war would remove all question as to its possible utility ; but, considering the indisputable value of a numerous fleet of swift and power- fully armed ships built with a view of obtaining the maxi- mum amount of unarmoured defence, and considering that such ships, unlike armour-clads, could never grow much out of date, it did seem expedient that the chief expenditure of this country should be upon ships of that description.” Sir William Armstrong then deals with the question of our mercantile marine being able to furnish a supply of vessels fit for conversion into cruisers, and says, “ Where are there to be found amongst trading or passenger steamers, vessels possessing a speed of sixteen knots with engines and boilers below water-levei, and having an under-water deck to save them from sinking when pene- trated at or below the water-line? From his own expe- rience he knew how difficult it was to adapt mercantile vessels to the purposes of war, and how unsatisfactory they were when the best had been made of them.”’ But if these vessels cannot be adapted for war purposes in case of need, why, it may be asked, should not specially designed and constructed cruisers be employed for mer- cantile purposes ? If a number were built by private firms, certain prefer- ences and advantages could be given to their employment in commerce ; for example, as giving mail contracts and the contracts for the conveyance of troops and Government materials in time of peace, only to those shipowners who kept in a serviceable condition in their carrying business a certain proportion of cruisers. A vessel of the cruiser type would of course labour under some disadvantages in competition with a ship built entirely for passenger and cargo purposes, but this would be compensated by the advantages given to her owners ; and to use for mercantile purposes a number of vessels specially built for the pro- tection of commerce in case of war must assuredly be more economical than to keep the same number laid up in port or cruising about the world for the sake of em- ploying their crews. In connection with this system we N 262 might also have a naval reserve, to be employed chiefly on board the mercantile cruisers and liable to service for a short period every year or two on board a commissioned ship of similar type. Referring to harbour defence, Sir William pointed out that many of our ironclad forts had already become obso- lete, and gave the place of first importance to gunboats, in combination with torpedo launches and submarine mines, all of which he suggested might be managed by a well-trained corps of volunteer engineers resident on the spot. Here again it is evident that Sir William does not think, great though our present expenditure is, that enough is done for the efficient protection of the country, and rather than advise an increased outlay he judiciously seeks, by the improvement of the system, to obtain better results for the same money. Sir William then referred briefly to the progress made in the manufacture of guns since the introduction of rifling, but made no special allusion to the improved breech-loaders constructed by his own firm for foreign powers, and which have long been known to be much supe- rior to anything in our own service; in fact, while guns of this type are now beginning to receive the serious con- sideration of our Government departments, their original designers have for some time turned their attention to something newer still and far more powerful. Sir William shortly described the latest system upon which experi- ments are being made at Elswick. In this system the coils surrounding the central tube consist of steel ribbon wound on spirally at a certain tension. It is apparent that no longitudinal strength is obtained in the coils by this method ; and to supply this deficiency, longitudinal layers of ribbon steel are interposed at every fourth cir- cular layer. = The advantages of the system are that steel, in the form of wire or drawn ribbon, possesses far greater tena- city than in any other form, and that the initial tension at each point in the coils of the gun can be accurately adjusted. The first gun of this type was a 6-inch breech- loader, tried in the beginning of 1880, and so satisfactory were the results, that a 1o-inch gun of 21 tons weight has since been constructed, and is now under trial, The importance of working heavy guns on board ship by engine-power was pointed out as lessening the number of men exposed, and the objection that the machinery was liable to be disabled by an enemy’s fire, was shown to apply equally to the mechanism required for hand- power. In concluding Sir William adverted to a subject of grave importance. “Our navy was at present armed with guns whieh could not be expected to contend suc- cessfully with the best modern guns that could be brought against them.” ‘Our service guns had simply been overtaken in that rapid progress of artillery which had been going on for the last eight or ten years,” “Tn the mean time no expense should be spared in judicious experiments, seeing that the expense of experi- ments was trifling in comparison with that of mistakes. Above all, the Government should pursue such a course as would bring into full play the abundant engineering resources of this highly mechanical country, for increasing the efficacy of our national defences.” On this last and most important point we have before laid stress in these columns. We have before pointed NATURE [Fan. 19, 1882 out that the keen commercial competition for foreign orders amongst private firms fosters a vitality and vigorous growth in the direction of any improvement or new development which is invisible, and would probably be felt inconvenient in our Government factory. It would surely then be to the advantage of this country to avail ourselves of the energy and enterprise of our private firms instead of allowing them chiefly to benefit our foreign competitors. THE SUN The Sun. By C. A. Young, Ph.D., LL.D. International Scientific Series. (Appleton, New York.) INCE the method of artificial eclipses was introduced in 1868 Prof. Young, the author of the book under notice, has from time to time done good work in utilising the capital climate of his native country and his relatively superior optical means to confirm in many essentia] points and to add a little shading here and there, to the bold outlines of the new science, for which we are in- debted to his predecessors. The book, which deals with the sun in the most general manner, will be read with interest, as its style, though not brilliant, is popular, and such questions as the sun’s dis- tance and the various instrumental means now at the disposal of astronomers for increasing our present know- ledge are very clearly referred to, while those whose acquaintance with spectrum analysis is not very intimate, will be able to gather from the volume much interesting information conveyed in an agreeable form. To those who have followed with some keenness the recent progress of solar physics that part of Prof. Young’s book which refers to the hypothesis of the dissociation of the elementary bodies at the temperature of the sun will possess much interest, the more so as the author has been freely quoted as objecting to the hypothesis zz fo/o. On this account we do not think it inappropriate to give in Prof. Young's own words his views on this point It is the more important to do this because very few beyond the number of those who have been more or less engaged in the inquiry have any conception of the re- markable character of the facts which have been accumu- lated during the last thirteen years, or of the way in which they refuse to be included in the previous hypothesis according to which we were really in presence of ter- restrial elements in the sun and stars, the old hypothesis being based upon the asserted identity of the solar and stellar spectra with those seen in various terrestrial light sources. The extracts run as follows :— “When we recollect that the non-apparent elements con- stitute a great portion of the earth’s crust, the question at once forces itself : What is the meaning of their seeming absence? Do they really not exist on the sun, or do they simply fail to show themselves; and, if so, why? The answer to the question is not easy, and astronomers are not agreed upon it. Mr. Lockyer has, however, proposed a theory which, if established, would remove most if not all of the spectroscopic difficulties. He thinks that our elements are not really elementary, but built of molecules themselves composite and capable of dissociation by the action of heat. Thus, a mass of chlorine, for instance may at a certain temperature break up into constituents Fan. 19, 1882] “NATURE 263 and so it may easily be the case that at solar temperatures certain of our terrestrial elements cannot exist, or, if they exist at all, can do so only in certain very restricted regions of the solar atmosphere. “One strong argument in favour of this view is found in the fact, now we think beyond dispute, that the same substance may, under different circumstances, give widely different spectra. ...” “There seem to be at least three possible explanations of these facts. One is, to suppose that the luminous * substance, without any change in its own constitution, vibrates differently and emits different rays under varying circumstances, just as a metal plate emits various notes according to the manner in which it is held and struck. The second assumes that the substance, without losing its chemical identity, undergoes changes of molecular structure (assumes allotropic forms) under the varying circumstances which produce the change in its spectrum. According to either of these views, although we can safely infer from the presence of the known lines of an element in the solar spectrum, its presence in the solar atmosphere, we cannot legitimately draw any negative conclusion ; the substance may be present, but in such a state under the solar conditions as to give a spectrum different from any with which we are acquainted. “The other and simplest explanation is to suppose, with Mr. Lockyer, that the changes in the spectrum of a body are indications of its decomposition, the spectrum of the original substance being replaced by the superposed spectra of its constituents.” “Another point which favours Mr. Lockyer’s view is this : Certain substances have numerous lines apparently common. Thus, if one runs over Angstrém’s map of the solar spectrum, he will find about twenty-five lines marked as belonging both to iron and calcium. The same thing is true of iron and titanium to a still greater extent, and to a considerable degree of several other pairs of sub- stances. This fact might be explained in several ways. The common lines may be due, first, to impurities in the materials worked with; or, second, to some common constituent in the substances (which is Mr. Lockyer’s view); or, third, to some similarity of molecular mass or structure which determines an identical vibration-period for the two substances ; or, finally, it may be that the supposed coincidence of the lines is only apparent and approximate—not real and exact—in which case a spec- troscope of sufficient dispersive power would show the want of coincidence.” “Now, Mr. Lockyer, by a series of most laborious re- searches, has proved that many of the coincidences shown on the map are merely due to impurities... .. But when all is done, we find that certain of the common lines persist, becoming more and more conspicuous with every added precaution taken to insure purity of materials. ‘Moreover, when one of the substances, say the cal- cium, is subjected to continually increasing temperatures, its spectrum is continually modified, and these basic lines, as Mr. Lockyer calls them, are the ones which become increasingly conspicuous, while others disappear. This is just what ought to happen if they are due to some element common to both iron and calcium—an element liberated in increasing abundance with every rise of temperature ” (pp. 89-92). “©A given element often has several entirely different spectra. Changes, such as have been mentioned, go on up to a certain point, and then, suddenly, an entirely new spectrum appears, not having apparently the slightest connection with the one which preceded it any more than if it came from an entirely different element or mixture _ of elements ; as, in fact, according to Mr. Lockyer’s view, is probably the case. ‘Now, in the solar spectrum, the dark lines charac- teristic of an element are all coincident with the bright lines of its gaseous spectrum ; but it is not often the case that the relative width and intensity of the solar lines match those of the bright lines in the spectrum obtained by artificial means” (pp. 96-97). “Tn the motion-distortions of lines Lockyer finds strong confirmation of his ideas. It not unfrequently happens that in the neighbourhood of a spot certain of the lines which we recognise as belonging to the spec- trum of iron give evidence of violent motion, while close to them other lines, equally characteristic of the labora- tory spectrum of iron, show no disturbance at all. If we admit that what we call the spectrum of iron is really formed in our experiments by the superposition of two or more spectra belonging to its constituents, and that on the sun these constituents are for the most part restricted to different regions of widely varying pressure, tempera- ture, and elevation, it becomes easy to see how one set of the lines may be affected without the other ” (p. 100-101). It will be gathered then from these extracts that in Prof. Young’s opinion, whatever that opinion may be worth, and we for our part attach great value to it, the new hypothesis does get rid of a good many of the difficulties of the old one, and surely this is the best justification any worker in science can have for sug- gesting an hypothesis. It is to be noted also that several of the various converging lines of evidence, espe- cially those depending on the changes in spectra, are referred to. It is imagined by some that the new hypo- thesis breaks down if a line apparently coincident in the spectra of two substances at small dispersion should turn out to be non-coincident when a higher power is em- ployed, while the fact is that the assumption that there should be such coincident lines, if we can reach a particular temperature, is based upon one manner of behaviour of compound bodies to the exclusion of another, and on such points as these we are as yet in profound darkness. The chapter on the sun’s light and heat, and the appendix on Prof. Langley’s recent work will well repay perusal. THUDICUM’S ANNALS OF CHEMICAL MEDICINE Annals of Chemical Medicine. Vols. 1.and Il. By J. L. W. Thudicum, M.D. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1879.) HOSE who open this work expecting to find it adequately fulfilling the promise of its title will be disappointed. Had they read the initial preface they would have been prepared for this, for it indicates very clearly the intention of the promised series, of which the first two volumes are now published. Dr. Thudicum is well known as the author of numerous researches in Animal Chemistry, which are chiefly re- markable for the large number of new bodies described in them, and the somewhat fantastic names he has assigned to these bodies. Somehow or other the results of these researches have not met with that general acceptance which their author desires ; indeed they have in many cases been either to a great extent passed over or else their value called into question by those who have repeated his experiments or worked at the same parts of the subject. This is clearly recognised by the author in the preface to the first volume, and has accord- ingly led him, on the assumption that one cause, among 264 \ others, of this neglect is the scattered nature of his pub- lications, to commence republishing his researches in a “consolidated” form with the addition of new work. Whether this will in future prevent the neglect under which the author feels he has laboured remains to be seen ; that he himself so far is satisfied with the results following the appearance of the first volume is evident from the preface to the second. The only original matter in these volumes other than that of the author consists of one short note by the authors son, so that there has apparently been no response to the invitation to contribute to these “Annals” which was issued with the first volume. The larger part of each volume is made up of a series of summaries of work which has been done in various branches of Physiological Chemistry; these contain a good deal of information of a fragmentary kind, but can scarcely be regarded as adequately presenting to the reader the present state of opinion on the subjects of which they treat. This is especially the case in the summaries con- tained in the second volume. “ Visual-purple” receives very rough treatment in Article III. ; the account of re- searches on the source of urea in the body is anything but complete, and the same may be said of Article XVIIL., on fibrin and its precursors. It is, however, only fair to say that many of the summaries are much less open to objection. The preface to the first volume contains a charge of malevolent and ignorant opposition to the author’s work, which reaches its full development in his concluding remarks to Article XIX., on the existence of Protagon ; in these he accuses those whose work is opposed to his own, not only of incompetence, but of what is best known as “cooking” ; he speaks of them as obtaining “‘ extracts of uniform composition ’’ ‘‘ by the aid of processes nearly akin to trimming.’’ The reference isobvious. Similarly in the second volume, Article XVI., ‘‘ Modern Text-Books as Impediments to the Progress of Animal Chemistry,” consists of a review of Prof. Gamgee’s ‘‘ Text-Book of Physiological Chemistry,” in which this work is charac- terised as ‘‘humiliating to scientific literature.” Com- ment on this article may safely be left to the individual judgment of those who take the trouble to read it. It may, however, not be out of place to suggest here that a continuance of this tone in future volumes towards those whose work is at variance with the author’s, will un- doubtedly do much to alienate from him any sympathy with the “ Annals” which physiologists might otherwise have been inclined to extend to them. OUR BOOK SHELF Kufra. Retse von Tripolis nach der Oase Kufra. By Gerhard Rohlfs. With Eleven Drawings and Three Maps. (Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1881.) THIS new volume of travels by Dr. Gerhard Rohlfs is a valuable contribution to a knowledge of the southern parts of the Vilayet of Tripolis and of the Lybian Desert. In December 1878, Herr Rohlfs, accompanied by Dr. Stecker, started from Tripoli, and soon reached the interesting oasis of Djofra, or Sokna, already known from the travels of many Europeans. Thence he proceeded east-south-east to Aujila, crossing the formerly quite un- known tracts of the sandy and stony deserts situated at NATURE [ Fan. 1g, 1882 the north-eastern foot of the Black Mountains. He reached the green and pretty oasis of Sella, which is one of the richest of the Eastern Sahara, and has no less than 100,000 palm-trees, and large flocks of camels. Going further east to Abu-Naim, Herr Rohlfs did not follow the usual route, but, avoiding encounters with robbers, he made a great bend towards the south, having thus the opportunity of visiting the hilly tracts of the spurs of the Harauj-assod Mountains, watered during the rainy season by numerous Wadi. On March 24, 1879, he reached the small but wealthy Abu-Naim, whose numerous fossils, as well as foraminifera scattered in its sands, will probably attract the attention of future ex- plorers, Herr Rohlfs’ collection having been plundered by robbers. A few days later he was in Aujila, which he already had visited in 1869. But his further advance being checked by the fanaticism of the inhabitants, he was compelled to send Dr. Stecker, and one month later to go himself to Bengasi, on the Mediterranean coast, to obtain there some protection for his journey to Kufra. It was only in July that he was enabled to return to Aujila, and to start for Kufra, 350 kilometres distant due south of Aujila. The oasis, situated between 26° and 24° N. lat., and 21° to 24° E. long., is elevated 250 to 400 metres above the sea-level, and is far larger than it was expected, as it covers 17,818 square kilometres. It must have been once a great salt lake, and even now it is covered with brackish marshes, and has a small lake; but sweet water is found everywhere in this oasis ata small depth, and throughout its length and breadth it is covered with vegetation. From Kufra Herr Rohlfs re- turned to Bengasi, after his caravan had been plundered by the inhabitants. The work contains interesting observations on the sinking of the North African coast, and gives a good description of the physico-geographical conditions of the Eastern Sahara. There are illustrations and a map of the region visited, and more detailed maps of Djofra and Kufra. In the second part of the book we finda list of new routes in Tripolitania; a list of tempera- tures of wells, observed by Dr. Stecker; a paper on altitudes and on meteorological observations by Dr. Hann; papers on the Amphibia and Arthropoda col- lected by the Expedition, by Dr. Karsch; and an elaborate paper, by Dr. Ascherson, on the plants col- lected during the last seventy years in Central Africa— the catalogue of Dr. Ascherson mentions 437 plants from Tripolitania, 200 from Fezzan, 48 from the Aujila oases, and 493 from Cyrenaica. Tables of Qualitative Analysis. By H. G. Madan. (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1881.) Ir is surely high time that students of chemistry were taught qualitative analysis by some other method than by following a very complicated table of analysis. That very important stage of chemical learning, qualitative analysis, would be much more thoroughly mastered if the student were well exercised in the reactions of the elementary substances, and then led to construct methods of separa- tion himself. He would by this means become indepen- dent of tables and books in the laboratory. Students who are accustomed to work with, or follow,a table, often lose much time in finding where they are working on the table, and get on the “ left side” of the group when they should be on the other. The tables before us would doubtless be useful to an advanced student, but appear certainly very complicated to be put into the hands of a beginner. No notice is taken of the so-called rare ele- ments, but a good table of solubilities is supplied—a part of an analysis book that students might benefit by con- sulting a little oftener than is usually the case, Although produced in the usual good style of the Clarendon Press, a somewhat smaller form would perhaps be more con- venient for use on the laboratory benches. Fan. 19, 1882] < NATURE 265 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripis. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and nevel facts.) Tidal Evolution and Geology Ir appears to me that the difference of opinion between Mr, George Darwin and his interpreter, Dr. Ball, is very small. Dr. Ball is careful to confine his large tides to the Eozoic rocks, and has not asserted their efficacy in Carboniferous times. The Laurentian rocks form nearly 19 per cent. of the total known thickness of strata of all ages, and occur at the bottom of all ; but we must ascend through nearly 66 per cent. of the total thickness before we reach the lowest bed of the Carboniferous period ; and it is plain that Mr. Darwin’s large tides may have existed (as Dr. Ball suggests) in the Eozoie period, and have become much smaller before the Carboniferous period began. The real importance, in my opinion, of a large tide considered as a geological agent, depends upon its rise and fall, and not upon its ebb and flow. The waves of the sea, agitated by the wind, make the ocean surface a vast planing-machine, acting upon the coast-lines ; and a great range of tide applies this planing-engine either twice or four times a day to every part of the coast laid bare by the rise and fall of tide. The effects must have been very serious when the day was six or eight hours long. The claim for priority made on behalf of Kant, by the meta- physicians, must be set aside, as Kant’s statement was not based on sound dynamical principles. SAMUEL HAUGHTON Trinity College, Dublin, January 17 I was much interested in reading Prof. Ball’s lecture in NATURE, vol, xxy. p. 79, but failed to understand the follow- ing passage on p. 81:—‘‘ Zhe reaction of the earth tends to inerease that distance, and to force the moon to revolve in an orbit which is continually getting larger and larger.” In what sense does the reaction of the earth tend to ‘“‘drive away’’ the moon? Will the Royal Astronomer of Ireland, or some other friend of science, be so kind as to add a few words of explanation ? ape Be The Remarkable White Spot on Jupiter EARLY in the present month this singular object became obscured, so that on January 1 I could scarcely distinguish it at all, and on the 3rd, 5th, and 6th it was noted as extremely faint. The origin of the spot’s disappearance was obvious. A dark mass on the north border of the great south belt (and therefore in the same latitude as the white spot) appeared on December 14 ; it followed the white spot 1h. 4m., according to observations by Mr. A. S. Williams at Brighton. The dark spot moved with more rapidity than the latter, and soon overtook it, so that as the former swept over it, its disappearance was complete, On January 6 the white spot was seen struggling through the south- east limits of the dark patch. On January 7 it had further freed itself, and I saw it much plainer, though it still continued some- what faint. On January 9 it was bright, and evidently on the point of regaining its normal brilliancy, The dark patch re- ferred to is obviously of the same character as the train of black spots visible on one of the northern belts last winter ; they move with even greater velocity than the white spot, and are somewhat evanescent as regardsduration, They appear to be excrescences from the surface of Jupiter, and as they near the outer enve- lopes, are dispersed into longitudinal bands ; in fact, it is these dark spots which sustain the decided tone of the belts, for the latter show a disposition to become fainter, until reinforced by the commingling of these dark eruptions. As to the brilliant white spot, itis an object of notable per- manency ; and though it failed to come generally under notice until October, 1880, it had probably been a conspicuous mark- ing on Jupiter during the few preceding years. Certainly in 1879 it was very bright, and several times observed by Dr. F. Terby at Louvain, and Mr. J. Gledhill of Mr. Crossley’s obser- vatory, Halifax. I computed back the dates of its conjunctions with the red spot, and found the following nights in 1879-80 when it might have been well observed :— 1879, September 1 1879, November 29 », October 16 1880, January 13 The date of November 29 is amply confirmed both by Dr. Terby and Mr. Gledhill as follows :— 1879, November 27, 5h. 40m., a brilliant white spot (‘* Tache brilliante et blanche ”’) slightly east of the £ end of the red spot. —Terby. 1879, November 29, 6h. 30m., a bright gap into north border of the great south belt. It is situated about a quarter the dis- tance from the middle to the g. end of red spot.—Gledhill. In two days the white spot traverses an extent of longitude equivalent to half the length of the red spot, so that the above observations are quite consistent, and there can be no doubt that they relate to the curious object at present visible. Mr, Gled- hill’s drawing of November 29 shows the spot to be some twelve hours past conjunction with the red, so that the pheno- menon probably occurred on the morning of November 29, which is not far from the computed time. The ensuing conjunc- tion on January 13, 1880, is confirmed by Dr. Terby. On January 11, 6h. 16s., he saw a brilliant white spot occupying the same longitude as the fend of the red, which is exactly the computed place, and there can be little doubt that these white spots are identical with each other and with the white spot of to-day. Mr. Gledhill’s drawings supply other interesting facts. Thus at 6h. 45m. both on November 13 and December 8, 1879, there was a brilliant white spot or gap (in the north side of the great southern belt) about 3h. past the central meridian. These ob- servations again conform to the positions of the present spot, which in the interval between the two dates mentioned had per- formed sixty-one rotations. It is curious that at periods of twenty-five days (equal November 13 — December 8 as above) the transits of the white spot recur at very nearly similar times. Mr. Gledhill’s observed conjunction of November 29, 1879, compared with my own similar observations on December 24 last year proves that the white spot had completed seventeen revolutions of Jupiter in the 756 days! If possible it is important to trace still further back the apparitions of the white spot. The special brilliancy of this object and its unique position indenting the north side of the southern belt, could hardly escape notice unless indeed the spot was temporarily obscured, as it sometimes is, when the dark patches sweep over it. This brilliant spot should have been nearly in the same longitude as the red spot on the following dates in the last half of 1878 :— July 29 September 11 Can observers furnish any additional links in the previous history of this wonderful object ? W. F, DENNING Ashley down Bristol, January 10 October 26 December 10 Fossil Insects of the Dakota Group THERE are till now, as far as I know, no fossil insects out of the Dakota group published. Among a large number Of fossils belonging to this group, and collected by Mr. Chas. H. Stern- berg, some of the leaves show insect galls and mines, the latter mostly of a decided Tineid and Tortricid character. I'erhaps a list of those plants may be of interest. The determination of the plants is by Mr. L. Lesquereux:— logy? Thus— “The saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing is, to my mind, a very dangerous adage. If know- ledge is real and genuine I do not believe that it is other than a very valuable possession, however infinitesimal its quantity may be. Indeed, if a little knowledge is dan- gerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger?” If the life-long labours of the greatest physiologist of his age—William Harvey—had revealed to him a tenth part of the knowledge which may now be made sound and real to our boys and girls “he would have loomed upon the seventeenth century as a sort of intellectual portent.” The address on “ Joseph Priestley” is an exceedingly interesting biographical and historical sketch, and is fol- lowed by the essay on “ The Method of Zadig,” which, from having been so recently published in the Wevefeenth Century, will be fresh in the memory of most readers. The lecture on “The Border Territory between the Animal and the Vegetable Kingdoms ” was delivered at the Royal Institution in January, 1876, and is a masterly piece of biological exposition, which “tends to the con- clusion that the difference between animal and plant is one of degree rather than of kind; and that the problem whether, in a given case, an organism is an animal or a plant, may be essentially insoluble.”’ The essay “On certain Errors respecting the Structure of the Heart attributed to Aristotle,” having been origin- ally published in NATURE (vol. xxi. p. 1) need not detain us now; we shall therefore pass on to the next in the series, and the one which has excited more interest and discussion than any of the others. This is the Evening Lecture before the British Association in 1874, “ On the Hypothesis that Animals are Conscious Automata ;” and both as regards the interest of its subject-matter and the logical precision with which the argument is stated, we think that it deserves to be considered the most important essay in the series. It is now universally known what the argument is, and how with irrefragable sequence it leads us to the conclu- sion that— “Consciousness would appear to be related to the mechanism of the body simply as a collateral product of its working, and to be as completely without any power of modifying that working as the steam-whistle which accompanies the work of a locomotive engine is without influence upon its machinery.” There can be no doubt that the logic by which this conclusion is reached is everywhere intact ; but there is one important criticism to which the “hypothesis” in question is open, and which, as it has not we believe been hitherto clearly advanced, we may briefly state. The hypothesis rests on the fact that there is a constant parallelism between cerebral processes and mental pro- cesses, and as this fact cannot be attributed to accident and is not attributed by the hypothesis of automatism to any pre-established harmony, there remains only the supposition that the true processes are in some way inti- mately associated. Some intimate association between neurosis and psychosis being thus accepted as a fact by the hypothesis of automatism, the whole question which this hypothesis raises may be briefly put thus :—If the stream of mental activity were withdrawn, could the stream of cerebral activity with which it is now asso- ciated continue in exactly the same way, or could it not? In other words, is the constant relation which now sub- sists between the two processes necessary or unnecessary to the occurrence of the latter? The hypothesis of auto- matism virtually answers that the relation is unnecessary, and this on the ground of its being inconceivable that it should be necessary. But now let us ask, Is it any more conceivable that this relation should be unnecessary ? Certainly not, because the inconceivability resides in the fact of there being some relation, and is not affected whether we choose to regard the character of this relation as necessary or unnecessary. We may try in thought to refine this relation, and to re-refine it again and again, until we conceive of mental processes as mere indices cf corresponding neural processes; but so long as we accept the belief that there is amy one point of contact between these two sets of processes, so long are we in the presence of just the same difficulty as when we started. Having driven the soul into some minute pineal gland of unnecessary relation, we find after all that we have gained nothing on the side of conceiva- bility ; we find it is no more easy to understand the soul as located in this little gland of unnecessary relation, than to understand it as distributed over the whole brain- work of intimate and necessary relation. The hypothesis of automatism would thus appear to contain the elements of its own destruction. For while accepting a fact which renders either the affirmation or the negation of the hypothesis alike inconceivable—viz. the fact of there being @ connection between neurosis and psychosis—it nevertheless proceeds to choose one of these alternatives in preference to the other; and this on the sole ground of inconceivability. Of course in advancing this criticism we are not our- selves arguing for any theory. We are merely observing that as in the theory of automatism there is, er hypothes?, some connection between neurosis and psychosis which is of a nature not merely unknown but inconceivable, the theory can have no right to affirm, or even to infer, that this connection is unnecessary ; and common sense will, therefore, have as much reason as ever to disbelieve that if consciousness had never appeared upon the scene of life, railway trains would now have been running filled with mindless passengers, and telephones would have been invented by brains that could not think, to speak to ears that could not hear. Thus, until it is shown who or what it is that blows the whistle of consciousness in the simile of the steam-engine, we must conclude that the hypothesis of conscious automatism is nothing more than an emphatic re-statement of the truth, that the rela- tion between body and mind is a relation which has so far proved inconceivable." Essay X. is on “‘ Sensation and the Unity of Structure of Sensiferous Organs.” It presents a 7ésumé of some of the older theories of sensation, and a clear statement of the modern generalisation that “ whatever be the apparent diversities among the sensiferous apparatus, they share certain common characters,’ &c. T Tt is no answer to say that the dvazz blows this whistle, for even if a causal relation is assumed, it is no more concezvadle that this should extend from neurosis to psychosis than that it should extend from psychosis to neurosis. 336 “Evolution in Biology” is an entertaining history of the contest between the theories of Epigenesis and Meta- morphosis, passing on to a brief account of the facts relating to the “ Evolution of the Individual”’ as brought to light by modern embryology, and of the “ Evolution of the Sum of Living Beings,’’ as previously taught by the older theorists, and as now taught by a conjunction of the sciences. ©n the two addresses that remain it is needless to comment, as one of them—viz. that which was delivered before the International Medical Congress in August last —must be well within the recollection of our readers, and the other “On the Coming of Age of the ‘Origin of Species, ” has already been printed in these columns (1880). We may, however, fitly conclude our necessarily inadequate review of so much: admirable writing by again printing the beautiful peroration of this address. » ‘«T venture to repeat what I have said before, that, so far as the animal world is concerned, evolution is no longer a speculation, but a statement of historical fact. It takes its place alongside of those accepted truths which must be reckoned with by philosophers of all Schools. Thus when, on the first day of October next, the ‘Origin of Species’ comes of age, the promise of its youth will be amply fulfilled ; and we shall be prepared to congratulate the venerated author of the book, not only that the greatness of his achievement and _ its enduring influence upon the progress of knowledge have won hima place beside our Harvey; but, still more, that, like Harvey, he has lived long enough to outlast detrac- tion and opposition, and to see the stone that the builders rejected become the head-stone of the corner.” GEORGE J. ROMANES OUR BOOK SHELF Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, vol. xii. (November 11, 1880-November 10, 1881). THE papers in this volume, as usual, are mostly purely analytical in their character. Prof. Cayley’s contribu- tions are very short: the binomial equation +4 — I = 0; quinquisection; on the flexure and equilibrium of a skew surface; on the geodesic curvature of a curve on a surface, and on the Gaussian theory of surfaces. Sir J. Cockle continues his remarks on binomial biordinals. Mr. Glaisher’s papers are also few and short, viz. on some definite integrals expressible in terms of the first complete definite integral, and of gamma-functions ; note on cer- tain symbolic operators and their application to the solution of certain partial differential equations. Messrs. Crofton and J. J. Walker have some points of contact, the former writing on operative symbols in the differential calculus, the latter continuing his theorems in the calculus of operations. Mr. Walker also contributes a quaternion proof of a problem discussed by Mr. S. Roberts, viz. certain tetrahedra specially related to four spheres meeting ina point. Mr. Roberts also gives a historical note on Dr. Graves’s theorem on confocal conics.” Mr. W. R. W. Roberts has a paper on the periods of the first class of hyper-elliptic integrals, and a note on the coordinates of a tangent line to the curve of intersection of two quadrics. Mr. T. Craig has a note on Abel’s theorem. Papers bear- ing on geometry are contributed by Prof. Genese, on a system of co-ordinates ; by Mr. H. Hart, on the general equation of the second degree in tetrahedral co-ordinates; by Mr. H. M. Jeffery, on bicircular quartics, with a triple and a double focus, and three single foci, all of them col- linear ; and on spherical quartics, with a quadruple cyclic arc and a triple focus; by Prof. Mannheim, sur les sur- faces paralléles; by Mr. R. A. Roberts, on the tangents NATURE [Feb. 9, 1882 ———— drawn from a point to a nodal cubic; and note on a sys- tem of cartesian ovals, passing through four points on a circle. Signor Brioschi writes sur une propriété du para- métre de la transformée canonique des formes cubiques temaires ; and Mr. Carpmael renews an old discussion in his some solutions of Kirkman’s 15-school-girl problem. The subject of kinematics on a sphere is ably treated by Mr. E. B. Elliott. Mr. Routh contributes some applica- tions of conjugate functions,and Mr. W. D. Niven writes on the electrical capacity of a conductor bounded by two spherical surfaces cutting at any angle. The presidential address is by Mr. C. W. Merrifield, and is entitled “ Con- siderations respecting the Translation of Series of Obser- vations into Continuous Formula.” We have sketched out a bill of fare appealing to many diverse tastes, and we can assure our readers that the dishes are all of admirable quality. Fornal de Sciencias Mathematicas e Astronomicas, Publi- cado pelo Dr. Francisco Gomes Teixeira. (Cvimbra, 1881.) WE have received the first two volumes of this work and the five opening numbers of the third volume. It is a matter of considerable interest to see what a place scien- tific writings and mathematical works are taking in the Peninsula. The journal before us is apparently not at all ambitious in its aims, but seeks to bring before the students such articles as might perhaps find a place in our own Messenger of Mathematics. A fault we have to find with the single numbers is that they have no index of contents, and further, they are unstitched. We wish Prof. Gomes Teixeira every success in his venture. Von Wilhelm (Leipzig: W. Engelmann, Philosophische Studien herausgegeben. Wundt. Bd. 1 Heft 1. 1881.) IN the Phzlosophische Studien we have the first instalment of a new periodical conducted by Wilhelm Wundt, which bids fair to attract a wide circle of readers not deterred by close, hard reasoning. It contains four articles :—(1) On psychological methods, by the editor ; in three sections treating of the psychophysical methods, methods of analysis of the sense-perception, and of psychological measure- ment of time ; (2) Ox the length of time in the appercep- tion of simple and compound tdeas (colours and numbers), by Dr. Max Friedrich ; an essay which no doubt owes a great deal also to the editor, and containing the results of some remarkable experiments on the above phenomena ; (3) Investigations on the sense of time, by Julius Kollert, in continuation of Vierordt’s experiments on the same subject ; (4) On mathematical induction, by the editor, under the heads of “analytical and synthetic methods in mathematics,” “the question of the origin of mathe- matical principles,” “experimental beginnings of mathe- matics,” “ permanent forms of mathematical induction,’’ “mathematical abstraction,” and “exact analogy.” The spirit and methods of the editor permeate the whole of this first number, and guarantee the value of the periodical. Biologische Probleme, zugleich als Versuch einer ration- ellen Ethik. Von W.H. Rolph. (Leipzig: W. Engel- mann, 1881). ORIGINALLY intended as a criticism on the customary methods of ethics, especially Herbert Spencer’s “ Data of Ethics,’’ the present work has assumed a wider scope, and embraces the treatment of a number of biological problems, which the author has endeavoured to connect with a view to solution on a common basis. Its aim may be best exhibited in the following enumeration of the subjects discussed :—viz. the doctrine of evolution, sub- | jective systems (Mallock, Spencer, Miss Bevington); H. | Spencer’s Hedonism; theory of nourishment (hunger the | first motive to action, p. 53); theory of development . Feb. 9, 1882] (abundance of suitable nourishment the primary condi- tion); theory of propagation ; animal ethics ; and lastly, human ethics. Abriss der Zoologie fiir Studirende, Arste und Lehrer. Von Dr. A. Brass. (Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1882.) IN this octavo volume of over 360 pages we have a sketch of the modern aspect of zoology fairly well executed, and with woodcut illustrations after Frey, Heckel, Kolliker, and Gegenbaur. The first section treats of zoology in general, discusses the subject of the differences between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and considers the animal in general. The second section is devoted to the morphology and developmental history of animals. The third is the systematic portion. The classification adopted is for the most part a copy of Claus’s. The volume forms a handy compendium of zoological science, and, like all the works from the establishment of the well- known Leipzig publisher, is well printed on good paper. The Two Hemispheres: A Popular Account of the Countries and Peoples of the World, By G. G. Chis- holm, M.A. Illustrations. (London : Blackie and Son, 1882.) THIS work contains in one volume much useful geogra- phical information, methodically arranged. It is, indeed, a systematic and succinct account of the various con- tinents, countries, and oceans, somewhat after the style of a gazetteer, for which it may be used by means of the copious index. The information seems to us in the main accurate, though many of the illustrations appear well worn. Mr. Chisholm, however, gives the old erroneous measure- ments of Mounts St. Elias and Fairweather, in Alaska, evidently unaware of the survey made by Dall six years azo, and which showed them to be 4000 feet higher than given here. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it ts impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and ncvei facts.] Sun-spots THE spot seen on the sun by Mr. W. A. Holland (NatuRE, vol. XxV. p. 316) would appear to have been simply a large sun-spot which made its appearance at the sun’s east limb on November 15, and went off the disk on November 27. It is shown on photographs taken at Greenwich on November 16, 17, 18, 19, 2Q, 21, 23, 26, and 27. On November 21, 11h. a.m. it was north-east of the centre, Pos-angle 50° 27’, Dist. 0°188 of sun’s radius, and on November 23 of. it was north-west of the centre Pos-angle 313° 39’ dist. 0412. The estimate of its size by Mr. Holland is very much exaggerated, the dimensions of the whole spot (nucleus and penumbra), as mea- sured on the photographs, being one-twentieth of the sun’s dia- meter in length, and one-twenty-fifth in breadth. The area, corrected for foreshortening and expressed in millionths of the sun’s visible hemisphere, was $32 for the whole spot, and 152 for the nucleus on November 21, and 970 for the whole spot, and 171 for the nucleus on November 23. The spot had begun to break up between November 21 and 23, and the area for November 21 is really the largest as applying to a single un- divided spot. This spot is one of the largest yet recorded at Greenwich. Two other large spots of about the same size were photographed in 1881, on March 22 and June 1, their areas being respectively 919 for the whole spot, and 195 for the nucleus ; and 931 for the whole spot, and 158 for the nucleus. The next largest spot in previous years was that of 1877 November, with an area of 8o1 for the whole spot, and 109 for the nucleus, While on the subject of sun-spots, I may mention with refer- NATURE 337 ence to Mr. J. B. N. Hennessey’s letters on an Outburst of Sun Spots (NATURE, vol. xxiv. p. 508, and vol. xxy. p. 241) that a photograph taken at Greenwich, 1881, July, 244 23h. 11m, 10s., G.M.T., only 11m. before the new group was noticed on the ground-glass at Dehra Doon, shows no indication whatever of the group in question, and that no trace of it appears on a photo- graph taken next morning, July 25, 22h. 17m. 55s. G,M.T. Thus the new group, if real, must have formed suddenly in less than eleven minutes at a part of the sun’s surface where there was not the slightest previous disturbance of the photosphere, and must have completely disappeared within the space of 23h. It might have been expected that the granules of the photosphere, which are well defined in the Greenwich photographs referred to, would have given some indication of such an outburst. W. H. M. CHRISTIE Royal Observatory, Greenwich, February 6 THE importance attached to the solar observations of Mr. W. A. Holland by so great an authority as Sir W. Thomson, would alone suffice to warrant me in forwarding for your publi- cation exact drawings of the spots observed on November 22 and 23 of last year, and the wording of the letters of Mr. Holland makes it still more urgent to determine the precise extent of the spots in question. The small optical power used on November 22 and 23, on board the Savah Bell, places the result almost on a level with direct eye observations, and the description strongly recalls.to mind the accounts gfven of solar spots previous to the discovery of the telescope. Thus on November 22 we have two eye-esti- mates of the size of the spot. ‘‘I, myself,” writes Mr. H., “estimated the spot on the sun to be 4 diam,, but conferring with the captain, he estimated it to he + diam, ; it was purely an estimate of the eye.” The pictures of the sun, which I inclose, were taken at Stony- hurst Observatory on November 20 and 22, and they give an exact outline of the spot seen on board the Sarah Bell, clearly showing what meaning we may reasonably attach to those ancient carefully denoted sun-spots, which were said to have a diameter equal to 4, 4+, or even 4 of the solar disk. The length of the spot observed on November 22 agrees very fairly with Mr. H.’s approximate estimate, if we include the whole group, but this gives a very incorrect notion of the spot-area, and of the disturbing forces then apparently at work in the sun. From accurate measurements of the original drawings, which give the relative dimensions of the spots on the solar disk, I find the diameter of the sun to be 267 mm., the length of the group 54mm., andits breadth 22 mm., whilst the length of the large spot, including its whole penumbra, is only 15 mm. The group is a scattered one, and the whole spot area in the picture can scarcely exceed 225 sq. mm., and therefore, being situated almost at the centre of the disk, will not cover more than one thousandth part of the visible hemispheres, although the whole group is spread over a space nearly five times as large. We thus get a more correct notion of the disturbance on the solar surface than by measuring merely the diameter of the group, or by expressing the spot area in millions of square miles. The drawing of November 22 contains another spo‘ in the w.p. quadrant, which is not mentioned by Mr. Holland, but which a few days previously, when nearer the centre of the disk, was as conspicuous an object as the spot under discussion, and was easily seen by the naked eye on November 18, shortly after sunrise. The group which followed was then near the limb, and was a fine object ina small binocular, but not visible to the naked eye, The fact of two separate spots, each seen easily without a telescope, being on different portions of the solar disk at the same time is, I think, rather extraordinary, but the area covered by spois has never approached of late to what was sketched by Tacchini in 1871, or even what was photographed by Rutherfurd in 1870. I might perhaps also mention that the spot which crossed the disk in May and June was as large as that of November, S.. J. PERRY Stonyhurst Observatory, Whalley, February 5 [The drawings sent by Mr. Perry seem to us to quite bear out his statements. —ED. | Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon A SINGULAR phenomenon was observed in Paris in the month of January. An obscure cloud remained ina state of suspen- 338 sion over Paris and a large tract of the country from the 4th up to the 26th, without any intermission. Neither sun, nor stars, nor moon were visible for an instant during that leng:hesed eriod, , The prevailing opinion among meteorologists was that the nebulosity was formed by a mass of snow suspended in the atmo- sphere. Although the notion was generally accepted, I opposed it, in my contributions to Z’£lectricité, remarking that if such were the case, snow or at least water should have fallen in Paris and vicinity where the dryness was complete from the apparition of this remarkable nebulosity. But being unable to settle the controversy without actual observation, I ascended in a balloon from Ia Villette Gas Works on January 25 at 2h. 35. p.m. I found my anticipations were quite correct, as not a single flake of snow was seen by me or by M, Anatole Brissonet, a young gentleman who was‘ assisting me by manceuvring the balloon. But I was quite deceived in the thickness of the cloud, which did not exceed 300 metres, although it rendered the sun perfectly invisible, and I had written it ought to be numbered by thousands. The earth was lost sight of gradually, and was perfectly in- visible at 270 metres, but the sun was shining in all its glory at 580 metres, with blue sky. The cloud was not so blinding as usual when it is composed of condensed vapour, as the thermo- meter and barometer could be read with perfect accuracy in the centre of it, and the lower part of the balloon was entirely visible at a distance of about 4 or 5 metres, but the equator was lost in whitish smoke perfectly impenetrable to sight. This nebu- lous matter appeared perfectly homogeneous, and I could see no trace of any crystalline matter, but an unexpected observation proved that it was formed of minute solidified atoms of water in a real microscopic state of division. When we emerged from the cloud gently and slowly, I stop the throwing out of any ballast in order to remain in close vicinity of its surface. M. Brissonet and I observed carefully what was occurring around us. The heating effect of the sun was in some respect destroyed by the radiation towards the cloud, which was at a temperature of 5°C, So we were floatng at a level almost perfectly equal, in an air at a temperature from - 2° to —3°. The air at the surface of the clouds was perfectly calm, but at a few metres upwards it was moving north-north-ea-terly at a rate of eight miles an hour. The consequence was tliat we we were towed by the globe, and feeling keenly a cold current sweeping over our faces. We had uncoiled our guide rope, the length of which was 60 metres, and the end of which was consequently immersed in the cloud and dragged into it. To our intense surprise, and I may say delight, we perceived that this part was quite loaded with hoar frost, which had precipitated regularly by series of hairs a few milli- metres long. These accumulations during a sweep which lasted for an hour, and a distance of about eight miles, are coasistent with the fact previously stated, that no deposit was visible during our ascent, which had been very slow indeed. My calculations show that our vertical velocity was not exceeding 30 metres per minute, which is only one-eighth of our horizontal velocity, con- tinued during six times longer. In our descent, which was rather quicker, but not to a great degree, the sweeping may have accu- mulated the frost rime on the bottom of the car, which it could not have been easy to observe, and consequently I cannot state what occurred, but not a single crystal was deposited on our ropes during that period. I have been unable to procure Scoresby’s Sketches of the Polar Regions, but. only a review by Arago, who says (ix. P- 357, 10, et seg.) : ‘The ‘* frost-rime ou fumée-gelée est un phe- noméne particulier des ces regions de la terre ou le froid est de longue durée, dont une vapeur dense! qui est dans un état com- plet de congelation. . . . Les parties extrémement deliées dont le frost-rime se compose s’attachent & tous les corps vers les- quels le vent les pousse, et y forment quelque fois une croiite de plus de 3 centimétres d’epaisseur, herisse de longues files pris- matiques, ou pyramidales li pointe dirigée du cd:é du vent.” It seems to me that the constitution of cirrus clouds seems to be explained by these properties of /rost-rime clouds, These minute crystals, which can remain for an indefinite period suspended i. the air, are, properly speaking, the maveries nivei, but not nives i~sa- It is by motion, either vertical or horizontal, that they are changed either into hoar-frost or snow, according to circum- stances, W. DE FONVIELLE * I suppose that Scoresby is speaking of optical density. NATURE [ Fed. 9, 1882 Researches on Animals containing Chlorophyll Mr. PATRICK GEDDES appears to have been anticipated in most of the points set forth in his paper on Further Researches on Animals containing Chlorophyll, published in NATURE of January 26 last, by Dr. Brandt, of Berlin, who, in a paper read before the Physiological Society of Berlin ‘on November 11 last, and published in the Proceedings of the Society on the ‘‘Symbiosis of Lower Animals with Algz,” describes the cultivation, after removal from the bodies of the various animals affected by them, of the well-known yellow and green chlorophyll-containing bodies, their development of starch grains, and their successfol artificial implantation into the bodies of fresh hosts previously free from them; this latter being an important fact apparently not known to Mr. Geddes. Dr. Brandt further names the species of algz in question under two genera, Zoochlorella and Zooxanthella, and gives to the peculiar physiological relations of mutual advantage between the plants and animals the term ‘‘symbiosis*” Mr, Geddes appears not to have scen this paper of Dr. Brandt, since he merely refers to some of his earlier papers on the same subject, but it is important. Dr. Brandt’s claims in the matter should not pass without notice in Nature. I have not seen Dr. Brandt's original paper, but only an abstract published in the Naturforscher of January 14 last, from which I take the infor- mation given above. H. N. Moseley The Movements of Jupiter's Atmosphere In NATurE, vol. xxv. p. 213, Mr. Darwin describes the bands on Jupiter as ‘‘ due to the trades and anti-trades” set in m tion by the action of solar radiation on the solid body of the planet as are the trade-winds of the earth. Many other eminent astronomers still appear to accept this time-honoured explanation of the phenomena, Have they reflected on the revelations supplied by the low specific gravity of Jupiter? There is no form of matter with which we are acquainted that could exist at a mean density of about one-fourth of that of the earth, while subject to the enormous pressure due to the mass of Jupiter, unless it were sufficiently hot to render the formation of a solid crust on its surface quite impossible. In order to attribute terrestrial solidity to either Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune we must invent a new kind of matter as infusible as platinum, and far lighter than hydrogen, or endow it with absolute incompressi- bility. These planets, if composed of any of the chemical elements or compounds known to us, can only retain their low density under the enormous pressure of their masses by the agency of proportionately counteracting heat-repulsion. j|At and about their centres this may be so far overcome by the superincumbent pressure as to produce solid nuclei, but these must be very small in proportion to the mass of the planet. Assuming the existence of such a central nucleus of Jupiter surrounded by a great fluid envelope, how will it be affected by the gravitating reaction of the satellite, supposing the compres- sion to give it a specific gravity exceeding the mean specific gravity of its envelope? It will obviously perform an eccentric rotation, or reeling, within the envelope. This motion must be very irregular and complex, owing to the different periods and the varying relative positions of the satellites; but the varying resultant of their gravitation forces will have one element of constancy, viz. a close coincidence with the plane of the planet’s equator. The effect of such internal reeling upon the surrounding gaseous mass explains far more efficiently than any possibility of solar radiation, the disturbances indicated by the ever-changing belts and spots of this planet; and also the greater rotatory velocity of the equatorial spots, described by Mr. Denning in the above-named number of NATURE, p. 225. The correspondence of these with the varieties of rotation of the different parts of the solar surface observed by Carrington, is well worthy of note, and admit of similar explanation ; plane- tary reaction in the case of the sun taking the place of the satellite reaction on Jupiter. In my essay on ‘‘ The Fuel of the Sun” I have worked out other consequences of this reeling of the solar nucleus and their analogues in the greater planets. Stoneb-idge Park, January 26 W. MATTLEU WILLIAMS “The Lepidoptera of Ceylon” Mr. F. Moore in no way betters the case against him by his Jetter printed in NATURE, vol. xxv. p. 79. The name of George NATCORE 339 Feb. 9, 1882] de Alwis, who was merely employed to make accurate copies of his brother’s drawings, need not be brought forward ; Mr. Moore was perfectly aware who made the original drawings from nature. It is satisfactory to know that the preface will contain an ac- knowledgment of the real artist, but common hone:ty requires his name to be printed on every plate that he drew instead of “©C, F, Moore.” HENRY TRIMEN k. Bot. Gardens, Peradeniya, Ceylon, January 9 The Collection of Meteoric Dust—A Suggestion In the Report of the Committee on Meteoric Dust, given in your report of the last meeting of the British Association (NaTuRE, vol. xxiv. p. 462), Prot. Schuster refers to the diffi- culty ‘found in the determination of the locality in which the observations should be conducted,” as there are but few acces- sible places sufficiently sheltered ‘‘ against any ordinary dust not of meteoric origin. The lonely spots best suited for these obser- vations are generally accessible to occasional experiments only, and do not lend themselves easily to a regular series of observations.” As it is highly important that such a regular series should be ob- tained, and that such observations should be made in places ** sheltered as much as possible” from dust of terrestrial origin, I venture to think that these conditions would be complied with by employing suitably constructed captive balloons, carrying the collecting apparatus at the highest attainable altitude. By this means we should have the great advantage of not only making the experiments abroad, but the observa'ions might we" 2e — an = A cos (= log > Jn -1 +B) A Jn? -1 2 — Bn a log = n Jn?