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NATURE
A WEEKLY
ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE
VOLUME V.
NOVEMBER 1871 to APRIL
" To (he solid ground
Of Nature trusts the mind that builds for aye."-
1872
— WORIJSN
CO.
VORTH
••• • ••- . , ■
• :^::^ /;- .
Ilonbon anb lltto |)orh :
MACMILLAN AND
1872
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LONDON
«. CLAV, SONS, AND TAYLOR, P.,.vtkrS
BREAD STREET HILL
• •!•••;•••• •
•• •• • • • • ••• • •
• ••■••••*«• •
• • •• •• •"••••••
• • ■
■ •••• • • •••^•y
• . • • • • •• • •
" • • • • • •
-•- -••
• • • a*. -• • •••
• • ,• • •
• • • '
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INDEX
Abbe (Prof. Cltveland), Structure of the Corona, 367
Actinic Po ver of the Electric Light, 444, 462
Adamites The, 195, 442, 460, 480, 500
Adams (A. L., M.B ), Natural History of Egypt and Maha,
280
Adams (Prof. W. G.), Study and Teaching of Mechanics, 389
Adaptive Colouration of Mollusca, Prof. E. T. Morse on, 408,
443
Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiiy, 260
Adulteration of Food, 225
Aerial Navigation, 334
Agassiz ( Prof. ). his Exploring Expedition, 152, 170, 194, 272,
333* 34^' 370> 4^^> 4^ i elected Associate of the Academic
des Sciences, 369
Agassiz (Elizabeth and Alexander), '* Seaside Studies in Natural
History," 198
Agriculture, United States Department of, 197
Airy (Prof. G. B.), Encke's Comet, 76; Computed Length of
Waves of Light, 93 ; his Address as President of the Royal
Society, no, iii; Treatise on Magnetism, 120 ; elected
Associate of the Academic des Sciences, 369 ; on a Proposed
Phy>ical O'>$ervatory. 497
Alcohol and Tobacco Consumed in Fiance, 89
*• Alcohol, On the Elimina ion of," by A. Dupr^, 274
Alder Memorial Fund, 272
Aidi* (T. S., M.A.), «*Text Book of Geometry," 23; Species
Viewed Mathematically, 134
Algx of Rhode Island, 250
Allbutt (T. C, M. A , M.D. ), «* On the Use of the Ophthalmo-
scope," 3
Allen (J. A.), " Mammals and Winter Birds of Florida," 58
Alimentation, Economical, during the Siege of Paris, 45
Amber, Unripe, 132
America : Mammals and Winter Birds of Florida, 58 ; Dr.
Habel's Explorations, 68; Academy of Sciences, Ha>ana,
69 ; Harvard Universi y, 348 ; Academy of Sciences, Chicago,
68, 232 ; Academy of Natural Science, Columbia, 70 ;
Frankin Institute. Philadelphia, 85, 133, 391, 453, 492 ;
Chicago Museum, 68, 88 ; Report on Mines and Mining, 112 ;
Microscopical Society of Illinois, 131 ; Report on Patents,
132 ; Prof. O. C. Marsh's Explorations, 152 ; Museum of
Natural History, New York, 152, 210; Morelet*s Travels,
159; Prof. E. P. Cope's Explorations, 1 70; Government
] department of Agriculture, 197 ; Rock Inscriptions in Ohio,
212; Dr. Wal-h's Entomological Collection, Chicago, 250;
Academy of Arts and Sciences, 271 ; Lehigh University,
Penn., 349; Science in, 191, 251, 293 391,411,412,492,
510; Scienti6c Intelligence from, 414, 489 : Medical Society
of New York, 232
American Asso iation for the Advancement of Science ; Meet>
iig at Indiai apolis, 13, 15, 153, 171, 212, 233, 252, 293;
P,o^. Hunt's Add r^ss, 329
American Deep- Sea Sound ngs, Crube of the Mercury, 311,
324
American Journal of Science and Art, 273
American EcHpse Expedition, 322
American Naturalist, 313, 372, 473, 510, 513
American War-Office Reports, 478
Anacharis Canadensis, 204
Anatolia, Vestiges of the Glacial Period, 444
Anatomy, Comparative^ W. M. Ord, M.B., on, 79
Anatomy, Comparative, by £. O. Schmid*, 298
Anatomy and Physiology, Journal of, 293
•'Anatomy of Vertebratcd Animals, Manual of the," by Prof.
T. H. Huxley, LL.D., KR.S., 245
Annulosa, Segmentation of, 442
Anthropological Institute, 55. 94, 134, 174, 195, 23!, 315, 374,
396, 415, 442
Am Topological Institute of New York, 250
Anthropometry, by Ad. Qutteltt, 258
Antimony, Phenomenon in a Compound of, 31
Appalachian Mountains, Geognosy of the, by Prof T, S terry
Hunt, 14, 32, 50
Aquarium at the Crystal Palace, 50, 518 ; at Naple*,.437 ; at
Brighton, 448 ; at Manchester (propa:iei), 4S7
Ararat, Accent of, 190
Archaology, Peabody Museum, 32 {And See Biblical Archseo-
l^y)
Arctic Exploration, C. R. Maikham, F.R.G.S., on, 77; by
Capt. Hall, 88, 112; Dr. John Rae, F.K.G.S., on, IIC\ 165 ;
Ch?nges in Circumpolar Lands, 163, 225, 242
" Arithmetic, Methods of Teaching," i>y J. G. Fitch, gg, 191
Arithmetic and Mensuration, by C. W. MerrifieJd, F. K S., 299
Armstrong (Frank), the Typhoon of Sept. 2, i86j, 166
Artesian Wells in London and Paris, 432, 453
Artificial Milk, 45; W. M. Williams, KCiJ., on, J 29
Asia Minor, Geography of, 430
Association for the Improvement of Geomttric^ Teaching, 401,
430
Association for the Advancement of Science, a French, 357
Astronomical Society, 76, 310, 497 ; iVej^itleoi^ Address, 433
Astronomy, Lectures and Exammations at ku^hy, 44S
"Astronomical Phenomena in 1872,** by W, F, DEnniog, 261
" Astronomischc Tafeln und FormeJn/* by Dr. C, F. W. Peters,
240
Atmosphere, its Spectrum, 341
Atmosphere, Luminous Matter in the, 304
Atmosphere, Universal, 5
Auror i of Feb. 4, 1872, as seen at Ediiiiliurgh, Rugby, Shankim,
Ireland, Glouces er, Tottenham, Dublin, Barnstaple, Guild-
ford, 282-285 ; France, Wales, Scofbnd, Alexandria^ Turkey,
Egypt, 292 ; Hereford, Twiokenhairtt Cumberland, 302 ; May,
Guildford, St. Leonards, Stonyhur^t, Chanibery, 303 ; Ire-
land, 304; Berlin, 324; India, 371, 450 ; Nashville, U.S,,
400; Cape of Good Hope, 443; Oh\Q, 444 ; Ic^lanti aid
Faro, 461 ; St Thomas, Alabama, 461 ; J* IV Ear.«fakcr <ui,
322; Prof. Respighi on, 511 ; J. T* Boitomley on, ^zd ; Ex-
port by C. Meldrum, F.R.A.S., Mauritius 392 ; C-jL G,
Greenwood on, 400 ; Magnetic Dis uriQiiccs, 356
Aurora of Feb. 4, 1871, and Earth Currents, W- tL Prcece or,
368
Aurora Borealis of Nov. 9 and 10, 1871, 43, 6t ; at Montreal^
431 ; Douglas, Isle of Man, 155 ; New Hivcn, 172 ; Fiuner,
251 ; Bedford, 481
Aurora Borealis, its Spectrum, 172, 326
Auroras, Height of, T. W. Backhou/^ on, 422
Auroral Statistics, Prof. C. P. Smyth* F.R.S, on, 301
Aurora Islands, New Hebrides, S. J. Whi mee on, 365
Austria ; Academy of Sciences, Vienna, 32 ; Imperial Geological
In^iitution, Vienna, 176, 216, 276, 376, 498
Aufttr^la ; Royal Society, Victoria, 33 ; Obstrvatoi^, Victoria,
191 ; Melbourne University, 348 j Dr* KrefTt on its Natural
History, 349; Clouds of Locusts, 411 ; Kangaroo Rats, 70 j
Eclipse Expedition, 205, 290, 351 j Fossil Manitnals of, 503 ;
Scientific Researches by the Eclipse Expediuon^ 351
Australian Spiders, 262
Avebury, Diuidical Circle at, 347
Babbage (Charle«,F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of, 2S
Backhouse (T. W.), Is Blue a Primaiy Colour? 25 ; Height of
Auroras, 422
Baily (W. H., F.G.S.), " Figures of British Fosnt^" 151 j the
Kiltorcan Fossils 224
Baird (Dr. W.. F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of, 271, 291
Ball (J., F.R.S.), Chance of Survival of New Varieiies, 263
Balloon Navigation, Dupuy de L6me on, 334
Barker (G. F.), Spectrum of the AuronL, 172
Barometer, Low Pressure in Polar Regions, \oi
Barometric Depressions, Development of, 343, 3'^4, 382, 400,
4?j, 461
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IV
I.VDEX
Barometric Variations, Fixed, 407
Banett(W. F., F.CS.), Colour of a Hydrogen Flame, 461 ;
Phenomena associated with it, 482
Barry (Philip), New Form of Seosittve Flame, 29
Bastian (Prof. H. C , F.R.S.), Origin of Monads, &c., 454
Batavia, Volcano at Ternate, 172
Beale (Dr. Lionel S., F.R.S ) Difficulties of the Darwinian
Theory, 63, 143, 183 ; on the Relation of Nenret to Pigment,
373
Beet-root Sugar, 32
Bsknl, Eclipse OlMervalinns at ( IViih 11 ustratwHs\ 265
Belfast Natural History Society, 31
Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, 211
Belgium ; Royal Academy of Sciences, 173, 391 ; Coalfields,
49«
Bclgrand (M. ), "Le Bassin Parisien aux AgesAntehistoriques,"
377
Bell (Rev. W. R), the word "Whin," 383
Bennett (Prof.), Physiology for Women, 73
Bennett (A. W., F.L.S \ Homoplasy and Mimicry, 12 ; Aurora
Borealis of Nov. 9 and 10, 1571, 61 ; Darwin's "Origin of
Species" 318
Benson ( W. ), Is Blue a Primary Colour ? 25
Berkeley (Rev. M. J., F.L.S.), Ahematioa of Generation in
Fungi, 122
Berthon Dynamometer, Rev. T. W. Webb, F.R. A.S , on, 6
Biblical Archaeoloey, Society of, 55, 134, 214, 315, 396, 495
" Bird Life," by Dr. A. E. Brehra, 180
Birds' Wings, Mechanism of Flexion and Extension in, 233, 244
Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution, 210
Blackie (G. S., M.D.), Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872, 400
Blind Animals of the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, 445, 484
Blind Fish {Amblyopsis spelaus\ 305
Blood Crystals, 393
Blood Spectrum, 7
Blue, the Colour, 25
Boesinger (J.), Eclipse, as seen at Ootacamund, 300
Bones of Birds, Carpal and Tarsal, 293
" Botany, Contributions to," by J. Miers, F.RS., F.L.S., 42
" Botany, The Young Collector's lUndy-Book," by Rev. H. P.
Dunster, 201
BoUny as a Branch of Education, 263
Botany, Professorship at the Horiicuitnral Society, 331
Botany, Speke and Grant's African Collection, 391
Bo he (Dr. Ferdinand), " Ph)sikali'Ches Repititorium," 141
Bottomley (J. T., F.K.S.E.), Melting and Regelation of Ice,
185 ; Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872. and New Declinometer, 326
Brazil, Di-coveries by Prof. C. F. Hartt, 391
Brehm (Dr. A. E.), "Bird-Life," 180
Brigham (W. T., M.A., A.A.S.), "Earthquakes of New Eng-
land," 240
Brighton Aquarium, 443, 469
Bristol Naturalists' Society, 69, 511
Bromkerg (F. G.), Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872, 461
B others (A.), his Pno^ograph of Mr. Proctor's Star Map, 50, 70
Brown Insitution for Diseases of Animals, 138, 202, 292
Buchan (A.), Aurora of Feb. 4 1872, 461
Budd (J.), Bieautiful Meteor seen at Waterford, 382
Bufr(Dr. Heinrich) on Mechanics, 41
Bulls, Influence of Violet Light on their Development, 268
Burton (Capt Richard F.), "Zanzibar," 338
Butterflies, Flisht of, loi
Butterflies of North America, 490
Calcutta, Solitary Improvements in, 150
Catile, Dome tic Breeds of, 155
Cannii.arro (Prof ), Faraway lecture b", 468
Carboniferous Forest ( With JllustraiioM), ^oS
Carpenter (Dr. W. B., F.R.S.y, Oceanic Circulation, 59, 143,
161
Carj^enter, Dr., and Dr. Mayer, by Prof. J. Tyndall, F.R.S., 143
Carpenter (J., F.R.A.S.), Preparations for the approaching
Tjansit ot Vcnu<«, 177
Carpenter (W. L.), Deep-Sea Soundings, 341
Carruther:* (W., F.R.S.), Kiltorcan Fossils, 184, 242, 254
Cambridge, Science at, 9,*49, 81, 131, 151, 231, 269, 290, 310,
370^ 429, 487, 510; Geology of the neighbourhood, 314;
Philosophical Society, 310, 416, 515 ; R. R. Webb, Senior
Wrangler, £71
Campbell (Dr.), Natural History of Eastern Thibet, 406
Camphor Group, Compounds of the, 393
Cancer, Use of Condurango in, 243
Cane Sugar, 1 70
Cape of Good Hope ; Flora Capen^is, 311
Capron (T. R.), Aurora Borealis of Feb 4, 1872, 2S4, 303
Ceteosaurus in the Grrat Oolite near Oxford, 148
Chance of Survival of New Varieties, by J. Bail, F.R.S., 263
Change of Habits in Animali and Plants 262
Changes in Circumpolar Lands, 162, 225, 242
CheironecUs pictus^ 50 1
"Chemical Notes, ''^ by T. Wood, Ph.D., F.C S., 398
Chemical Society, 173, 195, 213. 256, 296, 335, 373, 395, 468,
474, 492, 5«3. 5H
Chemistry, Inorganic, Class- Book, by D. Morris, B.A,, 282
Chrmistry, Waynflete Professorship at Oxford, 291
Cherbourg Society of Natural Sciences, 394
Cbesney (Colonel, F.R.S.) Obituary Notice of, 29 c
Che^ter Society of Natural Science, 40
Chicago, Destruction of the Academy of Sciences and Museum,
68, 88, 232 ; Dr. Walsh's Entomjlogical Collection, 250 ;
Observatory, 320
China, Typhoon of Sept 2, 1 87 1, 166
Christison ( Prof. Sir Robert, BarL ), Notice of, 49
Christ's Ho^piul, 3(2, 449
Chromosphere, Catalogue of Bright Lines in its Spectrum, 312
Cinchona Plantations in India, 349
Circumpolar Lands, Chancres in, 162. 225, 242
Circumpolar Lands, J. J. Murphy, F.G.a>., on, 285 ; G- Hamil-
ton on, 321 ; \\. H. Howorth ou, 420
Civil Engineers, Institution of, 50
Classification of Fruits, 6
Clifton College Museum, 190; Scien'ific Society, 37 1
Climate of Ceylon, 412
Climate of Uck field, 419
Climbing Plants, 192
Close (Rev. M. H.), Aurora Borealis of Feb. 4, 1872, 284
Cloud, New Foim of, 7
Clouds, Formation o^, 398, 462
C^al, in Chile, 171, 412 ; Ireland, 162 ; Costa Rica, 211
Coal Measures and Coal Supply, 470, 490
Cobra and Mongoose, Fight between, 204. 30$
Colding (Prof.) on the Laws of Currents, 71, 9(\ 112
Coleopten of Scandinavia, 99
College of Suigeons and Physicians, Conjoint Examination
Scheme, 9, 170, 209
College of Surgeons, 291
Colliery Explosions and Weather, 504
Col!oid Matters, their Influence on Crystalline Fonpas, 275
Colour, Is Blue a Primary? 25
Colour of a Hydrogen Flame, 444, 461, 481, 501
Colouring Matters found in Fungi, 298
Comet, Great, of x86i, 304
Comets, their Collision with the Earth and Planets, |io
Compa-ative Anatomy, 79, 298
Complimentary Names, Use and Abuse of, 264
Composition of Vibrations, 321
Conchology, Dr John C. Jay's Collections, 152 ; Specimens
Destroyed in the Sie^e of Paris, 349
Condurango Root, a Specific for Caucer, 211 ; Dr. A. Destnige
on, 243
Conscious Mimicry, 480
"Consumption," by H. M'Cormac, M.D., 459
Contact, Phenomena of, 182
Contact of Surfaces, 334
Cooke (M. C ), Alternation of (fenerations in Fungi, 108
Cope (Edw. D., A.M.), •*0n the Origin of Genera," 21 ; Laws
of Organic Development, 253 ; Survival of the Fittefi^ 363
Copernicus (Nicholas), Celebration of his Birthday, iii, 151
Copley Medallist ot 1870 (Dr. J. P. Joule), by Prof. J. Tyndall,
F.R.S., 137
Copley Medallist of 1871 (Dr. J. R. Mayer), by Prof J. Tyndall,
F.R.S., 117
Corals, Deep-Sea, Count de Pourtale* on, 121
Coral Inland 0 in Nor h P;«cidc Ocean, 212
Cordoba, Argentine Republic, Observatory at, 272, 309
Comwell (Jas., PH.D.), and J. G. Fitch, M.A., Their Works
on Arithmetic, 99
Corona, Structure of the, 367
Coues (Dr. Elliott), Flexion and Extension of Birds' Wings, 233
Coughtrey (D. M.), Flexion and Extension of Birds* Wipgjt, 244
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INDEX
Cranial Measurements, 463
Crannogs in the Soath of Scotland, 203
Creators of Science, 62, 81
CroU (J., F.G.S.), Ocean Currents, 201, 263, 399, 502
CroU 0., F.G.S.), WoUaston Donation Fund Awarded to, 355
Crustaceans in the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, 445, 484
Crystalline Rocks, Origin of, 14, 50^ 32
Crystal Palace Aquarium, 50, 510
Crystal Palace School of Art, Literature, and Science ; Lectures
on Solar Physics by J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., 369
Cuckoo and Pipit : Ejection from the Nest, 383
Cuckoo's Eggs, 501
Cyclone in the West Indies, 507
Dall (Wm. H.), his Survey of Alaska, 332
Dana (Prof. J. D.), Prof. Hunt's Address to the American
Association, 329: WoUaston Medal awarded to, 365 ; Sup-
posed Legs of Trilobites, 393
Danks's Rotary Iron-puddUng Machine, 317, 430, 468
Darmstadt Polytechmc School, 368
Darwin (Chas., M. A., F.R.S.), ** Originof Species," 6th edition,
318
Darwinian Difficulties, 63, loi, 142, 183
Davis (A. S.), Origin of Species, 161
Davis (Henry), Eclipse Photography, 321
Davis (Capt. J. E., R.N.), DeepSea Thermometers, 124
Davison (W.), New Zealand Forest Trees, 84
Dawkins (Wm. Boyd,;F.R.S.), Origin of our Domestic Breeds
of Cattle, IS5
Dawson (George), Germ Theory of Disease, 84
Dawson (Lieut.. R.N.), Leader of the Livingstone Expedition, 250
Day (Dr. G. E., F.R.S.), Obituary Notices of, 290, 383
Day(E. C. H.), The Foundation of aTechnological Education, 233
De Chaumont (F.), Etymology of ** Whm," 399
Declinometer, New Form of, 326
Deep Sea Corals, 121
Deep-Sea Dredging, 8, 103, 204, 272, 343, 430, 449
Deep- Sea Soundings, from the American School-ship Mercury^
324; W. L. Carpenter on, 341
Dcep-Sea Thermometers, Captain J. E. Davis, R.N., on, 124
DeFonvielle (W.), Aerostaiion, 156, 196, 235
Denning (Wm. F., F.R.A.S.), The Pianet Venus, roo; "As-
tronomical Phenomena in 1872," 261
Dc LaRue (Warren, D.C.L., F.R.S.), Periodicity of Sun-Spots,
192 ; Planetary Ififluence on Solar Activity, 423 ; Solar
Physics, 493
De L6me (Dupuy), Aerial Navigation, 334
Dunster (Rev. H. P.), ** Young Collector's Handy Book of
Botany," 201
Descartes' "Animated Machines," 62
Deschanel's Natural Philosophy, by Prof. Everett, 339
Destruge (Dr. A.), The Condurango Plant, 243
Development of Barometric Depressions, 364, 382
Deviation of the Compass in Iron Ships, 479
Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society, 191
Diamond Fields of South Africa, 74
** Differential Equations, New Method of Integrating," by S.
Earnshaw, M.A., 199
** Discovery of a New World of Being," 380
Dissipation of Energy, 322
Dix (S.). Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872, 461
Dohm (Dr. Anton), The Foundation of Zoological Stations, and
the Aquarium at Naples, 277, 437
Drach (S. M.), Jewish Lunar Calendar, 204
Draper (Henry, M.D.), Deep-Sea Soundings from the School-
ship Mercury^ 324
Dredging {See De-jp-Sea Dredging)
I!)ublin : Trinity College, 49 ; Royal Horticultural Society, 50 ;
Royal Gcolc^cal Society, 95. 176, 315, 514 ; Royal Geo-
gaphical Society, 173; Zoological Society, 176; Royal
ubiin Society, 156 ; Royal Irish Academy, 95, 156, 175,
332, 375 ; Royal College of Science, 271, 448 ; Natural
History Society, 394, 450.
Dudgeon (Dr.), Optical Construction of the Eye, 155
" Dudley Observatory, Aimals of the," 250
Dumb Madness in Foxhounds, 132
Duncan (ProC P. M., F.R.S.), Lectures to Women on Physio-
graphy, 49
Dunkm (Edwin, F.R.A.S.), Chicago Observatory, 320
Dttpr^ (A.), Elimination of AlcohoX 274
D'Urban (W. S. M.), Ei^le Ray taken in Torbay, 103
Dyer(ProC W. T. Thiselton, F.L.S.), Structure of Lepidoden-
dron, «5, 4$ ; Mayer and De Saussure, 181 ; Natural Science
at Oxford, 301 ; Appointed Professor of Botany at the Royal
Horticultural Society 331 ; Lectures on Flowers and Fruits,429
Dynamo-Electric Light, 172
Eagle Ray taken in Torbay, 103
Earnshaw (S., M. A.), " Partial Differential Equations," 199
Earth : The Elevation of Mountains and Volcanic Action, 381 ;
Consdtution of its Crust, 81 ; Its Internal Fluidity, 257 ; Its
Magnetic Force at Bombay, 274 ; Its Rigidity, 223, 242, 288
Earth Currents and the Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872, 368
Earth Currents and Telegraphy, 212
Earthquakes : In Burmah, 7 ; Constantinople, Peru, 14 ;
Philippine Islands, 84 ; Bombay, 89 ; Panama, 90 ; Smyrna,
Macedonia, Nicaragua, 132; New Jersey, 152; Valparaiso,
Salvador, North Chile, 211; Celebes, 225; Oran, 251;
Caucasus, Chile, India, 349 ; Saxony, 391 ; Valparaiso, Peru,
Patna, Broossa, Darjeeling, Ahmedabad, Guayaquil, 412 ;
Philippine Islands, 422 ; Salvador, Simla, Macedonia, Iquique,
Malaga, 511 ; America, Dresden, Antioch, 511
Earthquake in Cachar, its Secondary Effects, 513
Earthquake Phenomena, Robert Mallet on, 261
"Earthquakes of New England," by W. T. Brigham, A.M.,
A.A.S., 240
" Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Mountain Building," by J. D.
Whitney, 240
Ears, Pro£ Laycock's Lecture on, 411
Earwaker (J. P.), on the Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872, 322
Eastbourne Natural History Society, 70
Eccentricity of the Earth's Orbit, 422
Eclipse, Solar, of Dec. 12, 187 1 : ••Instructions for Observers,"
18 ; The English Expedition, 30, 68, 88, 130, 150, 163, 169 :
French Expedition, 190 ; Observations in BaUvia, 190 ;
Australian Expedition, 205, 290, 351 ; Observations of R. N.
Taylor, 222 ; J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., 217, 259, 265 ;
Captain Maclear, R.N., 219; M. Janssen, 231, 249; Pro^
L. Respighi, 237; Magnetic Disturbances, 269, 285; Obser-
vations at Ootacamund, 300
Eclipse, Solar, American Expedition, 322
Eclipse Photography, Henry Davison on, 321
Economical Alimentation during the Si^e ol Paris, 45
Edgar (J. H., M.A., and G. S. Pritchard), Solid or Descriptive
Geometry, 80
Edinburgh : Industrial Museum, 310 ; Museum of Science and
Art, 169 ; Botanical Society, 169 ; Naturalists' Field Club,
116; Royal Observatory, 191, 317; Royal Physical Society,
214, 315, 375, 515 ; Royal Society, 335, 515 ; School of Art,
41 1 ; Royal College of Surgeons, 50 ; University, 50, 68, 73,
97, 131, 210, 292
Edmonds (J. W ), Mongoose and Cobra, 305
Egypt, Natural History of; by A. L Adams, M.B., 280
Egypt, a Trilingual Stone found a^, 412
Electrical Eel, 315
Electric Currents, 354
Electric Light during the Siege of Paris, 131 ; South Foreland
Lighthouse, 251 ; Actinic Power, 444, 462
'• Electric Telegraph, Description of an," by Sir Francis Ronald,
F.R.S.. 59
Electro-Magnetism. {See Mayer, Dr. J. R., and Joule, Dr. J, P.)
Electrophysiologica, by Dr. C. B. Raddiffe, 186, 206, 226
Elger (T. G. E. ), Aurora seen at Bedford, 481
Ellery (Rob. L J , F.R.S.). Australian Eclipse Expedition, 205
Elliott Brothers, on Tide Gauges, 501
Ellis (J.), Eccentricity of the Earth's Orbit, 422
Embryology, Study of, 279
Encke's Comet, Observations at Rugby, 30 ; at Bedford, 45 ; at
Greenwich, 76
Encke's Comet and the Supposed Resisting Medium, 1 74
Engraving by Sand, 292
Entomological Society, 39, 94, 134, 214, 275, 315, 350, 374,
4'S; 47S
Entomology: "Insects at Home," by the Rev. J. G. Wood,
M.A., 65; Origin of Insects, 27, lOi, 183; Parthogenests
among the Lepidoptera, 149 ; Centre of Gravity in Insects,
297 ; Scandinavian Coleoptera, 99 ; Swedish Ichneumonidae,
100 ; Dr. Walsh's Collection, Chicago, 2 Jo ; Kirby's Cata-
logue of Lepidoptera, 281 ; Pupa of Papilio Machaon, 204;
Spiders of Austndia, 262
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VI
INDEX
Ericsson (Captain J. ), Solar Atmosphere and Heat, 287, 344, 505
Kihnology; Peabody Maseum, 32
Ethnology of Behring's Sea, 92
Ethnology and Spiritualism, 343, 363
Everett (Pro*'. J. D.), Plane Direc ion, 63 ; Ojcm Currents, 243 ;
Dischanel's Natural Pmlo5ophy, 339
Exo^emus Structuresin Coal Plants (6Vc* WilliimsOT, Prof. W.C,
F.RS.)
Fawcett (T. W.), Aurv)ra Boreilisof Nove.nber 9 and 10, 187 1,
44 ; on the Au'-ora Borcalis of February 4, 1872, 302 ; on a
Meteor, 501
Female Education in Science : at Newcastle College, 13 ; at
South Kensington, 49, 57, 370 ; College for Women, Hitchin,
49,57 ; Examinations at Cambridge University, 56, 81 ; Lec-
tures at Londjn University, 56, 232 ; at Edinburgh University,
57, 131, 210 ; Physiology for Women, by ProC Bennett, 73;
in Germany, 92
Female Education, Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell on, 292
Fergusson (Jas.,D.C.L., F.R.S.), Rude Stone Monuments, 386
Ferrel (W.), Ocean Currents, 384, 399
Fight between a Cobra and Mongoose, 204
Fire Engines, Improvements in, 90
Fisher (Rev. O., F.G.S.). Rigidity of the Earth, 242 ; "Eleva-
tion of Mountains and Volcanic Action," 381
Fish-culture in Tasmania, 14
Fisheries of the Gulf of Naples, 348
Fitch (J. G., M.A.) and J. Com well, Ph.D., their Works on
Arithmetic, 99
Flamsteed (Jolm), his Ghost, on the Sun's Parallax, 61
Fleming (F. A.), Solar Eruptions and Magnetic Storms, 243
Flexion of Bird's Wings, 233, 244
Flight of Butterflies, loi
Floods of the I lumber and the Thames, 285
" Florida, Mammals and Winter Birds of," by J. A. Allen, 58
Flower (Prof. W. H., F.R.S.), Ziphoid Whales, 103
Flower (Prof.), his Hunterian Lectures, 221
•* Flower Garden, The Amateur's," by Shirley Hibberd, 363
Flowers and Fruits, Lectures by Prof. Thiselton Dyer, 429
Fluid and Gaseous States of Matte", Continuity of, 106
Food, Adulteration of, 225
" Food of Plants" by Cuthbert C. Grundy, F.C.S., 24, 84
Folkestone Natural History Society, 70
Foraminifer, an Aberrant, 83
Foram-nifera of the fa-nily Rotalinze in Cretaceous Rocks, 294
Forbes (D., F. R.S.), Review of Scrope on Volcanoes, 440
Fo5 il Birds discovered by Prof. Marsh, 348
Fosiil Mammals of Australia, Prof. Owen, F.R.S.,on, 503
Fossil Plants of the Coal Measures, 394
Foul Air in Mine?, by Prof. J. Tyndill, F.R.S., and J. E. Gibbs,
365
France, Science in, 13, 70, 170, 250, 429, 489 ; Association for
the Advancement of Science, 357 (An./ See Paris)
Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, 85, 133, 391, 453, 492
Freshwater Lakes without Outlets, 203
" Friction, Theory of." by J. H. Jellett, B.D.,460
Friswell (R. J., F.CS.), Aurora Borealis, February 4, 1872, 283
Frog-supper at Perth, 450
Fruits and Flowers, Lectures by Prof. Thiselton Dyer, 429
Fungi, Alternation of Generations in, 108, 122, 142 ; Study of,
142, 162, 184
Fungi, Colouring Matters found in, 298
Galloway (W.), Colliery Explosions and Weather, 504
Ganot's " Elements de Physique," 285
Gas, Improvements in Illuminating Power, 89
Gasteropoda, their Auditory Nerves, 143
Gaucho Trees in Guayaquil, 273
Geikie (Prof. A., F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Sir. R. I. Murchi-
son, 10, 68 ; Scottish School of Geology, 37, 52 ; his Edition of
Jukes's Manual of Geology, 179
Geognosy of the Appalachian Mountains, by Prof. T. Stcrry
Hunt, 14, 32, 50
Geographical Society, 48, 69, 75, 114, 155, 274, 310, 335, 347,
430, 509
Ge<^Bpraphv, Physical, Lectures by Prof. Hughes, F.R.G.S., 312
Geological Magazine, 173, 234, 394, 415, 513, 454
Geological Society, 74, 114, 154, 213, 254, 294, 354, 355, 373,
435, 414, 513; Sir R. Murchison's Bequest, 130 ; Wollaston
Medal, 310, 355 ; President's Address, 431, 451, 470, 490
Geological Time, Prof. Tait on, 161
Geologists' Association, 55, 134, 234, 314, 41 T, 475, 495
Geology of the Nile Valley, 281
Geology, Error in Humboldc's Cosmos, 479
Geology, Diamond Fields of South Africa, 74
Geology, " Le Bassin Parisienaux Ages Antcttistoriques," by M.
Belijrdnl, 377
Geology, Letters ani Addresses of J. B. Jukes, M. A., F.R.S.,
98
" Geology, Principles of," by SirC. Lyell, Bart., 466
Geology, Prof. A. Gsikie, F. R.S., on the Scottish Schot^l o*",
37, 52
Geolojf, Pro^. A. C. Ramsay, F.R.S., on the Recurrence of
Glaciil Phenomsni, 64
Geology, Prof. O. C. Marsh's Explorations, 153
"Geology, Rudimentary Treatise on," by Ralph Tate, A.L.S.,
F.G.S., 121
"Geology, The Student's Manual of," by J. Beete Jukes,
F.R.S., 179
Geology as a Branch of Education, 263
Geology of Greenland, 136 »
Geology, Dr. Hayden's Expedition, 31, 251, 272, 348, 370, 4S9
Geometrical Teaching, Report of the Association for its Im-
provement, 401, 430
Geometry, Prof. A. S. Herschel on the Proof of Napier*s Rules,
24, 123, 141
Geometry, Descriptive, J. H. Edgar, M.A., andG. S. PritcharJ,
OD, 80
Geometry, Prof. Helmh^ltz and Prof. Jevons, by J. L. Tupper,
202
" Geometry, Text-Book of," by T. S. Aldis, M. A., 23
Geometry, W. Spottiswoode, M.A., on the Contact of Surlaces^
354
Geometry at the Universities, R. A. Procto% F.R.A.S., on, 8
"Geometry, Plane, Elements of," by R. P. Wright, 282
Germ Theory of Disease, 84
Gibbs (J. E.), Foul Air in Mines, 365
Gilchrist Education Trust, Lectures, 169
Ginsburg (Dr. ), his Expedition to Moab, 410
Glacial Driils of North London, 27, 134
Glacial Period in North-Eastern Anatolia, 444
Glacial Phenomeni, their Recurrence during great Continental
Epochs, 64
Glacier Movement in America, 93
Gladstone (Dr. J. IL, F.R.S.), Action of Oxygen oa Copper
Nitrate, 493
Glasgow ; Geological Society, 40, 94, 136, 215, 235, 275, 390,
456, 514 ; University, 88, 97
Gm el in- Kraut's Handbuch dcr ChcmL\ 261
Gold in Bolivia, Natal, and Manitobi, 412
Goldsiucker (Prof. Theodor), Obituary Notices of, 369, 400
Gordon (J. E. H.), Aurora Borcalis of Nov. 9 and 10, 187 1, 44
Gould (Prof.), Address on the Inauguration of the Observatory
at Cordoba, 309
Grant (Col.), his Botanical Collection from Tropical Africa, 391
Granville (Dr. A. B., F.R.S.), Obituary Notice, 390
Gray (J.), Waterspout in Wales, 501
Graptolites, British, 418
Graptolires, Migration of, 373
Grasshoff (Johannes), his death, 249
Greenhill (A. G. ) on Potential Energy, 382
Greenland, Exploration of, 90 ; its Physical Geology and Fossil
Flora, 136 ; Meteorites in, 214; Old Stone Houses in, 348
Greenwood (Col. George), Floods of the Humber and Thames,
285 ; Aurora of February 4, 1872, 400
Gresham College Lectures, 231
Grisebach's Vegetation of the Globe, 458
Grove (W. R., Q.C.), his Appointment as a Judge, ill
Grundy (C, F.C.S.), " Notes on the Food of Plants," 24, 84
Guano in the Lobos Islands, 191
Gulliver (G., F.R.S.), Objects and Management of Provincial
Museums, 35
Gun Cotton, Committee of Inquiry, 30
Guthrie (Prof., F.R.S.), Lectures to Wom^n on Physics and
Chemistry, 49
Guy's Hospital, Sir Astley Cooper's Triennial Prize, 510
Hailstones, Remarkable, 211
Hair, Human, 349
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Institute of Natural Science, 235
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INDEX
Vll
Hall (A.), on the Etymology of ** Whin," 399
Hall (Capt), his Polar Expedition, 88, 112
Hall (Charlotte), a Shadow on the Sky, 25
Hall (J. J., F.M.S.). Aurora Borealis of February 4, 1872, 300 ;
Dr. Theorell's Printing Meteorograph, 327; Rainfall of
1871, 481
Hall (Marshall), Hints to Dredgers, 204
Halsted (Major Cbas.), Earthquake in Burmah, 7
Hamilton (G.)f Circumpolar Lands, 242, 321
Hamilton (H. M., F.Z.S.), and W. Jesse, C.M.Z.S., Translation
of Brehm's " Bird-Life," 180
" Hardy Flowers," by W. Robinson, F.L.S., 4
Harris (Sir W. Snow), Magnetism, 363
Harris (W. W.), Solar Halo in Norway, 123
Hartt (Prof. C. F.), Discoveries in Brazil, 391
Harting (J. E., F.L.S.), "Hints on Shore-shooting," 5; "Or-
nithology of Shakespeare," 160
Hartley Institution, Southampton, 69
Hartwig(Dr. George), ** The Subterranean World," 305
Harvard College, Museiun of Comparative Zoology, 121, 131,348
Havana, Magnetical and Meteorological Observations at, 347
Hayden (Dr.), his Geological Expedition, 31, 251, 272, 348,
370, 489
Hay ward (Robert B.), A Plane's Position, 26
•'Heat, Theory of," by T. Clark Maxwell, LL.D., F.R.S., 319
Heer (Prof. Oswald), Kiltorkan Fossils, 254
Helmholtz (Prof.), his Lectures, 23; J. L. Tupper on Helm-
holtz and Jevons, 202
Hennah (T. H.), Deep-sea Dredging, 103, 204
Hennessey (Prof. H., F.R.S.), Rigidity of the Earth, 288
Heoslow (Rev. G., F.L.S.), Cause of Specific Variation, 123;
Conscious Mimicry, 480
Herschel (Capt. J., F.R.S.) Spectroscopic Nomenclature, 499
Herschel (Sir John, F.R.S.) his Grave Stone, Westminster
Abbey, 272
Herschel (Prof. A. S., F.R.A.S.), Proof of Napier's Rules, 24,
141 ; Solar Halo, 81
Hibbcrd (Shirley), "The Amateur's Flower Garden," 363
High Wycombe Natural History Society, 13
Higgins (Rev. H. H.), Pupa of Papilio Machaon, 204 ; Sno;^ at
the Mouth of a Fiery Furnace, 321, 341
Hilgard (Dr. T. C), Numeric Relations of the Vertebrate
System, 171
Hippopotamus bom at Zoological Gardens, 210 ; lis Death, 232
Hirst (Dr. T. A., F.R.S.), a Plane's Aspect, Slope, or Position,
7 ; the Improvement of Geometrical Teaching, 401
Hitchin College for Women, 40
Hofmann (Dr. A. W., F.R.S.), Phosphorus Bases, 473
Holmgren ( A. E.), Ichneumonidae of Sweden, 100
Homoplasyand Mimicry, A. W. Bennett, F.L.S., on, 12
Ilortioiltural Society, Botanical Professorship at, 33 1
House Construction, 157
Howorth (Henry II.), Changes in Circumpalar Lands, 162,
420
Hudson's Bay Company Fur Trade, 171, 240
Hughes (Prof., F.R.G.S.), Lectures on Physical Geography,
312
Hughes (T. McK., F.G S.), on a Paraselene, 82 ; Lyell's ** Prin-
aples of Geology," 466
Human Hair, 349
Humboldt's Cosmos, Error in, 479
Humphry (Prof., F.R.S.). on Sleep, 328
Hunt (Prof. T. Sterry), Geognosy of the Appalachian Moun-
tains, 15, 32, 50; his Add^ss to the American Association,
329
Huxley (Prof., LL.D., F.R.S.), Lectures to Women on Biology,
49; Oxford Local Examinations, 89; "Manual of the
Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals," 245 ; Retire nent from
the London School Board, 310; Illness, 370, 390, 448, 468
Hydrogen Flame, its Colour, 444, 461, 481, 501 ; Phenomena
associated with it, 482
Hydrography, Admiralty Manual, 260
Icebergs, 251
Ice-mwng in the Tropics, 189
Ice, Melting and Regelation of, 185
Ichneumonidse of Sweden, 100
"Index of Spectra," by W. M. Watts, D.Sc, 442
India, Science in, 14, 32, 89, 131, 150, 171, 211, 232, 274,
29'i 349, 371, 412, 450, 469, 5'o
Indian Rock-cut Temple, Ajunta ( WUh IliustraHon)^ 307
Indianapolis, Meeting of the American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science, 153, 171, 212, 233, 252, 293
Ingleby (Dr. C. M.), A Plane's Aspect, Slope, or Position, 7;
Creators of Science, 62, 81 ; Leibnitz and the Calculus 122 ;
A Mock Sun, 243
Inoculation forbidden in India, 232
" Insects at Home," by the Rev. J. G. Wood, F.L.S , 65
Insects, Centre of Gravity in, 297
Insects in the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, 445, 4S4
International Exhibition of 1872, 151, 448, 508
Ireland : Coal Measures, 162 ; Oyster Culture, 128
Iron and Steel Institute, 391, 468
Jackson (John R., A.L.S.), New Zealand Forest Tries, 27
Jaffna, Observations of the Solar Eclipse a% 259
Janssen (M.), The Solar Eclipse, 190, 231, 249, 259
Japan, Tattooing in, 211
Jay (Df. John C), his Conchological Collections, 152
Jellett (J. H., B.D.). "Theory of Friction," 460
Jenkins (B. G.), A Safety Lamp, 382 ; the Adamites, 480
Jeremiah (John), Aurora Borealis of Nov. 9 and 10, 1871, 44;
Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872, 283 ; Etymology of " Whin," 399
Jerusalem, Drawings by W. Simpson, 510
Jesse (W.), Translation of" Bird Life," by Dr. Brebm, iSj
Jevons (Prof. W. S.), Encke's Comet and Supposed Resisting
Medium, 174
Jevons (Prof.) and Prof. Helmholtz; J. L. Tapper on, 202
Jones (Dr. Bence, F.R.S.), History ol the Rojral Institu'ion, 397
Jones (J. M.), Pelagic Floating Fish Ne»t, 462
Joule (Dr. J. P., F.R.S.), Electro-Magnetism, 137, 457, 48S
Joule, (Dr. J. P., F.R.S.), the Copley Medallist of 1870, 137
Journal of Botany, 169, 173, 313, 454, 373
Joy (C. A.), Science in Plain English, 371
Juices (J. B-.ete, M.A., F.R.S.), his Letters and Add -esse?, 98 ;
**The Student's Manual of Geology," 179
Jupiter, Present Appearance of, 303
Kangaroo Rats, 70
Kessler (Chas.), Obituary Notice of, 332
Kentucky, the Mammoth Cave of, 445, 484
Kew Observatory, 11 1
Key (Rev. H. C), Aurora Borealis of Nov. 9 and 10, 187 1,
61 ; Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872, 300
Kilkenny Historical and Archaeological Association, 356
Kiltorkan P'ossik, 184, 224, 242, 254
Kinahan (G. Henry, F.G.S.), Coal Measures of Ireland, 162
King Crab (American), Prof. Owen, F.R.S., on its Anatomy,
174, 254
King's College, 331
Kingsley (Rev. Canon, F.L.S.), Study of Natural Hlstorv, 413
Kirby (W. F.), "Synonymic Catalogue of Lepidoptera,^' 281
Kitchener (F. E.), Instruction in Science for Women, 81
Klemm (Dr. Gustavus), his Ethnolo^cal Collection, 210
Koch (Dr. L.), Australian Spiders, 262
Kraut (Dr. Kari), his Edition of Gmelin's " Handbuch der
Chem;*," 261
Krefft (Dr. Gerard), Natural History of Australia, 349
Lake Dwelling in Aberdeenshire, 14
Lakes of North America, Fauna o', 170
Lake Villages in Switzerland, 369
Landslips at Northwich, 250, 289
Langton (J.), Ripples and Waves, 241
Lankester (E. R.), Auditory Nerves of Gasteropoda, 143 ; Dr.