-1 1+) where w is the angular velocity of molecular rotation, and ¢ the the radius of the cross-section of the vortex core; ¢ is small compared with a. Thus the time of vibration for such a displacement in the circular axis is— we” 2a” ot if 7 be the velocity of the vortex— =2ma/ Tn, 72-1 2é 2n/ log sai Vn" -1 This shows that a vortex ring with small cross-section of core is stable for all displacements of its circular axis. Sir W. Thomson bas proved that it is stable for all alterations in the shape of the cross-section of its core. The second part of the paper contains an investigation of the action of two vortices upon each other when the shortest distance between them is large compared with the diameter of either of the vortices. The amount of the disturbance each vortex experiences is worked out in the paper, but it may be sufficient to quote here the general effect of the collision which is given by the following rule :—the vortex which first passes through the point of intersection of the direction of motion of the two vortices is deflected towards the direction of motion of the other, it increases in radius and energy, aud its velocity of translation is diminished, the other vortex is deflected in the same directiou as the first, it diminishes in radius and energy, and its velocity of translation is increased. "On Melting Point.” By E. J. Mills, D.Sc, F.R.S. (Abstract.) The author gives a list of twenty-three aromatic compounds, the melting-points of which he has determined in terms of the air thermometer. The average probable error of a single result is about 0°7015. The numbers obtained, which range from 42° to 121°, obviously represent a set of thermometric standards, free from most of the grave inconveniences presented by the ordinary mercury-glass thermometer. In some cases they are shown to be proportional to the numerical value of the formula, a law which, it is suggested, may be in the limit the real law of melting-point. The original memoir contains a full description of apparatus and methods. Royal Society, January 12.—‘‘On the results of Recent Explorations of Erect Trees containing Reptilian Remains in the Coal Formation of Nova Scotia,” by J. W. Dawson, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., &c. The explorations referred to were carried on chiefly in the beds at Coal Mine Point, South Joggins, Nova Scotia; and their object was to make an exhaustive examination of the con- tents of erect trees found at that place and containing remains of Batrachians and other land animals. e A detailed section is given of the beds containing the erec trees in question, with lists of their fos-il remains. The most important part of the section is the following :— Ft. In. Sandstone with erect Calamites and Stigmaria roots 6 6 Argillaceous sandstone, C2lamites, Stigmaria, and Alethoptiris Cuchitica ie Get a a ee ee Gray scale, with numerous fossil plants, and “also Nataidites, Carbonia, and fish scales ... ... 1. 2 4 Black coaly shale, with similar fossils ... ... .. I I Coal, with impressions of Sigé//aria bark o 6 On the surface of the coal stand many erect Sigi//aria, pene- trating the beds above, and some of them nearly three feet in diameter at the base and nine feet in height. In the lower part of many of these erect trees there is a deposit of earthy matter, blackened with carbon and vegetable remains, and richly stored with bones of small reptiles, land snails, and millipedes. De- tailed descriptions of the contents of these trees are given, and it is shown that on decay of the woody axis and inner bark they must have constituted open cylindrical cavities, in which small animals sheltered themselves, or into which they fell and re- mained imprisoned. These natural traps must have remained open for some time on a sub-aerial surface. In all twenty-five of these erect trees had been discovered and extracted, and the productive portions of them preserved and carefully examined. Of these fifteen had proved more or less productive of animal remains. From one no less than twelve reptilian skeletons had been obtained. In a few instances not only the bones, but portions of cuticle, ornamented with horny sca'es and spines, had been preserved. The Batrachians obtained were referred to twelve species in all. Of these two were represented so imperfectly that they could not be definitely characterised. The remaining ten were referable to the two family groups of Microsauria and Lady- rinthodontia. The AMicrosauria are characterised by somewhat narrow crania, smooth cranial bones, simple or non-plaited teeth, well- developed limbs and ribs, elongated biconcave vertebra, bony seales ani plates on the abdomen, and horny scales, often ornate, on the back and sides. They show no traces of gills. The species belonging to this group are referred to the genera Hylonomus, Smilerpeton, Hylerpeton, and Fritschia. The cha- racters of these genera and of the several species are given in detail and illustrated by drawings and photographs, including microscopic delineations of the teeth of all the species, with their internal structure and the microscopic structure of their bones, as well as representations of their cuticular ornamentation and armour. The Labyrinthodonts are represented by only two species of Dendrerpeton, which are also described and delineated. About half of the reptilian species described are new, ani those previously described from fragmentary remains are now more fully characterised, and their parts more minutely examined, The invertebrate animals found are three species of land snails and five of myriapods, besides specimens supposed to represent new species of myriapods and insect larvae, not yet fully examined, and which have been placed in the hands of Dr. Scudder, of Cambridge, U.S. The memoir, consisting in great part of condensed descriptions of the facts observed, does not admit of much abridgment, and cannot be rendered fully intelligible without the accompanying plans, sections, and drawings. It closes with the following general statement :— ‘*The negative result that, under the exceptionally favourable conditions presented by these erect trees, no remains of any animals of higher rank than the A/icrosauria and Labyrintho- dontia have been found deserves notice here. It seems to indi- cate that no small animals of higher grade inhabited the forests of Nova Scotia at the period in question; but this would not exclude the possibility of the existence of bigher animals of a larger size than the hollow trees were capable of receiving. Nor does it exclude the possibility of higher animals haying lived contemporaneously in upland situations remote from the low flats to which our knowledge of the coal formation is for the mo t part confined, It is to be observed also that as some of Feb. 9, 1882 | NATURE 355 the reptilian animals are represented only by single specimens, there may have been still rarer forms, which may be disclosed should other productive trees be exposed by the gradual wasting of the cliff and reef.” Physical Society, Jan. 28.—Dr. Stone, in the chair.—New Member, Mr. W. Lant Carpenter.—Mr. T. Wrightson read a paper by himself and Pro’, W, Chandler Roberts, F.R.S., on the fluid density of metals. The results were obtained by the process described in a former paper to the Society, on the fluid density of bismuth. The mean results were for copper, 8°217 ; lead, 10°37 ; tin, 7°025 ; zinc, 6°487; silver, 9°51; iron (No. 4 Foundry, Cleveland), 6°88. These results are slightly less than those given by Mallet’s process, but they are sufficiently close. For bismuth tne fluid density found by the authors is 10°055, which is slightly more than that given by Mallet’s method (9°82). The authors consider their method satisfactory. It consists in suspending a ball of the solid metal from a spiral spring, and allowing it to dip into a crucible of the same metal in a molten state. The movements of the spring as the ball melts are re- “corded by a pencil on a band of travelling paper.—Mr. C. Vernon Boys read a paper on apparatus for calculating efficiency. The object of such machines is to automatically divide and con- tinuously record the quotient of the speeds with which two things are turning. If the two things are the records of two of Boys’ integrating machines (previously described to the Society), one finding work put into, and the other work sent out from any combination of mechanism, then the quotient gives the efficiency of the combination. If one measures work or current, and the other time or turns of a machine, the quotient measures the value of horse-power per hour or current per turn. Mr. Boys described four machines of the kind acting on two prin- ciples, from which he names them logarithmic and harmonic dividers. They all derive their actions from motions of pure rolling The simplest is made by hanging a magnetised steel reel on to a pair ofiron cones, which are turned by integrators. The reel travels about and continuously shows the value of the quotient.—Mr, Boys then read a paper ona ve current meter. The rate of a pendulum clock depends on gravity, and is proportional to the _ square root of the strength of gravity. That of a watch depends dies on the strength of the hair-spring, and is proportional to the square root of its strength. The force due to an electric current is proportional to the square of the current strength. Hence if part of an electric circuit is capable of vibrating under electro- magnetic force, the speed of vibration will be proportional simply to the current strenzth, for the square of the speed measures the force, and the force is proportional to the square of the current. If, then, such a contrivance takes the place of the balance of a pendulum-clock, the clock will measure electric currents instead of time. To keep the indications true, the maintaining power must be so contrived that the amplitude does not vary much, or the parts must be so arranged that the force is directly proportional to the displace- ment. Mr. Boys showed several ways of producing a controlling power. The first was a combination of solenoids, one passing through the other, and in which the force was proportional to the displacement. Being without iron, it applies to the case of alternating currents. In another a small armature is mounted en the balance staff, and around it are the two poles of an electromagnet, which forms part of the circuit. In a third form, which is unaffected by residual magnetism, two crescent- shaped pieces of iron forming the sides of the balance pass through two fixed solenoids. In all these cases the direction of the current does not matter. * The maintaining power may be any ordinary escapement drawn in the usual way. It may also be independent of clockwork, an impulse being given to the balance electrically at each swing. A meter of this kind was shown in which the controlling power depends on iron crescents and solenoids, and in which a portion of the main current is shunted through secondary solenoids when the balance is in its neutral position ; at which timea variation in the currents in the controlling sole- noids has no effect in disturbing the period of oscillation. Such a meter is regulated by an adjustible weight, if it goes too fast or slow. Being independent of gravity it will work equally well anywhere. Prof. John Perry thought Mr, Boys’ devices very promising, and mentioned that Prof. Ayr on and he had invented a very simple current meter not yet described. Dr. Coffin pointed out that electric clocks of a certain class were really current meters. Prof. Guthrie remarked that in Mr. Boys’ meter practically no work was taken from the current. Refer- ence was made by Dr, Stone and Mr, Lecky to Hipps’ clocks, the latter testifying to their efficiency.—Capt. Abney, R.E., then exhibited some experiments on the phenomenon of phos- phorescence. Balmain’s luminous paint, calcium sulphide, and other substances give out a violet light after having been excited by daylight. Capt. Abney found that when the spectrum was allowed to fall on an excited surface of Balmain’s paint the blue rays enhanced this violet light, and the red end of the spectrum extinguished it. This was shown to the meeting, and the red end of the spectrum appeared on the paint in well-defined black bands. Similarly, the light from an electric lamp passed through a sheet of red glass extinguished the phosphorescence. Capt. Abney’s researches further showed that there is a series of octaves in the blue end of the spectrum which refuse to quench the violet lizht. He found the mean wave-length of the rays exciting the phosphorescence to be 4300. Prof. Guthrie also showed that calcium sulphide tubes glow in violet light. Anthropological Institute, January 10.—Major-General Pitt-Rivers, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Hugh Felvey and Mrs. Bathoe were elected Members of the Institute.—Mr. Bryce- Wright exhibited a series of sixteen portraits of the Incas, copied from the originals in the Temple of the Sun.—Mr. Worthington G. Smith exhibited some stone implements from the north-east of London.—General Pitt-Rivers, F.R.S., read a paper on the entrenchments of the Yorkshire Wolds, and ex- cavations in the earthwork called Dane’s Dyke, at Flamborough. At Dane’s Dyke the author had found flints and flint flakes, clearly proving that the constructors and defenders of the earth- work used flint, and lived not later than the bronze period. The whole district was the scene of the oferations of a people much earlier than the Danes, and therefore the term ‘‘ Dane’s Dyke” was a misnomer.—In the absence of the author the Director read a paper by Mr. J. R. Mortimer, on the discovery of ancient dwellings on the Yorkshire Wolds. Institution of Civil 'Engineers, January 24.—Mr. Brun- lees, vice-president, in the chair.—The paper read was on ‘f The Analysis of Potable Water, with special reference to the deter- mination of Previous Sewage Contamination,” by Mr. Chas. W. Folkard. Sypney, N.S.W. Linnean Society, November 30, 1881.—Dr. J. C. Cox, president, in the chair.—The papers read were: By the Hon. Secretary, for Baron F. yon Mueller, K.C.M.G., on two new species of New South Wales plants.—By J. J. Fletcher, M.A., B.Sc., on the existence after parturition of a direct communica- tion between the median vaginal cul-de-sac, so called, and the uro-genital canal in certain species of kangaroos.—By the Hon. William Macleay, F.L.S., on two new species of snakes from the western interior of New South Wales. Mr. Macleay stated that these new species had been discovered by Mr. James Ram- say, of Tyndarie, near Bourke ; they were a new species of Diemenia, which it was proposed to call D. fevox, and a new species of the genus 4sfidiotes, named A. Ramsay, after its discoverer.—By the Rev. Wm. Woolls, Ph.D., on the flora of New South Wales, being the sixth paper on this subject by this well-known botanist.—On the Cypreze of New Caledonia, by Mr. J. C. Rossiter, of Numea, N.C, ; communicated through Mr, John Brazier, C.M.Z.S.—On a new species of 7herapon, 7. Macleayana.—On two new birds from the Solomon Islands : (1) a kingfisher, Halcyon salmonis, allied to H. chloris, but without the white nape patch or superciliary stripe; and all the under surface white, the under-wing coverts white, the upper surface of a much brighter blue; (2) a Rhipi- dura, R. ¢enebrosa.—On the habitats of Pachycephala olivacea and Pycnoptilus floccosus, and their occurrence near Sydney, by Mr. E. P. Ramsay, F.Z.S., C.M.Z.S., Curator of the Australian Museum, —Exhibits—Mr. Ramsay exhibited specimens of the following new and rare birds from the Island of ‘‘ Ugi,” in the Solomon groups :—1. Ptilopus Eugenia, Gould. (2) Pu- lopus Lewisi (Ramsay), similar to P, Eugenie, but without the white head. 3. Ptilopus Richardsii (Ramsay), a very remarkable species, having the head, neck, and breast of a light french grey, tinged slightly with pale olive yellow, the crown is of a very pale lilac, the scapulars beautifully painted wit1 rose down the centre of each feather. 4. Ptilopus Fohannis (Sclater), said to be identical with P. ceraseipectus of Canon Tristram, and of which P. solomonensis of Gray is the female. 5. Chalcophaps mortoni (Ramsay) resembles C. chrysochlora, but has no shoulder patch, and is larger. 6. Zvichoglossus (Charmosyne) Margarethe (Tristram), male and female, the female alone being previously 356 known, the male differs in having no yellow on the sides of the uropygium, this part being crimson, like the flanks and belly. 7. Nasiterna finschi (Rawsay), males and females ; the male is distinguished by having a stripe of red down the abdomen, and the feathers round the lower mandible more distinctly tipped with blue ; AAipidura tenebrosa (Ramsay) being of a dull olive brown, with a few white-tipped feathers on throat and sides of the head.—Dr. J. C. Cox, F.L.S., exhibited several specimens of wood carvings from the Solomon Islands; also two drills used by the natives of Rubiana in building their canoes, and a fish-trap made of cordage, used by the natives of the same island.—Mr. Brazier exhibited a very fine collection of Cyprxa, viz. :—Cyprea hirundo 2, neglecta 2, cylindrica 2, errones 3, moneta 4, lynx 5, var. Cakdonica 1, [sabella 1, caurica var. obscura 3, stolida, var. Crossei 2, Arabica 7, vitellus 4, scurra 1, staphylea 1, mappa, var. nigricans 2. These fourteen species were all distorted or malformed, with the extremities rostrated, and the base arched. Three fine varieties of C. tigris, four fine varieties of C. crebaria, and one fine pink variety of C. mappa. ‘These three species are normal.—The Hon. William Macleay exhibited dried specimens of the two plants described by Baron Miller, also a large peculiarly-shaped gall of a manna- producing coccus on a gumtree branch, and a rare heteromerous beetle (Zopherosis Georgii), both sent by Mr. Palmer. Mr. Macleay also exhibited some samples of a bark said to be used by the natives of New Caledonia and New Hebrides to procure abortion, and a mass of a kind of gutta-percha from a new Caledonia tree. These two exhibits were sent by Mr. E. L. Layard, C.M.G., British Consul, Noumea. Mr. Fletcher exhi- bited a large number of microscopic sections. A special vote of thanks was awarded that gentleman for his very valuable paper on the uro-genital organs of the kangaroo. PARIS Academy of Sciences, January 30.—M., Jamin in the chair. —The following papers were read :—On the theory of repeated proofs, by M. Bertrand.--On some applications of the theory of elliptic functions, by M. Hermite.—On a criticism in the last number of A/emoirs of the Italian Society of Spectroscopists (p. 256), by M. Faye. M. Tacchini says there is not perfect parallelism between spots and protuberances. M. Faye (who regards these phenomena as in mechanical connection) contends that from the nature of the observations this is not to be looked for, but merely a general accord.—Résumé of meteorological observations made during 1881 at four points of Haut-Rhin and the Vosges (continued), by M. Hirn. The great excess of water which falls in the higher regions is met by the useful regulative action of mountain forests ; and di-astrous results have followed the extensive destruction of wood on the Vosges.—On various problems of relative motion, by M. Gilbert. He analyses the action of M. Sire’s polytrope, gyroscopic pendulum, &c.—On the hematic crisis in atute maladies with sudden defervescence, by M. Hayem. This crisis, occurring near the end of acute disease, is chiefly characterised by a temporary increase of hema- toblasts in the blood ; in forty-eight hours their number is nearly doubled ; in twenty-four hours more it diminishes considerably, and ere long the normal state is recovered, in which there is about one hematoblast to twenty red corpuscles. The ab- normal ratio between these elements at the time of greatest accumulation of hematoblasts is represented nearly always by the same figure (seven on the average ; variation limited between eight and six), The hematic crisis indicates an effort of sanguineous reparation.—On a class of binomial linear differential equations with algebraic coefficients, by M. Appell.—The death of M. Billet, Correspondent in Physics, was announced.—On the oscillatory character of the cause producing the variable dis- tribution of spots on the sun’s sarface, by M. Spoerer (with annotations by M. Faye). M. Spoerer’s data (here tabulated) with M. Carington’s, prove that the sun-spot activity (which is concentrated between 6° and 35°) advances slowly from 35° towards the equator, increasing to a maximum at 18° ; then pro- ceeds, with diminution, to 5° or 6°, where it disappears. A new cause now brings out some spots in the higher latitudes again, and the same series is reproduced. M. Spoerer calls attention also to an alternating preponderance of each hemisphere in pro- duction of spots (but this is less marked).—On asymptolic integrals of differential equations, by M. Boussinesq.—On the generation of surfaces and curves with double curvature of all degrees, by M. Vanecek.—On the combination of carbonic acid and water, by M. Wroblewski. His results obtained in com- NATURE / pressing and liberating carbonic acid in contact with water, point he thinks, to the existence of a hydrate of carbonic acid, easily dissociable, and producible by pressure (like M. Ogier’s chlorhydrate of phosphide of hydrogen). The critical pressure which must be produced in order to the pheno- menon occurring is the tension of dissociation of the hydrate formed,—Silicomolybdic acid, by M, Parmentier.— On new combinations of aldehydes with iodide of phos- phonium, by M. de Girard.—On the vapour-density of chloride of pyrosulphuryl, by M. Ogier.—On the formation of an aldehyde-acetone and a glycol of the aromatic series, by M. Burcker.—Researches on pilocarpine, by M. Chastaing.—On the relations of the vasomotor system of the medudla oblongata with that of the spinal cord in man, and on the alterations of these two systems in the course of sensitive /a4es, by M. Pierret.— On the formation of blighted grains of wheat, by M. Prillieux.— Attempt at reproduction of Wollastonite and of Meionite, by M. Bourgeois. —On a multiplying anemometer applicable to measure- ment of the velocity of wind in mining galleries, to meteoro- logical observations and to determination of the velocity of water-courses, by M. Bourdon. This is a system of convergent divergent tubes. In one such tube, made according to Venturi’s proportions, is fixed concentrically a second much smaller, and having its divergent end exactly at the point where the truncated summits of the cones of the larger tube unite. (For very small velocities a third tube may similarly be fixed within the second.) A hollow sleeve is fixed round the union of the truncated cones of the wide tube; its interior communicates with that of the latter and with a manometer, on which the pressure is read. If a manometer at the mouth of the large tube register 1 with a current, the sther manometer will register e.g. 6; the pressure here is negative and due to acceleration of the velocity of the current.—On some atmospheric phenomena observed during. the recent period of high pressures, by M. Vinot. General de Nansonty, on the Pie du Midi, records exceptional purity of sky ; the zodiacal light was seen on January J (a very rare thing), and the earthshine and thin crescent of the moon, only 25h. 46m. old, were also seen in January.—Observations in a balloon, of the opaque cloud » hich covered the Paris region for some days, by M. de Fonvielle. The cloud was hardly 300m, thick. In the upper part the guide rope got covered with hoar-frost. The temperature of the cloud was about 5° below zero.—Relief map of France, on the scale of sgg3-g05, by M. Guillemin. CONTENTS >to Proressor Huxiey’s Essays, By Georck J. Romanes, F.R.S. . 333 Oux Book SHevr :— *“« Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society’? . . . « - 356 “ Jornal de Sciencias Matnematicas e Astronomicas’’ . . . « 336 Wundt’s ‘* Philosophische Studien herausgegeben”. so 06 Rolph’s “ Biologische Probleme, zugleich als Versuch einer rationellen Ethik”? . . 2 . 2 - + ¢ + = 0 © © © 3 336 Brass’s ‘ Abriss der Zoologie fiir Studirende, Azrte und Lehrer” . 337 Chisholm’s ‘“‘Two Hemispheres” . . . - - - » « 0 » = = 397 Letrexs ro THE EDITOR :— Sun-Spots.—W. H. M. Curistig, F.R.S.; Rev. S. J. Perry, EP ee tere ere) Se Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon.—W. pe FonvigLt—e . . . . — Researches on Animals containing Chlorophyll.—Prof. H. N. Mosecey, P.RIS. 0 oe FS ae SN Sek The Movementsof Jupiter's Atmosphere.—W. Matrtigu WILLIAMS 338 **The Lepidoptera of Ceylon.”’—Henrvy TRIMEN a5 - 338 The Collection of Meteoric Dust—A Suggestion.—B. J. Hopkins 339 Colour and Sound. —Kart Pearson. . . . - «6 « «© + + 339 On the Climate of North Northumberland as regards its Fitness for Astronomical Observations.—Jo-grH LINGWOOD . « ~ « 339 Parhelia in the Mediterranean. Cuas, H. ALLEN . « + « + 339 Str Ropert CurisTIson i ee oe bee” ae ae ee ConcerninG THE Gas-FLAME, ELEecTRIC, AND SOLAR, SPECTRA, AND THEIR Errxcts ON THE Eve By Prof. W. H. PickgrinG . . . 340 Tur Great Neputa 1n ANDROMEDA. By Rev. T. W. Wasp (J¥ith Tllustvrgtigns) 5-0 0) wae me st ee a ho le re A Bear FesTIVAL AMONG THE AINOS. . - + - + +s + + + + 345 Mowesici os ds oreadele (Sle Ae “so se. a. 0 ne) aes Our AsTRONOMICAL COLUMN :— The Observatory of Melbourne . « «© «© «+ + + © © © © © «© 349 ‘The Observatory of Cordoba. . «. . + » a » ss Se The Great Comet of 1881 . ©. 6 ee ee ee ois >) ae Problematical Sun-Spots . . . .. .- oo 1 eel GroGrarnicat Norgs .. «+ + + » «© = = © «© © © © = © BAe Tne Prizes or THE Paris ACADEMY OF SCIENCES . « « + + « + 350 INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS . «© «© « + «© « «© © © 350 Tue Cuxmistry oF Bast Fisre By C. F. Crossand E. J. BEVAN 358 NoresFroM THE OTAGO University Museum. By Prof. T. Jerrary ParKER ie bE wes Ga poms 28 eee :) eee ne M. Antoine Breguet’s Appropriations.—Prof. W. F. BARReTT. . On the Clenching of Hands from Emotional and other Causes in the Two Sexes.—ARTHUR STRADLING . - + «+ «+ + s 3 = Parhelia in the Mediterranean—The Weather in Switzerland.— ALBERT RIGGENBACA « - = + + + © «© «© + 0 8 3 8 @ On the Climate of North Northumberland as regards its Fitness for Astronomical Observations.—Revy. Jevon J. MuscHamp PERRW 2) 5 foe eels 4s Panel eee ee F Jaco’s “Inorganic Chemistry.—WiLtuiaM Jaco. - « « + + = The Recent Weather.—CHARLES J. TAYLOR . «© . + + + +s On THE WHALE Fisnery oF THE BAsQus Provinces OF Spain. By Cyements R Marxwam, C.B.,F.R.S. . . + 2 «+ 2 2 ee A System OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN THE CHINA SEAS Tue Aurora, II. (With Illustrations) . ao sie Meee NOTES. Se es ke es Our AsTRONOMICAL COLUMN :— _ The Academy of Sciences, Paris . . - s+ + © © * The Total Solar Eclipse of May 17 . + - 2 © - + + The Transit of Mercury, November 7, 188r. . + «+ GuoGrarHicat NOTES . . «2+ «© © + © © © # & PuysicaL NoTes.... - ». » «2 =» s+ 2 © * Tue Prizes oF THE Parts ACADEMY . se + + 6 es te tt Symprosis OF ALGH AND ANIMALS. «+ se 6 © © © 8 # 8 * Nores anout SNakes. By ARTHUR STRADLING - UnrversitTy AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE Scientiric SERIALS... 2 + ee ° Societies AND ACADEMIES - « + + We Ga 381 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1882 VIGNETTES FROM NATURE Vignettes from Nature. By Grant Allen. (London: Chatto and Windus, 1881.) ERTAINLY Mr. Grant Allen stands at the head of living writers as a popular exponent of the evolution theory. Although the subject is one which he has taken up a comparatively short time ago, he appears to have thoroughly mastered its principles, to have read and assimilated all the best works on the subject, and to have so imbued himself with its leading ideas that he is able to apply it in an intelligent and often original manner to every natural object he meets with in his daily walks or holiday rambles. To these primary qualifications he adds a great power of description, a vivid imagination, and a charming style of writing, all of which are displayed in every page of his last work. This consists of a series of short essays, which originally appeared in the Pad// Mall Gazette, each giving a sketch of some single scene or natural object, and showing how much interest can be given to the most common things by considering them from the point of view of evolution. “Sedge and Wood- rush’? furnish an opportunity for the explanation of degraded types and the large part played by “‘ degenera- tion’ in the origin of existing animals and plants. By the common “‘Red Campion and White” we are shown how, and by what means, species become differentiated ; and the subject is further discussed and elucidated in the chapter on a “ Bed of Nettles.’? After showing how the sting of the nettle has originated, and how it protects ‘the plant by stinging the noses of herbivorous quadrupeds, he goes on to discuss the general form of the nettle in a way that is both suggestive and (I think) original. “But the sting certainly does not exhaust the whole philosophy of the nettle. Look, for example, at the stem and leaves. The nettle has found its chance in life, its one fitting vacancy, among the ditches and waste places by roadsides or near cottages ; and it has laid itself out for the circumstances in which it lives. Its near relative, the hop, is a twisting climber ; its southern cousins, the fig and mulberry, are tall and spreading trees. But the nettle has made itself a niche in nature along the bare patches which diversify human cultivation ; and it has adapted its stem and leaves to the station in life where it has pleased Providence to place it. Plants like the dock, the burdock, and the rhubarb, which lift their leaves straight above the ground, from large subterranean reser- voirs of material, have usually big, broad, undivided leaves, that overshadow all beneath them, and push boldly out on every side to drink in the air and sunlight. On the other hand, regular hedgerow plants, like cleavers, chervil, herb-Robert, milfoil, and most ferns, which grow in the tangled shady undermath of the banks and thickets, have usually slender, blade-like, much divided leaves, all split up into long narrow pushing segments, because they cannot get sunlight and air enough to build up a single large, respectable, rounded leaf. “The nettle is just half way between these two ex- tremes. It does not grow out broad and solitary, like the burdock, nor does it creep under the hedges like the little inuch-divided wayside weeds ; but it springs up erect in tall, thick, luxuriant clumps, growing close together, each stem fringed with a considerable number of moderate- sized, heart-shaped, toothed-and-pointed leaves. Such VOL. Xxv.—-No. 643 leaves have just room enough to expand, and to extract from the air all the carbon they need for their growth, without encroaching on one another’s food supply (for it must always be remembered that leaves grow out of the air, not, as most people fancy, out of the ground), and so without the consequent necessity for dividing up into little separate narrow segments. Accordingly, this type of leaf is very common among all those plants which spring up beside the hedgerows in the same erect shrubby manner as the nettles. It is almost exactly imitated in the dead-nettle and the hemp-nettle, which are plants of a totally distinct family, with flowers of the sage and rosemary type ; and it is more or less simulated by ten or twenty other species of like habit. This peculiarity ot external resemblance, under identical circumstances, is 2 common and a natural one. . . . Whatever the original stock, natural selection tends always under like circum- stances to produce like results.” Then we have the dicecious green flowers described, with the curious elasticity and irritability of the stamens, which throw out the pollen dust when the wind blows the plants about, and thus ensures abundant cross- fertilisation. In the next chapter, “ Loosestrife and Pimpernel,” we have an excellent discussion on the close relationship cf the wood-loosestrife or yellow-pimpernel (Lyszmachic nemorum) to the true pimpernel (Anagaliis vulgaris), although placed by botanists in distinct genera. Such remarks as these are very important, calling attention to the fact that the technical characters of botanists, even when drawn from the structure of the fruit, may be really of recent origin, and may not be so important as more superficial resemblances usually treated as of less sys- tematic value. In another article on “A B’g Fossil Bone” a popular misconception as to the generally large size of extinct animals is very well corrected. Everywhere we seem to find in fossil forms a bigger animal of each kind than any now existing. Here we have an enormous Irish elk, there an immense extinct sloth, a gigantic armadillo, or a turtle ten times as big as the greatest living member of the tortoise group. But it is apt to be forgotten that the huge Saurians were secondary animals, while the dinotherium was tertiary, the mammoth qua- ternary, and the moa as well as the epyorais almost modern. It is forgotten that the age of the great reptiles was nearly over before that of the great mammals set in. It is forgotten that the glyptodon lived in South America, while the big elk lived in Ireland ; and by pic- turing a world in which all the great extinct animals were grouped together as they see them in a geological museum, people get a distorted picture which really reverses the actual facts as to the relative size of the animals in the past and the present. For (Mr. Allen remarks)— “‘ As a matter of fact it seems probable that our actual fauna and flora are on the whole not only quite as big as any previous ones, but even a great deal bigger. If we take single instances, no known extinct animal was as large as some of our modern whales; if we look at the ensemble of our existing species, no known period com- prised so many large forms as we can show at the present day in our three or four great cetaceans, our two elephants, our rhinoceroses, our bisons, our giraffe, our walrus, and our horses. These would probably form a total assem- blage of larger average size than any previous epoch could produce. Similarly in almost every special class, we could apparently show larger species at the present day than any which we know to have existed in fossil forms. Our s 382 a whale is the biggest known mammal ; our gigantic sala- mander is the biggest known amphibian ; probably our sun-fish, our tunmies, our sharks, and our devil-fish, are each in their way larger than any previous fishes—one living shark actually attaining a length of forty feet. No fossil bivalve molluscs are, to my knowledge, as big as the common Mediterranean pinna, or as that giant clam, the tridacna, whose shell is so commonly used as a basin for fountains. In fact there are only two important groups, the birds and the reptiles, in which extinct species were much larger than existing ones ; and in these two groups the decrease is evidently due to the later supremacy of the mammalian type.” He then goes on to show that in many lines of descent we find groups of animals which have steadily been increasing in size from the earliest epoch of their appearance to the present day, as, for example, the horses, the deer, and the elephants. Evolution generally tends towards increase of size in dominant groups ; but when a group ceases to be dominant and begins to decay its bigger members die out. Equally interesting and suggestive are the discussions on colourand the colour-sense, @ propos of the “ Veronica” and the distribution of fishes, in “The carp pond”’ and “The mountain tarn”; but we pass on to the chapter devoted to “ The donkey’s ancestors ”—a charming sketch suggested by “a dear shaggy old donkey making himself perfectly happy upon a bare rocky hillside, upon four sprouting thistles, a bit of prickly carline, and three square yards of wet turf at the outcrop of a little spring.” Let us, however, pass by his pedigree (the same as that of his cousin, the horse), and see what Mr. Allen has to say about his intelligence, and the reason of it. “Donkeys are the final flower of long ages of native evolution, the natural head and crown of one great line of mammalian development. To doubt their intelligence is to impugn the whole conduct of nature, to upset the entire system of evolutionary psychology off-hand. Donkeys cannot help being clever, because they are the final survivors in the struggle for existence in one of the most specialised, most highly developed, and most dominant mammalian stocks. They do not represent mere stranded and struggling relics of older types, like the very silly kangaroos, and ant-eaters, and hedgehogs, which drag on a miserable existence behind the times in out-of-the-way holes and corners of the earth; they are one of the finest developments of one of the most success- ful branches of the great ungulate tribe. I feel a genuine respect for every donkey I meet, when I remember that it was the mere accidental possession of an opposable thumb that gave my ancestors a start over his in the race for the inheritance of the earth towards the very close of the tertiary period.” In reading this most entertaining and instructive volume | almost every page offers some suggestive remark or apposite illustration of the principle of evolution; and it | | subject, and a very full and practical explanation of | the objects of compass compensation and the methods is very rarely that we meet with anything to which excep- tion can be taken on the score of accuracy. It is perhaps doubtful whether monkeys are “intellectually in the very front rank of the animal world,” notwithstanding “ the op- posable thumb and the highly mobile trunk, with its tactile appendage, give these creatures an exceptional chance of grasping an object all round, and so of learning its | physical properties.”” I am myself inclined to think they are decidedly inferior to dogs, horses, and elephants. So the tracing cf man’s sense of colour to the fact of our pre- NATURE human ancestors having been attracted by the bright colours of the orange, blue, and crimson fruits of tropical forests appears doubtful, if not erroneous; because the colours of such fruits are no indication of their edibility for either man or monkeys, and there is no reason they should be so, since mammalia in eating the fruits would be likely to crush and destroy the vitality of the seeds. At all events many bright coloured tropical fruits are poisonous, while many that are eatable aie green and unattractive. Even among our native berries children who trust to enticing colour are apt to be poisoned by bitter-sweet or deadly nightshade. Neither is there any evidence that— “Up to the beginning of the tertiary period, large evergreens of what is now the tropical type covered the whole world as far as the very poles themselves. Green- land and Spitzbergen then supported huge forests of the same general character as those which now spread over Brazil and the Malay Archipelago.” Nor is Buffon’s idea—that organic life must have begun at the Poles, because on the surface of an incan- descent planet the poles would be the first part to cool down sufficiently to allow of the conditions under which alone life becomes possible—at all in accordance with the teachings of modern science, as Mr. Allen maintains it to be. For the first cooling of the surface would neces- sarily occur at a time when the whole of the water of the globe was in a state of vapour, and this vast aqueous atmosphere would so far prevent the heat of the sun from reaching the surface, and so equalise radiation that there need have been no cooling at the poles earlier than at the equator; and when subsequently the water was condensed and oceans were formed, these would equalise temperature over the whole surface, and render it pos- sible for life to originate at one part as well as at another, But these are very slight blemishes in so excellent a book, which is calculated to bring home to every reader how much of interest and novelty, of intricacy, of beauty, and of wonder, is to be found in the structure or history of the humblest plants or the most familiar animals; and also, how greatly the once-decried doctrine of evolution ~ has added to the ideal and poetic aspects of the study of nature. ALFRED R. WALLACE THE COMPASS Traité Théorique et Pratique de la Régulation et de la Compensation des Compas. Par A. Collet, Lieutenant de Vaisseau, Répétiteur a YEcole Polytechnique. Ouvrage publié avec l’Autorisation de M. le Ministre de la Marine. (Paris: Challamel Ainé, 1852.) HIS new treatise on the compass contains an admir- able account of the most recent work done on the adopted to secure it. It is founded on the author's trans- lation, now twelve years old, of Smith and Evans’ Admiralty Manual—made for the benefit of the French marine. That epoch-making book is however still the basis or substratum of Lieut. Collet’s new work. The practical part of the English book is fully given. M. Collet has added as much elementary mathematics and physics as he thinks may be useful to such seamen - [ Feb, 23, 1882 Feb. 23, 1882] who wish to understand the whole subject from his volume, without reference to auxiliary text-books. To a slight extent he has revised the demonstrations and modified the diagrams of the Admiralty Manual—abridging these demonstrations so far as he thinks it possible to do so, He preserves Smith’s notation as gererally familiar. The newest part of the book is that in which he gives us the full details of the recent methods by which the amount of compensation can be determined with or without altitudes. In the account of these methods his readers will find col- lected much that it would be impossible for them to find in any English volume, and the exposition has all the merits of the French school. Smith and Evans showed us in their Manual how to determine the five essential coefficients upon which the deviation, when it is less than 20° in absolute value, depends at any position on the earth’s surface, and for any course of tke ship, three of these being constant. Two observations of the variation at any place accordingly suffice to determine the values of the deviation. Collet points out the necessity of compensation, that is to say, of the reduction of the five constants to insignificant values which can be determined even in a fog, when no observations of altitude can be taken, a method, of course, of the highest importance to practical men in circumstances of actual difficulty, which are constantly recurring. The theoretical part of the Admiralty Manual is given as succinctly as it is perhaps possible to give it if it is to be clearly mastered; the practical part is dwelt upon in full detail, and the rules are so simple and plain tbat ordinary captains in the merchant service ought to be able to use them accurately, even if they are unable to master the scientific part. There is an excellent account of Sir William Thomson’s compass. The fundamental ideas on which that instru- ment is constructed are that the magnetised needles must be so small that we may safely neglect their length, and that the intensity of their magnetism must be so slight that there is no reciprocal action between them and the soft iron correctors. The compass card is extremely light. A card of 1o inches diameter is directed by eight small needles, four on each side, like ordinary sewing-needles, of from 2 to 3 inches in length, and weighing in all about 34 grammes. These are hung by two parallel silk threads, and attached to the card by silk threads passing through | the two eyes at the two ends of each needle. The entire | weight of the card, the needles, the outer circle of alu- | minium, the silk threads, the cap which rests on the | vertical point, &c., is only 12 grammes, which is about 1-10th of what it is in the ordinary compass. This, of course, gives much less friction than usual between the point and the cap, so that the error due to friction is Weeduced in practice within a range of a quarter of a degree. The feeble magnetic moment of the system involves two important consequences—the period of oscillation round the position of equilibrium is only about 4o seconds, whereas it is three times as much in an ordinary compass card, and the suspension by silk threads makes | the whole card so elastic that it is much less liable to be | prejudicially affected by any sudden shock, such, for instance, as the firing of a cannon on board. | M. Collet gives an account of the compensated com- —<—————— — passes of Peichl, a lieutenant in the Austrian naval | NATURE 383 service. Peichl aims, like Sir William Thomson, to reduce the five coefficients used in determining the deviation to insignificant values. We must refer the reader to Mr. Collet’s book to show wherein Peichl differs from Sir William Thomson's system, and wherein M. Collet considers it to be markedly inferior to it in prac- tical value. The fifth part of the treatise discusses the methods by which it is possible, by the use of Sir William Thom- son’s deflector, to compensate and to obtain the neces- sary corrections for the compass in foggy weather, when no observations of altitude, celestial or terrestrial, are possible. These methods are admirable, and even on an iron vessel the most improved modern compass can be trusted by the mariner almost as completely as the chronometer its-lf. Just as in the case of the chrono- meter, however, it would be foolish to neglect the oppor- tunities of verification of the instrument which are constantly recurring on shipboard. Continually tested, and its performances brought frequently under review, it serves all the purposes of the seaman, and in foggy as well as in clear weather a captain can trust his compen- sated compass to navigate his ship. The brief historical exposition of the development of the compass, which occupies forty pages, is singularly interesting. Founded as it is on the Admiralty Manual, it is reasonable to expect to find, as we do, that the immense work of English men of science should be justly appreciated, but it is not perhaps so much a matter of course that that appreciation should be as generous as it is just. The French scientific man cannot always realise that science may sometimes emanate from other centres than Paris. M. Collet is not less scrupulously just to people of other nations than a German savant would he, he is more generous, and his book is more readable. OUR BOOK SHELF Stanford’ s London Atlas of Universal Geography. Quarto Edition. (London: Stanford, 1882.) Tuis new atlas appears to us to be superior in many respects to the ordinary run of such works. There are forty-four maps, and the selection has been made with great judiciousness, and with a special view to adapt the atlas to an English public. Britainand her dependencies occupy a prominent position ; Canada has three maps ; besides Australia there is a beautiful map of Tasmania, another of New Zealand, and one of the Fiji Islands, a specially original feature. Ceylon, moreover, has a map all to itself. The two maps devoted to Turkestan are of obvious utility, and have evidently been done with great care. There is a specially good separate map of Switzerland. Of Britain, besides the general maps of each of the three kingdoms, we have a fine orographical map showing by difference of tint both the varying height of the land and the varying depths of the sea around our shores ; and another map showing the distribution of the rainfall. There is a separate map of Japan, a very useful one of the Indian Archipelago, and a map of Africa in which several of the hitherto vaguely indicated Central States have had an approximate definition given to their areas. These are a few of the more prominent features of the atlas. The execution is on the whole thoroughly satis- factory ; several of the maps, indeed, were originally by Atrowsmith, Appended is a copious index of places, with their latitude and longitude. 