Morse's "Terebratulina," 221 ; Science Stations, 399; Seg-
mentation of Annul osa, 442
Lankester (Edwin, M.D., F.R.S.), ** Practical Physiology-,"
497
Lossell (Wm., F.R.S.), Pro*". Schiaparel'.i's Researches 433
Laughton (J. K.), A Plane's Aspect, Slope, or Position, 7
Laugier (M.), Obituary Notice of, 488
Law of Variation, 462
Lead in Jersey, 14
Leather, Waterproof, 429
Leckenby (Mr.), his Fossils purchased for the Cambridge Mu-
seum, 151
Legs of Trilobitcs, 393
Lieccster Literary and Piiilosophical Society, 468
Leibnitz and the Calculus 122
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VIU
INDEX
Leipsic: Dr. Klemm's Ethnological Collection, 210
Leilchild (John R.), "The Higher Ministry of Nature," 499
Lepidodendron Stems in Coal Plants, 25, 45
Lepidoptera, Parthenogenesis in, 149
Lcpidoptera, Catalogue of, by W. F. Kirby, 281
Ley (W. Clement), "Laws of the Winds of Western Europe,"
200 ; Development of Barometrical Depression, 340, 382
Liebreich (Dr. R.), Lecture on the Vision of Turner and Mul-
ready, 404, 449, 500
"Life Science, Thoughte on," by E. Thring, M.A., 160
Lindsay (Dr. W. louder, F.R.S.E.), New Zealand Forest
Trees, 123
Linnean Society, 39, 94, 134, 173, 174, 254, 295, 335, 395,
494, 5 '4
Linnean Relics, Photographs of, 89
Liverpool Geological Society, 175 '
Livingstone (Dr.), Government Grant to his Children, 48 ;
Mr. Stanley's American Expedition, 75, 115; Search Ex-
pedition by Geographical Society, 131, 250, 274, 310, 335,
347, 509 ; Meeting at the Mansion House, 271
Lockyer(J. Norman, F.R.S.), Lecture on board the Mirzapore^
30 ; his Observations of the Eclipse, 217, 259; Lectures on
Solar Physics, 369
Locusts in South Australia, 411, 475
Locwy (Benjamin, F.R. A. S.), Periodicity of Sun-Spots, 192;
Planetary Influence on Solar Activity, 423 ; Solar Physics,
493
Logan Chair of Geology, Montreal University, 448
** Logarithmic and Trigonometric Functions, Tables of," by J.
M. Peirce, 200
London University, 13, 30, 88, 138, 202, 232
Lonsdale (Earl of). Father of the Royal Society, Obituary
Notice of, 390
Low Barometrical Pressure, Cause of, 102
Low Conductivity of Copper Wire, 462
Lowe (E. J., F.R.S.), on a Paraselene {With Diagram)^ 24
Lowne (B. T., M.B.), Origin of Insects, 10 1, 142, 183
Lubbock (Sir John, Bart., F.R.S.), Siie of Druidical Temple at
Avebury, purchased by, 347 ; on Fergusson*s " Rude Stone
Monuments," 386
Luminous Matter in the Atmosphere, 304
Lunar Calendars, 123, 204
Lyell's " Principles of Geology," 466
Lying-in Institutions, Miss Nightingale on, 22
MacCormac (H., M.D.) on Consumption, 459
Maclear (Com. J. B., R.N.), Progress of the Eclipse Expedi-
tion, 163; his Observations of the Eclipse, 219; Aurora
Borealis, February 4, 1872, 283 ; Spectrum of the Atmo-
sphere, 341
Mcintosh (Dr. W. C, F.Z.S.), Adaptive Coloration, Phos-
phorescence, &c., 443
McClure (R.), Aurora Borealis of November 9 and 10, 1871, 43
Mad Elephant in India, 90, 412
"Magnetism, Treatise on," by G. B. Airy, F.R.S., Astronomer
Royal, 120
" Magnetisni," by Sir W. Snow Harris and H. M. Noad, 363
Magnetism ; Deviation of the Compass in Iron Ships, 479
Magnetic Disturbances during the Solar Eclipse, 269, 285
Magnetic Dbturbances before the Aurora 01 February 4, 1872,
356
Magnetic Force of the Eaith at Bombay, 274
Magnetic Observations at Havana, 347
Magnetic Storms, 243
Mahaffy (Rev. J. P.) on Descartes' " Animated Machines," 62
Main (Rev. Robert, M.A., F.R.S.), Admiralty Manual of
Scientific Inquiry, 260
"Malta, Natural History of," by A. L, Adams, M.B., 280
"Mammals of Florida," by J. A. Allen, 58
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, 445, 484
Man, the Science of, Quetelet on, 358
Manchester : Grammar School, 88 ; Popular Science Lectures,
70, 151 ; Literary and Philosophical Society, 134, 155, 170,
174, 356, 374, 510, 5H; Proposed Aquaripm, 487
Marine Zoology, 184
Mark ham (C. R., F.R.G.S.), Arctic Exploration, 77
Marocco and the Great Atlas, Geology of, 254
Marsh (Prof. O. C), his Geological Explorations, 152,414;
Discovery of a Fossil Bird, 348
Martens, Scarcity of, 240
Masters (Dr. M. T., F.R.S.), Classification of Fruits, 6
Mathematics : Eamshaw's Differential Equations, 199 ; Pro-
fessorship at Cooper's HiU Collie, 331 ; Peirce's •* Tables of
Logarithmic and Trigonometric Functions," 200
Mathematical Society, 75, 174, i8i, 255, 315, 455, 514
Maw (Geo.X Geology of Marocco and the Great Atlas, 254
Maxwell (J. Cl-rk, LL.D., F.R.S.), "Theory of Heat," 319 ;
Electric Currents, 354
Mayer (Dr. Julius Robert), Copley Medallist of 1871, his
Scientific Labours, 117, 137, lOi, 181
Mechanics, New Works on, 41, 63, 102 I
Mechanics, Prof. W. G. Adams ou Study and Teaching, 389
Meehan (Thos.), Monocotyledon the Universal Type of Seeds,
IS3
Meeze (A. J.), Colour of a Hydrogen Flame, 444, 481
Megalosaurus from the Oxford Clay ( IVith lUustrtuions), 145
Melbourne : University, 348 ; Industrial and Teclmological
Museum, 469
Meldrum (C, F.R.A.S.), Aurora of February 4, 1872, 392
Melia(Pius, D.D.), " Hints and Facts on the Origin of Man,"
320
Meateath (P. W. Stuart), Prof. Tait on Geological Time, 161
Mercury Photographs, 230
Merrifield (C. W., F.R.S.), Arithmetic and Mensuration, 299
Merton College, 310
Meryon (Lieut J. E., R.N.) on "An Odd Fish," 462;
Cheironecta pUtus, 501
Metaphysics, True and Spurious, 62, 81
Meteograph, Priming, Dr. Theorell's, 327
Meteoric Collection at Massachusetts, Catalogue of, 292
Meteoric Iron in Greenland, 74
Meteorite in the Pyrenees, 272 ; in Greenland, 214
Meteors: in Madras, 171; at Hay, 400 ; Kew Ohservatoiy,
481 ; New Haven, Conn., 11 x ; Ireland, 382 ; Cumberland,
501
Meteorological Committee, Daily Weather Charts, 391
Meteorological Observations at Chiswick Gardens, 391
Meteorological Observations at Havana, 347
Meteorological Office, Quarteriy Weather Report, 441
Meteorological Phenomena, 203
Meteorological Society, 124
Meteorology, from December 1871 to March 1872, 448, 469
Meteorology in the Arctic Ocean, 251
Meteorology : Rock Thermometers at the Edinburgh Observa-
tory, 317
Meteorology of Scotland (i856-i87i), 479; Scottish Meteoro-
logical Society, 332
Meteorology and Colliery Explosions, 504
Meteorology {see Barometric Depressions and Observations)
Meyer (Dr. A. B. ), Earthquakes in Celebes, 225 ; in the Philip-
pine Islands, 422
Microscopical Journal, 212, 273
Microscopical Science, Quarterly Journal of, 1 14, 234
Microscopical Society, 39, 31 x
Microscopy, Monthly Journal of, 153
Microscopy in America, 131
Microscopy, Notes on, 244
Microscopy : " The Lens " (Chicago), 492
Middlesex Hospital, I^ectureship on Botany at, 347
Miers (John, F.R S., F.L.S.), '* Contributions to Botany," 42
Migration of Graptolitcs, 373
MUitity Engineering, Sdiool of, 465
Milk, Artificial, 45, 129
Millard (Mr.), his Bequest to Trinily College, Oxford, 332
Mimicry and Homoplasy, A. W. Bennett, F.L.S., on, 12, 480
Mines, Foul Air in, by Prof. Tyndall and J. E. Gibbs, 365
Mining, West of the Rocky Mountains, Report on, 112
Moa, Recent Examples in New Zealand, 216^
Moab, Dr. Ginsburg's Expedition to, 4x0
Mock Sun, 243
MoUusca, Adaptive Coloration of, 408
Monads, Origin of, 454
Mongoose and Cobra, Fight between, 204, 305
Monck (W. H. S.) Fixed Barometric Variations, 407, 461
Monocotyledon, the Universal Type of Seeds, 153
Mont Cenis Tunnel, 13
Montreal University, 448
Moon, The, E. J. Lowe, F.R.S., on a Paraselene^ 24
Moon, The, Photographs by Mr. Rutherford, 31
Moore (J. Carrick), Error in Humboldt's Cosmos, 479
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INDEX
IX
Klorelet (Chevalier Arthur), ''Travels in Central America/* 159
Morpeth Grammar School, 69
Nf orris (D., B. A.), Class Book of Inorganic Chemistry, 282
Morse (Prof. £iw. S., Ph.D.)» TerebratuUna, 221, 444; Carpal
and Tarsal Bones of Birds, 293; Adaptive Coloration of
Mollusca, 401
Mor»e (ProC S. F. P.), Obituary Notice of, 509
Moseley (H. N.)» Zoological Results of the £cliDse Expedition,
184
Moseley (Rev. Canon, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of, 249
Moss (Boyd), Meteorological Phenomena, 203
Mair (Thos.), Symbols of Acceleration, 102
Mulcaster(J. W., F.R.A.S.), Statics, 43
Mu!reaHy's Vision, 449
Marchison (Sir Roderick T., Bart, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice
of, 10 ; Prof. Geikie on, 54, 68 ; his Bequests in Connection
with Science, 30, 130
Murphy (J. J., F.G.S.), Aurora Borealis of November 9 and
10, 187 1, 44 ; Freshwater Lakes without Outlet, 203 ; Changes
in Circum{>olar Land«, 225, 285 ; Aurora Borealis of Feb-
ruary 4, 1872, 283, 304 ; Barometric Depression, 442 ; Actinic
Power of the Electric Light, 462
Naples Zoological Station at, 437
Napier's Rules {See Geometry)
Naples, Fisheries of, 348
Natural Philosophy, Deschanel's, 339
Natural History, Study of, Lecture by the Rev. Canon Kingsley,
F.L.S, 413
Natural History of Eastern Thibet, 406
Navy, Science in the, 428
Nephrite Axe found on the Amoor River, 450
Newcastle, College of Physical Science, 13, 190^ 272 ; Natural
Histoiy Society, 272
Newcomb (Prof. S.), SoUr Parallax, 60 ; New Planet, 430
Newspaper Science, 457, 488
Newton's Prlncipia, Ne«r Edition of, 59
New York : Anthropological Institute, 250 ; Medical Society,
232 ; Museum of Natural History, 152, 210
New Zealand, Forest Trees, 14, 27, 84, 123, 421 ; Eggs of the
Moa, 70 ; Ornithology and Botany, 262 ; Wellington Philo-
sophical Society, 215 ; Recent Examples of the Moa, 216
Ne«r Zealand Institute, 121
Nicholson (H. Alleyne, M.D.), Monograph of the British Grap-
tolitidae. 418
Ni^pce, Phutographs by, 285
Nighiiagale (Florence), "Notes on Lying-in Institutions,^ 22
Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, 152, 175
North wicb, Landslips at, 250, 289
Nottingham High School, Minerals and Fossils presented by
Mr. Ruskin, 50
Numeric Relations of the Vertebrated System, Dr. T. C.
Hilgard on, 171
Observatories : on the Puy-de-D6me, 468 ; Chicago, 68, 88,
232, 320; Cordoba (Argentine Republic), 272, 309; Lieut. -
Col. Strange on a Physical Observatory, 497; Edinbufgh,
191, 317
Ocean Currents, 59. 7'. 9©, 112, 201, 243, 263, 284, 399,
502
"Odd Fish," 462
• "Ophthalmoscope, Use of the^" by T. C AUbutt, M.A.,
M D., 3
Optical Construction of the Eye, 155
Optics ; Vision of Turner and Mulready, 404, 449, 500
Ootacamund, Observations of Solar Eclipse, 300
Ord (W. M., M. B.), " Notes on Comparative Anatomy," 79
Origin of InsecU, Sir John Lubbock, Bart, M.P., F.R.S., on
the, 27, loi; Prof. L. S. Beale. F.R.S., on, 142; B. T.
Lowne on, 183; A. R. Wallace, F.L.S., F.Z.S., on, 350J
"Origin of Genera," by Edw D. Cope, A.M., 21
Origin of Species, 84. 123, 161, 263
"Origin of Specitfs," by C. Darwin, M.A., F.R.S., (9th edi-
t'on), 318
"Origin of Man," by Pius Melia, D D., 320
Organic Development, the Lavs of. Prof. E. D. Cope, on, 252
Oraiiho!i>gy : ** Bird Life," by Dr. A. E. Brchm, 180
Ornithology : "Hints on Shors-Sbooting," by J. E. Harting,
F.LS., 5
"Ornithology of Shakeipeafe," by J. E. Harting, F.L.S., 160
Osboro(Capt. Sherard, R.N.}, Arctic Exploration, 77
Osseine as an Article of Food, 45
Owen (Prof., F.R.S.), Anatomy of the American King Crab,
174, 254 ; Fossil Mammals of Australia, 503
"Oxford, Geology of," by ProC John Phillips, M.A., F.R.S.,
F.G.S., 145
Oxford, Science at, 89, 131, 151, 210, 270^ 271, 291, 332, 348,
390, 422, 509, 510
Oxford, Natural Science at, ProC Thiselton Dyer on, 301
Oyster Culture in Ireland, 128
P^kard (Dr. A, S., jun.), Inhabitants of Mammoth Cave, Ken-
lucky, 445, 484
Pabeonto-zoology, of the Oxford Clay, 145 ; of America, ProC
E. P. Copc*s Explorations, 170; of the Basin of the Seine^
377
Palseontologv and Zool(^, relations between, 34
Palgrave (W. Giflard), Geography of Asia Minor, 430; Glacial
Period in Anatoli^ 444
Palestine Exploration Fund, 510
Palestine Exploration Society in New York, 415
Paraselene seen at Highfield House, 24
Paraselene seen at Penrith, 82
Paris : Economical Alimentation during the Siege, 45 ; Acadennr
of Sciences, 19, 40, 56, 95, 116, U6, 19s, 235, 256, 275. 296,
31 S. 335. 375. 4«6. 436, 476. 496, 516; Association for tbe
Advancement of Science, 357 ; Elections to the Academv,
190; In<>titute of France, 31 ; Science in, 314, 430, 488, 510;
Water Supply of. 377, 433
Parthenogenesis among the Lepidoptera, 149
Patents, Report on, by the United States Commissioner, 132
Pat'erson (Robt, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of; 332
Peabody Academy of Sciences, S^lem, 370
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 32
Pearl Fisheries m Panama, 171
Pearson (Rev. Jas.), Tide Gauges, 481
Pease (W. Harper), Obituary Notice of, 332
Peirce (Prof. J. M.), a Plane's Aspect, Slope, or Position, io2
Peirce (J. M.), "Tables of Logarithmic and Trigonometrta
Functions," 200
Pelagic Floating Fish Nest, 462
Pendulum Autographs, Geo. S. Carr on, 6
Pcngelly (W., F.R.S.), Proposed Zook)gical SUtion at Torquay,
320
Penguin, King, at 2^ological Gardens, 210
Perry (Rev. S. J.), Aurora Borealis of Nov. 9 and 10^ 187 1, 43 ;
Magnetic Di>turbances during the Solar £x:lipse, 269 ; Aurora
of Feb. 4, 1872, 303
Perthshire Society of Natural Science, 450
Peruvian Antiquities, 489
Peters (Dr. C. F. W.), bis Astronomical Tables, 240
Philadelphia : Academy of Natural Sciences, 20 ; Philosophical
Association, 470 i^And See Franklin Institute)
Phillips (ProC John, F.R.S., F.G.S.), ''Geology of Oxford,"
145
Phosphorescence of Marine Animals, 132 ; of the Medusae, 443
Phosphorus Bases, Dr. A. W. Hofmann, F.R.S., on, 473
Photographic Sociey, 131, 234, 335, 416, 514
Photography, Specimens by Niipce, 285
Physics: Spectrum of the Chromosphere, 312
Physiology : Blood Crystals, 393
Physiology for Women, by Prof. Bennett, 73
"Physiology, Practical," by E. Lankeiter, M.D., F.R.S., 497
Pictet de U Rive, M., Obituary Notice of, 430, 448
Pigeons, Flight of, 192
Pigs, Influence of Violet Light on their Development, 268
Pipit ejected by Cuckoo from the Nest, 383
Pit- Dwellings at Finkley, near Andover, 308
Placental Classification of Mammals, 381
Plane's Aspect, Position, or Slope, 7, 25, loi, 63
Planetary Influence on Solar Activity, 423
Plane's, New, 488
Planting at St. Thomas's and King's College Hospitab, 333
PUteau (Felix), Centre of Gravity in Ins ct^ 297
Plateau (M. J.), Vesicular Vapour, 398
Plymouth Instituti>n, 191
Pockliug'on (H.), Amuharis Canadensis, 204
Pocy, Andr^, Influence of Violet Light on Vines, Pigs, and
Bulls, 268
Pogson (N. R.), his Observations of the Solar Eclipse, 259
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Il^DEX
Polytechnic School, Dannstadt, 368
Polytechnic Insti'urion, 468
** Pond-Life, Marvels of/' by Henry J. Slack, F.G.S., 141
Poole (Francis C.E.). " Qaeen Charlotte Islands," 320
Potential Energy, 382
Potts (Thos. H.), 01 the Change of Habits in Animals and
Plants, 262 ; on Cuckoos' Eggs, 501
Pourtales (Count), Deep Sea Corals and the Ilissler Expedition,
121. 342, 370
Power (H., M.B.), on **The Use of the Ophthalmoscope," by
l^r. Allbutt, 3 ; on Consumption, 459
Pratt (Vcn. Archdeacon, F.R.S.), Lecture on Darwinism, 13;
Crust of the Earth, 81 ; Obituary Notices of^ 190, 291
Preceptors, College of. Lecture*, 231
Preece (W. H.), Spheroidal State of Water under Great Heat,
321, 341 ; Earth Currents and the Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872,
368
Prcstwich (Jos., F.R S.). Raised Beach on Portsdown Hill,
154 ; Address to the Geological Society, 431, 451, 470, 490
Priestley (Dr.), Memorial to, 69, 450
Printing by Electricity, 470
Printing Machme, Titnes^ 151
Printing Meteorograph, by Dr. Theorell, 327
Prince (C. Leeson, M.R.C.S.), Climate of Uckfield, 419
Prirchard (G. S.), and J. H. Edgar, M.A., on Descriptive Geo-
metry, 80
Pritchard (H. Baden, F.C.S.), Photographs by Niepce, 285
Procter (H. R.), Stationary Wave on a Moving Cord, 262
Proctor (R. A., F.R.A.S ), Geometry at the Universities, 8; a
Plane's Position^ 25 ; Solar Parallax, 60, 61, 62, 82 ; Mr.
Brothers's Photograph of his Star Map, 50, 70
Protective Mimicry, 12, 463
Provincial Museums, G Gulliver, F.R.S., on their Objects and
Management, 3$
Psychology : G Thomson's ** New W .rid of Being," 380
Pye-Smith(Dr. P. H.) Ord*s Notes on Comparative Anatomy,
79 ; Schmidt's Comparative Anatomy, 298 ; Placental Classi-
fication of MamTials, 381
Quekett Microscopical Club, 19, 134, 234. 390, 510, 512
Quetelet (Ad.), his Contributions to the Science of Man, 358
••Qjeen Charlotte Islands, "by Franda Poole, C.E., 320
RaHc'ifTe (Dr. C. B.), Electrophysiologica, 186, 206, 226
Rae (Dr. John, F.R.G.S. ), Arctic Explorations, no, 165 ; Zoo-
logical Statistics and Hudson's Bay Company, 240
Rainfall, Greatest in England, 225, 201, 241
Ramfall of Scotland, 372
Rain'ailof 1871, 481
Ramsay (Prof. A. C, F.R.S ), Glacial Phenomena, 64
Ranyard (A. C, F.R.A.S.), Great Comet of 1861, 304
Recluse (Elis^e), Memorial for Commutation of hii Sentence,
244 ; Sentence Commuted, 290, 468
Recurrent Vision, 512
Rede Lecture at Cambridge, 9
Reference Spectrum for Chief Aurora Line, 324
Reid (R.), Fight between a Cobra and a Mongoose 204
Re^pighi (Frot. I^), Observations of the Solar Eclipse, 237 ; on
the Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872. 5 1 1
Rhinoceroses ( With Illustrations)^ 426
Ripples and Waves, by Prof. Sir Wm. Thomson, F.R.S., I ; J.
J. Laogton, 241
Robinson (W., F.L.S.), " Hardy Flowers," 4
Rock Inscriptions in Ohio, 212
Rock Tiiermomelers at the Edinburgh Observatory, 317
Rodwell (G. F, F.C.S.), Admiralty Manual of Scientific In-
quiry, 260 ; Ganot*s Physics, 285
Ronalds (Sir Francis, F. R.S), "Description of an Electrical
Telegraph," 59
Ro%se (Lord. F.R.S), Beautiful Meteor seen at Parsonstown,
382
Rosser (W. H.), "The Deviation of the Compass in Iron Ships,"
479
R)taiinne, Foramen i ft ra of, in Crct ceous Rocks, 294
Royal Academy Ixrctures on Anatomy, 68
Royal Commission on the Advaacemcni ol Science, 429 ; Second
Report, 477
Royal Institution, 48, 131, 314, 328, 404, 429
Roval Institution, its liiilory, by D:. Brnce Jones, Hon. Sec,
397
Royal Society, Proceedings, 48, 68, 93, no, 133, 174, 254, 274,
. 354. 390, 394. 423. 454. 473. 493. 5^9
" Rude Stone Monuments," by Jas. Fergussin, D.C.L., F.R.S.,
386
RugSy, Astronomy at, 448
Rumford Medals, awarded to Jos. Harrison, jun., 271
Ruskin (John), Minerals and Fossils presented by him to Not-
tingham High School, 50; Slade Lectures at Oxford, i$i
Russell (J. Scott, F. R. S. ), Observations of Ripples and Waves, 3
Rutherford (Prof.), Photographs of the Moon, 31
St. Andrew's University, 97, 322
Safety Lamp used by Watchmen in Paris, 382
Safford (Prof. T. H.), Chicago Observatory, 320
Sanderson (Dr. Burdon, F.R.S.), Professor at the Brown Insti-
tution, 139
Sanitary Improvement in Calcutta, 150
S mitary Science and House Construction, 157
Sartorious (Dr. Chas.), Obituary Notice of, 430
Saxony, Elementary Educa'ion in, 429
Scandinavian Coleoptera, 99
School of Military Engineering, 465
Schiaparelli (Prof.), his Scientific Researches, 433
Schmidt (Eduard Oicar), his Comnarative Anatomy, 298
Schuster (A ), Sun-spots and the Wme Crop, 501
Schweinfurth (Dr!), his African Travels and Collections, 332
Science and Art Department, Kensington, 27, 45, 199, 122 ;
Lectures to Women on Physical Science, 49
Science at the London School Boird, 410
Science in Plain English. 371
Science for Women {See Female Education)
Science Stations, Proposed Foundation of, 337, 399
Scrope (G. Poulett, F.R S.), Volcanos, 440
Scotland: Chairs of Science in th: Universities, 97; Lake
Dwelling* in Aberdeenshire, 14
Scott (R.H., F.R.S), Colliery Explosions and Weather, 504
Scottish Meteorological Society, 333, 372
Scottish Meteorology from 1856 to 187 1, 479
Scottish Naturalist, 273
Scottish Schovjl of Geology, Prof. Geikie, F.R.S., on the, 37,
52
Seabroke (G. M.), Aurora of Feb 4, 1872, 283
" Seaside Studies in N itural History," by Elizabsth and Alexan-
der Agassi z, 198
Seal, Grey, at Zoological Gardens, 88
Seemann (Dr. Berthold, F.L.S.), Obituary Notices of, 150, 169,
Segmentation of Annulosa. 442
Seismology, or Earthquake Phenomena, 261
Sensitive Flame, New Form of, 29
Serpent-worihip, 89
Shadow on the Sky, 25, 162
"Shakespeare, Ornithology of," by J. E. Harting, F.L.S., 160
Sharp (D.), Zoological Nome:iclature, 340
Shiw (J.), Crannogs in the South of Scotland, 203
Sheffield Litirary and Philosophical Society, 333
Siemens' Dynamo-Ele.tric Light, 172
Silver: in Chili, 211 ; in Bolivia, 412
Simpson (W.), his Drawings of Jerusalem, 510
Skin Di eases produced by Soap, 464
Slack (Henry J., F.G.S.), " Marvels of Pond Life." 141
Sleep, L-cture on, by Prof. Humphry, F.R.S., 328
Smithsonian Institution, 370
Smyth (Piof. C. P., F.R.S.), Aurora of Feb 4, 1872, 282;
Auroral S'atistic«, 301 ; Rock Thermometers at Edinburgh
Observatory, 317; Reference Spectium for Chief Auror*
Line, 324
Smyth (W.), on Mr. Spencer and Dissipation of Energy, 322
Snake-bite5, 89, 21 1
Snow at the Mouth of a Fiery Furnace, 321, 341
Soane (Sir John), his Mausoleum, 170
Soap a S 'Urce of Skin Diseases, 464
Social Phvsics, by Ad. Q.ierelet, 358
Society 01 Arts, 49, 210, 272, 410, 468, 469
Solar Activity, Planetary Influences on, 423
Solar Atmosptiere, its Dcn-^ity and D^pth, 83
Solar Atm«»sphere and Heat, Capt. J. Ericsson on, 287, 344, 505
Solar Erupti>ns and Magnetic Storms 243
Solar Halo, Prof. A. S. Herachel, F.R.A.S., on, 81, 103
Solar Halo in Nor* ay, 123
Solar Intensity, Padre S.cchiS App^iratus, 364
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INDEX
XI
Solar Parallax, Prof. S. Newcomb on, 69 ; R. A. Proctor on,
61, 82
Solar Phenomenon seen at Brighton, 470
Solar Radiation, 46
SoUas (W. Johnson), on an Aberrant Foraminifer, 83
Sorby (H. C, F.R.S.), Blood Spectrum, 7; Colouring Matters
foand in Fungi, 298
South Wales Institute of Engineer?, 191
Species viewed Mathematically, 135 {Sie Origin of Species)
" Spectra. Index of," by W. M. Watts, D.Sc., 442
Spectra of Hydrogen, 21
S |>ectroscopic Nomenclature, 499
Spectroscopic Notes by Prof. C. A. Young, Ph.D., 85
Spectrum of the Aurora, 172 ; of the Chromosphere, 31, 312 ;
of the Atmosphere, 341
Spencer ( Herbert), Survival of the Fittest, 263
Spheroidal State of Water, 321, 341
Spiders of Australia, by Dr. L. Koch, 262
Spiders of Palestine and Syria, 3^6
Spottiswoode (W , F.R-S.), Contact of Surfaces, 354
Spiritualism and Ethnology, 343
Standards of Weights ana Measures. 430
Star Maps, by R. A. Proctor, F.R A.S., on, 43
Statics, J. W. Mulcaster, F.R. AS., on. 43
Stationary Wave on a Moving Cord, 262
Stations, Zoological, 437
Stations, Science, E, Ray Lankester, on, 399
Stevens (J. ), Recent Discovery of Pit Dwellings, 308
Stewart (Prof. B., F.R.S.), Periodicity of Sunspots, 192;
MaxwelFs ** Theory of Heat," 319; Planetary Influence on
Solar Acdvity, 423. 493
Stone (E. J., F.R.A.S.), Phenomena of Contact, 182; Aurora
of Feb. 4, 1872, 443
Stone Circles and other Monuments, 386
Stone Implements, in, 131, 210
Stow (F. W.), Solar Intensity, 364
Strachan (R.), Height of Cirrus Cloud, 462
Strange (CoL, F.R.S.), Theodolite for Indian Survey, 509 ; on
a Physical Observatory, 497
Strasburg University, 290 ; Library Committee, 311
Strieker (S.), MedUinische Jakrbikher, 339
Stuart (James), '' Treatise on Magnetism," by the Astronomer
Royal, 120 ; Deschanel's Natural Philosophy, by Prof. Everett,
339 ; "Magnetism, * by Sir W. S. Harris and H. M. Noad, 363
Submarbe Cables injur^ by Crustacea, 132
** Submarine World, The,*' by Dr. George Harting, 305
Sunday Lecture Society, 155
Son, its Temperature, 505 \See Solar Atmosphere)
Sunspots, Periodicity of, 192
Sunspots and the Vine Crop, 501
Survival of the Fittest, by Herbert Spencer, 263 ; Prof. E. D.
Cope on, 393
Sutton (F.), " Volumetric Analysis," 158
Swedish Academy of Sciences, 213, 372
Swedish Ichneumonidae, 100
Switzerland, Lake Villages, 369
Switzerland, Science in, 411, 430
Sylvester ( Prof. , F. R. S. ), his Candidature for the London School
Board, 410
Symons (W., F.C.S.), on the Aurora Borealis, Feb. 4, 1872, 284
Tait(Law8on, F.R.C.S.), Cranial Measurements, 463
Tait (Prof. P. G., F.R.S), Tiue and Spurious MeUphysics, 81 ;
Geological Time, 161
Tapir, Hairy, of South American Andes, 391
Tate (Ralph, A.L.S., F.G.S.), ''Rudimentary Treadse on
(}eology, 121
Tattoobg in Japan, 211
Taunton College School, 430
Taylor (R. N.), on the Solar Eclipse, 222
Taylor (Sedley), Composition of Vibrations, 321
Technological EducaUon, by E. C. H. Day, 233
Temperature produced by Solar Radiation, J. Ericsson on the, 46
Temperature, Low, of >fov. and Dec, 187 1, 151, 169
Temperature of the Sun, 287, 344, 505
Terebratulina, by Prof. E.S. korse, Ph. D., 221, 444
"Terrestrial Magnetism, Treatise on," 181
Theorell (Dr. A. G.), his Printing Meteorograph* 327
Thibet, Eutem, Natural History of, 406
Thompson, G. C, Solar Halo seen at Cardiff, 103
Thomson (Prof. Allen, F.R.S.), Prof. Huxley's "Anatomy of
Vertebrated Animals,'' 245
Thomson (Prof. G. C.) Scandinavian Coleop'era, 99
Thomson (Prof. Jas., LL.D.), Fluid and Gaseous States of
Matter, 106
Thomson (Prof Sir. W., F.R.S ), Ripples and Waves, I ;
Rigidity of the Earth, 223 ; Internal Fluidity of the Earth,
257 ; Elected President of Glasgow Geological Society, 390
Thomson (Sir W., LL.D.), and Ilugh Blackburn, M.A., their
reprint of Newton's Principia, 59
Thomson (Prof. Wyville, F.R. S.). Testimonial to, 13; Relations
between Zoology and Palaeontology, 34
Thring (E., M. A.), ** Thoughts on Life Science," 160
Tidal Friction according to Thomson and Tait, 321
Tide Gauge, 481, 501
Times Printing Machine, 151
Tobacco and Alcohol consumed in France, 89
Torquay, proposed Zoological Station at, 280, 320
Transit of Venus, Dec 8, 1874, Preparations for Observing,
177. 370
Trilobiies, Supposed Legs of, 393
Tupper (J L), on Prof. Helmho:tz and Prof Jevon% 202
Turner's Vision, Lecture by Dr. R. Liebriech on, 404, 449, 550
Tuttle's Comet, Observations of, 13
Tyndall (Prof. John, F.R.S.), Dr. J. R. Mayer, Copley Medallist
of 1871, 117 ; Dr. J. P. Joule, F.R.S., the Copley Medallist
of 1870, 137 ; Dr. Carpenter and Dr. Mayer, 143; Foul Air in
Mines, 365
Tylor(E. B.,F.R.S.), Ethnology and Spiritualism, 343; Quete*
let's Contributions to the Science of Man, 358
Typhoon at Hong Kong, 89, 166 ; in Japan, 14
Uckfield, Climate of, 419
Uhlgren (H.), on Science and Art Examinations, 27, 122
Vegetation of the Globe, by A. Grisebach, 458
Velocity of Lighf, 391
Venus, Permanent Markings on, 76, 100
Venus, Transit of, 1874, '77» 37o
Vernon (G. V.), Greatest Rainfall in England, 22$, 241
Verrill (Prof) Marine Zoology of Massachusets, 152
Vesicular Vapour, 398
Vibrations, Composiuon of, 321
Victoria Institute, 275, 456, 475, 514
Vienna Academy of Sciences, 32 ; Imperial Geological Institu-
tion, 176, 216, 276. 376, 498
Vines, Influence of Violet Li^hton their Growth, 268
Vine Crops and Sunspots, 501
Vines (Benedict), Magnetiod and Meteorological Observations
at Havana, 347
Violet Light, its influence on Growth, 268
Violet Light, M, Bau'^rimont on, 336
Vision, Prof. Helmholtz's lectures on, 23
Vision of Turner and Mulrcady, 390, 404, 500
Vision, Recurrent, 512
Vogt (Prof. Carl), Foundation of Zoological Stations, 277
Volcanic Action, 381
** Volcanos," by G. Poulett Scrope, F.R.S., 440
Volcano in the Philippines, 84 ; at Temate, 272 ; Colima, 151 ;
Hawaiian Islands, 14
Voltaic Pile, prize offered in France for its application, 131
'• Volumetric Analysis," by F. Sutton, 158
Von Heuglin's Explorations in Nova Zembla Seas, 449
Von Mohl (Prof. Hugo), Obituary Notice of, 488
Wake (C. Staniland), The Adamites, 195, 490, 500
Waldner ( Henrv), Luminous Matter in the Atmosphere, 304
Walker (Henry), Glacial Drift at Finchley, 27
Wallace (A. R, F.L.S., F.Z S.), Origin of Insects, 350 ; Eth-
nology and Spiritualism. 363
Ward ( rhos.). Landslips at Northwich, 289
Warner (A. J.), Aurora of Feb. 4, 1872, 444 ; Law of Variation,
462
Water Supply of London and Paris, J. Prestwich, F.R.S., on,
377, 431, 433, 451
Water, its Spheroidal State under Great Heat, 321, 341
Waterspout in Wales, 501
WatU(W. M., D.Sc), "Index of Spectra," 442
Waves and Ripples, by Prof. Sir. Wm. Thomson, F.R.S,, i
Wejeikofer, (A.\ Cause of Low Barometric Pressure, IQ2
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Xll
INDEX
Weather (i/r Meteorology)
Webb (Rev. T. W., F.R.A.S.), Berthon Dynamometer, 6 ;
Aurora Borealis of Feb. 4, 1872, 303 ; Meteor of March 4,
1872, 400
Webb (Robert Rumsey), Senior Wrangler for 1872, 271, 370
Wedderbam (Sir D. Bart., M.P.), Aorooi Borealis of Feb. 4,
•1872, 303
Weights and Measures in British Indii, 4^0
Weijenbergh (M. H. Jan.)> Parthenogenesis among the Lepidop-
tera, 149
Wernicke (Von Ad.), Mechanics, 41
Whales, Ziphoid, Prof W. H. Flower, F.R.S., 103
Westerby ( Bishop), Cyclone in the West Indies, 507
" Whin'VRoci, Etymology of the Word, 383, 399
Whipple, (G. M., F.R.A.S.), Magnetic Disturbance dnring
Solar Eclipse, 285 ; Brilliant Meteor, 481
Whlteaves (T.F*). Deep-Sea Dredging, 8
Whitechapel Literary and Scientific Society, 70
Whitmee (S. J.), Aurora Island, 365
Whittlesey (C), Rock Inscriptions in Ohio, 2^2
Whitney (J. D.), "Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Mountain Build-
ing," 240
Williams (W. Mattieu, F.C.S.), Universal Atmosphere, 5;
Burnt Iron and Steel, 213 ; Turner's Vision, 500
Williamson (Prof. W. C, F.R.S), Exogenous Structures fai Coal
Plants, 6, 45, 394
Wilson, (T. M.,F.G.S.), on Teaching Geology and Botany, 263
" Winds 10 Western Europe, Laws of," 200
Wings of Birds, Mechanism of Flexion and Extension id, 233,
244
Wombwell's Menagerie, Sale of, 430, 469
Wood (Rev. J. G., F.US.), " Insects at Home," 65
Wood (T., Ph.D., F.C.S.), Chemical Notes for the Lecture-
Room, 398
Wood (Wm. W.), on a New Volcano in the Philippines, 84
Woodward (H., F.G.S.), Sentence on Elisee Recluse, 254; his
Views on the supposed Legs of Trilobites, 393
Wormell (Richard), on ** Theoretical and Applied Mechanics,"
41. 63, 81
Wright (R.P.), "Elements of Plane Geometry," 282
Yellowstone Valley (U.S. ), its Appropriation as a National Park,
403,449
Young (Prof. C. A., Ph.D.), Spectroscopic Notes, 85 ; Bright
Lines in the Spectnim of the Chromosphere, 312 ; Recurrent
Vision, 51a
Ziphoid Whales, 103
Zodiacal Light, 285
Zoological Gardens, 88; Hippopotamus bom, King Penguin,
210
Zoological Nomenclature, 340
Zoological Record for 1870, 238
Zoological Results of the Eclipse Expedition, 184
Zoological Society, 55, 54, 133, 214, 255, 314, 355. 396, 474,
5«4
Zoological Stations, Proposed Foundation of, 277, 320, 437
Zoological Statistics and the Hudson Bav Company, 240
Zoology : Hairy Tapir, 39 1 , Placental Classification of Mammals,
381; Sale of Wombweil's Menagerie, 469
Zoology and Palaeontology, Relations between, 34
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A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE
*^ To the solid ground
0/ Nature trusts the mind which builds for aj\:'* — Wordsworth
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1871
RIPPLES AND WAVES^
YOU haveal^ays considered cohesion of water (capillary
attraction) as a force which would seriously disturb
such experiments as you were making, if on too small a
scale. Part of its effect woull be to modify the waves
generated by towing your models through the water. I
have often had in my mind th2 question of waves as
affected by gravity and cohesion jointly, but have only
been led to bring it to an issue by a curious pheaomenon
which we noticed at the surface of the water round a
fishing-line one day slipping out of Oban (becalmed) at
about half a mile an hour through the water. The speed
was so small that the lead kept the line almost vertically
downwards ; so that the experimental arrangement was
merely a thin straight rod held nearly vertical, and moved
through smooth water at speeds from about a quarter to
three-quarters of a mile per hour I tried boat-hooks,
oars, and other forms of moving solids, but they seemed
to give, none of them, so gODd a result as the fishing-line.
The small diameter of thi fishing-line seemed to favour
the result, and I do not think its roughness interfered much
with it I shall, however, take another opportunity of trying
a smooth round rod like a pencil, kept vertical by a lead
weight hanging down under water fron one end, while it
is held up by the o±er end. The fishing-line, however,
without any other appliance proved amply sufficient to
give very good results.
What we first noticed was an extremely fine and
numerous set of short waves preceding the solid much
longer waves following it right in the rear, and oblique
waves streaming off in the usual manner at a definite
angle on each side, into which the waves in front and the
waves in the rear merged so as to form a beautiful and
symmetrical pattern, the tactics of which I have not been
able thoroughly to follow hitherto. The diameter of the
"solid" (that is to say the fishing-line) being only
two or three millimetres and the longest of the ob-
served waves five or six centimetres, it is clear that
the waves at distances in any directions from the solid
* Extract from a letter to Mr. W. Froude, by Sir W. Thomson.
YOU V.
exceeding fifteen or tiventy centimetres, were sensibly
imforced (that is to say moving each as if it were part
of an endless series of uniform parallel waves undisturbed
by any solid). Hence the waves seen right in front and
right in rear showed (what became immediately an obvious
result of theory) two different wave-lengths with the same
velocity of propagation. The speed of the vessel falling
off, the waves in rear of the fishing-line became shorter and
those in advance longer, showing another obvious result
of theory. The speed further diminishing, one set of waves
shorten and the other lengthen, until they become, as
nearly as I can distinguish, of the same lengths, and
the oblique lines of waves in the intervening pattern open
out to an obtuse angle of nearly two right angles. For a
very short time a set of parallel waves some before and
some behind the fishing-line, and all advancing direct
with the same velocity, were seen. The speed further
diminishing; the pattern of waves disappeared altogether.
Then slight tremors of the fishing-line (produced for
example by striking it above water) caused circular rings
of waves to diverge in all directions, those in front ad-
vancing at a greater speed relatively to the water than
that of the fishing-line. All these phenomena illustrated
very remarkably a geometry of ripples communicated a
good many years ago to the Philosophical Magazine by
Hirst, in which, however, so far as I can recollect, the
dynamics of the subject were not discussed. The speed
of the solid which gives the uniform system of parallel
waves before and behind it, was clearly an absolute mini-
mum wave-velocity, being the limiting velocity to which
the common velocity of the larger waves in rear and
shorter waves in front was reduced by shortening the
former and lengthening the latter to an equality of wave-
length.
Taking '074 of a gramme weight per centimetre of
breadth for the cohesive tension of a water surface (cal-
culated from experiments by Gay Lussac, contained in
Poisson's theory of capillary attraction, for pure water at
a temperature, so far as I recollect, of about 9"* Cent.),
and one gramme as the mass of a cubic centimetre, I
find, for the minimum velocity of propagation of sur-
face waves, 23 centimetres per second.* The mini-
* One nautical mile per hour, the onljr other measurement of velocity,
except the French metrical reckoning, which ought to be used in any prac-
tical measurement, is 51*6 centimetres per second.
I peri
L/iyiLi,^c;v,i uy
NATURE
\Nov. 2, 1871
mum wave velocity for sea-water may be expected to be
not very different from this. (It would of course be the
same if the cohesive tension of sea water were greater
than that of pure water in precisely the same ratio as the
density.)
About three weeks later, being becalmed in the Sound
of MuU, I had an excellent opportunity, with the assist-
ance of Prof. Helmholtz^ and my brother from Belfast, of
determining by observation the minimum wave velocity
with some approach to accuracy. The fishing-line was
hung at a distance of two or three feet from the vessel's
side, so as to cut the water at a point not sensibly dis-
turbed by the motion of the vessel. The speed was de-
termined by throwing into the sea pieces of paper pre-
viously wetted, and observing their times of transit across
parallel planes^ at a distance of 912 centimetres asunder,
fixed relatively to the vessel by marks on the deck and
gunwale. By watching carefully the pattern of ripples
and waves, which connected the ripples in front
with the waves in rear, I had seen that it in-
cluded a set of parallel waves slanting off obliquely
on each side, and presenting appearances which
proved them to be waves of the critical length and cor-
responding minimum speed of propagation. Hence
the component velocity of the fishing-line perpendicular
to the fronts of these waves was the true minimum
velocity. To measure it, therefore, all that was necessary
was to measure the angle between the two sets of parallel
lines of ridges and hollows, sloping away on the two sides
of the wake, and at the same time to measure the velocity
with which the fishing-line was dragged through the water.
The angle was measured by holding a jointed two foot
rule, with its two branches, as nearly as could be judged,
by the eye, parallel to the sets of lines of wave-ridges.
The angle to which the ruler had to be opened in this
adjustment was the angle sought By laying it down
on paper, drawing two straight lines by its two edges,
and completing a simple geometrical construction with a
length properly introduced to represent the measured
velocity of the moving solid, the required minimum wave-
velocity was readily obtained. Six observations of this
kind were made, of which two were rejected as not satis-
factory. The following are the results of the other four :—
Deduced Minimum
Wave-Velocity.
23 x> centimetres per second.
238 „ „
22*9 M ft
Velocity of
Moving Solid.
51 centimetres per second.
3° >» »»
26 „ „
24 »> f>
Mean 23*22
The extreme closeness of this result to the theoretical
estimate (23 centimetres per second) was, of course, merely
a coincidence, but it proved that the cohesive force of sea-
water at the temperature (not noted) of the observation
cannot be very different from that which I had estimated
from Gay Lussac's observations for pure water.
I need not trouble you with the theoretical formulae just
now, as they are given in a paper which I have communi-
cated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and which will
probably appear soon in the Philosophical Magazine, If
23 centimetres per second be taken as the minimum speed
they give 17 centimetres for the corresponding wave-length.
I propose^ if you approve, to call ripples, waves of
lengths less than this critical value, and generally to
restrict the name waves to waves of lengths exceeding it.
If this distinction is adopted, ripples will be undulations
such that the shorter the length from crest to crest the
greater the velocity of propagation ; while for waves the
greater the length the greater the velocity of propagation.
The motive force of ripples is chiefly cohesion ; that of
waves chiefly gravity. In ripples of lengths less than half
a centimetre the influence of gravity is scarcely sensible ;
cohesion is nearly paramount Thus the motive of ripples
is the same as that of the trembling of a dew drop and of
the spherical tendency of a drop of rain or spherule of
mist. In all waves of lengths exceeding five or sue centi-
metres, the effect of cohesion is practically insensible, and
the moving force may be regarded as wholly gravity.
This seems amply to confinn the choice you have made of
dimensions in your models, so far as concerns escaping
disturbances due to cohesion.
The introduction of cohesion into the theory of waves
explains a difficulty which has often been felt in consider-
ing the patterns of standing ripples seen on the surface
of water in a finger-glass made to sound by rubbing a
moist finger on its lip. If no other levelling force than
gravity were concerned, the length irom crest to crest
corresponding to 256 vibrations per second would be a
fortieth of a millimetre. The ripples would be quite undis-
tinguishable without the aid of a microscope, and the
disturbance of the surface could only be perceived as a
dimming of the reflections seen from it. But taking
cohesion into account, I find the length from crest to crest
corresponding to the period of u^g of a second to be i '9
millimetres, a length which quite corresponds to ordinary
experience on the subject
When gravity is neglected the formula for the period
{P) in terms of the wave-length (/), the cohesive tension of
the surface (7*), and the density of the fluid (p), is
/>= /-^
where 7" must be measured in kinetic units. For water
we have f? = i, and (according to the estimate I have taken
from Poisson and Gay Lussac) T = 982* X '074 =73.
Hence for water
/3
P =
21-4
V2 jr X 73
When / is anything less than half a centimetre the error
from thus neglecting gravity is less than 5 per cent, of /*.
When /exceeds 5 J centimetres the error from neglecting
cohesion is less than five per cent of the period. It is to
be remarked that, while for waves of sufficient length to
be insensible to cohesion, the period is proportional to
the square- root of the length, for ripples short enough to
be insensible to gravity, the period varies in the sesqui-
plicate ratio of the length.
William Thomson
Mr. Froude having called my attention to Mr. Scott
Russell's Report on Waves (British Association, York, 1 844.)
as containing observations on some of the phenomena,
which formed the subject of the preceding letter to him,
I find in it, under the heading "Waves of the Third Order,*'
or, " Capillary Waves," a most interesting account of tlie
* 983 being the weight of one granune in kinetic units of force-ceoLi,
metres per second.
L/iyiLiz_c7u kjy
„„ogIe
Nov. 2, 1871]
NATURE
'^ ripples '^ (as I have called them), seen in advance of a
body moving uniformly through water ; also a passage
quoted by Russell from a paper of date, Nov. 16, 1829, by
Poncelet and Lesbros,* where it seems this class of waves
was first described.
Poncelet and Lesbros, after premising that the phe-
nomenon is seen when the extremity of a fine rod or bar
is lightly dipped in a flowing stream, g^ve a description of
the curved series of ripples (which first attracted my atten-
tion in the manner described in the preceding letter).
Russell's quotation concludes with a statement from which
I extract the following : — . . . . " on trouve que les rides
sont imperceptibles quand la vitcsse est moyennement au
dessous de 25c. per seconde."
Russell gives a diagram to illustrate this law. So far
as I can see, the comparatively long waves following
in rear of the moving body have not been described either
by Poncelet and Lesbros or by Russell, nor are they shown
in the plan contained in Russell's diagram. But the curve
shown above the plan (obviously intended to represent the
section of the water- surface by a vertical plane) g^ves these
waves in the rear as well as the ripples in front, and proves
that they had not escaped the attention of that very acute
and careful observer. In respect to the curves of the
ripple-ridges, Russell describes them as having the
appearance of a group of confocal hyperbolas, which
seems a more correct description than that of Poncelet
and Lesbros, according to which they present the aspect
of a series of parabolic curves. It is clear, however, from
my dynamical theory that they cannot be accurate hy-
perbolas ; and, as far as I am yet able to judge, Russell's
diagram exhibiting them is a very good representation of
their forms. Anticipating me in the geometrical deter-
mination of a limiting velocity, by observing the angle
between the oblique terminal straight ridge-lines stream-
ing out on the two sides, Russell estimates it at SJ- inches
(21^ centimetres) per second.
Poncelet and Lesbros's estimate of 25 centimetres per
second for the smallest velocity of solid relatively to fluid
which gives ripples in front, and Russell's terminal velocity
of 21 1 centimetres per second, are in remarkable harmony
with my theory and observation which give 23 centimetres
per second as the minimum velocity of propagation of wave
or ripple in water.
Russell calls the ripples in front ''forced," and the
oblique straight waves streaming off at the sides " free "
— appellations which might seem at first sight to be
in thorough accordance with the facts of observation, as,
for instance, the following very important observation of
his own : —
*' It \& perhaps of importance to state that when, while
these forced waves were being generated, I have sud-
denly withdrawn the disturbing point, the first wave
immediately sprang back from the others (showing that
it had been in a state of compression), and the ridges be-
came parallel ; and, moving on at the rate of 8^ inches
per second, disappeared in about 12 seconds."
Nevertheless I maintain that the ripples of the various
degrees of fineness seen in the different f parts of the
* Memoirs of the French Institute, 18*9.
t The dynarakal theory thows that the len^ from cre^ to crest depends
on the corresponding component of the soUd's velocity. For very fine
ripples it is approximately proportional to the reciprocal of the square of this
component velocity, and therdbre to the square of the secant of the angle
between the line of the solid's motion and the horiiontal line perpendicular
to the ridge of the ripple.
fringe are all properly " free " waves, because it follows
from dynamical theory that the motion of every portion
of fluid in a wave, and, therefore, of course, the velocity
of propagation, is approximately the same as if it were
part of an infinite series of straight-ridged parallel waves,
provided that in the actual wave the radius of curvature
of the ridge is a large multiple of the wave-length, and
that there are several approximately equal waves preceding
it and following it.
No indication of the dynamical theory contained in my
communication to the Philosophical Magazine^ and de-
scribed in the preceding letter to Mr. Froude, appears
either in the quotation from Poncelet and Lesbros, or in
any other part of Mr. Scott Russell's report ; but 1 find
with pleasure my observation of a minimum velocity be-
low which a body moving through water gives no ripples,
anticipated and confirmed by Poncelet and Lesbros, and
my experimental determination of the velocity of the
oblique straight-ridged undulations limiting the series of
ripples, anticipated and confirmed by RusselL W. T.
ALLBUTT ON THE OPHTHALMOSCOPE
On the Use of the Ophthalmoscope in Diseases of the
Nervous System and of the Kidneys; also in certain
other General Disorders, By Thomas Clifford Allbutt,
M.A., M.D., Cantab. &c (London and New York :
Macmillan and Co., 1871.)
THE advances that have been made in the knowledge
of the diseases of the eye since the introduction of
the ophthalmoscope are now very widely known, not alone
in the medical profession but to the general public. This
little instrument, essentially consisting of a mirror with
a hole in the centre by which a ray of light can be thrown
into the interior of the eye, lighting up its recesses, and
enabling, with the aid of a common hand lens, almost
every portion of it to be explored, may be said to have
revolutionised the surgery of the eye. Many separate and
distinct types of disease have been distinguished in condi-
tions that were formerly grouped together under the
general term of amaurosis, and the ophthalmic surgeon,
no longer administering, as was too often formerly the
case, his remedies in rash ignorance, is now able either
to infuse well-grounded hope of recovery, or to spare his
patient the annoyance of protracted treatment when treat-
ment would be hopeless. For nearly twenty years the use
of the ophthalmoscope has been, as was natural, almost
entirely restricted to those who devoted themselves to the
study of ophthalmic diseases. Like other mechanical aids
to diagnosis, as the stethoscope and laryngoscope, its
employment requires practice, the opportunities for ac-
quiring a mastery over it were till recently rare, and its
value in the practice of medicine was by no means gene-
rally recognised. Within the last few years, however,
several excellent surgeons and physicians, amongst whom
Mr. Hutchinson, Dr. Hughlings Jackson, Dr. John Ogle,
and the author of the treatise before us may be especially
mentioned, have gradually begun to recognise that the
ophthalmoscope may be made available not only to deter-
mine the nature of any defect of vision of which the patient
may complain, but as a means of reading within certain
limits changes in the conditions of the system at large^
and of the nervous system in particular.
NATURE
[Nov. 2, 1 87 1
The work of Dr. AUbutt is, however, the first treatise
in English that is occupied exclusively with the ophthal-
moscopic appearances presented in cases of cerebral disease,
or in other words with the diagno>is of nervous affections
by the ophthalmoscope. Abroad he has been preceded
by M. Bouchut, whilst the volumes of the *' Archiv fiir
Ophthalmologie " are a mine of original memoirs written
by the best ophthalmologists in Germany on the bearings
of ophthalmoscopic observations on nervous affections.
To these, of course, Dr. AUbutt mikes frequent reference.
In no instance, however, have we noticed a servile ad-
herence to the opinions of others, the statements he quotes
being always checked by his own observations, and
every page bearing the stamp of very careful and sound
investigation. It is impossible with the limited space here
at disposal, and it would perhaps scarcely be interesting
^o many of our readers, to give what the work really de-
serves, a r^sum/soid discussion of its successive chapters ;
but we may here perhaps point out one or two of the prin-
cipal points of interest.
In speaking of the disc of the optic nerve, Dr. AUbutt
expresses himself in favour of the view of Galezowski, who
is fortified by the observations of Leber, to the effect that
the vascularity of the disc is to a great extent independent
of that of the retina, and rather forms a part of the vas-
cular system of the brain. The importance of this principle
in enabling deductions to be drawn respecting the occur-
rence of intercranial disease is obvious. Proceeding on
this hypothesis, Dr. AUbutt points out the changes that
are visible in a large number of different affections. He
draws a strong line of distinction between ischsemia
and optic neuritis, conditions that have hitherto
been almost invariably confounded by ophthalmic sur-
geons, but of which the former is produced by some
cause, often of a mechanical nature, interfering with the
return of the blood from the retina, whilst the latter is a
true inflammation of the nerve. The diagnosis of the two
in their earlier stages is very clearly and correctly laid
down. At a later period both conditions pass into white
atrophy, and it is not always then easy to pronounce which
of the two has previously been present His views, in
regard to changes in the optic disc from intercranial
disease, are clearly laid down in the foUowing passage
(pp. 129, 130):— "We find optic changes in connection
with tvro kinds of intracranial disease in particular ; the
one tumour, the other meningitis. When we analyse
the matter one degree further, we ascertain that, although
the choked disc (ischaemia) and the inflamed nerve may
co-exist with either of these kinds of disease, that never-
theless the choked disc is far more commonly found in
association with tumour and hydrocephalus than the in-
flamed nerve. The inflamed nerve, on the other hand,
is very commonly found in association with meningitis,
and of meningitis not of the surface, nor of parts near
any supposed vasomotor centres, but with meningitis
near the centre." And with this we are disposed
substantiaUy to agree. Dr. AUbutt expresses him-
self in very doubtful terms in regard to the existence
of tobacco amaurosis, and it certainly is extraordinary
that, if really constituting an effect of the use of that
leaf, it is not of more frequent occurrence amongst the
Germans and Americans, who are much larger consumers
than either the French or ourselves.
Our readers wUl see that Dr. AUbutt has, if not exactly
opened up, at all events vigorously worked at, a new field
of medical investigation. This field promises when duly
cultivated to yield very valuable fruit ; and, we are sure,
the conclusion at which every candid reader wUl arrive,
after carefully perusing it, wUl be that no physician should
consider he has fuUy examined any case of cerebral
disease unless he has accurately investigated the appear-
ances presented by the eye under the ophthalmoscope.
It is not to be supposed that Dr. AUbutt has by any means
exhausted the subject Many difficulties lie in the path
of the most diligent inquirer. In many instances condi-
tions of disease are seen to be present, as to the nature
of which only a guess can be formed, and respecting
which from forgetfulness or lack of observation on the
part of the patient no history can be obtained ; whilst
in a multitude of cases the disease is seen only at one stage
of its progress, and the physician is unable to ascertain,
owing to his losing sight of his patient, the ulterior changes
that take place.
Lastly, in many cases the prejudice of friends (a point
to be greatly regretted) prevents the examination of the
eyes after death. The fragmentary character of many of
the reports of cases coUected by Dr. AUbutt in his appen-
dix is painfully evident, and leaves many hiatuses to be
fUled up by future research. We may, however, in con-
clusion, thank Dr. AUbutt for having published a work
which constitutes an important step in the advancement of
medicine, and wiU certainly form a very valuable guide to
the profession at large, nor miy we omit to thank the
publishers for the exceUent manner in which the book has
been issued from the press. H. Power
OUR BOOK SHELF
Hardy Flowers: Descriptions of upwards of thirteen
hundred of the most ornamental species^ and direction^
for their arrangement, culture, 69*c. By W. Robinson,
F.L.S. (London ; F. Warne and Co., 1871.)
Mr. Robinson is a prolific writer, but his prolificacy (as
Webster has it, if Dr. Ingleby and Dr. Latham wiU allow
us the word) does not degenerate into mere book- making.
Like its predecessors, this volume is one of practical
utiUty both to the professional gardener and to the
cultivator of flowers for their beauty. Much the greater
part of the volume is occupied with a descriptive list of
the most ornamental hardy flowers, with directions for
their culture, suitable positions, &c ; but this is intro-
duced by some practical hints on the general subject of
gardening. That Mr. Robinson has the courage to attack
some time-honoured gardening customs, will be seen from
the foUowing paragraph : — ** No practice is more general,
or more in accordance with ancient custom, than that of
digging shrubbery borders, and there is none in the whole
course of gardening more profitless or worse. Wheo
winter is once come, almost every gardener, although
animated with the best intentions, simply prepares to
make war upon the roots of everything in his shrubbery
border. The generally accepted practice is to trim, and
often to mutilate, the shrubs, and to dig all over the sur>
face that must be full of feeding roots. Delicate half-
rooted shrubs are often disturbed ; herbaceous plants, if
at all delicate and not easily recognised, are destroyed. ;
bulbs are often displaced and injured ; and a sparse de-
populated aspect is given to the margins, while the only
'improvement' that is effected by the process is the annual
darkening of the surface of the upturned earth." After
L^iyiLi^cju uy
Nov. 2, 1871]
NATURE
this we find some pertinent and useful hints on the best
mode of grouping hardy perennials, and the art of
managing the rock-);arden, the wild-garden, water, and
boggy ground ; on the culture and propagation of early
flowers, and other subjects dear to the dweller in the
country. Compared with the art of gardening as practised
twenty years ago, we arc certainly now in an altogether
new and improved epoch, and Mr. Robinson is one of the
pioneers to whom we are mainly indebted for the intro-
duction of a better and more rational style. A. W. B.
Hints on Shore- Shooting: with a chapter on skinning
and preserving Birds. By James Edmund Harting,
F.L.S., &c. (Lor. den : Van Voorst, 1871.)
A GOOD sp>ortsman, whether he knows it or not, must be
more or less of a good naturalist, and this Mr. Harting is.
His unpretending little book, therefore, certainly deserves
mention here, and the more so since he has worthily won
his spurs by making the group of birds most sought by
the '* shore-shooter " an especial subject of study. What
he tells us is the result of his own observation, and is
pleasantly told What he does not tell us is whether
** shore-shooting " has, with most people, — for we except
him — any other raison ditre than the " fine-day-let's-go-
andkill-something " impulse. If not, we really do not see
that there is much difference in principle between Pagham
and Hurlingham.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himtetf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is takeft of anonymous
communications, ]
An Universal Atmosphere
I HAVE much pleasure in replying to Mr. Browning's question
in Nature, vol iv. p. 487, as it is one that legitimately
Btrilces at the root of all my speculations, and which, if un-
answerable, conveys an objection that must demolish the whole
structure I have endeavoured to erect in my essay on the " Fuel
cf tlieSun."
If I am right, the atmospheres of the sun, the moon, the
planets, or of any other cosmictl body of known mass and
dimensions, may b« calculated in units of the earth's total atmo-
sphere by the simple formula reasoned out in Chap. iii. of the
above-named work, />., by muluplying the mass of the body
(expressed in units of the earth's mass) by its own square root,
thus
X ^m \l m\
where x is the atmosphere of the body in question expressed in
units of the earth's known total atmosphere, and m is the mass
of the body expressed in units of the earth's mass.
The mass of the moon being -— that of the earth, we get
00
I /JL=_J
80 V 80 715-5416,
or, discarding fractions^ the moon's atmo-
sphere as — that of the earth. But the diameter of the moon
7'5
being to that of the earth as 0*264 to unity, the lunar surface
will be to that of the earth as 0*264' or 00697 to i, and the
lunar atmosphere will be concentrated accordingly, bringing the
mean atmospheric pressure on the lunar sur&ce to
nearly of that of the earth's mean atmospheric pressure. Such
an atmosphere would support a column of mercury six-tenths of
an inch in height Mr. Browning will recognise this as about
equal to the best vacuum obtainable in an old-fashioned air-pump
of average defectiveness.
Such is the theoretical pressure upon every part of the moon's
surface, supposing the form of the moon to be a perfect spheroid
of rotation with a perfectly smooth surface. But the moon is
no such r^;ular body. It presents far more irregularities in
proportion to its size than would our earth if the ocean were
evaporated, and its depths laid bare so that our mountain heights
should be measured from the ocean bottom. Under such con-
ditions the bulk of even our atmosphere would occupy the ocean
valleys, and very rare indeed would be the remainder that
reached the mountain tops and elevated ridges of the earth. On
the moon with its filmy atmosphere of only six-tenths of an inch
mean pressure, the rarefaction on the high lands and mountains
would be carried beyond the limits of ob^rvable refractive power
under the conditions assumed — viz., of a s^pecial atmosphere
merging gradually into the universal interstellar medium.
The visible edge of the moon which effcc's the occultation of
a star must in almost eveiy possible case be formed by the lidges
and summits of the lunar mounta'n*:, in no case by the bottom
of the lower valleys, for in looking horizontally across the moon's
rotundity these valleys and even the maria must be foreshortened,
and their lower depths walled out of the reach of our vision by
the great lunar elevations. Thus the occultation of a star would
occur without its previous plung'ng behind any outlying lunar
atmospheric matter of appreciable density. We must not forget
that Sir J. Herschel's calculation, which assigns one second of
refraction to an atmosphere equal to tvV? of the density of the
earth, is based on the theory of a limited atmosphere with a
sharp and definite boundary suddenly terminating in a vacuum.
But this rarefaction on the elevated 'portions of the moon
demands a compensating condensation or concentration of
atmospheric matter in the valleys, crater-nits, and maria. Here
the pressure on the moon's surface should considerably exceed
the calculated mean. This consideration suggests a very inte-
resting question. Would such an atmosphere, say capable of
supporting one inch of mercury, produce any observable eflccts ?
If I am right in regarding water as one of the constituents of
the universal atmosphere, there are good reasons for supposing
that it would.
The small share of water due to the moon would all be raised
far above its low boiling point, early in the lunar day, by the heated
lunar surface. There would be no sea, no clouds, no rain, no
snow, but on the plains and in the valleys a formation of hoar-
frost should occur at the lunar eventide, begiiming just where the
sun's rays become too oblique to maintain the temperature of the
rapidly radiating lunar surface above the freezing-point
In a note appended to Mr. Lockyer's translation of M. Guil-
lemin's work on "The Heavens," the Rev. T. W. Webb
thus corrects the author's rather positive statements concerning
the total absence of a lunar atmosphere : " After all fair de-
ductions on the score of imperfection of observation or predpi-
tancy of inference, there are still residuary phenomena, such as,
for instance^ the extraordinary profusion o( brilliant points which
on rare occasions diversify the Mare Crisium, so difficult of inter-
pretation, that we may judge it wisest to avoid too positive an
opinion." Now the Mare Crisium is a great depression of the
lunar surface close upon that edge of the moon which, to our
vision, first receives and loses the solar illumination. If I am
right, aqueous vapour should be suddenly forming there during
the early crescent period after the new moon, and the hoar-frost
should be as suddenly precipitated as this wide depression rolls
towards the darkness after the full moon. In that chapter of the
" Fuel of the Sun " which is devoted to the meteorolo^ of the moon
and Mercury, I have discussed some of the theoretical results of
these conditions and the appearances they should present I may
here merely add that, as the temperature of any part of the moon^
unmantled surface must directly and very rapidly vary with the
incidence of solar radiation, all the undulatmg regions of the
moon must at morning and evening have a very patchy tempe-
rature, the slopes towards the sun &in^ hotter than our tropics,
while the opposite side of the same hill receiving the solar rays
with great obliquity, and radiating into space almost without
impediment, must retain a freezing temperature, and thus the
cryophorous phenomena, which Sir John Herschel describes as a
possible result of the contrasted temperatures of the opposite sides
of the moon, should be effected even by the shady lunar craters
and contrasted hill-slopes.
On the highlands of the moon no apprec'able amount of
hoar-frost precipitation should take place on account of the ab-
sence of sufficient atmosphere ; but on the deeper maria, wher-
ever the conditions are the most favourable, the patchy tempera-
ture should produce patches of such precipitation. If any-
where visible, these should be seen on the Mare Crisium, on
account of its proximity to the edge of the moon, for there the
morning rays that strike most obliquely upon the cold slopes
would be the most effectively reflected towards the earth. Not
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NATURE
\Nov. 2, 1871
having seen any original or detailed account of the phenomena
to which Mr. Webb alludes, I am unable to say whether they
fulfil these theoretical conditions, but I believe that something
more may be learned by means of careful observations specially
directed to the elucidation of the questions I have suggested.
W. Mattibu Williams
Woodside, Croydon, Oct. 23
Pendulum Autographs
It may interest some of your readers to know that they can
for themselves observe in the most accurate manner the motion
of the compound pendulum described by Mr H. Airy* by merely
attaching the ends of a fine thread to two points in the ceiling of
a room, and suspending: a leaden bullet by means of a second
thread tied to the middle point of the former, so that the bullet
may just escape the floor. Lay underneath a large sheet of while
paper ruled with two dark lines at right angles to each other to
correspond to the two axes of vibration. It b Mr. Airy's expe-
riment with the hoop on an extended scale. The motion of the
bullet, unimpeded by contact of pencil with paper, is graceful
and accurate in the extreme.
Perhaps the most remarkable case is that in which the two
points of suspension are taken about an inch apart, and the third
about half an inch below them ; the pendulum will now keep
reversing its motion as uniformly as before, and apparently with-
out any adequate cause, a matter of astonishment to the unin-
itiated spectator.
I believe the general equation to the path, including all theairves
described, will be found to be sjn cor-^ f^- = a^/ m cos^^^
a b
where the particle starts from the point (a, b) and is attracted to
the axes of A' and Kby forces ^ ^ny and -mx respectively.
Woolwich, Oct. 24 Geo. S. Carr
Exogenous Structures in Coal Plants
I CORDIALLY agree with vour recommendation that discussion
on the Exogenous Stems of the Coal Measures should cease for the
present. It is evident that I shall not convince my two opponents,
and they are as far as ever they were from convincing me. But I
must request that in justice to me, you will allow me to enter a
protest against the last paragraph of Prof. Dyer's article, in
which he objects to my applying the term Protoplasmic to the
cambium layer, and endeavours to show that I am two hundred
years behind the age in my physiology. I cannot but think that
Prof. Dyer, when he penned that paragraph, knew perfectly well
in what sense I used that exoression. I meant by it nothing
more than is implied in the following sentence, taken from Prof
Balfour's '* Manual of Botany," p. 43, which certainly does not
belong to the age of Grew : —
" External to the woody lasers, and between them and the
bark, there is a layer of mucilaginous semifluid matter, which
is particularly copious in spring, and to which the name Cam-
bium has been given. In this are afterwards found cells, called
Cambium Cells, of a delicate texture, in which the protoplasm
and primary utricle are conspicuous."
W. C. Williamson
Fallowfield, Oct. 25
*J^ This correspondence must now dose. — Ed.
Classification of Fruits
It seems from the numerous attempts that have been made
that a philosophical classification of finiits is either unattainable
or practically of very little value when attained. At any rate
working botanists have, as a rule, discarded the majority of the
carpological terms that are to be found in text-books as too cum-
brous or too uncertain in their application. Among the latest
attempts at simplification in the matter of the classification of
fruits are those of my friends Prof. Dickson and Dr. M'Nab (see
Nature, vol. iv. p. 475). Both of these are open to some criticism
on matters of detail, but I can hardly enect you to accord me space
to point out what I believe to be tne merits or shortcomings
of their respective schemes^ I should also trespass too much on
your courtesy and on the patience of your readers did I enter into
any engthened explanation of the foUowing scheme, in which I
bare adopted to some extent the nomenclature of Fraf. Dickson
* 8m Natvrb, vol It pp. 3>«b 3>7*
and Dr. M'Nab, and which I offer for consideration solely on the
grounds of expediency and simplicity: —
Classification of Monoihalamic Fruits
A. Ripe pericarp uniform
Fruits indehiscent I. Nuts or Achxaocarps.
Fruits dehiscent II. Pods or Regmacarps.
B. Ripe pericarp of two or more layers of different substance *
^ «'^,^" ahardened J „i stone-fnu.s or Pyrenocan».
Seeds embedded in pulp* IV. Berries or Sarcocarps.
I. Nuts or Achanocarps
Wingless —
Fruit of one carpel, or, if of more, iq)o-
carpous Achene
Fruit of more than one carpel
Carpels ultimately separate but inde-
hiscent Carcerule
(Cremocarp).
Carpels insepaxate
Pericarp adherent to the seed . . Caryopst&
Pericarp free from the seed, within a
cnpule Glans.
Winged Samara
IL Pods or Regniacarps
Fruit of one carpel
Opening by one suture Follicle
two sutures Legume
transversely Lomentum
(Dichisma,i»A\WO
Fruit of more than one carpel
Opening by pores or sutures . • . Capsule
(SUiqua)
(Regma)
(Conceptaculum )
(Try ma, &c.).
Opening transversely Pyxis.
III. Stone-fruits or Pyr^nocarps
Carpels one or more, superior . . • . Drupe
(Fibro-drupe as in
Cocos^ Grezifia,
sp., &c).
Carptls one or more, adherent to, or ) p
enclosed within a fleshy receptode . . J *^®"*
(Sphalerocarpium,
as in Hippophat)
IV. Berries or Sarcocarps
Seeds' embedded in pulp Bacca
(Hesperidium)
(Uva)
(Pcpo).
I believe that the forcing arrangement will include most
of the varieties of fruits and seed-vessels, though, as in all similar
cases, exceptional forms are not readily sorted into their proper
})lace ; the fruit of such Cassias as C. Fistula, generally called a
omentum, is a case in point For general purposes the varieties
enclosed in brackets may well be omitted, save in the case of so
well known and constantly used a term as siliqua, which, despite
Prof Dickson's veto, I think is too useful practically to be lightly
abandoned. Maxwell T. Masters
The Berthon Dynamometer
Absence from home, and many engagements, have prevented
an eariier reply to " W. R.*s " letter in Nature, October 5. In
.„.-•__ -r t^ V. , ., ,. i of the
made ;
. r ^ • explain the
construction of the very simple but efficient instrument in ques-
tion. It is merely a V gauge, formed of two pieces of thin brass
converging at a very acute angle, and graduated alonff one of the
edges ; the divisions being viewed through a lens held in the
• The pericarp is here understood as including not only the ripened car-
pellary wall, init also any adjunct to it which in process of development mar
^OV. 2, 1871J
NATURE
SLXkA simultaneously with the image of the object-glass or specu-
im. formed by the eye-piece ; the diameter of that image is given
.t once by the divisions to 7^ ^^ ^^ vr.^^ and can be readily
stimated to half that value. The arrangement mentioned by
* AAT, R." is no doubt very convenient, and quite adequate for his
Purpose ; but for high powers I should suppose that the com-
parative coarseness of the engraved lines would make itself much
nore felt than it is in Mr. &rthon*s invention, and the balance
>f economy is so greatly in favour of the latter in comparison
with every contrivance with which I am acquainted, that I have
no hesitation in saying that it ought to be in the hands of every
amateur who cares to know the magnifying power of his tele-
scope. It may be procured for live shillings, of Mr. Tuck,
"watchmaker, Romsey. T. W. Webb
New Form of Cloud
The kind of cloud described by M. Andre Poey (Nature,
Oct. 19, 1871, p. 489) is by no means new or rare if I can
judg^ correctly from the figure and explanation. It mav often
1>e seen on the lower part of the flank of a great rain or thunder
cloud, and appears to arise from the dropping or subsidence of
portions of the air heavily loaded with watery particles. My
own impression is that it appears when the cloud is about
to break up. M. Poey will find the cloud described in the
J^hilosophical Magaiine for July 1857, where the nzxsntoi droplets
is given to the form, and its position in a thunder cloud indioUed
by a figure. J.
Spectrum of Blood
In my letter, published in the last number of Nature, I
am strangely enough made to say that "we must not rely on
the spcctram." Tlus is an error of the printer. The sentence
should have been : — " I have always argued that in such inquiries
we must not rely on one spectrum, but compare the action of
various reagents." H. C SoRBY
Broomfidd, Sheffield, Oct. 38
Earthquake in Burmah
I have not read in your "Notes" any record of the earth-
quake which was felt at daylight of the i6th February last in
tnis city, in two successive and gentle but decided shocks, doing
no damage, but which, from the files of the Calcutta EngOshman
of February 18, seems to have been severe to the N. W. of this,
extending tiirough Cachar, Silchar, Gowahatty, to Calcutta and
Barrackpore.
Thb earthquake, you will observe, is synchronous with those
of the western hemisphere already recorded by you.
Charles Halstid
Mandalay, Burmah, Sept i
A Plane's Aspect
I agree with Mr. Proctor that the disuse of the term
" position ** in geometry would be a serious misfortune ; happily,
however, it is not its disuse, but the prevention of its misuse
whidi is contemplated. I cannot agree with him that " position "
is a word "which no one can misimderstand," for his own letter
is a striking example of its being misunderstood, either by Mr.
Proctor, or by others. " Aspect and slope," he tells us, " indi-
cate two elements, which, ioitXhtr, fix the position " of a plane.
Geometers, however, certainly understand, when a plane is said
to be given in position^ that something more than its aspect and
slope may be regarded as known. Parallel planes have neces-
sarily the same slope and aspect, but surely not the same position.
To be told that, because its slope and aspect are invariable, the
plane of Saturn's rings has a fixed portion in space, notwith-
standing that the planet moves bodily in its orbit, would
scarcely satisfy a student of astronomy accustomed to geometrical
precision.
There can be no doubt that "position" is the true English
eanivalent of the German word " Lage," and that no ambiguity
ot the kind above indicated could attach itself to the term, had
we a suitable English rendering for the word " Stellnng." I do
not consider the term "aspect" to be perfect as an equivalent
for"Stellung," but I have no hesitation in admitting that Mr.
Laughton's suggestion is happier than any previous one I can
remember. Mr. Proctor declares his intention of opposing the
" use of the word ' aspect ' in a sense not at present assigned nor
properly assignable ; " but when he wrote thus, he had not seen
the letter of Mr. Wilson wherein the term " aspect " is very rigidly
defined to be the direction of the normaL To me this very
facility with which the word "aspect " lends itself to rigid deBni-
tion, is a ground of objection against it I have never seen
Stellung defined in the maimer in which Mr. Wilson has defined
"aspect" Von Staudt, in whose admirable writings I first met
the word, introduced it thus : " Parallel planes possess some-
thing in common, which may be regarded as appertaining to
each one of them, and shall be called their * Stellung ; ' the
* Stellung * of a plane, therefore, is determined by any plane
which is parallel thereto, and two planes have the same ' Stel-
lung ' or different * Stellungen * according as they are parallel to,
or intersect one another."
That the term " aspect " is not sufficiently elastic to permit of its
taking the place of " Stellung" in the above passage cannot, I
think, be well maintained b^ Mr. Proctor, seeing that he has
not himself hesitated to use it in two widely diiferent senses in
the following passage of his letter : " I can see no reason why
' aspect ' should be r^arded in a new and unfamiliar aspect. " The
expression " aspect of a plane," whether it be retained or not as
the equivalent of the "Stellung einer Ebene," appears to me, I
confess, to be much too good to be claimed by Mr. Proctor as
indicative solely of the direction of the projection of the normal
upon a certain plane of reference. I would suggest, in the interest
of his twelve exceUent books, that he might qualify "aspect,"
as thus defined, by an appropriate adjective, for the term is there
used in a very technical sense indeed, and is not even applicable
to all planes. Although Mr. Proctor can assign, for example, a
southerly aspect to the face of a roof which has a slope of 30%
he would find some difficulty in describing the aspect of a roof
which has no slope at all, whereas Mr. Wilson would without
hesitation' pronounce its aspect to be vertical.
Athenaeum Club, Oct. 31 T. Archer Hirst
It is due to my friend and your correspondent, Mr. Cecil J.
Monro, of Hadley, to state that, to my knowledge, he was in
the habit of emplojring the word " aspect " in this technical
sense long before the publication of Mr. Laughton's letter, and I
should not be surprise! to learn that other geometers have used
it before Mr. Monro.
I think Mr. Proctor will find few to agree with him in his con-
demnation of the word so used. For myself I heartily agree
with Mr. Wilson in the welcome he accords to this " old friend
with a new face." C M. Ingleby
Highgate, N., Oct 27
I AM glad to find, by Mr. Wilson's letter in Nature for
October 26, that the word "aspect," which I suggested, is
accepted by him as satisfactory ; as, in fact, the word wanted.
But another correspondent in the same number, Mr. Proctor,
I>ertinaciously insists on the superior merit of the word " posi-
tion," to be used in the particular sense explained by Mr. Wilson
in his former letter. In this I conceive Mr. Proctor is entirely
wrong.
" In geometrical language " — I quote fix)m Gregory's " Solid
Geometry," 1845—" the position of a plane is determined by
making it pass through tnree given points." Mr. Proctor says
he "can see no reason why ' position' should be dismissed from
the position it has so long occupied." No more can I. I would
only call his attention to the fact that the meaning which he
would assign to the word "position " is quite different firom that
which has been accepted, in a technical sense, by geometers,
and in an everyday sense by everyday people.
Mr. Proctor's special objections to the word "aspect," rest, it
seems to me, on a misconception of its meaning and familiar use.
We speak of the aspect of a wall, but not of the aspect of a roof,
nor of a hill. What the usage amongst builders in respect of
roofs may be, I don't know, but geographers almost invariably
speak of the " slope " of a hiU, as, for instance, the southern slope
of the Himalayas. Put into exact language, the aspect of a
plane is the direction of its normal ; and as .parallel pumes have
parallel normals, any number of parallel planes have the same
aspect, without reference to their position ; but no two planes,
parallel or not, can possibly have the same position.
The word "slope" is almost equally inadmissible; in the
first place, it refers to some other plane^ which^is apt to qiuse
L^iyiiiiLcvj uy
^is apt to cau
.oogk
8
NATURE
[Nov. 2, 1 87 1
confusion ; and in the second, although all parallel planes have
the same slope, any number of other planes not parallel can also
liave it ; the word is therefore not sufficiently definite. ** Tilt,"
a word spoken of by Mr. Proctor, as though it had been suggested,
has no geometrical meaning whatever. As a substantive it is a
" tent," or *' awning ;" it has also been sometimes used poetically
as an equivalent to '* tournament," and is, I believe, the familiar
abbreviation of "tilt-hammer." These are its oidy meanings,
and none of them apply to a plane.
I would only add that I do not quite see what the fact men-
tioned by Mr. Proctor, that he has written twelve books in the
last six years — interesting as it may be from a bibliographical
point of view — has to do with the matter.
Oct. 29 J. K. Laughton
Three elements are necessary to 6x the position of a plane as
I understand the word "position." If "aspect "and "slope" be
the names of two of these, the third will be the perpendicular
upon the plane from some fixed point. It is because the term
" position implies the fixedness of this third element that it is
inappropriate to express my friend Mr. Wilson's meaning.
My fnend Mr. Proctor will pardon me if I do not consider the
question entirely settled by the fact that he has written perspi-
cuously and explained clearly by the use of a term which fixes
too much. With an improved scientific terminology, he will be
able to make his next twelve books superior (if that be possible)
to those he has written within the last six years.
" Aspect " and "slope " stand on the same footing, one con-
notes a reference to the points of the compass, the other to the
horizon. Neither can be used in Mr. Wilson's sense without
departing from their colloquial meaning, but it is perfectly com-
petent for geometers to take a word from common conversation
and give it a scientific meaning. Either of these words may be
used in Mr. Wilson's test sentences. Parallel planes have the
same slope, two slopes determine a direction, &c.
It is yet possible that some correspondent can suggest a better
term, either one imported from ordinary life or one conceived
for the purpose.
THE Correspondent who suggested " Slope"
Geometry at the Universities
Prof. Thiselton Dyer has well pointed out a distinction
which exists between the mathematical courses at Oxford and
Cambridge. But his conclusion, that at Oxford " special atten-
tion to geometrical methods would pay very well, though ac-
ceptable in its way, falls far short of what I advocate. The great
want at both Universities is a course of geometrical studies ; and
the proof that such a want exists is to be found in the fact that
the geometrical treatises in use at either University, cover so very
limited a range. There are not even any text-books on the
geometry of the sphere, cone, cylinder, and like simple solids,
or on such curves as the lemniscate, cycloid, and the simpler
spirals. A few stray notes on these subjects may be fotmd in
some of the text-books, but not a thorough and systematic
geometrical investigation of any of them. Geometrical treatises
might with advantage rao^^e much further. A geometrical treatise
on ellipsoids would be of immense use apart from its employment
as a means of mental training, (^metrical treatises on para-
• boloids of both kinds, on hyperboloids of one sheet and of two
sheets, on the various orders of ring-surfaces and screw- surfaces,
and on many other tridimensional matters, would afford invaluable
exercise to the student, besides having a real value to the scientific
worker. I venture to express my conviction, that a course of
such studies would tend to develop mathematical powers much
more thoroughly even than the study of covariants and contra-
variant s, Jacobians, Hessians, et hoc genus omnc.
If there is one department of mathematical research in which our
countrymen are fitted bv their mental habitudes todistinguish them-
selves pre- eminently, it is precisely this neglected department of
geometrical research. As it is, though we have geometricians of
great power, no systematic geometrical work is done in England.
Our treatises lange only over the most elementary geometries^
subject*, and even in discussing these subjects our writers are
Clin to accept the assis'ance of Continental geometricians. One
would conceive that each of our Universities might yearly send
out many who could treat of the elements of geometry without
keeping a hand always on some French or German text- book.
Brighton, Oct 27 Richd. A. Proctor
DEEP-SEA DREDGING IN THE GULF OF ST.
LAWRENCE
'X* HE marine zoology of the deeper parts of the River and
-*• Gulf of the St. Lawrence has not been investigated
until quite recently. This summer, under the auspices of
the Natural History Society of Montreal, and in conse-
quence of the kindness of the Hon. Peter Mitchell,
Minister of Marine and Fisheries for the Dominion (who
not only gave me facilities for dredging on board Govern-
ment vessels, but also caused sufficient rope to be provided
for the purpose), depths of from 50 to 250 fathoms were
successfully examined. The greatest depth in the Gulf,
to the west of the Island of Newfoundland, as given in
the Admiralty charts, is 313 fathoms. It is thought that
a general sketch of the results obtained maybe of interest
to the readers of Nature.
The cruise lasted five weeks, the first three of which
were spent on board the Government schooner La Cana-
dienne^ and the remaining two on the Stella Maris. The
area examined includes an entire circuit round the Island
of Anticosti, and extends from Point des Monts (on the
north shore of the St. Lawrence) to a spot about half way
between the east end of Anticosti and the Bird Rocks. As
these investigations were almost necessarily subordinate
to the special duties on which the schooners were engaged,
in several cases the same ground was gone over twice.
The bottom at great depths generally consists of
a tough clayey mud, the surface of which is occa-
sionally dotted with large stones. So far as I could
judge, using an ordinary thermometer, the average tem-
perature of this mud was about 37® to 38^ Fahrenheit, at
least on the north shore. In the deepest parts of the
river, on the south, shore, between Anticosti and part of
the Gaspe Peninsula, the thermometer registered a few
degrees higher. Sand dredged on the north shore In
25 fathoms also made the mercury sink to 37^ or 38**.
Many interesting Foraminifera and Sponges were ob-
tained, but as yet only a few of these have been examined
with any care. A number of Pennatulas were dredged
south of Anticosti ; the genus has not been previously
recorded, so far as I am aware, as inhabiting the Atlantic
coast of America. They were found in mud, at depths of
160 and 200 fathoms, and it seems probable that this
species, at least, is sedentary, and that it lives with a por-
tion of the base of the stem rooted in the soft mud. Ac-
tinia dianthus and Tealia crassicornis were frequent in
200 to 250 fathoms. The Echinoderms characteristic of
the greater depths are a Spatangus (specifically distinct
from the common British species), Ctenodiscus crispaius^
Ophioglypha Sarsii (very large), Ophiacantha spinulosa,
and Amphiura Holbollii. Marine worms, of many genera
and species, were both numerous and fine. Among the
more mteresting of the Crustacea were Nymphon grossipes (?)
and a species of Pycnogonum. Several of the last named
Crustaceans were taken at a depth of 250 fathoms, en-
tangled on a swab, fastened in front of a deep-sea lead,
which was attached to the rope, a few feet from the
mouth of the dredge. This circumstance tends to show
that the genus is not always parasitic in'its habits. The
Decapods, Amphipods, &c., at least those of greatest in-
terest, have not yet been identified. Among the most
noticeable of the marine Polyzoa are Defrancia truncata^
and what appears to be a Retepora. Not many species
in this group were obtained in very deep water, and those
procured were, for the most part, of small size. About
sue species of Tunicates were collected. Being anxious to
have Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys' opinion upon the various
species of Mollusca during his visit to Montreal, I studied
these carefully first, and submitted the whole of them to
him for examination. Twenty-four species of Testaceous
Mollusca were obtained at depths of from 90 to 250
fathoms. Nearly all of these are Arctic forms, and eleven
of them are new to the continent of America.
The following are some of the most interesting of
L/iyiiiiLcv,! uy
<3^'
Nov. 2, 1871J
NATURE
the deep-water Lamellibranchiatia : — Pecta grcenlan-
dicus of Chemnitz, but not of Sowerby ; * Area
peciunculoides Scacchi ; Yoldia lucida Loven ; K
frigida* Torell ; Netsra arctica* Sars ; A^. obesa*
Loven. Among the novelties in the Gasteropoda of the
same zone are the subjoined : — Dentalium dbyssorum Sars ;
Siphonodentalium vitreum Sars ; Eulima stenostoma
Jeffreys ; Bela Trevelyana;* Chrysodomus {Siphd) Sarsii.*
Three Brachiopods occur in the Gulf, of which Rhynchth
nella psitkacea and Terebratella Spitzbergensis are found
in about 20 — 50 fathoms, and Terebratula septentrionalis
in from 100—250. A few rare shells were obtained in
comparatively shallow water ; among them an undescribed
Tellina (of the section Macoma)y a new Odostomia^ and
Chrysodomus {Sipkho) Spitzbergensis* Reeve. Nor were
even the Vertebrata unrepresented ; from a depth of 96
fathoms off Trinity Bay, a young living example of the
Norway " Haddock " {Sebastes Norvegicus) was brought
up in the dredge. And off Charleton Point, Anticosti, in
1 1 2 fathoms, on a stony bottom, two small fishes were
also taken; one, a juvenile wolf- fish {Anarrhicas lupus)
the other a small gurnard, a species of Agonus, probably
A, hexa^onus Sclmeid.
The similarity of the deep-sea fauna of the St Lawrence
to that of the quaternary deposits of Norway, as described
by the late Dr. Sars, is somewhat noticeable. Pennatulce^
Ophiura Sarsiiy Ctenodiscus crispatus^ several Mollusca,
&C., are common to both ; but on the other hand, the ab-
sence of so many characteristic European invertebrates on
the American side of the Atlantic should be taken into
consideration. The resemblance between the recent
fauna of the deeper parts of the St Lawrence, and that of
the Post- pliocene deposits of Canada, does not seem very
close, but our knowledge of each is so limited that any
generalisations would be premature.
J. F. Whiteaves
THE REDE LECTURE AT CAMBRIDGE
ONE of the indirect results of university reform has
been the establishing at Cambridge of the Rede
Lecture, one of the highest intellectual treats of the
whole year, as will at once be acknowledged when
the names of the distinguished persons who have de-
livered it since its establishment in 1858 are known
— viz., Professors Owen, Phillips, Max Miiller, Willis,
Ansted, Airy, Tyndall, Miller, Ruskin, Huggins, General
Sabine, Sir W. Thomson, and Mr. Norman Lockyer.
For many years past there had been certain lecturers
at. various colleges, whose duty it was to deliver lec-
tures on mathematics, philosophy, rhetoric, and logic ;
but in 1858 the endowments for these lectures (originally
given in 1524 by Sir Robert Rede, Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas m the reign of Heniy VII.) were amalga-
mated, and the result has been the delivery once a year of
the Rede Lecture by some distinguished man of science
chosen by the Vice-Chancellor for the time being. Such
is the history of the benefaction ; but it must now be added
that as the remains of this distinguished man lie in a
village church in Kent, that of Chiddingstone, near Eden
Bridge, in which parish he lived and died, witibout a me-
morial or inscription of any kind over his grave, it is pro-
posed to do for him what Cicero did for the unhonoured
grave of Archimedes, and an effort is, therefore, being
made to mark his place of burial by erecting a window of
stained glass in the chancel that he built. The cost of
the memorial, with suitable inscription, cannot be less
than 160/., but nearly 70/, has been raised by subscriptions
from the distinguished persons who have delivered the
lecture, and by other friends, members of the university
and otherwise — viz., the Earls of Powis, Derby, and
* I am! indebted to Mr. Jeftreys for the identification of spedes to which
an asterisk is attached. £te ooRoboratei alw my detenainadoa of the re*
Strathmore, the Vice-Chancellor, the Masters of Jesus
and Clare Colleges, the Provost of King's, Professors
Selwyn and Sedgwick, Mr. Beresford-Hope, M.P., Sir
John Lubbock, M.P., the Public Librarian, Rev. W. H.
Latham, and J. Brocldebank, with many others ; but the
amount thus subscribed, together with the local effort, is
inadequate for the full completion of the memorial, and it
is hoped that there wUl be some others who will be willing
to help on the work. Mr. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S.^ the
present holder of the office of Rede Lecturer, has kmdly
consented to receive subscriptions at 6, Old Palace Yard,
Westminster.
It is proposed to erect the following inscription, from
the pen ot Professor Selwyn, who will receive any sub-
scription forwarded to him at Cambridge.
IN PIAM MEMORIAM
ROBERTI REDE MILITIS
CAPITALIS JVSTICIARII
DOMINI REGIS HENRICI VII.
DE COMMVNI BANCO
QVI HOC SACELLVM
iEDIPICAVIT
GRATI AC MEMORES
BENEFICIORVM
CANTABRIGIENSES SVI
HANC FENESTRAM
PONI CURAVERVNT
THE CONJOINT EXAMINATION SCHEME*
THE proposition carried at the last meeting of the
Council of the College of Surgeons clears away, we
suppose, the last difficulty m the way of an amalgamation
between the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons for the
purposes of examination and of issuing diplomas. It is
remarkable that the College of Surgeons should have
come back to the original proposal, though it was at first
demurred to and given to a committee for consideration.
The College of Physicians, at its Comitia on Thursday,
finaUy agreed to this proposal ; and it now only remains
for the General Medical Council to give its consent under
the Medical Act of 1858, so as to allow of the fusion in
question.
In order to ^et at the practical working of the proposed
scheme of division of fees, we may take the present in-
come of the College of Surgeons from the membership
diploms^ addine lol. for each diploma issued to represent
the additional fee to include the College of Physicians.
The sum produced by the membership diploma during
the last financial year was close upon 8,000/. ; and if we
add 10/. for each of the 291 diplomas issued, we have in
round numbers the sum of 1 1,000/. The proposed scheme
is, that one-half of this should be devoted to all the ex-
penses of the examinations, and that the remaining moiety
of 55,000/. should be divided into thirds. One-third is
to go to the support of the Museum of the College of
Surgeons and its unendowed professorships, one-third
for the maintenance of the personnel of the College
of Physicians, and one- third similarly to that of the
College of Surgeons. This will give the Hunterian
Museum and each of the Colleges some 1,800/. a year
apiece, irrespective of other sources of income. With
this income, it will, we imagine, be perfectly possible to
carry on satisfactorily the establishments in Pall Mall
and Lincoln's Inn Fields, if due economy be observed
and proper supervision exercised over the subordinate
officials. The Hunterian Museum will be upon a some-
what shorter allowance than heretofore ; but if this prove
insufficient. Parliament must be appealed to for a grant
in favour of what the Council of the College of Surgeons
properly characterises as an " institution of national as
well as professional importance.''