384 Farming for Pleasure and Profit. “Eighth Séction— Market Garden Husbandry for Farmers and General Cultivators. By William H. Ablett. (London : Chapman and Hall, Limited, 1881.) THAT there isa certainamount of pleasure infarming culture as there is in every other occupation in life no one will deny, but whether the pleasure goes hand in hand with profit is another question. In these days of agricultural depres- sion anything that can conduce to either pleasure or profit in farming would, we doubt not, be hailed by thousands ; for farmers, however, to take up with market gardening in all its details as laid down by Mr. Ablett, would be to revolutionise the practice of farming as generally ac- cepted, and to constitute themselves into market gardeners pure and simple, this the author seems to have considered impracticable, except in the neighbourhood of London or large towns where in the markets the produce can be quickly disposed of. To adopt a legal phrase we may say we do not think the author has made out a case for the more general adaptation of farm lands for market garden produce, because while fully believing that many of the more important vegetables might be cultivated on a much more extended scale, we do not see that the crops would be more profitable to the grower than those with which he is more accustomed, and which, instead of requiring an immediate sale, can be stored and disposed of at any time. But while many vegetables. more par- ticularly root crops, as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, &c., may with profit be grown by farmers, we very much doubt whether mushrooms would be generally taken up or prove advantageous, and still less so the morell and truffle, all of which are included in Chap. X., the two latter of which the author says are not objects of cul- tivation in this country, a remark that is quite true, and therefore it does not form the slightest excuse for admit- ting even a notice of them into the book. Still less can any excuse be found for the occupation of three-quarters of a page by the Fly Agaric (Agaricus muscarius), a well-known poisonous species. The final chapter of the book concludes with some remarks on flower growing, a branch of cultivation that would, we should think, seldom or never be united with that of farming proper. The bcok is well printed, and is freer from typographical errors than is usually the case ; nevertheless there are errors in spelling that ought not to have occurred, such, for instance, as Solanum tuberosam for S. tuberosum, Lepidum for Lepidium, and Cochlearia armorica for Cochlearia armoracia. Notwithstanding that many other works exist which give full cultural details for growing market garden produce, we have no doubt that this latest production will be found of use to some growers. The Land of the Morning; an Account of Japan and its eople. By William Gray Dixon, M.A. (Edinburgh : James Gemmell, 1882.) GENERAL works in Japan have increased so rapidly in recent years that the claims of every new writer on the subject may well be examined with attention. Those of Mr. Dixon are that he resided four years in T6kié as Professor in the Engineering College there, that he travelled over nearly four thousand miles of the country, including many remote and mountainous districts, and that he was thrown into contact with representatives of all classes of Japanese society from Cabinet Ministers to peasants. To these may be added the further circumstance that really accu- rate and valuable books, such as those of Sir Edward Reed and Miss Bird, are somewhat expensive, while Mr. Dixon desired to furnish a moderate-sized volume at a moderate price. In this we think he has succeeded. “ The Land of the Morning” is a handsome volume of nearly 700 pages, with numerous illustrations. When we ex- amine the contents of the work, we find that they are in NATURE every way worthy of their handsome exterior. After a brief and apparently accurate sketch of Japanese history, and especially of the troubles whfch led to the revolution of 1868, Mr, Dixon describes new Japan, its institutions, and people. This he does with a sympathy which is all the more praiseworthy that it is the result of four years’ close observation, and not the newly-developed ardour of a casual visitor. We turn with especial interest to Mr. Dixon’s account of Japanese students. Many young men from Japan have shown themselves matches for brilliant European students, notwithstanding the initial obstacle which they have to overcome in acquiring the language ; these, however, are clearly exceptions, and we therefore look to Mr. Dixon's experience for an account of the average Japanese student. He has devoted a whole chapter to the subject, and the picture is in some respects not a pleasant one. Devotion to study, which frequently leads to overwork and permanent ill-health ; attention and respect for the teacher ; good-humour; an extraordinary development of memory; some originality, a high sense of honour and much gratitude, are all found in the average student ; but with these we find a self-conceit which is ridiculous, a mind clear rather than deep, and a “ narrow intellectual- ism”? which blinds him to the necessity for moral as well as intellectual development. If there is a rapid develop- ment there is also a rapid decay. The picture, we believe, is a true, albeit somewhat melancholy one. The popular idea that Japanese isolation, which was first rudely broken by the American Commodore Perry in 1853, was the result of hostility and prejudice towards foreigners, will receive a shock from Mr. Dixon’s chapter on the subject. ‘‘ The real cause,’’ he says, “ of Japan’s exclusiveness was a fear that free intercourse with the out- side world might lead her into subjection to some foreign power.” Mr. Dixon is indignant that “an American gentleman of considerable fame in biology and cognate subjects "— Prof. Morse, of Salem, we believe—“instead of keeping within his own province,” preached “atheistic evo- lution” in a temple at Asakusa in TOkié ; in other words, lectured on evolution and the Darwinian theory, and founded among his students a biological society which is still active and vigorous. The really good work which Prof. Morse did for education and science in Japan cannot be dismissed by a few abusive epithets, and we cannot help thinking that Mr. Dixon would have acted more discreetly, and more in accordance with the general tone of the work, had he omitted references such as these. This, however, is but a minor blot in a work of such general excellence. A Study of the History and Meaning of the Expression “ Original Gravity.” By J. A. Nettleton, of the Inland Revenue Laboratory, Somerset House. (London: A, Lampray, 1881). THis little treatise, the substance of which appeared in the Brewers’ Guardian, has been compiled mainly for the information of brewers and distillers, and for the use of the officers in the Inland Revenue Department, in order to permit of the original gravity of a sample of wort of beer or of distillers’ wash to be determined after fermenta- tion with a view of fixing the amount of drawback, in con- formity with the Act 10 Vict, cap. 5, 1847, and the Inland Revenue Act, 1880. There are four different methods in more or less common use for determining “original gravity” These are very fully described and the inci- dental errors carefully noted ; preference is very properly given to the distillation process of Dobson and Phillips, with the modifications in the tables rendered necessary by the investigations of Graham, Hofmann, and Red- wood, made at the instance of the Board of Inland Revenue. We can recommend the work as a thoroughly trustworthy guide to the brewer and distiller in a matter of great practical importance to their trades. \. EETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Zhe Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications, [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible, The pressuve on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and ncvei facts.) Hypothetical High Tides WHATEVER conclusion may ultimately prevail with regard to the existence of very high tides in the earlier epochs of which geology has cognisance, | think that geologists will hardly accept the argument by Prof. Newberry, in your last issue (p. 357) as a settlement of the question, He appears to confound together three agents whose effects widely differ, viz. : (1) tidal waves of undulation, (2) tidal waves of translation, and (3) wind waves. In waves of undulation the particles of water move only ina vertical line, and can obviously neither denude nor transport. Waves of translation, acting as currents, are transporting agents, but are very subordinate to wind waves in their dennding power. In the present state of things waves of translation, z.e, the tides of our inland seas and estuaries, can hardly be said to~denude at all ; they simply shift mud and sand from place to place. Even if their speed were enormously increased, their effects, as denuding agents must still be very inferior to that of wind waves, The picture which Prof. Newberry has drawn of an enormous current rushing round and round the globe, sweeping away con- tinents, and destroying whole faunas, is not justified by fact. In the open ocean there would be no current at all due to tidal action, but simply, a vertical rise and fall, The Tr.lobites and Brachiopoda which swarmed in the Silurian seas would be conscious of no change in their surroundings save an alternate deepening and shallowing of the water over their heads. Where the tidal wave became inclosed between two Jands its height would increase ; but it would acquire no transporting power till it was filled up in narrow estuaries. Marine denudations would be mainly effected, as at the present day, by wind waves. I will present Prof. Newberry with a more energetic denud- ing agent than his tidal wave, viz. wind waves originating in the more powerful air currents of a globe rotating at (perhaps) thrice its present speed. But what could such waves do which our present waves cannot do? ‘They would simply work more rapidly. They would produce deposits of conglomerate, sand, and mud, which would in no respect differ from modern strata. There would be nothing in the nature of the sediments from which we could either affirm or deny the existence of a more potent engine of denudation, Prof. Newberry attempts to show that the hypothetical tidal wave of Devonian times would | revent the formation of coral- reefs. But this argument proceeds on the assumption that the habits of the Devonian corals were identical with those of recent reef-building polypes. Since, however, the Paleozoic corals belong to extinct families, any inference as to their habits must be purely hypothetical. Besides, the tidal wave must have greatly diminished by the Silurian or Devonian epoch, and may not have exceeded the 150 or 200 feet which Mr. C. Darwin fixes for the limit below which the polypes cannot live. Prof. Newberry makes a strong point of the evidences of quietude which we find in ancient littoral zones. The hypothetic tidal wave, he thinks, must have swept over the mollusks, corals, and sea-weeds which tenant the shore, so that they would be subject to the ‘‘ greatest mechanical violence,’’ and their zone would be rendered ‘‘ uninhabitab e.’’ To this I reply (1) that shores bordering on the open sea would only be exposed to a wave of undulation, and (2) that even a rushing waye of trans- lation would do less harm than our modern wind waves, which hammer against the shores where mollusks and sea-weeds manage to spend a tolerably peaceful life. There are other details on which I should like to join issue with Prof. Newberry, but I fear to trespass upon your valuable space. C. CALLAWAY Wellington, Salop, February 17 SuRELY Mr. Newberry has too quickly come to the conclusion with which his paper of February 16 (‘* Hypothetical High Tides”) terminates. I think if he reconsiders the matter he will NATURE 2 3°5 still find that there is room for discussion. Has he fully taken into consideration the fact that at present, although in seme places there are tides of thirty feet or more in height, notably where the waves roll in from the open ocean to some of the more or less confined bays or estuaries, on the contrary, in confined seas on the Mediterranean, Euxine, ard Baltic, the tide is scarcely perceptible? This being the case, is it satisfactorily proved that the old Potsdam beach of which Mr. Newberry speaks was not deposited on the shore of such an inland sea, where, in despite of the fact that the cceanic tides might measure 2co feet or more, yet here I think the littoral zone might te comparatively quiet ; at any rate sufficiently so to support both animal and plant life? I merely make this suggestion in the hope that somebody more able to deal with the subject than L am will continue the discus-ion. A. HALE Filston Hall, Shoreham, Kent, February 20 Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon UNDER this heading (NATURE, vol. xxv. p. 337) M. de Fonvielle made an interesting communication on a cloud sus- pended over Paris, through which he and M. Brissonet passed in a balloon on January 25 last. Its thickness did not exceed 3co metres. ‘‘ The nebulous matter,” he says, ‘‘appeared per- fectly homogeneous, and I could see no trace of any crystalline matter, but an unexpected observation proved that it was formed of minute solidified atems of water in a real microscopic state of division.” While the balloon was floating over the cloud the sky was clear, and the temperature of the air from —2° to —3° C., and a rope hung from the balloon, the length of which was 60 metres, its end being immersed in the cloud, ‘* We perceived that this part was quite loaded with hoar-frost, which had preci- pitated regularly by series of hairs a few millimetres long,” During the slow ascent no deposit of ice was visible ; ‘‘in cur descent, which was rather quicker, but not to a great degree, the sweeping may have accumulated the frost rime on the bottom of the car, which could nct have been easy to observe, and con- sequently I cannot state what occurred, but not a single crystal was deposited on our ropes during that period.” The mean temperature of the clcud is said to have been 5° C., but at the point at which the deposition of rime took place the temperature must have been 0° or lower, The upper layer of the cloud might have been colder than the layers below. it is improbable that the upper part of the cloud consisted of solid water, as no trace of any crystalline matter was visible. The smallest crystals of snow are visible in the air in the thin mists formed over channels of water, for the snow crystals glisten and reflect light from their exceedingly small surfaces. M. de Fonvielle must have observed this phenomenon, as ‘‘the sun was shining in its full glory.” It is more probable that the cloud was formed by small drops of liquid water cooled below zero. We know from Dufour’s observations that water-drops, if they are not in contact with solid matter, and floating in mixture of rock-oil and chloroform of equal density, may be cooled down to — 10° C., and even to — 20°C, if they are small enough, but become crystalline in contact with a solid body, especially a trace of ice. The hoar-frost which we nave frequently noticed this winter in Heidelberg, during hazy weather, and when the temperature was below 0°, may have been due to the solidi- fication of such drops of mist. It covered the plants first with filigree-like ice, and then with a thick crust of the same. In consequence of this, sometimes so much ice is deposited on the stems of the trees that great damage is cauved by it in the forests ; this was the case in the neighbcuring ‘‘ Rheinpfalz” in the winter 1858-59, and in other parts of Germany, especially in. Bohemia. It is, however, well known that a thick mist may consist of crystals of ice. Equally well known is Scoresby’s description of the ‘‘frost-dam” or ‘‘frost-rime ” of the Arctic regions, as it forms a layer inthe coldair over the warmer sea-water, the masts of the ships projecting overit. Mohn describes the ‘‘ Frostzdg,” which is formed in winter over the Norwegian fjords, which never freeze, when cold air, sometimes at a temperature of 20° C., and even lower, blows from the land over the water, which has a temperature aboye o° C. To these interesting occurrences of mist, generally termed ice- fog, one particularly interesting instance has been added by Hildebrand-Hildebrandsson’s meteorological observations made during the voyage of the Vega (Zeitschr, der Ocsterr. Gesellisch. f. Meteorologie, 1881, xvi. 369; Naturforscher, 1882, No. 5.) During Baron Nordenskjold’s wintering nerr Puitlekaj, on the Cape Serze Kamen (near Behring Strait) in 1878-79, an ice-fog was formed by the north wind predominating there during the cold season, by which the aqueous vapour from Polynja was blown over the cold mainland. ‘This ice-fog rendered the ar opaque to such an extent that it was found necessary, in order to find the way, to spana rope from the ship to the observatory which was erected not far off on the sh_re. Heidelberg, February 11 HERMANN Korr Earthquake ia the Andaman Islards I sEE among the Notes in your last issue (p. 325) that there has been widespread seismic disturbance in Asia, including Ceylon, but unfortunately in no instance is the date given, which would have added very greatly to the value of the record. It may be interesting to give an extract from a letter I have just received from my brother, Mr. Harold Godwin-Au.ten, from Port Blair, Andaman Islands, which very } robably was con- nected with the disturbance in Ceylon, and if so, it covered a very considerable area of the earth’s surface, the distance being about 750 miles between the two places :—‘* Port Blair, January 2.—We had a very bad earthquake here on December 31, 1881, at 7°52a.m. I thought the pl:ce was going to pieces. There has been a good deal of damage doue to work and pucca (brick) buildings, and we had five high and low tides in three hours after the shock, and the sea d.d not quiet down all day. Since then we have had two or three slight shocks.” Deepiale, Reigae, February9 H. I. Gopwin AusTEN The ‘‘Overflow Bugs” in California THE following experience from one of my correspondeuts, Mrs. A. E. Bush, of San José, Califorria, is, I think, well worth publishiaz, as showing how Ground-beetl.s may be so numerous as to become a nuisance to min, the Caribide gene- rally being indirectly beneficial to him by devouring plant-feeding species. The insect popularly denominated ‘* Overflow Buz” in California is the Platynus maculicollis, Ve} Washington, D.C. CONeERInEY “We lived in Fresno Co. two years, in the north-eastern part, and in the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada. Itis hot and dry there; no trees and many rocks where we were ; thermome- ter ranging from 96° to 108° for about three months. In Jane and July, when hottest and driest, the ‘* overflow bugs”’ filled the air between sunset and dark. You could not with safety open your mouth. They would light all over your clothes ; they filled the house ; they swarmed on the table, in the milk, sugar, flour, bread, and everywhere there was a crevice to get through. Take a garment from the wall, and you could shake out a cupfull. 3t was a veritable plague. In a shed where the boards had shrunk and the cracks been battened, the spaces between the shruaken boards were packed full. ‘They were flyiug for about two weeks, and then they disappeared mo tly or they did not fly much, but were hidden uader papers, c'othing, and every avail- able place. In November, before the rains, they spread around, but not to fly ; make a light in the nizht, and you would see the floor covered ; lift up a rug, and the floor under would be black, and they would go scattering away for some other hidinz-place. J had occasion to take up a floor board after they had apparently disappeared, except stragglers. The hou,e was upon under- pinning two feet or more from the ground. When the boird was raised, there were the ‘overflow bugs’ piled up against a piece of uaderpinninz, making such a pile as a half bu hel of grain would make, They were all through the foot-hills the same, and much the same in Los Angelus, about Norfolk, but they did not fly much in the latter place. In Los Angelos they seemed to be wor.e before the ‘Santa Annas,’ a hot wind from the desert filling the air with sand; and though the chickens were ever so hungry for insevts, they would not eat the ‘ over- flow buzs.’ In the night you put up your hand to brush one from your face, and then you get up fur soap and water to cleanse your hand. In the morning, if you put on garments without shaking, you get them quickly off and shake them.” Solar Halo WE were favoured here on the 16th inst. with a view of a rather unusual phenomenon. Short'y after 8 a.m., the sky being NATURE PASS het a ae for the most part clear with detached masses of fleecy clouds towards the south, two mock suns appeared, one to the west very brilliant, the other rather fainter, and of a crimson shade at times. The halo was visible for a little distance near the western one, which, with the bar of light from the sun extending along the bank of cloud beyond, formed a perfect cross. They gradually waned, the eastern one, however, becoming once or twice more brilliant, till a little after 10, when the sky grew overcast and they disappeared. W. F. Evans Felsted, Essex Auroral Display AN auroral display was observed here last evening between 7h. and 8h. ‘The sky was partially overcast during a portion of the time, but it cleared about 7h. 10om., when the northern quarter was lighted up by a bright glow of an aqua-marine line. Only three faint streamers were remarked. They were of a creamy-white c.lcur, and extended from the horizon in the direction of the magnetic north nearly to the zenith. Examining the auroral light with a direct-vision spectroscope by Hilger, I saw one remarkably distinct line, which was estimated to occupy the position of the characteristic line observed by Angstrom and others, between D and E. No other lines were visible. Bedford, February 21 Tuos. Gwyn ELGER A Plea for Jumbo WILL you open your columns to a short but earnest plea for poor Jumbo, of the Zoolugical Gardens? No one can read the description of the attempts made to remove him without feeling that it would be a disgrace to English lovers of animals to let him be transported. To outsiders it is a mystery that Mr. Barnum should have succeeded in purchasing him, and if some means are not discovered of sajisfying Mr. Barnum’s claims without doing violence to the public sentiment of humanity, it will be a cause of indignation to many of us. You should hear my wife talk ahout the matter, hut of course she i; only a woman, she is certainly not a ‘* Fellow.” In this case, however, it is possible that her womanly instinct is worth more respect than the motives which have led to the sale and purchase of our favourite quadrupedal fellow-citizen. » THE CHEMISTRY OF THE ATLANTIC* Ie N this work are collected and discussed the results of the chemical investigations on the nature of the water of the North Atlantic, made during the Norwegian expe- ditions of the summers 1876, 1877, and 1878. The con- tents of the volume are divided into three chapters—I. On the Air in Sea Water; IJ. On the Carbonic Acid in Sea Water; and III. On the Amount of Salt in the Water of the Norwegian Sea. It is therefore wholly con- cerned with the chemistry of the water; chemical re- searches in other directions are promised for a future volume. Although the subject is thus restricted, there is abundant matter of the greatest interest both from a chemical and from a geographical point of view. Apart from isolated experimeats, the first occasion on which the gaseous contents of sea-water were the object of systematic and successful study was during the German expeditions to the Baltic and the North Sea in 1871 and 1872 in the Pomerania. In the Lightning and the Porcu- pine attempts had been made to examine the water in this direction, but the results were not satisfactory. In order to determine the gaseous contents of a sample of water it is necessary first to eliminate and separate the gas from the water, and then to analyse it; and these form two distinct operations—one, the former, of which can be carried out perfectly on board ship; the other requires the steadiness of a shore laboratory. On board the Lightning and the Porcupine the mistake was made of attempting the analysis as well as the extraction of the air on board. t The Norwegian North Atlantic Expedition, 1876-73. Chemistry. By Hercules Torn e, (Chris iania: Groendal and Son, 1880.) Feb. 23, 1882 | NATURE 387 Dr. Jacobsen, the chemist of the Pomerania Expedition, has the merit of being the first to have rendered practic- able the carrying out of such operations as the extraction of the gases and the determination of the carbonic acid in sea-water at sea. In subsequent expeditions his apparatus has been used with but slight modifications. His apparatus for extracting the oxygen and nitrogen was used on board the Challenger and by Dr. Tornoe without alteration ; the method of determining the carbonic acid was modified both on board the Chadéenger and on the Norwegian expedition. In the first chapter, ‘‘(n the Air in Sea Water,” Dr. Tornoe describes the apparatus used for obtaining samples of the water at different depths. In principle it resembles most other instruments devised for the same purpose, consisting of a tube which is open at both ends while descending, thus allowing the water to pass freely through it. On reversing the motion, the two ends are closed by conical valves worked by screw fans. In construction, however, it differs widely from other instruments of the same kind. Instead of being straight the tube, which forms the body of the instrument, is spiral, and holds about five litres. The diameter of the tube is 5°5 centimetres, and the external diameter of the spiral is 33'5 cm., the total length of the instrument over all being 144 cm., or nearly 5 teet. These measurements are taken from the plate accompanying the book, and it is apparent from them that the instrument is one of very considerable size ; it is a pity that its weight is not given. Both ends of the spiral tube have conical valve seats, the smallest diameter of which is equal to that of the tube. The valves fitting these apertures are kept open during descent by the action of screw-fans, which turn in one direction during descent ; when the direction of the motion is reversed and the ascent commenced, the first few turns of the screw-fans are used for bringing the valves close to their seats, when, being released from the screws, they are pressed home bya pair of spiral springs. In order to do the necessary work on the screws, the instrument has to travel through about seven fathoms of water. The water, therefore, which it brings up will be a far average sample of the particular seven fathoms through which it was drawn. ‘The instrument appears to have given great satisfaction, and it has many good points in its construc- tion. The spiral form of the tube is an ingenious con- trivance for increasing its capacity without unduly length- ening the whole apparatus, but the spiral form also pro- duces an increased resistance to the passage of the water, so that what passes through will lag behind what passes outside the instrument. Hence the sample actually inside the tube at any moment is a sample of the watera certain number of fathoms above it, and not of the water in the centre of which it is plunged. For ocean work this is not a serious drawback, and it is in a great measure cor- rected by the necessity for hauling it backwards through seven fathoms of water before it is closed. The arrange- ment for working the valves is very ingenious, and permits the use of several instruments on one line, for the instru- ment requires to traverse seven fathoms of water in order to close, and this is much more than would be traversed by it with the line held fast and exposed only to the roll- ing motion of the ship. This advantage, however, is rendered nugatory by the great size of the instrument, as one of them would be a sufficient load for anyline. It is evident that for taking samples at small intervals of depth as every five fathoms, the instrument would have to be modified, or one of the other existing forms used ; but for the collection of the samples which actually were taken, the instrument was quite satisfactory. Its inventor was Capt. C. Wille of the Norwegian navy. The apparatus used for boiling out the gases is exactly that recommended and figured by Jacobsen in Liebig’s Annalen, vol. 167, p. 1. It consists of three parts—a, the flask for the reception of the sea water to be boiled, its capacity is about goo cub. centims. ; 4, the bulb tube, fitted into the mouth of the flask by an india-rubber cork, which, with the tube, forms a most ingenious kind of slide-valve, enabling connection between the flask and the remainder of the apparatus to be made or broken at will. This bulb-tube serves a double purpose : at first it contains a supply of distilled water, which, being con- verted into steam, drives all the air out of the upper part of the apparatus, and so enables a vacuum to be formed ; in the latter part of the operation it serves for the recep- tion of the sea water which expands into it out of the flask during the process of boiling. The third part of the apparatus, c, is the gas-tube in which the sample of gas is sealed up and preserved when it has been extracted from the water. This tube, which ought to have a capacity of about 60 or 70 cub. centims., resembles a pipette whose end-tubes are reduced to a length of 5 or 6 centi- metres, and are contracted to a very small diameter near the body. It is attached to the bulb-tube by a piece of good india-rubber tubing, care being taken that the ends of the two tubes abut. By the boiling of the distilled water in the bulb-tube at the commencement of the operation all the air is expelled, and the apparatus her- metically closed by sealing up the gas-tube at the con- traction at its upper end. During this operation commu- nication is interrupted, by means of the slide-valve, between the flask and the bulb-tube. After the upper end of the gas-tube has been closed, communication is re-established, and the water in the flask now finds itself exposed to the action of a tolerably good vacuum, and in consequence the air dissolved in it immediately begins to be disengaged ; this is assisted by heating in a water- bath. When it is judged that the air has all been ex- pelled from the water, the flask is again isolated by means of the slide-valve, and the gas-tube sealed up at the lower contraction and preserved for analysis. As there is always some of the gas remaining in the bulb-tube, the space so occupied is measured and noted, so as to be taken into account in determining the total volume of gas per volume of water. The beautiful part of this appa- ratus is the slide-valve arrangement, which was invented by Dr. Behrens of Kiel. Otherwise the apparatus does not differ from that described by Bunsen, and used by him in Iceland. Had it, however, been necessary to use Bunsen’s apparatus unmcdified, it may safely be assumed that we should now have very few analyses of the air dis- solved in sea water. It is Dr. Behrens’ invention which renders the operation, sufficiently easy to enable it to be carried out successfully asa matter of routine at sea. There is another item in the construction of the instru- ment which, though apparently insignificant, is really of the utmost importance in insuring a successful result—it is the way in which the contraction in the two end tubes of the gastube is made. The tubes supplied to the Nor- wegian Expedition seem to have been much the same as those supplied to the Challenger. Both came from Thuringia in Germany, and in the Chad/enger ones the contraction was formed by thickening up the tubes before the blowpipe, so that the external diameter was not dimi- nished, while the internal diameter was reduced often beyond what was necessary. Now in attempting to close the tube with the blowpipe at one of these thickened con- tractions, the thin and comparatively wide tube on either side of the thick contraction is very aft to be heated up to softening point before the much more massive contraction has got even hot. In the inside of the tube, however, there is, even after the boiling, a much lower pressure than in the outside atmosphere ; consequently, immedi- ately the tube next the contraction gets soft, it falls in, and though the tube may be drawn out, and so appear for the moment to be satisfactorily closed, the point so formed never fails to crack on cooling. This is the reason of the deplorable lors of as much as 75 per cent. of the gas samples boiled out by Dr. Tornoe on his last voyage. A 3388 NATURE [ Feb. 2gi 18 82. similar experience was made with the first few samples boiled out on board the C/a//enger, but it was detected in time to prevent any serious loss. Indeed from dust and particles of sawdust having got into the tubes, it was necessary in every case, before using a gas tube, to remove its end tubes, clean the body thoroughly, re-attach the end tubes, and draw out the thickened contraction. When so drawn out, there is not the same mass of glass to be heated, and the contracted part can be heated for itself without any danger of softening the wide part. There was no instance of a tube cracking after being sealed up with these precautions. In recent practice the writer has considerably modified and improved the apparatus for ex- tracting gases from water on shipboard, but a description of the apparatus would here be out of place. The figures representing the results of the analyses are necessarily affected by errors incident to the collection and the transvasing of the water and to the separation and analysis of the gas. The combined effect of these errors can be appreciated by the study of the following table, in which are collected the results of analyses made in duplicate. It is not stated whether on each occasion two separate and distinct samples were collected and treated separately, or, from the same sample of water, two portions were separately boiled, and thus two portions of gas obtained for analysis. Of the nine waters so treated four came from the surface, three from the bottom, and one from an intermediate depth of 300 fathoms. Table of Duplicate Analyses : O+} ce — Depth (fathoms). cae ragicor ae Difference. | a | 2 | —— = | | 700 } 20°5 a 33°0 1 Be5 (Bottom) | 20°0 mh 336 we 795 20°6 $ 32°6 ; a (Bottom) 19°4 DS al eogaer ae 1760 19°6 me 34°0 e =e (Bottom) = 33'8 NATURE 435 so readily that the fluid should pass again into a solid centre. Another formidable difficulty is that a subter- ranean ocean must be subject to tides, as much as the sea would be though covered by ice. This is passed over somewhat lightly with the suggestion that viscosity may be sufficient to obscure all tidal phenomena. Doubtless, too, other difficulties will start up for which it may not be easy to find a solution. But every theory is sure to present difficulties. Time must show whether they mul- tiply or die away. One or two points do seem to emerge from this assem- blage of calculations as fairly clear, and established on tolerably firm foundations. Such,are, that contraction of the earth by cooling is inadequate to the production of its greater inequalities. The earth cannot be a mass quite so homogeneous as on the theory of having coolec rrom a perfect fluid it is often assumed to be. There must be subterranean irregularities of density. Besides these, the phenomena of volcanoes seems to be explained best, as yet, by the existence of vapours and gases in intimate mixture with the materials below its crust. And a sub- stratum plastic, if not fluid, will account for many facts which are ordinarily very perplexing. But, to quote from a striking quotation made in the volume itself, “ Of all known regions of the Universe the most unsafe to reason about is that which is beneath our feet.” E.) HIEe LERBERS 1O THE EDITOR [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts, No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space ts so great that tt 1s impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even of communications containing interesting ana novel facts. | Vignettes from Nature ANxrouS that popular scientific literature, especially that which deals with the Evolution-doctrine, should be strictly accu- rate in its facés, I would ask—in no unfriendly spirit—whether Mr. Grant Allen and Mr. Wallace have fully informed them- selves upon each of the several positions taken in the paragraph cited with approval by Mr. Wallace (in the last number of NATURE, p. 381) from Mr. Grant Allen’s ‘‘ Vignettes,” referring to the dimensions of the largest animals now existing, as com- pared with those of the faunz of past epechs, 1. It is asserted that ‘‘no known extinct animal was as large as some of our modern Whales.” When, some thirty years ago, I visited the so-called ‘‘coprolite” pits in the Suffolk crag, I was astonished at the multitude of the ivory-like ‘‘ear-bones” of whales found in a certain group of them; which were described by Prof. Owen, and compared with those of existing Balenide, in his ‘‘ Fossil Mammals of Great Britain.” From the fragments of gigantic ribs and vertebree which I then saw at Felixstowe, I should certainly suppose the extinct whales they represent (which Prof. Owen regards as of Eocene age) to have been fully as large as those of the present time. I would ask, further, whether sufficient acccunt has been taken, in the statement just cited, of the most gigantic types of Reptilian Mesozoic life? Any one who has placed himself by the side of the huge bones of the Cetiosawrus which form sucha con- spicuous feature in the Oxford Museum, must, I think, be dis- posed to regard the animal there represented as having probably at least equalled the whale in éz/%, though very likely not in length. And even this colossal reptile must have been far exceeded ir dimensions by the A¢/antosaurus montanus described by Prof. Marsh from the Wealden of Colorado. I would respect- fully ask the authors, therefore, whether they are prepared to show that such an estimate is fallacious. 2. Having been led to believe, by all I have seen, heard, and read, that the orvdivary bulk of our existing Elephants (I do not speak of exceptional ‘‘ Jumboes”’) was considerably exceeded by that of the Mammoth and Mastodon—the former surpassing them in hezghz (see the comparetive mea‘ urements given by Prof. Owen, of. cit.), and the latter in /ength of bedy, I cannot but feel surprised that Mr. Grant Allen should speak of elephants ‘‘as having been increasing in size from the earliest epoch of their - appearance to the present day’’; still more, that Mr. Wallace should endorse the statement. Of course I] shall at once bow to the superior knowledge of the latter most distinguished zoolo- gist, when he refers me to trustworthy measurements in support of his position. 3. I can speak with more confidence in regard to the relative size of extinct Sharks, none of which, in the judgment of Mr, Grant Allen and Mr, Wallace, surpassed the forty-feet sharks of the present time. For I have now before mea tooth of a fossil shark (found in one of the before-mentioned ‘‘ coprolite pits”’) of pretty regular triangular form, measuring fous inches in length, three inches across the base, and seven-eighths of an inch in thickness between its flat surface and the most protuberant part of its conyex surface ; and I have seen others much larger, the length of some being said to range to s7x inches. Now when I brought this tooth home, I took an early opportunity of com- paring it with the largest teeth of existing sharks that I cculd find in the briti-h and Hunterian Museums, and found these to be pigmies by comparison. Unless, therefore, I can be referred to some fre:h source of information, I must continue to believe (face Mr. Grant Allen and Mr. Wallace) that some of tke older sharks were far larger than any of which we have any knowledge at present. 4. Is it clear that Z>7dacna is the largest known Mollusk ? I should have thought it exceeded by the gigantic Ammonitide, the largest specimens of which are not always to be found in museums ; for I have seen one at Redcar (whose diameter I am afraid to state from memory, for fear of exaggeration) so massive that no one had undertaken the task of removing it. 5. No mention is made of Cyestacca, though I should have thought that important class worthy of notice. I would ask where any existing crustacean types are to be found, that surpass in size the gigantic u7)'pfevid@ or even the largest 77z/odites. 6. Of the Foraminifera, one of the most important classes in the whole animal kingdom for the share it has taken in the formation of our limestone rocks, I venture to speak with some special knowledge. The largest examples of this group known to us at the present time are the Op ditolites and Cycloclypeus, The former is a very widely diffused type, but only under peculiar local circumstances exceeds an inch in diameter, or one- tenth of an inch in thickness ; the latter is (so far as 1 am yet aware) restricted to one locality, and, though attaining the large diameter of 23 inches, is scarcely thicker than an ordinary card. If these be compared with the massive Ammulites and Orbitoides, of which the vast A’wmu/itic limestones are composed, the advantage will be found clearly on the side of the latter. But, in conclusion, I think it will be conceded that in estimating the general dimensions of a Faura, we must take into account not merely the s7ze of its largest animals, but the range oftheir dis- tribution ; and I would ask Mr. Wallace (whose knowledge of this subject no one appreciates more fully than myself) whether this consideration has been duly weighed by him. Our existing colossal land mammals (elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses) are limited to the tropical and sub-tropical - regions of the Old Would ; while the great American continent is entirely destitute of them. Let this state of things be compared with the former extension of the Mastcdon! and Mammoth through North America (which had for its own also the gigantic Brontotheride), as well as over Europe and Northern Asia ; and the nearly equal range of the Rhinoceros and Hippopotamus (some species of all which seem to have lived contemporaneously during the Quaternary Period) ; whilst at the same time the wide area of South America was tenanted by another Mastcdon, as well as by the colossal Sloths. There can be no reason to suppose again that the great Balzenidze were less abundant during the later Tertiary and Quaternary epochs, than they were either previously or subsequently. And if the evidence of the abundance of some of the colossal land- Mammals—afforded by the vast accumulation t That the Mastodon, though it appeared much earlier than the Mammoth in the Old World, continued to exist in the New during the Quaternary period, is now, I believe, generally admitted. I myself, at the request of Dr. Warren, examined the contents of the well-preserved specimen obtained by him, and found therein twigs quite fresh encugh for the microscopic recognition of their Coniferous structure; and Prof. Asa Gray told me last summer that he could clearly identify them with a well-known existing type. of Mammoth-tusks in the frozen mud of Siberia, and by the wonderful aggregation of Hippopotamus-bones revealed to us by Dr. Falconer’s explorations in the Palermo caves—be also taken into account, we can scarcely, as it seems to me, avoid the conclusion, that the period in the later stages of which we get the first indubitable evidence of Man’s existence (to say nothing of any anterior to it) was much more distinguished than the present for the aggregate balk and wide distribution of the largest members of its fauna. WILLIAM B. CARPENTER Can Mr. Wallace throw any light on Mr. Allen's somewhat extraordinary sentence: ‘‘I feel a genuine respect for every donkey I meet, when J remember that it was the mere accidental Possession of an opposable thumb that gave my ancestors a start over his in the race for the inheritance of the earth towards the very close of the tertiary period.” I take Mr. Allen to be an evolutionist, but there is no place for accident in evolution, or in any other scientific theory. The ‘‘opposable thumb” must be the result of some conditioning factor, and this being so the word accident is quite out of place. on February 27 Moths Attracted by Falling Water WHILST watching the great horse-shoe falls of the Skjal- fandafljét near Ljdsavatn in Iceland, I saw moth after moth fly deliberately into the falling water and disappear. Some which I noticed arriving from a distance, fluttered at first deviously, but as they neared the water flew straight in. The gleaming falls seemed at least as attractive as artificial light, and if the fact has not been observed in this country I should suppose it is because the moths likely to be attracted, fly by night, whilst in Northern Iceland there is no night during the summer. The preference trout show for pools near falls is more likely to arise from the extra food they find there, than the more aérated state of the water. The latter supposition, seeing the number of species of lake trout, always seemed to me a lame one, invented for want of a better, whilst the former explains why broken water is always inhabited by insectivorous fishes. The instinct of self-destruction in moths must be older than the introduction of artificial light, and cannot be of use- exclusively to collectors, but though its benefits to salmon and trout are obvious enough, its advantages to the moths are not so apparent, unless this self- devotion checks an increase that otherwise would be disadvan- tageous. J. STARKIE GARDNER Hypothetical High Tides I HAVE no desire to constitute myself a champion of Mr. ' Ball’s high tides, but I do not think that the testimony of the Coal-Measures, to which Mr. S. V. Wood calls attention, will decide much. These deposits are mainly of non-marine origin, the plants being terrestrial, and the prevailing mollusc, Anthra- cosia, Closely resembling U0. Marine strata do indeed occur, but in almost inappreciable proportion. If it be objected that, in these marine episodes, the hypothetical tidal wave must have wrought fearful havoc; I would suggest that there is no proof that in the Carboniferous epoch the speed of the wave was enor- mou-ly greater than at present. When we reflect that by that time nearly, if not quite all the classes of the animal kingdom had come into existence; we can hardly avoid the conclusion that the Coal- Measures were formed in a period which, in comparison with the age of the globe, must be regarded as comparatively recent. Considering how slight is the denuding power of modern tides, I doubt if even a treble velocity would materially increase the effect. Mr. Elsden’s suggestion that the accelerated tidal wave may account for the absence of estuarine deposits before the Carboni- ferous epoch, takes for granted what remains to be proved, How do we know that there were no pre-Carboniferous deltas? We recognise estuarine strata by the intermixture of terrestrial or fresh-water fossils with marine organisms. The Old Red Sandstone of Britain, being a lacustrine deposit, does not bear upon the question; but I see no reason why the Devonian strata of Russia, in which, according to Murchison, fresh-water fishes are associated with marine shells, may not be in part of estuarine origin. Below the Devonian, the evidence of terrestrial life is very meagre; and to infer from its absence in a set of beds that they must be marine, would be hazardous reasoning. I do not make these observations in the interests of any theory, but simply to evoke discussion on a very interesting question. Wellington, Salop, March 3 C. CALLAWAY Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon I see in NaTuRE, vol. xxv, p. 385, an interesting letter from a German physicist, who comments on the recital of my last balloon ascent (January 25, 1882) as published in your columns. I am very grateful for the numerous instances of frost-rime that he quotes as having been observed on former occasions, but I cannot possibly admit his theory of the liquidity of minute water- drops suspended in the air at a low temperature. The reason why I object to this view was explained more than a century ago by the celebrated Bouguer, when describing in 1744, to the French Academy of Sciences the coronz he observed in the Andes on the occasion of his ascending the Pichincha, I beg leave to quote this interesting account of a quite forgetten ex plo- ration :— ‘On voit presque tous les jours sur le sommet de ces mon- tagnes un phénomeéne extraordinaire qui doit étre aussi ancien que le monde, et dont il y a bien de l’apparence que personne n’est été temoin avant nous. Chacun de nous vit son ombre projetée sur un nuage gui n’était point 4 trente pas. Le peu de distance permettant de distinguer toutes les parties de ’ombre—on voyait le bras, les jambes, la téte ; mais ce que nous étonne c’est que cette dérniére partie ¢tait ornée d’une gloire on d’une aureole formée de trois ou quatres petites couronnes concentriques d’une couleur tres vive, chacune avec le mieux nuance que lare-en-ciel primaire, c’est a dire le rouge en dehors. After having insisted on the Se ‘ : ' <- Taq [ April 6, 1882 course, partake in some degree of the nature of a com- mercial adventure—the projectors being dependent on the gate money to pay the expenses incurred, which are naturally heavy—although the prize list has been largely contributed to by private individuals and public bodies. Such an exhibition being a novelty will no doubt attract, from day to day, a considerable body of spectators, although it is deprived of many attractive features by reason of the place of exhibition not being fixed on the immediate sea-coast. It would have proved interesting, could the spectators have been shown the beam trawl at work, or have had displayed before them a suite of herring nets, or other items of the machinery of fish capture. Such apparatus will be largely displayed in the place of exhibition, but their effects cannot so well be judged as when they are seen in action. Upwards of seventy prizes are offered for ‘exhibits’? and “ essays’; the latter, indeed, seem to be a chief feature of the exhi- bition, and if they can be utilised for behoof of the public and the fisher people, some good may result. But, although a large number of prizes were given for essays at the Norwich Fishery Exhibition of last year, the public have not been made any the wiser in consequence. A very handsome surplus resulted from the Norwich exhibition—nearly a thousand pounds it is said. Why, then, has nota portion of that sum been devoted tu the dissemination of the knowledge contained in the prize essays? As regards the “ exhibits,” they can always be seen and understood by those who please to look at them, and if there are half a dozen of the same sort, they can be compared one with the other, and the decisions of the judges can be criticised, so that persons in search of new boats or other fishing gear, can give their orders for the same in the direction they think most suitable. But with respect to the essays the knowledge contained in these productions—judging from what took place at Norwich—will remain buried in the brains of the committee! Of what possible use is it to bestow a prize on the writer of an essay, “ On the Fish Supplies of Great Cities, with special reference to the best Methods of Catching and Packing,” if the knowledge thus obtained is never to become public? The prize list of the Edin- burgh Exhibition is rich in material for the essayist, many subjects of interest in the fishery world being selected for illustration, such as the salmon disease, oyster culture, the migrations and spawning of sea fish, the utilisa- tion of fish offal, the best methods of preserving fish alive for markets, the pollution of rivers, the natural his- tory of the herring, and twenty other subjects. In view of the still larger international fishery exhibition, which will take place in London next year, it is time this ques- tion of “what ought to be done with the prize essays,” should be ventilated and settled. Up till this moment it remains a blot on the Norwich exhibition that none of the prize essays sent there have been made public. So far as we know, only one of the essays has become accessible ; that is the essay, on the salmon disease, by Sir James Gibson Maitland, which, however, was printed at the baronet’s own expense. The exhibition at Edinburgh will be very much on the lines of those which took place some years ago at the Hague and Arcachon, except that the most attractive feature of the latter exhibition will be wanting in the well-arranged aquarium. Neither in Edinburgh nor in London can we hope to compete with the great fishery show of Berlin, which was undoubtedly very complete, the American national exhibits being of much interest. At home we have no fishery collection of a national kind, if we except Buckland’s Museum of Economic Fish Culture ; and, so far, we are at a disad- vantage with the United States, which possesses a very complete collection of fishery apparatus of all kinds, It is to be hoped, in the circumstances, that America will do for this country what it did for Germany, give us an opportunity of seeing and judging for ourselves how far April 6, 1882] they are ahead of us in fishery economy. We shall doubtless be able, when the exhibition opens, to find some points of interest worthy of being alluded to in a future number of NATURE. THE WINGS OF PTERODACTYLES' JT a2 first Pterosaurians discovered were recognised as flying animals, but were thought to be bats. As soon as their general structure became known, they were classed with the reptiles, although it was considered pos- sible that their power of flight was due to feathers. Later their bones were mistaken for those of birds by various experienced anatomists, and others regarded them as sharing important characters with that group. Some anatomists, however, believed that the fore-limbs of Pterodactyles were used for swimming rather than for flight, and this view has found supporters within the present decade. A single fortunate discovery, made a few years since, has done much to settle the question as to the wings of Pterodactyles, as well as their mode of flight, and it is the aim of the present article to place on ecord some of the more important facts thus brought to ight. NATURE 531 The specimen to be described was found in 1873, near Eichstidt, Bavaria, in the same lithographic slates that have yielded Archeopteryx, Compsognathus, and so many other Jurassic fossils known to fame. This specimen, which represents a new species of the genus Rhampho- rhynchus, is ina remarkable state of preservation. The bones of the skeleton are nearly all in position, and those of both wings show very perfect impressions of volant membranes still attached to them. Moreover, the extre- mity of the long tail supported a separate vertical mem- brane, which was evidently used as a rudder in flight. These peculiar features are well shown In Fig. 1, which represents the fossil one-fourth the natural size. The discovery of this unique specimen naturally at- tracted much attention at the time, and many efforts were made to secure it for European museums. The writer was then at work on the toothless Pterodactyles which he had recently found in the Cretaceous of Kansas, and believing the present specimen important for his investi- gations, sent a message by cable to a friend in Germany, and purchased it for the museum of Yale College, where it is now deposited. E The Wing Membranes.—A careful examination of this fossil shows that the patagium of the wings was a thin One-fourth natural size. The caudal membrane is seen from the left side. Fic. 1.—Rhamphorhynchus phylurus, Marsh. membranes are expcsed, smooth membrane, very similar to that of modern bats. As the wings were partially folded at the time of entomb- ment, the volant membranes were naturally contracted into folds, and the surface was also marked by delicate striae. At first sight, these striae might readily be mis- taken for a thin coating of hair, but on closer investiga- tion they are seen to be minute wrinkles in the surface of the membranes, the under-side of which is exposed. The wing membranes appear to have been attached in front along the entire length of the arm, and out to the end of the elongated wing finger. From this point the outer margin curved inward and backward, to the hind foot. The membrane evidently extended from the hind foot to near the base of the tail, but the exact outline of this portion cannot at present be determined. It was probably not far from the position assigned it in the restoration attempted in the cut given below, Fig. 3. The attach- ment of the inner margin of the membrane to the body was doubtless similar to that seen in bats and flying squirrels. In front of the arm there was likewise a fold of the ~ * Communicated ky the zuthor. This article will also appear in the American Journal of Science for April. ‘The animal lies upon the tack, and the under surfaces of the wing skin extending probably from near the skoulder to the wrist, as indicated in Fig. 3. This fold inclosed a pe- culiar bone (pteroid), the nature and function of which will be discussed below in considering the osteology of this part of the skeleton. The Caudal Membrane —The greater portion of the tail of this specimen was free, and without volant attach- ments. The distal extremity, however, including the last sixteen short vertebrae, supported a vertical membrane, which is shown in Fig. 1 and also in Fig. 2. This fe- culiar caudal appendage was of somewhat greater thick- ness than the patagial membrane of the wings. It was rhomboid in outline, and its upper and lower portions were slightly unequal in form and size. The upper part was kept in position by a series of spines, sent off one from near the middle of each vertebral centrum, and thus clearly representing neural spines. The lower half also was strengthened by similar spines, which descended from near the junction of the vertebrae, and hence were homo- logous with chevron bones. These spines were carti- laginous, and flexible, but sufficiently firm in texture to keep the membrane in an upright position. The Scapular Arch—The osteology of the scapular NATURE [ April 6, 1882 arch and wings of Pterodactyles involves many interesting points, some of which have been discussed by anatomists from Cuvier to those of the present day, but with little agreement of opinion. The cause of this diversity of Opinion is mainly due to the fact that the specimens exa- mined have been either too small or too imperfect for accurate determination of their more obscure parts. For- tunately, the museum of Yale College has among its specimens of Cretaceous Pterodactyles (some 600 in all), quite a number with the scapular arch and wing-bones nearly perfect, and in position. These specimens were nearly all of gigantic size, having in life a spread of wings from fifteen to twenty feet. They were also destitute of teeth, and belong to the order Preranodontia. Probably Fic. 2.—Caudal extremity of RAamphorhynchus phyliw us, Marsh; natural size. their great size induced special modifications of the sca- pular arch, which is here far more complicated than in any other members of the group. In the Jurassic Pterodactyles, the scapula is usually bird-like in general form and proportions, the upper or distal extremity being free and compressed. This is the case in the specimen here described. The scapula and coracoid may be co-ossified, as in the present fossil, or remain more or less separate. No clavicles have yet been found. The sternum here shows no distinct facets | for sternal ribs. In the Cretaceous genus, Pfevranodon, and probably also in some of the other gigantic forms from deposits of this age, the scapula and caracoid were not only solidly united, but the pectoral arch was further strengthened (1) by the ankylosis of several vertebrae, and (2) by the robust scapulz articulating on opposite sides of the common neural spine of these vertebra. This is virtually a repe- tition of the pelvic arch, on a much larger scale. The sternum also is massive, and shows well-marked facets for the sternal ribs. This peculiar method of strengthen- ing the scapular arch has not been observed in any other vertebrates. The Wing Bones.—The three principal bones of the arm (humerus, radius, and ulna), present such similar characters in all Pterodactyles, that they need not be con- sidered here in detail. It is important, however, to bear in mind that the ulna, although but little larger than the radius, contributes the greater share of direct support to the enormously developed wing finger, which is on the Seen from the left side. outer or ulnar side of the hand. As this position has been a question of discussion among anatomists, it may be well to state, that the writer bases his opinion upon this point on the results of an examination of the best preserved specimens in European museums, as well as nearly all known in this country. The latter specimens settle the question beyond doubt. The views expressed by anatomists in regard to the bones of the wrist and hand of Pterodactyles are almost as various as the specimens investigated. Some of the restorations of these parts that have been published from time to time, and repeated in text-books, have done much to propagate errors, and little to clear away the serious difficulties in the case. The main facts in regard to the carpus now known may be briefly stated as follows :— In all Pterodactyles, there are two principal carpal bones, placed one above the other. These sometimes show indications of being composite, but their constituent parts have not been satisfactorily determined. On the inner side of the wrist, articulating with the distal carpal, there is a smaller bone, which has been called the “ late- ral carpal.” In addition to these three bones, some American Pterodactyles have on the inner side three ossicles, which may be sessamoid bones. Two of these have been seen in a few Jurassic forms in Europe. Be- sides these, there is often found on the radial side of the wrist, and sometimes attached to it, a long, slender sty- loid bone, having a rounded articular head on its carpal extremity. This is the so-called “pteroid bone,” to which allusion has already been made above. This bone Fic. 3.