*^Rtprinted from Tki Lnnctt^^^ t
Digitized by VjOOQIC
TO
NATURE
I jVtw. 2,1871
SIR RODERICK MURCHISON
TH E life of a scientific man is for the most part un-
eventful, and perhaps to the world at large unin-
teresting. That he was bom, lived a certain number of
years, and died, are often the chief facts chronicled of the
man himself. Of his work and of the influence of his
work men are willing to read, but for the story of his life,
with its quiet everyday monotony, they care little. Yet it
is true, at least of the higher type of mind, that the story
of the man's life and the history of the work he accom-
plished are inseparably connected, and are each necessary
for the understanding of the other. Ther? arise, too, ever
and anon instances when the man was not merely a man
of science, but one whose scientific career formed as it
were a nucleus round which many other and often diver-
gent interests gathered. Such a man's life is sometimes
linked in so many ways with that of the society m whicli
he lived, that its chronicle becomes in some decree the
history of his time. And such a man was Roderick Impcy
Murchison. By no means standing on the highest plat-
form of scientifiq inteUect, a patient gatherer of lacis
rather than a brilliant generaliser from them, he yet gamed
by common consent in the commonwealth of science t&c
position of a king, under whom men of all ranks, and evtn
men of far higher ability and attainment than n»s 0 vn,
were not only willing but delighted to serve. He held a
place which no other man of science left among us now
fins. It was not merely hi^ achievements m geoio;v,
memorable as these were, which gave him that proud
pre-eminence, nor did he owe anything to success in other
branches of science, for he seldom travelled beyond what
he knew to be his proper domain, nor to graces oj "^^J^^^^
style, on which men of slender acquirements often float
THE LATB SIR RODERICK I. MUSCHISON
into popularity. He wrote only on geological and geo-
graphical subjects, and in a solid matter-of-fact way not
likely to attract readers who did not previously care for
his subjects. It was his personal character, his noble-
heartedness, his indomitable energy, his tact and courtesy,
the dignity and grace which he never failed to show even
to opponents, and the social position which his family and
fortune gave him, and which enabled him greatly to extend
the respect shown in society to science and scientific men,
— it was these causes which largely went to make Sir Rode-
rick's influence what it was. A narrative, to do him justice,
should tell how these causes came into play, and how,
combined with the regard which he could always claim for
his solid contributions to science, they placed him so high
in the scientific circle in which he moved.
Murchison was born on February 19, 1792, at his
father's little estate of Tarradale, in Eastern Ross shire.
He used to speak with fondness of the fact that he first
saw the light amid those old palaeozoic sandstones, con-
glomerates, and schists, on which he was afterwards to
rest part of his title to fame. Yet it was not among the
wilds of Ross that he acquired a love for rocks. He was
removed from his birthplace at an early age, and taken
into Dorsetshire, and though when still a child he was
brought back into Scotland, and remained with hi!
mother at Edinburgh for a short while, it was in Hngland
that he spent most of his boyhood, and where he was
educated. At the age of fifteen he obtained a commissior
in the 36th Regiment of Foot, and served in the Penin
sula under Sir Arthur Wellesley. He carried the coloun
at the Battle of Vimiera, and went through much hard
ship in the retreat of Corunna. Aj the end of the war
.,.,., ...by Google
Nov. 2, 1871J
NATURE
II
after having become a captain of dragoons, he quitted
the army, and marrying the daughter of General Hugo-
nin, settled in England. So end^ what he used to call
the military episode of his life. Next came the fox-
hunting period, when his activity of disposition found
vent in the excitement of the chase, into which he threw
himself heart and souL He might have continued a
merry, hearty, sporting, country gentleman, but for the
influence of his wife, who was fond of natural history
pursuits, and the advice of Sir Humphrey Davy, who,
meeting him at the house of Mr. Morritt, of Rokeby, and
seeing in htm promise of something better than fox-
hunting, adiriscd him to attend the Lectures of the Royal
Institution. Sir Roderick used to tell an interesting anec-
dote of that early beginning of his scientific career. He
was attending the lectures of (if we remember) Dr.
Brande, when one day the lecturer's place was taken in
his absence by a pale thin lad, his assistant, who gave
the lecture and experiments in so admirable a manner
as to be received at the end with a hearty round of ap-
plause. It was Michael Faraday, and this was his first
public appearance.
After gaining considerable knowledge from public lec-
tures and private instruction, Sir Roderick's active mind
sought as earlv as possible to study Nature in the field.
Geology was tne branch of science which suited best a
nature so fond of out-of-door life as his. He had made
the acquaintance of William Smith, the father of English
Geology, from whose own lips he had learned the order of
succession which the marvellous patience and ingenuity
of that pioneer of the science had made out for the rocks
of England and Wales, and indeed, as was afterwards
found, for the rocks of all the world. In the year 1825,
when he was thirty-three years of age, he wrote his first-
published paper, " A Geological Sketch of the North-
western Extremity of Sussex and the adjoining parts of
Hants and Surrey." From that time onwards tor nearly
half a century he continued to furnish accounts of his
observations in the field. Beginning, as was natural, with
the district in which he lived, he soon extended his re-
searches even as far as his own native Highlands, then
step by step over the Continent of Europe, even as far as
the confines of Asia. He has published more than 100
memoirs on British and Continental Geology, besides
numerous addresses to scientific societies, and in addition
to upwards of twenty memoirs in conjunction with other
authors. To all this mass of work must be added what
he published in separate volumes— his great ''Silurian
System," his splendid volumes on '' Russia," and the suc-
cessive editions of his " Siluria."
Of the incidents of his life during its scientific period
it is not necessary here to say much, nor to try to count
up the honours showered on him from all parts of the
world. There was hardly a scientific Academy any-
where which had not enrolled him among its associates,
and to the dignities conferred on him by his own Sovereign,
were added others conferred by Emperors and Kings
abroad. His time was largely passed in London, where
he took an active share in scientific work. But every
year he made a tour either in this country or on the Con-
tinent, and added to our knowledge of the geological
structure of the districts which he visited. Sometimes
these tours were prolonged, and in the case of his Russian
campaign he was absent for two or three years from
England.
At the time when Murchison broke ground as a geolo-
gist, the science of geology had entered a new phase of its
history. The absurd system of Werner, though still up-
held by high authority in this country, was daily losing
ground, and the simple and obvious classification of
William Smith on the one hand, and the doctrines of
Hutton on the other, were guiding all the younger in-
tellects of the da^. Murchison's tact is nowhere more
conspicuous than m his choice of a field for the exercise
of his patient energy of research. He saw that the old
Wemerian notion of " transition " rocks was doomed, and
that it would be a task well worthy of his time and toil to
unravel the succession of these rocks, and try to introduce
into them the same order and consistency which Smith
had shown to mark the Secondary series of England. He
chose for the scene of his researches the border country
of England and Wales, where these old rocks are well
displayed, and after five years of unremitting labour he
prcKduced his ** Silurian System " — a work, which, though
dealing only with the rocks of a limited tract of Britain,
yet first unfolded the earlier chapters of the history of
life upon our globe. The classification he adopted, though
of course necessarily subject to local variation and change,
has been found to hold true on the great scale over the
whole world.
This work laid the foundation of Sir Roderick's fame.
In his subsequently published " Siluria," which has gone
through several editions, he recast the original work, in-
troducing much detail regarding the extension of Silurian
and older palaeozoic rocks into other countries ; but while
in the later publication, the results given were necessarily
often the work of other observers — the " Silurian System "
remains a monument of the unaided labour of a mind
quick in observation, sagacious in inference, patient in the
accumulation of data, and full of that instructive appre-
ciation of the value of facts not yet understood, which is
near of kin to genius.
It would be beyond the limits of this journal to offer an
adequate outline of Sir Roderick's scientific work. He
was distinctly and specially a geologist His early
attachment to palaeozoic rocks never waned, and though
now and then he was led to make and record ob-
servations on later formations, he always returned to the
older deposits as his natural inheritance and domain. He
was not a palaeontologist, but no geologist could use more
skilfully than he the data furnished by palaeontology.
This faculty he acquired at the beginning of his career,
and it marked all his work in the field both at home and
abroad. It enabled him to apply to distant countries the
principles which he had so successfully used' in his own.
Perhaps the leading idea of his scientific life should be
regarded as the establishment of the order of succession
among rocks. This was what he did in the Silurian re-
gion originally, and what he always endeavoured to ascer-
tain in every district to which choice or accident might
lead him. He had a singularly quick eye for the geological
structure of a country. No one who travelled with him
through a hilly tract, and, after listening to his rapid in-
ferences, has gone actually over the ground to see, could
fail to be struck with the accuracy with which he seized
on some of the leading features, and from these deduced
the general arrangement of the rocks. It was in this
way, and by the use of palaeontolog^cal evidence, that
he was enabled to arrive at one of the most brilliant
generalisations he ever achieved, when he brought order
and intelligibility into the chaos of the so-called primarv
rocks of his own Scottish Highlands — a deduction which
is, perhaps, destined to bear fruit of which he never
dreamed, in the still obscure subject of metamorphism.
Sir Roderick Murchison's early training in geology was
acquired at a time when men believed in periodic cata-
clysms, by which the surface of the globe was destroyed
and renewed. He never could, and he never seemed
seriously to try, to shake himself free from the influence of
that training. Though he modified bis views as years
went on, he remained a member, and indeed in this coun-
try the leader, of the Cataclysmic School. The upholders
of a long line of successive creations and of the former
greater intensity of all geological causes have lost in him
one of their ablest, staunchest, and most influential
associates.
To the world at large, however, it was not from his geo-
logical work chiefly that Murchison was known. His
.ogle
L/iyiLiiLcvj kjy
12
NATURE
[Nov. 2, 1871
generalisation as to the probable gold-bearing nature of
the Australian quartz-country, and as to the probable
aspect of the interior of Africa, are probably familiar to
most people. But m later years what has especially
brought his name into prominence is the chivalrous devo-
tion with which he has maintained one might almost say
the national belief in the welfare of Dr. Livingstone. Yet
this is only a sample, though one which has come more
publicly before us, of the tenacious friendship and active
benevolence which have always marked him. As Presi-
dent of the Geographical Society— a society which is in a
tense his own creation—he had frequent opportunities of
befriending not only the cause of geography but the per-
sonal well-being of travellers, and he never failed to use
them. The geographers have good cause to lament the
death of their chief.
Of the man himself, what he was as he lived and moved
among us, his loss is too recent to permit us justly to
speak. We can only think of him as the stately courteous
old gentleman, carrying even to the last that military
bearing which dated from the days of Wellesley and
Moore, kindly and thoughtful in his kindliness— a man
whose friendship, once given, even ingratitude and in-
justice could not wholly alienate. He was not without
some of the littlenesses of humanity, but they were so
transparent, and often even so child-like, that we forget
them in the recollection of all the goodness of heart and
strength of head and nobility of nature which have
gladdened us for so long, but which are now only subjects
of tender remembrance.
Arch. Geikie
HOMO P LAS Y AND MIMICRY
ALL students of the remarkable phenomenon of super-
ficial resemblances in the animal and vegetable
kingdom will be glad that Prof. Dyer has published an
extension of the paper which he read on this subject at
the Edinburgh meeting of the British Association. It is
especially satisfactory that he has abandoned the very ob-
jectionable term '' pseudomorphic," and substituted that of
" homoplastic," a very much better term, because it simply
expresses a fact without committing one to any theory.
There are, however, one or two points in his paper of last
week, on which I should wish to be allowed to comment.
Prof. Dyer holds that the distinction between "mi-
micry " in animals and '' homoplasy '' in plants, is
" sufficiently obvious," the difference assigned being,
apparently, that in the one case it takes place between
species found in the same locality, ia the other between
species unconnected geographically. I doubt, however,
whether facts will warrant this distinction. The most re-
markable instances of "mimicry '^ among animals hitherto
published are, undoubtedly, in the case of species inhabit-
mg the same area ; but I am inclined to think that, when
attention is called to the subject, others will be found
between animals not so associated, though these instances
would naturally not attract so much observation. And
secondly, homoplasy in plants does frequently occur in
species occupying the same area. The statement reported
to have been made by Prof. Dyer at Edinburgh that " the
resembling plants are hardly ever found with those they
resemble,^ would scarcely be borne out by a careful in-
vestigation. The real objection to the terms " mimicry "
and " imitation " is that they seem to imply a conscious
effort at convergence, which will hardly be conceded in the
case of Lepidoptera any more than of Ferns. The sub-
stantial difference betweeen the two is that, in the case of
animals, the resemblance appears to be protective, while
in the case of plants, there is seemingly no such benefit
arising from it ; but this is a difference in result and not
in the nature of the phenomenon itself. I fail to see that
the]^objections to the use of these terms in the case of
plants do not equally apply to animals ; we have no
reason to suppose that the two sets of phenomena are not
produced by similar causes.
Prof. Dyer sutes, and no doubt truly, that the external
resemblances of plants may frequently be traced to the
effect of similar external conditions, and quotes in support
Mr. E. R. Lankester's view with regard to animals. But in
assuming that this explanation will account for all such
phenomena if fully investigated, I think too much is
assumed. Cases of homoplasy are referable to two distinct
classes — ^resemblances in general habit, and resemblances
of particular organs. The former, as in the case of the
homoplasy between a Cactus and a Euphorbia or a
Stapelia^ or between a Kleinia and a Cotyleaon, are no
doubt due to the operation of similar external conditions
of climate and soil* But in the second class this explana-
tion wholly fails.
As illustrations of the kind of resemblance I mean, I
may refer to the two collections of " mimetic plants" ex-
hibited by Mr. W. W. Saunders at the two last soiries of
the Linnean Society, a list of which will be found in
Nature for May 26, 1870, and May 4, 1871, The ex-
traordinary resemblance in the markings of the leaves in
plants thus grouped together, might well deceive the most
experienced botanist To account for this homoplasy on
the ground of similar external conditions, is to start a
mere hypothesis, without any facts to warrant it. A still
more curious series of resemblances occurs in the case of
fruits than of leaves, so close that it has deceived botan-
ists of the experience of the elder Hooker, Bentham, and
Kimth into placing species in a genus with which they
have no structural affinity whatever. I have in my mind
in particular two samaroid fruits, both from the forests of
Brazil, so absolutely identical in external facies, that dis-
tinction is quite impossible without dissection, and yet
belonging to exceedingly remote orders. I will not, how-
ever, say more on this point, as it would be impossible to
appreciate the closeness of the homoplasy without draw-
ings, which I hope shortly to be able to publish. The
singular part of this resemblance is, that, as far as we
know, it is never protective. In our Bee-orchis we have
what might well have been assumed /r/V/i^f facie to be a
case of protective resemblance, the flower being so
fashioned m order to attract bees to assist in its fertilisa-
tion. It is remarkable, however, that the Bee-orchis is
one of the few plants that appear to be perpetually self-
fertilised, never being visited by insects. It is just pos-
sible that we have an instance of protective or rather
beneficial resemblance of scent in the case of the carrion-
like odour of the flowers of ^tapelia^ which attracts blue-
bottle and other flies.
In a paper read at the recent meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, by Prof. £•
D. Cope, I find the following thoughtful remarks : — " In-
telligence is a conservative principle, and will always direct
effort and use into lines which will be beneficial to its
possessor. Thus, we have the source of the fittest, />.,
addition of parts by increase, and location of growth-
force directed by the will, the will being under the
influence of various kinds of compulsory choice
in the lower, and intelligent option among higher
animals. Thus intelligent choice may be regarded
as the originator of the fittest, while natural selection is
the tribunal to which all the results of accelerated growth
are submitted. This preserves or destroys them, and
determines the new points of departure on which accele-
rated growth shall build."
Biologists generally are, probably, hardly prepared to
apply the terms "intelligence" and "will" to the vege-
table kingdom ; but the use of the term "vegetable life''
seems to me to imply of necessity that there are powers
at work in the economy of the plant, as of the animal, which
it is vain to attempt to reduce to manifestations of the
forc^ which govern the inoxganic world.
^ , Alfred W. Bennett
Digitized Ly ^^^^^ *^i^
av. 2, 1871 j
NATURE
13
NOTES
1 M our present number we give a portion of Prof. T. S terry
Lilt's Address at the Indianopolis meeting of the American
sociation, and propose in following numbers to reprint some
the more important papers read at the meeting. The next
meting will be held at San Francisco, and the following officers
r«^ elected for the meeting of 1872 : President, Prof. J.
r^wrtuce Smith, of Louisville; Vice-President, ProC Alex,
inchell, of Ann Arbor ; Permanent Secretary, Profl Joseph
jvering, of Cambridge ; General Secretary, Prof. E. S. Morse,
Salem ; Treasurer, William S. Vaux, of Philadelphia ;
uditing Committee, Dr. H. Wheatland, of Salem, and Prof.
. L.. Eustis, of Cambridge ; Standing Committee, Ex Officio^
essrs. Smith, Winchell, Lovering, Morse, Vaux, Gray, Barker,
utnam. Committee from the Standing Committee to arrange
r next meeting, Profs. J. L. Smith, Asa Gray, Joseph Lover-
tg, in connection with a committee from the Association at
irg'*, consisting of Profs. J. L. Smith, J. D. Whitney, and
>. C. Marsh.
The Senate of the University of London on Wednesday last
reek exercised for the first time its privilege, under the Public
ichools Act, of appointing a member of the governing body of
<.ugby and Charterhouse Schools. To Charterhouse it appointed
Ax, Busk, F. R. S., President of the Royal CoU^e of Surgeons, thus
ecognising the claims of science in the direction of education.
To Rugby it nominated Dr. Temple, Bishop of Exeter (late head
master of Rugby).
The Inaugural Meeting of the Newcastle Collie of Physical
Science on Tuesday last week was a great success. The Council
decided unanimously, on the application of upwards of seventy
ladies, to make no distinction of sex in the admission of pap ils,
placing all on a footing of exact equality. The total number of
students admitted up to the time of the inaugural ceremonial, was
fifty-one. In contrast to this we may note that last week the
governing body of the University of Edinburgh rejected by a
small majority Dr. Alexander Wood's motion, " That, in the
opinion of this Council, the University authorities have, by pub-
lished resolutions, induced women to commence the 'study of
medicine at the University ; that these women, having prose-
cuted their studies to a certain length, are prevented from com-
pleting them for want of adequate provision being made for
their instruction ; that this Council, without again producing any
opinion on the advisability of women studying medicine, do
represent to the University Court, that, after what the Senatus
and Coort have already done, they are at least bound in honour
and justice to render it possible for those women who have
already commenced their studies to complete them."
According to M. Le Verrier, Prof. Alluard of Clermont-
Ferrand has obtained a grant of the necessary funds for estab-
lishing his long-projected observatory on the summit of the
Puy-de-Dome.
Fathers Secchi and Denza and M. Diamilla Miiller are
^gaged in organising a series of researches in the Mont Cen!s
tunnel, for the purpose of ascertaining what variations gravity
and magnetism may undergo there;
The Major and other inhabitants of the town of Belfast lately
expressed their sense of Prof. Wyville Thomson's many efforts for
the encouragement of Science, and for the improvement and gra-
tification of the working classes, in a suitable address, accom-
panied by a valuable service of plate.
The Bulletin Asironomique^ves the following observations of
Tuttle's comet From M. Borrelly of Marseilles :— October 12,
Marseilles M.T., i6h 29°»I9», R.A. ^^ 9" 44' 68, DecL + 44"
16' is"'!. The come! had the appearance of a diffuse nebulosity
badly defined ; it appeared elongated in the direction N. W. by
S.E. ; it was feeble but of moderate extent, about 2' 2o\ The
approximate correction of Mr. Hind*s ephemeris, given by th's
first observation, is Aa - + ©'""S, A« = + i" 3'. From MM.
Loevy and Tisserand of Paris :—Oc:ober 14, Paris M. T.
I2h 36m I2«*2, RA. 9^ 14™ 35^-29, polar distance, 47" 12' 13" i.
The comet resembled a whitish nebulosity, diflfuse, aiil of ir«
regular form. Its diameter was about 3' ; the light scarcely that
of a star of the 13th mtgriitude.
Dr. Hooker, of Kew, has placed the Lichens which he
collected during his Morocco expedition in the hands of the
Rev. W. A. Leighton, of Shrewsbury, for examination ani de-
termination.
The first Servian Agricultural Exhibition was op.ned with
great ceremony at Belgrade, on October 2.
In addition to the aimouncements last week, the following
works are in preparation :— From Edward Stanford :~The Laws
of the Winds Prevailing in Western Europe, by W. Clement Ley,
with charts, diagrams, &c. Part I. ; Notes on the Geography ot
North America, Physical and Political, intended to serve as a
text-book for the use of elementary classes ; Notes on the Geo«
graphy of South America, intended to serve as a text-book for
the use of elementary classes. The following additional volumes
are also announced to Weale*s Series, published by Lockwood
and Co. z^ Analytical Geometry and Conic Sections, by J. Hann,
new edition, entirely re-written by J. R. Young, numerous dia*
grams ; Treatise on the Construction of Iron Bridges, Girder*,
Roofs, and other Structures, by Francis Campin, C.E., numerous
illustrations ; Drawing and Measuring Instrumoits, by J. F.
Heather, M.A., numerous woodcuts ; Optical Instruments, by
J. F. Heather, M.A., numerous woodcuts; Surveying and
Astronomical Instruments, by J. F. Heather, M. A., numerous
woodcuts ; Physical Geology, partly based on Portlock's ** Rudi*
ments of Geology," by Ralph Tate, numerous woodcuts ; Histori-
cal Geology, partly based on Portlock's " Rudiments of Geology,"
by Ralph Tate ; Emigrants' Guide to Tasmania and New Zea«
land, by James Baird, B. A. ; Workman's Manual of Engineering
Drawing, by J. Blaxton, seven plates and nearly 325 woodcuts ;
Mining Tools, for the Use of Mine Managers, Agents, Students,
&c., by W. Morgans ; Atlas to the above, containing 235 illustra-
tions.
A NEW horticultural Magazine is aimounced to be shortly
commenced, with the title of The Garden^ under the editorship of
Mr. W. Robinson, F.L.S.,author of "Hardy Flowers," "Al-
pine Flowers for English Gardens," &c.
A COMPLETE geological and statistical history of Australia by
C. E. Meinicke, with a magnificent coloured map by A. Peter-
mann, appears as a supplementary number of Petermann*s
" Mittheilungen."
The Ven. Archdeacon Pratt has reprinted a lecture on " The
Descent of Man in Connection with the Hypothesis of Develop-
men^" delivered at the Dalhousie Institute, Calcutta, on July 28,
in which the Darwinian doctrine of evolution is vigorously
combated.
The High Wycombe Natural History Society has resolved
upon a new course of action suggested by the fiict that its
meetings had become pleasant social gatherings rather than in
any way furthering the pursuit of natural science. In future
the meetings will beheld at the house of the President, the Rev.
T. H. Browne, F.G.S., and will partake more of the nature of
classes for the study of certain subjects. A loss in the number
of members is expected, but it is hoped that those who remain
will benefit by the change. Other local societies would do
well to adopt a somewhat similar arrangement. The Quarterly
Magazine of the above body is discontinued.
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NATURE
{Nov. 2, 1871
Assistant-Surgeon Vkrchere, of the Indian Army, has
suggested, says the Medical Ttnus and Gazette^ that some ex-
periments should be made with reference to meteorological in-
fluences on sickness and health. Medical Meteorology in India
is still all but an unknown science, and, as at present studied, is
useless to medical practitioners. The long range of " readings "
tells us nothing ; but a register of the effects of meteorological
conditions on the men selected for the purpose, with all con-
ditions of exposure, &c., taken into account, and compared with
the average sickness of a corps for the same period, would teach
us more in a few months than yards of meteorological tables.
We understand that the Sanitary Commissioners of India are
favourable to the proposal of Mr. Vcrchere, and it will therefore,
probably, be carried out
The Wigtonshire Free Press says that the foundation of a
lake dwelling has been discovered by Mr. Charles Dalrymple,
KineMar Lodge, Aberdeenshire, on a small circular island
at the south end of the Black Loch, Castle- Kennedy. On
removing the surface soil, a circle of stones was discovered, the
diameter of which was between 50 and 60 feet. On digging
deeper through the stratum of forced earth and stones, three feet
thick, what appeared to be a different and older layer of soil was
reached. Among this black earth were found wood ashes, bits
of calcined bones, and flat stones placed contiguously. Imme-
diately below the stones, at the depth of a few inches, an artificial
flooring was discovered, formed of the trunks of oak and alder
trees. At this point the level of the loch was reached, and the
influx of water prevented further excavations in a downward
direction. In 1865-6, by the draining of Dowalton Loch, in the
same county, several lake-dwellings were exposed ; in the spring
of this year, when the White Loch of Castle-Kennedy, which is
now in connection with the Black Loch by a short canal, was
being dragged with a net for trout, the net brought up a canoe
of ancient make. In all likelihood it was the ferry-boat, or one
of several perhaps, used by the lake-dwellers.
There is a volcanic eruption going on in the Hawaian
Islands at Maunalva, but its exact site has not been recognised.
From Kowa the lava was seen at night to rise to a height of
several hundred feet in a column. Hie eruption is supposed to
be near the locality of that of 1868, while others think it is
nearer the summit of the mountain, on the scene of the great
eruption of 1859. On September 6, an eruption took place
on the southern slope of Maunalva.
The Constantinople earthquake is now known to have origi-
nated in the southern region of the island of Scio, where it began
strongly, growing weaker towards its northern circumference.
At the Dardanelles it was much sharper than at Rodosto, while
at Boorgas, on the Black Sea, it was very slight, and further on
at Varna was not felt.
Another small place to be marked soon as a big one is
Chimbote on the coast of Peru. Its harbour, the finest in the
South Pacific, can shelter the navies of the world. It was a great
town in the times of the Incas, as remains of a colossal aqueduct
will show. Near it are coal mines. It has been abandoned and
neglected on account of the difficulties of access, but a railway is
now to be constructed to the fertile interior at a cost of 6,400,000/.
To the map of Bolivia must be added the small town of
Calama in the new mining district of Caracolas.
Experimental farmv are now being extended in the Madras
presidency — a most essential step for agricultural improvement
and practical instruction.
k The Government of Madras has been ordered to furnish
special information on the Neilgherry nettle fibre plant.
On the 5th July a most destructive typhoon attacked Hiogo,
In Japan,
In the same presidency, in the Parambalore district, a man-
eating tiger has appeared, and kille^l four men, so that the
Government has taken him into consideration, and placed a
price of 30/1 on his head.
The Island of Gorgona, off the coast of Choco, is much
complained of by ship captains for its electric storms, and its
irregular currents. It has held this reputation since the time of
Pizarro.
A VALUABLE discovcry of workable lead ore is announced
from Jersey.
The latest report from Tasmania in regard to the experi-
ments for introducing salmon and trout into that country,
shows that while the success of the cultivation of both is ex-
tremely probable, the existence of trout of large size is unmis*
takeable.
Coal has been found in large quantities on the banks of a
stream flowing into the Godavery, about 224 miles from Jng-
gianet, and ninety-six from Budrachellum. It is close to the
surface, and it is extremely probable that fresh deposits will be
found in the adjacent British territory.
It is to be noted that on the night of the 21st of August a
very severe earthquake was felt at Callao, in Peru, at 8.32 p.m.
The undulations were from N.W. to S.E. The shock was of
fifteen seconds' duration. It was also felt severely at Cero, Azul,
and Pisco. The sea, which previously had been unusually
calm, suddenly became very rough, and a strong southerly wind
set in. For two days the sea remained very rough at Cero AzuL
The observations were confirmed by the steamship Colon. The
shock severely shook the ship while it lasted. It was felt six
miles to the westward of Chala Point at 8.50 p.m. ship time, and
the sea almost immediately thereafter became agitated.
Measures are being taken by the Chilian Congress to pro-
hibit the destruction of timber, partictdarly in the neighbourhood
of springs. The timber districts of the provinces of Llan-
quihue, Valdivia, Chiloe, and of the Magellan territory are
exempted from the law.
Cocos Island, in lat 5® 30' N. in the Pacific Ocean, abont
600 miles west of the Columbian coast, has now for some years
been occasionally occupied by treasure seekers on a legend of a
treasure buried by buccaneers. At present it is again abandoned, but
it is alleged a new expedition is organised. The island is not
flat, as stated in many newspapers, but is volcanic, and 2,000 feet
high. It is covered with timber and scrub, and being visited by
frequent and heavy rains is always green. The place is riddled
with shafts, some 150 feet deep. It produces nothing eatable.
The valuable timber so abundant in the North Island of New
Zealand is deserving of a better fate than to be cut down whole-
sale and used as firewood. The rimu, or red pine, is most
valuable for furniture and all ornamental work ; Uic matai, or
black pine, is more brittle and heavy than the other, but will
take a most beautiful polish ; whilst the totara, another so-called
pine (for they are none of them Coniferae), is easily worked both
green and dry. There is also the rata, ** that wonderful vege-
table production forming itself out of numberless vines, which
first receive their support from some full-grown tree, tha
enclose it in a deadly embrace, and gradually expel the remains
of their foster parent as their own growing demands for space
require to be satisfied, then finally uniting themselves form a
solid tree, with all tlie characteristics of bark, sap and heart,
roots, trunk, and branch." This rata is almost the toughest
wood known, and is used in many places for the cogs of wheels,
&C. Besides these there are many others, especially the makia,
which when thoroughly dry would turn or break the edge of the
best axe ever produced in Sheffield, which are now only cut
down for firewood as occasion requires^ ^
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NATURE
15
f^E GEOGNOSY OF THE APPALACHIANS
^AJVn THE ORIGIN OF CRYSTALLINE
ROCKS*
W coming before you this evening my first duty is to announce
the death of Prof. William Cluiuvenet This sad event was
>t unexpected, since, at the time of his election to the presi-
rncy of the Association, at the close of our meeting at Salem
August 1869, it was sdready feared that failing health would
revent him from meeting with us at Troy, in 187a This, as
5U are aware, was the case, and I was therefore called to pre-
de over the Association in his stead. In the autumn of 1869,
e was compelled by illness to resign his position of Chancellor
f the Washington University of St Louis, and in December
ist died at the age of fifty years, leaving behind him a record
> which Science and his country may point with just pride.
)uring bis connection of fourteen years with the Naval Academy
t Annapolis he was the chief instrument in building up that
nstitution, which he left in 1859 to take the chair of Mtronomy
jid Mathematics at St. Louis, where his remarkable qualities
ed to his selection, in 1862, for the post of Chancellor of the
University, which he filled with great credit and usefulness up to
he time of his resignation. It is not for me to pronounce the
:ulogy of Prof. Chauvenet, to speak of his profound attainments
in astronomy and mathematics, or of his published works, which
bave already taken rank as classics in the literature of these
sciences. Others more familiar with his field of labour may in
proper time and place attempt the task. All who knew him can
however join with me in testifying to his excellences as a man,
an instructor, and a friend. In Im assiduous devotion to scien-
tific studies he did not neglect the more elegant arts, but was a
skilful musician, and possessed of great general culture and re-
finement of taste. In his social and moral relations he was
marked by rare elevation and purity of character, and has left to
the world a standard of excellence in every relation of life which
few can hope to attain.
In accordance with our custom it becomes my duty in quitting
the honourable position of President, which I have filled for the
past year, to address you upon some theme which shall be ger-
mane to the objects of the Association. The presiding officer,
as you are aware, is generally chosen to represent alternately one
of the two great sections into which the members of the Associa-
tion are supposed to be divided, viz. , the students of the natural-
history sciences on the one^and, and of the phjrsico-mathemati-
cal and diemical sciences on the other. The arrangement hy
which, in our organisation, geology b classed with the natural
history division, is based upon what may fairly be challenged as
a somewhat narrow conception of its scope and aims. While
theoretical geology investigates the astronomical, physical,
chemical, and biological laws which have presided over the de-
velopment of our earth, and while practical geology or geognosy
studies its natural history, as exhibited in its physical structure,
its mineralogy and its paheontology, it will be seen that this com-
prehensive science is a stranger to none of the studies which are
anduded in the plan of our Associadon, but rather sits like a
sovereign, commanding in turn the services of alL
As a student of geology, I scarcely know with which section
of the Association I ^ould to-day identify myself. Let me
endeavour rather to mediate between the two, and show you
somewhat of the two-fold aspect which geolop;ical science presents,
when viewed respectively from the stand-pomts of natural history
and of diemistry. I can hardly do this better than in the dis-
cussion of a subject which for tne last generation has afforded
some of the most fascinating and perplexing problems for our
geological students ; viz., the histoiy of the great Appalachian
mountain chain. Nowhere else in the world has a mountain
system of such geographical extent and such geological com-
plexity been studied by such a number of zealous and learned
investigators, and no other, it may be confidenUy asserted, has
fumisMd such vast and important results to geological science.
The laws of mountain structure, as revealed in the Appalachians
by the labours of the brothers Henry D. and William B. Rogers,
of Lesley and of Hall, have given to the world the basis of a
correct system of orographic geology, f and many of the obscure
geological problems of Europe become phiin when read in the
light of our American experience. To discuss even in the most
* Address of Prof. T. Stenry Hunt on retiring from the office of President
of the Amcricaa Auocuuion for the Advancement of Science ; abridged
from the " American Naturalist"
^ t Aner. Jour. Sd^ XL xax. 406^
summary manner all of the questions which the theme suggests,
would be a task too long for the present occasion, but I shall
endeavour to-night in the first place to bring before you certain
facts in the history of the physical structure, the mineralogy and
the palaeontology of the Appalachians ; and in the second place
to discuss some of the physical, chemical, and biological condi-
tions which have presided over the formation of the ancient crys-
talline rocks that make up so large a portion of our great eastern
mountain system.
I. The Geognosy of the Appalachian System. — The
age and geological relations of the crystalline strati 6ed rocks
of eastern North America have for a long time occupied
the attention of geologists. A section across northern New
York, from Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence to Portland in
Maine, shows the existence of three distinct regions of unlike
crystalline schists. These are the Adirondack s to the west of
Lake Champlain, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and the
White Mountains of New Hampshire. The lithological and
mineralogical differences between the rocks of these three regions
are such as to have attracted the attention of some of the earlier
observers. E^ton, one of the founders of American geology, at
least as early as 1832, distinguished in his Geological Text-book
(2nd edition) between the gneiss of the Adirondacks and that of
the Green Motmtains. Adopting the then received divisions of
primary, transition, secondary and tertiary rocks, he divided c ach
of these series into three classes, which he named carboniferous,
quartzose, and calcareous ; meaning by the firbt schistose or argil-
laceous strata such as, according to him, might include carbona-
ceous matter. These three divisions in fact corresponded to
day, sand, and lime-rocks, and were supposed by him to be re-
peated in the same order in each series. This was apparently the
nrst recognition of that law of cycles in sedimentation upon which
I afterwards insisted in 1863.* Without, so far as I am aware,
defining the relations of the Adirondacks, he referred to the
lowest or carboniferous division of the primary series the crys-
talline schists of the Green Mountains, while the quartzites and
marbles at their western base were made the quartzose and calca-
reous divisions of this primary series. The argillites and sand-
stones lying still farther westward, but to the east of the Hudson
River, were regarded as the first and second divisions of the
transition series, and were followed by its calcareous division,
which seems to have included the limestonesof the Trenton group ;
all of these rocks being supposed to dip to the westward, and
away from the central axis of the Green Mountains. Eaton does
not appear to have studied the White Motmtains, or to have con-
sidered their geological relations. They were, however, clearly
distinguished from the former by C T. Jackson in 1844, when,
in his report on the geology of New Hampshire, he described
the White Mountains as an axis of primary granite, gneiss, and
mica-schist, overlaid successively, both to the east and west, by
what were designated by him Cambrian and Silurian rocks ; these
names having, since the time of Eaton's publication, been intro-
duced by English geologists. While these overlying rocks in
Maine were unaltered, he conceived that the corresponding strata
in Vermont, on the western side of the granitic axis, had been
changed by the action of intrusive serpentines and intrusive
quartzites, which had altered the Cambrian into the Green Moun-
tain gneiss, and converted a portion of the fossiliferous Silurian
limestones of the Champlain valley into white marbles. t Jack-
son did not institute any comparison between the rocks of the
White Mountains and these of the Adirondacks ; but the Messrs.
Rogers in the same year, 1844, published an essay on the geolo-
gical age of the White Mountains, in which, while endeavouring
to show their Upper Silurian age^ they »peak of them as having
been hitherto r^^ded as consisting exclusively of various modi-
fications of granitic and gneissoid rocks, and as belonging *'to
the so-called primary periods of geologic time.^'^ They how-
ever considered that these rocks had rather the aspect of altered
palax>zoic strata, and suggested that they might be, in part at
least, of the age of the Clinton division of the New York system ;
a view which was supported by the presence of what were at the
time regarded by the Messrs. Rogers as organic remains. Sub-
sequently, in 1 847, § they aimounced that they no lopger consi-
dered these to be of organic origin, without however retracting
their opinion as to the palaeozoic age of the strata. Re-erviog
to another place in my address the discussion of the geoiogica;
age of the White Mountain rocks, I proceed to notice briefly the
* Amer Jour. ScL, II. xxxv. 166.
t Geology of New Hampfthire, i6o-x6s.
X Amer. Jour. Set, II. l 4x1.
f lUd, II. V. 1x6.
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NATURE
[Nov. 2, 1 87 1
distinctiye characters of ihe three groups of crystaUiDe strata just
mentioned, which will be shown in the sequel to have an impor-
tance in geology beyond the limits of the Appalachians.
I. The Adirondack or Laureniide Series — The rocks of this
series, to which the name of the I^urentian system has been
given, may be described as chiefly firm granitic gneisses, often
very coarse-grained, and generally reddish or grayi>h in colour.
They aie frequently homblendic, but seldom or never contain
much mica, and the mica-schist (often accompanied with stau-
roli e, garnet, andalusite, and cyanite), so often characteristic of
the White Mountain series, are wanting among the Laurentian
io:ks. They are also dest tute of argillites, which are found in
the other two series. The quartzite?, and the pyroxenic and
hornblendic rocks, associated with great formations of crystalline
limestone, with graphite, and immense beds of magnetic iron
ore, give a peculiar character to portions of the Laurentian
system.
2 The Green Mountain Series^ — The quartzo-feldspathic rocks
of this series are to a considerable extent represented by a fine-
grained petrosilex or eurite, though they often assume the form
of a true gneiss, which is ordinarily more micaceous than the
typical laurentian gneiss. The coarse-grained, porphyritic,
reddish varieties common to the latter are wanting to the Green
Mountains, where the gneiss is generally of pale greenish and
gra)iah hues. Massive stratifi^ diorites, and epidotic and
chloritic rocks, often more or less schistose, with steatite, dark-
coloured serpentines and ferriferous dolomites and magnesites,
also characterise this gneissic series, and are intimately associated
with beds of iron ore, generally a slaty hematite, but occasionally
magnetite. Chrome, titanium, nickel, copper, antimony, and
gold are frequently met with in this series. The gneisses often
pasi into schistose micaceous quartzite^, and the argillites, which
abound, frequently assume a soft, unctuous character, which has
acquired for them the name of talcose or nacreous slates, though
analysis shows them not to be magnesian, but to consist essentially
of a hydrous micaceous mineral. They are sometimes black and
graph itia
3. The White Mottntain Series. — This series is characterised
by the predominance of well-defined mica-schists, interstratified
with micaceous gneisses. These latter are ordinarily light-
coloured from the presence of white feldspar, and though gene-
rally fine in texfure, are sometimes coarse-grained and por-
phyritic. They are less strong and coherent than the gneisses of
the Laurentian, and pass, through the predominance of mica,
into mica-schists, which are themselves more or less tender and
friable, and present every variety, from a coarse gneiss-like
aggregate down to a fine-grained schist, which passes into
argillue. The micaceous schists of this series are generally much
richer in mica than those of the preceding series, and often con>
tain a large proportion of well-defined crystalline tables belong-
ing to the species mubcovite. The cleavage of these micaceous
schists is generally, if not always, coincident with the bedding,
but the plates of mica in the coarser-grained varieties are often
arrangea at various angles to the cleavage and bedding-plane,
showing that they w ere developed after sedimentation, by crystal-
lisation in the mass, a circumstance which distinguishes them
from rocks derived from the ruins of these, which are met with
in more recent series. The White Mountain rocks also include
beds of micaceous quartzite. The basic silicates in this series
are represented chiefly by dark-coloured gneisses and schists,
in which hornblende takes the place of mica. These pass
occasionally into beds of dark hornblende-rock, sometimes hold-
ing garnets. Beds of crystalline limestone occasionally occur in
the schists of the White Mountain series, and are sometimes ac-
companied by pyroxene, garnet, idocra^e, sphene, and graphite,
as in the corresponding rocks of the Laurentian, which this
series, in its more gneissic portions, closely resembles, though
apparently distinct geognostically. The limestones are intimately
associated with the highly micaceous schists, containing staurolite,
andalusite, cyanite, and garnet. These schists are sometimes
highly plumbaginous, as seen in the graphitic mica-schist holding
garnets in Nelson, New Hampshire, and that associated with
cyanite in Cornwall, Conn. To this third series of crystalline
schists belong the concretionary granitic veins abounding in
beryl, touiroaline, and lepidolite, and occasionally containing
tinstone and columbite. Granitic veins in the Laurentian gneisses
frequently contain tourmaline, but have not, so far as is yet
known, yielded the other mineral specits just mentioned.*
IL The Omgin of Crystalline Rocks.— We now ap-
* Hunt, Notes on Graniiic Rocks ; Amer Jour. Set. Ill.i. x8a.
proach the second part of our subject, namely, the geiiesis of
the crystalline schists. The origin of the mineral silicates,
which make up a great portion of the crystalline rrcks
of the earth's surface, is a question of much geological
interest, which has been to a great degree overlooked. '1 be
gneisses, mica- schists, and argillites, of various geological periods
do not differ very greatly in diemical constitution from modem
mechanical sediments, and are now very generally r^arded as
resulting from a molecular re arrangement of similar sediments
formed in earlier times by the disintegration of previously exis ing
rocks not very unlike them in composition; the oldest kno a n
formations being still composed of crystalline stratified deposits
presumed to be of sedimentary origin. Before these the imagina-
tion conceives yet earlier rocks, until we reach the surface of un-
stratified material, which the globe may be supposed to have
presented before water had begun its work. It is not, however,
my present plan to consider this far off beginning of sedimentary
rocks, which I have elsewhere discussed. *
Apart from the clay and sand-rocks just referred to, whose
composition may be said to be essentially quartz and aluminous
silicates, chiefly in the forms of feldspars and micas, or the re-
sults of their partial decomposition and disintegration, there is
another class of crystalline silicated rocks which, though far le^s
important in bulk than the last, is of great and varied interest to
the lithologist, the mineralogist, the geologist, and the chemist
The rocks of this second class may be defined as consisting in
great part of the silicatesof theprotoxyd bases, lime, magnesia, and
^rrous oxyd, either alone, or in combination with silicates of
alumina and alkalies. They include the following as their chief
constituent mineral species : — Pyroxene, hornblende, olivine, scr-
pentime, talc, chlorite, epidote, garnet, and tridinic feldsp»acs,
such as labradorite. The great types of this second class are not
less well defined than the first, and consist of pyroxenic and
homblendic rocks, passing into diorites, diabases, ophiolites
and talcose, chloritic and epidotic rocks. Intermediate varieties
resulting from the association of the minerals of this class with
those of the first, and also with the materials of non-silicated
rocks, such as hmestones and dolomites, show an occasional
blending of the conditions under which these various types of
rocks were formed.
The distinctions just drawn between the two great divisions of
silicated rocks are not confined to stratified deposits, but are
equally well marked in eraptive and unstratified masses, among
wnich the first type is represented by trachytes and granites, aind
the second by dolerites and diorites. This fundamental differ-
ence between acid and basic rockf, as the two classes are called,
finds its expression in the theories of Phillips, Durocher, and
Bunsen, who have deduced all silicated rocks from two supposed
layers of molten matter within the earth's cmst, consisting re-
spectively of acid and basic mixtures ; the trachytic and pyrox<.nic
magmas of Bunsen. From these, by a process of partial crys-
tallisation and eliquation, or by commingling in various propor-
tions, those eruptive rocks which depart more or less from the
normal t}'pes are supposed by the theorists of this school to be
generated. + The doctrine that these eruptive rocks are not de-
rived directly from a hitherto uncongealed nucleus, but are softened
and crystallised sediments, in fact that the whole of the rocks at
present known to us have at onetime been aqueous deposits, has,
however, found its; advocates. In support of this view, I have
endeavoured to show that the natural result of forces constantly
in operation tends to resolve the various igneous -rocks into two
classes of sediments, in which the two types are, to a great extent,
preserved. The mechanical and chemical agencies which trans-
form the crystalline rocks into sediments, separate these more or
less completely into coarse, sandy, permeable beds on the one
hand, and fine clayey impervious muds on the other. The action
of infiltrating atmospheric waters on the first and more silidons
strata, removes from them lime, magnesia, iron -oxyd, and soda,
leaving behind silica, alumina, and potash — the elements of
granitic, gneissic, and trachytic rocks. The finer and more alu-
minous sediments, including the mins of the soft and easily
abraded silicates of the pyroxene group, resisting the penetratiom
of the water, will, on the contrary, retain their alkalies, lime,
magnesia, and iron, and thus will have the composition of the
more basic rocks.X
A little consideration will, however, show that this process, al-
though doubtless a true cause of differences in the composition of
* Amer. Jour. Sd, II. L 35.
t Hunt on Some Points of Chemical Geology, Quar. Jour.Geol.Soc, XV. 480.
i Quar. Jour. Geot Soc., XV. 489 ; also, Amer. Jour, Set., II. xsl ra).
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NATURE
17
sedimentary rocks, is not the only one, and is inadequate to ex-
plain the production of many of the varieties of stratified silicated
rocks, such arc serpentine, steatite, hornblende, diallage, chlo-
rite, pinitc, and labradorite, all of which mineral specits form
rock masses by themselves, frequently almost without admixture.
No geological student will now question that all of these rocks
occur as members of stratified formations. Moreover, the
manner in which serpentines are found interstratified with steatite,
chlorite, argillite, diorite, hornblende, and feldspir rocks, and
these, in their turn, with quartzites and orthoclase rocks, is such
as to forbid the notion that these various materials have been
deposited, with their present composition, as mechanical sedi-
ments from the ruins of pre-existing rocks ; a hypothesis as un-
tenable as that ancient one which supposed them to be the direct
results of plutonic action.
There are, however, two other hypotheses which have been
proposed to explain the origin of these various silicated rocks,
and especially of the less abundant, and, as it were, exceptional
species just mentioned. The first of these supposes that the
minerals of which they are composed have resulted from an
alteration of previously existing minerals, often very unlike in
composition to the present, by the taking away of certain elements
and the addition of certain others. This is the theory of meta-
morphism by pseudomorphic changes, as they are called, and is
the one taught \rf the now reigning sdiool of chemical geologists,
of which tl^ learned and laborious Bischof, whose recent death
science deplores, may be regarded as the great exponent The
second hjrpothesis supposes that the elements of these various
rocks were originally deposited as, for the most part, chemically
formed sediments, or precipitates ; and that the subsequent
changes have been simply molecular, or, at most, confined in
certain cases to reactions between the mingled elements of the
sediments, with the elimination of water and carbonic acid. It
is propos^ to consider briefly these two opposite theories, which
seek to explain the origin of the rocks in question respectively
by pseudomorphic chafes in pre-existing crystalline rocks, and
by the crystallisation of aqueous sediments, for the most part
chemically-formed precipitates.
Mineral pseudomorphism, that is to say, the assumption by one
minend substance of the crystalline form of another, may arise
in several ways. First of these is the filling up of a mould left
by the solution or decomposition of an iml^aed crystal, a pro-
cess which sometimes takes place in mineral veins, where the
processes of solution and decomposition can be freely carried on.
Allied to this, is the mineralisation of oi^nic remains, where
carbonate of lime or silica, for example, fills the pores of wood.
When subsequent decay removes the woody tissue, the vacant
spaces may, in their turn, be filled by the same or another
species.* In the second place, we may consider pseudomorphs
from alteration, which are the result of'^a gradual change in the
composition of a mineral species. This process is exemplified
in the conversion of feldspar into kaolin by the loss of its alkali
and a portion of silica, and the fixation of water, or in the change
of chaJybite into limonite by the loss of carbonic acid and the
absorption of water and oxygen.
The doctrine of pseudomorphism by alteration as taught by
Gustav Rose, Haidinger, Blum, Volger, Rammelsberg, Dana,
Bischof, and many oUiers, leads them, however, to admit still
greater and more renmrkable changes than these, and to maintain
the possibility of converting almost any silicate into any other.
Thus, by referring to the pages of Bischof 's Lekrbuch der Geo*
gnosie, it will be found that serpentine is said to exist as a pseudo-
morph after augite, hornblende, olivine, chondodrite, garnet,
mica, and probably also after labradorite, and even orthoclase.
Serpentine rock or ophiolite is supposed to have resulted, in
different cases, from the alteration of homblende-ro:k, diorite,
granulite, and even granite. Not only silicates of protoxyds and
aluminous silicates are conceived to be capable of this transfor-
matioD, but probably also quartz itself ; at least, Blum asserts
that meerschaum, a closely related silicate of magnesia, which
sometimes accompanies serpentine, results from the alteration of
flinty while, accoitling to Rose^ serpentine may even be produced
from dolomite, which we are told is itself produced by the alteration
of limestone. But this is not all— feldspar may replace carbonate
of lime, and carbonate of lime feldspar, so that, according to
Volger, some gneissoid limestones are probably formed ^om
gneiss by the substitution of calcite for orthoclase. In this way
we are led from gneiss or granite to limestone, from limestone to
dolomite, and from dolomite to serpentine, or more directly from
granite, granulite, or diorite to serpentine at once, without pass-
* Hunt on the Silification of Fossils, Canadian Naturalist, N. S., I. 46.
ing through the intermediate stages of limestone and dolomite,
till we are ready to exclaim in the words of Goethe : —
*' Mich &ng!ttt2t da« Verf^iogliche
Im widrigen GeschwAtz.
Wo Nichts verharret. Alles flieht,
Wo schon verschwunden was man st^ht/*
which we may thus tran-Ute :— "I am vexed with the sophistry
in their cont'ary jargon, where nothing endures, but all is fugi-
tive, and where what we see has already passed away."
By far the greater number of cases on which this general
theory of pseudomorphiim by a slow process of alteration in
minerals, has been based, are, as I shall endeavour to show,
examples of the phenomenon of mineral envt lopment, so well
studied by Deles^e in his essay on pseuiom^rph^* and may be
considered under two heids : — first, that of symmetrical envelop-
ment, in which one mineral species is so enclosed within the
other that the two appear to form a single crystalline individuaL
Examples of this are seen when prisms of cyanite are surrounded
by staurolite, or staurolite crystals completely enveloped in those
of C3ranite, the vertical axes of the two prisma corresponding.
Similar cases are seen in the enclosure of a prism of red in an
envelope of green tourmaline, of allanite in epidote, and ot
various minerals of the pyroxene group in one another. The
occurrence of muscovite in lepidolite, ani of margarodite in
lepidomalene, or the inverse, are wellknowa examples, and,
according to Scheerer, the crystallisation of serpentine around a
nucleus of olivine is a similar case. This phenomenon of sym-
metrical envelopment, as remirked by Delesse, shows itself with
species which are generally isomorphous or homoeomorphous and
of related chemical composition. Allied to this is the repeated
alternation of CfYStilline laminae of related species, as in per-
thite, the crystalline cleavable misses of which consist of thin
alternating layers of orthoclase and albite.
Very unlike to the abjve are those cases of envelopment in
which no relations of cr) stalline symmetry nor of similar chemi-
cal constitution can be traced. Examples of this kind are seen
in garnet crystals, the walls of which are shells, sometimes no
thicker than paper, enclosing in different cases crystalline car-
bonate of lime, epidote, chlorite, or quartz. In like manner,
crystalline shelb of leucine enclose feldspar, hollow prisms of
tourmaline are filled with crystals of mica or with hydrous
peroxyd of iron, and crystals of beryl with a granular mixture of
orthoclase and quartz, holding small crystals of garnet and tour-
maline, a composition identiod with the enclosing granitic vein*
stone, t Similar shells of galenite and of zircon, having the
external forms of these species, are also found filled wiih calcite.
In many of these cases the process seems to have been first the
formation of a hollow mould or skeleton- crjrstal (a phenomenon
sometimes observed in salts crystallising from solutions), the
cavity being sometimes filled with other matters. Such a pro-
cess is conceivable in free crystals found in veins, as for example,
galenite, zircon, tourmaline, beryl, and some examples of garnet,
but is not so intelligible in the case of those garnets imbedded in
mica-schist, studied by Delesse, which enclosed within their
crystalline shells irregular masses of white quartz, with some
little admixture of garnet Delesse conceives these and similar
cases to be produced by a process analogous to that seen in the
crystallisation of calcite in the Fontainebleau sandstone ; where
the quartz grains, mechanically enclosed in well-defined rhombo-
hedral crystals, equal, according to him, sixty- five per cent, of
the mass. Very similar to these are the crystalloids with the
form of orthoclase, which sometimes consbt in large part of a
granular mixture of quartz, mica, and orthoclase, with a little
cassiterite, and in other cases, contain two thirds their weight of
the latter mineral, with an admixture of orthoclase and quartz.
Crystals with the form of scipolite^ but made up, in a great
part, of mica, seem to be like cases of envelopment, in which a
small proportion of one substance in the act of crystallisation,
compels into its own crystalline form a large portion of some
foreign material, which may even so mask the crystallising
element that this becomes overlooked, as of seconda^ import-
ance. The substance which, under the name of houghite, has
been described as an altered spinel, is found by analysis to be
themixtureof voUknerite with a variable proportion of spinei,
which in some specimens, does not exceed eight per cent., but
to which, nevertheless, these crystalloids appear to owe their more
or less complete octohedral form.ij:
{To be contintud,)
* Anna!es des Mines, V. xri. 317-399.
t Report Geol. Survey of Canada, 1866, p. 189.
X RpC Geol Sur. of Canada, x866, pp. 189, 213. Amvc^
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NATURE
[Nov. 2, 1871
INSTRUCTIONS FOR OBSERVERS, AT THE
ENGLISH GOVERNMENT ECLIPSE EXPE-
DITION, 1871
II.— PoLARiscopic Observations
T^HE chief points to which observers of polarisation should
■*• direct their attention appear to be : —
A. What is the nature of the outlying corona ?
B. Can the radial polarisation of the circumsolar corona be
traced down to the photosphere, or, if not, how low ?
C. Is secondary atmospheric polarisation traceable ? and if so,
does the plane change during totality ?
A. We might suppose this to be due —
(i) to circumsolar matter (though at a great distance from the
sun) reflecting light,
(2) to circumsolar matter in the state of self-luminous gas,
(3) to circumlunar matter diffracting and, to a certain extent, re-
flecting light (most improbable),!
(4) to lofty atmospheric haze or cloud, of excessive tenuity,
diffracting light.
The light ought to be, for
(i) strongly and radially polarised,
(2) unpohirised,
(3 and 4) insensibly or all but insensibly polarised.
Hence polarisation observations would only serve to discri-
minate between (i) on the one hand, and (2), (3), or (4) on the
other.
From the faintness of the object and its considerable extent,
the naked eye, armed with a polariscope, might be best. If a
telescope be used, it should be of quite low power, and the
aperture as large as the breadth of tne pupil multiplied by the
magnifying-power.
Suppose the polariscope be Savart's, the quartz plates being
thick enough (if the naked eye be used) to give bands as narrow
as, say, 2d diameter.
Fic. I.
Let the observer rotate the polariscope till the bands, if any,
seen on the dark moon disappear ; then, without rotating the
instrutnent round its axis, let him incline the axis so as to point
at the outlying corona in different directions round the sun, and
notice whether the bands spring into existence ; and if so, let
him sweep round iht sun, noticing what lies outside the clearly
circumsolar corona of 5' or so height, and let him notice par-
ticularly by estimation the direction, relatively to the bands, of
the ladins vector of the region where they are most vivid, or,
better, the azimuth of both radius and bands. He should also
specify, provided he can do so with certainty, whether the bands
were black-centred or white-centred. He should also state in
his account, and verify the statement by an observation made at
leisure before or alter totality, whether his Savart is constructed
(or set) so as to have Ae hands parallel or perpendicular to the
principal plane of the Nicol.
A very useful adjunct to a Savart's polariscope would be a
glass reflector, or else a tourmaline, placed so as to cover a small
segment of the field of view near the edge. On account of the
possible difficulty of illuminating the reflector in the peculiar
circumstances of a total eclipse, a tourmaline would seem to be
preferable. It should be placed for the naked eye at the least
distance of distinct vision — ^for a telescope^ in or in front of the
eye-piece, where a real image is formed so as to be seen distinctly
— the axis of the tonrnoaline being parallel to the edge or chord
of the segment, and the bands being set perpendicular to this
chord. In the event of rotation during the observation, the
whole should be rotated together. The question whether the
bands are bright-centred or dark -centred, which, in the case of
slight polarisation, is difficult to decide, would thus be replaced
by the simpler question, whether the bands in the field were of
the same character as ha the segment (i>., bright being a pro-
longation of bright, and dark of dark) or of opposite character.
The observer should previously have practised on the blue
sky, rotating his Savart till the bands disappear, and noticing
to what degree they are brought back by small changes of
pointing without rotation, so as to be prepared for what he
IS liable to from secondary atmospheric polarisation during
totality.
Should only very feeble bands be seen in the outer corona,
such as might possibly be attributable to atmospheric polarisa-
tion operating through small changes of pointing, it would be
well for control to 'rotate the instrument a little till bands are
fairly visible on the disc of the moon, and notice whether on
passing to the outer corona, in whatever direction^ the bands,
instead of being reinforced, tend rather to be drowned in white
light. Should luminous beams or dark rifts be seen in the outer
corona, so as to exhibit contrast of light and shade in close
proximity, a good opportunity will be afforded of testing whether
the light of the outer corona is polarised or not If it be
polarised, then on rotating the Savart, so as to make the bands
cut at various indications the boundary of light and shade, the
bands will in certain azimuths of the Savart be stronger on the
luminous than on the dark side of the edge of the beam or rift
If it be unpolarised, then, whatever be the azimuth of the
Savart, the bands will be rather drowned in white light than
reinforced on passing from the dark to the luminous side of the
edge.
But Savart's and other colour-polariscopes, which are ad-
mirable for detecting a slight polarisation in light which is not
particularly feeble, break down when the difficulty arises from
the feebleness of the light rather than the slightness of the polari-
sation. In such cases a simple double-image prism, with a
diaphragm- tube, is better. Unless those who have seen total
eclipses can decide from trial (suppose on the clear sky after son-
set, or at night when illuminated by the moon), combined with
Fig. a.
their memory of the degree of illumination of the outer coronii
it might be well that the observer should be provided with and
should try both instruments.
B. For this a telescope will be required with a magnifying
power of, say, x6 or 20. A biquartz seems the best instrument,
placed at the common focus of the eye-piece (which should
be positive) and objective, and combined with a Nicol's prism,
or, if it can be procured, a thoroughly good tourmaline. Atour|
m aline might be placed over the eye-hole, whereas a Nicol
might have to be placed in the body of the eye-piece, whicb,
however, is no particular disadvantage if properly done.
Let it be ascertained by previous trial how much a Nicol mast
be turned from the position in which the two halves are purplf
alike to make the tints contrast more vividly. Say it is ^*
Suppose the observer on the line of central shadow, so that the
limits of disappearance and reappearance will be on opposite ends
of a diameter. The biquartz and Nicol have been relatively set
so that the line of junction is in the plane of polarisation of lighl
extinguished by the Nicol, turn them together before totality 3^'
(or whatever other angle may have been fixed on) to either side
of the diameter of disappearance, and, pointing the telescope to
the place of disappearance (Fig. i), await totality without dazzling
the eye. The moment the sun is covered, apply the eye to the
telescope, and notice whether there is a vivid contrast of colour
right and left of the line of junction of the quartz plates all tht
way down to the dark nioon (Fig. 2), or only in the higher parts
of the circumsolar corona.
Be ready to repeat the observation before reappearance, with
the telescope pointed to the place of reappearance ; and mean-
while, if time permits, repeat Prazmouski's observation by point-
ing the telescope, without rotation of the analyser, so that the
Une of junction bisects the moon, and noticing whether the semi*
L/iyiiiiLcv,! i-jy
<3^'
Nov. 2, 1871]
NATURE
19
circles of the coron* are purple alike where they abut on the
junction, and what is the order of colours in the semicircle on
receding from the junction. A record as to which is which of
the two halves of the biquartz should be carefully preserved.
Should secondary atmospheric polarisation be so strong as to
throw doubt on the results (which may be judged of by noticing
the light on the dark moon), it would be well to rotate the ana-
lyser till the two halves seen on the dark moon are purple alike,
and then alter the pointing of the telescope, and repeat Praz-
mouski's observation.
It will be observed that the same general principles apply to
the elimination of atmospheric polarisation, whether the polari-
scope employed be a Savait's polariscope, a polariscope with
quartz wedges, or a biquartz p<>larisco|>e.
C. This IS of little intrinsic interest, its chief use being to dear
up possible doubts as to the results obtained by the observers of
A and B. Should there be an observer not otherwise employed,
he might be deputed to observe the direction of the Savart's bands
on disappearance, both on the dark moon and the surroimding
sky, and whether this direction changes during totality. Also it
should be specified in which pair of opposite quadrants they were
black -centred and in which white-centred. Should this be found
impossible or uncertain (the instnmient being unprovided with
the adjunct mentioned al30ve), the Savart might be used as a
simple Nicol by turning it end for end, so that the quartz plates
are next the eye ; and with this the plane of polarisation might
be roughly determined by means of me azimuth of the principal
plane of the Nicol when the light most nearly disappears.
Should r^istration of the azimuth be attempted, the Savart
would be fixed so as not to be reversible. In that case the ob-
server might be provided with a double*image prism and dia-
phragm-tube for separate use in case of need.
Stoppage of stray light in a tdescope tUsigned for polarisation
The want of this appears to have occasioned some difficulty at
the last eclipse.
The simplest way is by a stop, with a hole just lar^e enough
to contain the image of the object-glass. Such exists in the
erecting eye-piece, where an image of the object-glass is formed
in the body of the eye-piece. It exbts too, in a Gr^rian or
Cassegrainian telescope, where the stoppage is imperative. But
in an ordinary refracting telescope, with an inverting eye-piece,
the eye-hole (from certain motives of convenience) is laiger than
in front of (/. e, nearer the object-glass than) the bright circle, or
image of the object-glass ; and unless the tube is sufficiently pro-
vided with stops, when a faint object near a bright one is looked
at, light from the bright, reflected from the inside of the tube, is
liable to enter the field of view. Large instruments are pro-
vided with stops ; but I fancy smaller instruments are sometmies
turned out without them. This should be looked to.
The observer may test the correctness of stopping by taking
out the eye-piece, inserting a paper disc with a central hole of
the size of the field-glass, turning the instrument nearly but not
quite to a bright object, as well as to points more distant from the
bright object, and noticing whether the side of the tube, even
when viewed in a direction grazing the edge of the hole, is pro-
periy dark, so that only the edges of the stops are seen.* On the I
other hand, the stops should not obstruct a clear view of the
object-glass as seen through the hole representing the field-
glas«, or they will render the outer portions of the object-glass
u.'eless.
General Remarks
I consider the observation recommended by Mr. Ranyard (see
Nature, Aug. 24, 1871), very important, if, after what Praz- I
mouaki and Ranyard have done, the point be still deemed doubtful ^
Prazmouski's observation seems to have been beautifully devised ,
and executed, but carelessly described. It is only by conjecture |
that I can make sense and harmony with what is known, out of his .
observations as described by himsel£ But I think that Mr. Ran- I
yard has at least shown that oux conjectural interpretation of
Trazmouski's observation is the right one ; and if so, the point
seems settled.
It is for this reason that, in lieu of No. 3, first half, I proposed
lomething new. What becomes of the magnesium, &c, which
the spectroscope reveals low down in the gigantic puffs which the
sun emits ? 'I he hydrogen must surely carry the magnesium,
ficc, with it to the higher regions, though the magnesium, &c,
^^ould soon be condensed, and so would not be detected by the
spectroscope. These substances would exist in the form of an
* If reflection occurs fit>m the part of the lube 10 ne» the eye as not to
appear vnthin the field, it wiU not signify much.
exceedingly fine haze or dust I use the two words, " ^^7^ " to
denote a filmy cloud of molten " dust " of solid matter. This
haze or dust is capable of detection, and, according to my inter-
pretation, ^^been detected, by polarisation ; and it is interesting
to know how low down it can be detected. Mr. Stone/s specu-
lations as to layers are utterly inapplicable here, as they imply a
state of tranquillity quite unlike what we now know to exist, at
any rate in connexion with the puffs.
I don't know why, in the second half of No. 3, Mr. Ranyatd
prescribes placing the line of junction across a sector or rift, if
by that he means turning iht eye-piece carrying the quartz plates
so that the line is perpendicular with the corona to the sector.
It would be more likely to yield results if it cut it obliquely, as
represented for the corona in Fig. 2. But probably he only
means pointing the telescope so that the junction cuts the rift.
If the observer notices contrasting colours, he may then proceed
to determine the plane of polarisation. G. G. S.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Thb yonmal of the Qutkttt Microscopical Club, No. 16. Oc-
tober 1 87 1. "Microscopic Work and Conjectural Science,"
being the address of the President ( Lionel S.Beale, M.B.,F.R.S.),
for the year 1 871. This address is chiefly occupied in combating
the method, presumed to have been adopt«i, of depreciating one
kind of scientific investigation in order to elevate another, and
attacks without ceremony those who would elevate physical
science to the disparagement of microscopical observation. — " On
the Examination of the Surface Markings of Diatoms by the
Oxy-calcium Li^ht," by N. E. Green. The writer of this paper
details his examination of such diatoms as Isthmia, Biddulphia,'
Triceratium, Pleurosigma, &c., as opaque objects by high
powers, as one-sixth Ross and one-twelfth Gundlach, through the
agency of the oxy-calcium light. The conclusion at which he
has arrived is, that the markings on all the above, except Pleuro-
sigma, resemble " craters,*' the surface *' being studded with rows
of smuall shallow craters, the sharp edges of which projected
slightly above, while the centres seemed to be below the surface."
In Pleurosigma a different structure of the surface was observed.
'* The lime light brought out most distinctly the bead-like chuac-
ter of its markings; they stood out in bold relief like rows of
Indian corn."~-The Inaugural Address of the South London
Microscopical and Naturu History Club, by R. Braithwaite,
M.D., F.L.S., is principally devoted to suggestions on the vast
field for observation at Uie disposal of the microscopist. — "On
Nucleated Sporidia," by M. C. Cooke, M.A. After describing
the general structure which prevails in the genus Peziza of As-
comycetous Fungi, the writer details his method of mounting
sections for the microscope in pure glycerine. The nucleated
sporidia, so prevalent in this genus, are affirmed to be so affected
by this method that in a short time all traces of the nuclei are
lost, and the object of the paper is to indicate the doubtful value
of nucleated sporidia in specific characters. The true nature of
such nuclei and their uses are said to be obscure.
In the Revue Scicntiftque, Nos. 13 — 18, are many valuable
articles. Further reports are given of the proceedings of the
Edinburgh meeting ot the British Association,. and a translation of
Prof. T. Sterry Hunt*s address to the Indianopolis meeting of the
American Association. We have also a memoir of M. Lartet
by M. G. de Mortillet ; Helmholtz's paper on the rapidity of
propagation of electro-dynamical actions ; report of M. Chau-
veau's lectures on the physiology of virulent maladies ; a lecture
by M. Claude Bernard on the method and principle of physio-
logy ; a translation of P. Secchi's paper on the solar protuberances
from the Atti dcW Acadcmia ponitificia etc nuovi Lined ; a bio-
graphical sketch of Haidinger by M. Fouque ; reports of the
proceedings of the various scientific institutions in France and
Belgium ; and translations of lectures delivered at the Royal
Institution, University of Edinburgh, &c, by Prof. Tyndall,
Dr. Carpenter, Dr. Laycock, and oUiers.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
Paris
Academy of Sciences, October 23. — ^The greater part of the
communications read at this meeting were devoted to chemical
subjects. Of mathematical papers only one was presented-—
namely, a continuation of M. Chaales' memoir on the determina*
tion of a series of groups of a certain number of points on a
geometrical curve. — ^A note was read by M. J. Bertiand on tht
L/iyiLiiLCJU uy
<3"
20
NATURE
\Nov, 2, 1871
mathematical theory of dynamical electricity, and a memoir
by M. £. Mathieu on the integration of equations to the partial
differences of mathematical physics. — M. du Moncel presented
some observations relating to a recent communication by M.
Rohmkorff upon some experiments in magneto-electric induc-
tion, in which he claimed to have already ascertained and pub-
lished facts analogous to those of the German author — M. P.
A. Favre read a continuation of his thermic researches upon the
electrolysis of the bydracids. — A fifth letter from Father Secchi
on the various aspects of the protuberances and other remarkable
parts of the surface of the sun was read, in which he describes
the results of simultaneous observations mide by himself at Rome,
and by M. Tacchini at Palermo. — M. Secchi al»o presented a
note on a new method of observing the eclipses and passages of
Venus, by means of a spectroscopic apparatus modifica by having
at a distance of about 20 centimetres in front of the spectroscope,
an additional prism having its refrmgent angle parallel to the
fissure. — ^The chemical papers were as follows : — a theory of
simple reactions limited by inverse action, and an application of
the same to the transformations of phosphorus, by M. J. Lemoine.
— Researches in chemical statics, by Hi. Stas, containing a discus-
sion of the phenomena which occur in the precipitation of di-
lute solutions of salts of silver by hydrochloric, hydrobromic,
and hydriodic acids, and by chlorides, bromides, and iodides.
This paper contains some results of great importance in
the analysis of bodies containing silver. — The conclusion of the
second part of M. Berthelot's investigation of the ammoniacal
salts. — A note on the transformation of glucoses into mon atomic
and hexatomic alcohols, by M. G. Bouchardat, communicated
by M. A. Wurtz. The author acta upon the glucoses by means
of an amalgam of sodium. He describes its action upon glucose
and sugar of milk. — A note on the hexabroni'de and hexachloride
of sUicmm, by M. C. Friedel, aU^ presented by M. A. Wurtz ;
and a note on the method of determining the gases evolved by an
explosion of nitroglycerine, by M. L. L'Hote, presented by
General Morin. From the researches of the last -mentioned
author it appears that i gramne of nitroglycerine produces 284
cab. centim. of gas, contaming by volume 4572 of carbonic acid,
20*36 of binoxide of nitrogen, and 33*92 of nitrogen. — M. Elie
de Beaumont called attention to some specimens of native phos-
phate of lime from Caylux and Cajare, and noticed the import-
ance of these deposits for agricultural purposes. M. Combes also
remarked upon this subject. — M. Chapelas presented a note on
a remarkable meteor observed during the night of the 19th
October.
Philadelphia
Academy of Natural Sciences, May 9.— The President,
Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. — Prof. Cope demonstrated
some anatomical points of importance in the classification
of some of the Siluroidi of the Amazon, noticing first
those which have no swimming-bladder, but having the
post- temporal bone pierced in a sieve-like manner, forming
minute tympana ; these he characterised as Otocifulus. Others
having huge swim-bladders, gun-boat style of shape. No adi-
pose fin ; the back naked. No lyre plate, indicated as Zathorax,
A third, body protected by bony shields above. No adipose fin ;
the scapular arch dermoossified and lyre-shaped below ; indi-
cated as Physopyxis lyra A fourih, shielded all over i<s sides,
with the under lip turned back, genus Corydoras. A fifth, where
the under lip is separated, except at the ends, forming loops,
named Btochis. In the sixth, where the lips are separated from
the beard dlstally forming chin beards, indicated as Dianema,
Mzj 16. — Dr. Carson, Vice- President, in the chair. — "Re-
mains of Mastodon and Horse in North Carolina." — Prof. Leidy
exhibited two photographs, received from Prof. W. C. Kerr,
State Geologist of North Carolina, representing some remains of
Mastodon americanus foimd in that State. One of the specimens
represented is that of the greater part of the lower jaw of a
mature male, retaining both incisor tusks and the last two molar
teeth. The hitter, with their angular lobes separated by deep
angular and nearly unobstructed valleys, are quite characteristic
of the species. The incisors are an inch and three-fourths in
diameter. The last molar has four transverse pairs of lobes and
a well-developed heel. The penultimate molar has three trans-
verse ^irs of lobes. The specimen was obtained from gravel
overlymg the miocene marl near Goldsboro', Lenoir Co., N.C.
An isolated last lower molar of the same species, represented in
company with the jaw, was obtained in Pitt Co. — Prof. Leidy
also exhibited a specimen of an upper molar teeth, which Mr.
Timothy Conrad had picked up from a pile of miocene marl at
Greenville, Pitt Co., N.C He suspected, from its size and
intricicy in the folding of the enamel of the i-ilets at the miJdle
01 the triturating surface, that the tooth belonge^l to the post-
pliocene Equiis complicatus^ and was an accidental occupini of
the miocene marL It may, however, belong to a Hipparioa of
the miocene period, but the imperfection of the specimen at ii
inner part prevented its positive generic determination.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English.— A Manual of ihe Anitomy of VcrtebntcJ Animals: Pn^
Huxley (CaurchilU). — A Syaonym.c Catalog le of Diurnal Lepido^teri .
W. F. Kirby (Van Vojrat).— Dcscriplioi of an Elcctri: Telegraph . bir
Francis Ronald ( William « and Norgate) —Spiritual and Animal Magaetism:
Prof. J. G. Zerffi ( Hardwickc) — An Elementary TrcAtise on Sutics: J. >V
Mulcaster ( Taylor and Francis).
Foreign.— (Through Williams anl Norgate.)— Verhandlungen dei inter-
nattonalen Congress f^r Alcerthumskunde u. Geschichte zu Bono.
DIARY
THURSDAY, November a.
LiNNBAN SoaETV, at 8.— On the Origin of Instcts : Sir John Lubbock,
Bart, F.R.S.— Notes on the Natural History of the Flying Fish: Capt
Chimmo —On a Chinese Gall, allied to the European Artichoke Gail :
A. Muller, F.L.S.
Chemical Socibtv, at 8.- On Anthraflavic Acid : W. H. Perkin.
London Institution, at 7.30. — On Michael Faraday ; the Story of his Life:
Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S.
FRIDAY, November 3.
Geologists* Association, at 8.— On the Old Land Surfacej of the G'.jb;
Prof. Morris.
MONDAY, November 6.
London Institution, at 4. — On Elementary Physiology (II.): Pr f-
Huxley, LI* D.,F.RS.
Anthropological Institute, at 8. — On the Order of Succession of j be
several Stone Implement Periods in England: J. W. Flower, F. 0.5-
Noteson some Archaic Structures in the Isle of Man : A. L. Lewij.
TUESDAY, November 7.
Society op Biblical Archaeology, at 8.30.— On the Rel'gious Belief of t«
Assyrians : H. Fox Talbot.
Hackney Scientific Association, at 7.30.— Conversazione.
Zoological Society, at 9.— Report on Recent Additions to the Soc'ctp
Menagerie : The SecreUry— On the Recent Ztpho'd Whales, with a tt
scription of the Skeleton oi Berardius amouxii : W. H. Flower, F.R-b-
On the HabtU of the Nose-homed Viper iVipera. ruukomis): HerM
Taylor Ussher, CM.Z S.
WEDNESDAY, November 8.
Geological Society, at 8— Notes on the Diamond Gravels of the Vaal. n
South Africa : G. W. Stow.— On the Geology of the Diamond Fie!d> oi
South Africa : Dr. John Shaw.— Notes on some Fossils from the De\-oo-»3
Rocks of the Witzcnbcrg Flats, Cape Colony : Prof. T. Rupert Jones.
THURSDAY, November 9.
London Mathematical Society, at 8.— On the Partition of an E»«^
Number into two Primes : J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S.
CONTENTS Pac«
Rii'ples and Waves By Prof. Sir William Thomson, F.R S. • • '
Alldutt on the Ophthalmoscope. By Dr. H. Power . . . • ■
Our Book Shelp ♦
Letters to the Editor: —
An Universal Atmosphere —W. Mattieu Williams, F.C S. . • '
Pendulum Autographs — Geo S. Carr ♦ '
Exogenous Structures in Coal- Plants.— Prof. W. C Williamson. ^
ClassificaiionofFruit«.—D'r. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R. S. . • "
TheBcrthonDynamometer.— Rev. T.W.Webb, F.R. A. S. . . • '
New Form of Cloud '
Spectrum of Blood— H. C. SoRBY, F.R. S
Earthquake in Burmah.— M^gor Charles Halsteo ^
A Plane's Aspect.— Dr. T. A. Hirst, F.R.S. : Dr. C. M. Jn*
CLEBY : J. K. Laughton •
Geometry at the Universities — Richd. A. Proctor, F. R.A.S. . • ■
Deep-Sea Dredging in the Gulf op St. Lawrence. By J. F.
Whitbaves »
The Rede Lecture at Cambridge '
The Conjoint Examination Scheme ^
Sir Roderick Murchison. By Prof. Arch. Geikie. F.R.S. (J>VM
Portrait.) J«
Homoplasy AND Mimicry. By Alfred W. Bennett, F.L.S. . . • "*
Notes "
The Geognosy of the Appalachian and the OEtciN of Crvs-
TALLiNE Rocks. By Prof T. Sterry Hunt '^
Instructions for Observers at the English Government
Eclip.se Expedition, 187 r. 11— Polariscopic Observations. iWUk ^
Diagrams.) , '•
Scientific Serials . . • '^
Societies and Academies ....•''
Books Received *^
Diary .^ , " ' ' T
Digitized by VjOOQIC
NA TURE
21
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1871
THE ORIGIN OF GENERA *
ALTHOUGH it is bow two years since the publica-
tion of Prof. Cope's "fragmentary essay," as he
modestly terms it, bearing the above title, it may not be
out of place, in the present stage of the theory of Evolution,
to give our readers some idea of its scope. It ought to
be in the possession of every naturalist. Although
already so condensed that anything like an analysis of
it is impossible, the following tabular sketch may serve to
give our readers an idea of the mode in which the Origin
of Genera is treated : —
I. Relations of allied genera.
First ; in adult age.
Second ; in relation to their development,
a. On exact parallelism.
0. On inexact or remote parallelism,
y. On parallelism in higher groups,
d. On the extent of parallelisms.
1 1. Of retardation and acceleration in generic character?.
First ; metamorphoses in adult age.
a. The developmental relations of generic and
specific characters.
/3. Probable cases of transition,
y. Ascertained cases of transition.
Second ; earlier metamorphoses,
d. The origin of inexact parallelisms.
III. Relations of higher groups,
a. Of homologous groups.
/3. Of heterology,
y. Of mimetic analogy.
IV. Of natural selection.
a. As affecting class and ordinal characters.
/3. As affecting family characters.
V. As aflfecting generic characters.
0. As affecting specific characters.
r. On metaphysical species.
V. Of epochal relations.
Professor Cope considers that the laws which have regu-
lated the successive creation of organic beings are of two
kinds. The first, that which has impelled matter to pro-
duce numberless ultimate types from common origins ; the
second, that which expresses the mode or manner in which
the first law has executed its course, from its commence-
ment to its determined end, in the many cases before us.
" That a descent, with modifications, has progressed
from the beginning of the creation is exceedingly probable.
The best enumerations of facts and arguments in its favour
are those of Darwin, as given in his various important
works, * The Origin of Species,' &c. There are, however,
some views respecting the laws of development on which
lie does not dwell, and which it is proposed here to
point out.
'* In the first place, it is an undoubted fact that the
origin of genera is a more distinct subject from the origin
of species than has been supposed.
'* A descent with modification involves continuous series
of organic types through one or many geologic ages, and
the co-existence of such parts of such various series at one
time as the law of mutual adaptation may permit.
'* These series, as now found, are of two kinds : the
uninterrupted line of specific, and the same uninterrupted
line of generic characters. These are independent of each
other, and have not, it appears to the writer, been developed
pari passu. As a general law, it is proposed to render
highly probable that the same specific form has existed
through a succession of genera, and perhaps in different
epochs of geologic time.
" With regard to the first law of development as above
proposed, no one has found means of discovering it, and
perhaps no one ever will. It would answer such questions
as this. What necessary coincidence of forces has resulted
in the terminus of the series of fishes in the perches as its
most specialised extreme? or, of the batrachia, in the
fresh- water frogs, as its ultimum? or, of the thrushes,
among birds, as their highest extreme ? in a word, what
necessity resulted in man as the crown of the mammalian
series, instead of some other organic type? Our only
answer and law for the questions mu^t be, the will of the
Creator.
" The second law of modes and means has been repre-
sented to be that of natural selection by Darwin. This
is, in brief, that the will of the animal applied to its body
in the search for means of subsistence and protection
from injuries gradually produces those features which are
evidently adaptive in their nature. That, in addition,
a disposition to a general variation on the part of species
has been met by the greater or less adaptation of the
results of such variation to the varying necessities of their
respective situations. That the result of such conflict
has been the extinction of those types that are not adapted
to their immediate or changed conditions, and the preser-
vation of those that are " (pp. 4, 5).
In the chapter ''On the relations of nearly allied
genera," he gives no less than eight ''examples of exact
parallelism."* We select one at random as illustrating the
large number of facts he brings to bear on the subject
of which he treats. " The Cervidae of the Old World are
known to develop a basal snag of the antler at the third
year ; a majority of those of the New World never
develop it, except in abnormal cases in the most vigorous
maturity of the most Northern Cariacus : while the South
American Subulo retains to adult age the simple hora of
the second year of Cervus. Among the higher Cervidse,
Rusa and Axis never assume characters beyond an
equivalent of the fourth year of Cervus. In Dama, on
the other hand, the characters aie assumed more rapidly
than in Cervus; its third year corresponding to the
fourth of the latter. Among American deer there is the
Blastocerus, whose antlers are identical with those of the
fourth year of Cariacus.
" Now, individuals of the genus Cervus of the second
year do not belong to Subulo, because they have not as
yet their mature dentition. Rusa, however, is identical
with those Cervi whose dentition is complete before they
gain the antlers of the fifih year. When the first trace of
a snag appears on one beam of Cariacus virginianus^ the
* The author applies the term exact paralUlUm to the relation of genera
which are simply step* in one and the tame line of development ; whi^e m-
compUte pamitttitm is applied to that of those «4iereone or more characters
intervene in the maturity of either the lower or higher genera lo destroy
identity.
TOL. T.
Digitized by
Goc^le
22
NATURE
\Nov.^, 1 871
dentition includes the full number^ but there remain \
milk molars much worn and ready to be shed. Perhaps
the snag is developed before these are displaced. If so
the Cariacus is never a Subulo ; but there can belittle doubt
that the young Blastocerus belongs to that genus before
its adult characters appear.''
From the examples of inexact parallelism we select
the second and eighth.
'^ In both perissodactylous and artiodactylous mammalia
certain types develop their family character of canines
at the earliest appearance of dentition ; others, not till a
comparatively late period of life (Equus) ; and the extreme
genera never produce them" (p. 14).
" In most serpents the left lung is never developed ; in
such the pulmonary artery, instead of being totally
wanting, remains as a posterior aorta bow, connected
with the aorta by a ductus botalli ; serpents without left
lung being, therefore, identical in this respect with the
embryonic type of those in which that lung exists."
Under the head of " adult metamorphoses," in the second
chapter, Prof. Cope explains his law of retardation and
acceleration. It consists " in a continual crowding back-
wards of the successive steps of individual development,
so that the period of reproduction, while occurring
periodically with the change of the year, falls later and
later in the life-history of the species, conferring upon
its offspring features in advance of those possessed by its
predecessors. This progressive crowding back of stages
is not, however, supposed to have progressed regularly
On the contrary, in the development of all animals, there
are well-known periods when the most important transi-
tions are accomplished in an incredibly short space of
time (as the passage of man through the stages of the
aorta bows and the production of limbs in the Batrachia
Anura) ; while other transitions occupy long periods, and
apparently little progress is made" (p. 37).
On these and other similar grounds, the author con-
cludes, that " the transformation of genera may have been
rapid and abrupt, and the intervening periods of persis-
tency very long. As the development of the individual,
so the development of the genus " (p. 38).
To the question— Has any such transition from genera
to genera ever been seen to occur ? Prof. Cope answers
in the affirmative, and gives eleven probable and six
ascertained cases, for the details of which we must refer
to pp. 42—46.
Passing for want of space over the third and fourth
chapters, we arrive at the concluding one, " On Epochal
Relations, or those Measuring Geological Time," which
abounds in valuable matter. The comparisons of different
fauns " indicate that an inherent difference between the
types of a continent exists at the present time, though the
difference is subordinated to a universal distribution of the
higher groups throughout the earth. Has this state of
things existed for any long period, or is it the result of
different progress in the same group since the human
period ? Thus the present fauna of Australia was preceded
in the post-pliocene and pliocene by forms possessing
similar peculiarities, and belonging to the same classes :
that is, by herbivorous and carnivorous marsupials and
monotremes, and by Varanid Sauria, all of greater size
than their predecessors.
''The same fact is well known of the Neotropical region.
its present peculiar Edentata having been preceded by
giants of the same type in the post-pliocene and pliocene."
In the Nearctic, the later Pa]aearctic,andthe Palxotropical
regions, the existing genera were similarly represented by
pre-existing types, sometimes wonderfully developed.
" Prior to these faunae another state of things has, how-
ever existed. North America has witnessed a withdrawal
of a Neotropical fauna, and the Palxarctic the retreat of
an Ethiopian type. During the post-pliocene in North
America, Neotropical genera were to Neartic as 12 to 29,
as the record now stands. In the pliocene beds of
Pikermi (Greece) antelopes, giraffes, i^noceros, hippopo-
tamus, huge manis, monkeys, monitors, and other genera
and species of African relationship, are the prevailing
forms, and still earlier a strong mingling of Nearctic
and more of Neotropical types abounded in the Palae-
arctic " (p. ^^).
We have, then, three important terms from which to
derive a theory of the creation : — (i) The existing six
faunae bear in many of their parts developmental
relations to one another; (2) They were preceded im-
mediately by faunae similar to them in each case, but more
remotely by faunae like those now in existence ; and (3)
the Southern Hemisphere is a geologic stage behind the
Northern one in progress, as is shown by its perfection in
types extinct in the Northern, and by its inferiority in
modem types prievalent in the Northern.
For a fuller demonstration of the last point we must
refer our readers to pp. 78, 79 of this valuable monograph.
G. E. D.
MISS NIGHTINGALE ON LYING-IN
INSTITUTIONS
Introductory Notes on Lying-in Institutions, By Florence
Nightingale. Pp. 1 10. (Longmans, Green, and Co. 187 1.)
MISS NIGHTINGALE tells us the story of this
book somewhat as follows : — ^The Committee of
the Nightingale Fund, with the view of extending the
usefulness of their Institution for training nurses, entered
into an arrangement with St. John's House and King's
College Hospital, by which a special ward was set apart
for the reception of poor women in childbed, and steps
were taken for training midwifery nurses to be employed
among the poor in their own houses.
After the ward had been in use for .several years, tlie
Committee were made aware that there had been many
deaths among cases admitted; this led to inquiry^ and
the ward was closed.
The Committee being still desirous of continuing this
special branch of their work. Miss Nightingale deemed itad-
visable to inquire into the whole subject of puerperal
mortality, and the result is now before us in a form which
we can all understand, and we will venture lo say that to
the generality of readers the facts will bear the aspect of
an unwelcome revelation. These facts have been drawn
from the Registrar-General's reports, from reports of
public institutions in the United Kingdom and over most
European countries, affording relief to poor women in
their need, both at home and in lying-in institutions, and
also from records of private practice.
They show that, while the death-rates for all England
L/iyiiiiLCJU ijy
<3^'
Nov. 9, 1871]
NATURE
23
from diseases and accidents peculiar to childbirth amount
to 4*83 per 1,000, they exceed this amount whenever
women pass within the walls of lying-in hospitals— in-
creasing to 5, 6, 7, and in one instance to above 19 per i,ooo*
If we confine our attention to puerperal diseases, we find
that, while the death-rate for all England from these is
I '6 1 per 1,000, it mounts up in workhouses and other
lying-in establishments to 3*3, 3*9, 4'i, and I4'3 per rooo.
In King's College Hospital lying-in ward, the puerperal
disease death-rate was nearly 29} per 1,000. By using
Dr. Lefort's data, which give the death-rates from all
causes at home and in hospital, in various European
countries, it is shown that the approximate death-rate at
home is 4 7 per 1,000, while in lying-in institutions it is
no less than 34 per 1,000.
Miss Nightingale discusses the causes of these immense
death-rates, which, she reminds us, occur among women
undergoing not a diseased, but a perfectly natural con-
dition, among whom a death '' is little short of a calamity,"
and "almost a subject for an inquest." We cannot enter
into the discussion, but we can say distinctly what is the
impression produced by the evidence. It affords another
illustration of the danger of unenlightened philanthropy.
Some one takes pity on poor suffering women, and forth-
with builds an hospital for them or gets it built, without
a thought, apparently, of what organic laws of human
nature he is about to violate. Nature takes no account
of his good intentions, but just goes on, as Miss Night-
ingale has elsewhere said, *' to levy her own cess in her
own way."
The practical result of the whole discussion is that lying-
in establishments, as at present managed, are destruc-
tive of human hfe, and should be forthwith closed, and
that poor women should, as a rule, be attended at home.
The case, however, is not altogether hopeless ; and
Miss Nightingale proceeds to show how an institution for
training mid wives and midwifery nurses can be planned
and managed without risk. The whole secret consists in
assimilating the establishment to home conditions, what-
ever the cost may be. The evidence shows that in such an
institution there would be no more risk than at home. The
difficulty, as it appears to us, would be in the cost and in the
perfection of management required, which could only be at-
tained by persons practically conversant with physiologi-
cal laws. But, at the same time, there can be no ques-
tion of the superior advantages for training which such an
institution would afford. This portion of the book is illus-
trated by plans of existing hospitals, and of the proposed
training school It contains a large amount of valuable
detail in small compass, well worthy the attention of the
medical profession and the public at large; concluding
with an appeal to women, desirous of entering on medical
studies, to make this department of practice their own.
The book, as its title implies, is tentative, and there is
prefixed to it a quaint dedication to " the shade of Socrates'
mother," including a call for help to '' the questioning
shade of her son, that I, who write, may have the spirit of
questioning aright, and that those who read may learn
not of me but of themselves." If this Socratic spirit of
''questioning aright" were more cultivated, we should
have fewer philanthropic mistakes, and science would be
less troubled than it has been of late by dogmatic as-
sertions and cnide speculations.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Text-Book of Geometry, Part I. By T. S. Aldis, M.A.,
Senior Mathematical Master, Manchester Grammar
School. (Deighton, Bell, and Co.)
Wk are much pleased with this book as a good text-book
for teaching geomelr)'. It is evidently the work of one
who has been at the pains to consider well what are the
difficulties which the average pupil encounters. It is the
work, too, of one who has seen what the fault of the school
teaching of geometry has hitherto been, and who is deter-
mined, as far as lies in his power, to remedy it. The evil of
school-teaching has been tnat Euclid has been learned by
rote, or when things have not been so bad as that, its propo-
sitions have been regarded too much as only abstract truths,
which neither have been elucidated by, nor have been
used to elucidate natural phenomena or the ordinary things
of life. Mr. Aldis supplies this defect by an admirable
series of examples and exercises appended to each propo-
sition, calculated to give a practical turn to the whole
study in the mind of a beginner, and to familiarise him
early with the idea that he can really make use of the
subject, and can give it a vast variety of application. Mr.