—Restoration of R/hamphorhynchus phyllurus, Marsh; one seventh natural size. and the “lateral carpal” which supports it, are usually placed by anatomists on the outer or ulnar side, but the first digit, or thumb, which is often considered wanting in Pterodactyles. According to this view, the American specimens prove conclusively that they belong | “lateral carpal’? would probably be the metcarpal of the on the radial side. The nature of the so-called pteroid bone has been much discussed, but without a satisfactory conclusion. careful study of many specimens, the writer is disposed After a | same digit. said— (1) That the position and structure of this appendage of the carpus correspond closely with that of the first digit In favour of this interpretation it may be toregard it, not as an ossified tendon, but as a part of | in some other reptiles, for example, Zewanodon. April 6, 1882] NATURE 533 (2) The “lateral carpal’’ unites both with the distal carpal and with the “pteroid” by very free, well-defined articulations. (3) In American specimens, the “ lateral carpal” stands nearly at right angles to the wrist, and the “ pteroid”’ is much bent near its articular end. (4) In no Pterodactyle known is there any remnant of a digit outside the wing finger, where the membrane might be expected to retain it. (5) This view would make the wing finger of the fifth digit, the same to which the membrane is attached in the hind foot. Perhaps the strongest objection against this interpreta- tion is the number of phalanges in the respective digits of the hand. ‘These, however are not constant in the known Pterodactyles, and they vary much in other reptiles which have the digits highly specialised. This subject will be more fully discussed by the writer elsewhere. According to the above interpretation, there are five digits in the hand of Pterodactyles, although not the five often given in restorations. The first digit, the elements of which have been considered, undoubtedly supported a membrane in front of the arm. The second, third, and fourth are small, and armed with claws. The large wing finger is the fifth, corresponding to the little finger of the human hand. The metacarpal bones are much elongated in the Ptero- dactyles with short tails, and quite short in those, like-the present specimen, that have the tail long. The metacar- pal of the wing finger is always large and robust, while those of the claw bearing digits are usually quite slender. In Preranodon, the second metacarpal is a slender thread of bone throughout most of the length, while the third and fourth are attenuated splint bones, incomplete above. The phalanges of the three middle digits are quite short, and the terminal ones supported sharp claws. The wing finger has four greatly elongated phalanges, the last being a styloid bone without a claw. This digit is well shown in the right wing represented in Fig. 1, and also in the restoration, given below in Fig. 3. In the restoration here attempted, the writer has en- deavoured to reproduce (1) the parts actually present or clearly indicated in the specimen described, and (2) those which the former seemed to require to complete the out- ward form in life. The membrane at the base of the tail may have been somewhat less in extent, and the fold of the skin above the fore-arm either more or less developed than here represented, but the facts now known render the outlines here given more than probable. The hands are represented with the palms forward. The present species appears to be most nearly related to Rhamphorhynchus Gemming?t, von Meyer, from the same geological horizon, and near the same locality. That it is quite distinct, however, is shown, aside from the diffe- rence in size, by the complete ankylosis of the scapula and coracoid, and by the fifth digit of the hind foot being well developed, and having three phalanges. In the name Rhamphorhynchus phyllurus, here proposed for the species, the latter designation refers to the leaf-shaped caudal ap- pendage, which appears to be one ofits most characteristic features. For the long delay in the description of this important European specimen, the writer can only plead 2embarras des richesses nearer home. O. C. MARSH Yale College, New Haven, March 14 THE INSTITUTION OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS “7T*HE annual meetings of the Institution were held this year on the 29th, 30th, and 31st of March. The programme included no less than nineteen papers, not one of which could in any sense be called a stop-gap. It seems a'pity that this Institution should hold but one meeting in the year. The time available for reading papers on the three days amounts in all to but twenty hours, which leaves about one hour for the reading and discussion of each paper. It is no exaggeration to say that many of the subjects considered at the recent meet- ings required a whole day for their adequate discussion, and would have received this allowance of time at any other institution. The true interests of the naval archi- tects are sure to suffer in the long run, if the present policy of cramming so many papers into the short space of time available at the meeting is adhered to. The first paper read, and the only one which dealt directly with ships of war, was by Mr. Samuda. -It was an attempt to controvert the arguments made use of by Sir Wm. Armstrong in his recent address to the Institution of Civil Engineers. The address in question has been generally construed into a defence of unarmoured as against iron-clad ships. Sir William Armstrong states that for the cost of one iron- clad we could have three unarmoured ships, each carrying the armament of the iron-clad, and that in a match between the iron-clad and her three supposed antagonists they would probably get the better of it. Mr. Samuda, however, points out, that in fleet fighting, which he sup- poses will in the future, as in the past, be the principal form of naval combat, this advantage of the many unarmoured ships against the few iron-clads would disappear. Mr. Samuda further argues that the recent improve- ments in the construction of the hulls and armour of war ships, due to the introduction of mild steel instead of iron, has at least neutralised the extraordinary improvements made in the guns in the last few years. He also warned his hearers against the disastrous consequences which may be brought about through false economy in naval construction. The opinion of the meeting as evoked in the dis- cussion was certainly in favour of Mr. Samuda’s argu- ments. Several distinguished naval officers, including Admirals Hornby and-De Horsey, and Captain Noel, spoke emphatically of unarmoured war ships as being utterly useless for fighting purposes if opposed by iron- clads. They dwelt on the great value of even a moderate amount of armour, in keeping out projectiles which struck obliquely, and in actual combat but few shots would be likely to strike at right angles. Mr. Burnaby also lent the weight of his great authority to the same view of the question. Upon the whole Mr, Samuda may claim to have considerably modified the effect which was pretty generally produced by Sir William Armstrong's address. Mr. Dunn, Assistant-Constructor at the Admiralty, read an interesting paper on Modern Merchant Ships. This communication dealt incidentally with the capacity of merchant ships for being converted into cruisers for the protection of other merchant vessels in time of war. This is an important subject, when we remember how miserably inadequate the royal navy is for this purpose. The actual money value of the merchant navy of this country falls little, if at all short, of two hundred millions sterling. If to this sum, we add the value of the freight carried, it will be easy to understand how vulnerable as a nation we are at sea. Mr. Dunn has for some time past been employed by the Admiralty in surveying those vessels, which are intended, should the occasion ever arise, to supplement the regular navy in defending the mercantile marine. The important qualities which a merchant steamer must possess in order to be capable of being converted into a man-of-war are speed, structural strength, considerable relative beam, and powerful steer- ing gear. In all these points it is satisfactory to learn that much progress has been made during the last few years. ‘Taking first the question of speed. Between the years 1875 and 1882, the number of steamers capable of steaming 13 knots and upwards continuously at sea has 534 increased from twenty-five to sixty-five. were ten vessels capable of steaming over 14 knots, now there are thirty-five, while the highest speeds have been increased from 15 to 17 knots. At the same time the power of these vessels of keeping the seas has been greatly increased through the improvements which have been effected in the economy of the marine engine. There are many steamers which can carry coal enough to steam round the world at a 10 knot speed. The structural strength of merchant vessels has under- gone a remarkable improvement during the last few years, thanks to the increased attention which has been paid to their longitudinal strength, and also to the intro- duction of steel as a material of construction and of cellular as double bottoms. Doubts have been frequently expressed as to the capability of merchant steamers for carrying guns. A direct experiment was made on this point by the Admiralty in 1878, during the height of the Russian scare, by the purchase by the Admiralty of the Hecla from Messrs. Harland and Woolf of Belfast. She was armed with five 64-pounders and one 4o-pounder, mounted on truck carriages, and has been in commission ever since, and most favourably reported on. As another example we may mention the case of an Irish cattle-boat which was purchased by the Chilians and armed with an I1-ton gun, and which was employed in the bombardment of the Peruvian ports. Another most important point in considering the ques- tion of the structural strength of these steamers is the question of subdivision by water-tight bulkheads. There has been a strange apathy on this subject till very recently in the mercantile marine. Lloyd’s rules insisted on the introduction of four bulkheads, viz. one at each end of the ship, and one at each end of the machinery space. The compartments into which a ship was thus subdivided were in general so large that if one of them filled the vessel went down. In many long passenger steamers where more numerous bulkheads were introduced, their useful effect was done away with by the doors through them not being water-tight ; or occasionally by their heads being below the water-level. It is however some satisfaction to know that all the passenger vessels built during the last three or four years for the principal lines are properly subdivided. It is a matter for regret that Mr. Dunn’s official position prevented him from enlightening his audience as to the exact degree of useful help which we may look for from this auxiliary navy in case of actual need. We are also left without any information as the organisation, if any, which exists for rapidly equipping and manning these vessels whenever their services may be called for. Considering the scare which was produced in this country in 1878, by the attempt made by the Russians to convert a few American merchant steamers of very moderate speed into cruisers of the Alabama type, it seems only reasonable to hope that, by utilising the immense resources of our merchant marine, we may find the means of avoiding such panics in the future. There were some interesting papers read on the subject of marine engines and boilers. Mr. Kirk, of the firm of Messrs. J. R. Napier and Sons, of Glas- gow, read an interesting paper on the triple expansive | or compound engines which he has recently fitted to the s.s. Aberdeen; and Mr. Parker, Chief Engineer Surveyor to Léoyd’s Register, followed with a general paper on the subject of triple and double compound engines. Thoughttul students of the steam-engine have for some time recognised the fact that one of the principal sources of waste in engines which use steam expansively, is the variation in temperature of the cylinder, due to the difference between the temperature of the steam at the pressures at which it enters and leaves the cylinder. The greater the difference in these pressures, 7.¢., the greater NATURE In 1875 there [April 6, 1882 between the initial and final temperatures of the steam. The consequence is, that the incoming steam finds the cylinder chilled ; a portion of the steam as it enters is con- densed, causing a loss of pressure and of useful work. As the steam expands and becomes colder than the sur- rounding walls of the cylinder, a portion of the condensed steam is re-evaporated towards the end of the stroke, and during the exhaust when it can do no useful work. Thus the cylinder at the commencement of the stroke acts as a con- denser, and during the end of the stroke and the exhaust as aboiler. It was to obviate the waste due to the above causes that the compound engine was introduced. In this latter class the steam, instead of being expanded through- out in one cylinder, was allowed to expand partially in a high pressure, and subsequently in a low pressure cylinder. Thus the difference in temperature for each cylinder was halved, and the waste due to condensation proportionately diminished. By degrees, however, the pressures made use of in marine boilers were increased, and consequently the range of temperatures even in compound engines became as great as in the old simple expansive engine using lower pressures. To get over this difficulty Mr. Kirk made use of the triple expansive engine, which is really a compound engine again compounded, the steam being expanded successively in three cylinders. In this way the range of temperature is divided into three parts. In the case of the Aderdeen the boiler pressure was 125 lbs. per square inch, and the diameters of the cylinders were respectively 80 in., 45 in., and 70 in., by 4 ft. 6 in. in stroke. During a four hours’ trial with Penrikyber Welsh coal, the consumption was found to be only 1°25 Ibs. per indicated horse power per hour, from which very satis- factory result we should be led to expect a sea consump- tion of from I°5 to 1°6 Ibs. Mr. Milton, of L/oyd’s Register, read a paper on the influence of Lloyd’s Rules on marine boiler con- struction. This paper was called forth by Mr. Marshall’s statement at the Mechanical Engineers’ meeting at New- castle, that ‘“‘the ordinary marine boiler, encumbered as it is by the regulations of the Board of Trade and of Lloyd’s Committee, do-s not admit of much reduction in the weight of material or of water carred when working.” Mr. Milton has endeavoured with considerable success to prove that the above remark, so far at least as it applies - to Lloyd's, is far from expressing the truth. He explains very clearly the principles on which Lloyd’s base their rules. The most important part of his paper is that in which he attempts to show that Fairbairn’s rules, as to the strength of cylinders pressed from without, are very erroneous when applied to flues having the dimensions of those of marine boilers. Mr. Milton does not speak hope- fully of the use of locomotive boilers for marine purposes. Wetrust, for the sake of the country, that his experience may not be confirmed by the Admiralty experiments with the Polyphemus, which vessel is, as is well known, en- tirely fitted with boilers of the locomotive type. Mr. W. H. White, Chief Constructor at the Admiralty, read a most important paper on the Revision of the Tonnage Laws, which we intend to make the subject of a separate notice. It was followed by two communica- tions from Mr. Martell, Chief Surveyor at Lloyd’s, and Mr. W. Rundell, Secretary of the Liverpool Underwriter | Register, on the subject of Load Line, a topic which for many years past has been the subject of much heated argument. Mr. Martell discusses freely the latest pro- posals of the Board of Trade, and considers in detail the practical considerations which should determine the load line for vessels of various clasess. He is of opinion that the day has passed for the acceptance by shipowners and builders of any scheme for loading which does not take cognisance of the for and other elements of a vessel, in addition to the length, depth, or size. He winds up his | paper with the following sentence, which may well be the range of expansion, the greater also is the difference | commended to the shipowning community. ‘‘I cannot April 6, 1882 | NATURE 535 help feeling that shipowners in their own interests would adopt a wise course by supplying correct data, and otherwise considering the question of framing rules, based on sound principles, which would take cognisance of all the surrounding elements affecting this complex question, and thereby enable rules and tables to be framed which would be accepted as a fair compromise, and equitable and sound reference for the future guidance of all interested in this important subject, and the result of which would, without doubt, tend to diminish the loss of much valuable property and the sacrifice of many human lives.” Messrs. Read and Jeckins, of L/oyd’s Register, con- tribute a valuable investigation into the transverse strains of iron ships. This subject was, we believe, first investi- gated vigorously by Mr. W. John, who read a paper on the same subject in 1877, before the Institution of Naval Architects. The method of treatment pursued by Messrs. Read and Jenkins is too technical to reproduce at length in these pages. After investigating the strains of foir steam-vessels, supposed to be docked when loaded with cargo of the density of coal, up to the height of the lowest tier of beams, they conclude with the important observation that the results demonstrate, in an unmis- takable manner, how necessary it is to provide additional transverse strengthening in the engine and boiler space in steam-vessels, where the localised weights of the engines and boilers, and the want of support from the deck above, due to the small number of beams, increase the strain of the middle line and bilge. The most interesting of the remaining papers were two by Mr. T. Harvard Biles, naval architect to Messrs. J. and G. Thompson, of Glasgow, on Progressive Speed Trials, and on the Curves of Stability of Certain Mail Steamers. The former paper was of great practical value to navalarchitects, as it affords to all the means of carry- ing out progressive trials with ease and rapidity. Mr. Biles abandons the measured mile trial, because of the inseparable inaccuracies which attendel it. These were due to the varying and unknown rate at which the tide flows, and to the impossibility of knowing whether the ship, when she comes on the mile, is running at her proper speed, or is accelerating her own motion. Mr. Biles throws out from the bow of the ship a floating object which is observed as it passes a a set of transverse sights fixed on the ship about one hundred feet from the bow, and again when it passes another pair of sights fixed at a given distance from the first pair. The time occupied in the transit is recorded by an electric apparatus, which also at the same time records seconds automatically, and also the number of revolutions of the engine. The floating object moves with the tide, and therefore the speed of flow of the latter need not be taken into account. By means of this apparatus, builders can measure the true speed at which their vessels are travelling when steaming right ahead, and consequently can derive all the information to be obtained from progressive trials, without resorting to the old- fashioned, tedious system of runs on the measured mile. We regret that want of space prevents us from noticing the remaining papers read at these meetings, not one of which was deficient in interest. NEW AND VERY RARE FISH FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN Ox a long ichthyological excursion which I undertook by order of the Minister of Public Instruction in November and December last, during which I explored our Adriatic coast from Ancona to Lecce, the Ionian shores from Taranto to Reggio (Calabria), and visited the two seas of Sicily, collecting principally at Messina, Catania, and Palermo; I collected above 2000 specimens of fish, amongst which were many rare species, and several quite new to the ichthyofauna of the Mediterranean. Amongst the latter I may mention a large and perfect specimen of Molva vulgaris, fourd in the market of Catania; this is a North Atlantic species, and has not yet been recorded from the Mediterranean; there has been, it is true, for many years a dried skin specimen in the Genoa University Museum, which was figured in 1864 by Canestrini as Haloporphyrus lepidion, and six — years afterwards corrected by the same author as Lofa vulgaris. About a year ago Dr. Vinciguerra and myself determined it correctly, but aS no data as to its capture had been preserved, we were in considerable doubt as to its being a Mediterranean specimen. At Palermo, where I went after leaving Catania, I found a third Italian specimen of this species. At Messina I collected two specimens of Scorfena ustulata, Lowe, aud a fine speci- men of Umzbiina ronchus, Val., both new, to our fauna. I believe that most of the Madeira species will eventually be found in the Mediterranean, especially off the Sicilian coasts. Messina is a splendid locality for deep-sea or pelagic forms; it appears that during stormy weather, especially from the south-east, many abyssal species are in some way thrown up, and may be found in hundreds floating in the Messina harbour, which stretches like a net or trap across the Straits; such are Chauliodus, Sto- mias, Argyropelecus, Microstoma, Coccita, Maurolicus, Gonostonia, and some ten or twelve species of Scopelus. While there last November I secured a fine Wadacocepha- Zus levis, and a singular fish of a deep black colour, with small eyes and a naked skin, and a most aéyssa/ physiog- nomy, which is quite new to me, and which I| have not yet been able to determine; it may be allied to JZadacosteus. I shall close these notes by mentioning the capture of a very strange fish (belonging to the singular Votacanthz), which may well be called the vavest of fishes. It is a small specimen evidently closely allied to Wotacanthus Rissoanus, De Filip, but which appears to present some notable differences ; I have not yet been able to compare it with the unique and type specimen of JV. Azssoanus, from Nice, now in the Turin Zoological Museum, and of which no scientific description was ever published. My specimen was also caught near Nice in August of last year. V. Azsso- anus should be generically distinguished from the other known species from which it differs in many essential characters. Litken and I believe Giinther have expre-sed the same opinion. I should, therefore, propose the name Paradoxichthys, and should that term be pre-occupied, the equivalent Zeratichthys. Should the specimen I have turn out specifically distinct from P. Azssoanus, 1 should like to call it Pavadovxichthys Garibaldianus, dedi- cating it to a great Nizzardo and fellow-countryman of Risso. Florence, March 23 HENRY H. GIGLIOLI PROF. BARFF’S NEW ANTISEPTIC iy a communication to the Society of Arts, March 29, 1882, a long and interesting paper was read by Prof. Barff on a ‘“‘ New Antiseptic Compound” applicable to the preservation of articles of food. The compound in question is an ether of boric acid and glycerine of the composition BO,C,H, (the chemical description in the paper is inaccurate), first obtained by Schiff and Becchi (Compt. Rendus, 62, p. 397, and /. pr. chem., 98, 184). Experiments made with this substance on various articles of food, both solid and liquid, seem to have yielded very satisfactory results, as far as the pre- serving action is concerned ; but neither in the paper nor in the interesting discussion which followed its reading does it appear that the preserving action is due specially to the compound in question, or to one of its constituents. That boric acid acts as a preventive of decomposition in organised bodies when present in considerable quantity there is no doubt, but very little is known of its action n 536 those cases, and practically nothing is known of its action on the human economy, especially when taken in the con- siderable doses that would be contained in the substances preserved by this proposed compound. So that it seems at least desirable that a little more inquiry should be made as to the physiological action of boron compounds before it is proposed as a wholesale preserver of food stuffs. Of the other constituent of this compound something more is known. It exists naturally in many articles of food or drink, and its physiological action has been toa considerable extent investigated, and proved to be on the whole quite harmless. As a preservative against fermentive or bacterial action, it has also beer investigated more fully than boric acid. In a concentrated condition it will resist both ordinary fermentation and the fermentation of various bacteria in a high degree. As the compound BO%C,H; is decomposed into boric hydrate and glycerine on contact with water, it would scarcely appear that there is any advantage in forming the etherial compound. It would appear indeed that all the preservative effects _ claimed for this ether can be obtained by the use of gly- cerine alone, thus excluding a possible source of danger in the use of a comparatively unknown substance (physio- logically) like boric acid (see Kletzinsky, Ding/. pol. /., 171, 370; Kunath, zdzd@., 193, 439 ; Wagner, /ahresé., 1868, 523; Fleck, Ding?. pol. /., 196, 487). NOTES WE are pleased to learn that the Imperial Government has granted a sum of 2500/. (1500/. this year, and 10co/. next), and that the Canadian Government has further voted $4000 for a station for circumpolar observations. IN the discussion on the New Code, on Monday night, in the House of Commons, Sir John Lubbock pointed out several of its weak points as regards the teaching of science. He com- plained that children of the fourth standard were excluded from | specific subjects, and that, as at present worded, children who take class subjects, might never be taught any science at all, as one of them must be English, and another might be his- tory. It would certainly be disappointing, if, after so much thought had been expended in drawing up the New Code, the evident desire of its tramers to encourage science teaching should have been-defeated. Mr. Maskelyne, Lord G. Hamil- ton, and others, while supporting Sir John Lubbock’s criti- cisms, pointed out other defects, which, we hope, will have Mr, Mundella’s attention. Indeed, he promised to take the suggestions made into consideration, and, we believe, that if he does so seriously, he will see it to be advisable so to frame the regulations as to class and special subjects as to secure that the elements of natural knowledge will have a chance of becoming a regular part of elementary education. The old bugbear attached to the name ‘‘elementary science,” and to scientific terminology, was alluded to again, but that is a bugbear long ago dissolved, and not worth a moment’s consideration ; by all who have given the matter any attention, or who have had any experience in teaching, it is admitted that nothing is more in- teresting to children of all ages than ‘‘ object lessons,” ze. prac. tical instruction in science, and nothing more dreary and un- profitable than “grammar” as usually taught. Our New Code as it stands is a contrast, so far as science is concerned, to the Primary Education Act of France, which has just been pro- mulgated. The Primary Education which is compulsory in France comprises ‘‘ Moral and civil instruction, reading, writing, geography, history, some notions of law and political economy, the elements of natural, physical, and mathematical science, NATURE labour, and the use of the tools of the principal crafts, the elements of drawing, modelling, and music, gymnastics, for boys military drill, for girls needlework.”” We shall doubtless reach this standard some day, and one step to it would be to mak attendance at school compulsory on all up to the age of fourtee years. Dr. NAcHTIGAL, the well-known African explorer, has been appointed German Consul in Tunis. M. PAuL BERT was on Monday elected a Member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, in the Medical Section. THE directors of the Crystal Palace ‘have appointed the fol- lowing twenty-one British jurymen for the International Electric Exhibition:—Capt. Abney, R.E., F.R.S., Prof. W. Grylls Adams, F.R.S., Major R. F. Armstrong, R.E., Prof. W. E. Ayrton, F.R.S., Mr. Shelford Bidwell, Sir S. Canning, Prof, R. B, Clifton, M.A., F.R.S., Mr. T. RK. Crampton, C.E., Mr. Horace Darwin, Prof. G. Carey Foster, F.R.S., Prof. E. Frankland, F.R.S., Capt. Douglas Galton, C.B., F.R.S., Lieut.-Col. W. Haywood, Dr. J. Hopkinson, F.R.S., Prof. D. E. Hughes, F.R.S., Prof. Fleeming Jenkin, F.R.S., Prof. J. W. Keats, Mr. W. H. Preece, F R.S., Prof. Silvanus Thomp- son, B.A., D.Sc., Mr. C. E. Spagnoletti, C.E., and Lieut.-Col. Webber, R.E., president, Society of Telegraph Engineers. THE present season seems to have been as remarkably early and open in the Arctic regions as it has been with ourselves. The captain of the French steamer S¢. Germain reports having encountered an ice-floe of vast extent during his last outward voyage across the Atlantic. During the night of February 24-5 the vessel passed through two fields of ice estimated at from two to three miles in width. On the following morning there lay in the course of the ship an immense agglomeration of masses of ice, many of which resembled the dédris of shattered icebergs, to which no limit could be seen west, north, or south, At this time the vessel was in lat. 46° N., and long. 50° W. The ice was drifting from north to south, and for two hours the ship steamed in a southerly direction along the eastern side of the ice- floe, at full speed, without seeing any opening, its eastern face being perfectly level. Soon after eight o’clock a channel about two miles wide, and running north and south, opened out, which the captain entered, hoping to reach the open sea to the south, but after about an hour’s steaming the channel narrowed into a deep strait, when he decided to continue his course slowly and push through the ice, and after three hours perilous naviga- tion, saw open water to the west, which he at last entered in lat. 44° N., and long. 51° W., or about 120 miles to the south, and 60 miles to the west of the point at which the ice-floe was first encountered. Even then the southern limit of the floe could not be seen, although the atmosphere was exceptionally clear at the time. Another report informs us that during the latter half of March quite a hundred icebergs were seen off Cape Race. From Nottingham is reported the death this week, at the age of seventy-nine years, of Mr. Sydney Smith, the inventor of the steam-pressure gauge, and many other important engineering appliances. Mr. Smith was a native of Derby, and was educated at Repton Grammar School. By the invention of the steam- pressure gauge in 1847 his name became widely known in the engineering world. THE death is announced of Mr. William Menelaus, a gentleman well-known and highly esteemed in connection with the iron and steel industries of this country. He was in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Mr. Menelaus was past president of the Iron and Steel Institute, of which he was one of the first members. He was also the founder of the South Wales Institute their applications to agriculture, health, industrial arts, manual | of Engineers, NATURE 537 Tue idea of conducting excavations in the Delta by means of an English fund has now assumed a practical form. The outline . of operations as now prepared has received the approval, among others, of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Mr. A. W. Franks, V.P.S.A., Prof. Huxley, F.R.S., Mr. Stanley Lane Poole, the Right Hon. Sir A. H. Layard, G.C.B., Sir John Lubbock, M.P., Prof. Max Miiller, Prof. Owen, C.B., Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole, Prof. Sayce, Hon. J. Villiers Stuart, M.P., Mr, W. Spottiswoode, P.R.S., Sir Erasmus Wilson, LL.D., F.R.S. At the first meeting a provisional committee was formed, with Sir Erasmus Wilson as hon. treasurer, Miss Amelia B. Edwards and Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole as hon. secretaries. The society is already in communicaticn with M. Maspero with the object of going to work directly sufficient funds have been obtained, A work of permanent value has been performed by Prof. F. W. Clarke, of Cincinnati University, in his Recalculations of the Atomic Weights, which has been published by the Smithsonian Institution as Part V. of ‘The Constants of Nature.” Prof, Clarke concludes from his investigation that none of the seeming exceptions to Prout’s Law are inexplicable, ‘‘Some of them, indeed, carefully investigated, support it strongly. In short, admitting half multiples as legitimate, it is more probable that the few apparent exceptions are due to undetected constant errors, than that the great number of close agreements should be merely accidental. I began this recalculation of the atomic weights with a strong prejudice against Prout’s hypothesis, but the facts as they came before me have forced me to give it a very respectful consideration. All chemists must at least admit that the strife over it is not yet ended, and that its opponents cannot thus far claim a perfect victory.” Two interesting discourses, delivered at a recent public séance of the Belgian Academy, appear in the Awi//etin of that body. In one of them M. van Beneden makes the record of a huge whale (Balenopdtera) captured at Ostend in 1827 (the skeleton of which was exhibited in most of the European capitals, was taken to America, and at length found a final resting-place jin St. Petersburg) the starting point for a survey of the large amount of cetological knowledge acquired since that time. In the other discourse, M. Folie laments the backwardness of his country as regards astronomy. ‘‘ Modern Greece alone, indeed, can advantageously dispute with us the last place in Europe” as regards the history of that science. And it has four centuries of Mussulman tyranny for an excuse. M. Folie cites numerous facts against the view that observatories have mostly sprung out of the interests of navigation. Thenon-cultivation of astronomy in Belgium in the past he attributes to the country having been long without national independence and a national dynasty. Belgian astronomy only dates in reality from 1834, when the Royal Observatory was founded at Brussels. Astronomy and geodesy ‘‘are still taught throughout Belgium, as physics, botany, zoology, physiology, in a word, most of the natural sciences, were taught ten or fifteen years ago, that is, without a laboratory.” And ‘‘in none of the Belgian universities, except, perhaps, Brussels, is it possible to produce an astronomer or geodesian.”’ M, Folie looks for a speedy rectification of all this. In the outset of his lecture he notices the liberality with which the Government has lately met his proposal to annex an astro- nomical and geodesic institute to the University of Liége. THE French military authorities lately announced a compe- tition in designs for a soldier’s bed. It was stipulated that the bed should be capable of being raised against the wall, and in that position present a small table at which the soldier might eat, write, &c. ; the new bed should allow of utilisation of old ones ; it should be as cheap as possible, and not need much repair, and it should afford no shelter to bugs (a great pest of the French army). More than a hundred models were sent in, and, after a large elimination about a dozen are on trial. Our con- temporary, Za Nature, in a notice of the more promising designs, gives final preference to a bed planned by Lieut. Bertillon. In it a piece of canvas is stretched within or slightly above a rec- tangular frame, by means of a rope passing through sixty-four eyelets and round an iron bar parallel with the frame, which supports it. To obviate tearing, the eyelets are encased in pieces of leather attached to the canvas. There is a simple vertical frame at the head, and the support below, at that end, consists of two bars, bent into a shape like that of the lower half of a broad capital [D, the vertical part having a board attached, which serves as a table when the bed is tilted up on the curved bars against the wall (an easy operation), The support at the other end is a two-legged stool or short form, on whici the soldier can sit at the table. The arrangement seems very con- venient and suitable to the object proposed. SIGNoR SELLA (son of the ex-Minister of Italy) ascended the Matterhorn on the 17th ult. with three guides, from the Italian side, and descended at Zermatt. No greater difficulties were encountered than are usually met with in summer, Socks of earthquake are reported from Ljubinge (Herzego™ vina) on March 25, at 6.2 p.m., lasting three seconds ; and from Trebinje and Bilek on the same day, at 6 p.m., direction west to east. Our Paris correspondent inspected a few days ago, at Feil’s workshop, the large flint-glass disk which has been cast for the Lick Observatory in California, and purchased by the trustees for 2000/7. It is now on its way to Clarke’s for polishing. Its diameter is 97 centimetres, its thickness 55 centim., its weight 170 kilog. The casting took place in four days, during which eight tons of coals were consumed, The cooling took thirty days. On the optical tests being made the glass was found perfect in all its parts. The crown-glass disk has been cast and is cooling. Tue Easter excursion of the Geologists’ Association this year is to Battle and Hastings, and will extend over Monday and Tuesday, April 10 and 11. THE seventh annual meeting of the Members of the Sunday Society was held on Friday, March 31, at its rooms, 9 Conduit Street, Mr. Hodgson Pratt presiding. The annual report, which was read by the Hon. Sec., Mr. Mark H. Judge, referred to the work of the Society having been pursued with unabated vigour during the presidency of Mr, Thomas Burt, M.P., and to the growth of public opinion in favour of its objects, and said : “‘The conviction is evidently gaining ground that the Govern- ment cannot much longer delay the extension of its Sunday opening policy to the national museums and galleries in the heart of the metropolis ; for since 1854, when the Committee of the House of Commons recommended the opening of places of rational recreation and instruction after the hour of 2 o’clock p-m., both Liberal and Conservative Governments have con- tinued to open on Sundays, the national museums at Kew; Hampton Court, Greenwich, and Dublin, with such results as have not only satisfied Her Majesty’s Government, but have had the effect of inducing the Corporations of Birmingham, Man- chester and other large towns in the provinces, to open municipal institutions of a similar kind on Sundays. The Sunday Art Exhibitions instituted by the Society had been continued and were being imitated both in London and the proyinces. The Right Hon. Viscount Powerscourt, K.P., was unanimously elected president of the Society.” On Saturday afternoona meeting of the Essex Field Club took place at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, on the kind invitation of Prof. Richard Owen, F.R.S., who conducted 538 the members through the Paleontological Galleries, and gave most interesting demonstrations of many of the more remarkable fossils. Dr. Henry Woodward and Prof. Morris were al:o pre- sent, and did all in their power to interest the visitors. After- wards the Club adjourned to the Exhibition Galleries, Cromwell Road, where General Pitt-Rivers, F.R.S., gave a demonstration of portions of his Anthropological Museum, particularly dwelling upon the developmental ideas underlying the inception and arrangement of that unique collection. The two meetings were entirely successful, considerably over 1co Members and friends being present. THE acditions to the Zoolog’cal Society's Gardens during the past week include a Macaque Monkey (Macacus cynomolgus 6 ) from India, presented by Miss Richards; two Common Mar- mosets (//apale jacchus) from Brazil, a Silky Hangnest (Amdly- rhampus holosericeus) from Buenos Ayres, presented by Mr. George Jacobs ; a Puffin (Fvatercu/a arctica), British, presented by Miss Lane ; a Smooth Snake (Coronedl/a /evis), British, pre- sented by Mr. Wm. Penney ; twenty-five Madeira Snails (Helix maderensis), foue Undated Snails (//e/ix undata) from Madeira, presented by Mr. George French Angas, C.M.Z.S. ; a Diana Monkey (Cercopithecus diana 6), a Talapin Monkey (Cerco- pithecus talapin 2), a Water Chevrotain (Ajomoschus aguaticus) from West Africa, two Green-billed Toucans (Ramphastos dicolorus) from Guiana, a Yellow-lored Amazon> (CArysotis xantholora) from Central America, two Maguari Storks (Dissura maguari), an Orinoco Goose (Chenalopex jubata) from South America, a Common Night Heron (Mycticorax griseus), Euro- pean, a Monitor (A/onitor, sp. inc.) from Africa, purchased ; two Little Bustards (Zetrax campestris), European, deposited ; a Radiated Fruit Cuckoo (Carpococcyx radiatus, from Sumatra, received on approval. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN CoMET 1882 a.—The following elements of the comet dis- covered in America on March 18, have been calculated by Mr. Hind from observations on March 19, 22, and 25, the first tele- graphed from America, the two others made at the Observatory of Kiel :— Perihelion passage 1882, June 12'07195 G.M.T. Longitude of Perihelion 52 6 31 App. Eq. - ascending ncde 204 59 31 Mar. 22. Inclination ie tera 73.42 44 Log. perihelion distance 8870371 The heliocentric are described between the extreme observations is only 33', and the orbit is therefore to be regarded as a first approximation, Another orbit calculated by Dr. Oppenheim from observations on March 19, 23, and 27, gives the epoch of perihelion-passage, June 16°5818 G.M.T., and the log. least distance 9'07186. It is evident, therefore, that the comet will greatly increase in brightness as it draws near to the sun, and we may look for a naked-eye object a fortnight or so before perihelion. The elements, however, will not be well-deter- mined in this case, without a much wider extent of observation. Dr. Oppenheim finds the following places for Berlin mid- night. We are indebted for them to Prof. Krueger, the editor of the Astronomische Nachrichten :— R.A. Decl. Log. distance J h. m s. a 5 from Earth, April6 ... 18 28 53 +44 43°4 0°25c0 Disses) (3X old, 45 29°4 8 ... — 33 41 40 16°2 9 ——30nrg 47 39 10 — 38 50 47 52°5 0°2323 11 — 41 32 48 42°'0 12 — 44 21 49 324 130... — 47 16 50 23°6 14... — 50 19 +51 15°7 0'2134 The mean of the above perihelion-distances is less than a tenth of the mean distance of the earth from the sun, and compara- tively few comets out of the number calculated have approached NATURE Pg Se ae Oe "Fut . | Apri 6, 1882 the sun so closely ; indeed, between the commencement of the seventeenth century and the present time we find only rine or ten cases that can be relied upon, in upwards of two hund-ed and twenty which have been computed. VARIABLE STARS.—Amongst the objects of this class now in a favourable position for observation is one observed on the meridian at Bonn in May, 1864, and rated 9*0; its position for 1855‘0 is in R.A. 13h. 22m, 58'1s., N.P.D. 98° 48’ 54”. It was 85 on April 16, 1855, 9°5 on April 30, 1853, and is entered 1om. on Chacornac’s Chart, No. 41; on one occasion previous to 1853, it had been noted 8m. On April 5, 1874, it was a faint 9m. It was not observed either by Lalande or Bessel. It is gm. on Bremicker’s chart of the Berlin series. An eighth- magnitude (Santini calls it a sixth) follows about 10’ to the south. Mira Celi attains a maximum on May 23. A minimum of S Can¢ri occurs on April 14, at gh. 9m, G.M.T. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES Tue following papers will be read at the German ‘‘ Geo- graphentag” which will meet at Halle on April 11-14: —On some scientific results of the voyage of the Gazelle, particularly from a zoogeographical point of view, by Prof. Studer (Berne) ; on the progress of our knowledge of Sumatra, by Prof. Kan (Amsterdam); on the alleged influence of the earth’s rotation upon the formation of river-beds, by Prof. Zoppritz (Kénigsberg) ; on the colonies of Germans and their neighbours in Western Europe, by Herr Meitzen (Berlin); on the historical development of geographical instruction, by Dr. Kropatschek (Brandenburg); on the treatment of subjects re- lating to conveyance in geographical instruction, by Prof. Paulitscbke (Vienna) ; on the introduction of metrical measures in geographical instruction, by Prof. Wagner (Gottingen) ; on the relation between anthropology and ethnology, by Prof. Ger- land (Strassburg) ; on the etbnological conditions of Northern Africa, by Dr, Nachtigal (Berlin) ; on the Polar question, by Prof, Neumayer (Hamburg); on the geographical distribution of Alpine lakes, by Prof, Credner (Greifswald) ; on the true defi- nition of the development of coasts, by Prof. Giinther (Ansbach) ; on geographical instruction in its relation to natural sciences, by Prof. Schwalbe (Berlin) ; on the Guldberg-Mohn theory of horizontal air currents, by Prof. Overbeck (Halle); on the systematic furtherance of the scientific topography of Germany, by Herr Lehmann (Halle), The meeting will be combined with a geographical exhibition, Wirk the sixth part of the volume for 1881 of the Zeitschrift of the Berlin Geographical Society we have the usual exhaustive Catalogue of geographical literature for the year, including works and papers in all departments of geography, systematically arranged, and covering about 150 pages. No such complete list is to be found anywhere else. Dr. Konrad Ganzenmiiller has a }aper in this number on the Climate, Flora, and Fauna of the Central Range of the North-West Himalayas. The first part of the Zeit:chrift for the present year contains papers by Dr. Theo. Fischer, on the Italian Sea-Chart and Maps of the Middle Ages; on the Sierra of Cordoba, by Dr. Wien; on the Ant- arctic Flora compared with the Paleozoic, by Dr. Joh. Palacky ; and on the Cartography of Bolivia, by Dr. R. Kiepert. No. 2 of the Verhandlungen of the Society for 1882 contains a long lecture by Herr Buchner on his three years’ exploration in South-West Africa, THE March number of Pefermann’s Mittheilungen contains an account, by Mr. Knipping, of a recent journey through the central mountainous part of the chief island of Japan ; a paper on Capt. Gallieni’s mission to the Upper Niger, 1880-81 ; an analysis, by Prof. Zoppritz, of Mr. Stanley’s thermo-barometric observations on his journey across Africa; and a necrology for the year 1881. THERE have been several books recently published on Mani- toba, to which, at present, there is a great rush of emigrants. As a rule, such books give only the bright side of the emigrant’s life and prospects in the colony, and it is difficult to get a per- fectly trustworthy account of what the emigrant may expect. Two Manitoba books are before us: one by the Rey. Prof. Bryce, of Manitoba College—for education has been well pro- vided for in Winnipeg already—is mainly historical, giving pretty full details of the Earl of Selkirk’s attempts at settlement. Messrs. S. Low and Co. are the publishers The other modest Ta NAS ane oe eee a April 6, 1882] NATURE 539 little volume (‘ A Year in Manitoba, 1880-81’) is published by Messrs. W. and R. Chambers, and contains a full and concise statement of the experience of an officer and his sons on a small farm which they took, about ten miles from Winnipeg. There were not a few hardships certainly, and these are clearly brought out ; but the other side is quite as clearly and fairly stated, with a considerable balance in its favour. For any one contemplating emigration to the Canadian North-west, this is the book to get. BrEsipes Mr. O’Neill’s paper on his three months’ journey inland from Mozambique, the April Proceedings of the Geo- graphical Society contain a résumé of the information just laid before Parliament on the subject of the Russo-Persian frontier east of the Caspian, accompanied by a map, which can only pretend to reproduce the Russian view of the question. The other paper describes the journey of a Russian officer from Geoktepeh to the Khivan oasis, and is a translation from the Russian. Perhaps the mos! notable matter in the geo- graphical news is the treaty which M. de Brazza imposed on the native chiefs at Stanley Pool, and by which they undertook to admit none but Frenchmen; some late news is also given re- specting Dr. Junker’s journey in Central Africa, and Mr. J. M. Schuver’s progress to the south-west of Abyssinia. We are glad to see, too, that the international polar meteorological expeditions are not neglec’ed, some very interesting information being furnished respecting those of the Danes to G=dshaab, in ~ West Greenland, and of the Dutch to the mouth of the Yenissei, A note is also devoted to the recent Danish explorations at Mear, the Jacobshayn fjord. The French Geographical Society’s meetings are very fully reported, as, indeed, they generally are. A NEW Geographical Society was formed last month at Greifswald, in Pomerania. A CORRESPONDENT points out, in reference to Dr. Rae’s cor- rection of last week, that a gold medal was awarded to Nain Singh in 1877, as will be found by reference to the Journal for that year, or in the Proceedings (old series), vol. xxi. A gold watch bad previously been awarded to Nain Singh in 1868, for his route-survey from Lake Mansarowar to Lhasa. Mr. R. ARTHINGTON, of Leeds, who is well-known as the munificent benefactor of African mi sions, has just presented to the Baptist Society a further sum of rooo/, towards the cost of building a steamer for the Upper Congo. THE Constantine gold medal of the Russian Geographical Society was not awarded this year; the medal ot Count Liitke was awarded to Major-General Ernfeldt and Col. Lebedeff, for their geodetical and topographical work in the Balkan Penin- sula; the great gold medal of the Ethnographical Section was awarded to M. Potanin for his explorations in North-Western Mongolia; that of the Statistical Section to M. Romanoff for his work on emigration from the Government of Vya'ka. The small gold medals were awarded to the astronomer, F. F. Schwartz, the well known explorer of Eastern Siberia, for his determinations of | ositions in Turkestan and Central Asia; to M. Domojiroff, for anemometrical observations on board of ships; to M. Malakhoff, for ethnographical explorations on the Ural 3; and to M. Yadrintseff, for his work, ‘‘ Travels in Western Siberia and on the Altai.” Silver medals were awarded to Mydame L. Poltoratzkaya, for her album of photographs from Western Siberia; to M. Lakhmeyer, for photographs of Caucasus and Ural; to M. Kalitin, for maps of the route between Khiva and Akhal-Teke ; to M, Ivanoff, for explorations of the Zerafshan glacier ; to M. Agapitoff, for explorations of the black earth and loess, in the Government of Irkutsk ; to M. Roubach, for meteorological observations on the island of Oesel; to M. Zagursky, for his works on the Caucasian languages and his biography of the well-known explorer of these langnages, R. K. Uslar ; and to MM, Stevanovsky and Rudinsky, for collections of Russian songs. THE last number of the /zves/zz of the Russian Geographical Society contains, among other interesting materials, two lists of points whose latitudes and longitudes were determined by the indefatigable explorer of Eastern Siberia and Turkestan, F. F. Schwartz, the Dorpat astronomer, during the years 1879 and 1880. After having determined, in 1879, the positions of ten points in Eastern Turkestan, he now publishes a list of twenty- four points in the Kulja territory, from Kulja along the two long valleys of the Kash and of the Kunghes rivers, which cross this territory from east to west, that of Kunghes having been ex- | mum in the opposite direction. The ordi- | nary currents witha contact breaker would plored to its source, and the most eastern point reached by M. Schwartz being the Narat Pass, at the south-eastern frontier of the Kulja territory. A series of determinations between Vernyi and the Narat Pass, along the Tekes river, were made during the same year. The numerous magne'ic observations made by M. Schwartz during these two journeys, will be published as soon as calculated. MATTER AND MAGNETO-ELECTRIC ACTION'* *HE late Prof. Clerk Maxwell, in his work on “‘ Electricity and Magnetism ” (vol. ii. p. 146), lays down as a principle that ‘‘ the mechanical force which urges a conductor carrying a current across the lines of magnetic force, acts, not on the electric current, but on the conductor which carries it. If the conductor be a rotating disk or a fluid it will move in obedience to this force, and this motion may or may not be accompanied with a change of position of the electric current which it carries. But if the current itself be free to choose any path through a fixed solid conductor or a network of wires, then, when a constant magnetic force is made to act on the system, the path of the current through the conductors is not permanently altered, but after certain transient phenomena, called induction currents, have subsided, the distribution of the current will be found to be the same as if no magnetic force were in action. The only force which acts on electric currents is electromotive force, which must be distinguished from the mechanical force which is the subject of this chapter.” In the investigation on electric discharges, on which Mr. Moulton and myself have been long engaged, we have met with some phenomena of which the principle above enunciated affords the best, if not the only, explanation. But whether they be r- garded as facts arising out of that investigation, or as experi- mental illustrations of a principle laid down by so great a master of the subject as Prof. Clerk Maxwell, I have ventured to hope that they may possess sufficient interest to form the subject of my present discourse. ‘The experiments to which I refer, and of which I now pro- pose to offer a summary, depend largely upon a special methed of exciting an induction-coil. This method was described in two papers, published in the Philosophical Magazine (November, 1879), and in the Proceedings of the Royal Society (vol. xxx. p. 173), respectively ; but as its use appears to be still mainly confined to my own laboratory, and to that of the Royal Institu- | tion, I will, with your permission, devote a short time to a description of it, and to an exhibition of its general effects. The method consists in connecting the primary circuit directly with a dynamo- or magneto-machine giving alternate currents. In the present case, I use one of M. de Meritens’ excellent machines driven by an Otto gas-engine. The speed of the de Meritens machine, so driven, is about 1100 revolutions per minute. In this arrangement the currents in the secondary are of course alternately in one direction and in the other, and equal in strength ; so that the discharge appears to the eye, during the working of the machine, to be the same at both terminals. The currents in the primary are also alternately in one direc- tion and in the other, and consequently, at each alternation, their value passes through zero. But they differ from those delivered in the primary coil with a direct current and contact breaker in an important particular, namely, that while the latter, at breaking, fall suddenly from their full strength to zero, and then recommence with equal suddenness, the former undergo a gradual although very rapid change from a maximum in one direction through zero to a maxi- poe ; Ls) ae | \ be represented by a figure of this kind, while those from the alternate machine approximately by a curve of the following form. The rise and fall of the latter are, however, sufficiently — oN @e rapid to induce currents of high tension LU US 2 and of great quantity in the secondary. From these considerations it follows : first, that as the machine effects its own variations in the primary current, no contact breaker is necessary ; secondly, that as there is no sudden rup- ture of current, there is no tendency in the extra current to pro- duce a spark or any of the inconveniences due to an abrupt opening of the circuit, and consequently that the conden-er Lecture at the Royal Institution, Merch 37, by Dr. W. Spottiswoode, Pres.R S. 540 may be dispensed with; thirdly, that the variations in the primary, and consequently the strength and period of delivery of the secondary currents is perfectly regular ; fourthly, that the strength of the currents in the secondary is very great, With a 26-inch coil by Apps I have obtained a spark about 7 inches in length, of the full thickness of an ordinary cedar pencil. But for aspark of thickness comparable at least with this, and of 2 inches in length, an ordinary 4-inch coil is sufficient. Owing to the double currents, the appearance of the discharge is that of a bright point at each terminal, and a tongue of the ellow flame, such as is usually seen with thick sparks from a arge coil, issuing from each. This torrent of flame (which, owing to the rapidity with which the currents are delivered by the machine, is apparently continuous) may be maintained for any length of time. The sparks resemble those given by my great coil (exhibited in this theatre on Friday, April 13, 1877, and described in the Pilosophical Magazine, 1877, vol. iii. p. 30) with a large battery-power and with a mercury break ; but with that instrument it is doubtful whether such thick sparks could be produced at short intervals, or in a rapid shower, as in this case. In order to contrast the effects of the two methods, I will excite the coil, first with a battery, and secondly with the alter- nating machine. You will notice that with the battery we can obtain either long, bright, and thin sparks, or short and com- paratively thick discharges ; but, unless the latter are made very short, they occur only at comparatively long and eyen perceptible intervals of time. On the other hand, with the alternate ma- chine, although the method does not lend itself so readily to the production of long and bright sparks, we can produce