Aldis frequently gives more than one demonstration of
the same proposition. This also is very useful in teach-
ing, inasmuch as it practically informs the pupil that the
truths of geometry are independent of any particular de-
monstration of them, and gets him into the habit of ap-
proaching any problem from more than one point of
view. The present is a first instalment. It contains
pretty nearly what is in Euclid's first four books. J. S.
Populdre Wissenschafttiche Vortrdge. Von H. Helm-
holtz. 2tes Heft (Braunschweig: Vcrlag von F.
Wieweg. London: Williams and Norgate.)
This part of Helmholtz's essays reminds us in many
respects of Tyndall's lectures — in their clear and eloquent
language, eminently adapted for popular comprehension^
their freedom from technical expressions, except where
these are unavoidable, and in the original mode m which
well-known facts are dealt with and used to illustrate pro-
found scientific truths. The work contains six lectures,
of which three are devoted to recent advances in the
theory of vision, one to the correlation of the physical
forces, one to the conservation of force, and the last to the
objects and advances of science. In the three lectures
devoted to the eye, whilst extolling its perfection as an
instrument in the mode in which we use it, he points out
its various defects ; the blind spot, the blind lines and
striae corresponding to the vessels, its incapacity to focus
equally red and violet rays, the want of uniformity in its
refraction as indicated by the lines that appear to proceed
from a star, &c. He discusses the various colours of the
spectrum,and represents this not in the mode usually adopted
of a circle with segments of various sizes corresponoing
to the several primary colours, but as a triangle, of which
green, violet, and red occupy the angles, and blue, yellow,
and purple the sides, white having an eccentric position
near the yellow. Violet, which he was formerly indisposed
to regard as a primary colour, he again admits, and he seems
inclined to advocate, as best explaining the phenomena
of colour-blindness, the views ot Young : that there are
special nerves for perceiving red, 'green, and violet rays,
an opinion that is less surprising in view of Brown Se-
guard's conclusions in regard to the number of channels
for special sensations contained in the spinal cord, and
which is also supported by the remarkable specialisation
shown by Helmnoltz himself to occur in the branches of
the auditory nerve indicated by the phenomena of certain
defects of hearing. The chapters on the correlation of
the physical forces and the conservation of force, subjects
that are now familiar to most scientific Englishmen, are
very interesting, as being, to use the German phrase,
amongst the original path-breaking essays on these sub-
jects. H. P,
L^iyiLiiLcu uy
d^'
24
NATURE
[Nov. 9,1871
Notis on the Food of Plants. By Cuthbcit C. Grundy,
F.C.S. (London : Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1871.)
This is a useful elementary sketch of the form and manner
in which food is obtained by plants. Faults in it there
are. Thus, notwithstanding the conclusive experiments
of Prillieux and Duchartre, proving that plants have no
power of absorbing moisture through their leaves, and the
author's own reference to this now established fact in
the preface, we still find the assertion (p. 14) that " the
leaves withdraw from the atmosphere aqueous vapour.''
The statement (p. 25) that the sap descends in dicoty-
ledonous plants throuf^h the bark is not strictly correct ;
and a Fellow of the Chemical Society ought not to have
described (p. 23) carbonic acid as ''carbon dioxide com-
bined with water." These blemishes apart, this little book
may be recommended to those who desire an explanation
of the mode in which vegetable organisms are built up
from inorganic materials, and who are unable to devote the
time to the more elaborate works of Mr. Johnson, "How
Crops Grow " and " How Crops Feed." The portion re-
lating to the effect on crops of different soils strikes us as
the best.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ Tfu Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications. ]
Proof of Napier's Rules
As the following graphical construction is easily executed, re-
presenting to the eye the figure usually employed for the proof
of Napier's rules of the parts of right-angled triangles in
spherical geometry, it will perhips remove difficulties from their
proof for beginners, like those which Mr. W. D. Cooley's work
on '* Elementary Geometry " must, from his description of some
interesting parts of its contents in Nature of the 19th of October,
have proposed to itself to meet, and to render at least as easily
•accessible as possible to the inquiring student in mathematics.
0
^
c
>i»^
\
\^
■
A""
r
/ ^^^""'^^^ '"
BF is a rectangular card, measuring two inches by three inches
in the sides, and divided by the lines DB, DC, DA, DB', and
B'C in the directions shown in the figure, and in such a manner
that the three comen of the rectangle are completely cut away
by the last two, and by the first of these lines ; while DC and DA
are only cut or scored lightly in the card, so as to allow the re-
maining three triangles, DBC, DCA, DAB', to be folded towards
each other, until, DB and DB' coinciding, they form a solid angle
of three faces at the point D. The properly possessed by this
solid angle, that the mdination of the two faces, DCB, DCA,
to each other is a right angle (the angle shown at C in the hose,
AB'C of the solid angle), and that the base AB'C of the result-
ing tetrahedron cuts the two faces ADC, ADB', perpendicnlarly
(or at right angles to their common interMction DA) in the line
AC, AB', so that the plane angle A of the plane right-angle
triangle B' AC is also the inclination between those &oes, or t c
angle of the right-angled spherical triangle formed by the inter*
section of a sphere, about the centre D, with the three plines
meeting each other at that point, affords a ready proof of all
Napiers rules, excepting that connecting the two angles of a
ri^ht-angled sphericu triangle, from the simple definitions of the
trigonometrical " ratios " 0? plane angles. *
Calling the angles of the faces which meet together at the point
D, as shown in the figure a, ^, r, opposite to the spherical angle?
A,B,C, formed by the inclination of the other two faces to each
other, these angles, and those of inclination of the fiices are, re-
spectively, the sides and angles of a right-angled spherical
triangle, whose right angle is C, its hypothenose is ^, and the
angle A, between b and c is equal to the plane angle A, of the
right-angled triangle AB'C.
Taking, firstly, as the radiui, DA, eqnal to unity, AC (or
AC), and AB^ are the tangents of b and c \ and the right-
angled triangle ACB' gives the rule,
■« cos A ; or cos A » tan ^ . cot r (i)
tanr '
Takhig, in the next place. DB, (or BB'), as the radiu«, equal
to unity ; BC (or B'C), and B'A are the sines ; and DC, D.\are
the cosines of the angles a and r. In the first case the right-
angled triangle A B'C affords the ratio
"° ^ = sin A : or sin a = sin r . sin A : (2)
sm c
And in the second case we obtain from the right-angled
triangle ADC the rule
cos ^ = cos a . cos ^ (3)
The roles for the angle B, corresponding to (i) and (2) for the
angle A, are simply obtained from them by transposing in them
the sides and angles a A for ^B ; thus —
cos B = tan <i . cot r (4)
stn ^ = sin ^ . sin B (5)
Finally, dividing (i) by (5), a rule for connecting together the
two angles of the right-angled spherical triangle u found as
follows : —
...ve A . «•« Ti _ *"* ^ • sin ^ _ cos f
cos A -r- sm 15 = -T- - — = ;
tan c sin c cos b
or cos A = cos a sin B
= cosa,by(3);
(6)
If, as in Napier's rules, the two sides and the differences fron
90" of the two angles and of the hypothenass arranged in their
natural order round the triangle are r^arded as constituting its
five parts, it will he seen that all the a^ve consequences may be
included in the two rules known a« Napier'd rules, that the sine
of the middle (that is, of any chosen) part is equal to the product
of the tangents of the two adjacents, as well as to the product of
the cosines of the two opposite parts.
As a rule to assist the memory, the laconic brevity and com-
pleteness of Napier*s formula possess a most uniquely felicitous,
and, happily for nuithematicians, a not unfrequently enduring
charm. But should the student desire to divest himself of their
artificiality, and to retrace for himself the steps of the demonstra-
tion upon which any one example of these nues is based, he most
first draw a solid tetrahedron A BCD, in which the facial angles
at A, C, are as represented in the figure, but as they cannot all
be correctly shown on account of the embarrassing effects of the
perspective in the drawing, right angles. By having recourse to a
model, on the other hand, which may very readily t>e cut from a
card like that illustrated in the above description, and folded so
as to form the solid figure required for their demonstration, all
the cases of Napier's ndes may be exhibited, and proved, almost
as speedily, and satisfactorily to a learner's apprehension in so!i<l
geometry, as the definidons of the simple trigonometrical ratios of
plane angles, and the least complicated relations connecting
together tne parts of plane triangles nuiy be made intelligible to
him ; and that by a plain series of immediate deductions from the
figure, which his familiarity with the processes of plane trigo*
nometry will already have taught him very easily to supply.
Newcastle-on-Tyne, Oct. 30 A. S* Herschbl
Remarkable Paraselene seen at Highfield House on
October asth, 1871
The phenomenon first became visible at yh 12™ p.m., and
finally vanished at 7''* 33 p.m. The upper portion of a halo of
* Another similar property, with a somewhat less important applicatioii of
the same tetraliedron, is described vx the Quarterly youmal^fMaikem^tUi
for October x86a, p. 306.
L/iyiLiiLcvj kjy
<3^'
»». 9, 1871]
NATURE
25
30' rmdius marked DCE, together with a detached portion of
bad the moon for its centre ; at the apex of this circle was the
X of another of slroiltr diinension<i, HCG, whose centre was
»xit 45* atove the morn. On the horizontal level of the moon
either side were mock moons, AU, and immediately above
moon within the same circle was an o\al mock moon, C.
^^mmiiu.
^^^^aixjniiini))^^^
Both A and C, though very apparent, were nevertheless not
brilliant, the grandeur of the phenomenon centering in the double
mock moon B ; this was so brilliant that it attracted immediate
attention, and that portion nearest the moon was sensibly orange-
red. At first it appeared as one large mock moon (twice as
br<Mul as it was long), and at ^^ 19*° divided into two with a thin
dark band between. Whilst the two moons (touching each other)
were visible, each had a tail of 10° or more in lengUi, and these
were included within a gigantic tail of 25" long, considerably
more brilliant, but colourless, and contrasting much with the
orange-red of the mock moons. At the time of the phenomenon
a fo|; spread over the valley, and overhead were strong drri in
parallel bands The tempei^ture was 37^*2, and on the grass
The moon shone brightly and the sky was cloudless near her
throughout the whole time. At f" 33" a doud of considerable
density obscured both the moon and Uie phenomenon.
E. J. Lowe
Structure of Lepidodendron
I MAY, perhaps, notwithstanding the editorial injunction to the
contrary, be permitted to make one remark by way of addition
to what I said in my last letter on this subject. I have been
f&voored bv Mr. J. T. Yuung with the inspection of some Lepi-
dodendroid stems from the Lancashire coal-fields. These are
somewhat different from any others which I have seen, and are
probably similar to those Prof. Williamson is working with. At
any rate they enable me to understand, what otherwise I have
failed to comprdiend, namely, the three structures which ProC
Williamson sees in the yascular axis of these plants. In Mr.
Yooog's specimens a transverse section of the vascular axis ex-
hibits (1) the investing cylinder, (2) a zone of larger icalarifonn
vessels, (3) a central irregular mass of vertically disposed rows of
scalariform cells with transversely truncate ends. Suppose the
transveise septa separating these cells absorbed, as probably
eventually they would have been, and the rows of oelb become
scalaiifbrm vessels. I see no reason therefore to lead me to
alter my views upon this matter, or to look upon 2 and 3 as
fbnnuig more than one central structure distinct from i, the
imrating cylinder. W. T. Thisslton Dybr
Is Blue a Primary Colour?
No exception can be taken against Dr. Aitken's argument in
yom- number for Oct. 12. The colours of the substances he ex-
perimented on could not be regarded as simple. But he does
not consider how loosely all names of colours must be applied
in common language. The colours of most blue pigments,
especially in thin washes, no doubt contain a large proportion of
green. But let the colour of the blue salvia, or that of the pig-
ment called French blue or ultramarine (often given as the best
example of true blue) be tested in conjunction with the purest
yellows (even with the almost greenish yellow of the pigment
called lemon-yellow) and the two will be found perfectly com-
plementaij. This is the colour of Newton's indigo rays, which
he himsell in his colour circle put opposite to his yellow. In
fact, in good English, not onhr sea-greenish blues, hke the
colour of Newton's blue part of^ the spectrum, or that of the
pigment called azure or cseruleum, but even the colour of the
violet itself, is properly called blue. Witness Mihon's "beds of
violets blue." The violet of the spectrum is in truth little more
than a pure blue diluted with white by reason of the fluor-
escence of the retina, as recent researches have shown. (See
T. J. MiiUer's paper in PoggendorJPs Annalm, March and April
last.) I must, therefore, piotest t^inst sul^tituting a fanciful
term like violet for the good English blue, as tiie designation of
a simple colour-sensation. It is hard enough to make artists
believe that yellow is not a simple colour. To tell them the
same of its complementary blue would add to their disgust, and
not unreasonably. William Benson
Mr. Aitken in his letter in Nature, Oct 12, seems to con-
found primary with pure colours ; it is true they are pure in a
certain sense, but in what sense is fully explained in Ftof. J. C.
Maxwell's lecture, given in Nature, vol. iv. p. 13. AU the
experiments mentioned by Mr. Aitken merely prove that the
blue colours we commonly see are mixed ones ■; Imt the same is
the case with almost all the colours we see, while any tint of the
spectrum, whether primary or not, may be had pure, 1./., con-
sisting of homogeneous light. Likewise colours which appear
just the same to the eye may be made of very different com-
ponents. T. W. Backhouse
A Shadow on the Sky
On the 21st of last August, being at Zermatt, Switzerland, I
witnessed from the balcony of the utlU-d-mangtr of the Hotel du
Mont Cervin a very remarkable appearance. The sun had recently
set, and, as I was intensely enjoying the view of that extra-
ordinarv mountain, the Matterhom, I saw its shadow thrown
upon the clear sky in the most distinct manner. It was the
exact figure of a cone lying obliquely, with its apex somewhat in
an up^i^uil direction, and its base taking its origin from the
S.S.E. side of the mountain. The cone was well defined, the
edges of the shadow being sharp and re^lar. The moon was,
from our point of view, at thb time behmd the Matterhom. I
immediately acquainted some gentlemen, who were at supper in
the saUe»<i'mangtr^ with thb interesting appearance, and all were
much struck with it. My son, Marshall Hall, had joft retired
to rest, having to be up at two the next morning, m order to
make a new ascent in this localitv ; but I called him out into the
garden to enjoy with me this striking scene. The deep, distinct
shadow added to the weird effect always produced by Uiis extra-
ordinary mountain, and it so impress^ me that I thought the
phenomenon might be worth recording in your journal
Brighton, Oct. 23 Charlotte Hall
A Plane's Position
This question is becoming one degustUms^ and its further dis-
cussion will probably be profitless. I retain my opinion, and
am content with the few who skle with me. In the two finest
treatises on astronomy published during the present century, Her-
schers "Outlines of Astronomy," and Grant's "History of
Physical Astronomy," the word position is used as I use it. Not
systematically, I admit ; for Herschel sometimes wrote " situa-
tion" where I should write "position." Grant in one place
deals somewhat definitively with the word, for at p. 258 he
writes, " The position of Saturn's ring is usually determined by
the inclination of its plane to the ecliptic and the longitude of
its ascending node," the longitude ot this node being defined.
Digitized uy ^^^^^_^_^IC
26
NATURE
[Nov. 9, 1871
as all astronomers know, by the dtrection of the b'ne of nodes,
not by its actual fiace,
By-the-bye, Sir John Herschel is sometimes very careful to
use the iRrords " actual place " where my critics contend that the
word "position" would be sufficiently definitive.
It seems overlooked that I pointed out in the beginning that
" position " was often but erroneously used as synon3rmous with
" place." It is not my fault if this error appears in the technical
use of the word "position" in some mathematical treatises. I
say again with Colonel Mannering, Abusus non tollit usum —
" The abuse of anything doth not abrogate the lawful use thereof.**
It was a lapsus calami of mine to say that "position " could not
be misunderstood. It could be, for it has been misused.
Prof. Hirst is quite right in saying I should be unable to de-
scribe the aspect of a horizontal plane. I should not think of
trying to. He says, however, that Mr. Wilson would unhesita-
tingly pronounce its aspect vertical. (Does it look vertically up
or vertically dawn?) What would Mr. Wilson assign — un-
hesiutingly or otherwise— as the aspect of the " prime vertical"?
Has a true plane (as distinguished from a plane face of a solid)
one aspect or two ? It has one position or situation, and one
place or location, but I conceive that it has two aspects.
Mr. Laughton seems quite unaware of Sir J. Herschel's re-
peated use of the word " tilt."
His comment on my remark about the books which I have
written is unworthy. He must surely perceive that I only sought
to indicate how much occasion I had nad to consider the subject
of plane-position ; more occasion, I think, than any of my critics,
save Prof. Hirst, the weight of whose opinion I recognise fully,
though I cannot agree with hiuL But 1 have not felt free to use
the word " position '* so systematically as I should wish, pre-
cisely because of its misuse to indicate place. I have only been
able to use it where there could be no fear of that wrong meaning
being assigned to it
As I chum no credit for the invention of any word for indi-
cating plane-position, and as' I could not take from Mr. Laughton
that which is not his — the credit for Hamilton's word " aspect "
— ^perhaps I may be permitted to say that if I am '* pertinaaous "
(as Mr. Laughton asserts) there is nothing personal in my per-
tinacity. It is not my custom to admit that I am wrong when I
comider that I am right.
[My objections to the word "aspect" are confirmed by Mr.
Wilson's letter. I wrote that the word could not be used
in the sense indicated, "unless a new and artificial meaning
were assigned to it." Mr. Wilson obligingly proves this by
assigning to it just such a meaning. " Tne aspect of a plane is
the direction of its normal," it would seem. Now no special
objection need be ur^ed against this definition, if it is to be con-
fined rigidly within uie limits of mathematical text-books. The
definition is Strang and artificial no doubt ; but it is nothing
new to see the familiar and natural banished from such works.
As a writer on astronomy, however, I must declme to accept the
roposed usage, which seems to me altosether objectionable. If
vrxite respecting the celestial equator-^ne that " its position is
at right angles to the polar axis of the heavens," I find that I am
understood ; but I am sure my readers would be very much per-
plexed if I wrote that " the aspect of the equator-plane is the
direction of the polar axis." Again, I should be understood, I
think, if I said that " the positions of two hour-planes determine
the direction of the polar axis,*' or that " the directions of the
polar axis and the vertical determine the position of the meridian-
plane." But if I wrote "aspect" where I have here written
"position," I scarcely know what my readers would think.
By the way, what would be the "aspect" of the meridian-
plane according to the proposed usage? Would it be "east"
or " west " ? The normal to that plane would lie east and west ;
but we could not hear of an " east-and-west " aspect without
thinking of certain " dear stories towards the south-north, lustrous
as ebony."
I am bound to point out, however, though I may seem to
weaken my posidon by doing so, that a very eminent authority
long since used the word " aspect " in the sense suggested by Mr.
Laughton. In one of his well-known " Letters to a Lady," on
quaternions, Sir W. R. Hamilton uses the words "position, *
'slope," "ledge," and "aspect," to express the relations which
I have called respectively "place," "slope," "aspect," and
"position." (See Nicbol's "Cyclopaedia of the Physical
Sciences," 2nd edition, p. 70S.) I appjehcnd, however, that he
lays no special strri-s on ttiis vtrbiage. H had used die word
" position " ior " pjace," and this left him without any word to
indicate position. Beades, his iUnstrative plane is Uie su&oe of
f
a desk, and a surface may be conceived to have an aspect de-
finable by the direction of its normal, but a geometrical plane is
two-fiM»i.] ♦
This is my last letter on the present subject— unless one of
your correspondents should employ arguments showing me to be
in error, in which case I shall crave two lines of your space to
admit as much. RiCHD. A. Proctok.
Brighton, Nov. 3
P.S. — Let it be noticed that the question is not how the word
" position " has been used by some, out how it ought to be used
byalL
I CANNOT agree with Mr. Wilson that "aspect" is exactly
the word wanted. The same wall has two aspects ; if a southern,
then also a northern aspect on the other side. In fiurt the woid
seems adapted, according to its common usage, to express the
"sense" (sens), as well as the direction of the plane's normal,
whereas I take it that the word sought for should express the di*
rection only without connoting the " sense."
I think a word sometimes used by geologists would be, if we
dare use it, exactly the word. As they speak of the Ite of strata,
defined (with respect to the horizon) by its two elements, strikt
and dip, so geometers might well speak of the lieoi a plane ; bat
would our English language permit us to say that " two lies de-
termine one direction,'* and " two directions determine one lie"?
I fear the moral connotation of the word, although an etymo-
logical accident, is too ugly.
If we are reduced to coin a new word, I would suggest that
the Latin root "pand** (spread), would afford for a plane the
fitting analogue of the root "reg" (rule, make straignt), for a
line, and so Uie word " dispansion " would be the analogue (^
"direction." "Paxallel pUnes have the same dispansion."
" Two dispansions determine one direction, and two directions
determine one dispansion." Will not the neatness of this mode
of expressing Mr. Wilson's test propositions atone for the strange-
ness of the word ?
The word "aspect," however, is too good to be rejected from
geometrical science, though I believe its chief use will be foW
beyond the domain of pure geometry. Should it not be appro*
pnated to cases where the plane presents different aspects to tbe
portions of space on either side of it ? For instance, if two
bodies revolve in the same or parallel planes, their orbits mig^t
be said to have the same or contraiy aspects, according ss ibe
bodies revolve in the same or contrarv directions, and so 3ie posi- 1
tive aspect of a planet's orbit would determine, not only the I
"lie" or " dispansion" of the plane of the orbit, but also the
direction of revolution in that orbit So, too, the statement that I
all the planetary orbits have nearly the same aspect, would j
imply not only that their planes nearly coincide, but also that
they all revolve in the same direction. I cannot help tbinkiog
that Mr Proctor would find his account in adopting this sense d
the word " aspect " in his astronomical writing especially since
he might, as Dr. Hirst suggests, retain the word where he ^
hitherto emploved it, by simply qualifying it with an appropriaie
adjective. (Would the adjective " azimuthal " satisfy him ?
May I conclude with a question which I have often wished to
propound ? What is the proper English equivalent for the French ,
*' sens'* 7 English mathematicians genendly seem shy of itfi^
tbe word "sense," while, to use the word "direction" as well i^
the **sens** as the " direction" of a line, is very awkward awi 1
inconvenient. The difficulty, I imagine, is the same as appeal
to me almost fatal to the word "lie " proposed alK>ve, namelf>
that the proposed technical use diverges too widely from tbe 1
familiar use of the word. Is not the superior flexibility of tbe I
German language in the formation of new terms in part due to %
less degree of fastidiousness in this respect ? ^ j
Harrow, Nov. 6 Robt." B. Haywarp I
After all, I fear the word " aspect " is not quite the right thing.
What is wanted is a word to express " plane-direction ;" some*'
thing in the plane, and not lookmg out from it. And I am tftj
sure that the compound word 'plane-direction^" which is ni
ambiguous nor colloquial, will not be better even than " aspect.'!
We should then have axioms on planes uialogous to tho^ < '
straight lines : that planes may have the same or different plar
directions : that mtersecting planes have di£ferentplane'directioDS|{
and conversely.
Parallel planes will be defined as those which have the sail
plane-direction.
^ The BMtter between bndcets wm
Digitized uy
on (ktober«7.-.BA
Uov. 9, 1 87 1 J
NATURE
27
With this word it is easier to state the theorems, " two line-
directions determine one plane-direction/' and iis reciprocal,
than with the other. ** Two directions determine one aspect,"
is hard.
If this discussion has not gone on too long perhaps some of
your correspondenU will criticise this suggestion and compare it
with "aspect." It is desirable that the best word possible
should be chosen. J. M. W.
Science and Art Examinations
The subject of Science and Art Examinations by the Depart-
ment of Science and Art is one which really reqwres looking up,
and I wish to make one or two suggestions and remarks as to
the mode of examination.
In the first place, take the examination itself. The candidates
make their appearance at the appointed time and place. Their
forms are given them, and their places assigned to them. Now
the candidate is told to write on both sides of the form, thus leaving
no back pages on which to do his rough calculation. Blotting-
paper in 1870 was not allowed ; but in 187 1 the Department
fixed a sheet to the bottom of each form in such a position that it
was very difficult to make use of it ; much time — time that was
of the utmost consequence to the candidate — being lost in doing
so. This, of course, stopped him from doing so much work, and
so lessened his chance of success. This may be all vtxj well for
the Department so far as it affects grants on results ; but what
about the imfortunate student who is made the victim of this very
arbitrary custom ?
Then again for the questions set. In all the papers the ques-
tions set were very difficult '* The Department" having, with-
out any notice, raised the standard of examination, the subjects
of questions set in the first stage of mathematics were placed in
the syllabus a stage higher, viz., the second stage. Then in
chemistry (inorganic) the standard was considerably raised. The
questions in this subject are very unfair in the opmion of many
persons who have seen them. Take the following : —
" Honours 1871
"Describe the process of manufacturing sulphuric acid, as
carried on in an alkali works, illustrating the various chemical
changes by equations, and, as far as possible, the constitution of
the compounds form^ by graphic formulae."
Now about the sulphuric acid part, or about the equations, I
have nothing to say ; but when the question requires a know-
ledge of graphic formulae I protest against it Graphic formulae
are not in sufficient use to warrant their introduction into an exami-
nation— thus enfordng their general adoption whether right or
wrong ; and I do not think the examiner should be allowed to en-
force his peculiar views — the views taken by himself and a few
other chemists — ^into the great system of Science examination
in the country, thus compelling it to be learnt by any person
wishing to compete.
Now for the results. The results of the examinations for 187 1
are very unsatisfactory, and a very high ratio is shown of failures,
and second classes to first classes obtained. This, of course^
must lessen the amount of money to be paid on results by the
Department, and a report was circulating a short time ago, to the
effect that " The examiners, after having made their reports, had
the papers returned to thein, with an instruction to reduce the
number of successful candidates, as an intimation had betn given
by a right hon. gentleman that the amount of grant due upon
those papers must be reduced 20,000/. The examiners were thus
obliged to eliminate half the names from their lists." The
question was asked by Mr. Dixon, M.P., in the House of
Commons, whether this was or was not true, and Mr. Forster,
M.P., denied it. But, previous to that, a provincial local
secretary, hearing the rumour, wrote to ask the Department if it
were true, and received a reply saying it was true, and that in-
stead of the amount being 20,000/. it was 40,000/. (The De-
partment's letter can be produced.) Now I would suggest that
the Department reform these matters referring to the forms,
blotting-paper, questions, and results, and that if they do not do
so that the House of Commons take the matter up and do justice
to Science teachers and students. Hbnry Uhlgren
New Zealand Forest Trees
In the last number of Nature is a paragraph relating to some
New Zealand woods, which the writer observes are "deserving of
a better fate than to be cut down wholesale and used as firewood.''
Five timber trees are mentioned, of which the native names only
are given.
Knowing that it is the province of Naturr to give as ac-
: urate information as possible on all points with which it deals,
I send you the botanical names of four of these New Zealand
trees. The Rimu or red pine is probably Dacrydium cypres-
sinum Soland, a tree 80 or more feet high, the fleshy cup of the
fruit of which is eatable. D, laxi/olmm Hk. fiL, a small creep-
ing bush, is also known occasionally as Rimu. The Mataii or
black pine is Podocarpus spicata Br., likewise a large tree, and
having an eatable fruit The Totara is Podocarpta toiaru A.
Cunn., a tree about 60 feet high, producing a durable and
close-grained wood much valued in the islands, and, like the
others having an eatable drupe. These trees are all more or
less abundant in the Northern and Middle islands, and all belong
to the natural order Coniferae, though we are told ia the para-
graph referred to that "none of them are Conifers."
The Rata, " that wonderful vegetable production forming it-
self out of numberless vines,'* &c., is referable to some species of
Metrosideros, Af. robusta A. Cunn, and M* florida Sm., are
both known as Rata, but the hard and very drase wood usually
known under that name is mostly derived from M, robusta. This,
however, is not a climbing plant, but an erect tree 50 or 60 feet
high ; therefore the plant referred to in the paragraph before us
is probably M, florida. The Makia I do not know, but its ex-
treme hardness would seem to indicate it as belonging to thr
same order as the last, namely the Myrtaceae.
John R. Jackson
Kcw, Nov. 7
The Glacial Drift at Finchley
A FURTHER examination of the railway cutting at the'Finchley
and Hendon Station shows that the glacial beds now revealed
there have a greater thickness and range than I at first imagined.
On Saturday last I visited the place in company with Dr. Hicks,
of Hendon, a gentleman well-lcnown for his researches in the
Cambrian formation. Above the blue clay, and right up within
a few inches of the vegetable soil, we found drift Kissils. With
an interruption here and there from the underlying London clay,
these chalky ^Uicial beds, consisting of blue (Oxford?) clay,
blueish day with flints, marl, sand, and gravel (in no r^lar
descending order), have an average thickness of 30 feet They
are open for about 500 yards, and they might perhaps be traced
farther north-west, towards the Dollis Brook Viaduct. Dr.
Hicks and I afterwards visited Mr. Plowman's Manor brick-
fields, a little south-east of the railway station ; here too we found
fossils in the brick-earth.
From what has transpired during the last few week^, it would
seem that the Muswell Hdl deposit need no longer figure in
geological literature as an outlier, at a long distance from the
general deposit ; and Londoners may in future find glacial drift
without much difficulty about Highgate, Finchley, Whetstone,
and Barnet I am indebted to Professor Morris for the informa-
tion that the Great Northern Cemetery at Barnet lies almost
wholly in the glacial clay. The forthcoming Survey memoir upon
the drift in this district is looked for by I^ndon geologists with
much interest, Hknry Walker
loo, Fleet Street, E.C., Nov. 7
ON THE ORIGIN OF INSECTS*
THE metamorphoses of this group have always
seemed to me one of the greatest difficulties of the
Darwinian theory. In most cases the development of
the individual reproduces to a ceruin extent that of the
race, but the motionless, imbecile, pupa cannot represent a
mature form. Fritz M tiller considers that the wingless
Blattidae probably most closely represent the original
insect stock ; Haeckel is inclined rather to the Pseudo-
Ncuroptera. I feel great difficulty in conceiving by what
natural process an insect with a suctorial mouth like that
* Abstract of a paper read before the Lbmean Society, Nov a, 1871, by
Sir John Lubbock, Bart, M.P., F.R.S. ~
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NATURE
\Nov, 9, 1871
of a gnat or bntterfly could be developed from a power-
fully mandibulate type like the Orthoptera, or even from
the Neuroptera. M. Brauer has recently suggested that
the interesting genus Campodea is, of all knourn existing
forms, that which probably most nearly resembles the
parent insect stock. He considers that the gfrub form of
larva is a retrograde type, in which opinion I am unable
to concur, though disposed to agree with M. Brauer on
the first point. M. Brauer in coming to this conclusion
relies partly on geological considerations ; partly on the
fact that larvae, more or less resembling Campodea^ are
found among widely different groups of insects. 1 think
there are other considerations which offer considerable
support to this view. No one, so far as I know, has yet
attempted to explain, in accordance with Mr. Darwin's
views, sucA a life history as that, for instance, of a butter-
fly, in which the mouth is first mandibulate and then
suctorial A clue to the difficulty might, I think, be found
in the distinction between developmental and adaptive
changes, to which I called the attention of the Society in
a previous memoir. The larvae of insects are by no means
mere stages in the development of the perfect animal
On the contrary, they are subject to the influence of
Natural Selection, and undergo changes which have re-
ference entirely to their own requirements and condition.
It is evident then that, while the embryonic development
of an animal in the t%;g gives us an epitome of its specific
history, this is by no means the case with species in which
the immature forms have a separate and independent
existence. Hence, if an animal when young pursues one
mode of life, and lives on one kind of food, and subse-
quently, either from its own growth in size and strength, or
from any change of season, alters its habits or food,
however slightly, immediately it becomes subject to the
action of distinct forces; Natural Selection affects it in
two different, and it may be very distinct, manners,
gradually leading to differences which may become so
great as to involve an intermediate period of change and
quiescence.
There are, however, peculiar difficulties in those cases
in which, as among the Lepidoptera, the same species is
mandibulate as a larva and suctorial as an imago. From
this point of view, however, Campodea and the CoUem-
bola {Poduray &c.) are peculiarly interesting. There are
amon^ insects three principal types of mouth, firstly, the
mandibulate, secondly, the suctorial, and thirdly, that of
Campodea^ and the ColUmbola generally, in which the
mandibles and maxillae are attachai internally, and though
far from strong, have some freedom of motion, and can
be used for biting and chewing soft substances. This
type is intermediate between the other two. Assuming
that certain representatives of such a type found them-
selves in circumstances which made a suctorial mouth
advantageous, those individuals would be favoured by
Natural Selection in which the mandibles and maxillae
were best calculated to pierce or prick, and their power
of lateral motion would tend to fall into abeyance, while,
on the other hand, if powerful masticatory jaws were an
advantage, the opposite process would take place.
There is yet a third possibility— namely, that during the
first portion of life the power of mastication should be an
advantage, and during the second that of suction, or vice
versd. A certain kind of food might abound at one
season and fail at another ; might be suitable for the
animal at one age and not at another : now in such cases
we should have two forces acting successively on each
individual, and tending to modify the organisation of the
mouth in different directions. It will not be denied that
the ten thousand variations in the mouth parts of insects
have special reference to the mode of life, and are of some
advantage to the species in which they occur. Hence no
believer in Natural Selection can doubt the possibility of
the three cases above suggested, and the last of which
seems to explain the possible origin of species which are
mandibulate in one period of life and not in another. The
change from the one condition to the other would no donbc
take place contemporaneously with a change of skin At
such times we know that, even when there is no change of
form, the temporary softness of the organs often precludes
the insect from feeding for a time, as, for instance, is the case
in the silkworm. When, however, any considerable change
was involved, this period of fasting would be prolonged,
and would lead to the existence of a third condition, that of
pupa, intermediate between the other two. Since other
changes are more conspicuous than those relating to the
mouth, we are apt to associate the pupa state with the
acquisition of wings, but the case of the Orthoptera
(grasshoppers, &c.) is sufficient proof that the develop-
ment of wings is perfectly compatible with continuous
activity. So that in reality the necessity for rest is much
more intimately connected with the change in the con-
stitution of the mouth, although in many cases no doubt
the result is accompanied by changes in the legs, and in
the internal organisation. It is, however, obvious that a
mouth like that of a beetle could not be modified into a
suctorial organ like that of a bug or a gnat, because the inter-
mediate stages would necessarily be injurious. Neither,
on the other hand, for the same reason could the mouth
of the Hemiptera be modified into a mandibulate type
like that of the Coleoptera. But in Campodea and the
Collembola we have a type of animal closely resembling
certain lan^ae which occur both in the mandibulate and
suctorial series of insects, and which possesses a mouth
neither distinctly mandibulate nor distinctly suctorial, but
constituted on a peculiar type capable of modification in
either direction by gradual changes without loss of utility.
If these views are correct, the genus Campodea must
be regarded as a form of remarkable interest, since it is
the living representative of a primaeval type from which
not only the Collembola and Thysanura but the other
great orders of insects have all derived their origin.
CHARLES BABBAGE
Died the 2oth of October, 1871
'y HERE is no fear that the worth of the late Charles
-■• Babbage will be over-estimated by this or any gene-
ration. To the majority of people he was little known
except as an irritable and eccentric person, possessed by
a strange idea of a calculating machine, which he failed
to carry to completion. Only those who have carefully
studied a number of his writings can adequately conceive
the nobility of his nature and the depth of his genius.
To deny that there were deficiencies in his character,
which much diminished the value of his labours, would be
useless, for they were readily apparent in every part of his
life. The powers of mind possessed by Mr. Babbage, if
used with judgment and persistence upon a limited range
of subjects, must have placed him among the few greatest
men who can create new methods or reform whole branches
of knowledge. Unfortunately the works of Babbage are
strangely fragmentary. It has been stated in the daily
press that he wrote eighty volumes ; but most of the eighty
publications are short papers, often only a few pages in
length, published in the transactions of learned societies.
Those to which we can apply the name of books, such as
"The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise," "The Reflections on
the Decline of Science," or " The Account of the Expo-
sition of 1 85 1," are generally incomplete sketches, on which
but little care could have been expended. We have, in
fact, mere samples of what he could do. He was essen-
tially one who began and did not complete. He sowed
ideas, the fiiiit of which has been reaped by men less able
but of more thrifty mental habits.
It was not time that was wantmg to him. Bom as long
ago as the 26th of December, 1792, he has enjoyed a
L/iyiLi^cvj uy
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Nov. 9, 1 871 J'
NATURE
29
working life of nearly eighty years, and, though within
the last few years his memory for immediate events
and persons was rapidly decaying, the other in-
tellectual powers seemed as strong as ever. The
series of publications which constitute the real re-
cord of his life commenced in 18 13 with the preface to
the Transactions of the Analytical Society, a small club
esublished by Babbage, Herschel, Peacock, and several
other students at Cambridge, to promote, as it was
humorously expressed, the principles of pure D-ism, that
is, of the Leibnitzian notation and the methods of French
mathematicians. Until 1822 Mr. Babbage's writings con-
sisted exclusively of memoirs upon mathematical subjects,
which, however little read in the present day, are yet of
the highest interest, not only because they served to
awaken English mathematicians to a sense of their back-
ward position, but because they display the deepest insight
into the principles of symbolic methods. His memoir
in the " Cambridge Philosophical Transactions" for 1826,
" On the Influence of Signs in Mathematical Reasoning "
may be mentioned as an admirable example of his mathe-
matical writings. In this paper, as in many other places,
Mr. Babbage has expressed his opinion concerning the
wonderful powers of a suitable notation in assisting the
human mind.
As early as 1812 or 1813 he entertained the notion of
calculating mathematical tables by mechanical means,
and in 1 819 or 1820 began to reduce his ideas to practice.
Between 1820 and 1822 he completed a small model, and in
1823 commenced a more perfect engihe with the assisunce
of public money. It would be needless as well as im-
possible to pursue in cktail the history of this imder-
tokmg, fully sUted as it is in several of Mr. Babbage's
volumes. Suffice it to say that, commencing with i,5ooil,
the cost of the Difference Engine grew and grew until
1 7,000/. of public money had been expended. Mr. Babbage
then most unfortunately put forward anewscheme for an An-
alytical Engine, which should indefinitely surpass in power
the previously-designed engine. To traceout the intricacies
of negotiation and misunderstanding which followed would
be superfluous and painful. The resmt was that the Govern-
ment withdrew all further assistance, the practical en-
gineer threw up his work and took away his tools, and
Mr. Babbage, relinquishing all notions of completing the
Difference machine, bestowed all his energies upon the
designs of the wonderful Analytical Engine. This great
object of his aspirations was to be little less than the mind
of a mathematician embodied in metallic wheels and
levers. It was to be capable of any analytical operation,
for instance solving equations and tabulating the most
complicated formulae. Nothing but a careful study of the
published accoimts can give an adequate notion of the
vast mechanical ingenuity lavished by Mr. Babbage upon
this fascinating design. Although we are often without
detailed explanations of the means, there can be little
doubt that everything which Mr. Babbage asserted to be
possible would have been theoretically possible. The
engine was to possess a kind of (wwer of prevision, and
was to be so constructed that intentional disturbance
of all the loose parts would give no error in the final
result
Although for many years Mr. Babbage entertained the
intention of constructing this machine, and made many
preparations, we can hardly suppose it capable of prac-
tical realisation. Before 1851 he appears to have de-
spaired of its completion, but his workshops were never
wholly closed. It was his pleasure to lead any friend or
visitor though these rooms and explain their contents.
No more strange or melancholy sight could well be seen.
Around these rooms in Dorset Street were the ruins of a
life time of the most severe and ingenious mental labours
perhaps ever exerted by man. The drawings of the ma-
chine were alone a wonderful result of skiU and industry ;
cabinets full of tools, pieces of mechanism, and various
contrivances for facilitating exact workmanship, were on
every side, now lying useless.
Mr. Babbage's inquiries were not at all restricted to
mathematical and mechanical subjects. His work on
the " Economy of Manufactures and Machinery,'* first
?ublished in 1832, is in reality a fragment of a treatise on
olitical Economy. Its popularity at the time was great,
and, besides reprints m America, translations were
published in four Continental languages. The book
teems with original and true suggestions, among which we
find the system of Industrial Partnerships now coining
into practice. It is, in fact, impossible to overpraise the
work, which, so far as it goes, is incomparably excellent.
Having assisted in founding the Statistical Society of
London in 1834, Mr. Babbage contributed to their Trans-
actions a single paper, but as usual it was a model re-
search, containing a complete analysis of the operations
of the Clearing House during 1839. It was probably the
earliest paper m which compUcated statistical fluctuations
were carefully analysed, and it is only within the last few
years that bankers have been persuaded by Sir John
Lubbock to recognise the value of such statistics, and no
longer to destroy them in secret In this, as in other
cases, many years passed before people generally had any
notion of the value of Mr. Babba^e's inquiries ; and there
can be little doubt that, had he devoted his lofty powers
to economic studies, the science of Political Economy
would have stood by this time in something very different
from its present pseudo-scientific form.
Perhaps the most admirable of all his writings was the
Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, an unexpected addition to
that well-known series, in which Mr. Babbage showed the
bearing of mathematical studies upon theology. This is
one of the few scientific works in which the consistency
of natural laws with breaches of continuity is clearly put
forth. That Power which can assign laws can set them
aside by higher laws. Apart from allparticular theologicU
inferences, there can be no question of the truth of the
views stated by Babbage ; but the work is hardly more
remarkable for the profundity of its philosophy than for
the elevated and eloquent style in which it was written,
although as usual an unfinished fragment
Of all Mr. Babbage'sdetached papers and volumes, it mav
be asserted that they will be found, when carefully studied,
to be models of perfect logicalthought acd accurate expres-
sion. There is, probably, not a sentence ever penned by
him in which lurked the least obscurity, confusion, or con-
tradiction of thought His language was clear, and lucid
beyond comparison, and yet it was ever elegant, and rose
at times into the most unaffected and true eloquence. We
may entertain some fear that the style of scientific writing
in the present day is becoming bald, careless, and even
defective in philosophic accuracy. If so, the study of Mr.
Babbage's writings would be the best antidote.
Let it be granted that in his life there was much to cause
disappointment, and that the results of his labours, hoir-
ever great, are below his powers. Can we withhold our
tribute of admiration to one who throughout his long life
inflexibly devoted his exertions to the most lofty subjects ?
Some will cultivate science as an amusement, others as a
source of pecuniary profit, or the means of gaining popu-
larity. Mr. Babbs^e was one of those whose genius urged
them against everything conducive to their immediate
interests. He nobly upheld the character of a discoverer
and inventor, despising anv less reward than to carry out
the highest conception which his mind brought forth.
His very failures arose from no want of industry or ability,
but from excess of resolution that his aims should be at
the very highest. In these money-making days can we
forget that he expended almost a fortune on his task ? If,
as pecmle think, wealth and luxury are corrupting society,
should they omit to honour ooe of whom it may be truly
said, in the words of Merlin, that the sin^ wish of his
heart was ^ to give them grci^ minds^J
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NATURE
\Nov. 9, 1871
A NEW FORM OF SENSITIVE FLAME
MR. PHILIP BARRY, of Cork, has sent the following
account of a new and very beautiful sensitive
.flame to Prof. Tyndall ;— " It is in my experience the
most sensitive of all sensitive flames, though from its
smaller size is not so striking as your vowel flame. It
possesses the advantage that the ordinary pressure in the
gas mains is quite sufficient to develop it. The method
of producing it consists in igniting the gas (ordinary coal
gas) not at the burner but some inches above it, by inter-
posing between the burner and the flame a piece of wire
gauze.
" With a pressure of f^ths at the burner, I give a sketch
of the arrangement I adopted, the space between burner
and gauze being two inches. The gauze was about seven
z A u z E
<A
<>l
inches square, resting on the ring of the retort -stand —
ordinary window- blind wire-gauze 32 meshes to the lineal
inch. The burner was Sugg's steatite pin-hole burner, the
same as used for vowel flame.
"The flame is a slender cone about four inches high, the
upper portion giving a bright yellow light, the base being
a non-luminous blue flame. At the least noise this flame
roars, sinking down to the surface of the gauze, becoming
at the same time almost invisible. It is very active in its
responses, and being rather a noisy flame, its sympathy is
apparent to the ear as well as the eye.
" To the vowel sounds it does not appear to answer
so discriminately as the vowel flame. It is extremely
sensitive to A. very slightly to E, more so to I, entirely
insensitive to O, but f lightly sensitive to U.
" It dances in the most perfect manner to a small musical
snuffbox, and is highly sensitive to most of the sonorous
vibrations which affect the vowel flame, though it possesses
some points of difference."
NOTES
The following telegram has been received from the English
Government Eclipse Expedition: — ^"Onboard the Minapore^
Malta, Saturday, November 4- We have arrived here in fafety.
All the members of the Eclipse Expedition are quite well, no
thanks, however, to the weather, which during the voyage has
been very bad. It was so bad that there was no possibility of
practising with the instruments. Last night Mr. Lockyer, &t
the request of all on boaxdthe Mirzapore^ gave a scientific lecture
with experiments. You may form some idea of the novel cha-
racter with which the lecture was invested when I state that it
was blowing half a gale at the time."
Sir Roderick Muechison has appointed Professor Archi-
bald Geikie, of Edinburgh, his literacy executor, and has left
him a legacy of 1,000^. The Professor will write Sir Roderick's
life, for which the deceased baronet had collected ample materials.
Sir Roderick has also bequeathed to each of the professors at
Jermyn Street a little remembrance of 100/. To the imtitution
itself he has left the diamond snuff-box and the magnificent
Siberian avanturine vase, mounted on a porphyry pedestal, pre-
sented to him by the late Emperor of Russia. He has not heen
unmindful of the scientific societies with which he has been so
long connected. To the Geological and Geographical Societies
he has bequeathed legacies of 1,000^. each, for the purpose of
furthering the cause of science by rewarding men of science by
prizes or otherwise as may be deemed proper. To old associates
with him in his work he has likewise left l^;acies as expressions
of his regard. Besides that to Mr. Geikie, sums of 350/. are
appropriated for Prof. John Morris, Prof. T. Rupert Jones, Mr.
Trenham Reeks, and Mr. Bates, and a sum of 100/. to Mr. C
W. Peach. We believe also that in the event of the failure of
some of the heirs designated in the will, considerable sums are to
go to various charitable and scientific institutions.
In addition to the appointments to the governing bodies of
the public schools, made by the Senate of the University of
London, which we announced last week, the Coimcil of the
Royal Society has made the following : — Prot P. M. Duncan,
for Charterhouse ; Prof. Tyndall, for Harrow ; Prot Heniy J.
Smith, for Rugby ; Sir James Paget, Bart, for Shrewsbury ; and
the Rev. Prof. Price, for Winchester School.
Prof. P. M. Duncan, F.R.S., of King's College, has been
appointed Lecturer on Geology to the India Civil Engineering
College, Cooper's Hill.
We learn from the Pall Mall GazdU that a mixed Committee
has been appointed by the authorities of the War-0fl5ce, to con*
duct an inquiry into the safety of gun-cotton, and to make the
necessary experiments. The committee will also be required to
collect evidence with regard to its value as an explosive agent ;
and generally to pronounce as to the suitability and safety of the
material for use in torpedoes, breaching stockades, mining, &c
The Committee consists of Colonel Younghusband, R. A., presi-
dent; Colonel Milward, R. A., Colonel Gallwey, R.E., Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Nugent, R.E., Captain Field, R-N., Dr. Odling,
F.R.S., Mr. H. Bauerman, and Mr. G. Bidder, CE. The
question of the safety of the ne«7 explosive " Lithofracteur,"
which a German firm is anxious to be permitted to make in this
country, has also been referred to the same Committee.
Mr. G. M. Seabroke, the Temple Observer at Rugby,
stales, in a letter to the Ttma^ for the information of those who
possess telescopes of moderate aperture, that Encke's comet is
now within their reach. It has been examined at the Kugbj
Observatory with an %\ in. aperture, and was very plainly seca
It has somewhat the shape of a fan, and there is a marked con-
densation on the eastern side, being the leading portion of the
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Nov. 9, 1871]
NATURE
31
comet It would probably now be seen with a much smaller
aperture than that mentioned above, and, as it is approaching as,
small telescopes will probably soon show it
The German Astronomical Society has recently held its trien-
nial meeting at Stutgart, mider the presidency of Prof. Otto
Struve. The gathering was eminently a social one ; after papers
read in the morning, they adjourned for excarsions in the aAer-
noon^ one day visiting the birth- place of Kepler, a small town
about an hour by rail from Stu^gart The inhabitants, who have
recently erected a bronze statue to their great fellow townsman,
decorated it with flowers for the occasion.
Thi Scientific Societies have now mostly commenced their
winter session. The greater number held their first meeting
either last or during the present week. The first meeting of tlie
Royal Society for the season is on November 16.
The Annual General Meeting of the five Academies which con-
stitute the Institute of France was held on the 25th of October,
the anniversary of the day on which the Institute was established
by the famous Directory suppressed by the first Napoleon. The
third Napoleon, by an Imperial decree^ changed the day of the
anniversary meeting from that instituted by the RepubUc to his
flu day, the 15th of August Last year the meeting was not
held, and on the present occasion the original date has been
resumed. The presidency of the Institute is filled each year
by the president of one of the five academies in rotation, the
Academic des Sciences, Academic Fran9ai8e, Academic des
Sciences Morales et Politiques, Academic des Beaux Arts, and
Academic des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. This year it is
occupied by M. Jutes Simon, president of the Academic Fran-
gaise, to which belong M. Thiers himself and four of his
colleagues in the Government, including M. Simon. The annual
address for the Academic des Sciences was delivered by General
Morin, and dealt chiefly with military science, especially with the
inventions of the great artillery officer General Piobert
Mr. J. J. Murphy delivered the opening address to the Belfast
Natural History and Philosophical Society for the current session.
It was occupied chiefly with a risumJoi the most important fresh
applications of applied science during the year.
Mr. Rutherford, of New York, the most eminent American
amateur astronomer, and especially known for his magnificent
photographs of celestial bodies, has lately presented to Mr.
Brothers, the English astronomical photographer, three superb
negatives of the moon— one representing her in the first quarter,
one when full, and one in the third quarter ; and it is proposed
to publish these in a volume containing about one hundred pages
of descriptive letterpress. The work will also contain a map of
the moon, as we see her, and a chart, on the stereographic pro-
jection, showing the true shape and the relative dimensions of
all the chief lunar features The letterpress, map, and stereo-
graphic chart will be prepared by Mr. Proctor ; the photographs
by Mr. Brothers. The work will be got out on a magnificent
scale, and sold at a guinea and a half to subscribers.
Messrs. Trubnbr announce the proposed publication of a
new magazine, The Pioneer ; a monthly journal of Sociology,
Psychology, and Biology. The great aim which the Pioneer
bas in view will be "the expression of truly philosophic principles,
and their application to human progress and welfare. The
opinions of all will be treated with respect when expressed with
the clearness and force arising from strong conviction." The sub-
jects of "Psychic Force" and Anthropology are especially
alluded to in the prospectus as coming within the range of the
proposed serial.
The Geological Expedition to the Rocky Mountain region
under the charge of Dr. Hayden, to which we have already made
brie! allusion, according to Harpa^s Weekly^ had reached Fort
Hall, Idaho, on the i8th of September. After completing the
survey of the Yellow Stone Valley, the party left Foit EDis on
the 5th of September, passing down Gallatin Valley to the Three
Forks, and thence by the Jefferson to its very source, exploring
many of its branches, and pursuing a direction nearl? parallel to
that which the party had traversed in the June previou*. The
valleys of the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson forks of the
Missouri, with all the little branches, were found occupied by
industrious farmers and miners— a contrast quite striking to the
doctor, who, twelve years ago, in exploring that same region, met
with not a single white inhabitant The Rocky Mountain Divide
was crossed at the Horse Pkin Creek, from which the party
passed over into Medicine Lodge Creek, following this down into
the Snake River Plain. An interesting fact observed was the
occurrence of two species of trout in great quantities in streams
snch as Medicine Lodge, Camas, and other creeks all sinking
into the plains after a course of from fifty to seventy-five miles.
The trout appeared to be of the same two species in all, although
the waters had no apparent connection. The party expected to
leave Fort Hall, and to proceed to Fort Bridger by way of Soda
Springs, Bear Lake, and Evanston, and there to disband the
scientific corps returning to the East
In a very important paper on the " Estimation of Antimony,"
published in the Chemical News^ Hugo Tamm calls the attention
of chemisb to a new phenomenon which the author describes
under the name of " Hygraffinity." This phenomenon was dis-
covered in a peculiar compound of antimony — bigallate of anti-
mony. This compound is totally insoluble in water, and yet it
possesses a powerful affinity for moisture, which it absorbs
rapidly firom the air alter being dried at the temperature of 100*
Cent Moat powders and predpiutes, as it is well known, dried
at that temperature, absorb moisture on exposure to the atmo-
sphere, but this is a purely physical phenomenon due to porosity.
On the contrary, in the case of gallate of antimony, chemical
affinity is at work, and this precipitate, after exposure to the air
for two or three hours, actually absorbs two equivalents of water.
In a word, this insoluble substance has as much affinity for
moisture as deliquescent salts. But one of the most curious
features in connection with this extraordinary phenomenon is that
on being dried at lOo' Cent, bigallate of antimony loses the two
equivalents of water which it had absorbed from the air, and that
on being left exposed once more to the atmosphere, it reabsorbs
the same amount of moisture. This interesting experiment may
be repeated indefinitely.
In the Comptes Rendtu for August and in the Philosophical
Magazine^ M. Angstrom gives an analjrsis of the spectra which are
observed in connection with hydrogen, and criticises the conclu-
sions of M. Wiillner "that hydrogen hai no less than four and
oxygen no less than three distinct spectra. " He explains that the
spectrum lines of hydrogen (as observed by PJiicker in rare hy-
drogen) spread out in disruptive discharges when the tension of
the gas is increasing, and end by uniting so as to form a conti-
nuous spectrum. With regard to M. Wiillner's second spectrum
of hydrogen, he poinU out that it is no other than the spectrum
observed by M. Berthelotand ascribed by him to aeetyltne. Also,
by a comparison of wave-lengths for sulphur and for M. Wiill-
ner's third hydrogen-spectrum, he shows this to be in all proba-
bility the spectrum of sulphur. M. Angstrom also points out
the close agreement between one of the oxygen spectra of M.
WUlhier and the spectrum of oxide of carbon, and his tables
show also a very close agreement between another of these
oxygen spectra and the spectrum of chlorine, and concludes that
neither oxygen nor hydrogen has more than one specirum.
Prof. You no has communicated to the Philosophical Ma^iu
zinez. catalogue of more than a hundred bright lines in the spec-
trum of the chromosphere, in which the observed lines arc referred
32
NATURE
\Nav. 9, 1871
to the scales of Kirchboff '5 and oi AfigstromV maps. Of the
seventy new lines which are given in this list, there are two
which are proved to belong to the duomosphere, and not to be
due to the exceptional elevation of matter to heights where it
does not properly bel<»ig. No less than twenty of these lines
are due to the metal titanium » and show the presence of titanium
vapour in the prominences and chromosphere.
The cultivation of beet-root sugar in France has now risen to
an industry of the first importance. It employs more than 400
manufactories, and the process of manufacture is each year
brought to a higher state of perfection. There are in France
three or four journals specially devoted to subjects connected with
the manufacture, its cultivation, its sale, the machinery required,
the chemistry of the process, &c
The Fourth Annual Report is published of the Trustees of
the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology
at Cambridge, U.S.A. Two important series of explorations
have been carried out in the course of the past year on behalf of
the Museum, by the Rev. F. O. Dunning in £istem Tennessee,
and by Dr. Berendt in Central America, resulting in valuable
acquisitions to its collections. The Museum has also been en-
riched during the year by the gift of the " Charles Hammond
Collection " from the towns of Chatham and Rochester, Cape
Cod, and by a very valuable series of about 125 objects from the
conservator of the Christy collection in London, consisting of
original specimens and casts from Les Eyztes, La Madelaine, and
Le Moustier, in the department of Dordogne, France. The
Report is accompanied by a set of comparative measurements
of crania from Peru, presented by Mr. Squier, of those from
the mounds of Kentucky obtained by Mr. Lyon, and from the
mounds of Florida.
The Annual Conversazione of the Royal Society of Victoria
was held on August 14, when the president, Mr. R. L. J.
Ellery, delivered an address, in which he referred especially to
the scientific results of the eclipse of last winter, and the prepara-
tions making in Australia for observing the eclipse of next
month, to Prot Heis's observations on the correspondence of
auroral phenomena in the southern and northern hemispheres,
to Dr. von Mueller's botanical researches in the colony, to the very
important subject, economically, to the colony of the preservation
of meat, and to Prof. Tyndall's germ theory of disease.
The Report is published of the Annual Meeting of the
Academy of Sciences of Vienna, held on the 30th of May,
1 87 1, containing a review of the proceedings of the various de-
partments of the Academy during the past year. The Academy
has abo issued its "Almanack," with list of home, foreign, and
honorary members.
A SUPPLEMENT to the Sixth and Seventh Annual Report of
the "Verein fiir Erdkunde" at Dresden, by D. Abendroth,
contains a very interesting series of maps, illustrating the extent
of geographical knowledge of the world possessed at different
periods from A.D. 1350 to 1566.
A WORK has come out in Holland which particularly in-
terests those who are engaged in the treatment of sewage manure.
It is by M. J. A. C. Eschauzler, and gives all the results of the
centuries of experience in the Netherlands. It is copiously
illustrated.
We are informed that the German translation of Tylor's
"Primitive Culture" b not by Dr. Spengd, but conjomUy
by Herr Spengel and Herr Poske.
A NEW class for civil engineering has been formed in the
Presidency College, Calcutta.
The Madras Government has allowed 200/. for the expense
of bringing the Assistant Govenmient Astronomers to England
to learn celestial photography.
THE PEOGNOSY OF THE APPALACHIAN
AND THE ORIGIN OF CRYSTALUNE
ROCKS*
IL
HTHE characteristic examples already given of symmetrical umI
'*' asymmetrical envelopment are cited from a great number of
others which might have been mentioned. Veiy many of these are
by the pseudomorphists r^arded as results of partial alteration'
Thus, in the case of associated crystals of andalusiie and qranite,
Blschof doe9 not hesitate to maintain the derivation of aodalosite
from the latter species by an elimination of quartz ; more than
this, as the andalusite in question occurs in a granite«like rock,
he suggests that itself is a product of the alteration of ortbodase.
In like manner the mica, which in some cases coats tourmallDe^
and in others fills hollow prisms of this miners!, is supposed to
result from a subsequent alteration of crystallised tourmalioe.
So in the case of shells of lencite filled with feldspar, or of garnet
enclosing epulote or chlorite or quartz, a similar transfonnatioo
of the interior is supposed to have been mysteriously effected,
while the external portion of the crystal remains intact Again
the aggregates of tinstone, quartz and ortbodase haviog the
form of the latter, are, by Bischof and his school, looked upon
as results of a pairtial alteration of previously formed orthoclase
crystals. It needed only to extend this view to the crystals of
calcite enclosing sand-grains, and regard these as the result of a
partial alteration of the carbonate of lime. There is absolatdj
no proof that these hard crystalline substances can undergo the
changes supposed, or can be absorbed and modified like the
tissues of a living organism. It imay, moreover, be conSdeatly
affirmed that the obvious facts of envelopment are adeaaate to
explain all the cases of association upon which this hypotbesis of
pseudomorphism by alteration has been based. Why the change
should extend to some parts of a crys^ and not to otheis, why
in some cases the exterior of the crystal is altered, while in otheis
the centre alone is removed and replaced by a different material,
are questions which the advocates of this fanciful hypothesis ha?e
not explained. As taught by Blum and Bisdiof, however, these
views of the alteration of mineral species have not only been
generally accepted, but have formed the basis of the generallT
received theory of rock-metamorphisxxL
Protests against the views of this school have, however, not
been wanting. Scheerer, in 1846, in his researches in Polyoienc
Isomorphism, t attempted to show that iolite and aspasiolite, t
hydrous species which had been looked upon as rating from
its alteration, were isomorphous species crystallising together,
and, in like manner, that the association of olivine and serpentine
in the same crystal, at Snarum in Norway, was a case of eQv^
lopment of two isomorphous species. In both of these instances
he maintained the existence of isomorphous relations between
silicates in which 3 HO replaced MgO. He hence rejected the
view of Gustav Rose that tnese serpentine crystals were results of
the alteration of olivine, and supported his own by reasons drav^
firom the conditions in which the crystals occur. In 1853 1 to^*
up this question, and endeavoured to show that these cases oj
isomorphism described by Scheerer entered into a more general
law of isomorphism pointed out by me among homologous com*
pounds differing in their formulas by nllLfi^ (M a hydrogen orj
metal). I insisted, moreover, on its beanng upon the receiven
views of the alteration of minerals, and remarked, " The gene*
rally admitted notions of pseudomorphism seem to have origi-
nated in a too exclusive plutonism, and require such varied hypo-
theses to explam the diiferent cases, that we are led to seek for
some more simple explanatioii, and to find it, in many histanc^
in the association and crystallising together of homologons and
isomcnphous species.":^ Subsequently, in i86o^ I combated
the view of Bischof, adopted by Dana, that " regional meta*
morphism is pseudomorphism on a grand scale,'* in Uie following
terms: —
" The ingenious speculations of Bischof and others, on tne
possible alteration of mineral species by the action of vaiioQ^
saline and alkaline solutions, may pass for what they are wortbt
although we are satisfied that by far the greater part of the so-
called cases of pseudomorphism in silicates are purely unaginaiyi
and, when real, are but local and accidental phenomena. Bischot s
notion of the pseudomorphism of silicates like feldspars and pf
* Address of Prof. T. SCenry Hunt on retirinc from the office of Pre?j|fJ
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science : abndsc"
from the " American Naturalist.''
t Poeg. AnnaL, bcviu.73>9>
XI
yitized by
Google
Nov. 9, 1871)
NATURE
33
roxenes, presupposes the existence of crystalline rocks, ^hose
generation this neptunist never attempts to explain, but takes his
starting-point from a plutonic basis."
I then asserted that the problem to be solved in regional meta-
morphism is the conversion of sedimentary strata, "derived by
chemical and mechanical agencies from the ocean waters and
pre-existing crystalline rocks into aggr^ations of crystalline sili-
cates. These metamorphic rocks, once formed, ^e liable to
alteration only by local and superficial agencies, and are not, like
the tissues of a living organism, subject to incessant transfor-
inition"!, the pseudomorphism of Bischof."*
I had not, at that time, seen the essay by Delesse on p«eudo-
morphs already referred to, published in 1859, in which he main*
tained views similar to those set forth by me in 1853 and i860,
declaring that much of what had been regarded as pseudomor-
phism had no other basis than the observed associations of
minerals, and that often "(he so-called metamorphism finds its
natural explanation in envelopment." These views he ably and
Ingeniously defended by a careful discussion of the whole raoge
of facts belonging to the hbtory of the subject
My own expression of opinion on this question, in 1853, had
been privately criticised, and I had been charged with a want of
comprehension of the question. It was, therefore, with no small
gleasure, that I not only saw my views so ably supported by
>elesse, but read the language of Carl Friedrich Naumann, who
in 1 86 1 wrote to Delesse as follows, referring to hb essay just
noticed : —
** You have rendered a veritable service to science in restricting
pseudomorphs to their true limits, and separating what had been
erroneously united to them. As vou have remarked, envelop-
ments have, for the most part, nothing in common with pseudo-
morphs, and it is inconceivable that they have been united by so
many mineralogists and geologists. It appears to me, moreover,
that they commit an analogous error when they regard gneisses,
amphiboUtes, &c., as beine, all of them, the results of metamor-
phic epigenesis, and not original rocks. It is precisely because
pseudomorphism has been so oflen confounded with metamor-
phism that this error h2is found acceptance. I only admit a
pseudomorph where there is some crystal the form of which has
been preserved. There are very many metamorphic substances
which are, in no sense of the word, pseudomorphs. Had the
name of crystalloid been chosen instead of pseudomorph, this
confusion would certainly have never found its way into the
science. I think, with you, that the envelopment of two mine-
rals is most generally explained by a contemporaneous and original
crystallisation. Secondary envelopments, however, exbt, and
such may be called pseudomorphs or crystalloids, if they repro-
duce exactly the form of the crystal enveloped, whether ihis last
still remains, or has entirely disappeared. *'t
It is unnecessary to remark tnat the view of Delesse and
Naumann — viz. : that the so-called cases of pseudomorphism, on
which the theory of metamorphism by alteration has been built,
are, for the most part, examples of association and envelopment,
and the result of a contemporaneous and original crystallisation —
is identical with the view suggested by Scheerer, and generalised
by myself long before, when, in 1853, I sought to explain the
phenomena in question by "the association and crystallising
together of homologous and isomorphous species."
Later in 1862, I wrote as follows : —
" Pseudomorphism, which is the change of one mineral species
into another, by the introduction or the elimination of some
element or elements, presupposes metamorphism («>., meta-
morphic or crystalline rocks), since only definite mineral species
can t)e the subjects of this process. To confound metamorphism
with pseudomorphism, as Bischof and others after him have
done, is therefore an error. It may be further remarked, that,
although certain pseudomorphic changes may take place in some
mineral species, in veins and near the surface, the alteration of
great masses of silicated rocks by such a process is as yet an
unproved hypothes's."^
Thus this unproved theory of pseudomorphism, as taught by
Bischof, does not, even if admitted to its fuUest extent, advance
us a single step toward a solution of thei>roblem of the origin of
the various silicates which, singly or intermingled, make up
beds in the crystalline schists. Granting, for the sake of argu-
ment, that serpentine results from the alteration of olivine or
* Amer. Jour. Sd, II. xxx- 135.
♦ Bull Soc Geol. de France, ll. xvlU. 678.
X Descripdvtt Catalogue. Crystalline Rocks of Canada, p. 80^ London
Exhibidon, x86a : also Dublin Quar. Jour.» July 1863, and Amer. Jour.
Sci.i II. xxxvi. 918.
labradorite, and steatite or chlorite from hornblende, the origin
of these anhydrous silicates, which are the subjects of the sup-
posed change, is still unaccounted for. The explanation of this
shortsightedness is not fiar to seek ; as already remarked, Bischof,
although a professed neptimist, starts from a plutonic basis.
V^hen the epigenic origin of serpentine and its related rocks
was first taught, these were regarded as eruptive and unstratified,
and it was easy to imagine intruded masses of dioritic and feld-
spathic rocks, which had become the subjects of alteration. As,
however, the progress of careful investigation in the ficJd has
shown the stratifi^ character of these serpentines, diallage-rocks,
steatites, &c., and th'-ir intercalation among limestones, argillites,
quartzttes, gneisses, and mica-schists, and even among feldspathic
and homblendic strata, we are foroed to reject, with Naumann,
the notion of their epigenic derivation, and to regard them as
or^nal rocks.
This view brings us face to face with the problem of metamor-
phism as defined by me in i86o* (see ante). We must either
admit that these crystalline schists were created as we find them,
or suppose that they were once sands, clays, marls, &c. ; in a
word, sediments of chemical and mechaniod origin, which by a
subsequent process have been consolidated and crystallised.
Whence, then, come these silicates of magnesia, lime, and iron,
which are the sources of serpentine, homblendc|, steatite, chlorite,
&c.? This is the question which I proposed in that same year,
when, after discussing the remits of my examinations of the
tertiary rocks near Paris containing layers of a hydrous silicate
of magnesia related to talc in composition, among unalter^
limestones and days, I remarked that it is evident " such silicates
may be formed in basins at the earth's surface, by reactions
between magnesian solutions and dissolved silica ; " and, after
some further discussion, said, " further inquiries in this direction
may show to what extent certain rocks composed of calcareous
and magnesian silicata may be directly formed in the moist way."t
Subseouently, in a paper on " The Origin of some Magnesian
and Aluminous Rocks," printed in the Canadian Naturalist "
for June 1860,^ I repeated these considerations, referring
to the well-known fact that silicates of lime, magnesia, and
iron-oxyd are deposited during the evaporation of natural
waters, including those of alkaline springs and of the Ottawa
River. Having described the mode of occurrence of the mag-
nesian silicate sepiolite, in the Paris basin, and the related
quindte, containing some iron-oxyd and disseminated in lime-
stone, I suggested that while steatite has been derived from a
compound like sepiolite, the source of serpentine was to be
sought in another silicate richer in magnesia ; and, moreover, that
chlorite, unless the result of a subsequent reaction between clay
and carbonate of magnesia, was directly formed by a process
analogous to that which (according to Scheerer) has, in recent
times, caused the deposition from waters of neolite, a hydrous
alumino-magnesian silicate, approaching to chlorite in composi-
tion,§ '* the type of a reaction which formerly generated beds of
chlorite in the same way as those of sepiolite or tala " Dele&se,
subsequently, in 1861, in his essay on Rock-Metamorphism, in-
sisted upon the sepioUtes or so called magnesian marls, as pro-
bably the source of steatite, and suggested the derivation of ser-
pemine, chlorite, and other related minerals of the crystalline
schists, from deposits approaching these marls in composition. ||
He recalled, also, the occurrence of chromic oxyd, a frequent
accompaniment of these magnesian mineral?, in the hydrated
iron ores of the same geological horizon with the magnesian
marls in France. Delesse did not, however, attempt to account
for the origin of these deposits of magnesian marls, in explana-
tion of which I afterwards verified Bischof 's observations on the
sparing solubility of silicate of magnesia, and showed that silicate
of soda, or even artificial hydrate^ silicate of lime, when added
to waters containing magnesian chlorid or sulphate, gives rise,
by double decomposition, to a very insoluble nu^esian silicate. If
To explain the generation of silicates like labradorite. scapo-
lite, gamite, and saussurite, I suggested that double aluminous
silicates allied to the zeolites mignt have been formed, and sub-
sequently rendered anhydrous. The production of zeolitic
minerals observed by Daubr^ at Plombi^res and Luxeuil by the
action of a silicated alkaline water on the masoniy of ancient
Roman baths, was appealed to by way of illustration. It had
• Amer. Jour. Sd., II. xa. 135.
t Ibid., II. xxlx. 884 : also II. xl. 49.
I Ibid., II. xzxii.a86.
) Pog. Annal., IxxL 288.
I Etudes sur le Meumorphtsme, 4to, pp. 91. Paris, i86z.
II Amer. Jour. Sci., II. xl. 49. ^^^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
34
NATURE
{Nov. 9, 1871
there been shown by Daubr^e that the elements of the zeolites
had been derived in part from the waters, and in part from
the mortar, and even the day of the bricks, which had
been attacked, and had entered into combination with
the soluble matters of the water to form chabazite. I,
however, at the same time pointed out another source of
silicated minerals, upon which I had insisted since 1857, viz.,
the reaction between silidous or argillaceous matters and earthy
carbonates in the presence of alkaline solutions. Numerous
experiments showed that when solutions of an alkaline carbo-
nate were heated with a mixture of silica and carbonate of mag-
nesia, the alkaline silicate formed acted upon the latter, yielding
a silicate of magnesia, and regenerating tne alkaline carbonate ;
which, without entering into permanent combination, was the
medium through which the union of the silica and the magnesia
was effected. In this way I endeavoured to explain the altera-
tion, in the vicinity of a great intrusive mass of dolerite, of a
gray Silurian limestone, which contained, besides a little car-
bonate of magnesia and iron-oxyd, a portion of very silidous
matter, consisting apparently of comminuted orthoclase and
quartz. In place of thi«, there had been developed in the lime-
stone, near its contact with the dolerite, an amorphous greenish
basic silicate, which had seemingly resulted from the union of
the silica and alumina with the iron-oxyd, the magnesia, and a
portion of lime. By the crystallisation of the products thus
generated it was conceived that minerals like hornblende, garnet,
and epidote misht be developed in earthy sediments, and many
cases of local iteration explained. Inasmuch as the reaction
described required the mtervention of alkaline solutions, rocks
from which these were excluded would escape change^ although
the other conditions might not be wanting. The natural associa-
tions of minerals, moreover, led me to suggest that alkaline
solutions might favour the crystallisation of aluminous silicates,
and thus convert mechanical sediments into gneisses and mica-
schists. The ingenious expeximents of Daubr^ on the part
which solutions of alkaline silicates, at elevated temperatures,
may play in the formation of crystallised mmerals, such as feld-
spar and pyroxene, were posterior to my early publications on
the subject, and fully justified the importance which, early in
1857, I attributed to the intervention ot alkaline silicates in the
formation of crystalline silicated minerals.*
While, however, there is good reason to believe that solutions
of alkaline silicates or carbonates have been effident agents in the
crystallisation and molecular re-arrangement of ancient sediments,
and have also played an important part in the local alteration of
sedimentary strata which is often observed in the vicinity of in-
trusive rocks, it is clear to me that the agency of these solutions is
less universal than was once supposed by Daubr^ and mysdf, and
will not account for the formation of various silicated rocks found
among crystalline schists, such as serpentine, hornblende, steatite,
and chlorite. When I commenced the study of these crystalline
strata, I was led, in accordance with the almost universally re-
ceived opinion of geologists, to regazd them as resulting from a
subsequent alteration of palaeozoic ^iments, which, according to
different authorities, were of Cambrian, Silurian, or Devonian
age. Thus in the Appalachian region, as we have already seen,
they have, on supposed stratigraphical evidence, been successivdy
placed at the base, at the summit, and in the middle of the
Lower Silurian or Champlain division of the New York system.
A careful chemical examination among the unaltered palaeozoic
sediments, which in Canada were looked upon as the strati-
graphical equivalents of the bands of magnesian sdicates in these
crystalline schists, showed me, however, no magnesian rocks
except certain silidous and ferruginous dolomites. From a con-
sideration of reactions which I had observed to take place in such
admixtures in presence of heated alkaline solutions, and from
the composition of the basic siUcates which I had found to be
formed m silidous limestones near their contact with eruptive
rocks, I was led to suppose that similar actions, on a grand scade,
might transform these silidous dolomites of the unaltered strata
into crystalUne magnesian silicates.
Further researches^ however, convinced me that this view was
inapplicable to the crystalline schists of the Appalachians ; since,
apart from the geognostical considerations set forth in the pre-
vious part of this paper, I found that these same crystalline strata
hold beds of quartzose dolomite and magnesian carbonate, asso-
dated in such intimate relations with beds of serpentine, diallage,
and steatite, as to forbid the notion that these sUicates could have
• Proc Roy. Soc., May 7, 1857. Amer. Jour. Scl., II. xxiiL 438, and
CSV. 289 and 435.
been generated by any transformations or chemical re-arrange-
ment of mixtures like the accompanying beds of quartzose
magnesian carbonates. Hence it was that already, in i860, ss
shown above, I announced my conclusion that serpentine, chlo-
rite, and steadte had been derived from silicates like sepiolite,
directly formed in waters at the earth's surface, and that the
crystalline schists had resulted from the consolidation of previ-
ously formed sediments, partly chemical and partly mechanical
in their origin. The latter being chiefly silico-aluminous, took,
in part, the forms of gneiss and mica-schists, while from the more
argillaceous strata, poorer in alkali, much of the aluminou!
silicate crystallised as andalusite, staurolite, cyanite, and garnet
These views were reiterated in 1863,* and further in 1864, in the
following language, as regards the chemically-formed sediments :
" steatite, serpentine, pyroxene, hornblende, and in many cases,
garnet, epidote, and other silicated minerals are formed by a
crystallisation and molecular re-arrangement of silicates generated
bv chemical processes in waters at the earth's surface."+ Their
alteration and crystallisation were compared to that of the me-
chanically formed feldspathic, silidous, and argillaceous sediments
just mentioned.
(To be continued,)
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ZOOLOGY
AND PALjEONTOLOGYX
"VT Y distinguished predecessor, the late Prof. E. Forbes, appears
^^^ to have been the first who undertook the systematic study of
marine zoology with reference to the distribution of marine animals
in space and in time. After making himself well acquainted with
the fauna of the British seas to the depth of about 200 fathoms
by dredging, and bv enlbting the active co-operation of many
friends, among whom we find Mac Andrew, Barlee, Gwyn
Jeifreys, WilliMi Thompson, and many others, entering enthusias-
tically into the new fidd of natural history inquiry ; in the year
1 84 1, Forbes Joined Captain Graves, who was at that time in
command of the Mediterranean Survey as naturalist. During
about eighteen months he studied with the utmost care the con-
ditions of the iEgean and its shores, and conducted upwards d
100 dredging operations at depths varying from I to 130 fathoms.
In 1843 he communicated to the Cork meeting of the British
Association an elaborate report on the mollosca and radiata of
the i^ean Sea, and on their distribution as bearing on geology.
Three years later, in 1846, he published in the first volume of
the " Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain," a
most valuable memoir upon the connection between the existing
Fauna and Flora of the British Isles and the geological changes
which have affected their area, especially during the epoch of
the northern drift In the year 1859 appeared the ** Natural
History of the European Seas," by the late Prof. Edward
Forbes, edited and continued by Robert Godwin- Austen.
In the first hundred pages of this little book Forbes gives
a general oudine of some of the more important of
his views with regard to the distribution of marine forms.
The remainder of the book is a continuation by his friend Mr.
Godwin- Austen, for before it was finished an early death had oil
short the career of the most accomplished and original naturalist
of his time. I will give a brief sketch of the general result to
which Forbes was led by his labours, and I shall have to point
out that, although we are now inclined to look somewhat diffe-
rently on certain very fundamental points, and, although recent
investigations with better appliances and more extended ex-
perience have invalidated many of his conclusions, to Forbes is
due the credit of having been the firit to treat these questions in
a broad philosophical sense, and to point out that the only means
of acquhing a true knowledge of the rathnatt of the distiiba-
tion of our present fauna is to make ourselves acquainted with
its history, to connect the present with the past. This is the
direction which must be taken by future inquiry :— Forbes as
a pioneer in this line of research was scarcely in a position w
appreciate the full value of his work. Every year adds enor-
mously to our stock of data, and every new fact indicates more
and more clearly the brilliant results which are to be obtained by
following his methods, and by emulating his enthusiasm and hi>
indefatigable industry. Forbes believed implidtly, along with
nearly all the leading naturalists of his time, in the immutability
* G«oL of Canada, pp. 577—581.
t Aner. Jour. So., II. xxxvil M^ and xxxviii. 183.
X Abstract of Openine Lecture on Natural Hiitory delivered at the V«
vemty of Edmburgh, Nov. 9, by Prof. Wyville Thonuon, F.R.S.
L/iyiLiiLcu uy
<3^'
^ov. 9, 1871]
NATURE
35
of species. He »ys :— " C^|7 true species presents in iU
individuals certain features, spedhc characters, which distinguish
it from every other species : as if the Creator had set an exclusive
mark or seal on eacn type." He likewise l>elieved in specific
centres of distribution. He held that all the individuals
composing a species had descended from a single progenitor,
or from two, according as the sexes might be united or
distinct, and that, conseauently, the idea of a species involved
the idea of the relationship in all the individuals of common
descent ; and the converse, that there could by no possibility be
community of descent except in living beings which possessed
the same specific characters. He supposed that the original in-
dividual or pair was created at a particular spot where the con-
ditions were suitable for its existence and propagation, and that
the species extended and migrated from that spot on all sides,
over an area of greater or less extent, until it met with some
natunU barrier in the shape uf unsuitable conditions. No specific
form could have more than a single centre of distribution. If its
area aippeared to be broken up^ a patch not in connection with
the originxl centre of distribution occurring in some distant
locality, it was accounted for by the formation, through some
geological change, after the fint spread of the species, of a
harrier which cut off part of its area» or by some accidental
transport to a place where the conditions were sufficiently similar
to those of its original habitat to enable it to t>eoome naturalised.
No species once exterminated was ever re-created, so that in
those lew cases in which we find a species abundant at one period
over an area, absent over the same area for a time, and recurring at
a later period, it must be accounted for by a change in the con-
ditions of the area which forced the emigration of the species, and
a subsequent further change which permitted its return. Forbes
defined and advocated what he called the law of " represenUtion."
He found that in all parts of the world, however far removed, and
however conipletely separated by natural barriers, where the con-
ditions of life are similar, species, and groups of species, occur,
which, aUhough not identical, resemble one another very cloi^ly ;
and he found that this similarity existed likewise between groups
of fossil remains and between groups of foisils and groups
of recent forms. Admitting the constancy of specific characters,
these resemblances could not be accounied for by community of
descent, and he thus arrived at the generalisation that in locahties
placed under similar circumstances, similar, though specifically
distinct, specific forms were created. These he regarded as mu-
tually representative spedes. Our acceptance of the doctrines of
** specific centres ** and of " r/presenUtion," or at all events the
form in which we may be inclined toaccq>t them, depends greatly
up i^n the acceptance or rejection of the fandamental dogma of the
immutability of species, and on this point there has been a
very great change of opinkm within the last ten or twelve
years — a change certainly due to the remarkable abdity and
candour with whidi the question has been discussed by Mr.
Darwin and Mr. Wallace. I do not think that I am speak-
ing too strongly when I say that there is now scarcely a smgle
competent general naturalist who is not prepared to accept
some form of the doctrine of evolution. There are no douot
very great difficulties in the minds of many of us in conceiv-
ing that, commencing from the simplest living being, the present
state of things in the organic world has been produced solely by
the combined action of "atavism," the tendency of offspring to re-
semble their parents closely, and "variation," the tendency of off-
spring to differ individually from their parents within very narrow
limiu ; and many are inclined to believe that some law, as yet
undiscovered, other than the "survival of ^e fittest" must re-
gulate the existing marvellous s)stem of extreme and yet har-
monious modification. Still, it must be admitted that variation
is a vtra causa, probably capable, within a limited period, under
favourable circumstances, of converging one species into what,
accofding to our present ideas, we should be forced to recognise
as a different species ; and such being the case, it is perhaps con-
ceivable that during the lapse of a period of time — still infinitely
shorter than eternity — variation may have produced the entire
result. The individuals composing a species have a definite
range of variation strictly limited by the drcunutancet under
which the group of individuals is placed. Except in man and
in domesticated animals, in which it is artificially increased, this
individual variation is usually so slight as to be inappreciable
except to a praai^d eye ; and any extreme variation which
passes the natural limit in any direction clashes in some way
with suriounding circumstances, and is dangerous to the life of
the individual The normal or graphic linei or " line of safety,"
of the species, lies midway between the extremes of variation.
If at any period in the history of a species, the conditions of life
of a group of individuals of the species are gradually altered ;
with Uie gradual change of circumstances the limit of variation is
contracted in one direction and relaxed in another, it becomes
more dangerous to diverge towards one side, and more desir-
able to diverge towards the other, and the position of the
lines limiting variation is altered. The normal line, the line
along which the specific characters are most strongly marked, is
consequently slightly deflected, some characters being more
strongly expressed at the expense ot others. This dedection,
carri^ on for ages in the same diiection, must eventual!y
carry the divergence of the varying race far beyond any
limits within which we are in the habit of admitting identity of
species. But the process must be, so to speak, infinitely slow.
It is difficult to form any idea of ten, fifty, or a hundred millions
of years ; or of the relation which such periods bear to changes
taking place in the organic world. We must remember, how-
ever, that the rocks of the Silurian system, overlaid hj ten milct
thickness of sediment, entombing a hundred successive faunae,
each as rich and varied as that of the present day, are themselves
teeming with fossils fully representing all the existing classes of
animals except the very highest If it b possible to imagine
that this marveUous manifestation of eternal power and wisdom
involved in living nature can have been worked out through the law
of " descent with modification " alone, we shall certainly require
from the physicists the very lonfi^est row of cyphers which they
can afford. Now, although the admission of a doctrine of
evolution must affect greaUy our conception of the origin and
rationaUoi so-called specific centres, it does not practiodly affect
the question of their existence, or of the laws regulating the
distribution of species from these centres by migration, by
transport, by ocean currents, by elevations or depressions of the
land, or by any other causes at work under existing circumstances.
So far as practical naturalists are concerned, species, are per-
manent within their narrow limits of variation, and it would
introduce an element of infinite conliision and error if we were to
regard them in any other light The origin of species by
' ' descent with modincation " is as yet only a hypothesis. During
the whole period of recorded human observation, not one single
instance of the change of one species into another has l>een
detected, and, singuli^ to say, in successive geological formations,
although new species are constantly appearing, and there is
abundant evidence of progressive chan^, no single case has as
yet been observed of one species passu^g through a series of
mappreciable modifications into another.
ON THE OBJECTS AND MANAGEMENT OF
PROVINCIAL MUSEUMS*
A LTHOUGH every intelligent person knows more or less
'^^ what these institutions are^ and what they ought to be,
there is probably no subject, connected with the modem means
of education in natural science, concerning which so much mis-
conception or ignorance is manifested and tolerated as in the
Management and Objects of our Provincial Museums. The ma-
i'ority of them throughout England present such examples of
lelpless misdirection and incapacity as could not be paralleled
elsewhere in Europe. Some notewonhy exceptions there are.
But generally the managers or guardians of local museums are
precisely of this unfit class, and seem to have no more notion of
their char^'e than as mere curiosity-shops, and even display less
intelligence than is shown in such shops, where the cupidity or
shrewdness of the dealer induces him at least to take due care of,
and give a local habitation and a name to, his wares. But in the
provincial museums even this care and tittle of information \% per-
tinaciously withheld, and the vUitors are left to do the best they
can amid the surrounding bewilderment This is commonly
made up of a most puzzling jumble of heterogeneous miscella-
nies, arranjged, or rather scattered, with an equally sovereign
contempt for the convenience or instmaion of the public, and
indeed all in such admired disorder as may most plainly show
how Chaos is come again and Confusion can make hb master-
piece, and how every specimen added to the heap only tends to
mcrease or perpetuate the miserable derangement It looks as
« Abstract of an Addrest to a Meerinc of the last Kent Natural History
Society, at Canterbunr.OcL it, 1871, by iu Vioe-Presideat and KoBonuy
Secretary, George Gulfivcr, F.R.&
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NATURE
\Nov. 9, 1871
I
if tbe prcsidmg local genius had set his wits to work in order
to prove how mnch time and money might be most effectually
expended with the least profit to a knowledge of the natural
history, or any history, of the neighbourhood ; and indeed for
cjcemplifications of the solution of this knotty point we have too
ctunmonly only to appeal to the museum of the place. Instead
of methodical illustrations of the natural history and antiquities
ot the district, we are likely to find a few good things overlaid
by such a rabble-rout, stich a multifarious and disorderly medley
of outlandish and queer odds and ends, as are rather fitted for a
laughing-stock than a sober exposition of science. Thus we are
met at once in the hall and saloons by such incongruous lots as
effigiesof double women, elephants' teeth, nose-rings, brain-stones,
tomahawks, stuffed alligators, moccasins. New Zealanders' heads,
cockatoos, canoes, Babylonish bricks, cocoa nuts, boas, javelins,
lions and tigers, calumets, matchlucks, palm-branches, shields,
monkey- stones, sugar-canes, Roman cement, Oliver Cromwell's
watches, Panama hats, fabricated elephants, walking-stick insects,
and numberless other eccentric things of this motley and con-
founded order. The garniture of Rometi's apothecary's shop, or
the countryman's museum on the bam door, would be more in-
structive or intelligible and less ridiculous or perplexing;.
It might be painful or appear invidious to inquire mmutely by
what means or under whose misconduct so many provincial
museums have sunk into their present disgraceful confusion and
u>elessness ; especially as it is little creditable to the intt-Iligence
of that community under the tolerance or approval of which this
reproachful state of things exists. If the fault be attributed 10
the apathy or something worse among the majority of the rate-
payers, it is one tbat the friends of popular government should
hasten to correct. However this may be, it i) enough for us to
know that this notorious evil has increased, is increasing, and
ought to be diminished ; it ^ill otherwise remain a foul blot on
and a costly nuisarfce to the places under such unprofitable in-
fliction. Hence every naturalist and antiquarian, every intelli-
gent and honest member of the community, should be ready to
^od his hand cordially to the good work of reform in this direc-
tion ; more especially as soon as the truth is realised that the
difficulty is by no means insuperable, but may be easily removed,
is a consummation devoutly to be wished, and would involve no
addition to the customary and re^lar expense. The remedies
are sufficiently obvious, and to point out how they should be
used, after having described the disorder and the necessity for
them, is the object of the present observations. To this end we
have in the first place to consider what is desirable and practi-
cable. To instruct ourselves and the rising generation, by means
of local museums, in the elements of natural history generally,
and in the local examples of it particularly, is obviously both
practicable and desirable. For the first purpose, when indi-
genous specimens are vi anting we must get exotic ones; and
these should be limited to such typical examples only as are
absolutely necessary for the elucidation of fundamental or com-
prehensive facts ; for which purpose anatomical preparations,
whether botanical or zoological, are chiefly, but not exclusively,
to be esteemed. On the other hand, all and every species
belonging to the district should be pre-erved and displayed &o far
as they admit it ; partly for the knowledge they display of the
science, but principally for the information they afford of the
natural history of the locality. Antiquarian objects should be
treatefi in a similar spirit. Thus would be collected at one view,
or at lea^t under one roof, much of that important knowledge
which is within the means and scope of any country museum, so
that every vl<iror to it might easily find therein both pleasure and
profit in natural science in general and in the natural features of
the locality in particular. The museum would then also be in a
condition to fulfil one of its leading offices, as a cmrre fur the
meetings, lectures, and conversations on the natural history and
antiquities of the district, and in this mode be available for con-
tributions in fmtherance of the special objects of local societies,
and likely thus to add to the general stock of knowledge. And
happily, this is now being regularly veniilated and popularised
in such tueful publications as the Zoologist^ the FitlJ^ and Land
and Water, When will the Times discover the fair and fertile
field of instruction in the Provincial Museums, now lyin^ waste
for want of culture? Nature, in a recent notice of certain
donations to the Ludlow Museum, has shown a judicious sense
of the subject
But how are you to get the desirable specimens, and what are
you to do with them? Most of those wUderuesses miscalled
Museums already possess a large quantity of objects only awaiting
and inviting intelligent attention. This will consist in a careful
preparation, display, and description of them. Afler having been
separately grouped under their respective kingdoms — the mineral,
vegetable, and animal— they must be arranged according to the
me h-id of their natural relations, in their respective classes,
orders, families, genera, and species ; then accurately nambered,
ticketed, and catalogued. Thus the otherwise chaotic miss of
particular facts will fall into an orderly method, and be always
ready to convey an accurate knowledge to visitors. Still further
illustrations will be requisite, especially as regards fundamental
and comprehensive phenomena, by prepiarations to display the
essential characters at least of the dasses and orders, and of
the anatomy and physiology of the members thereof ; and one
or two careful dissections will be commonly sufficient for thii
Durpose in each order. And now will arise the question. Who
is to do all this work ? Certainly neither by nor under the direction
of " incorporations " of aldermen quite incapable of it can we
expect any effectual labour of the kind. But with proper encourage*
ments'udents of the different departments will, from a pure ftveof
the subjects, not only be found to perform all this but probably
more, and without Uie least expectation of any pecuniary le-
ward. They will surely add important preparations and other
objects to the collection, whenever it becomes manifest that
such contributions will be duly appreciated and cared for ; in-
deed, with regard to at least one Museum very zealous and
skilful naturalists have only been prevented from giving such
desirable aid by a knowledge that their work would simply be
" missing," smothered, or destroyed, amid the carelessness and
the maze of misplaced rubbish there undergoing a like fate,
and most significantly and effectually warning them, and others
like them, what they have to expecL Fortunately mbends and
antiquities are commonly less perishable.