a perfect torrent of discharges more rapid and more voluminous than by any other means yet devised. Long bright sparks can, however, be obtained by interrupting the flow of the currents from the machine, and by allowing only single currents to pass at com- paratively long intervals. It may be interesting to know that the number of currents given out by the machine, and conse- quently the number of discharges issuing from the coil, is no less than 35,200, that is, 17,600 in each direction, per minute. The number may be determined by the pitch of the note which always accompanies the action of an alternate machine. A comparison of the two methods may also be made when a Leyden jar is used as a secondary condenser. This application of the jar is well known as a valuable aid in spectroscopic research; and the employment of the alternating machine so materially heightens the effects that, judging from some experi- ments made in the presence of Mr. Lockyer, and from others of a different character in the presence of Prof. Dewar, I am led to hope from it a further extension of our knowledge in this direc- tion. In order that you may form, at all events, some rough idea of the nature of such discharges, I venture, at the risk of causing some temporary inconvenience from the noise, to pro- ject the spectrum of this spark. I will detain you with only one more instance of comparison. The ordinary effect of an induction coil in illuminating vacuum tubes is well known. The result is usually rather unsteady. Several instruments have been devised to obviate this inconve- nience, e.g. the rapid breakers described in the Proceedings of the Royal Society (vol. xxiii. p. 455, and vol. xxv. p. 547), or the break called the ‘‘ Trembleur” of Marcel Deprez (see Comptes rendus, 1881, I. Semestre, p. 1283). The use of the alternating machine, however, not only gives all the regularity in period, and uniformity in current, aimed at in these instru- ments, but also at the same time supplies currents of great strength. The result is a discharge of great brilliancy and steadiness, and it is perhaps not too much to say that the effects are comparable to those obtained with Mr. De La Rue’s great chloride of silver battery. The configuration of the discharge produced in this way can also be controlled by a suitable shunt applied to the secondary circuit ; for example, one formed by a column of glycerine and water, or the one consisting of a film of plumbago spread upon a slab of slate, constructed by my assistant, Mr. P. Ward, and here exhibited. One test of the strength of current passing through a tube is the amount of surface of negative terminal, which it will illu- minate with a bright glow. I have here a tube with terminals, in the form of rings, each of which would be regarded of ample size for currents obtaided in the ordinary way. These are now all connected together so as to form one grand negative terminal ; and it will be found that with the currents from the alternate machine, the whole system is readily illuminated at once, NATURE [ April 6, 1882 It should perhaps be here remarked that, while the strength of the secondary currents passing through the tube is partly due directly to the strength of the primary currents from the machine, it is probably also in part due to the rapidity with which the secondary currents follow one another. Owing to the latter cir- cumstance the column of gas maintains a warmer and more con- ductive condition than would prevail if the inteval between the discharge was longer ; and in consequence of this a larger por- tion of the discharges can make its way through than would otherwise be the case. Before leaving the instrumental part of my discourse, I desire to bring under your notice a modification of the machine which we have thus far used for producing, by the intervention of the induction coil, currents of high teasion. This consists of a machine of the same general construction as the other, but having the armatures wound with a much greater number of convolutions of much finer wire. The result is a machine giving off currents of sufficient tension ‘to effect, by direct action, dis- charges through vacuum tubes, and even in air. The currents are of course olternate ; but by diminishing the size of one of the terminals to a mere point, as well as by other methods described elsewhere, it is possible to shut off the currents in one direction, leaving only those in the other direction to discharge themselves through the tube. I hope on some future occasion to give a fuller account of this remarkabfe machine, which has only quite recently been completed. Returning to the discharge in air, it will be noticed that when the terminals are set horizontally, the torrent of thick discharges assumes the appearance of a fame, which takes the form of an inverted V. This is the result of convection currents due to the heat given off by the discharges themselves. The discharges are by their nature, as it were, fixed at each end, but within the | limits of discharging distance, free to move about and to extend themselves in space, especially in their central part. Further, it may be observed that the length of the spark which can be maintained is greater than that over which it will leap in the first instance. The explanation of this is to be sought in the fact, that when the sparks follow very rapidly in succession, the whole path of each discharge remains so far in a heated state, as to assist the passage of the next; and, further, that in the middle part of the discharge or apex of the A, where the heat is greatest, the heat prevails to such an extent as to render a portion of the path highly conductive. This may be illustrated by holding a gas jet near the path of the discharge. The flames will then leap to the two ends of the jet, which will perform the part of a conductor ; and the real length of the discharge will be that traversed from terminal to terminal, minus the length of the intervening flame. The permanently heated part of the flame will act in the same manner in extending the effective length of the discharge. The discharge which we are now examining is not homo- geneous throughout, but consists of more than one layer. The flame, which, from the fact of its forming the outer sheath of the discharge, is the most prominent feature, consists mainly of heated but solid particles emanating from the terminals. That this is the case may be inferred in a general way from the colours which the flame assumes when different substances are placed upon the terminals; for example, lithium or sodium, The spectrum of the flame appears to be always continuous. A convenient substance to affix to the terminals is boron glass, on account of the brilliancy to which it gives rise in the discharge ; this will enable us to project the phenomenon. Within this sheath of flame, the discharge consists of the ;ink light charac- teristic of air, and in the centre of all the true bright spark. There is reason to think that, under certain circumstances, there are more layers to be seen; but the above division is sufficient for our present purpose. In this somewhat complicated struc- ture, the pink light corresponds to the arc, and the flame to a similar accompaniment which is seen playing about the upper carbon in electric lamps when a current of great strength is used, From this account of the methods here employed I now tura to the main question, In the investigation, to which allusion was made at the beginning of this lecture, it occurred to us that an examination of the effects of a magnetic field on discharges of this character through air or other gases at atmospheric pres- sure, and a comparison with those obtained at lower pressures, might throw some fresh light on the nature of electrical dis- charges in general. It is these phenomena to which I now propose to ask your attention. April 6, 1882] NATURE 541 When the discharge, originally in the form of a vertical Spindle, is submitted to the action of a magnet whose poles are horizontal, it spreads out into two nearly semicircular disks, one due to the discharges in one direction, and the other to those in the opposite direction, As the magnetism is strengthened, the flame retreats towards the edge of the disks, and ultimately dis- appears. but with a still stronger magnetic field, it is traversed at intervals by bright semicircular sparks at various distances from the centre. In eyery case, bright sparks pass directly between the terminals at the opening of each separate discharge. SS The disk then consists mainly of the pink discharge ; | In order further to disentangle the parts of this phenomenon, recourse was had in the original experiments to a revolving mirror. The light in the disks is insufficient to allow of a projection of the effects, but the accompanying diagrams re- | present the appearances seen in the mirror. Fig. 1 shows the arrangement of the terminals and the magnetic poles; Fig. 2 the appearance of the discharges in a plane at right angles to that of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 the appearance of three successive dis- charges (in the same direction) with a weak magnetic field and a slowly revolving mirror; Fig. 4 the same, with a slightly more | rapid rate of revolution; Fig. 5 a single discharge, with a sae Se . N i) N —~ 221 Fic. 1. stronger; field and greater speed of mirror ; Fig. 6 .a single dis- charge in a strong field, with a still greater speed of mirror. It should be mentioned, that in all these figures the images to the left areto be regarded as anterior to those on the right, and that they represent various phases of the left-hand discharge in Fig. 2. If, however, we observe the right-hand discharges with a mirror revolving in the same direction as before, it is clear that the actual curvature of the discharge will be turned in the oppo- site direction (with reference to the motion of the mirror) to that TOVIVG Fic, 2. Fic. 4. in the case of the left-hand discharges. The consequence will be, that the appearance in the mirror, when the rate of revolu- tion is not too great, will be something like Fig. 7, instead of Fig. 6. As the speed of the mirror is increased, the convexity will diminish, and ultimately be replaced by a concavity of the same kind, although not so marked, as that in the case of the left-hand discharges. These diagrams show that each coil discharge commences with a bright spark passing directly between the terminals ; that this spark is, in general, followed by the pink light or are discharge, which passes first in the immediate neighbourhood of the mitial spark, and gradually extends like an elastic string in semicircular loops outwards ; and that the flame proper is a phenomenon attendant on the close of the entire discharge. It should be added that observations with a mirror revolving on a horizontal axis, and with a horizontal slit in front of the discharge, show that the disk is not simultaneously illuminated throughout, but that it isa locus of a curvilinear discharge which moves out- wards and expands in its dimensions from the centre. The mechanism of the discharge would therefore seem to be as follows :—In the first place, as soon as the tension is sufficient, the electricity from the terminals breaks through the intervening air, but with such rapidity that the fracture is like that of glass, or other rigid substance. This opens a path, along which, if there remains sufficient electricity of sufficient tension, the dis- charge will continue to flow. During such continuance the gas hecomes heated, and behaves like a conductor carrying a current, and upon this the magnet can act according to known laws. As sos595995+ N Fic. 6. long as the electricity continues to flow, the heat will at each moment determine the easiest, although not the shortest path for its subsequent passage. In this way the gas, which acts at one moment as the conductor of the discharge, and at the next as the path for it, will be carried further and further out, until the supply of the electricity from the coil fails, and the whole dis- charge ceases. Weare, in fact, led by these experiments to the conclusion that it is the gas in the act of carrying the current, and 542 NATURE not the current moving freely in the gaseous space, upon which the magnet acts. This explanation of the magnetic displacement of a discharge receives strong support from the phenomena represented in Figs. 5,6, ard 7. The successive bright lines there shown must be due to successive falls and revivals of tension within a single coil discharge. The existence of such alternations in coil dis- charges of large quantity is ctherwise known, When the fall in temperature is such that the conductivity of the gas is insvffi- cient to maintain the arc, the discharge can make its way through the air only by a fresh rent of the same kind as the first fracture. But how can this be reconciled with the fact that the tension can never reach its original degree, and must, on the whole, be gradually falling, and that, in addition, the paths represented by these various sparks are successively longer and longer? The answer to this question is to be found plainly written in the phe- nomenathemselyes. Any irregularity in one of these bright lines is always to be found accurately repeated in all of the same series. Now, it is scarcely to be conceived that, at successive instants of time and in different portions of space, irregularities in the dis- charge itself, and in the distribution of the gas, so precisely the same, would constantly and for certain recur; and we are there- fore driven to the conclusion, that it is the same portion of gas which at first cccupied the centre of the field, with its same, yet unhealed rent, which is moved outward under the action of the magnet. If this be so, we bave in this refetition of minute details, nothing more than what would necessarily follow from successive reopenings of the weak parts of the gas, which would be surely found out by the electricity in its struggle to pass. The view here taken of the material character of the luminous discharge is further borne out by the fact that the spindle of light is capable of being diverted by a blast of air. When the blast is gentle, the discharge becomes curvilinear, approximately semicircular, and the yellow flame may be seen playing abcut the outer edge in the same way as in a weak magnetic field. When the blast is stronger, the sheet of light becomes irregular in form, and it is traversed by a series of bright lines, all of which follow, even in their minute details, the configuration of Fic. 7. the sheet. The analcgy between this and the phencmena pro- duced in a strong magnetic field needs no further remark. If the strength of the blast be still further increased, the flame and the sheet of light both disappear, and nothing remains but bright sparks passing directly, and undisturbed, between the terminals. In this case the air is both displaced and cooled so rapidly by the blast, that it no longer offers a practicable con- ductive path for the remainder cf the electricity, coming from the coil, to follow. Of this a succesion of disruptive sparks is a necessary consequence. The effect thus produced by a very strong blast is in fact similar to that observed when a jar is used as a secondary con- denser. In this case the electricity, instead of flowing gradually from the coil, passes in one or more instantaneous discharges with finite intervals of time between them. Each of these has to break its way through the air; and that done, it ceases. Hence, neither a magnet, nor a blast of air will have any effect in diverting such a discharge. As a last stage of the phenomena, it may be mentioned that, if the interval between the terminals be near the limit of striking distance, either a blast of air, or the setting up of a magnetic field, will alike extinguish the discharge. Our experiments have been thus far carried on in air at atmo- spheric pressure ; | ut there is nothing in this pressure which is essential to them or to the conclusions to which we have been led. We may therefore repeat them in air, or any other gaseous; medium, at any pressure we please. This consideration leads us into the region (so fertile in an experimental point of view) of discharges in vacuum tubes. Commencing with a tube of mederate diameter and of very slight exhaustion, we can at once recognise our former pheno- mena slightly changed, Proceeding to another tube, of larger diameter and of mederate exhaustion, ard placing it axially or equatorially in a magnetic field, we see not only that the dis charge (or rather the conductor carrying it) is displaced, but also that the displaced part is spread out into a sheet or ribbon, showing that the discharge is affected gradually, exactly in the same way as was found in the open air. When the exhaustion is carried further, the } henomena become rather more complicated. At an early stage there is a distinct separation between the “‘ negative glow” and the rest of the luminous column ; and at a more advanced stage the column itself is broken into separate luminosities or stria. When this is the case, it is usually said that the negative glow follows the lines of magnetic force, while the luminous column distributes itself according to Amrére’s law. It will, however, be found that when completely analysed the action of the magnet upcn the stria, taken individually, is the same as that upon the negative glow, due allowance being made for the differences in local circumstances subsisting between the one and the other. We eave elsewhere shown that the negative glow is in reality as truly a stria as any other individual member of the luminous column; but with this difference, that it is anchored to, and dependent for its form on, a rigid metallic terminal, whereas each of the others is dependent on the variatle- form and position of the stria immediately next in order, reckon- ing from the negative end of the tube. The action of a magnet in throwing the negative glow into a sheet of light, which is the locus of the lines of force passing thrcugh the terminal, and which consequently varies with the position of the tube in the field, is a phenomenon so well known that we need repeat only a single experiment by way of reminder. Although it is not altogether so easy to show that the other striz are directly affected by a magnetic field in the same way as is the anchored stria, we may still satisfy ourselves that it is the fact, from the consideration that when the strize are well developed and the magnetic field is strong, it is quite possible to form a magnetic arch at any part of the column. In this experiment it will be noticed that for the formation of the arch in mid-column it is necessary that both poles of the magnet should act upon one and the same stria. This, in fact, means that the pole nearest the negative end anchors the stria, and thereby brings it into conditicns similar to those of the negative glow. When this is effected the two exhibit similar modifications in the magnetic field, In support of this view, we may adduce another and quite independent method of anchoring a stria, and of thereby pro- ducing a magretic arch elsewhere than at the negative terminal. — It was noticed by Goldstein and others that if the negative terminal of a tute be enveloped by an insulaing surface of any — form pierced with a number of holes or if a diaphragm simi- larly pierced be placed anywhere in the tube, that the pierced surface will act as a negative terminal. He also found that the finer and closer the holes, the more complete the resemblance to the action of a negative terminal, But even when the substance is metallic, and when the holes are neither very small nor very numerous, a perforated diaphragm will so far act like a negative terminal as to serve as a point of departure of a stria. There is, however, this difference, that the blank space immediately ad- joining the diaphragm, as it is usually called, is not generally so Jarge as that at the true terminal; and the strize thus artificially formed always lie close up to the holes. The diaphragm, in fact, anchors the stria, end renders it susceptible of the same magnetic effect as was shown in the cases studied before. ‘The action of a diaphragm in a magnetic field gives rise to many other interesting and remarkable results; some of which would further illustrate the views now submitted for your con- sideration. But these must be reserved for another occasion. In the foregoing experiments, and in the remarks which have accompanied them, I have endeavoured to illu-trate, by reference to gaseous media, the principle enunciated at the outset, that in the displacement of the discharge in a magnetic field, the subject of the magnetic action is the material substance or medium which conveys the discharge. I have shown also that, even when the discharge takes place in media so attenuated as to produce the phenomena of stria, the same principle applies not only to the discharge as a whole, but also to each component stria or unit ; and, lastly, that the apparent diversity of effect cn the various striz is due to local circumstances, and not to any fundamental difference between the ‘‘ negative glow” and the members of the ‘‘ positive column.” : Seeing now that the magnetic displacement of the luminous discharge means displacement of the matter in a luminous con- ——— A pril 6, 1882] NATURE 543 dition, and that a crowding of such luminous matter involves an | fras, tree ferns, and myrtles ; and (4) the interior }lains repre- increase of luminosity, may we not infer with a high degree of probability that the striz: are themselves aggregations of matter, | and that the dark spaces between them are comparatively vacuous, It is true that such a view of the case would seem to imply that, in gaseous media, the better the vacuum the more easily can the electricity pass; and that this might at first sight appear to be at variance with the known fact that the resistance of a tube decreases with the pressure until a minimum, determinate for each kind of gas, and then increases. Bnt it has been sug- gested by Edlund (Aznales de Chemie et de Physique, 1881, tom. iii. p. 199) that the resistance of a tube may really consist of two parts, first, that due to the pa-sage of the electricity through the gas itself, and, secondly, th t due to its passage from the terminals to the gas; and also that the former decreases, while the latter increases, as the pressure is lowered. On this suppo- sition, the observed phenomena may be explained, without assigning any limt to the facility with which electricity may _ traverse the most vacuous space. We may even carry the suggestion of a resistance of the second kind a little further, and suppose that there is a resistance due to the passage of electricity from a medium of one density to that of another, or from layer to layer of different degrees of }ressure, And from this point of view, we may regard the striz as expressions of resistance due to the varying pressure in dif- ferent parts of the tube. Into the question, whence this varia- tion of pressure, I am not at present prepared to enter; it must suffice for this evening, to have shown that the conclusions which we have drawn from our experiments, are not in dis- accordance with other known phenomena of the electrical discharge. The warning hand of time bids me not to prolong my discus- sion of the subject. But before closing, I would point out that these laboratury experiments are not unsuggestive in reference to larger questions. It has long been, and still is, a disputed question whether a display of the aurora borealis ever takes place at any consideratle elevation above the earth’s surface. On the one hand, ob-ervations are cited giving a not unfrequent elevation of nearly 200 miles; while on the oth2r, experiments with vacuum tubes appear to limit the range to less than forty miles. The observation is perhaps a doubtful one at best ; it is not easy to fix the position of so faint and flickering a pheno menon, and it is perhaps even more difficult to identify a parti- cular phase of it when seen from two distant positions. But the recorded data are still entitled to some consideration, especially if it has been shown that the evidence furnished by vacuum tubes is not conclusive against the higher estimate. It would be very pleasant, if, wafted by the breezes of scien- tific imagination, we weve to set full sail, and navigate our bark into still more distant space. And, indeed, we are under no slight obligations to those strong minds and courageous spirits who thus adventure themselves out beyond well-known waters ; for the treasures which they bring back from every such voyage are both valuable and strange, and they set men thinking on new and untrodden Ines. but lest, less fortunate than my neighbours in any such venture, I should fail to fall in witha returning current, capable of recovering my expended energy, and of restoring myself to ¢erva firma, | must here pause. It is, however, said, that in the mind of every one, even the most philosophic, there is a tender part ; and therefore I must ask your indulgence, if, while resolutely turning my back on physical speculations, I still return for a moment to my first love, mathe- matical contemplation. For, in the region which we have been considering, namely, the magnetic field, explored and represented by its electric action, we seem to have entered upon a world which Riemann might have longed to see, a world wherein Lobatcheff- ski and Beltrami might have enjoyed the full fruition of realised ideas, and where even Clifford might have found abundant scope for the exercise of his inexhaustible powers of imagination and of thought. FLORA OF NEW SOUTH WALES IN ITS GEOLOGICAL ASPECT THs, the oldest of the Australian settlements, may have its area grouped as follows :—(1) That of the sandstones or poor country represented by the Proteads and Epacrids ; (2) the eastern slopes of coast range represented by the tree-nettles and the palms ; (3) the cold mountain shrubs re re ented by sassa- sented by Chenopods and Composite. It may be wondered how the distribution of the vegetation has originated. ‘That the Australian continent has risen slowly, is gathered from numerous proofs, among others the very apparent one of the strata exhibit- ing preponderately a horizontal plane, It may further be inferred that in its uplifting, the outer rim of the continent was slightly more elevated than the interior, This taken into consideration along with what doubtless at one time existed, namely, a great inland sea, abundance of marshes and mud, and a once probable greater rainfall, and particularly the latter, though one and all may have contributed to the present physical features, and con- sequently plant life. Another interrogatory arises, viz. Whence the coal-seams? As to these, there is some likelihood they are the remains of vegetation borne hence from a now sunken conti- nent eastward of Australia ; New Zealand, Norfolk, and Howes Island being outliers or now mere island vestiges of the said great land area in the Pacific Ocean. Of the four local divisions above enumerated, the most typical vegetation of the fir t is the group Proteacex, a very ancient family, extending back to the secondary period of geology, from which time Australia apparently has never been submerged. A point of very considerable importance as bearing on this long- continued stability of the Australian continent may be derived from the remarkable close relationship and insensible gradation of some plants ; for instance there is great difficulty in separating species of Eucalypti, Banksias, &c. Thus it may be said none or few of the connecting links have been lost, as must necessarily have been the case had submergence and elevation of the land have occurred. Many curious problems yet await investigation, such as the fertilisation of the Proteads, including the Styleworts and Goodenia family. Again, have the Epacrids once been a family of trees, wherefrom the living species are but decadent examples? The Casuarinez, or Beefwod tribe, are undoubtedly an ancient group, and like conifers, flourished in the dawn of life. The second division of the eastern sl»pes, Palms, and Tree-nettles possibly may have had an Asiatic origin, through the Malayan Archipelago. They appear not to be truly Australian in origin, but themselves only long established cclonists. On the contrary, among the third divi-ion of the cold mountain scrub-:, the Dorophoree (Sassafras) hold a con- spicuous place, and evidently are of Australian derivation. The peculiar vegetation of the interior plains or fourth division, the Chenopods and the Compositz, are rapidly becoming one of the past, and the small species even now are sensibly giving place to the introduced grasses and weeds. Apart from the groups mentioned as most typical of the four areal divisions in question, as regards the Acacias and Eucalypts, they have the widest dis- tribution and complicated genera, They both appear to be genera at their zenith, having existed long enough to pass into redundant forms, but not long enough to have been exposed to vicissitudes and decline. Their absence from Howe's Island and New Zealand shows they in all likelihood did not belong to the hypothetical submerged continent, nor: are they old enough to be found along with the laurel and other remains of the gold drifr. (Abstract of a communication by Mr. Robert Fitzgerald, F.L.S., read at the meeting of the Linnean Society, February 2, 1882.) UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE.—The recent report of the Council of the Senate relative to the proposed Prosessorship of Animal Morphology, is creditable both to the University and to the Council. We think - it desirable to quote some of its paragraphs entire. ‘‘ The suc- cessful and rapid development of biological teaching in Cam- bridge, so honourable to the reputation of the University, has been formally brought to the notice of the Council. It appears that the classes are now so large that the accommodation pro- vided but a few years ago has already become insufficient, and that plans for extending it are nuw oc.upying the attention of the Museums and Lecture-Rooms Syndicate, ‘©It is well known thai one branch of this teaching, viz., that of Animal Morphology, has been created in Cambridge by the efforts of Mr. F. M. Balfour, and tka! it has grown toits present importance through his abili:y as a teacher and his scientific reputation. ‘« The service to the interests of natural science thus rendered x 544 by Mr. Balfour having been so far generously given without any adequate academical recognition, the benefit of its continuance is at present entirely unsecured to the University, and the pro- gress of the department under his direction remains liable to sudden check.” It is recommended that a Professorship of Animal Mythology shall be established, terminable with the tenure of the first Professor ; the stipend to be 300/. a year; the Professor to be appointed by vote of members of the Senate on the Electoral Roll. The duty of the Professor is defined as ‘‘to teach and illustrate the principles of the structure and development of animals, to apply himself to the advancement of the knowledge of those subjects, and to promote their study in the University.” The Grace will be proposed on May 11. From the reports of the natural science examiners in the last Local Examinations, we learn that the Junior Chemistry paper was very feebly answered, many being unable to explain the difference between a chemical compound and a mechanical mix- ture; but the practical work was satisfactorily done. The senior boys did well in chemistry, though the girls did badly. In heat, there were many failures among the Juniors, with great want of exactness in the definition of important terms: the majority failed to do a very simple calculation concerning the expansion of a solid; the Seniors did better. In Statics and Hydrostatics the papers of the Juniors were unsatisfactory ; the answers to one numerical question were mostly confused masses of figures without a single word to serve as a clue to the laby- rinth. The Seniors also receive a bad report ; the questions in- volving accurate definition were not either attempted or were poorly done. In Botany the Junior papers were moderately good ; there was, however, a tendency to the indiscriminate use of technical terms without a due regard to their meaning. The Seniors in many cases showed complete ignorance of some of the most elementary facts; the description of specimens was espe- cially bad. In zoology both Juniors and Seniors did fairly well ; still there was a general absence of diagrams, and little evidence of practical work. One valuable remark of the examiner is that young scholars should not be informed of the erroneous ideas of the older naturalists, even though the errors are pointed out, as unnecessary trouble is thereby given, and confusion is likely to be caused. In Physical Geography, good papers weresent up ; but in Geology the majority were altogether unsatisfactory, The examination for a vacant Sheepshanks Astronomical Ex- hibition will be held in Lecture Rcom No. 7, at Trinity College, on Monday, April 24. The Demonstrator of Comparative Anatomy will take an advanced class for instruction in the Sauropsida next term, beginning April 18. EDINBURGH.—At the close of his lecture on Friday, 31st ult., Prof. Archibald Geikie was presented with an illuminated address by past and present students of the Geology class in the University of Edinburgh. Mr. John Murray, of the Challenger Expedition, presented the address, which was as follows :— ‘* Sir,—We, your present and former students in the University of Edinburgh, beg to pay you the tribute of a brief farewell. While rejoicing in the honour conferred on you by your appoint- ment as Director-General of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland, we would record, along with the expression of our most hearty congratulations, our deep sense of the loss which both we and our 4/ma Mater will sustain by your de- parture. To the distinguished services you have rendered the science in which you haye taught us to share your interest and enthusiasm, we willdo no more than refer; though we cannot fail to remember with pride how signally you have maintained the reputation of the Scottish School of Geology, and of Edin- burgh, its metropolitan seat. We would here simply recall the many happy hours we have spent with you, both in the geologi- cal class-room and in the field, and express, for ourselves and for others now scattered over the world, the feelings of gratitude and affection with which your name will ever be regarded. We are, sir, with much respect and affection.” Having read the address, the sentiments of which were warmly applauded, Mr. Murray said that Prof. Geikie would find in it the names of about 140 students, and they expected that a number more would yet be added. They did not intend the address to express all the deep feelings they had towards Pro- fessor Geikie, nor did they attempt to say all ‘that one should wish about the admiration in which they held Prof. Geikie as a scientific man and as a teacher. Upon the face of the address were some sketches by one of his present pupils, which might NATURE ™ - wr - [April 6, 188 serve to remind him of the instruments with which they had fought, and of some of the battle-fields upon which they had been employed together—engaged in a fight in which the students knew Prof. Geikie had been a most excellent general for them. After mentioning that a casket for the address would be pre- sented at a social gathering to be held in a few weeks thence, Mr. Murray, in name of the past and present pupils of the class, wished the Professor health, strength, success, and distinction in the new sphere of work to which he had been transferred. Prof, Geikie, who was warmly applauded, said there were moments in a man’s life when the depth of his emotion was best expr by silence. Therefore he made no attempt to tell the students how much their kindly feelings always, and this especially hearty -outburst, had touched every fibre of his heart, At the close of every session he had been accustomed to look forward to the final day with great depression of spirits. It had always been to him a sad thing to say ‘‘ good-bye” to the you men with whom he had been brought into such close ponuitel contact during the winter ; but this was to be his last adieu to them, and he could hardly trust himself to shape into words the feeling of genuine sorrow with which he left that class-room. Eleven years ago he began the work of that class, The Chair of Geology in the University was founded by the munificence of Sir Roderick Murchison, who was struck down by illness before the arrangements for the foundation were completed, and he believed it was largely due to the present Parliamentary repre sentative of the University, Dr. Lyon Playfair, that these arrange- ments were finally carried out. As the students had said in the” address, his aspirations had been very strong towards reviving, as far as in him lay, the fame of the Scottish School of Geology. No one could be more sensible than he was, of how far he had fallen short of the aspirations with which he began his work. But although he did not for a moment attempt to justify his failures, he should try to show them how difficult — his task had sometimes been. When he entered on his duties, there was not one diagram or specimen belonging to this — class. He had to obtain diagrams from all sources, and te make — many of them himself, there being no great endowment for the — support of the Chair. One part of his work during the eleven years had been to gather together materials for a class-museum. — These he had succeeded in obtaining, partly through purchase, — and partly through the kindness of friendly benefactors to the University. This collection, which would be of the greatest — value in the future work of the Chair, was at present in great part stowed away in boxes, for want of space to display it. He had much satisfaction in leaving it as a legacy to his successor, Having referred to the difficulties which had attended the con- ducting of the class, arising from the deficiency of accommo- dation, two, and sometimes thre> professors using the same class-room, the Professor said this Chair was the first started in Scotland for the special cultivation of geology and mine- ralogy. He believed he was the first in Scotland, if not in Britain, to organise a practical class for the study of — mineralogy and the microscopic investigation of rocks. Owing to the transference of the medical classes to the new University Buildings, his successor would have a series of class-rooms, with laboratory and museum attached, and he had no doubt a great future was in store for the prosecution of geology in the Uni- versity of Edinburgh. He had tried always to make the cultiva- tion of field-geology a prominent part of the work of the class ; and some of their pleasantest associations bad been among the glens of the Highlands and the hills and shores of the lowlands. In concluding, Prof. Geikie thanked the students very heartily for their kindness in the past, and for this crowning mark of their regard. Though his voice would no longer be heard within these walls, his interest in the students remained as sincere and as hearty as ever it was. They knew him well enough to be assured that his students had been, and always would be, to him personal friends. ‘‘ And now, gentlemen,” he concluded, “long live our dear old A/ma Mater, ani God bless you all.” THE following is the award of the Public Schools’ Prize Medals of the Geographical Society for 1882 :—Physical Geo- graphy (Examiner Prof. H. N. Moseley, M.A., F.R.S.): Gold Medal, Hubert Llewellyn Smith, Bristol Grammar School ; Silver Medal, Albert Richard Sharp, Dulwich College. Honour- ably mentioned: Andrew Claude Crommelin, Marlborough College; Montague Edward Fordham, London International College; Samuel William Carruthers, Dulwich College ; Albert Lewis Humphries, Liverpool College. Political Geography (Examiner, Sir Arthur Blyth, K.C.M.G., Agent-General for April 6, 1882] 7 NATURE 545 South Australia) : Gold Medal, Frank Herman Becker, Dulwich College ; Silver Medal, Sydney Charles Farlow, Harrow School. Honourably mentioned: Robert Galbraith Reid, Dulwich College. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Journal of the Franklin Institute, February.—On the beha- viour of steam in the steam-engine cylinders, and on causes of efficiency, by R. H. Thurston.—What is the most economical point of cut-off for steam-engines, considered as a question of finance? !y W. D. Marks.—Contribution to the history of the link motion, by J. L. Whetstone.—A new theory of the suspen- sion system with stiffening truss, by A. J. Dubois.—Steamship performance, by J. W. Nystrom.—Radio-dynamics; atomic phyllotaxy and kindred harmonies, by P. E. Chase. Bulletin del Académie Royale des Sciences de Belgique, No. 12, 1881.—On the probable cause of variations of latitude and ter- restrial magnetism, by F. Folie.—Remarks on the electric phe- nomena which accompany variations of the potential energy of mercury, by G. Van der Mensbrugghe.—On compound ethers of hyposulphurous acid, by W. Spring and E. Legros.—On the action of chlorine in sulphonic combinations, and on organic oxysulphides, by W. Spring and C. Winssinger.—On the action of chlorine on tertiary butylic alcohol, by Baron d’Otreppe de Bouvette.—On the structure of gemmiform pedicellaria of Spherechinus granularis and other Echinida, by A. Feettinger. —Researches on the organisation and development of Orthonec- tides, by C. Julin.—On the respiratory oscillations of the arterial pressure in the dog, by L. Fredericq.—On the delimitation and constitution of the lower coal-formation of Belgium, by J. C. Purves.—On the oscillations of blood-pressure called Periods, of Traube-Hering, by L. Fredericq.—A page of the history of a whale, or cetology fifty: years ago: lecture by P. J. Van Beneden.—History of astronomy in Belgium: lecture by F. Folie. Reale Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere. Nendiconti, vol. xv. fasc. ili—Meteorological vésemé of the year 1881, calculated from observations made in the Royal Observatory of Boera, by E. Pini.—On the achromasia of aphaneri (z.e. colourlessness of certain minute organisms), by L. Maggi.—On the toxical action of hydroxylamine, by C. Raimondi and G, Bertoni. Alti della R. Accademia det Lincei, vol. vi. fasc. 6.—On Hieratite, a new mineralogical species, by A. Cossa.—On mono- bromopyridine, by L. Danesi.—Observations in addition to the memoir entitled ‘‘ On an Organ of some Vegetable Embryos,” by G. Briosii—On the extraordinary atmospheric pressure of January, 1882, by L. Respighi. Bulletins dela Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris, tom, iv. fase. iii., 1881.—M. Thulié concludes his paper on the differences between the true Bosjesmans and Hottentots, the former of whom he regards as survivors of an aboriginal, and once predominant race.—M. Topinard’s report of his observations on the indi- genous races of Algeria during a brief sojourn in that provinee, has given occasion—through his disregard of his own rules of ethnological inquiry, and his hastily formed views based on mere appearance—to the most interesting of the papers and discussions reported in these Aw/letins. Among these are the comprehensive expositions which M. Topinard gave at a subsequent meeting of his ‘‘ Méthode d’observation sur le vivant 4 propos de la discus- sion sur l’Algerie,” and the description of his own modification of ‘ Broca’s Goniometer for measuring Cuvier’s facial angle on the living subject.”—M. Sabatier, in a paper on the different appellations used by the ancients to designate the peoples of Africa, endeayours to prove the existence of close analogies between Sanskrit, Greek, and the Berber dialect, as shown in the names of leading African peoples, which he derives either from their predominant cccupations, or the nature of the region in which they dwelt.—M. Ameghino describes the result of his recent explorations of the Chelles beds, in which no human remains have been found, while those of the elephant, rhinoceros, and cave-bear are numerous, together with an abundance of aqueous, but no terrestrial shells—M. Cayaroz reports his dis- covery of an atelier of flint implements in the Jura, near Salines, which appears to belong to the Neolithic age.—M. le Baron presented his report on prehistoric osseous lesions, which forms the subject of his inaugural thesis, and is based on a study of the specimens contained in the Broca, and the Society’s, Museum. The list of diseases includes most of the modern forms, common in infancy and advanced age, while the numerous instances of trepanning, and the not infrequent cases of well consolidated fractures show that primzeval man was not wholly negligent, or unskilled in regard to surgical methods.—A new case of so-called hermaphrodism reported by M. Magitot, gave rise to considerable discussion, in the course of which it -was agreed that the use of the term was not in harmony with the present state of physiological inquiry, and that the abnormalities in question ought to be included under the general head of mal- formations, or embryonic arrest of development.— We have further to notice papers by Madame Clemence Royer, on ‘‘Le Bien et la loi Morale”; by M. Zaborowski on the memory and its distur- bances; by Mr. Foley, on the relations between the mode of life and character of tropical peoples, and the humid climate in which they live ; and finally, two highly important communi- cations, received from M. de Ujfalvy, on the craniometric and other measurements made by him while travelling in the Thibetian, Kashmir, and other Indian territories. His observa- tions on the Baltis, Lhassas, Ladakis, Koulous, and Lahoulis— the two last-named of which practise polyandry, and follow a degraded form of Bouddhism—supply highly interesting, and hitherto unknown materials towards our better acquaintance with the ethnological and sociological history of these tribes. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, March 9, 1882.—‘‘On the Spectrum of Carbon,” by G. D, Liveing, M.A., F.R.S., Professor of Che- mistry, and J. Dewar, M.A., F.R.S., Jacksonian Professor, University of Cambridge. Angstrom and Thalén, in their memoir ‘‘ On the Spectra of the Metalloids” (Nova Acta Reg. Soc. Upsal., Ser. iii. vol. ix.), give a map and table of wave-lengths of the lines due to carbon in the visible part of the spectrum, as distinguished from the fluted spectra given by compounds of carbon, namely, carbonic oxide, cyanogen, and acetylene. These lines, they state, always appeared when very powerful induction sparks were passed through the vapour of any compound of carbon, or between carbon electrodes. This line-spectrum is remarkable for sim- plicity, consisting of eleven lines, of which the single line in the yellow, followed by a triple group in the green, and a very strong line in the blue, recall vividly the spectrum of mag- nesium ; and as we know two modifications of the spectrum of magnesium which seem to be due respectively to the oxide and a hydride, the parallel between the behaviour of the two elements is the more striking. The authors figure the ultra-violet spectrnm of carbon to a scale of wave-lengths within the range of the rays transmitted through calcite. ‘The lines figured have been observed in photo- graphs of the spark of a large induction coil, having a large Leyden jar in connection with the secondary coil, between poles of purified graphite in air, carbonic acid gas, hydrogen, and coal-gas, The same lines have been observed in photographs of the spark between iron, and between aluminium poles in car- bonic acid gas. By comparing the photographs taken under these different circumstances, they have, they believe, eliminated the air-lines, which are numerous and strong in the region between H and T, and also the metallic lines which graphite, purified with the utmost care, still exhibited. The graphite was purified by being stirred in fine powder into fused potash, and subsequent treatment with aqua regia, by pro- longed ignition in a current of chlorine, and by treatment with hydrofluoric acid. The well-washed powder was afterwards compressed into blocks by hydraulic pressure between platinum plates, and from these blocks the electrodes employed were cut. Notwithstanding the purification, the photographs of the spark between these electrodes still showed very distinctly lines of magnesium and iron, The wave-lengths of the strongest carbon lines were deter- mined by means of a Rutherford diffraction grating having 17,296 lines to the inch. The measures were made in the following way:—A small photographic slide, containing the sensitive plate, fitted the telescope in place of the eye-piece, and so could easily be turned about an axis coincident,, or nearly so, with the optic axis of the telescope. In taking a measurement of the position of a line the approximate wave-length was first found by interpolating between the nearest cadmium or other lines of known wave-length in photographs taken with calcite prisms, ya pare My ‘ ‘eu ee ee vase a= * , : ~e Leen 546 The telescope was then set to the angle corresponding to this approximate wave-length for the spectrum of the fourth order. The lower half of the slit was closed by a shutter, and the photographic slide having been adjusted for level, the plate was exposed to the light which came through the upper half of the slit, and gave an image of the lines in the lower half of the field. When this exposure was completed, the photographic slide was turned round through 180° about the axis of the tele- scope, so as to bring to the top that part of the sensitive plate which had been before lowest. It was then exposed a second time, and thus two images of the same line were impressed on the plate, which were necessarily at equal distances on either side of the point where the axis of the telescope met the plate. By a subsequent measurement with a micrometer under a micro- scope of the distance between the two images, and the conversion of this distance into angular measure, a correction was found, which was added to, or subtracted from, the reading of the circle to get the exact deviation of the ray producing the line under observation. Another photograph of the same line was next taken in the same way as before, except that the tele cope was placed at the corresponding angle on the other side of the colli- mator. From the two angles thus found, the wave-length of the line was calculated. The process was repeated three or four times for each line, and the mean wave-lengths thus found for carbon lines were 2296°5, 2478°3, 25090, 2511°9, 283673, and 2837°2. The wave-lengths of the remaining lines were obtained by interpolation from measures of photographs on which the iron as well as the carbon lines were shown. ‘The wave-lengths of the iron lines used in the interpolations were deduced from photographs taken with the grating in the Same way as that above described for the carbon lines. The wave-lengths thus formed for the remaining carbon lines are given in the table below. Table of Carbon Lines Authors, Colour. Wave-length. Intensity. 6583°0 6577'5 5694'1 5660°9 5646°5 5638°6 53790 5150°5 5144/2 5133'0 4266'0 Red Da Orange. Angstrom and Thalén ¢ Yellow ...| Green UB ANWAR eH D Indigo ... I, diffuse = 3919°3 3876°5 4; ” || 29950 | 4, very diffuse 2968 '0 5) ” 2837°3 2 2836°3 2 2746'5 3, very diffuse 27332 6, ” ” 26407 | 4 5 » 2541°5 | 2528°2 2523°6 2518°7 25158 2514'0 25119 2509°0 2506°6 | 2478°3 Ultra- Liveing and Dewar violet, WenwhuhuUmu dD 2206°5 They have also examined the spectrum of Swan’s incandescent lamps. So long as the carbon thread is unbroken, it emits a continuons spectrum, on which neither bright nor dark lines are visible. By gradually increasing the number of cells in the battery, until the thread gave way, they found at the instant of fracture, for a small fraction of a second only, that a set of fintings in the green appeared. In some of those lamps, when NATURE ~~ = tee oe 5 ‘ wey ¢ m1 ~2 ' ke eRe [April 6, 1882. the current was nearly as much as the carbon thread would bear without rupture, a sort of flame appeared in the lamp. On examining the spectrum of this flame, it gave the flutings of carbonic oxide very distinctly. Closer examination showed that this flame was strongest about the junction of the carbon thread — with one of the conducting wires, and that, on reversing the current, it shifted from one wire to the other, and the wire about which it appeared was always the positive electrode. In fact, — the flame was the glow of the positive pole attending a discharge in rarefied gas ; when the resistance of the carbon thread became too great in proportion to the intensity of the current, the dis- charge began to occur through the rarefied atmosphere within the envelope of the lamp. The spectrum showed that this atmosphere contained carbonic oxide. By interposing differeut flames between the incandescent lamp and the slit of the spectroscope, they have made some compari- — sons of the probable temperatures of the flames and filament. When the flame was that of a Bunsin burner, in which was a platinum wire with sodium carbonate, the yellow sodium lines were seen bright above and below the continuous spectrum of — the carbon thread, but reversed where they crossed it. When lithium was substituted for sodium in the flame, the ret lithium line was also seen bright above and below the continuous spec- trum, but reversed where they crossed it. When an oxyhydro- — gen jet was substituted for the Bunsen burner, and sodium car- bonate held in it, the yellow sodium lines were not only bright above and below the continuous spectrum of the carbon, but showed as bright lines where they crossed it; in fact, they were conspicu- ously brighter than the carbon. When coal-gas was substituted for hydrogen in the jet, the same appearance presented itvelf, only the sodium lines were not so much brighter than the carbon as they were before. Fifty Grove’s cells were used with the incandescent lamp, which were as many as could be used with- out danger of rupturing the threads. When barium chloride was held in the hydrogen flame fed with only a little oxygen, the bright green line of barium (wave-length 5534) was well seen above and below the continuous spectrum, but could not be traced either bright or dark across it. When a flame of cyano- gen burning in air was interposed, the bright bands of that — flame could be seen above and below the continuous spectrum, but could not be traced either bright or dark across it, When sodium carbonate was held in this flame, the yellow sodium lines were seen feebly reversed where they crossed the spectrum of the incandescent lamp. They infer from these experiments, that the emissive power of the carbon thread for light of the refran- gibility of the D lines is nearly balanced by that of sod.um in the flame of cyanogen burning in air, but is sensibly less than that of sodium, at the temperature of a jet of coal-gas and oxygen, much less than that of sodium in the oxyhydrogen jer. This seems to render it probable that the temperature of the in- candescent thread is not far different from that given to sodium by a cyanogen flame burning in air, but is less than that of an oxyhydrogen flame, though this does not necessarily fullow fromthe experiments, inasmuch as the radiation of the sodium is so much more limited as to range than that of the carbon, When a Bunsen burner or a gas blowpipe flame was interpoSed between the lens and slit, no reversal of the hydrocarbon bands cv.uld be seen. When magnesium was burnt between the Jens and slit, the magnesium lines (4) were seen bright, eclipsing the carbon. Possibly the smoke of magnesia may have considerably helped to eclip:e the light of the carbon. Chemical Society, March 16.—Prof. Roscoe, president, in the chair—The following papers were read :—On valency, by Dr. Armstrong, The bulk of this paper is taken up with a con- © sideration of the valency of carbon in the hydrocarbons, and especially with the formulz proposed by Kekule and others for benzene. The author concludes that a simple hexagon in which carbon acts practically as a triad, agrees best with the various reactions of benzene.—Contributions to the chemical history of the aromatic derivatives of methane, by R. Meldola. The author investigates the action of benzyl chloride upon diphenylamine, and the action of oxidising agents upon the product. The sub- stance thus produced is a green dye, ‘‘viridin,”” which by the action of strong sulphuric acid forms sulphonic acids, the alkaline salts of one of these acids dyes woollen fabrics from an alkaline bath. This colour is the chloride of a base which the author bas proved to be diphenyl diamidotriphenyl carbinol.—On some constituents of resin spirits, by G. H. Morris. —The lower frac- tions of resin spirit yield on standing a crystalline substance. This body has been examined by the author. — It has the formula April 6, 1882] C,H,,0,H,0 ; it is formed from a hydrocarbon heptin C,Hj,, boiling at 103° — 104°, contained in resin spirit. The author has also studied the action of nitric acid, permanganate, &c., on heptin.—On pentathionic acid, by Watson Smith and T. Taka- matsu. The authors reply to criticisms advanced by Lewes, Spring, Curtius, &c., on their previous work, and give further experiments on the subject.—On the preparation of diethyl naphthylamine, and the action thereon of sulphuric acid at high temperatures, and of phosgene gas, by B. E. Smith. Chemical Society, March 30.—Anniversary Meeting.—The president, Prof. Roscoe, F.R.S., gave his annual address, and congratulated the Fellows on the satisfactory condition of the Society, both numerically and financially: 1175 Fellows are now enrolled on the register. —A ballot was then held for the election of Officers and Council, and the following were duly elected :—President, Dr. J. H. Gilbert. Vice-presidents: F. A. Abel, Warren De La Rue, E. Frankland, J. H. Gladstone, A. W. Hofmann, W. Odling, Lyon Playfair, H. E. Roscoe, A. W. Williamson, A. Crum Brown, J. Dewar, P. Griess, A. V. Harcourt, J. E. Reynolds, E. Schunck. Secretaries: W. H. Perkin, H. E. Armstrong. Foreign Secretary, Hugo Miiller. Treasurer, W. J. Russell. Ordinary Members of Council: E. Atkinson, W. de W. Abney, F. D. Brown, F. R. Japp, H. McLeod, G. H. Makins, E. J. Mills, L. O. Sullivan, C. Schor- lemmer, J. M. Thomson, W, Thorp, T. E, Thorpe. Meteorological Society, March 15.—Mr. J. K. Laughton, F.R.A.S., president, in the chair.—The following gentlemen were elected Fellows of the Society:—T. H. Baker, J. T. Barber, W. H. Jackson, Capt. J. Simpson, R. F. Sturge, and Sir B. J. Sulivan, K.C.B.—The president (Mr. J. K. Laughton) gave a historical sketch of the different classes of anenometers. He remarked that anemometers are instruments for measuring the strength of the wind ; they are of different classes, according as the strength is estimated by the pressure on a surface, or by the velocity, by its power of suction, or by its cooling effects. Those that measure pressure may do so either by causing the plate which receives the wind to swing backwards along a gra- dua ed quadrant, or by bridling, that is, restraining that motion, and observing the resistance called into play; or by receiving the wind on a plate which can only move backwards, against either a spring, a lever attached to a weight, or a column of liquid. Others, again, receive the wind on the surface of the liquid, and show the pressure by the disturbance of the equili- brium in a siphon tube, At the present time, and in this country, instruments that measure velocity are more generally preferred, the type now commonly adopted being that known as Robinson’s cups, in which four he nispherical bowls placed at the arms of a horizontal cross cause it to rotate freely as the wind blows against them. But many very different instruments have been used for measuring velocity, the most primitive of which was-a disc of cork, fringed with light feathers—a species of shuttlecock—travelling freely along a considerable length of fine wire stretched in the direction of the wind. Rotation has, how- ever, been the favourite way of bringing the motion of the wind within reach of the observer, and to get that rotation almost every conceivable form of wheel or fan would seem to have been tried. What are known as suction anemome‘ers depend on the hydraulic principle of the lateral communication of motion bya stream. A current of air blowing across the open end of a pipe draws the air out of that pipe, causing within it a partial yacuum, which, by various arrangements, can be measured, the relative vacuum depending on the strength or velocity of the wind which gives rise to it, Several different methods have been adopted for measuring this vacuum ; but, though anemometers constructed on this principle take hold of the imagination by their neatness and simplicity, the unknown amount of disturb- ance due to friction, or-—when long pipes are used—to vibration, prevent their being received at present as satisfactory gauges of the wind’s velocity. Other anemometers have been made on the principle that the evaporation of water, or the cooling of a heated surface—other things being equal—goes on at a rate pro- portional to the velocity of the wind ; but, in practice, it has been found difficult to insure the equality or uniformity of conditions, or to make correct allowance for their difference, and at least one very ingenious instrument, by receiving the air into different pipes, opening different valves according to its varying strength, causes them to give out two simultaneous but distinct musical notes, the one of which answers to a definite direction, the other to a definite velocity. considered as pretty and ingenious toys: they can, undoubt- NATORE Such things can, at present, only be © 547 edly, mark a difference between one wind and another, but are quite unequal to giving any exact measure of relative and still more absolute force. Even the more generally recog- nised types of anemometer, the very commonly used pressure plates of Mr. Osler, or the revolving cups of the late Dr. Robinson, are by no means entirely satisfactory. The action of stream lines in front, or of the partial vacuum behind the exposed surface, leads to curious vagaries, difficult to understand, and as yet impossible to correct. But till they are understood and corrected, anemometry, as a science, stands ona very un- certain basis. The President, in conclusion, said that what we want is not so much new and improved apparatus for registering or recording ; for though those we have are not perfect, they are far superior to the anemometers they are applied to. What we want is rather some radical improvement in the instrument itself or in the theory which translates its action. It is to this that we would wish more especially to call the attention of all meteoro- logists.—In connection with this meeting there-was an exhibition of instruments, consisting of anemometers and new meteoro- logical apparatus, &c. The anemometers exhibited were forty- five in number, and included, among others, those of Beckley, Biram, Cator, Hagemann, Howlett, Lind, Lowne, Osler, Oxley, Robinson, Ronalds, Somerville, Whewell, and Wild. There were also photographs and drawings of old forms of anemo- meters, damage caused by whirlwinds, &c. Zoological Society, March21.—Prof, W. H. Flower, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Mr, J. E. Harting, F.Z.S., exhibited and made remarks on a mummified bird of the genus Sa/a, and some eggs from the guano-deposit of an island off the Pacific coast of South America.—Mr. Sclater made some remarks on ‘‘lipotypes””-—a new term which he considered convenient, in order to designate types of life, the absence of which are cha- racterislic of a particular district or region. Thus, Cervus and Ursus were ‘‘lipotypes” of the A®thiopian region.—Dr. A. Giinther exhibited and made remarks on the skin of a pale variety of the Leopard from the Transvaal, Dr, Giinther also exhibited and remarked upon a specimen of a new Turtle (Geoemyda) from Siam.—Mr, R. Bowdler Sharpe exhibited a specimen of a Goldfinch from Hungary, sent to him by Dr. J. von Madarasz, of the Museum of Buda-Pest, which that gentle- man had described as Carduelis elegans albigularis. Mr. Sharpe observed that a white-throated variety of the Goldfinch was by no means unknown in England.— Dr. Hans Gadow, C.M.S., read a paper on Some points in the anatomy of Prerocles, with remarks on its systematic position. Detailed descriptions of the alimentary organs and of the muscles were given. The author took the opportunity of discussing the classificatory or systematic value of the cca in birds. Then, after pointing out the difficul- ties of placing the Sand-Grouse in the Avian system, he came to the conclusion that the Pleroclefes (Sclater) should be considered as a group co-ordinate to the Rasores, Columbz, and Limicole, between which they formed a connecting link.x—Mr, W. A, Forbes read a note on a peculiarity of the trachea in the Twelve- wired Bird of Paradise (Se/euctdes nigra) as observed in a male specimen that had recently died in the Society’s Gardens.—Mr, Bowdler Sharpe read a note on the Strix oustaleti of Hartlaub, and pointed out that this bird was none other than the Grass- Owl (Stix candida).—Capt. G. E. Shelley gave the descriptions of some new species of birds which had been obtained in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, Natal. These the author proposed toname Anthus butleri (a very interesting Yellow-breasted Pipit), Sphenaacus natalensis (the Natal representative of S. africanus), and S, intermedius (an intermediate form from Kaffraria),— Messrs. Godmin and Salvin read a paper, in which was given the descriptions of some new species of Butterflies of the genus Agrias, from the valley of the Amazons.—Mr. E. J. Miers read an account of a collection of Crustaceans which had been made by M. V. de Robillard, at the Mauritius. The author called special attention to a fine Spider-crab dredged up from a depth of eighty fathoms, which he proposed to name Waia robillardt. Geological Society, March 22,—J. W. Hulke, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—William Brown, George Thomas Parnell, and Edwin Alfred Walford, were elected Fellows of the Society. —The following communications were read :—On a fossil species of Camptoceras, a freshwater mollusc, from the Eocene of Sheerness, by Lieut.-Col. H. H. Godwin-Austen, F.R.S.—Note on the os pubis and ischium of Ornithopsis eucamerotus (synonyms—Lucamerotus, Hulke ; Bothriospondy- Jus (in part), R. Owen; Chondrosteatosaurus, R. Owen),” by W. Hulke, F.R.S., Pres.G.S In this paper the author reviewed the various contributions to the knowledge of this Dinosaur, for which he adopted Prof, Seeley’s generic name Ornithopsis, and employed the name excamerotus, originally applied by him to the genus, as tke specificname. He also dis- cussed the affinities existing between Ornithopsis and certain other Dinosaurs, such as Cefeosauvus and the American genera Camarosaurus, Atlantosaurus, and Brontosaurus, He then described the pubis and ischium which haye recently been acquired by the British Museum from the collection of the late Rey. W. Fox, by whom they were purchased, together with the finest typical thoracic vertebrae of Ornithopsis.—On Neustico- saurus pusillus (Fraas), an amphibious reptile having affinities with the terrestrial Nothosauria and with the mari: e Plesiosauria, by Prof. H. G. Seeley, F.R.S. These remains come from the Lettenkohle, a stratum between the Upper Muschelkalk and Keuper, and were obtained at Hoheneck, about 9 miles north of Stuttgart. They have been already noticed by Dr. Fraas under the name of Simosaurus pusillus ; but the palate differs much from that of this genus, and from all others that are known. Neusticosaurus is the smallest representative of the Plesiosauria yet known, and has a special interest as exhibiting hind limbs with the characteristics of a terrestrial animal, while the fore- limbs are modified into paddles. Victoria (Philosophical) Institute, April 3.—A paper on materialism was read. PARIS Academy of Sciences, March 27.—M. Jamin in the chair, —The following papers were read :—Double decompositions of haloid salts of silver, by M. Berthelot.—On the velocity of pro- pagation of explosive phenomena in gases, by MM. Berthelot aud Vieille. Small! detonators (of fulminate) had been used, breaking circuits a> the waves passed ; and the velocity observed is now shown to be independent of these. It is also found in- dependent of the diameter of the tubes beyond 5 mm.—Instan- taneous photographs of birds in flight, by M. Marey.—On the variations observed in the herring fishery on the Norwegian “coasts, by M. Broch. These variations, long recorded at Bergen, seem to depend on the movements of large banks of animalculz, which are the herring’s food, towards or away from the coast ; and these displacements are probably due to variations in marine currents and dominant winds, which require investigation.— First succour to the wounded on the battlefield, by M. Fournier. He indicates, in photographs, means that may be used, where ambulance-aid cannot be had.—Comet discovered in America, on March 19, 1882; observations at Marseilles Observatory, by M. Coggia.—Observations of the comet at Paris Observatory, by M. Bigourdan.—Observations of solar protuberances, faculz, and spots at the Observatory of the Roman College during the fourth quarter of 1881, by M. Tacchini. ner alia, the protu- berances diminished in number, from a maximum in September ; but they were nearly twice as numerous as in the same quarter of 1880. Their height and extent had increased very little. Spots and faculze showed, as before, two maxima between + 10° and +30°.—On hypercycles, by M. Laguerre.—On Pfaff’s problem, by M. Darboux.—On a group of linear substitutions, by M. Picard.—On discontinuous groups, by M. Poincaré. —On the application of the resistance of materials to the pieces of machines, by M. Léauté.—On the compressibility of gases, by M. Sarran. Clausius’ formula represents, with much exactness, the compressibility of six gases studied.—On the relation ¢(v, ~, t) = 0 relative to gases, and on the law of dilatation of these substances at constant volume, by M. Amagat.—On a certain class of equipotential figures, and on M. Decharme’s hydraulic imitations, by M. Guébhard.—Telephonic indicator of the torsion and velocity of rotation of the motor-axis of machines, and consequently of the work, by M. Resio. This enables a single observer to make the measurements at a distance. The principle is that of the induction balance.— Action of telephonic currents on the galvanometer, by M. de Chardonnet. Sounds of uniform in‘ensity do not affect a sen- sitive galvanometer, but the needle is deflected when the intensity varies, the direction being opposite in increase and decrease. This is easily explained.—On the absorption-spectrum of ozone, by M. Chappuis. The spectrum is more characteristic than any other properties ; the author specifies the wave-lengths of the bands, and describes their appearance and order of occurrence under varying conditions.—KResearches on ozone, by Abbé Mailfert. This relates to action of ozone on organic matters, | - NATURE ‘ [April 6, = 88: on several metallic oxides and sulphides, and on salts who bases are susceptible of suroxidation.—Action of alkaline solu: tions on protoxide of tin, by M. Ditte.-—Experimental researche: on the constitution of cements and the theory of their harden by M. de Chatelier. He examined thin plates of Po cement with the polarising microscope, and indicates the sub stances present and those produced inthardening.—On camp! urethane, by M. Halles.—Action of cyanogen on sodi menthol, by M. Arth.—Preparation of pure carbon for elect: lighting, by M. Jacquelain. The method is, directing a cu of dry chlorine for thirty hours on several kilo 3 crayons of retort-carbon heated to a bright red, and afterwards letting carburet of hydrogen vapour circulate slowly among them for five or six hours; another method, action of fused caustic potash or soda ; a third, action of hydrofluoric acid. lheau also prepares directly pure graphitoid carbon by decomposition of organic substances through heat. A photometric table of different carbons is given.—Intestinal digestion, by M. Duclaux. —The microzymas of the stomachal glands and their digestive power ; reply to the question, Does the stomach digest itself ? by M. Béchamp. The stomachal mucous membrane is digested by the microzymas, but the production of new cells is superior the consumption.—Researches on pancreatic albuminoses, by } Béchamp.—On trichinze in salt meat, by M. Colin. American salt meat, as now imported, may, only in rare cases, transmit trichinosis where the pieces are recent, or large and badly-im pregnated.—Similarity of effects of central and cortical lesion of the. brain, by M. Couty.—On the reproductive apparatus of star-fishes, by MM. Perrier and Poirier.—Development of the ovum of Podocoryne carnea, by M. de Varenne.—On the present state of monetary and note circulation, with some in cations as to modifications following on extension of the metric system, by M. de Malarce. England uses relatively the fewest monetary instruments (metallic or note money) ; France much more. ‘The total for the former is 4,800 million francs, for the latter 8,600 million. ‘ VIENNA i Imperial Academy of Sciences, March 30.—L. I. Fitzinggsy in the chair.—J. Barrand, ‘‘Systéme silurien du centre de_ Bohéme” (vol. vi., containing the Acephala, with 361 tables). M. Kovatsch, on the sand covering of Venice and its causes.- H. John, on the vapour density of bromine.—On the knowledge of amine bases of secondary alcohols, by the same.—F. Reinitzer, — studies on the reaction of acetates of chromium, iron, and alu- minium.—An analysis of a vegetable fat, by the same.—T. — Puluj, on radiant electrode-matter (ii.). —E. Tangl, on the divi-— sion of nuclei of Spirogyra cells.—F. Berwerth, on the chemical _ composition of amphiboles.—Dir. Steindachner, batrachologi ‘ contributions. —G. Tschermak, on the meteorites that fell near Mocs (Transylvania).—E. Weiss reported on the elements and ephemeris of the comet discovered by Mr. Wells at Boston — (U.S.A.) on March 18, computed at the Vienna Observatory by — E. Holetschek. : : CONTENTS Pace Tue ORIGIN OF THE SIGNS OF THE Zop1Ac. By Prof. A. H. SavcE. 525 — Tue Grovocy oF SUTHERLAND . 2 « . © « 0 = ss = « me See Our Book SHELF :— ‘ Horne’s “Year in Fiji”... 2 6) a SOR Se Letters TO THE EDITOR :— On a Perpetual Form of Secondary Cell.—Prof. A. S. HerscHEL 527 Aristotle on the Heart.—W. OGLE. « . - es ee we ee 588 Rime Cloud observed in a Balloon —W. pz Fonviette . . . 529 The Kunnungs. S. E.PgAL. . «. - 2 « © «2 © © © ss 6 « 529 Burrowing Larvz.—V. T. CHAMBERS . «©. . «© 6 «© + + + 529 Vignettes from Nature.—W. BuppEN . . . .« svat “hye 529 Red Flints in the Chalk.—Joun Bapncock, Jun... . « . 529 On tHe Dispersat oF FresuwaTerR Bivatves. By CuARLES DARWIN, FIRS). 5. 3 ais, © sf is «ae. © 6, > ee rr Tue Fisnery Exaisivion AT EDINBURGH . . . «. « « « «© « « 530 Tue WinGs oF Preropactytes. By Prof. O. C. Mars (¥ ith Jilus- rg!) ee ee pies oo a eee eee e ee 6 « 53r Tue INSTITUTION OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS . . . + « © © = «f » §33 New AND very Rare Fish FROM THE MéepITERRANEAN. By Prof. Henry H°GichiOrr. 2. oe tee kl 8 ee Oe ee Pror. Barrr’s New ANTISEPTIC . © fe ite el te as ee ee Novess. is hehe ew ee 0S ei ow el Our AsrRoNomicaL COLUMN :— Comet 1882a@. . PRET Ea aie Wh? ee Variable Staffs. se eee wie G's) pe Wwe oe re 538 - GroGrasHicat Notes 2° 2. .0 6 sw ee MATTER AND MaGneto-etectric Action. By Dr. W. Sportis- woonk, Pres.R.S. (With Diagrams) . 6 «© 2 + + «© © 2 © + 539 Frora or New Soutu Waxes tn 1Ts GROLOGICAL ASPRCT . . . . 543 UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE . . «© « « © +. 543 SCIENTIFICSERIALS... . sc s 6 ene © @ BM) ue Ot Seen egee | Socierigs AND ACADEMIES . . +s 2 © © © © © «+ © «© © @ « S45 NATURE 549 THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1882 THE COINS OF THE FEWS The International Numismata Orientalia. Vol. ii. Coins of the Jews. By Frederic W. Madden, M.R.A.S. (London : Triibner and Co., 1881.) A aS goodly quarto of nearly 350 pages, illustrated by 279 woodcuts, forms the second volume of the International Numismata Crientalia, which has been for some time in course of publication uncer, we believe, the chief editorship of Mr. Edward Thomas. The work now before us may be regarded as being virtually a second edition of Mr. Madden’s ‘‘ History of Jewish Coinage and of Money in the Cld and New Testaments,’’ witich was -published in 1&64; but in many respects the book has been so much enlarged, and we venture to think im- proved, that it may almost take rank as a new work. Any summary of the strictly numismatic details of such a publication would be out of place in the pages of NATURE, but the public interest in all modern researches in the Holy Land, such as those carried on under the Palestine Exploration Fund, and the success that has attended the foundation of the Society of Biblical Archeology, prove the strong hold which, in this, and indeed in al] Christian countries, the cradle of our religion retains. Of contemporary witnesses of history, coins are among the best, but since the days of Bayer, the Archdeacon of Valentia, who wrote “ De Nummis Hebrzo-Samaritanis ” just a century ago, there was a lull in the study of this branch of numismatics until within the last thirty years, when the labours of De Sauloy, Cavedoni, Levy, Von Werlhof, Reichardt, Madden, Garrucci, Merzbacher, and others began. The results of these labours, incorporated in Mr. Madden’s present work, contrast strangely with Pinkerton’s estimation of the Jewish coinage, as expressed in his Essay on Medals, which for many years was almost the only work of the kind accessible in English. The first edition appeared in 1784, but even in the third edition of 1808 we read :— “The Hebrew shekels—which are of silver—and brass coins with Samaritan characters would have been put before, were not, most of them, later than the Christian zra, and generally the fabrication of modern Jews. At any rate the same impression of a sprig on one side and a vase on the other runs through all the coins of that bar- barous nation ; and the admission of but one of them is rightly esteemed to be almost a disgrace to a cabinet.” Certainly so far as art is concerned, the best and earliest of the Jewish coins compare unfavourably with those of the contemporary Seleucid rulers in Syria. For it must not be imagined that the Jewish shekel, notwithstanding its frequent mention in Scripture, was at any time an actual piece of coined money before the days of the Mac- cabees—or at the earliest, the time of Alexander the Great and the high priest Jaddua. If we accept the views of Dr. Merzbacher, who is probably the most competent judge in this matter, the earliest of the Jewish shekels were not struck until B.c. 141-140, when those dated n-w, the year one, were coined. These pieces are of silver, about the size of our shillings, and fully twice as thick, and range in date from the year I to 5. Half shekels are known up to the year 4. The devices on the VOL. xxv.—No. 650 shekels are, on the one side, a cup or chalice, with the legend Sxnu Spy, Shekel Israel; and on the other, what has been termed Aaron’s rod, but what more resembles three lilies on one stem. and the legend Jerwsalem the Holy. tis a curious circumstance, that en the coins of the first year, Jerusalem is spelt without a vod, and Holy is without the article and without the vav, sw op o7ws), Jerushalem kedoshah ; while on the later coins the legend is always Aw ITPA pdunyy, Jerushalain ha-kedoshah. Besides the silver coins, there is a copper coinage in- ecribed with “the year four,” but it seems somewhat doubtful whether it belongs to the same period as the shekels bearing the same date. Possibly future finds of coins with the shekels and other pieces either Jewish or foreign intermixed may settle the question not only of contemporaneity, but of actual date. The fact of the coins of the fourth year bearing upon them the legend, ‘The redemption of Zion,” as well as the shape of some of the letters, points to these coins belonging to a Jater date than the shekels. At the same time the fabric looks as if they were of earlier date than the coins of the revolts, shortly to be mentioned. Of John Hyrcanus, Judas Aristobulus, and Alexander Jannzus there are numerous copper coins of undoubted attribution. The Herods and Agrippas are also well represented; but among the most interesting, and at the same time perplexing coins of the series are those which were struck under the revolts against the Roman power, from A.D. 66 to 70, under Vespasian, and again under Hadrian, from A.D. 132 to 135. Without entering into any details with regard to these coins, it may be worth while to mention some of the devices upon them and to add a few words as to their palzographical bearing. Although portraits occur on coins of some of the Idumzean princes, the representation of any living creature is carefully avoided on all the more purely Jewish pieces. A favourite device is the palm tree, like which “ the righteous shall flourish”; though this was also a common device on coins of Carthage. The /w/aé, or bunch of “ branches of goodly trees,” and the e¢hvog, or citron, such as were carried at the Feast of Tabernacles, also make their appearance on the coins. The vine leaf and the bunch of grapes, pro- bably typical of “the vineyard of the Lord of hosts, being the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant,” are often represented. The flagons and cups, and the lyres or “stringed instruments” and trumpets, are probably symbolical of the Temple worship; and on some of the shekels of the revolts we find a gateway which not improbably represents the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. From a palzographical point of view the Jewish coinage is of great value as definitely fixing the ordinary forms of certain letters at given dates. This part of the subject is well illustrated by a folding plate comprising some thirty alphabets, from the ninth century B.C. to the tenth century after the Christian era. To these is prefixed an alphabet selected from Egyptian hieratic characters, from which M. Francois Lenormant and others have maintained that the early Phcenician alphabet was derived. Such a deri- vation appears to us at the best problematical ; but it would be too much of a digression here to enter into the question. It is more to the purpose to note that while there is in the main a close correspondence between the BB 550 NATURE [April 13, 1882 letters on the early shekels and those on the Moabite stone, and on the inscription of Esmunazar, there is in the case of some letters on the copper coins of the Asmonzan family, which are regarded as being but a few years later in date, a marked divergence. This is notably the case with the letters 7,1,and w; and singularly enough these three letters revert to the forms employed on the silver shekels on some of the coins struck during the revolts, though the position of the letters is in some cases changed. Possibly the modification in the cha- racters is due to their being so much smaller on the copper coins than on the silver. The persistence of the Phoenician or, as it may here be called, the Jewish or Samaritan character, is well exemplified by the legend on the shekel. It is of course retrograde, or to be read from right to left. The legend stands £ FQWW LPW, but when reversed, and the position of some of the charac- ters slightly altered, it comes outas SPL “LEPAL, in which SOL ISRAL can at once be seen, especially by eyes to which the Greek = and P are familiar. Any notice of Mr. Madden’s book would be incomplete without some reference to the Roman coins struck in commemoration of the Conquest of Judea, of which excellent woodcuts are given. “ Beneath her palm here sad Judzea weeps,’’ while the captive warrior with his hands bound behind him, and his armour strewn upon the ground admirably typifies ‘‘How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished !”’ The sections devoted to money in the New Testament and to counterfeit Jewish coins will be read by many with interest, while the opening chapters on the early use of silver and gold, and on the invention of coined money, contain an excel- lent summary of our present knowledge. To the numis- matist a work like the present is of special value, but we think that the ordinary student who neither knows nor cares in the smallest degree for coins as tangible objects for study or collection, will find much to reward him for a perusal of the non-numismatic parts of the volume, while to the theologian, and especially to the student of Jewish history, much of the information here contained is almost indispensable. JoHN Evans THOMPSON'S LESSONS IN ELECTRICITY Elementary Lessons in Electricity and Magnetism. By Silvanus P. Thompson, B.A., D.Sc., F.R.A.S., Professor of Experimental Physics in University College, Bristol. (London : Macmillan and Co., 1881.) V E are glad to welcome a really admirable attempt to place before students the modern doctrines concerning electricity and magnetism in a popular but reasonably accurate form. The book begins with a rapid historical sketch of the long known facts on which it is the custom to dilate in every elementary text-book on electricity ; but the historical statements indicate by little additional details that they have not been simply copied from the joint-stock property of text-book writers, but that some original authorities have been referred to. This portion of the book occupies the first 190 pages, and it does not call for special remark; the illustrations are, as a rule, familiar ones, but there is a very convenient magnetic map of England for 1888 as a frontispiece ; and everything relating to the use of iron filings is well and clearly put, as would naturally be expected. The author’s statements of the well-worn facts are moreover interspersed with notes and characteristic touches which redeem them from dulness. The second half of the book commences in Chap. IV. with the principle of electrostatic measurement and the definition of potential, which the author proceeds to apply to various cases ; and he succeeds in giving the theory of attracted disk electrometers and of the capacity of con- densers in a way which it is very satisfactory to find in so small a book. It is in the possession of this more strictly scientific information that the book differs from its pre- decessors in the same line, and we think the author has shown much ingenuity in contriving to pack into so small a compass not only all the ordinary popularly known facts, but also a considerable amount of more advanced science, which will be most acceptable to teachers and to students, who have long been accustomed to a great gap between mere experimental treatises on the one hand, and advanced mathematics on the other. After the chapter on Electrostatics comes one on Elec- trodynamics and Magnetic Measurements, which is very well done, though necessarily too concise to be in all parts readily intelligible to a beginner. It contains a reference to Rowland’s convection experiment and to Hall’s effect. The chapter which follows, on Ohm’s law, is perhaps the least satisfactory in the book. We are not satisfied with the statement of Ohm’s law, nor with what is said con- cerning the meaning and measurement of resistance. Towards the end of the book comes a brief account of the Siemens’ and Gramme machines, of Planté cells, of telegraphs, telephones, and the electric light. There is also a chapter on “‘ Electro-Optics,’’ which refers to Dr. Kerr’s discoveries and to Maxwell's theory of light. If it is necessary to say anything by way of general criticism, it is that the author sometimes shows a disposi- tion to theorise a little too baldly, and to state without qualification, and with an air of certainty and completeness, views concerning the nature of electricity, which, though undoubtedly they have some truth in them, ze. which certainly are steps towards the truth, yet have no finality about them, and which require to be cautiously worded and expressed lest they should mislead. For instance, his statements in the preface that “electricity is not /wo but ove”; that, ‘‘ whatever it is, it is not matter and not exergy”, that “fit may be heaped up in some places and will do work in returning to its former level distribu- tion,” are all, considered strictly, unjustifiable dogmas of the kind we have mentioned. A student ought to be puzzled by the unqualified statement “that more elec- tricity can be made to appear at one place and less at another” when he has learnt from Maxwell that it always behaves exactly like an incompressible fluid of which all space is completely full. Neither are we altogether disposed to approve of the phrase “ Conservation of Elec- tricity,’’ by which the author seems to set much store. However, all these doctrines are immense improve- ments on the old forms of the fluid theory, and, being steps towards truth, will probably do far more good than harm. We are fully impressed with the necessity in teach- ing of getting some ideas into the heads of the students to begin with, and of polishing them up as much as possible afterwards. April 13, 1882] NATURE 551 On the whole, then, while we have not been able to find any statement which is certainly and distinctly wrong, we find a very great deal which is not only certainly and distinctly right but which is also exactly that concerning which a real student desires, but has hitherto been unable to obtain, information; and the whole is well and clearly written. We cannot therefore too strongly recommend teachers to adopt it at once as their text-book. Ona OUR BOOK SHELF The Tea Industry in India; a Review of Finance and Labour, and a Guide for Capitalists and Assistants. By Samuel Baildon, author of ‘Tea in Assam,” &c, (London: W. H. Allen and Co., 1882.) THE history of the discovery and introduction of what is generally known as Chinese tea, though often to!d, has a special interest to a very large proportion of the inha- bitants of the civilised world. In every country, indeed, on the face of the globe, the people use some beverage which they know as tea, and which is prepared in a similar way to that in use amongst ourselves, namely, by infusion, and often, though made from the foliage of indigenous plants, having the same chemical properties as truetea. Considering the enormous money value the culti- vation of the tea plant represents not only in this country, but in China and also in India, where it is continually extending, it follows that works on this special industry would meet with a wide circulation amongst planters, and managers and directors of tea companies, notwithstanding that books and papers on the subject are by no means scarce. The work before us is one which, though containing a a good deal of information on the practical working and financial aspects of tea planting is, moreover, written in a style that will be generally acceptable, especially among “young planters, who have their way to make in the plant- ing world, and who want the dry details or drudgery of a planter’s routine of toil stated in a clear and at the same time easy manner. We will not follow Mr. Baildon through all his chapters. A glance at the introduction will prove that his reason for writing the book has been to show that India is ‘Ae country from whence we get the finest teas, and that it is also the country where we may look in future years for the bulk of our supply, holding out inducements, as many districts do, for the investment of capital and the application of bodily health and talent. In Chapter II., on ‘‘India the Home of the Tea Plant,” quotations are largely made from the published werks of well-known botanical authorities, to show that though cultivated from such a remote period in China that the plant is truly indigenous to India. The legends connected with the origin or discovery of the tea plant in China are told, one of which refers its discovery to the year of grace 510. The author points out that these legends do not prove that tea was discovered in a wild state in China. “The earliest mention,” he says, “tells of people using it, and it may be inferred therefrom that they cultivated it. Precise and accurate information is obtainable as to the actual discovery of tea in Assam, away from habitations and in dense jungles far from ‘cultivated grounds.’ But similar information is not obtainable in connection with the first days of tea amongst the Chinese.” Referring to the altered character of certain districts in India now under tea cultivation, Mr. Baildon says, “ Where once jungle and its deadly miasma concealed the riches and importance of the province, hundreds of thousands of acres of open land are now to be seen planted with tea. Compared with past times Assam is no longer a howling wilderness, and the change from hundreds of miles of waste into cultivated land has altered almost everything.” In proof of the superiority of Indian over China teas, the author advances many arguments and anecdotes of a powerful nature, which, however, may be summed up in the simple statement “that it is systematically used to fortify tea from China,’’ and that there is only one case on record of anything approaching adulteration of Indian tea. It is stated that ‘‘every pound offered for sale in England can be guaranteed as absolutely pure,” and this is its reputation with the trade. Mr. Baildon’s statements on this head are, we believe, an honest record of facts, for it is well known that Indian teas are largely used in this country for mixing with inferior China teas. This system is well known as “blending,” and is stated to be resorted to because the public taste has not yet become educated to the flavour of Indian teas alone. The English tea drinker, however, is rapidly assuming a taste for the Indian produce, and the demand for Indian tea is already very great. On the question as to the kind of men likely to succeed as tea planters in India, Mr. Baildon has a great deal to say, and is very outspoken in what he does say. His estimate of a successful planter is evidently drawn from a thoroughly practical experience, and will no doubt serve to encourage some, as it will to discourage others. The book has been carefully revised, and is unusually free from blunders, the author wisely omitting to go into the botanical character of the tea plants any more than a reference to the names under which the forms have been described. A Treatise on the Theory of Determinants; with Graduated Sets of Exercises for Use in Colleges and Schools. By T. Muir, M.A., F.R.S.E. (London: Macmillan, 1882.) THERE has been a tendency of late among some of our mathematical writers to specialise their labours; thus, Dr. C. Taylor has confined his work chiefly, if not mainly, to the geometry of conics; and our present author, to the subject of determinants. This is, we think, a good practice. Mr. Muir is no novice, and has done good work in this field, much of which is original. We have long desiderated some such work as this. Mr. Scott's is very able, but we cannot but think it is hard for junior students. Mr. Muir, we are disposed to believe, has made the introduction to the subject easier for this class, at the same time that he brings before the reader all that could be expected in a text-book. The work before us consists of three chapters, the two first of which do not err on the side of brevity; but this fulness serves a purpose, viz. “‘that the reader may become thoroughly familiarised with the definition,” which, by the way, is too long for us to reproduce here. Though the enunciation is long, the idea is easily grasped, and when taken in connection. with the illustrations, is not likely to give much trouble to the student to master it. These chapters, as indeed the remaining one also, are copiously illustrated by graduated exercises. The third chapter is much more condensed in style, and treats of determinants of special form, viz. continuants, alternants, symmetric determinants, Skew determinants, and Pfaffians, compound determinants, and determinants whose elements are differential coeffi- cients of a set of functions, to wit Jacobians, Hessians, and Wronskians. In a final chapter is given an interesting historical and Bibliographical Survey, from which the reader learns that contributions have been made to the subject from the publication of the germinal idea (long unfruitful) by Leib- nitz in 1693, down to this present work. We may refer for further information to the chronological “List of Writings on Determinants” (1693-1880), published by Mr. Muir in the Quarterly Journal of Mathematics for October, 1881. This, the completest list we have seen, was to have formed part of the present work. Though we have carefully read the book through, with the excep- tion of the exercises, we have detected but three or four 552 NATURE typographical errors. There are appended “Results of the Exercises.” We take leave of Mr. Muir with the hope that he may be soon called upon to revise his book, with a view to the issue of a second and succeeding editions. Experimental Chemistry for Funtor Students W. ¥mer- son Reynolds. Part II. Vox-Metals. (London : Longmans, Green and Co., 1882.) THIS is a most excellent little book on experimental chemistry, and should be especially useful to medical students, for whom it is chiefly designed. There is a very large amount of useful information and descriptions of experiments in clear, but not too common- place language, to make a beginner using the book feel at any loss when he shall come to use a larger work. The experiments are numbered for reference, and are also in most cases explained by an equation in symbols. The student who works through this book will cer- tainly know something practical of chemistry, as it can scarcely be used as a cram book. We notice that in some of the formule and equations the symbols are adorned with dashes, which it is to be hoped have been explained in the first part, otherwise they would be somewhat misleading, or at least confusing to students at the stage at which they commence to use the book. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. LVo notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible, The pressure on his space ts so great that it ts impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts. | Vivisection In NaTuRE (vol. xxv. p. 482) there is a letter signed ‘‘ Anna Kingsford,” to which I feel compelled to reply. Not that I contemplate convincing your correspondent of her error, for I have only facts to offer ; I write only for the unprejudiced por- tion of the English public, to protest with indignation against the calumnies regarding physiology and so-called vivisection, especially as practised here by Prof. Schiff. The theoretical arguments for and against vivisection have been discussed to satiety ; I wish to keep strictly to a question of facts, and the only passages in Mrs. Kingsford’s letter against which I protest, are the words, ‘‘the horrible tortures perpe- trated by Professors Schiff, Mantegazza, and Paul Bert” ; ‘“‘the atrocities of vivisection”; “the prolonged and exquisite tor- ments to which domestic animals are subjected”; and other similar passages. In the first place, Mrs. Kingsford shows how ignorant she is of the subject she undertakes to enlighten the public upon, by mentioning Mantegazza as ‘‘a fair type” of a Continental vivisector, when the truth is that Mantegazza did long ago make some experiments on living animals, but has not done so for very many years, is, in fact, not a vivisector. As I have not been in Prof. Paul Bert’s laboratory, and have therefore not been an eye-witness of his methods, I will say nothing of the attack against him. I now come to Prof. Schiff, who, of all living physiologists, is the one who carries out the most numerous experiments, and who may therefore fairly be taken as a typical representative of physiological research on the Continent. Having been for the last two years constantly in the learned professor's laboratory (and, I may add, in a perfectly independent position), I am able to give authoritative testimony as to his methods of study, and this testimony is, that ever during this time was vivisection practised on a feeling animal ; and I have repeatedly heard Prof. Schiff (whose word no one will dare to doubt) declare that he never in his life had operated on an animal that could feel pain —a fact which any one who knows this pre-eminently humane and kind man, will readily understand. I do not say that no vivisections are carried out; on the contrary, often several operations included under this comprehensive denomination are | April 13, 1882 performed in one day, but zever so as to cause pain. Either the animal is in-tantaneously killed by a puncture in the ‘‘ medulla oblongata,” and artificial respiration set up, or it is completely ansthetised, and Prof. Schiff’s first care is always to see that this has been properly done. ‘The trial with the eyeball isa sure criterion, ‘{he anzsthetised animals are eventually killed in the same manner as the others, while still completely uncon- scious ; few other dogs have such a painless death. In those cases where animals which have been operated on are kept alive for ulterior observations, the best proof that they do not suffer pain is the excellent appetite and healthy appearance of the dogs ~ in the school of medicine here, where they are, moreover, excellently well-housed and fed, for Prof. Schiff says: “I like my dogs to be well cared for in every way.” So much for the ‘horrible tortures” perpetrated on the continent. I may be allowed to repeat a few words fallen from Prof. Schiff’s mouth as characteristic of the man. On one occasion I heard him say: ‘‘I cannot bear the least pain being inflicted on animals ;” on another, seeing me petting a dog which was to be experimented upon, he said: ‘‘one must never caress a dog before an operation, for otherwise, although one knows it feels no pain, one’s hand is not steady for cutting.” It is true that there do exist experiments in which the animal must retain consciousness in order that the effects may be watched ; but just because the animal would suffer pain, c¢hese experiments are never carried out by Prof. Schiff. Prof. Schiff has repeatedly invited his calumniators (both publicly and privately) to come to his laboratory, which is open at every hour of the day to all who wish to form an unbiased opinion on the methods of vivisection, and to see with their own eyes the real facts of the case; not one has ever accepted this invitation—which shows how deep the love of truth is in some hearts. B.Sc., STUDENT OF MEDICINE Geneva, April 6 Precious Coral I wAs very much interested in Prof. Moseley’s note on “ Pre- cious Coral,’’ which appeared in NATURE (vol. xxv. p. 510)- During, or rather after our deep-sea explorations in the Mediter- ranean, last summer, the Washington passed a week exploring the coral-yielding banks between Sicily and Cape Bon (Africa) ; we were also therefore on the coral-banks of Sciacea. Most of ~ the coral I saw—I mean, of course, precious coral—was dead and blackened, and I saw large quantities in the same state, and from the same locality at Naples. At the extreme edge of the Sciacea bank is the extinct volcano, now covered with a few fathoms of water, known as Ferdinandea or Graham’s Island. I believe that the eruption of that voleano may explain the quantities of dead coral around. As to the black colour, I am of opinion that it may be due to the decomposition of organic matter, rather than to the presence of binoxide of manganese ; some of the bottom samples which I collected at various depths, turned quite black after a few weeks. The disappearance of the black colour on prolonged exposure to the sun, would, I believe, confirm my view. It must also be borne in mind that precious coral, in the Mediterranean at least, never is found in mud or in muddy waters, but grows mostly on a regular coral-rock formed by Madrepora of different species. I have often heard of Japanese coral, and saw some fine samples at the International Fishery Exhibition of Berlin, in 1880 ; they came from Okinava, or Kotshi, where, in 1877, a quantity of the value of 9000 dollars was collected. It is this species which has been called Corallium secundum by Prof. Dana, if I am not mistaken. A third species or variety of precious coral is found near the Cape de Verd Islands, especially San Jago; it has been distin- guished by Prof. Targioni as C. /ubrani. As a finale, 1 may add that very little precious coral is found off Torre del Greco, from which place most of the coral fisher- men hail, and in which place much of the coral collected is worked. Henry HILLYER GIGLIOLI R, Istituto di Studi Superiori in Firenze, April 6 Phenological Observations on Early Flowers and Winter Temperatures THE relation of temperature to the earliness of the season is too obvious to be overlooked, but methods of representing it numerically are of considerable interest. Since 1878 this has been done for about thirty stations in the United Kingdom by ™" , April 13, 1882] NATURE observations on the first appearance of a selected series of thirty flowers. The results have been published in tabular form in the Natural HistoryJournal, ‘Thus the means for all the 900 ob- servations (thirty plants at thirty stations) give an accurate com- parison of the relative flowerings in different seasons. The values for the four years (1878-81), reckoning in days from January I, are 93, 115, 103, and 111, respectively, giving a mean date of 105°3. It will be seen that, when such observations have been conducted over a sufficient period, important values can be de- duced as to the relation between the mean temperature and the mean date of flowering; that is, between temperature and vegetable growth. The comparison ought, probably, to be made with the mean temperature of the six months from December to May, the flowers having been chosen so as to be all out by or near the close of the latter month. That December (if not November) should be brought in will be apparent from the comparison of warmth and flowers in the following table:—Here the /ofal number of flowers found in bloom is compared with the mean temperature for the four, three, and ¢wo preceding months. The flower observations were made in the Christmas holidays, at Street, Somerset, chiefly by my- self ; a few, however, were by friends at Bridgwater twelve miles to the west. The periods were, for the four weeks begin- ning about December 15; but began a week later, and lasted only three weeks, in 1879-80 and 1880-81, For these years, therefore, an addition has been made of about one-ninth of the number actually seen (31 and 82); as comparison with other years shows that to be the proportion added in the fourth week. Again, in the first season, 1876-7, only 20 flowers were seen at Street, for I then had no idea of the numbers to be found by a little searching. The correction is made by comparison with Sidcot, in the Mendips, eighteen miles N.E., where for the four seasons, 1877 to 1880, respectively, 59, 62, 16, and 13 wild flowers were noted in January. Possibly, more experience would have slightly enlarzed the garden list. The éemperatures are supplied by Wm. S. Clark, whose obser- vations go back over twenty-five years. & Flowers. | Mean temperature. . [tee ui | | = io) wil | & ¢ s o| SAalg | = Pace In the preceding Do | ese $75) 5 2 Z|Sept.| Oct. | Nov.| Dec. a o2|\=2| a \§ oo | ate | ae 4mos}3mos|2 mos | } | | 1876-77| 4 | 67 | 20 | 120) 42°3 | 57°7 | 53°6 | 43'T | 43°3 | 49°4 | 46 7 | 43'2 1877-78| 4.| 80 | 55 | 135% 39°8 | 522 | 488 | 45°4 | 40°3 | 46°7 | 448 | 42°8 1878-79] 4| 20] 8 | 28 | 330 | 577] 51-7 | 38°6 | 324 | 44°9 | 40°6 | 350 1879-80] 3 | 21 | 10 | 34% 45°6 | 56°4 | 50°4 | 39°3 | 37°0.| 44°4 | 40'2 | 35°2 1880-81! 3 | 45 | 29 | 827| 37'3 59°9 | 45°0 | 42°5 | 43°4| 47°8 | 43°6 | 43°0 1881-82| 4 | ror | 8&8 7839) 410 5575 | 401 | 49°0 | 40°2 | 47'7 | 45°1 | 44°6 | | Now, on comparing these numbers, we find that the plant totals do not vary precisely according to any of the eight tem- perature columns, though closely related to the last. That is, the amount of early and late flowering is most affected by the temperature of the last two months in the year. In 18$0-1, the number of flowers was reduced by the severe frosts early in January, which practically cut off the last week of observation. The large number as compared to temperature in 1877-8, ap- pears to be explained by the regular decrease of warmth, without any great cold to cut off autumn stragglers. The comparative fewness of these in the present season (40 out of $$) should be ascribed to the abundance of new-comers. That the weather during the period is of less effect than that of the previous months, is evident by comparing this season with 1879-80, when the three weeks were the warmest of any season under consideration. We have already seen that the Sidcot observations confirm those at Street, the totals, though different, not varying very greatly. The same is true of observations in Devon and Corn- wall, where in 1876-7 Mr. W. B. Waterfall observed 103 wild flowers (N. H. J., vol. i. No. 1), whilst this year Mr. Wm. Waterfall has kindly sent mea list of 119. Twenty-five fresh ones have been observed, although eleven others were not again recorded, ‘* but they would no doubt be in bloom if looked for in the same locality.” * Corrected by comparison with the Sidcot list. ? Corrected by allowance of } for an extra week. 3 Six flowers being contained both in wild and garden list, deduction is made in the total accordingly. aed He also makes the following comparisons of date for four common flowers, to which I append the same, so far as recorded, for Street, Somerset. Devon and Cornwall. Street, Somerset. | 1876-7 | 1880-r | 1881-2 | 1876-7 | 1880-1 1881-2 Evazeliverst tas ||) [any 05 | Dec. 18 | Dec. 26} Jan. 16 | Jan. 1 | Dec. 28 Celandine ... | Jan 16! Dec. 25| Dec. 25 | Jan. 12 Dec. 25 Dec. 30 Ground Ivy... | Feb. 16| Dee. 25 | Jan. 19 | Jan | Mar, 22 | Jan. 31 (about) Draba verna... | Jan. 4 | Dec. 25 | Dec. 12 | Jan. 7 i} | ere iat Jan. 18 | Dec. 23 | Dec. 28 | | Jan. 8 3 | | | The comparative dates shuw even more clearly than the totals how remarkably forward the early part of the present season was compared with 1876-7, whilst the corresponding part of the foregoing season, previous to the severe weather, was still more advanced. As regards classification, it is curious to notice that only three (wild flowers) were endogenous, the snowdrop and two grasses, Poa annua and Triticum repens. list under the various natural orders; The following is a complete S. stands for Spring blossom, R. for Remaniés (101 garden flowers were seen also). EXOGENS. Ranunculacee. Anemone nemorosa, S. Ranunculus acris, R. 3 repens, R. bulbosus, R. Ficaria, S. 9 39 Fumariacee. Fumaria officinalis, R. Crucifere. Cheiranthus Cheiri, S. Sinapis arvensis, R. Arabis thaliana, S. Barbarea vulgaris, R. Nasturtium officinale, R. Draba yerna, S. Capsella Bursa-pastoris, R. and S. Senebiera Coronopus, R. Lepidium campestre, R. Violacee. Viola odorata, S. 5) Gallina, 9. », tricolor, R. and S. Caryophyllacee. Lychnis diurna, R. and S. Cerastium triviale, R. and S. Stellaria media, S. a3 Holostea, S. Hypericacee. Hypericum quadrangulum, R. Malvacee. Malva sylvestris, R. Geraniacee. Geranium molle, S. H Robertianum, R. Lesuminifere. Ulex europzus, S. Trifolium repens, R. A agrarium, R. Rosacee. Potentilla Fragariastrum, S. Rubus fruticosus, R. Prunus spinosa, S. Fragaria vesca, S. Geum urbanum, R. Crassulacee. Sedum acre, S. Cotyledon acre, S. Umobellifere. Silaus pratensis, R. Apium graveolens, R. Heracleum Sphondylium, R, Scandix Pecten-Veneris, S. Conium maculatum, R. and Ss. Araliacte. Hedera Helix, R. Rubiaceae. Galium Mollugo, R. Dipsacee. Dipsacus sylvestris, R. Scabiosa arvensis, S. Composite. Silybum Marianum, R. Chrysanthemum Leucanthe- mum, R. Achillea Millefolium, R. Senecio vulgaris, S. », Jacobzea, R. Matricaria Chamomilla, R. - Bellis perennis, S. Hypocheeris glabra, R. Leontodon autumnalis, R. Crepis virens, R. Hieracium umbellatum, R. ei murorum, R. Taraxacum Dens-Leonis, S. Apocynacee. Vinca major, S. 3; minor, S- Scrophulariacec. Linaria spuria, R. », Cymbalaria, S. Veronica agrestis, S. Buxbaumii, S. arvensis, S. serpyllifolia, S. Chamezedrys, S- ” ” 9 Labiate. Stachys sylvatica, R. Lamium purpureum, S. a album, S. Galeobdolon, R- Ajuga reptans, R. Calamintha officinalis, R. Boraginacee. Myosotis arvensis, S. Borago officinalis, S. Primulacee. Primula vulgaris, S. Polygonacee. Rumex obtusifolius, R. 554 Thymelacee. Amentifera. Daphne Laureola, S. Corylus Avellana, S. Luphorbiacee. Euphorbia Peplus, S. ENDOGENS. 3 Helioscopia, S. Liliacee. Mercurialis perennis, S. Galanthus nivalis, S. Urticacee. Graminee. Parietaria diffusa, R. Urtica urens, S. Poa annua, S. Triticum repens, R. In conclusion, my object in presenting these notes to your readers is threefold ; first, to suggest an agreeable, easy, and yet useful occupation for winter walks; second, to indicate the value for phenological purposes if a great number of such series of observations: could be made for a long series of years at various parts of our country; third, to show how great is the difference, even within the limits of the Briti-h Isles,! in the time of flowering of common plants, and yet how little we know upon the subject. Should any desire to assist in work of this kind, I would gladly forward free a copy of our printed form, containing lists and suggestions for observations, both of flora and fauna. The work is carried on in connection with the phenological branch of the Meteorological Society, of which the Rey. T. A. Preston, M.A., of Marlboro’, is the efficient Secretary. Bootham, York J. EDMUND CLARK Colours of Low-growing Wood Flowers No one can enter our English woods just now without being struck with the lovely way in which they are starred with the yellow of the primrose, the white of the anemone and straw- berry, and the light blue of the dog violet. It will be noticed that the tints of these flowers seem positively to shine in the low herbage and among the semi-shade of the trees and bushes. After twice going through the descriptions of flowers growing in similar situations, given in Hooker’s ‘‘ Student’s Flora of the British Islands,” I find that nearly all our dwarf wood flowers are white, light yellow, and light blue. None appear to be red. Three are purple—one form of the Sweet Violet and the Ground Ivy (Wepeta Glechoma), both of which are scented; and the Bugle (Ajuga reptans). If the white and yellow tints of flowers fertilised by night- moths are of service in guiding the moths to them, may not the like tints in low plants in thickets and woods be similarly advantageous to the plants by tending to secure fertilisation ? The more lordly foxglove, the ragged robin, and other higher growing flowers, erect above the low herbage, and enjoying more light, are conspicuous enough, but how would a small flower of the colour of a foxglove attract attention when hid among the grass? The purple of the bugle I cannot account for. The ground ivy hasa pungent scent. The purple of the sweet violet is certainly inconspicuous, but here the scent may be the attrac- tion, or the habit of the plant in forming cleistogamous flowers, may secure its multiplication. Hence it may be questioned whether the white form of the sweet violet does not mark a gradual transition towards that colour. If the white forms are more conspicuous, and ecure easier cross fertilisation, they may in time preponderate. Perhaps the existence of the sweet violet in the purple and in the white form may throw light on the origin of the general lightness of tint in dwarf wood subjects. The low flowers in dark places which were lighter and made themselves best seen, would more readily secure fertilisation, and through natural selection would tend to have still paler tints. The change might be aided by the bleaching of flowers in shade, as described by Mr. J. C. Costerus (NATURE, vol. xxv. p. 482). In this connection it may be noted that the wood anemone has a rare purple form—perhaps a survival—and that Anemone Apen- nina is light blue. ‘The Potentillas, close allies of the straw- berry, but mainly growing in the open, have as a rule yellow flowers ; sometimes red ones. The various mountain primroses of this and other countries, and those that grow in meadows (like our own Bird’s Eye Primrose, primula formosa), have mostly reddish, lilac, or rosy flowers. The common primrose, when growing in exposed hedgebanks has often reddish, lilac, or purple flowers. Its sports in cultivation are often white, so it may be progressing towards that tint in woods. The cowslip, which grows in meadows, has a deeper tinge of yellow than the ox- lip, which grows in copses. The cowslip is also far darker than * At Wigton, Cumberland, for instance, although on the West coast, Mr. J. E. Walker noticed only fourteen wild flowers. NATURE [ April 13, 1882 the primrose, and sometimes has a scarlet or -orange-brown corolla—perhaps the germ of the dark rich polyanthus of our gardens. The primrose family may have originated in woods, and have been originally light, gradually darkening as the flowers multiplied in the open; or, which is more probable, the tribe originated in exposed situations, creeping by slow degrees into the woods, and bleaching as it went. Bexley, March 30 J. INNEs ROGERS Vignettes from Nature Mr. BUDDEN is perfectly right in querying the locality of the speciu ens of sharks’ teeth which I mentioned as having seen from a South American digging. In consequence of a slight deafness, I misunderstood my friend’s account of them; and knowing them to be American, assigned the word ‘‘ South” to “« America,” instead of to ‘‘ Carolina,” in the coprolite pits of which they were found. WILLIAM B, CARPENTER ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF INDIA? II. N a former notice of Prof. Valentine Ball’s important work on the “ Economic Geology of India,” the sub- jects of the gold supply and of that form of carbon known as the diamond, were treated of. In the present notice it is proposed to give a brief account of that more impor- tant form of carbon known as coal, as well as to allude to the valuable information given in the chapters on Iron, Salt, and Building-stone. The rocks, which in Penin- sular India probably correspond, as regards the time of their formation, to the true carboniferous rocks of Europe, are not coal-bearing, and the oldest coal- measures in the country belong to a period which is well included within the limits of the Upper Palzozoic or Permian, and the Lower Jurassic formations. All the useful coal of the peninsula may conveniently be described as being of Permio-Triassic age, and, with two excep- tions, it may be added, these measures do not occur beyond the limits of the peninsula. In the extra-penin- sular area, coal is found in various younger deposits, and there are numerous deposits in Afghanistan, the Punjab, at the foot of the Himalayas, in Assam and Burma, of undoubted Lower Tertiary, Nummulitic, or Eocene coals and lignites ; but it is only quite exceptional that such deposits possess any great value (the chief noteworthy exceptions occur in Assam and Burma). According to the somewhat liberal estimates of Mr. Hughes, the areas in India, in which coal-measures occur, including those unsurveyed, amount in all to 35,000 square miles, but the thickness of a vast number of the seams of coal in these basins is very varied. For over one century the coal-mining industry of India has been in operation, and there has been a steady increase in production and consumption, especially within the last ten years. Still the coal resources of the country cannot be regarded as yet developed. Out of over thirty distinct coal-fields in Peninsular India, only four or five are worked at all, and even of these, but two have arrived at an output of from I to 2000 tons a day, and this though in these two fields the coal-pits are numerous. It is very important that the reasons for this state of things should be well understood, and they are not far to seek. Most of the coal-fields are very remote from the centres of manufacture and from the seaports, and at these places the native produce has to compete with a better quality of coal sea-borne from Europe. With the extension of railways in India, the home coal will have a better chance, as the facilities of carriage will enable the coal to be brought to the iron-mines, which are mostly too at long distances from the ports, and when used in the reduction of metallic ores, the demand for coal would increase. t “A Manual of the Geology of India. Part III. Economic Geology.” By V. Ball, M.A., F G.S., Ovticiating Deputy Superintendent, Geological Survey of India. Published by order of the Government of India. (Cal- cutta, 1381.) Continued from p. 510. April 13, 1882] NATURE 555 As to the quality of the coal of Peninsular India, it is not easy to write in general terms. It may be described as a laminated bituminous coal, in which bright and dull layers alternate ; much of it does not coke easily. Notrue anthracite has as yet been discovered. In the coal from the Raniganj field, the proportion of fixed carbon is under 55 per cent., which is about ro per cent. under that from the Karharbari field. The amount of moisture varies a good deal in the coal] from the different fields, being as high as 14 per cent. in the coal from the Godavari field, and not more than 5 per cent. in that from the Raniganj field. The quantity of sulphur and phosphorus present varies also considerably, but coal, sufficiently free from these impurities as to be available for the manufacture of steel, is to be found. Ina table showing the amount of coal imported into, and raised in India, for the yeas from 1852 to 1880, we find, that of a probable total amount of mineral fuel consumed in India during 1880-81, of 1,500,000 tons, one million was raised in the country, and half a million was imported. While the price of European coal at Indian ports varies, the average value at present per ton is about 30s., and English coal has been sold within the last ten years, in Calcutta, for as small a sum as 15s. a ton. At the pit’s mouth at the Raniganj field the value of the best coal is about 5s. a ton, but the same coal in Madras costs from 305. to 325. a ton, the difference being the cost of transit. On many of the railways in Upper India, wood is largely used as fuel, being much cheaper than coal. The largest and most important of the areas in which coal is worked in India is that of the Raniganj field. It is situated on the rocky frontier of Western Bengal, at a distance of 120 miles from Calcutta. The available coal was calculated in round numbers by the late Dr. Oldham to be 14,000 millions of tons. Its proximity to the main line of railway, and also to the port of Calcutta, give it an advantage over all other coal areas in India. Coal was known to occur there in 1774, and so long since as 1777 was actually worked. There are now five European companies engaged in the extraction of the coal, besides many smaller firms, and one native company. At one time a good deal of the coal was obtained by open quarry- ing, now mining is adopted on the pillar and stall plan. None of the mines are of great depth; and there isa perfect freedom from fire and choke-damp. Some of the seams are nearly forty feet in thickness, but as a rule the very thick seams do not contain the best quality of coal. The Lieut.-Governor of Bengal reported for the year 1878-79, that ‘‘the year was a prosperous one for the coal companies of Raniganj. There was a large demand, and production was greatly stimulated. The output is esti- mated to have been 523,097 tons, against 467,924 tons, the average of the three previous years. The number of persons employed was 388,931 men, 194,647 women, and 27,277 children.”’ The coal-supply of India is a subject of vast interest, one full with a great future for India, and one which though slowly, is steadily coming to be properly understood. Into the subject of “Peat in India” the space at our disposal does not allow us to enter ; and that of ‘ Petro- leum” can only be glanced at. So far as is at present known, petroleum has not been met with within the limits of Peninsular India. In the extra-peninsular countries there are several regions where the strata yield more or less abundant supplies of petroleum. The most impor- tant of these are in Burma. In British Burma the work- ing of the oil springs is but in its infancy. But in Upper Burma, the exportation of the rock oils is said to have been in progress during the last 2000 years. The oil of Upper Burma, commonly known as Rangoon oil, is a valuable article of export, taking its name from the port from which it is shipped to Europe and America. In intimate connection with the Coal of India is the abundance in extent of the Iron ores of the same region. | what unequally distributed, always present. In the peninsular area, magnetite occurs in beds or in veins of greater or less extent in most of the regions where metamorphic rocks occur. In some places, as in the Salem district in the Madras Presidency, the develop- ment of this ore is on a scale of extraordinary and un- paralleled magnitude, whole hills and ranges being formed of the purest forms of it; and in many cases these de- posits are not lodes, but beds as truly such as those of gneissose and schistose rocks, with which they are ac- companied. To the abundance and wide-spread distri- bution of these ores in the oldest rocks is no doubt to be attributed the fact of the frequent recurrence of consider- able deposits of the general dissemination of ferruginous matter, which more or less characterise the sedimentary rocks of all subsequent periods. In some localities bedded magnetite is known to occur in sub-metamorphic or tran- sition rocks. Thus the rich ores of Central India are principally found as hematites in the Bijawar or lower transition series of rocks. : The prevailing red and brown tints characterising the great Vindhyan formation are owing to the presence of iron ores in veins. The Talchir group of the Gondwana system—supposed to have been deposited from floating ice—is notable for the absence in it of iron matter. The next group Barakar is also almost free, but with some re- markable exceptions, as, for example, in the vicinity of the Aurunga coal-field at Palamow. The third group of the system is one of iron-stone shales; while in the succeeding members of the group iron is, though some- The Laterite of India is peculiarly rich in iron ores, and these have been worked by the native smelters time out of mind. Practical men have sometimes spoken ot the native furnaces and methods of working in a very contemptuous manner, or have regarded them as merely objects of curios‘ty, but ought this to beso? Does not such a work as the famous iron pillar at the Kutab, near Delhi, indicate an amount of skill in the manipulation of a large mass of wrought iron, which has ever been a marvel to all who have studied it. But a few years ago, what iron foundry in Europe could have produced the like, and even now how many are there that would turn out such amass? Of a total length of 23 feet 8 inches, just 22 feet thereof stands exposed over the ground. Over 16 feet in diameter at the base it tapers to a little over a foot just below its capital, which is 35 feet high. Its total weight is over six tons. Mr. Ferguson, in his “ History of India,” believes from the letters on the inscription that it dates from A.D. 400; if so, then it has stood exposed to wind and weather for nearly 1500 years, showing no signs of rust; a most complete testimony to the skill and art of the Indian iron-workers of the period. Even in quite recent days Indian steel was in consider- able demand in England. Its production was the cause of much wonderment, and was accounted for by various theories. The famous Damascus biades had long attained a reputation for pliability, strength, and beauty, ere it was known that the material from which they were made was the product ofan obscure Indian village, and it is probably not very generally known that a large quantity of the excellent iron used in the construction of the Menai Suspension and the Britannia Tubular Bridges, was from the Porto Nevo Works in South Arcot in Salem district. The competition with European iron has practically thrown the production of native ore into the deepest shade. Unless, indeed, the Indian iron factories should succeed in producing iron at so low a rate as to defy competition, the import of European iron must continue with the result of leaving no margin for profitable work- ing. In England, too, it will be remembered that the demand for skilled labour has brought forth an abundant supply. In India the loss of a life, or a stoppage of machinery may be productive of serious and prolonged delay, causing numerous embarrassments. 556 NATURE : [April 13, 1882 It would seem almost too late for the Government of India itself to undertake the manufacture of iron. Per- haps had it done so, prior to the opening up of its fine system of railways it might have done good, keeping money in the country and employing labour, but there were many and serious objections to such government esta- blishments. In the meanwhile, here and there through- out India iron is still manufactured. The earthy varieties of the heematites, or red and yellow ochres, are abundant in India. They are used by the natives as mineral pigments under the collective term of givn, for the adornment of the walls of houses and huts, and sometimes to make the caste marks on the foreheads of the Hindus. In the Gabalpur district a paint is manufactured by grinding the ore to an impalpable powder by means of grindstones worked by small water-wheels. The powder is packed in bags, and sells retail at a price so high as 13/.aton. It has proved to be the cheapest paint in the Indian market. It lies smoothly on wood or iron, and has been successfully used against damp or porous tiles, bricks, and plaster. It has already stood a good practical test on the metal work of the principal bridges in India. So far as the cealand iron products of this great depen- dency of ours are concerned, they would seem more than sufficient for all her needs, but at prices that were alone remunerative when the country remained isolated from the rest of the world. By competition the native produc- tion has been almost starved out, but the native con- sumers get as good an article, and at a far cheaper rate now than of old. Salt is the mineral product of all others, the most im- portant to the revenue of India, the gross annual re- ceipts from the salt-tax being now about seven millions of pounds sterling. While the native supply is practically inexhaustible, there is still a steady import trade from foreign countries. Within the last ten or twelve years, a great deal has been done in the way of equalising the salt-tax in the different districts of India, and the Go- vernment monopoly is now fairly complete. In Madras the indigenous sources of supply have been the salt- pans on the coastal districts, where salt is obtained by the evaporation of sea water. It was also obtained at one time by the lixiviation of saline earth. The salt manufacture begins in January, as soon as the rains are over and the weather begins to get warm. Before the evaporation at the pans begins, there is a preliminary evaporation, lasting over some twenty-five days, in pits, by which the brine is reduced 50 or 75 per cent. in bulk. ‘The manufacture in the pans continues for about twenty- nine days, when the salt is taken out and stored on the bauks to dry. The brine is not evaporated to dryness in the pans, in order that the magnesium sulphate may, as much as possible, remain in solution. In Rajputana, there are four sources of salt. The most extensive are the salt lakes, such as Sambhar and Didwana; next come the brine-pits, then some salt is obtained from saline efflorescence from earthwork, and some from de- posits in old river-pits. A brine-pit in Bhartpur, exa- mined in 1865, contained 20 to 30 feet of brine at a depth of 20 feet from the surface, and was reported to have shown no diminution of supply during the preceding twenty-eight years. The Punjab is distinguished from all the other districts of India, in possessing enormous deposits of rock-salt, and it is very remarkable that these deposits do not all belong to the one geological age, but are referable to very distinct periods which are widely separated in time. During the year ending March 31,1880, inland customs duty was paid on 55,000 tons of salt from the rock-salt mines of the Punjab. The rock-salt of the Kohet district would seem to be of Eocene age; it is overlaid conformably by gypsum, which is again overlaid by rocks of Nummulitic age. Here the salt is obtained by open quarrying. The quarries at Malgin have been worked from time imme- morial ; those at Bhadur Khel were opened some twelve centuries ago. The total available quantity of salt in these quarries has been estimated to afford a supply, which, allowing a liberal margin for waste, would, at the rate of the present demand, last for 4000 years. The Salt-range deposit is the oldest-known deposit in the world. It underlies beds containing Silurian deposits, and is therefore of a period at least not younger than the Silurian age. The rock-salt in this range is worked un- derground. The largest mines of the range are the Mayo mines at Khewra, on the eastern side of the Indus. These and the neighbouring mines had been worked most of all, and generally on a most dangerous system. Thus, in one of the Mayo mines the old Sikh workmen having worked out the salt in one vast chamber, the roof of which which was supported by two immense pillars, commenced and worked outa second chamber under the first one, and beneath the pillar supporting its roof, with the result that on a Sunday, in June, 1870, one of these pillars broke through, carrying with it a large part of the roof, and forming a crater on the hill where the mine is situated. Since then, these mines have been worked in accordance with modern principles, and the appearance of their tun- nels, drifts, and tramways is most imposing. There is even a wire-rope tramway to the nearest village from the mouth of the mines. The annual average receipts from the Salt-range Mines is 388,1447. In connection with salt, the subject of Reh is a highly important one. ef is the native term applied to efflor- escent salts which have accumulated in the soil or in the subsoil waters of large tracts in India, and this, in some places, to such an extent that cultivation has become im- possible, and fertile fields have become barren spaces. The origin of this Reh is now fully understood ; the rivers carry in solution saline particles washed out of the rocks over which they flow; as well asa fine silt or alluvium, which also, on its decomposition, yields further salts; in a region of intense evaporation, and where the surface of the ground is constantly irrigated, if there be no free drainage outlet for the waters, the salts contained in them are accumulated in the soil, or still further surcharge the subsoil waters ; while over and above all this, during the rainy reason the rain-water, charged with carbonic acid, falling on the porous soil, has the effect of decom- posing its mineral constituents and of carrying down to the subsoil the salts then formed. This being the state of things, when the surface of the ground becomes dried, the water, charged with salts, rises up and evaporates, leaving a salt efflorescence, the ve, which at length so permeates the superficial layer of soil as to leave it little better than a salt marsh. Contrary to what might on first sight be expected, irrigation by even pure canal water seems to increase the evil; for, as Mr. Medlicott has so well pointed out, the table of salt subsoil water is, by the addition of the canal water, raised to a height that brings it within the reach of evaporation; and so the efflorescence is increased. The only remedies for this state of things would seem to be good, deep subsoil drainage, with thorough washing of the surface soil, and protecting the latter as much as possible from evaporation. India at one time enjoyed almost a monopoly of the saltpetre trade, and even still, from the port of Calcutta, in the year 1879-80, the export of this commodity was nearly 432,000/. The peculiar habits of the people and the fact that in the saltpetre- roducing districts there is a long period of drought after a long period of rain, accounts for the soil in the vicinity of the Indian villages being impregnated with this salt. More than two-thirds of the total quantity of the saltpetre which is exported from Calcutta at present comes from the districts of Tirhut, Saran. and Champaran in Behar. ; The Building Stones of India form a wonderfully inter- esting subject. Among the most abiding records of any April 13, 1882] NATURE 537 nation must always be included the buildings they have raised, and the duration of these will depend on the material chosen for the erection. Is it a necessity of modern civilisation that our great edifices should be con- structed of materials that are quick to perish? and why should it be said of Anglo-Indian architecture, that if the English left India, in a century after their departure no sign of their occupation would remain ? and in India, as Prof. Ball remarks, unlike new countries such as Aus- tralia and most parts of America, where knowledge had to be obtained by experience, the native temples and buildings should have at once furnished the needed in- formation as to the durability of the material used in them, the only one quality in building material that nothing save time is a test for. Most of the buildings erected by the British in India are built of brick ; it need scarcely be added that all the native temples are of stone, and that many exhibit a wonderful mastery over some- times difficult material. Very strange is it, too, to learn that the resources of India in this respect are so little known or appreciated, that at this day advertisements daily meet the eye in the Indian papers of Aberdeen granites and Italian marbles; and yet how many temples are there to be found in India, constructed of native granites? and what can surpass the white marble filigree screens called jalee, made out of the native marble? One splendid screen is thus described by Mr. Keene: “ But all the marble work of Northern India is surpassed by the monument which Akbar erected over the remains of his friend and spiritual counsellor, Shekh Sulim Chisti, at Fatipur Sikri (1581 A.D.). In the north-western angle of a vast courtyard, 433 feet by 366 feet, is a pavilion externally of white marble, surrounded by a deep, pro- jecting dripstone, also of white marble, supported by marble shafts, crowned by most fantastic brackets, shaped like the letter S. The outer screens are so minutely pierced, that at a little distance they look like lace, and illuminate the mortuary chapel within with a solemn half- light which resembles nothing else that I have seen.” The varieties of metamorphic rocks suited to building purposes in India are very numerous ; besides the granites, sandstones and porphyritic gneiss abound. In Mysore,a building-stone occurs in the crystalline rock of the dis- trict, which can be split into posts twenty feet long, which have been used for the support of the telegraph wires; and the peculiar adaptability of gneiss to fine carving is often to be seen in the rings appended to the drooping corners of some of the pagodas, where the rings, the links within which are movable, and the projecting cor- ners, are carved out of a single block. Among all thc formations, the Great Vindhyan sandstones stand promi- nent ; these were used in the manufacture of stone im- plements; the great memorial monoliths or lats, many of which bear the edicts of Asoka, the protector of the early Buddhists who reigned about 250 B.C., are made of this stone ; some of these are of great size, and on the ex- posed surfaces are polished; their carved capitals were surmounted with figures of lions or elephants. There are many quarries of stone throughout India, opened in these Vindhyan rocks. At Dehri, on Son, the stone is a compact white sandstone, strong and durable, and suscey tible of artistic treatment. Ovher fine quarries are at Chunar, from which has come for ages the supply to Benares and Calcutta. But perhaps the most impor- tant quarries in India are those in the Upper Bhanrers, whieh have furnished building material since before the Christian era, to the cities of the adjoining plains. Por- tions of the Taj at Agra, Akbar’s Palace at Fatipur Sikri, the Jamma Masjid at Delhi, have been built from the stone of these quarries. The palace of the Rajah of Bhartpur, at Deeg, one of the most beautiful edifices in India, is constructed of the stone from the same district. In it, cupolas rest on slender shafts of two or three inches in diameter. Arches are supported on strong, yet graceful pillars, and windows are formed of single slabs of store, perforated with the most elaborate tracery. Among the sandstones of the Damuda series, there are several varieties which are suited for building purposes. Throughout the Damuda valley, where these rocks occur, they have been used from considerable antiquity for the construction of temples. Among the finest examples known, some Jain temples at Barakar may be men- tioned, as they exhibit specimens of wonderful carving which has stood well, though the old PAli inscriptions on stone of this material in the caves of Sirguja anl Chang Bakhar even better testify to the endurance vt this rock. Laterite has also been used as a building material, but it isnot ornamental, and does not weather well. Good roofing slate does not appear to exist in India, though in the transition rocks of the Kharakpur Hills, slate occurs ; it is a partially altered earthy rock, which is readily fissile, and with pains and care can be reduced to a thick- ness of one-eighth of an inch; it would answer well for flagging. Extended though this notice of Prof. Ball’s book has been, we have been unable therein to glance at more than its more prominent features. We doubt not, how- ever, that the reader will perceive that it is one of the most important contributions yet made to our know- ledge of the economic geology of this vast kingdom, the prosperity of which so nearly and so intimately concerns ourselves. THE SCIENCE AND ART DEPARTMENT V E have received the following communication from a correspondent :— There are few Blue Books that better repay careful study than the admirable reports of the Science and Art Department. The Twenty-eighth Report has recently been issued, and is of exceptional interest. Its bulky appendices contain, as usual, a mass of valuable sta- tistics relating to the diffusion of scientific and artistic instruction among the masses ; and in the body of the report we find indications of a general scheme of reor- ganication, both in the details and the scope of the higher scientific education given in the Science Schools at South Kensington. This scheme has now taken definite shape, and. came into operation with the session which has recently opened. It is therefore a fitting opportunity briefly to review the work done by the Science and Art Department in the scientific instruction of the people, and then examine the nature and object of the changes that are being made at South Kensington. The Great Exhibition of 1851 revealed the fact, that in order to compete with the industries of foreign nations, it was imperative to have artistic and scientific instruction more widely diffused among the middle and lower classes of this country. To accomplish this the Science and Art Department was formed, and to the soundness of tke principles laid down by the Prince Consort and the genius and labour of Sir Henry Cole the success of this Depart- ment is largely due. This success is not merely to be found in the large numbers attending the classes in con- nection with the Department; it is to be seen in the growth of artistic and scientific knowledge among the people, and the application of that knowledge to industrial pursuits. A striking testimony of the change, mainly wrought by the Department, is to be found in the report of the French jurors in the last general Exhibition at Paris. This report states : ; “English industry in particular, which, from an artistic point of view, seemed greatly in arrear at the Exhibiticn of 1851, has during the last ten years made amazing progress ; and should it continue to advance at the same rate we might soon be left behind. This state of things 558 appears to us to merit the most serious attention of the French Government and manufacturers.” The Department had nevertheless to encounter a bitter and unscrupulous opposition in various quarters, and being less anxious to answer its detractors than to do the work intrusted to it, sneers about South Kensington became easy, and a clap-trap denunciation of the Bromp- ton clique went the round of society, and is even now to be found among its dregs. Though for many years the object of persistent and venomous attacks, Sir H. Cole, never swerved from the great work commitfed to his care, and England is now beginning to recognise the debt of gratitude she owes to this truly remarkable man. And now let us look at the method of encouraging elementary scientific instruction adopted by the Depart- ment, and at some of the results of its methods. The system of certificated science and art teachers was introduced, with payments to both teachers and pupils dependent on the results of an annual examination in May. By this means pupils were attracted from the artizan class, and teachers were glad to have pupils at almost a nominal fee. Through evening instruction alone a moderate income could thus be made by any active and painstaking teacher who complied with the rules laid down by the Department. In this way, irrespective of fees, the teachers of the Science School at Keighley received last year in payments on results nearly 3507. ; the teachers at the Bristol] Trade and Mining School, in the same way, made upwards of 450/; the teachers at St. Thomas, Charterhouse, nearly 6c00/. ; and the teachers at some of the Science classes in Liverpool nearly 700/. Similar results are to be found among the certificated art teachers. It is not surprising that the number of schools in connection with the Department rapidly and steadily in- creased, till in 1870 theie was only one short of 800 science schools, with the large number of 34,283 students under in- struction, chiefly during the evenings of the week. Ten years later, in 1880, these numbers had increased nearly 60 per cent., there being now 1391 elementary science schools under the Science and Art Department, with 60,871 individuals under instruction: 34,678 of these students entered for the annual examination in May, several taking two or more subjects, so that there were over 69,000 papers worked; of these upwards of 45,000 were passed, or more than 65 per cent.; and 12,c00 gained a first-class, or say 27 per cent. of the successful papers. Every successful paper entitles the candidate, if in the first division, to a prize, and the certificated teacher to a money payment. As might be expected, the inhabitants of the manu- facturing districts avail themselves most largely of the May examinations; and it is instructive to note the relative number of individuals receiving elementary science instruction in the different sections of the United Kingdom. Last year there were in England 2,711 students, who paid in fees 89632, or a little over 4s. each; and gained 7281 prizes and medals, or about one prize to every six students. In Hales there were 1344 students, who paid in fees 146/, or a little over 2s. each, and gained 184 prizes and medals, or one prize to every seven students. In Scotland there were 7376 students, who paid in fees | 2088/., or 55. 9@. each, and gained 1423 prizes or medals, or one to every five students; in /ve/and there were 5369 students, who paid 665/. in fees, or 2s. 5a. each, and gained 1267 prizes and medals, or one to every four stu- dents. The payment on results to the teachers amounted to 29,900/. for England and Wales, or say 14s. per pupil, to 5250/. for Scotland, or 145. 2d. per pupil, and to 5079 for /re/and, or 18s. 9d. per pupil. The foregoing analysis which we have made of the figures in this report shows that Ireland has the highest proportion of prize- winners, indicating a higher grade of ability on the part of both teachers and pupils; atthe same time its students NATURE [ April 13, 1882 are poorest, or at any rate least inclined to pay for in- struction. The smallness of the fees received by the teachers doubtless also acts as a stimulus to the teacher, for it makes his payment almost wholly dependent on the successes of his pupils. The report unfortunately does not supply any data as to the relative number of boys and girls among the students, an omission that we hope may be supplied in some future reports; for the Department bad the honour of recognising the claims of women to educational prizes and distinctions long before any University opened its door to women. The nature of the subjects selected by the students differs considerably. The following table, which we have summarised from the report, shows a singular and sug- gestive difference in national traits; the figures indicate the number of individuals under instruction in 1880 :— Geome- | | | : Mathe- Me- . Che- ue entice | bese | Eystcss mistry. | = | | England and Wales | 17,494 | 11,081 | 4,293 | 15,401 | 7,732 Scotland : 2,229 | 3,C50| 1,226 | 1,477) 1,475 Ireland ... 292 | 2,738 | 982 3,212| 439 | : | Physio- | Agri- lagers Biology. | Steam. | Eau aes | England and Wales | 2,c92| 9,336| 1,539 | 4,435| 2,772 Sc tland ae | 416, 935 539 | 709 548 Ireland ... feel 400n5 | ORT 105 | 1,521 | 3,104 It will be seen from this that in England the majority select geometrical drawing, next to that physics, and then mathematics. In Scotland the majority choose mathe- matics, and next to that geometrical drawing ; very few selecting agriculture. In Ireland the majority select physics, and almost as many agriculture; next to that being mathematics, and very few geometrical drawing. In connection with these statistics we notice that Ireland stands far below England and Scotland in point of the number of its art schools and art students; and this notwithstanding that the Irish are essentially an artistic race, the fame of many Irish artists being well known. In fact, though the number of art students in Ireland is small, the quality of their work is more than twice as good as English or Scotch art students ; that is, judged by payments on results, the payment to pupils in English art schools under the Department average in the annual competition about 2s. 3@.a head, in the Scotch 2s. 4@., in the Irish 5s. In round numbers, there are in England about 5000 art schools, with some 650,000 pupils ; in Scotland there are more than 500 art schools, with some 75 000 pupils; whilst in Ireland there are only 50 to 60 art schools, with 6000 to 7000 pupils. In fact few things are more needed in Ireland than the encouragement of art- teaching by local art, by museums, and otherwise ; and now that the difficulties and interminable correspondence between the Royal Dublin Society and the Department are at an end, we have no doubt that the able and ener- getic director of the national collection in Ireland will make this question an object of care. If we now turn to examine the percentage of failures in the different subjects taught by certificated science- teachers, we find some surprising results. Not only is there a wide difference in the number of failures in the | different subjects, but in the same subject the percentage varies extravagantly in different years. We cannot think this is wholly, or even chiefly, due to the candidates, the variations seem far more likely to be due to differences in stringency on the part of the examiners. Uniformity is April 13, 1882] of course impossible, but a greater unity of action on the part of the Board of Examiners seems necessary. Take, for example, geometrical drawing : there were 39 per cent. of failuresin the elementary stage in 1879, and 50 per cent. in 1880. In botany there were 43 per cent. of failures in 1879, and 20 per cent. in 1880. In biology there were upwards of 40 per cent. of failures in 1879, and only 17 per cent. in 1880. In sound, light, and heat 51 per cent. of failures in 1879, and 35 per cent. in 1880. Magnetism and electricity on the other hand, is extremely uniform, having 29 per cent. of failures one year and 30 per cent the next. But if we look at the advanced stage for 1879 the failures vary from 25 per cent. in magnetism and electricity to 60 per cent. in botany, and 82 per cent in biology. These fluc- tuations, if due to idiosyncrasies on the part of the exa- miners, are very serious for the teachers who are dependent for their livelihood on the payment by results. The natural result is the teacher selects that subject wherein he thinks there is least chance of failure, and thus we find the number of papers worked in the different subjects follows very closely the ease with which a candidate is likely to pass. Then, as to the method of eximination. Would it not be possible to introduce a practical examination in physics as well as chemistry? The adiitionai expense might in part be met by imposing a small fee for examination, and only those students should be eligible for the practical examination who have passed in the “advanced” stage. A certificate for practical knowledge in special branches of science would be most valuable to its holders, and no teacher should be allowed to obtain payment on results until he has one of these certificates. At present any one with very elementary knowledge indeed can set up as a teacher, and the vaiue of the title ‘‘ Certificated Teacher under the Science and Art Department” is not what it should be. Moreover, a preliminary examination in writing and spelling, and perhaps elementary drawing, ought, we think, to be passed by every certificated teacher. Again and again has the present writer had the most atrocious spelling and writing, to say nothing of English grammar, come under his notice in the May Examination Papers ; and yet if the student answered the questions before him he was bound to obtain a certificate, and would doubtiess be a full-blown certificated teacher, with a class of pupils, before the year was out. To meet the need of practical teaching, the De- partment has lately taken a most admirable step in advance. An arrangement has been made whereby a certain number of carefully-selected teachers have the opportunity of coming to London during the summer vacations, and spending a month to six weeks in the practical study of certain branches of science under the direct personal guidance of the eminent pro- fessors at the South Kensington Science Schools. In this way, year by year, from twenty to fifty teachers avail themselves of invaluable instruction in chemistry, physics, mechanics, geology, botany, and agriculture. A number of teachers (some 65 out of 200 applicants) are admitted free to the regular courses of instruction at South Ken- sington. Furthermore to meet, what to many certificated teachers would be the prohibitive expense of coming to London from the provinces, Government pay their railway fare to and fro, and give them an allowance for board whilst under instruction at Scuth Kensington. And just in passing we may perhaps ask how it is the Treasury have sanctioned the expense of paying the yearly contingent of Irish teachers going the long distance to and from London, when in Dublin there is a School of Science under the Department equipped with an even larger staff than at South Kensington, and furnished with quite as extensive and as admirable educational appli- ances? This is just one of those points which are calcu- lated to wound the susceptibilities of Irishmen and to foster the cry for local self-government. Moreover, the NATURE 959 claims of the College of Science to take part in the train- ing of assisted teachers become still more evident when we find that there are in England thirty-three training colleges receiving grants from the Department, whilst in Ireland there is not one. We feel, however, that atten- tion has only to be called to this point to lead to some change, if there are no insuperable obstacles in the way. To return—the need for, and the success of, the scheme for training teachers has led to an important alteration in the scope of the Science Schools at South Kensington. This session it begins its work under the title of the “Normal School of Science,” added to that of the Royal School of Mines. As before, Diplomas of Associate are given to those students who successfully pass through the prescribed curriculum, but considerable changes have been made in the curriculum. A student can now gain the title of Associate of the Normal School of Science if he passes successfully in one or more of the following divisions:—(a) Mechanics, (6) Physics, (c) Chemistry, (¢) Biology, (e) Geology, (/) Agriculture, and he can gain the Associateship of the Royal School of Mines in (g) Metallurgy and (Z) Mining. The course of instruction is the same for all divisions during the first two years, after which it is specialised in accordance with a carefully-prepared scheme. At least a three-years’ course is therefore necessary for all candidates for Asso- ciateship, the fees amounting for the first two years to 752, and for the remainder of the time vary from 30/. to 40/. There are, however, several scholarships and free studentships open yearly to competition. And now we must close this lengthy review. To those who have followed the work already done by the Depart- ment of Science and Art, and even to those who, ignorant of it, have troubled themselves to read this article, it must be evident that the anonymcus croakers at South Ken- sington are merely enjoying the English privilege of grumbling, and are doubtless secretly proud of this important Government Department. AN ELECTRIC BAROMETER OTICING an account of a new electric barometer, brought before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, which requires some fifty communicating wires, and reads but to the one-tenth of an inch, I venture to send the following. It aims at solving the problem -that of read- Bes eof SEE SR) a Ree 2 Senn (ES ag te 7 Fic. 1. ing a barometer, placed at a distance from an observatory —in a more simple manner. The barometer, the height of which is to be ascer- tained, has two platinum wires fused through the glass, at the vacuum end of the tube. Cne of these is con- tinued by a stout iron wire, the other by a fine carbon thread, both of which are joined at a point in the tube below the level of lowest fall. The iron wire keeps the carbon filament vertical and centralin thetube. From the platinum ends outside, wires communicate with the observatory ; and a current passed through them traverses both iron and carbon in its passage. 360 NATURE. | [ April 13, 1882 Now, the carbon being a substance of high resistance, a very small change in its length will tell on the potential of the returning current: its effective length, however, varies with the level of the mercury, and the object in view is to measure the movement in the barometer by the potential of the returning current. And, in the first place, what is the theoretic sensitiveness to be expected ? Taking the conductivity of copper as 100, that of car- bon is about 0'07 ; and supposing eight miles of copper wire in circuit (barometer being four miles from observa- tory), and that a wire of one-eighth inch diameter be used; supposing, also, that the carbon filament be of one-fiftieth inch diameter ; then the following is the result ment used at D indicates the barometric height at A when the galvanoscope is brought to zero. Before describing the apparatus used at D, it is neces- sary to explain how the question of temperature is dealt | with, Copper has its resistance increased by about o-4 per cent. for each rise of 1° C. above 20° C. ; and as the temperature along the four miles traversed by the wires | is wholly unknown, some means must evidently be found for allowing for errors from this source. The problem is to do this without necessitating extra wires to baro- meter A. It is obvious that if the barometer could be thrown out of circuit before each observation, and the resistance of the eight miles of circuit independently balanced in the bridge at D, then, restoring the barometer, a second arrived at:—For a rise of the mercury of one-fiftieth of an inck, the resistance is lowered 1-455th. Closer read- ings would probably be questionable, owing to capillarity. I would observe, also, that the 0’07 applies to graphite in general; I do not know what exactly may be the resist- ance of the carbon thread lately come into use. In order to measure these changes of potential in terms of the barometric height, the whole circuit is treated at the observatory as one resistance in a Wheatstone’s Bridge. Thus, in Fig. 1 let A be the distant barometer, B and C battery and galvanometer in the observatory, D— also in the observatory—a means of altering ad 6. the resistance in the second circuit of the bridge. The instru- Fic. 3. determination made at D would yield results which might be dealt with quite independently of the resistance of the wires. This can be effected by sending a reverse current | through the circuit immediately before each observation. The apparatus shown in Fig. 2 explains this. The figure is an elevation showing the upper part of the barometer. The iron wire I and the carbon C are shown in position. The galvanometer placed immediately in front of the tube |is contrived to deflect the current from the barometer when the current traverses it in one particular direction. It will be best understood, if the action of the current be considered in detail throughout the operation of reading. We desire, in the first place, to find the resistance of | the circuit independently of the barometer. i April 13. 1882] NATURE 56r A current is sent along the wire a (Fig. 2) from the observatory. It traverses the coils, issuing by wire 4, and, during the first instant of time, takes its course along the conductor g, passing through iron wire and carbon, and by d, 7, back to the battery. The needle, however, is immediately deflected (in the direction shown by the arrow) pulling down the little lever ss, which, oscillating on the edge of a small vessel of mercury, and bearing a branch from the wire 4, completes a circuit of low resist- ance with the return wire 4, a branch from which commu- nicates with the mercury in the vessel. A current is now flowing free of the carbon. It may be balanced at D (Fig. 1), and the second operation commenced. This consists in switching the current by a commutator, so that it arrives by wire f, and returns by wire a. The current on arrival tends to restore the needle to the horizontal, pressing it against the stop P. This, also (being the best position for deflection), is designed to be its position of equilibrium; the counterpoise s, being utilised to this end. The needle being horizontal, the low-resistance circuit is open, and the current must pass through the carbon to return to the battery. It is then again balanced at D, and the resistance of the carbon accurately determined. Turning to Fig, 3 we find that the instrument used at D (Fig. 1) consists of a deep vessel of mercury aa, com- municating with a flexible reservoir A, which is under the control of the screws. A scale is mounted on the vessel carrying a marker, 7, which is movable on the screw attached to knob £; to the markera thread of carbon, similar to that in the distant barometer, is attached, it is kept vertical and rigid by a small varnished platinum weight 7, beneath the surface of the mercury. The marker is of ivory, and a binding screw, B, keeps the carbon in circuit, the circuit being completed through the mercury and iron wire L. For equalising the resistances in the bridge, when the barometer is out of circuit, the screw S is turned, and the mercury thus raised or lowered on the carbon, till the galvanoscope returns to zero. This being effected, and the barometer restored to circuit, the galvanoscope is once more brought to zero by turning the knob Kk. The marker M now reads the height of the distant barometer. The scale, in Fig. 3, may not really be one of inches and fractions of inches; it may have to be divided by experimentally comparing the two carbons. Probably it would be hopeless to expect them to be exactly similar in secticn throughout their entire lengths. There are many ways of rendering this method of determining the height of a barometer by resistance more sensitive. It was suggested to me, for example, to double the effect on the resistance of any movement, by replacing the iron wire in the barometer by a second carbon. With this arrangement, moreover, if we still retain but the one carbon for equalisation (Fig. 3), the range is doubled, and the chances of errors correspondingly diminished. Other meteorological instruments may also be read by this method. J. JoLy Pembroke Road, Dublin ELECTRICITY AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE 1V.— Electrical Accumulators. HE new accumulator of Messrs. E. Volckmann and J. S. Sellon, exhibited at the Crystal Palace Elec- trical Exhibition, in connection with the Lane-Fox system of electric lighting in the Alhambra Courts, has already been announced, but its construction has hitherto been kept a secret for reasons of patent right. The storing- power of this new secondary battery may be gathered from the fact that 33 cells feed 201 Lane-Fox incan- descent lamps, nominally of 20-candle power for 7 hours at a time, if the battery is fully charged to start with. The actual light of each lamp, however, is nearer 30 candles; and it is found that these lamps, which are designed to bear a 20-candle current from the generator, will stand a 30-candle current from the accumulator owing to its more uniform flow. Each cell is stated to contain 5 horse-power of energy acting for an hour, or 1 horse-power for 5 hours, and se on. It consists of a series of metal plates of some alloy, each plate being ;',” thick, and perforated with round 4 inch holes, as close as they can be punched or cast. These plates are connected alternately in series like the plates of a condenser, as in the figure, and joined to two stout terminals, which are the poles of the cell. The holes are filled with a metallic paste, the composition of which is not yet divulged, but may readily be guessed, from the fact that metallic lead is reduced on the negative plates, and peroxide of lead on the positive plates. The spaces between the plates, which are placed nearly an inch apart, are filled up with water mixed with one-tenth part of sulphuric acid, to give good conduction. The whole is contained in a wooden trough about 30 inches square and 8 inches in thickness. The weight of each cell is about 375 lbs., including 295 lbs. of the metallic composition which isthe storing agent. The sparks given off on connecting several cells of the charged battery by a stout copper wire are remarkably violent, the deflagrated wire flying off in a perfect shower of red- hot sparks of copper accompanied by loud cracks. On examining the wire afterwards, it is found to be literally torn asunder in small pieces by the force of the discharge. A considerable quantity of hydrogen is evolved from the cells. The exhibition of Lane-Fox lamps fed from this battery is without doubt the most beautiful display of incan- descent lighting which has yet been made in this or any other country. This, however, is chiefly due to the designs of the ornamental lamps employed to show off the rich architecture of the Moorish courts. The arches of the courts are picked out with rows of lamps having bulb or opal glass, which give a very pleasing light, not in the least dazzling to the eye, but at the expense of 25 or 30 per cent. of the light. A crystal chandelier of the same kind of bulbs hangs in the Lion Court, and itis a moot point whether these opal globes, or globes of clouded glass are not best adapted for incandescent lamps in dwelling-rooms and studies. It is certain that the naked lights, though absolutely steady, have a dazzling effect on the eyes if looked at, which cannot but be injurious to the sight. The gems of the display are, however, three Mauresque electroliers designed by Mr. E. R. Johnson for Messrs. Verity Brothers, Regent Street. These large pagoda-like lanterns are hung in the inner courts, and the lights contained inside are only visible through the 562 NATURE [April 13, 1882 stained glass of the sides and bottom. The power of the lamps is ingeniously graduated by simply switching on or off more cells of the battery. Rumours of at least two other secondary batteries of great promise are in the air; but it is not yet known what these are, and they have not been exhibited in action yet before the public. They are doubtless modifications of some or other of the ordinary voltaic batteries by which their action can be conveniently reversed, and the altera- tion patented. For it is obvious that the old combination pure and simple cannot be patented for a new purpose, It must be changed in some way or other, though the essential action may be pretty much the same. The well-known Faure battery, which is exhibited by La Force et la Lumiére Company, in the Western Corridor, still continues to excite a good deal of debate amongst the Faurites and anti-Faurites. The construc- tion of the battery has already been described in NATURE, vol. xxv. p. 461 ; but some recent experiments by a group of French savants have contributed some further matter to the discussion of its merits, and as their results must be considered free from bias (which is perhaps more than can be said for all that has been written on the subject in this country) we shall give them in a condensed form. The experiments were made at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, Paris, by MM. Allard, Le Blanc, Joubert, Potier, and Tresca, in continuation of experiments begun during the latter part of the Paris Electrical Exhibition. | The results were communicated by the authors to the French Academy of Sciences, on March 6. The battery consisted of thirty-five cells, of the new pattern, with plates rolled up together. grams, including the liquid. The lead plates were covered with minium to the amount of ro kilograms per square metre. The solution was formed of distilled water, mixed with one-tenth of its weight of pure sulphuric acid. It will be seen that the cells were in the most favourable condition for experiment. They were charged by a Siemens’ machine, of which the armature resistance was 0°27 ohms, and the resistance of the inducing magnets was 1945 ohms. The latter were excited by the current in a derived circuit from the main current in the armature. A species of voltameter was used to regulate this exerting current, so as to keep it between 2 and 3 amperes. The object of the experiments was to measure— 1. The mechanical work expended in charging the | - battery. 2. The quantity of electricity “stored” during the charge. 3. The quantity of electricity yielded up during the discharge. 4. The electrical work actually done during the dis- charge. It was also necessary to know, at each instant of the experiments, the electromotive force and the resistance of the battery ; and further, as the discharge should make itself through a series of Maxim incandescent lamps, to study the variation of the resistance, and the luminous power of these lamps, according to the intensity of the current. The mechanical work was measured by a totalising dynamometer, constructed for the French Society of Agri- culture by Messrs. Easton and Anderson, after the model belonging to the English Royal Society of Agriculture. The luminous intensity was measured by a Foucault photometer, such as was employed in the Exhibition experiments. As to the electric measures they were made by means of a Marcel Deprez galvanometer which mea- sured the total current generated, and sometimes the exciting current on the magnet; a Siemens’ electro- dynamometer which measured only the charging current; | and a dial electrometer arranged according to a plan of Each cell weighed 43°7 kilo- | M. Joubert, which gave the difference of potentials between the two poles of the battery. The indications of all the instruments were read off every quarter of an hour, sometimes at closer intervals. The following table gives the principal results :— TABLE I.—Charge of the Battery M Date Duration of Speed ofthe Indicated work E.M.F. of experiments. dynamo. inkilogrametres. the battery h. m. in volts. January 4 ... 5 30 1079 2,414,907 82°21 eS ey O 1072 2,772,292 9t'o8 jos?) 30) 1083 3,246,871 92°91 Ps 7p 2 45 1085 1,135,728 92°06 22 45 9,569,798 Deduct 808,750 8,761,048 (The work deducted was lost in the transmission of the indicated power to the dynamo.) = Mean intensity He een ee Date. Deen Ge of charging exciting furnished by expermments: Paes current in _the battery h. m, amperes. in coulombs. January 4 5 30 10°93 2°46 216,4c0 2 Abe 7°97 2°S 200, co ” 6 7 30 7°94 2°33 214.300 - 7 2 45 6°36 218 63,000 22 45 694,500 Electric work Electric work Electric work Date Duration of of the charge of excitation of the ring : experiments. in kilo- in kilo- in kilo- h. m. grammetres. grammetres. grammetres. January 4 ... 5 30 ... 1,814,600 ... 408,400 ... 94,400 iy sigs fo) 1,947,100 676,300 ... 79,100 Spe Oleen7230 2,028,800 596,100 ... 76,800 A 7 2 45 591,600 202,800 ... 19,500 22 45 6,382,100 1,883,600 269,800 The same determinations have been made during the discharge, observing at the same time the power of 12 Maxim lamps in a derived circuit. The light of a Carcel lamp was obtained from this experiment with an expendi- ture of 5°8 kilograms of electric work per second. The following table gives the results for the discharge of the battery :— TABLE I].—Déscharge of the Battery Mean External Duration of a f Tesistance Quantity of electric Date. the experi- thee ae f the electricity in work in ment. es ate TY current in coulombs. kilogram- h. m. in vo'ts. __ amperes. metres. Jani 7 yo 61 39 ... 16°128 ... 424,800 ... 2,608,000 ane mar 2 20) 61 68 ... 16°235 ... 194,800 ... I,201,0CcO 10 39 619,600 3,809,000 The conclusion from these results is that between the quantity of electricity put into the battery (694,500 coulombs) and that got out (6,196,000 coulombs) there is a difference of only 74,900 conlombs, corresponding to a proportional loss of 10 per cent. (0108). This refers, however, to the gvav/zty of electricity, not, be it remem- bered, to the power stored. The electric work during the entire discharge was 3,809,000 kilograms. The mechani- cal work expended was 9,570,000 kilograms, but only 6,382,000 kilograms was really stored by the battery. It follows that the work recuperated or given back by the discharge of the battery is to that stored up, as 3,809,000 is to 6,382,000: that is to say, about 60 per cent. of the energy of the current was rendered up by the battery. If we compare the work recuperated with that indicated by the dynamometer, the percentage given back is still less, namely, 40 per cent. This considerable loss of power, whilst the quantity of electricity is nearly the same in the charge and discharge, Apri 13, 1882] is due to the fact that there is a marked loss of electro- motive force in the battery. Thus the charging current had 91 volts, while the discharging current had only 61°5 volts. It follows, from a consideration of the theory of the battery and the formula— _ V(E’—RT) I(E—RI)z that the efficiency must always be less than unity, but may be greater as the intensities and resistances are less. In the formula, E is the E.M.F. of the battery, R its in- ternal resistance, I and ¢ the intensity of the current and its duration during charge, while the same letters marked serve for the corresponding quantities during discharge. It is therefore advantageous to charge the battery with a feeble current flowing for a long time. It was observed also, that the resistance of the battery was lower during discharge than charge. To sum up, the charge of the battery requires a total mechanical work of 1°558 horse-power during 22h. 45m., which is equivalent to a horse-power during 35h. 26m. The battery only received 66 per cent. of the total work expended, the rest being lost in overcoming passive re- sistances, and exciting the field magnets. Only 60 per cent. of this power stored was yielded back by the bat- tery, and there is reason to believe that the same result will be forthcoming in all applications similar to lighting by Maxim lamps. THE WILD SILKS OF INDIA‘ HE laudable efforts of the Indian Government to utilise the various products of which these wild silks form a class will tend, by the immediate production of wealth, and yet more by the spirit of intercommunication and enterprise thus created, to overcome the great diffi- culty of poverty and still greater difficulty of isolation, which so tasked its efforts in the last famine. And this work is the more desirable because, as the last census shows, the peaceful, firm rule of the British in India has removed that natural check to population which was found of old in the mutual internecine wars of its peoples; and numbers have increased to such an extent that the failure of a crop over any wide district is invariably followed now by a famine. The principal varieties of wild silks found in India are the Tusser, or Tasar, the Eria, and the Muga, or Moonga, silks, besides several others, at present of little com- | mercial importance. Silk differs from all other materials used in textile fabrics in the nature of the thread as originally produced. Hemp, flax, cotton, wool, and many other threads are produced by the twisting tightly together of the short but very fine fibres of the raw material, the untwisting of which reduces the thread again to short loose fragments. The long fibre of the best Sea-Island cotton does not much exceed 14 inches in length. Silk, on the other hand, is spun by the silkworm (except that it is not a worm, and does not spin it!) in one long thread : three- quarters of a mile is quoted by Mr. Wardle as the length of the thread of a Tusser worm. There is no “spinning” in the process at all, but two fine threads come from the spinnarets of the grub as from the spinnarets of a spider in such a glutinous semi-liquid condition that they coalesce into one thread, which, in the best kind of silk- worms, can be wound without a break from the outside of the suspended cocoon to where the grub left off spinning and turned into a chrysalis. The silk-reeler does not, even in the coarse Tusser variety, ree] off a cocoon of this singly, but from four to six together, whose gummy surfaces make them combine into a single thread still fine. 4 “Handbook of the Collection Illustrative of the Wild Silks of India in the Indian Section of the South Kensington Museum,” by Thomas Wardle. (Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1881.) NATURE 563 The Eria cocoon is not found practically so available for this treatment, but, in addition to the beautiful con- tinuous thread of the Bombyx or Tusser silkworm, the waste part of their cocoons can be treated like the vegetable fibres (cotton, &c.) of which we spoke with equally good results as a textile material, and with nearly all the beauty of the perfect silk thread. For this pur- pose the whole of the cocoon of the Eria is specially available, and, instead of being carefully reeled off, it is cut up or torn into shreds by the carding machine, and then treated as a long staple cotton. This is known as spun silk, or by the more recent name of Schappe. If, however, the surface of such a thread is examined, even with small magnifying power, it will show the loose ends of the fibres sticking out in every direction ; and although they are individually too fine to attract the attention of the naked eye, in combination they are quite patent to the finger and to the ear, a soft deadness resulting instead of the sharp whistle of the natural silk, on which are no fibres except the ends left by careless throwsters. Another inferiority of spun silk, though not a great one in the ever-changing fashionable world of England, is that it has not the durability which distinguishes the continuous silk thread. Yet in India garments made from the former are handed down from mother to daughter ! The Tusser or Tusseh larva, whose coarse, strong thread is available for thrown silk, is a monster compared with the larva of the Bombyx mori, or common silk-worm, It measures 7 inches in length and 1 inch in diameter; the wings of the moth—a very handsome one—are 7 inches across, and the thread also is three times as coarse, and three times as strong as that of the China silkworm. Here, however, comes an objection to it in the eye of the manufacturer. While the thread of the Bombyx is almost round, the extra coarseness of the Tusser thread all con- sists in its extra width : it is, in fact, three times as broad asit is thick. Like any thread of this shape compared with a round one, it has a great tendency to split, and consequently become rough in working. Another diffi- culty to both reelers and dyers is caused by the substan- tial way in which the Tusser grub forms its cocoons. Major Coussmaker observes that— ‘“ As the chrysalis remains in the cocoon as long as eight months, exposed to the hottest sun and occasional thunder- storms, the cocoon had need to be made a hard impene- trable material; so indestructible is it, that Bheels and other tribes which live in the jungles, use the cocoon as an ex- tinguisher to the bamboo tube in which they keep the ‘falita’ or cotton tinder used by them for lighting their tobacco and the slow matches of their matchlocks. The cocoon is also cut into a long spiral band, and used for binding the barrel of matchlocks to the stocks, being, as the natives say, unaffected either by fire or water..... After the caterpillar has spun a layer of silk thick enough to conceal itself, it discharges some kind of gum or cement, thick like plaster of Paris, and with its muscular action it causes this secretion to thoroughly permeate the whole cocoon and solidify the wall. In this manner it goes on spinning layer after layer of loops, and cementing them altogether until the whole of its silk is exhausted, and the wall of the cocoon becomes so hard that it requires a sharp penknife to cut through it’’ (pp. 18, 19). Again, in a later report (February 21, 1880), Major Coussmaker writes ; — “One of the most interesting, and I think important, facts that I have this year been able to prove, is with regard to the composition of the cement with which the caterpillar hardens its cocoon. Former analyses of this agent made for me, in England by Dr. Taylor, and in Bombay by Dr. Lyon, had shown that it contained the acid urate of ammonia, that it was in fact excrementitious ; and this year, by opening the cocoons at various intervals, I was able to convince myself of the fact that when the caterpillar has left off feeding and begins to spin, it voids 564 NATURE [ April 13, 1882 the food remaining in the alimentary canal, first of all in a more or less solid form and of a dark colour, but after it has become fully enveloped in the cocoon the excrement comes away as a light-coloured liquid, the hue and con- sistency of which depend upon the amount of vegetable matter not previously evacuated and the amount of lime, carbon, and ammonia present. The respective propor- tions of these ingredients vary, I presume, with the food upon which the caterpillar has fed, and with the state of the atmosphere at the time of spinning ; also the longer they remain coating the fibre the harsher and more dis- coloured it will be. It is therefore very necessary, I think, to remove this cement at a very early date; and this chemistry has shown the manufacturers how to do. Judicious feeding too may alter its nature. Before long, fresh cocoons will be at an early stage thoroughly cleansed from all discolouring matter, and Tasar silk will be avail- able for manufacturing purposes as colourless as it is when first put forth by the caterpillar” (p. 21). At any rate here is a fine field for both economic and philosophical results for both the chemist and the naturalist. There are two crops of Tusser silk in the year, z.e. two generations of grubs pass from the egg to the imago, whereas the Bombyx of commerce so passes only once. The moth is considered a sacred insect, and it is interest- ing to read of the long series of ascetic ordinances con- nected with the attendance upon it, the failure to observe which will bring down the anger of the gods and destruc- tion upon the cultivators. Yet the grubs are said to flourish better out-of-dceors than under the roof and care of men, and are found feeding upon seventeen different species of trees growing wild over various parts of Hin- dostan. It is much more practicable and hopeful to engage the unenterprising natives in its collection under these conditions than if the elaborate art with which the Chinese cultivate the Bombyx were required. The silk of the Eria and Moonga or Muga cocoons is softer and of a clearer colour than the Tusser silk, but lacks the strength of that very coarse variety. It dyes well, but is difficult to wind. In all respects therefore it is easier to work it up into spun silk. The favourite food of the Eria is the Palma Christz or castor oil plant, ARzcznzs communis. So productive is this worm that it sometimes gives twelve broods, z.e. genera- tions, in a year. The Muga worm breeds five times ; the colour of the silk varies with the food, some of it retaining its drabby colour till the last. The moths of all these genera are large and handsome. The magnificent A¢facws atlas moth, called in France Le Géant des Papillons, measures upwards of ten inches in expanse of wing. Itisacommon idea that moths ea? their way out of their cocoons, and that all permitted to do so spoil their silk; but even in the case of the solid cocoon of the Tusser moth it is ob- served that ‘‘ after eight or nine months in the pupa state a moist spot is observed at one end of the cocoon. The moth is now about to emerge both from its pupa shell and from the cocoon. It secretes an acid fluid which softens the cement of the cocoon, and enables it to sepa- rate the fibres sufficiently to allow of its creeping out” (p. 19). Capt. Brooke also says that “in Seonee the pierced cocoons are wound, and that no koshtee rejects a cocoon simply because the moth has eaten its way through it. ... It does not eat its way out but separates the fibres with its legs and wing-spine, and so creeps out. It has neither teeth nor mouth proper” (p. 26). More re- markable still is the provision made by the larva of this Attacus atlas, “the upper extremity of whose cocoon forms a natural orifice for the exit of the moth, made by the conveyance of a great number of silk fibres which are left ungummed, and are thus soft and flossy ; thus the exit of the imago leaves no disturbance behind”? (p. 63). The most interesting question, of course, is, how far care and industry can improve this imperfect natural wealth. The strongest proof of the value of such educa- tion is to be found in the fact that the beautiful Italian and French silks, whose fineness and regularity insure for them a price 50 per cent. higher than the best China silks, are the lineal descendants of the eggs brought from China in the reign of Justinian. The destruction caused among them by the dreadful disease, pebrine, has neces- sitated the import into Europe of Japanese eggs, the drabby colour of the silk of which marred all the efforts of the dyer to obtain clear delicate tints, especially in different shades of white; but careful attention and arti- ficial selection are bringing them near to equality with the pure European silk; and Major Coussmaker in Pooneh has succeeded in obtaining perfectly white Tusser silk by causing the caterpillar to void all its excrement before spinning. The special fitness of Tusser silk for the dark dull colours now fashionable is most optimistically expressed by Mr. Wardle in the phrase that “ Tusser silk properly dyed inherently takes shades of artistic merit?’ Is dirt then beauty? and purity and brilliancy essentially vulgar? There can be little doubt that European skill and ma- chinery would more than balance the cheapness of Indian labour, which could be trusted to produce only the com- monest qualities of thrown silk. It is also far safer and less likely to end in failure or discouragement to make spun silk the object of Indian produce than to attempt to rival the beautiful productions of Italy and China. One cannot help noticing with satisfaction in this con- cise history the working together for good of such widely separated parties as, in India, the high Government official, the investigating naturalist, the active military officer in charge of a district ; then the organising British manu- facturer, who brings into willing co-operation the Italian throwster, the Leek dyer, the Halifax weaver, the London artist, not to mention the taste and skill of the lady- bountiful of her neighbourhood. W. ODELL NOTES On Tuesday evening, April 11, the public thoroughfare stretching between Hatton Garden and the Old Bailey was lighted for the first time by the electric light. The novelty of the installation was the fact that the incandescent system had been adojted in preference to the arc system. Mr. E. Hi. Johnson, the agent of the Edison Electric Light Company, has in fact made a public demonstration of the Edis-n system by lighting up a district of London in the same way as by gas. In addition to the street lights, the different premises lining the street are also lighted ; for example, the City Temple Church, Messrs. Nezretti and Zambra’s, Messrs. Spiers and Pond’s. In all there are 936 incandescent lamps, and these are fed by one of the large dynamos stationed at No. 57, Holborn, the distributing centre of the company. These large generators are made upon the same plan as the smaller ones recently described by us, and are driven by Porter engines. They yield a current of 1025 ampéres. The resistance of each lamp white- hot is 140 ohms, and as this is much greater than the hot resistance of other incandescent lamps, the resistance of a long circuit is not so relatively high as in other systems, and hence there is less need of large leads. The cost of copper for conductors is an important item in electric lighting, but should copper conductors become too expensive to use, Mr. Edison intends to employ iron, say old iron rails. Mr. E. H. Johnson states that the company intend to manufacture and supply elec- tricity for all kinds of purposes, and judging from experience gathered in New York, where a district is lighted by this system, the profits from the sale of electricity for power purposes alone will pay the company’s dividends, so that they can afford to give the light for nothing. This remark is a rejoinder to those April 13, 1882 | who argue that the gas companies will successfully compete with the electric light, because the profits from their waste products will pay their dividends. The Holborn street lamps each con- tain two of Edison’s bulbs suspended from a cross bar running through the top of the lantern. The light is of a golden tinge like gas, but much purer, brighter, and steadier. The lamps were switched on and off with the greatest ease, and altogether the experiment was a complete success. ‘THE Commission of the French Academy of Sciences for the Transit of Venus expeditions have completed their work. All the astronomers selected are practising daily at the observatory, taking readings with the artificial transit apparatus, invented by M. ‘Wolf on the occasion of the last transit. In spite of some ob- jections, which have been disregarded, three kinds of observations will be taken: (1) by direct contact; (2) by refracting prisms and micrometrical distances ; (3) by photography. The s‘ations are the following : French Antilles (Guadeloupe or Martinique), directed by M. Tisserand; Spanish Antilles (Cuba), M. d’Abadie; Florida (United States), Col. Perrier; Coast of Mexico, M. Bouquet de la Grye; Patagonia (on the Rio Negro), M Perrotin, director of the Nice Observatory ; (M. Bischoffsheim will be at the expense of the partial fitting out of this expedi- tion) ; Santa Cruz, Capt. Fleuriais. It is to be remarked that very few of the heads of the missions sent out in 1874 have been appointed again by the French Institute. Four of these eight stations are located in the northern hemisphere, and four inthe southern, At all of them will be observed the entrance and the exit. THE use of Jablochkoff lights in the Avenue de l’Opera has been discontinued, the Municipal Council of Paris having refused to grant a concession of ten years, which was asked for by the Company. It is said that other electric light companies will make proposals for the illumination of that fashionable part of Paris. In the meantime M. Cances, the inventor of a new regulator, is illuminating experimentally the rue de Crassant, a long and narrow lane-of Central Paris, where newsagents have congregated for the last half century. ON March 20 last, William Edward Gaine, C.E., the inventor of parchment paper, died at the residence of his son, at Blackburn, at the age of sixty-five. THE usual Congress of Astronomers and Meteorologists will take place this week in Paris, as well as the Congress of the Sociétés Savantes, the annual meeting of the Société de Physique, and the Association Scientifique de France. But the Congress of Instituteurs and Institutrices has been postponed for a future period. M. Ferry will deliver as usual the official speech as Minister of Public Instruction, on Saturday, on the occasion of the distribution of prizes to the delegates of learned societies. MM. MIGNAN AND RANARD have construc'ed an integrating hygrometer for precipitating the vapour of the atmosphere, and analysing the products if required. It is composed of an iron tube filled with liquor ammoniz; by gently opening a taper the ammonia is absorbed by water and the hygrometer is covered with moisture which is collected in a cup arranged for the purpose. During the recent dry weather the amount of precipi- tation was 3 grammes of water in twenty minutes. The weight of liquor ammonia was 34 grammes. A peculiarity is that a number of floating particles are precipitated with the humidity of the air. It has been suggested by M. W. de Fonvielle that the hygrometer might be used for analysing the matter of clouds where the precipitation of a few grammes will be a question of a very few minutes. EXPERIMENTING with electro-magnets on various minerals, Prof. Doelter has made the interesting observation that the absolute amount of iron present does not determine the degree NATURE 505 to which the minerals are attracted, for sulphides and sulphates containing much ifon are very little attracted, while the attrac- tion of oxides, carbonates, and silicates is strong. This varying amount of attraction (it is pointed out) may be of service in mechanical separation of natural mixtures of ores, purifying ores, isolation of rock matter, and approximate estimation of quantitative mineralogical composition. THE project started by Admiral Mouchez of building a captive balloon for observing the conditions of the air at several hundred metres from the earth will be abandoned ; but a captive balloon will be established at Montsouris Meteorological Observatory. THE deaths are announced of Prince Wladislaus Lubomirski, an eminent conchologist, who recently died at Warsaw, aged fifty-eight ; and of Prof. Vincenz Kletzinsky, Professor of Che- mistry at the Wieden Communal School, who died at Vienna on March 18 last, aged fifty-six. THE Ethnographical Congress which was to meet this week at Geneva has been indefinitely postponed. The number of par- ticipators who intended to be present from England, Germany, Austria, and Italy was not considered sufficient by the Com- mittee. Mount Erna has again been in an active condition, An eruption and a rain of ashes (rampilli) has quite recently alarmed the neighbouring inhabitanits. THE first number is published of Dr. M. C. Cooke’s ‘‘ British Freshwater Algz” (exclusive of Desmidieze and Diatomaceze). As no systematic work on the subject has been published since Hassall’s in 1845, a good account of British Freshwater Alge is much wanted. In the present number, which includes the Palmellaceze only, Dr. Cooke has perhaps already reached the most difficult part of kis work, the history of development of some of these lower organisms being still very obscure. We could have wished to see, at the outset, a greater effort to give the student something approaching a natural classification of Algae, instead of the very rough and artificial one which Dr. Cooke has adopted. The exclusion of the desmids and diatoms is wise, these forming a separate literature of their own. Pror. E. MorReEN issues the ninth annual edition of the “*Correspondance Botanique” (Liste des Jardins, des Chaires, des Musées, des Révues, et des Sociétés de Botanique du Monde), well posted up to the close of the year 1881. Tn addition to the above catalogue, the Bulletin de la fédéra- tion des Sociétés d’ Horticulture de Belgique (1881), published under the authority of the Belgian Government, contains the official report of the National Exhibition of Horticulture and Pomology, held at Bru-sels in 1880, in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of the independence of Belgium; much other horti- cultural information, and a paper on the Bromeliaceze of Brazil. SINCE March 1 a new Spanish periodical, Revista Germanica de Literatura, Artes y Ciencias, is published at Leipzig twice a month, Its editors are Sefiores S. Gimenez and J. O. Monasterio ; Herr L. Seidel is the publisher. The object of the serial is to facilitate intellectual intercourse between Germany and the Spanish races. AT the last meeting of the American Association a lecture was delivered by Capt. C. E. Dutton, of the United States Geological Survey, upon the ‘‘ Excavation of the Grand Cafion of the Colorado River.’’ The lecture was illustrated by a large number of lantern views. A picture of the chasm, at a point about the middle of its length, was exhibited as a type, showing that it consists of an inner and an outer gorge, or an upper and alower chasm, The outer one is about five miles in width, with palisades on either side, very nearly 2000 feet high, facing each other across a comparatively smooth plain or valley flcor. 566 NATURE [April 13, 1882 Within this floor is sunken the great inner gorge, 3000 feet deep, with nearly vertical walls. The width of the inner gorge is about the same as the depth, or 3000 to 3500 feet. The strata exposed in this section are 4500 feet of Carboniferous (the entire local series), and 500 or 600 feet of Lower Silurian or Primor- dial. The speaker then indicated the salient features of the topography and stratigraphy of the country in the vicinity of the chasm. It is for the most part a desert plain, surfaced by the summit beds of the Carboniferous, with low mounds or flats consisting of remnants of the Permian, and occasionally a small remnant of the Lower Trias. Forty miles north of the chasm is found the main Permian mass lying as a higher bench or terrace terminated southwardly by a cliff. Proceeding northward, the Trias, the Jurassic, the Cretaceous, and the Lower Eocene systems are successively encountered, each at intervals of five to ten miles. Each of these formations is likewise terminated south- wardly by a great cliff, and the whole series, from the Per- mian to the Eocene inclusive, constitute a stairway leading up to the high plateaux of Utah. Capt. Dutton stated that conclusive evidence has been found that these terraced formations, thus abruptly terminated, once extended southward across the Grand Cafion and far into Central Arizona, but have been denuded down to the summit of the Carboniferous, The total thickness of beds removed was a little over 10,000 feet, and the eroded area was from 13,000 to 15,000 square miles, This area is called by him the Grand Cajfion district. The erosion began about the middle of Eocene time, and has continued uninter- ruptedly to the present. The cutting of the Grand Cafion is merely the closing episode of a much greater work. The excava- tion of the present cafion is a comparatively recent geological event, and Capt. Dutton is of the opinion that its origin does not antedate the Pliocene period. He then explained some of the more important considerations and conditions upon which the cutting of cafions depends, and showed the natural mechanical process of creating and maintaining the singularly beautiful and archi- tectural profiles of the cliffs, and how their wonderfully constant outlines are preserved. He then entertained his audience by a graphic and enthusiastic description of the phenomenal scenery revealed in the wider and deeper portions of the chasm. THE geology of Spain being yet very imperfectly known, we are glad to find in a recent number of the Bolefin of the Geographical Society of Madrid the continuation of Don Juan Vilanova’s paper on the geological survey of the province of Valencia, being a description of the Tertiary formation of the province. This formation consists of conglomerates and clays covered with marls, sandstones, grits, and gypsum, with beds of | lignite and peat. The surface is undulated, forming low hills with gentle slopes, but intersected with deep ravines, or barran- cos, or terrace-like, with deep ravines, along which streams flow in cascades during the rainy season. Wide lacustrian basins at Bicorp, which were considered by Verneuil as Cretaceous, belong also to this formation. THE Jubilee Meeting of the British Medical Association will be held at Worcester, on August 8-11, The president-elect is Dr. William Strange, senior physician to the General Infirmary, Worcester. PROF, HAECKEL is giving some account of his recent visit to Ceylon and India in the Deutsche Rundschau. WE read in the ‘‘ Diario de Manila” that a German ethno- logist, Dr. Schadenberg, of Breslau, has now resided for some time amid the savage tribes in Sibotam, at the foot of the Vol- cano of Apo, for the purpose of studying the ethnography of the tribes of Atas, Bagobos, Manobos, Mandayas, Tagacaolos, Vilanes, Samales, Sanguiles, Moros, and Guiangas. All these races differ materially in language, religious customs, attire, and habits, so that Dr. Schadenberg has certainly selected a rich field of study. In a brochure published by Messrs, Sampson Low and Co., Col. Burnaby has given an interesting narrative of his recent balloon trip across the Channel. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Black-eared Marmoset (Hafale fenicillata) from South-East Brazil, presented by Mrs. Davidson; a Ring- tailed Lemur (Lemur catfa g) from Madagascar, presented by Dr. J. Lea, M.R.C.S. ; two Grey-backed White-eyes (Zosterops dorsalis) from Australia, presented by Mr. J. Abrahams; a Jardine’s Parrot (Paocephalus gulielmi) from West Africa, pre- sented by Capt. H. Hope Keighley, 2nd W.I. Regt. ; three Zebra Waxbills (Zstrelda subflava), a Shining Weaver Bird (Aypochera mitens) from Africa, two Amaduvade Finches (Zstrelda amandava) from India, a Crimson-eared Waxbill (Zstrelda phenicotis) from West Africa, presented by Mrs. Beauclerk ; a Common Buzzard (Buteo vulgaris), British, pre- sented by Mr. J. C. S. Rocke ; a Common Partridge (Perdix cinerea 3), British, presented by Mr. H. T. Bowes; a Long- tailed Copsychus (Cofsychus saularis) from India, deposited ; a Mantchurian Crossoptilon (Crossoptilon mantchuricum g) from North China, two Japanese Pheasants (Phasianus versicolor & ?) from Japan, an Amherst Pheasant (7haumalea amherstig 2), a Gold Pheasant (7haumal-a picta 2?) from China, a Lineated Pheasant (Zzplocamus lineatus &) from Tenasserim, two Black- backed Kaleeges (Zuplscamus melanotus 6 9) from Sikkim, two White-crested Kaleeges (Zuplocamus albo-cristatus $2) from North-West Himalayas, two Hasting’s Horned Tragopans (Ceriornis hastingii 2) from North India, purchased ; a Rifle Bird (Pulorhis paradisea 6) from Australia, received on ap- proval ; a Sambur Deer (Cervus aristoteles 2), a Gaimard’s Rat Kangaroo (Aypsifrymnus gaimarat), born in the Gardens, OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH FOR COMETS.—The necessity of a more rigorous and systematic examination of the heavens with the view to the early discovery of telescopic comets has been somewhat forcibly exemplified of late years, and it is satisfactory to learn that American observers are taking the initiative vigo- rously in this direction. A partial arrangement for regular sweeping has been made, and is detailed ina circular issued from the office of the Sc¢ence Odserver, in which also further coopera- tion is invited, and it is to be hoped that amateurs here with the necessary instruments, and time at command, will actively second the efforts that are being made in the United States, to further our knowledge of the-e, as yet, in a cosmical sense at least, problematical bodies. Mr. W. F. Deuning, of Bristol, after proving his extraordinary patience and perseverance in the observation of meteors, and who has done excellent work in that class of observation, has for some months instituted a search for comets in such quarters of thesky as his position best commanded, and has made, as we know, a most notable beginning by the detection of the comet of short period, which astronomers will recognise in future as ‘‘Denning’s comet.” He has kindly | afforded us an opportunity of perusing a letter addressed to him by Mr. J. Ritchie, jun., of Boston, U.S., from which we may be pardoned for making the following extract :—‘‘ We wish it understood that although from the circumstances of the organisa- tion, the majority of observers are here in this country, still we do not wish to make anything exclusive or national about it, and are simply after the most scientific ways of doing certain things, and are ready to receive that advice which the experience of others renders them competent to give.” Mr. Denning has found a coadjutor to divide with him the examination of the eastern sky in the morning hours, and there should be little diffi- culty in arranging for other amateurs here to take part in an evening search. Two or more observers in the other hemisphere will be needed to complete the regular scrutiny of the whole sky, and we do not anticipate that the scheme will be rendered im- perfect for want of them. It would be an easy matter to cite a number of cases where the earlier detection of comets would have materially aided our knowledge of their motions in space, and probably of their gradual development in approaching the sun. We may refer to. April 13, 1882 | two cases of recent occurrence. The fifih comet of 1877 was detected by Tempel on October 2, when its south declination was already 10°, and its motion towards the south did not permit of its being followed after October 14, when the last observa- tions were made at Leipsic and Milan. On the orbit being cal- culated, it was found that the comet had passed the perihelion as early as the end of June, and, further, that it had escaped observation before perihelion, when in a much more favourable position than at the time of its discovery by Tempel. Thus, on April 5, as the moon was drawing away from the evening sky, it was in R.A. 161°, Decl. +57°, consequently a circumpolar object in these latitudes, its distance from the sun was 1°69, and from the earth 1°05, and the intensity of light, expressed in the usual manner, was 0°32, At its actual discovery, on October 2, the distance from the sun was 1°86, and from the earth 0°88, consequently the intensity of light was 0°36, or virtually the same as on April 5. But the orbital arc available for the final calculation of the elements was less than 43°, whereas if the comet had been detected in its more favourable position towards the end of the first week in April, there would have been avail- able for this purpose an orbital arc of upwards of 160°. As a second case in point, we may mention the circumstances attending the discovery of the comet by Mr. Denning last Octo- ber, and its previous track, Mr. Denning found it on October 3, the perihelion passage having taken place on September 13, so that it was already at a considerable angular distance from perihelion at the first accurate observation. But prior to arriv- ing at its least distance it had made the following tour of the southern heavens. In the column headed “ Intensity of Light,” the brightness at discovery on October 3 is taken as unity. zh. G.M.T. Roa es Terence om ee of June 26 ZOOM nes eb = 3S" 07481 o's July «25 280°3 66'9 O°159 II'9 30 228°5 80°5 o'128 20°4 PANIC 2) in, 58:9 74°9 ors 25°6 Goa sc. a 1A 302 65'°6 o'li6 27°6 Ge, 13670 55°6 O'lIg 27°9 SS) Becee LGRGES —45'8 O25 e 2055 Sepeirg) =-. 129°2 +11 0'503 ... 2°9 With anything approaching to a regular examination of the southern sky such an object could not have escaped notice. CHEMICAL NOTES WHETHER the atou ic weight of uranium is represented by the number 120 or 240, is still a disputed question. Experiments recently conducted by Herr Zimmermann (Zerich/e) are strongly in favour of the latter number. Herr Zimmermann has deter- mined the densities of the va, ours of uranium tetrabromide and tetrachloride, by Victor Meyer’s method, at the temperature of a Perrot’s furnace ; his results are as follows :— Sp. gr. of vapour. Calculated. Se Neo U=120. U=240. Uranium tetrabromide . 19°46 (mean of 6) ... 9°68 19°36 Uranium tetrachloride... 13°33 (mean of 4) ... 660 13°21 SEVERAL important papers on general considerations regarding processes of chemical change, by MM. Potilitzin, Beketow, and Kajander, have appeared in the Youwrzal of the Russian Chemical Society (good abstracts in Berliner Berichte, xiv, 2044-2058). As a deduction from experimental results, M. Potilitzin con- cludes that in every reaction, whether in presence or absence of water, a division of the elements of the reacting bodies occurs, and this is conditioned by the atomic weights of the elements, and the mass of the reacting substances. SBerthelot’s principle of maximum work is only applicable when but a single product is formed in a reaction, and when the energy, liberated in the reaction, all appears as heat. But in actually-occurring processes of chemical change there is a conversion of potential into kinetic energy, and subsequent employment of this kinetic energy in the work of fusion, evaporation, affinity, &c. Sometimes a portion of this energy may be used in the formation of compounds wherein heat is absorbed. This change of potential into kinetic energy is counterbalanced by the conversion of energy of motion into heat: a condition of equilibrium for the entire chemical system is thus attained, conditioned chiefly by the atomic weights of the reacting elements, the masses of the chemical substances in the system, and the relative amounts of potential and kinetic energy. The heat evolved in a chemical change | NALORE 567 measures the initial velocity of that change; but the final result of the change is dependent on the attainment of a general equilibrium, the conditions of which have been stated. Any change in one or more of these conditions causes a change in the direction of the chemical reaction. In the paper of M, Kajander the action of acids on plates of magnesium Is considered ; it is shown that the velocity of the action is inversely proportional to the internal friction of the liquid : raising the temperature of the liquid acts by diminishing the internal friction. PROF. MENSCHUTKIN continues to publish, in the ¥ournal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Society his researches on the influence of isomerism on the formation of compound ethers, and deals with the etherification of polybasic acids. The re- searches are rendered difficult by the circumstance that we know but few polybasic acids, the structure of which is well deter- mined, Altogether the etherification of polybasic acids is very like the etherification of monobasic acids ; the limits of etherifi cation are always high, if a primary alcohol is taken for the for- mation of the ether; the rate of etherification varies with the isomeri-m of the acid, and the variations of the rate are as in monobasic acids. This likeness is the more remarkable, as the reactions are far more complicated in this case than in the preceding one. Pror. MENSCHUTKIN also discusses the influence of the molecular weight of homologues on the course followed by in- complete and reversed reactions. He has succeeded in establishing that the law of homology, extends as well to the chemical as to the physical properties of homologues, and as well to their complete reactions, as to the incomplete ones. THE phenomenon noticed by Mills, and called by him “chemical repulsion”—referred to some time ago in these “Notes ’’—has been recently studied by Herr Lecher (Wien. Akad, Ber.), who thinks that there is no need for the new hypothesis of chemical action at a distance introduced by Mills. A few drops of barium chloride solution are placed on the sur- face of a glass plate, a second plate containing two circular holes is pressed on the first, and a drop of sulphuric acid is introduced at each hole: the formation of barium sulphate proceeds in circles which gradually extend their circumference, but cease to do so before they come into contact. The author’s explanation, which is based on several experiments, assumes that the barium chloride molecules originally move equally in all directions through the liquid; the presence of sulphuric acid, however, fixes many of these molecules and prevents their moving out of the sphere of action of the acid: the space between the advan- cing circles of barium sulphate thus becomes gradually poorer in barium chloride, until finally the whole of this salt is removed : there is a space of no action, because the compounds which react are absent. HERR SCHULZE (Journ. fiir pract. Chem.) describes an interesting case of so-called ‘‘catalytic action.” . Sulphuryl chloride (SO,Cl,) is not formed by the action of chlorine on gaseous or liquid sulphur dioxide, but if these gases be passed over camphor, large quantities of sulphuryl chloride are pro- duced ; five grams of camphor sufficed to induce the formation of 470 grams of sulphuryl chloride. Acetic or formic acid likewise induces the combination of chlorine and sulphur dioxide, but these compounds are themselves more or less attacked, whilst camphor remains unchanged at the close of the reaction. Acetic and formic acids dissolve considerable quantities of sulphur dioxide, but other good solvents of this compound, e.g. acetone, fail to induce the formation of sulphuryl chloride. MALLET (Amer. Chem. Fourn.) finds the number 1°759 as representing the sp. gr. of hydrofluoric acid gas at 25°, hence molecular weight = 39°32. If this determination is confirmed, the formula of the compound in question must be written H,F, and not, as at present, HF, But if Mallet’s formula is correct, the atom of fluorine must be divalent; it has hitherto been regarded as markedly monovalent. M. L. DE BOISBAUDRAN (Compt. rend.) has prepared gallic chloride, Ga,Cl,. The specific gravity of the vapour of this chloride, at 273°, was found to be 11°9, which confirms the formula Ga,Cl,. AN iron wire embedded in lampblack and heated to redness in the reducing flame of the blowpipe loses weight ; a portion of the iron, according to Colson, diffuses into the carbon. This chemist states that solids diffuse into each other when a chemical action can take place between the solids in contact (Com#t. rend. xcili. 1074). In the Berichte (xv. 109) Brauner describes some new com- pounds of the cerium metals, especially Cerium telrafluoride, CeF,, and didymium pentoxide, Di,O;; he also gives data whence he deduces the value 146°5 for the atomic weight of didymium. Brauner likewise discusses the grouping of these xetals in accordance with the ‘‘ periodic law,’ and shows that didymium may fairly be placed as the eighth member of group V., the members of which group form pentoxides, M,O, (see also Chem. Soc. Fournal, Trans. 1882, p. 68). VaRIOUS new salts analogous to the ferrocyanides and ferri- cyanides are described by Descamps (Ann. Chim. Phys. [5] xxiv. 178), chiefly mangano- and mangani-cyanides, cobalto-cyanides, and chromo-cyanides. FROM experiments on the action of sulphur dioxide on nitric oxide, Lunge concludes that, when water is present, sulphur dioxide partially reduces the higher oxides of nitrogen to nitrous oxide, even in presence of free oxygen (Berichte, xiv. 2196). These results of Lunge’s have a direct bearing on the changes which proceed in the chambers of the sulphuric acid manu- facturer. THE synthetical production of urea, by passing air charged with ammonia and benzene over hot spirals of platinum wire, is described by E. F. Herroun in Chem. Soc. Journ. Heated spongy platinum, or platinised asbestos, caused a large produc- tion of ammonium carbonate with little urea; platinised char- coal caused the production of much urea, but the action pro- ceeded more slowly than when spirals of platinum wire were employed. FROM results of series of measurements, the following general statement regarding fractional distillation is made by F. D. Brown (Chem. Soc. Fourn.). ‘In distillations with a still-head maintained at a constant temperature, the composition of the distillate is constant, and is identical with that of the vapour evolved by a mixture whose boiling-point equals the temperature of the still-head.” Brown thinks that the reciprocity between a liquid mixture and the gaseous mixture evolved by it on ebulli- tion has been too much neglected in reasonings about fractional distillation. THE explosion of fulminate of mercury has been studied by Berthelot and Vieille (Aun. Chim. Phys.) The chemical change which occurs when this salt is exploded is a simple one, thus: C,HgN.O, = 2CO+N, + Hg; the heat produced, at constant pressure, per gram-molecule, is sufficient to raise the temperature of the prcducts of explosion (supposing these already gaseous) to about 4200°. The local action exerted when the fulminate is exploded in a closed vessel is more violent than with other explosives, but the total pressure is only about three- fourths of that produced by dynamite or nitro-glycerine. The instantaneous nature of the explosion of fulminate, the almost complete absence of dissociation of the products, and the high specific gravity of the materia], conspire to render the explosion of this substance very effective. ACCORDING to M. Amagat (Comfi. rend.) pure dry oxygen exerts no action on mercury even under pressure : this is opposed to the results obtained by Regnault. FURTHER observations bearing on the relations existing be- tween molecular structure and the absorption spectra of carbon compounds are described by Hartley (Chem. Soc. Sourn., Trans., p. 45), who concludes that ‘‘ the simple union of carbon to nitrogen does not cause selective absorption of the ultra-violet rays.” This conclusion is aplied to a discussion of the structural formulz of several compounds, more especially of cyanuric acid, the molecule of which appears to possess ‘‘a nucleus with a compactness of structure intermediate between that of bei zene hexchloride and that of benzene.” EXPERIMENTS by Remsen and Hall (Amer. Chem. Journ. ii. 50) on the oxidation of sulphamine-para-toluic acid confi the general statement that when, in a derivative of an aromatic hydrocarbon, one of the substituting groups is electronegative, this negative group exerts a protective influence on the other group Curing oxidation. VARIOUS papers on the cinchona alkaloids have recently been published : two new alkaloids are described, one by Arnaud, under the name of cizchonamine (Compt. rend. xciii. 593), the other—homoguinine—by Howard and Hodgkin (Chem. Soc. NATURE [April 13, 1882 ——————— SS SS a Fourn., Trans., 1882, p. 66). Both alkaloids are found in bark from Santander, Columbia, described by Fliickiger as China cuprea. The structural formulz of guinoline, guinic, and quinuric acids, are discussed at length by Skraup (A/onatshefte itr Chemie, ii. 587). Various sulphuric derivatives of cinchonine are described by Weidel (same journal, p. 565), and papers of importance, although too technical for detailed notice here, on cinchonine and the so-called homocinchonine, by Koenigs, Hesse, and Claus, appear in the Berichte (xiv. 1852, 1888, 1890, and 1921). REINCKE states (Berichte, xiv. 2144) that he has obtained aldehydic substances from the juices of chlorophyll containing plants. The formation of these substances appears to depend on the action of sunlight. Reincke thinks that formic aldehyde is present as the most active among these reducing substances, but he does not support this supposition by experimental evidence. HRREN GOLDSCHMIDT and V. Meyer describe a modifica- tion of the well-known apparatus of the latter chemist for determining the specific gravities of gases. The apparatus is filled with dry air, and heated to the temperature at which the determination is to be made; the air is then driven out by a stream of hydrochloric acid, received in a graduated tube stand- ing over water, and measured: the gas under examination is passed into the apparatus, heated, and driven out by dry air into weighed potash-bulbs containing a liquid which will absorb the gas. In this way the weight of the gas is obtained ; the volume of air gives the volume of this weight of gas at the observed temperature. The apparatus may also be used as an air-thermo- meter (Berichte, xv. 137). NOTES FROM THE OTAGO UNIVERSITY MUSEUM IIl.—OCx the Skeleton of Notornis Mantelli> ITHERTO the rare flightless rail, Wotornis Mantella—the Takahe of the Maoris—has been known only by the two skins now in the British Museum, and by a few fossil bones, found associated with remains of Dinornis, Aptornis, &c. Quite recently a third specimen was killed on the eastern shores of Lake Te Anau, and the finder, Mr. J. Connor, not only removed and preserved the skin, but, most fortunately, retained as well the roughly-cleaned skeleton of the trunk. With Mr. Connor’s permission, I have prepared a description and drawings of the more important parts of this unique specimen, which is now, with the skin, on its way to England for sale.? The skeleton, consisting as it does, of the parts saved after skinning, is amas the skull and anterior cervical vertebrz, the wing-bones, the bones of the legs with the exception of the femora, and the posterior caudal vertebrae. It is in very good preservation, with the exception of the ribs and the femur on the right side, which are shattered, probably by shot, and the right side of the middle xiphoid process of the sternum, which is slightly cut, apparently during skinning. The more important measurements are as follows ;— cm. Length of trunk, measured from the anterior (dorsal) ends of the coracoids to the posterior end of the pelvis 18°5 Length of scapula... 80 o coracoid 472 of sternum Bi, VES i MSS CA eee Width of sternum, measured just posterior to the coracoid grooves Oo O80 oxo 43 Depthioficarinaysterni cn ecs-tiee- we-es ee ee 09 Length’ ofittiame|ts, ce eee mega deca eee 10"4 Width of pelvis at posterior border of acetabula 56 Length ofifemur a) Wes 92+ 10°3 In the vertebral column the nine posterior cervical] vertebre are t Abstract of a paper read before the Otago Institute on September 21, and to be published in the next (13th) volume of the 7vansactions of the New Zealand Institute. £ * It was much to be regretted that the funds of this Museum did not allow of the purchase of these specimens and their retention in New Zealand. But by the kindness of two ladies, Miss F. M. Wimperis and Miss Maud McLaren, the Museum now possesses the next best thing to the actual speci- men, namely, two life-sized oil paintings, executed with a fidelity and artistic skill which leave nothing to be desired. I was the more glad to obtain these pictures, as the Te Anau specimen differs in many details of colouring from the British Museum examples, notably in the absence of the broad black band onthe neck and of the crescentic markings on the wing-coverts. April 13, 1882] NATURE 569 left ; there are seven pre-sacral thoracic vertebrze, free save for a union of their several spines by ossified ligaments ; the com- Fic. 1.—Ventral aspect of the sternum and coracoids of Nofornzs, three-fourths natural size (continuous outline); on the left are shown the correspond- ing bones of Ocydromus (dotted outline), onthe right those of Porphyria (broken outline), both reduced to the same absolute length of sternum as Wotornis. m.x., middle xiphoid process ; e.x., external xiphoid pro- cess; 7, rostrum of sternum (Porfhyrio); &, point of keel of sternum of Notornis, k', of Ocydromus, k", of Porphyrio. pound ‘‘ sacrum” contains one thoracic, five lumbar, four sacral, and six caudal vertebree. I give no detailed description of the Fic. 2.—The sternum of Ocydromus (A), Notornis (s), and Porphyria (c), viewed from the left side, and all reduced to the same absolute length of trunk. cv, coracoid; 7z.2x., middle, and e.x., external xiphoid process ; y, rostrum ; #, keel; 1-6, places of articulation of sternal ribs. vertebral column, as I could not have it disarticulated ; it was, however, quite evident that there was no difference of any im- portance between the vertebrze ot Votornis and those ofits nearest New Zealand allies, Porphyrio and Ocydromus. Of the eight thoracic ribs six are united to the sternum ; four of these—the second to the fifth—have uncinate processes, which have a similar position to those of Ocydromus, being situated nearer the sternal ends of the ribs than in Purphyrio, The penultimate cervical rib is short and stout, quite like that of Ocydromius. The sternum and shoulder girdle and the pelvis are best described by comparing them, point for point, with those of the two allied genera ; I am unfortunately not able to include 77- bonyx in the comparison, as I have not yet succeeded in ob- i 1 Zz a Fic. 3.—Transverse section of sternum of Ocydvomus (a), Notornis (B), and Porphyrio (c), showing transverse sternal angle and depth of keel (A) ; three-fourths nat. size. taining a skeleton of it. It is convenient to study the relative sizes and proportions of the bones by reducing the three skele- tons to the same absolute length of trunk, as measured from a point midway between the anterior or dorsal extremities of the coracoids to one midway between the posterior extremities of the pubes. The proportions of the individual bones, considered separately or without reference to the rest of the skeleton may be studied by reducing the corresponding bones in the three genera to the same absolute length, In all the figures the bones of WVo/ornis are drawn with a con- tinuous outline, those of Ocydromus with a dotted, and those of Porphyrio with a broken outline. In each case also the bones of Fic. 4.—Scapula and coracoid of Notornis (continuous outline), Ocydromus (dotted outline), and Porphyrio broken (outline), all drawn to same abso- lute length of trunk. cv, coracoid ; sc, scapula ; g/, glenoid cavity. Notornts are three-fourths the natural size, those of Ocydromus and Porphyrio being reduced either to a common length with those of /Votornzis (Figs. 1 and 7), or so as to correspond with a common length of trunk (Figs. 2, 4, 5, and 6). The sternum of Wotornis (Fig. 1) is broad and flat, at its anterior end it closely resembles that of Ocydromus, having a precisely similar emargination and being devoid of the rostrum (7) present in Porphyrio ; on the other hand, it diminishes very gradually in width from the anterior to the posterior end, and has very divergent external xiphoid processus (¢.v.); the middle xiphoid (7...) is blunt and unossified. Relatively to the trunk 579 the sternum is about intermediate in size between those of Ocy- dromus and Porphyrio (Fig. 2). The keel is shallow, like that of Ocydromus, having very nearly the same depth proportionally to length of trunk (see table of comparative measurements below) ; its anterior edge has nothing of the strong forward curvature seen in /orphyrio. The lateral curvature of the “ cee’ H i Fic. 5.—Furcula of Ocydvomus (a), Notornis (p), and Porphyrio (c), drawn to same atsolute length of trunk. sternum is very slight, its two sides inclosing a dihedral angle— the transverse sternal angle, as it may be called—which is very nearly as open as open as that of Ocydvomus, and many degrees greater than that of Porphyrio (Fig. 3). In the shoulder-girdle both coracoid and scapula are about intermediate in proportional size between those of the two allied Fic. 6.—Side views of pelvis cf Ocydromus (a), Notornis (B), and Porphyrio (c), drawn to same absolute length of trunk. ac, acetabulum; af”, anti trochanter; 7/s, ilio-sciatic foramen; od, obturator notch; 7s, ischium pu, pubis. genera (Fig. 4). The same is the case with regard to the curva- ture of the scapula, and the angle inclosed between it and the coracoid—the coraco-scapular angle—which in Nortornis, as in Ocydromus, is greater than a right angle. In this, as in other characters of the shoulder-girdle, Vofornis, although intermediate ; between its two allies, approaches most nearly to Ocydromus. NATURE [| Apri 13, 1882 The same is true of the furcula (Fig. 5), which is less markedly U-shaped than that of Ocydromus, more so than that of Por- phyrio. It isa very slender bone; the apparent thickness of its median portion in the figure is due to its being flattened in that region from before backwards, In the pelvis intermediate characters are no longer found, the heavy cursorial Votornis having a pelvis of considerably greater proportional dimensions than either of its allies (Fig. 6). Both in vertical height, and in length the pelvis is proportionally markedly larger than in Ocydromus, and very considerably larger than in Porghyrio. In the relative proportions of the pre- and post-acetabular portions of the ilium, JVo/ornis most nearly approaches /orphy7i0 ; in the outline of the ilium, as seen from the dorsal side (Fig. 7), it more nearly resembles Ocydromus. The excess in size of the pelvis of JVotornis is most marked in its transverse dimensions, as seen in Fig. 7, wuere the three pelves are drawn to the same absolute lenvth of sacrum, The ischia and puhes of Votornis are widely separated, so much so that the pa Fic. 7.—Dorsal view of the pelvis of Nofornis (continuous line) with on the left that of Ocydzomits (dotted line), and on the right that of Porphyrie (interrupted line), all drawn to same absolute length of sacrum. ac, acetabulum; sa, lateral boundary of sacrum ; 7s, ischium; x, pubis. greater part of the pubis can be seen in a dorsal view (Fig. 7) ; in the other two genera these bones fall well within the outer boundary of the ilium. The following table gives the comparative dimensions of the three skeletons :— Length of Trunk, measured as above = 100 Ocydromus. Notornis. Porphyrio. Length of sternum... ... ... 28 = 30. rene Width of »» measured just pesterior to coracoid grooves 14 ees), a4 ba 17 Depth of keel of sternum ce A, 48 sx 48S Length of scapula... ... ... 35 San Ze} te, 149) “9 COracolds seen esses) 20) a) it 5 28 Q ilinm i ok. 49 i E56