Having discussed what is desirable and practicable, we come
to that which is neither one nor the other. And having some'
what irreverently adverted to the rubbish of so many Provincial
Museums, a further explanation may be necessary, and the more
so as this very accumulation of jumbled and uselt^ss materials is
the sad bite noire of these collections, and so vigilantly intrusive
as to force admission and predominance against all reasons of
fi ness or utility. Any disorderly materials when hurtful by
being out of place fall into the character of rubbish, just as any
plant is a weed when encroaching injuriously on the legit'mite
crop. In their proper place they may be very valuable ; such
th^ might be in the great general collection of the British
Museum, or in a botanical garden. But nobody in his senses
can suppose that it is either desirable or practicable for a pro-
vincial society to attempt an imitation of tne vast and boundless
metropolitan institution. This would be simply out of the
question, and calculated only to provoke a smile, except perad-
venture among the guardians of the local museums. Indeed,
with all the excellent arrangement, the armv of properly piid
experts, and immense space and appliances, tne British Museum
has become so crowded and unwieldy, especially for refeience
and use concerning British products, that some steps for an extri-
cation of them from the surrounding masses of exotic things has
become necessary. But the guardians of the Provincial Museum
will reasonably ask. Granting that we have so much rubbish, what
are we to do with it ? Sell it if you can, or give it away ; but by
all means get rid of it, and that swiftly ; to whidi end a bonfire
might be the best thing. And having thus learned by experience
the noxiou>ness of such rubbish, most resolutely and remorselessly
refuse any quarter to it in future. At present this sort of lumber
only occupies space and involves expense that might and ought
to be employed for mure useful and legitimate purposes ; and
how and why has already been mentioned. At the execution of
the sentence many a wailing throe will out, some natural tean be
shed, for the o'erifraught heart will speak. Phe very civil and
complacent local genius will meekly plead for his idols, telling
you now he loves them, and how some other equally wise and
more potent individuals hold the same faith ; and above all that
the visitors to his temple have ever regarded all those very things
with an admiration and delight amounting to veneration. He
will refuse to be comforted by your as^oirance that what he says
is no doubt very true, though Punch and Judy and Madainc
Tttssaud may be almost as delightful if not quite as good is
their way ; but that your way is to show how the Provincial
Museum may be made not to suppress or degrade but to deve*
lope and elevate the taste of the multitude; and that after
all a good museum will sooner or later become more popular
than a bad one.
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Nao. 9, 1871J
NATURE
37
THE SCOTTISH SCHOOL OF GEOLOGY*
T7OR the first time in the history of University Education in
''' Scotland, we are to-day met to b^in the duties of a Chair
specially devoted to the cultivation of Geology and Mineralogy.
Though Science is of no country nor kin, it yet bears some
blanches which take their hue largely from the r<^ion whence
they sprang, or where they have been most closely followed.
Such local colourings need not be deprecated, since they are both
inevitable and useful. They serve to bring out the peculiarities
of each climate, or land, or people, and it is the blending of all
these colourings which finally gives the common neutral tint of
science. This is in a marked degree true of Geology. Each
country where any part of the science has been more particularly
studied, has given its local names to the general nomenclature,
and its rocks have sometimes served as types from which the
rocks of other r^ons have been classified and described. The
very scenery of the country, reacting on the minds of the early
observers, has sometimes influenced their observations, and has
thus left an impress on the general progress of the science. As
we enter to-day upon a new phase in the history of Geology
among us here, it seems most fitting that we shoidd look back
for a little at the past development of the science in this country.
There was a time, still within the memory of living men, when a
handful of ardent original observers here carried geological specu-
lation and research to such a height as to found a new, and,- in
the end* a dominant shool of Geology.
In the history of the Natural Sciences, as in that of Philosophy,
there have been epochs of activity and then intervals of aui-
escence. One gemus, perhaps, has arisen and kindled in other
minds the flame that burned so brightly in his own. A time
of vigorous research ensued, but as the personal influence waned,
there followed a period of feebleness or torpor until the advent of
some new awakening. Such oscillations of mental energy have
an importance and a significance far beyond the narrow limits of
the country or city in which they may have been manifested.
They form part of that long and noble record of the struggle of
man with the forces of nature, and deserve the thoughtful con-
sideration of all who have joined or who contemplate joining in
that struggle. I propose on the present occasion to sketch to
you the story of one of these periods of vigorous originality,
which had its rising and its setting at Edinburgh — ^the story of
what may be called the Scottish School of Geology. I wish to
place before you, in as clear a light as I can, the work which was
accomplished by the founders of that sdiool, that you may see
how greatly it has influenced, and is even now infmencing, the
onwanl march of the science. I do this in no vainglorious
spirit, nor with any wish to exalt into prominence a mere ^ue?-
tion of nationality. Science knows no geographical or political
limits. Nor, though we may be proud otwluLt has been achieved
for Geology in this little lungdom, can we for a moment shut
our eyes to the fact that these achievements are of the pa.«t, that
the measure of the early promise at the beginning of this century
has been but scantily fulfilled in Scotland, and that the state of
the science among us here, instead of being in advance, is rather
behind the time. And thus I dwell now on the example of our
predecessors, solely in the hope that, realising to ourselves what
that example really was, we may be stimulated to follow it.
The same hiUs and valleys, cra^ and ravines, remain around us
which gave these great men their inspiration, and still preach to
OS the lessons which thev were the first to understand.
The period during which the distinctively Scottish School of
Geology rose and flourished may be taken as included between
the years 1780 and 1825 — a brief half-century. Previous to that
time Geology, in the true sense of the word, can hardly be said
to have existed. Steno, indeed, more than a hundred years
before, bad shown, from the occurrence of the remains of plants
and animals imbedded in the solid rocks^ that the present was
not the original order of things, that there had been upheavals
of the sea into dr^ land and depressions of the land beneath the
sea, by the workmg of forces lodged within the earth, and that
the memorials of these changes were preserved for us in the
rocks. Seventy years later, another writer of the Italian school,
Lazzaro Moro» adopting and extendmg the conclusions of Steno,
pointed to the evidence that the surface of the earth is every-
where worn away, and is repaired by the upheaving power of
* A Lecture delivered at the opening of the das of GcoI(»y and Mineralogy
in the Univenity of Edinburgh, by Archibald Getkie, F.R.S., Nov. 6, 1871.
earthquakes, but for which the mountains and all the dry land
would at last be brought beneath the level of the waves.
But none of these desultory researches, interesting and im-
portant though they were as landmarks in the progr^ of science,
bore immediate fruit in any broad and philosophic outline of
the natural history of the globe. Men were still trammelled by
the behef that the date and creation of the world and its inha-
bttan^s could not be placed further back than some five or six
thousand years, that this limit was fixed for us in Holy Writ«
and that every new fact must receive an interpret ition in accord-
ance with such limitatiotu They were thus often driven to
dbtort the facts or to explain them away. If they ventured to
pronounce for a natural and obvious interpretation, they laid
themselves open to the charge of impiety and atheism, and
might bring down the unrelenting vengeance of the Church.
Such was the state of inquiry when the Scottish Geological
School came into being. The founder of that school was James
Hutton — a man of a singularly original and active mind, who
was bora at Edinburgh in 1726, and died there in 1797. Edu-
cated for the medical profession, but possessed of a small fortune,
which gave him leisure for the pursuit of his favourite studies, he
eventually devoted himself to the stud^ of Mineralogy. But it
was not merely as rare or interesting objects, nor even as parts of
a mineralogical system, that he dealt with minerals. They seemed
to suggest to him constant questions as to the earlier conditions
of our planet, and he was thus gradually led into the wider fields
of Geology and Phsrsical Geography. Quietly working in his
study here, a favourite member of a brilliant circle of society,
whtdi included such men as Black, CuUen, Adam Smith, and
Clerk of Eldin, and making frequent excursions to gather firesh
data and test the truth of his deductions, he at length matured
his immortal "Theory of the Earth,'' and published it in 1785.
Associated with Hutton, rather as a friend and enthusiastic
admirer than as an independent observer, was John Playfair,
Professor of Natural Philosophy in thb University, by whose
graceful exposition the doctrines of Hutton were most widely
made known to the world. His chissic " Illustrations of the
Huttonian Theory " is one of the most delightful books of science
in our languige — clear, elegant, and vivacious— a model of
scientific description and argument, which I would most earaestly
recommend to your notice. Sir Jamts Hall, another of this little
illustrious band, had one of the most inventive minds which have
ever tidcen up the pursuit of science in this country. His merits
have never yet been adequately realised by his countrymen,
though they are better appreciated in Germany and in France.
He was in fact the founoer of Experimental Geology, since it
was he who first brought geological speculation to the test of
actual physical experiment This he accomplished in a series of
ingenious researches, whereby he corroborated some of the dis-
puted parts of the doctrines of his master, Hutton. These were
the three chief leaders of the Scottish school ; but to their number,
as worthy but less celebrated associates, we must not omit to add
the names of Mackenzie, Webb Seymour, and AllaiL
It would lead me far beyond the allotted hour to attempt any
adequate summary of the work achieved by each of these early
pioneers of the science. It will be enough for my present pur-
pose if I try to sketch to you what were the leaamg character-
istics of this Scottish School, and what claim it has to be remem-
bered, not by us only, but by all to whom Geology is the subject
either of serious study or of pleasant recreation.
Bora in a " land of mountain and flood," the geology of the
Scottish School naturally dealt in the main with the inorganic
part of the science, with the elemental forces which have ourst
through and cracked and wora down the crust of the earth. It
asked the mountains of its birthplace by what chain of events
they had been upheaved, how their rocks, so gnarled and broken,
had come into being, how valleys and glens had been impressed
upon the surface of the land, and how the van: js aLrata through
which these wind had been step by step built up. It encountered
no rocks, like those which had arrested the notice of the early
Italian geologists, chaijged with foasil shells, and corals, and
bones offish, such as still lived in the adjoining seas, and which
at once suggested the former presence of the sea over the land.
Neither did it meet with depKMits showing abundant traces of
ancient lakes, and rivers, and land-surfaces, each marked by the
presence of animal and plant remains, like those which set Steno
and Moro thinking. The rocks of Scotlanu are as a whole un-
fossiliferous. It was, therefore, only with the records of physical
evente, unaided by the testimony of organic remains, that the
Scottish geologists had to deal Their task was to unravel the
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NATURE
\^Nav. 9, 1 87 1
complicated processes by which the rocky cmst of the earth has
been built up, and by which the present varied contour of the
earth's surface has been produced, — to ascertain, in short, from
a study of the existing economy of the world, what has been the
histoTy of our planet in earlier ages.
Himerto, while men had been accustomed to believe that the
earth was but some 6,000 years old, they sought in the rocks
beneath and around them evidence only of the sue days' creation
or of the flood of Noah. Each new cosmological system was
based upon that belief, and tried in various ways to reconcile the
Biblical narrative with fanciful interpretations of the (acts of
Nature. It was reserved for Hutton to declare, for the first time,
that the rocks around us can never reveal to us any trace of the
beginning of things. He too first clearly and persistently pro-
claimed the great fundamental truth of Geology, that in seeking
to interpret the past history of the earth as chronicled in the
rocks, we roust use the present economy of nature as our guide.
In our investigations, *'no powers," he says, "arc to to em-
ployed that are not natural to the globe, no action to be admitted
of except those of which we know the principle. Nor are we
to proceed in feigning causes when those appear insufficient
which occur in our experience."* This was the guiding principle
of the Scottish School, and through their influence it has become
the euiding principle of modem Geolc^.
There were two directions in which Hutton laboured, and in
each of which he and his foUawers constantly travelled by the
light of the present order of nature — ^viz., the investigation
of (i) changes which have transpired beneath the surface and
within the crust of the earth, ana (2) changes which have been
effected on the surface itself.
I. That the interior of the earth was hot, and that it was the
seat of powerful forces, by which the solid rocks could be rent
open and wide regions of land be convulsed, were familiar facts,
attested by every volcano and earthquake. These phenomena
had been for the most part regarded as abnormal parts of the
system of nature ; by many writers, indeed, as well as by the
general mass of mankind, they were looked upon as Divme
judgments, specially sent for the punishment and reformation of
the human species. To Hutton, pondering over the great
organic system of the world, a deeper meaning was necessary.
He felt, as Steno and Moro had done, that the earthquake and
volcano were but parts of the general mechanism of our planet.
But he saw also that they were not the only exhibitions of the
potency of subterranean agencies, that in fact they were only
partial and perhaps even secondary manifestations of the influ-
ence of the great internal heat of the globe, and that the full
import of that influence could not be understood unless careful
study was also given to the structure of the rocky crust of the
earth. Accordingly, he set himself for years patiently to gather
and meditate over data which would throw light upon that
structure and its history. The mountains and glens, river-
valleys and sea- coasts of his native country, were diligently tra-
versed by him* every journey adding something to his store of
materials, and enabling him to arrive continually at wider views
of the general economy of nature. At one time we find him in
a Highland glen searoiing for proofs of a hypothesis which he
was convinMd must be true, and, at their eventual discovery,
breaking forth into such gleeful excitement that his attendant
gillies concluded he must certainly have hit upon a mine of gold.
At another time we read of him boating with his friends
Playfair and Hall along the wild cliffs of Berwickshire, again in
search of confinnation to his views, and finding, to use the words
of Playfair, " palpable evidence of one of the most extraordinary
and important facts in the natural history of the earth."
As a result of his wanderings and reflection, he concluded that
the great mass of the rocks which form the visible part of the
crust of the earth was formed under the sea, as sand, gravel, and
mud are laid there now ; and that these ancient sediments were
consolidated by subterranean heat, and, by paroxysms of the
same force, were fractured, contorted, and upheaved into dry
land. He found that portions of the rock had even been in a
fused state ; that granite had erupted through sedimentary rocks ;
and that the dark trap-rocks or "whinstones" of Scotland
were likewise of igneous origin.
When the sedimentary rocks were studied in the broad way
which was followed by Hutton and his associates, many proofs
appeared of ancient convulsions and re-formations of the earth's
snrface. It was found that among the hills the strata were often
on end, while on the plains they were gently inclined ; and the
* Hutton't '* Theory of the Earth," L p. x6o ; iL p. 549^
inference was deduced by Hutton that the former series must
have been broken up by subterranean commotions before the
accumulation of the latter, which was derived from its d^his.
He conjectured that the later rocks would be found actually
resting upon the edges of the older. His search for, and dis-
covery o^ this relation at the Siccar Point, on the Berwickshire
coast, are well described by his biographer Playfair, who accom-
panied him, and who, dwelling on the impression which the
scene had left upon him, adds : '* The mind seemed to grow
giddy by looking so far into the abyss of time ; and while
we listened with earnestness and admiration to the phDosopher
who was now imfolding to us the order and series of these
wonderful events, we became sensible how much farther reason
may sometimes go than imagination can venture to follow." Sir
James Hall afterwards, by a series of characteristically ingenious
experiments, showed how the rocks of that coast- line may have
been contorted by movements in the cmst of the earth under
great superincumbent pressure.
Hutton was the first to establish the former molten condition
of granite, and of many other crystalline rocks. He maintained
that the combined influence of subterranean heat and pressure
upon sedimentary rocks could consolidate and mineralise them,
and even convert them into crystalline masses. He was thus the
founder of the modem doctrines of metamorphism regarding the
gradual transformation of marine sediments into the gnaried and
rugged gneiss and schist of which mountains are built up. Let
me quote the eulogium passed upon this part of his work in an
essay by M. Daubree, which eleven years ago was crowned with
a prize by the Academy of Sciences at Paris : — "By an idea
entirely new, the illustrious Scottish philosopher showed the
successive co-operation of water and the internal heat of the
globe in the formation of the same rocks. It is the mark of
genius to unite in one common origin phenomena very different
m their nature." " Hutton explains the history of the globe with
as much simplicity as grandeur. Like most men of genius,
indeed, who have opened up new paths, he exaggerated the
extent to which his conceptions could be applied. But it is
impossible not to view with admiration the profound penetration
and the strictness of induction of so clear-sighted a man, at a
time when exact observations had been so few, he being the first
to recognise the simultaneous effect of water and heat in the for-
mation of rocks, in imagining a system which embraces the whole
physical system of the globe. He established principles which,
m so far as they are fundamental, are now universally admitted."
(To be continued)
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Annalen der Chemit und Pharmacie^ clix., for July, opens
with a concluding communication " On the constiturion of the
twice substituted benzenes," by E. Ador and V. Meyer. The
authors converted sulphanilic acid into bromobenzine-salphonic
acid, and fused the potassium salt of this acid with potassic hy-
drate. The dihydroxylbenzine produced was found to be resordn ;
Meyer and others have proved that resorcin belongs to the i : 4
series, and therefore sulphanilic acid must also be r^arded as
containing the SOjH and NH, in the places I and 4 respectively.
Sulphanilic acid treated with nitrous acid yields a diazo-deriv&cive
CeH4N,S0|, this on boiling with water is converted into phenol-
sulphonic aad, which was found to be identical with ICckoIe's
paraphenolsulphonic acid. At the end of the communication, a
valuable table of the twice substituted benzines, showing the place
of attachment of the second substituted group is given ; it however
difiers in some respects from the arrangement ot other chexnistdL
Ernst and Zwenger have prepared ethyl and amyl gallates by
passing hydrochlonc acid tluough a boiling solution ot gallic add
m the anhydrous alcohols ; at present they have not succeeded is
preparing the methyl gallate. — A very exhaustive paper follows
"On some substances crystallised from microcosmic salt and
from borax," by A. Knop, in which the crystallisation of phos-
phostannic, phosphozirconic, and phosphoniobic acids from
microcosmic salt, and of stannic add, zircontc add, noria, and
niobic add from borax are thorou^jhly discussed. — Lieben and
Rossi have prepared "normal valeric add" by the action of
boiling alconolic potash on butyl cyanide, they find tha.t the
valeric add thus obtained does not agree in properties with either
of Uie adds already known. They have also prepared normal
amvlic alcohol from the above add, by heating the caldc valerate
with caldc formiate, Uie valeric aldehyde h«ing converted into
amylic alcohol by the action of sodium a^l^l^gam. The alcohol
L/iyiiiiLcu \jy
<3^'
Nov. g, 1871]
NATURE
39
obtained boiled at 137% which is somewhat higher than that of
the ordinary alcohol. The normal amylic chloride, bromide,
iodide, and acetate have been prepaied, all of which possess
boiling points higher than those of the componnds obtained from
the fermentation alcohol. Normal caproic acid was prepared
from amyl cyanide in the same manner as the valeric acidprevioosly
described. — A translation of Rossi's paoer "On the synthesis
of normal propyl alcohol from ethyl alcohol,'' and also of T.
Smith's paper '* On the estimation of the alkalies in silicates"
follow. — Tollens continues with the seventh contribution on the
allyl group, the subject of which is the conversion of allyl alcohol
into propyl alcohol ; this is accomplished by treating allyl alcohol
with sohd potash, the temperature beinggradually raised to 155*,
hydrogen being evolved in the reaction ; it was found extremely
difficult to purify the propyl alcohol ; to obtain conclusive evidence
it was converted into propionic acid ; some six or eight other
bodies are formed in this reaction, such as formic acid, propionic
acid, and other higher compounds. — Rinne and Tollens have
succeeded in preparing allyl cyanide from the bromide by the
repeated action of potassic cyanide, and have converted it into
crotonic acid by the action of alcoholic potash ; thecrotonic acid
obtained fused at 72*, and possessed all the properties of crotonic
acid as made from allyl cyanide prepared from mustard-oil. By
the oxidation of allyl alcohol by chromic acid the authors have
obtained formic acid, and small quantities of acrylic acid, no
acetic acid being produced.— Fittig contributes a paper '* On the
alleged dibasic nature of gluconicand lactic adds, being a reply to
HIasiwetz's paper on this subject, Fittig himself considering them
monobasic. — The continuation of a paper "On the action of
Sulphurous Acid on Platinic Chloride^" by K. Bimbaum, follows,
several new and complicated salts of thU series have been ob*
tained ; the reactions seem to proceed in two stages, first a
reduction to platinous chloride takes place, and then the substi-
tution of CI by HSOs ; thus by the action of hydric ammonic
sulphite on ammonic chloroplatinate a body of the composition
Pt jjgQ j^* Soj + 4 H,0 is obtained.— This number con-
cludes vrith two'short papers by T. Myers. The first is ''.On the
temperature of decomposition of sulphuretted hydrogen," this is
placed between ^^d* and 400^ probably nearer the lower tempe-
rature; the second paper is "On sulphuretted hydrogen con-
taining arsenic." Sulphuretted hydrogen, as usually prepared
from mipure sulphuric acid and ferrous sulphide, contams a
gaseous arsenic compound, probably arsenetted hydrogen ; the
two gases do not react on ^ich other at ordinary temperatures,
but when they are heated to the boiling point of mercury, a deposit
of arsenious sulphide takes place. The arsenetted hydrogen is
probably produced by the action of nascent hydrogen on the
arsenic compound existing in the sulphuric acid.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Microscopical Society, November i. — W.
Kitchen Parker, F.R.S., president, in the chaur. Dr. Braith-
waite, F.L.S., contributed further remarks on the structure of the
Sphagnaceae or bog-mosses. Confining himself principally to
the characters for grouping the numerous species into sub-genera,
he advocated the system adopted by Dr. Lindberg of Stockholm,
based upon those yielded by the form of the leaves investing
certain portions of the stem and divergent branches. —Mr. W.
Saville Kent, British Museum, read a paper on Prof. James
Clark's Flagellate Infusoria with description of new species. In
his communication, Mr. Kent announced the discovery among
others of Prof. Clark's minute "collared" types {Codosiga, Bi-
cosccca^ &c), first made known to the sdentific world through the
Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History for 1866, but
not since corroborated by any European naturalist Of the
eleven species noticed by Mr. Kent, five were identified by him
with American forms ; the remaining six, while referable to cor-
responding genera, offering well-marked specific distinctions.
The whole series are of exceedingly minute size, requiring
a magnifying power of 800 diameters and upwards for the
recognition of their stractural peculiarities, the chief interest
attached to them being their striking resemblance to the idtimate
cell particles lining the incorrent cavities of sponges, as clearly
shown by Prof. Clark in the calcareous, and since demonstrated
by Mr. Carter in the siliceous groups. Mr. Kent expressed his
dissent from Prof. Clark's views in regard to the nutritive func-
tions of Monas and other Flagellata, in the course of his investi-
gations, he having observed the former to engulf food at any
portion of its periphery, after the manner of Amoeba^ while in
the coUar-bcanng species, it was intercepted at any portion within
the area circumscribed by the base of that organ, there being in
no case a distinct mouth as assumed by Prof. Clark. In the dis-
cussion that ensued, Mr. Kent assented to the President's sug-
eestion, that the Flagellata, in the possession of one or more
fash-like appendages, represented a higher type of organi-
sation than the Foraminifera, and other Rhizopodous Protozoa;
and expressed his opinion that the Spongiadse, as a class, com-
bined the structural characters of the ordinary Rhizopoda and
lower Infusoria, having superadded to this a skeletal and aggre-
gated type of ori^anisation essentially their own. Mr. C. Stewart
affirming to havmg observed an appearance of three flagellate
appendages to certain cells of Leucosolcnia botryoidesiosBAtT a mag-
nifying power of about 300 diameters, Mr. Kent accepted his
statement as further corroboration of the existence of a mem-
branous collar, which, under an insufficient degree of magnifica-
tion, presents the aspect attested to by Mr. Stewart The entire
series of Infusorial forms recorded in Mr. Kent's communication
were obtained by him from a pond on the estate of Mr. Thos.
Randle Bennett, Wentworth House, Stoke Newington.
Entomological Society, November 6 —Prof. J. O. West-
wood, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. Mr. Davis exhibited a
collection of larvae of Lepidopterous and other insects, beautifully
preserved by inflation. Mr. Bond exhibited examples of Zygana
esculans^ a new British moth, captured by Dr. Buchanan White in
Braemar, and Catocala Fraxini, recently captured in the R^ent's
Park ; also a singular variety of Ch<erocampa tlpenor^ in which
the central portion of each fore- wing was hyaline. — The Rev. A.
Matthews sent for exhibition specimens of*^ Tkroscus carinifrons
and Cryphalus tibia ^ new, or recently discovered, British
Coleoptera. — Mr. M*Lachlan exhibited Biitacus aptarus from
California, recently described by him in the Entomologist^
Monthly Magazine, — Mr. Howard Vaughan exhibited the
dark form of Triphana orbona, from Scotland, known as
T, Curtisil, and Mr. Lewis made some remarks on the
synonymy of this forai. Mr. Vaughan also exhibited a nearly
black variety of Arge GalatAeOy captured in Kent by Mr. Tarn. —
Mr. Miller exhibited an enoraious oak-gall from America ; also
impregnated and unimpregnated eggs o{ Libel lulaflaveola, — Prof.
Westwood exhibited numerous examples of Formica herculeana^
a gigantic ant not hitherto known as British, found in the pro-
ventriculus of an example of Picus martius, said to have been
shot near Oxfoxd ; from the perfect condition of the ants and of
the bird which had devoured them, he fully believed in the
genuineness of the bird as a British example, an opinion which
was not shared by some of the members present Prof. Westwood
also exhibited two male examples of Papilio Crino from Ceylon,
in one of which some of the veins of the wings were coated
with brown hairs, a usual character with the males of some
species of Papilio^ but which had not hitherto been observed in
tnat of Crino, — Mr. F. Smith exhibited a Noctua^ apparently
belonging to the genus Aplecta, which had been taken alive by
Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys at sea, 220 miles from Nova Scotia: — Baron
Chandois communicated notes commenting upon Mr. Wollas-
ton's remarks respecting Eurygnathus paralldus^ a Madeiran
beetle described by him, and maintaining its distinctness from
E. Latreillei, — ^Mr. Briggs read a paper "On Zygana Trifolii and
allied forms," detailmgtne result of^b is observations during many
years, and arriving at the conclusion that two distinct forms or
species had hitherto been confounded in Britain under the name
of Trifolii,
Linnean Society, November 2. — Mr. G. Bentham, president,
in the chair. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., read a paper " On the
Origin of Insects,'^ an abstract of which will be found in another
column. An interesting discussion followed, in which Mr. George
Busk, Mr. A. R. Wallace, Mr. M*Lachlan, Mr. Stainton, and
Mr. B. Lowne, took part — Captain Chimmo, "Notes on the
Natural History of the Flying Fish." The author considers that
he has established that during flight there is an extra consumption
of oxygen by the fish, as shown by an increase of temperature.
He finds that life is maintained for a period of from seven to
nine minutes out of the water, and states that the fish possesses
the power of changing the direction of its course during flight,
ider.
using its tail as a rudd
Digitized by
Google
J
40
NATURE
\Nov. 9, 1871
Chester
Society of Natural Science, October 25. — President,
Rev. Canon Kingsley ; treasurer, Mr. Kinsman ; hon. secretary,
Mr. Manning. The socitty is divi'lcd inlo three sections: (i)
botany, (2) geology, (3) zoology ; and numbers nearly 200 mem-
bers. Mr. Alfred O. Walker read a paper on "Objects and
Organisation of Local Natural History Societies."
Glasgow
Geological Society, October 19. — Mr. Edward A. WUnsch,
vice-president, in the chair. The Annual Report and abstract
of the accounts for past year showed the society to be
in a flourishing condition. — Mr. James Thomson, F.G.S.,
read a paper " On the Plagiostomous Fishes of the Coal
Measures," particularly Orthacaniktis Dfchenii Goldfuss.
He observed that Prof. Agassiz, in his **Poi sons Fossiles"
published in 1837, described the genus Diphdus (sp, pbbostis
and minutus) from specimens, chiefly of dissociated teeth,
found in the English coal- flelds. Subsequently, a well-preserved
fish was discovered in Bohemia, and described in 1847 ^J Gold-
fuss, who named it Orthacanthus Decfuitii. In 1848, Prof.
Beyrich, of Berlin, described the same fl:sh, and named it Xetia-
canihus Dtchenii, founding on the fact that the spine had a greater
similarity to Pleuracanthus than to Orthacanthus. At the meet-
ing of the British Association in Glasgow in 1855, Sir Philip
Egerton, from dbcoveries that had been made in the interval,
pointed out that the spines of Pleuracanthus and the teeth of
Dipladus belonged in fact to the same fish. .The specimens from
which Sir Philip proved this to the Association were obtained
from Carluke and Edinbm^h. In 1867 Prof Kner went care-
fiilly over the remains of such fishes in the museums of Dresden,
Berlin, Breslau, and Vienna. Although none of the specimens
found in these museums were complete, yet in some of them he
found the teeth of Diplodus minutus of Agassiz in position, and
from the external aspect of the fossils he accepted Goldfuss*s
generic name, Orthacanthus Dechenii, The specimen which Mr.
Thomson now exhibited had been for many years in his collec-
tion, and had been provisionally named Pleuracanthus minutus.
After a careful examination, however, of the micro >cupic struc-
ture both of the teeth and theshigreen, he could find no relation
between the structure of Pleuracanthus zxA that now exhibited.
In the meantime he accepted Prof. Kner*s identification, but
thought it possible that the discovery of better- preserved speci-
mens would show that the difference of structural character might
be due to difference of sex, as he had found to be the case in the
recent rays' jaws of Raia clavala^ both male and female, with the
teeth in position, exhibited in support of this view.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, October 30 — M. P. A. Favre
read a continuation of his researches upon the thermal pheno-
mena of electrolysis, containing an account of his investigations
upon alkalme bues and sulphates ; M. Wurtz presented the
continuation of a paper, by M. G. Salet, on the spectra of
phoBphorus and of uie compounds of silicium ; and M. Le
Vemer communicated a note by M. Diamilla-MiiUer, on a
series of simultaneous magnetic observations which it is prop$»ed
to make in various parts of the surface of the globe, on the 15 th
of October, 1872. This note is accompanied by a table of the
abioluie magnetic declinations calculated for the above date, at
a great numt)er of places in all parts of the eastern hemisphere.
— MM. Dumas and Chevreul and General Morin discussed the
right of Daguerre to be regarded as the inventor of photography,
and asserted the prior claims of Niepce de Saint- Victor. — M.
Faye read the conclusion of his memoir on the history and
prtsent state of the theory of comets. — M. Delaunay pre^en'ed a
note by M. G. Leveau, giving the elements of the planet Hera
(103). — A note was read by M. Barbe, on the uses of dynamite.
— M. £. M. Raoult read a note on the transformation of dissolved
cane-sugar into glucose, under the influence of light. The
exposure lasted from May 12 to October 20. — M. Berthelot
communicated the third part of his investigations of the ammo-
niacal salts, in which he dU'Cussed the reciprocal actions of the
salts of ammonia and ot the 01 her alkalies. — A note was read by
MM. A. Scheurer-Kestner and C. Meunier, on the composition
and heat of combustion of two Welsh coab (from Bwlf and
Powel. ) — M. Daubree communicated a paper on the deposit in
which phosphate of lime has lately been di>covered in the
departments of Tam-et-Garonne and the Lot — M. A. Damour
presented a note on an idocrase from Arendal, in Norway, con-
taining an analysis of the mineral, and also an analysis of a
garnet from Mexico. — M. E. Blanchard communicated a note
by M. S. Jourdain, on the reproduction of Helix aspersa, in
which the author described the arrangement of t ic reproduc-
tive organs and the mode in which their products arc brought
together.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English —The Letters of J. B. Jukes : Edited by his SUter (Chaoc^ .1
and Hall). — ^A Handbook of the Mincraloey of Corawall and Devon : J. H.
Collins (Lonj^mansV — A Manual of Anthiropoloey, or Science of Mah.
C. Bray (L^ngmansX— Note-book of Practical and SoUd Geom^trv : J. H
Edgar (Macmillan).— The Admiralty Manual of Snentlfic Inquiry, 4^h
edition : Rev. R. Main (J._ Murray) — Proceed'ngs of the South Wales In>: -
tute of Engi'ieers : Vol. vit , Not. a-jL — Insects at Home, being a popuLu-
account of tiriU5h Insects: Rev J. u. Wood (Longmans).
American. — ^Three and Four place Tables of Logarithmic and TrigoD.->-
metric Functions : J. M. Peirce ( Boston* Ginn Brothers). — Seaside Studi^i^
in Natural History'; Marine Animals of Massachusetts Bay, Radiatn .
Elizabeth C. Agassiz and Alexander Agassiz (Bosttm, J. R. Osgood and Co.)
FoRBiGN.— (Through Williamt and Norgate) — Lehrbuch der aaorfar
ischen Chemie : Dr. Th. Ph. Buchner ; x«* Ablheaung.— Wdhler's Grundn .^
der organischen Chemie : Dr. R. Fittig ; 8*^ Auflage - Die Zielpuckte ccr
fhysiluilischen Wisseoschaft : E. Hagenbach. — Astronomische Taieln u.
*ormeln : Dr. C F. W. Peters.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Novbmbbe 9
London Mathematical Socibty, at 8.— On the Partition of an Ever
Number into two Primes: J. J. Sylvester, F. R. S.— General Meetiog ;
Election of (^undl and Officers.
SUNDAY, NovKMBBR 12.
Sunday Lecturb Society, at 4. — Education in India : Jtram Row.
MONDA Y, NovBMBBB 13.
Royal Gbockaphical Society, at B.^o.
London Institution, at 4. — On Elementaiy Physiology (III.): Pr.f,
Huxley, F.R.S— Nervous Matter; iu Structure and Propeities: VtoL
Huxley, F.R.S.
THURSDAY, November iS.
London Institution, at 7.30. — The Influence of Geological Fheaomvna oe
the Social Life of the People : Harry G. Seeley, F G.S.
Royal Socibty, at 8.30.
LiNNBAN Society, at 8.— On the Floral Structure of Impatiens fulva, &c-
A. W. Bennett, F L S — Rcm.arkson Dolichos uniflorus : N. A. DalzelL—
Florae Hongkongensis Suj^emcntum : H. F. Hance, Ph. D.
CONTENTS Paci
The Origin op Gbnbra at
Miss Nightingale on Lying-In Institutions ...... . . 2s
Our Book Shelf zj
Letters to the EorroR: —
Proof of Napier's Rules. >-Prof. A. S. Herschbl. F.R.A.S. itViih
Diagram?) M
Remarib^ble Paraselene seen at Highfidd House on October asth,
187J.— E.J. Lowe, K.R.S, [H^itA Diagram.) 34
Stnictureof Lepidodendron.— Prof. W. T. rHiSELTONDvER. . . »s
Is Hlue a Primary Colour?— William Bbnson : T. W. Backmol'SE 9$
A Shadow on the hky. — Charlotte Hall tj
A Plane's Position.— Richd. A. Proctor, F.R.A.S. ; Robekt B.
Hayward d6
Science and Art Examinations.— HbnryUhlcrbn .... . . tj
New Zealand Forest Trees. —John R. Jackson, ^L.S >;
The Glacial Drtft at Finchley.— Henry Walker a?
On the Origin of Insects By Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P.,
F.R.S »7
Charles Babbage :§
A New Form of Sensitive Flame. (lYitA Diagram.) .... 30
Notes 30
The Geognosy of the Appalachians and the Origin op Crys-
talline Rocks. —11 By ProC T. Stbrry Hunt, F.R.S.. . . . je
Thb Relations between Zoology and Palaeontology. ByProt
Wyville Thomson, F.R.S 34
On the Objects and Management of Provincial Museums. By
G. Gulliver, F:R.S. • 35
The Scottish School of Geology.— I. By Prof. A. Geikib, F.R.S. 37
Scientific Serials ji
Societies and Academies . .3^.1
Books Received 40
Diary 40
MOT/CE
IVe beg leave to state that we decline to return rejected communi<\i^
tianSf and to this rule we can make no exceptum, Communuj'
tions respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must he addressed
to the Publishers^ NOT to the Editor. > j
NATURE
41
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1871
NEW WORKS ON MECHANICS
Lckrbuch der Medianik in elemeniarer Darstellung mit
Ucbungen uni Anwendungenauf Maschinen und Ban-
ConstrucHonen, Von Ad Wernicke. Vol. I. (Braun-
schweig, 1 87 1. London : Williams and Norgate.)
Lehrbuch der physikalischen Mechanik, Von Dr. Hein-
rich Buff. VoL I. (Braunschweig, 1871. London :
Williams and Norgate.)
An Elementary Course of Theoretical and Applied
Mechanics, By Richard WormelL Second Edition.
(London, 1871. Groombridge and Sons.)
WERNICKE'S work is mtended for pupils in the
Prussian industrial schools {Gewerbeschulen). The
first volume treats of Statics and Dynamics, leaving Hydro-
mechanics for the second According to the preface^
students reading this work should be acquainted with
elementary mathematics, including co-ordinate geometry,
while a knowledge of the differential calculus is not
required. From an English point of view, it is not de-
sirable to draw the line between co-ordinate geometry and
the calculus. Even in our universities, not twenty per
cent, of the students are acquainted with co-ordinate
geometry. It is to be regretted that the proportion is so
small ; that it is so, is due to the present preposterous
system of classical education, that relic of the middle ages
which is the bane of our schoolboy days. Almost all
English students, however, who learn co-ordinate geo-
metry, generally study both the differential and integral
calculus before commencing mechanics. Now intelligent
pupils like a text-book of mechanics in which they find
scope for exercising all their mathematical knowledge ;
hence it would appear that for English purposes the line
is drawn either too high or too low.
As to the manner in which Wernicke has executed his
task, it would be hard to speak too favourably ; and not-
withstanding the point we have raised, we should hail an
English translation as a valuable addition to our standard
works on mechanics. One of the best features in the
book is that it presents theoretical and practical mechanics
not as two distinct subjects, but in that degree of com-
bination which naturally belongs to them.
The first volume of Wernicke's work consists of 500
octavo pages, and is divided into three parts. Part I.
discusses the Kinematics of a mathematical point,
the inquiry being principally confined to space of two
dimensions. The symbol j is here and throughout the
work used to denote an acceleration : for example, jx is
the acceleration parallel to the axis of x. This notation (un-
familiar to English readers) has obvious advantages when
the more appropriate language of the differential calculus
cannot be employed. About fifty examples, many of a
practical character, are appended to Part I. Among them
is found (Ex. 31) a problem virtually requiring the inte-
g^ration of :r". The solution given is necessarily round-
about and cumbrous, owing to the restraint which the
author has imposed upon his use of mathematics. It
may, indeed, be questioned whether a student who is
not acquainted with the integral calculus could really
VOL. V.
profit by a solution which is merely the integral calculus
ground down and spoiled.
Part II. is upon the Mechanics of a material particle.
We notice here small points in the diagrams which must
be useful to the learner. Thus, in a figure where the
length of a line is denoted by a symbol, the extremities of
a bracket indicate the extremities of the line. Those who
use the black-board in teaching will appreciate the
advantage of this detail Take, for example, Fig. 54,
which refers to motion in an ellipse about a force in Uie
focus. In this part and the examples appended, the usual
proportions relating to the statics and dynamics of forces
applied at a single point will be found.
The third part, which treats of the mechanics of a
rigid body, occupies four-fifths of the volume. Chap. I.
discusses the Composition and Equilibrium of Forces in
space ; some of the examples require a good deal of
honest numerical work, others are well-known questions
not involving friction. Chap. II. is on the Centre of Gravity ;
in this we do not notice much that is unusual, except
the excellence of the illustrations. The examples contain
problems on the centre of gravity of various useful areas
and volumes, the theory of the arch, and many other sub-
jects.
In Chap. III. we have a treatise upon Friction. We
miss here an actual description and discussion of a series
of experiments from which the laws of friction are estab-
lished. This omission is to be regretted, because the
laws are only approximate, and it is important for the
pupil to have . materials presented to him from which he
can form his own estimate of their correctness. Intelli-
gent pupils would have been pleased to find how true the
laws are on the whole, and interested in noting the dis-
crepancies. No good opportunity for introducing and
discussing the results of experiments should have been
lost in a work of this kind. With this exception, the
force of friction has been treated in a manner worthy of
its importance ; we find its effect upon the various me-
chanical powers, upon toothed wheels and brakes, and in
many other cases, treated in an excellent manner. Chap.
IV., on the Motion of a rigid body, very properly com-
mences with the exquisite kinematical theorems of
Poinsot. D'Alembert's principle follows, and also a table
of moments of inertia, which will be found a useful aid in
recollecting these troublesome quantities.
Chap, v., on Elasticity and Rigidity, is certainly the best
chapter in the book. Problems connected with the deflec-
tion of a beam are among the most interesting questions
of mechanics. We have here an exceedingly careful dis-
cussion of this subject, not too much encumbered with
formulae. A large number of examples thoroughly worked
illustrate this chapter. Every teacher of applied mechanics
will find these examples invaluable ; they are far better
than those on the same subject in any other book with
which we are acquainted.
Finally, in estimating the merits of this work, we must
recollect that it is a manual for class instruction ; it is not,
nor does it profess to be, a comprehensive and original
treatise, like the great work of Weisbach.
Buff's work, of which the first volume is before us, is of
somewhat different character to that of Wernicke. It
bears the same marks of painstaking thoroughness which
characterise the better class of German works on science.
L/iyiLiiLcu uy
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42
NATURE
\Nov. 16,1871
The illustrations are also unusually good in both books,
but while Wernicke's is professedly a mathematical
treatise, the work of Buff leans more to the physical
aspects of mechanics. There is, however, considerable
reference to mathematics in Buff, in fact, he makes free
use of the calculus when necessary.
The book consists of thirteen sections :— Section i. is on
Rest and Motion ; Section li. on Movement in Space and
Time : this contains, in addition to the usual theorems on
the motion of a point, a useful article on harmonic motion.
Section in. introduces the Composition of Movements ; in
this will be found a discussion of experiments upon the
trajectory of the bullet from the needle-gun. Section v.
commences the subject of Mechanical Work ; we are glad
to see in this book the principle of work receives that
prominence which it unquestionably deserves. Section
VII., on Friction, discusses, among other subjects, Pam-
bour*s experiments upon the friction of railway carriages.
Section ix,, upon the Efficiency of Machines, is admirable^
the theory being properly proportioned to the experiments.
We find here a full discussion of the subject, without that
deluge of formulae which is so often repulsive to those in
search of distinct physical conceptions. Section X. contains
what is familiar to us by the term Mechanism ; Section
XII. is the most complete account of Centrifugal Force which
we have met with in any work ; we have here a physical
explanation of the permanent axes, of precession and
nutation, of the mode of finding the masses of the heavenly
bodies, and of various other matters. Section xiii., upon
the Motion of the Pendulum, is a collection of interesting
subjects, among them Foucault's pendulum, and a far
better account of Cavendish's experiments than is to be
found in any Enghsh book on mechanics. We are also a
little surprised to find the weighing scales treated in this
section. The arrangement is novel, and though doubtless
much might be said in favour of it, yet we think, on the
whole, it is not convenient.
We cordially recommend Buff's treatise to the notice of
teachers of natural philosophy.
Mr. Wormell's book, which appears to have been
specially intended for the London University examination
for 6. A. and B.Sc, contains practical and experimental
illustrations, in addition to the usual matter. We should
gladly welcome a thoroughly good work on the general
plan which has been adopted by Mr. Wormell, but the
book before us ought to receive careful revision before it
is placed in the hands of students. We shall indicate
some of the points that we have noticed which require
correction. We do so in the belief that a future edition
of the work might be made really valuable, and supply a
much felt want Some of the errors are common to this
work and other text-books. We can, therefore, only accuse
Mr. Wormell of reproducing them, but we cannot allow
this excuse on every occasion.
On page 14, we find as follows : — " Any two forces
F\ F* applied at a point MtMy be transferred parallel to
themselves to any other point AT in the line of direction
of the resultant"
This proposition, if true, would assert that the attractions
of the earth and sun upon the moon might be transferred
to any heavenly body in space which happened to be in
the line of direction of the resultant of the forces. The
geometrical proof of the composition of parallel forces (p.
33) is meaningless, tmtil the proposition referred to has
been properly stated. This blunder is extremely common,
it arises from enunciating as a property of forces what is
really the definition of a rigid body.
On page 112 we find the following passage : —
''i. When the materials composing the surfaces in
contact remain the same, the friction varies as the pres-
sure. Suppose, for example, that a block of wood, having
a hole bored in it, rests on a plane inclined at the angle of
repose, if lead be poured in the hole, M^ scrnu may bt
turned so as to incline the flane at a greater angle "with-
out causing the body to slide. By increasing the pressure
we increase the friction."
This is very bad ; the statement we have italicised in
the second paragraph is entirely erroneous. So serious
an error would be quite inexcusable even in one of those
for whose use the book has been written.
We should have liked to have seen more experiments
upon the mechanical powers cited. A student who reads
(p. 94) that in the three sheave pulley-block the power
is one-sixth of the load, will naturally be surprised when
he finds by trial that the power must be one-fourth of the
load ; nor can we find a single word in the book which
would enlighten his difficulty. We should also have ex-
pected that the author would have replaced the antiquated
and useless pulley systems which only exist in manuals, by
some compact and useful machines like the differential
pulley.
Such are some of the points which we consider to require
careful revision before Mr. Wormell's book can be pro-
nounced suitable for the use of students.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Contributiotis to Botany ^ I conographic and Descriptive.
By John Miers, F.R.S., F.L.S. VoL 3, containing a
complete Monograph of the Menispermaceae. Sixty-
six htho plates. (London: Williams and Norgate,
1864— 1871.)
Mr. Miers'S long-promised Monograph of the Meni-
spermaceae forms the third volume of his valuable " Con-
tributions to Botany." The intimate acquaintance of this
veteran botanist with South American plants, and his
long study of this particular family, extending over more
than twenty years, render his observations peculiariy
valuable to all systematic botanists. Although in some
important particulars Mr. Miers combats the views of
such high authorities as the authors of the "Flora Indica,'
and those of the " Genera Plantarum," he adduces reasons
for his dissent, which will, at least, need careful considera-
tion from all who hereafter write on these plants. Mr.
Miers retains, with some modifications, his views of the
structure of the different organs in tbds order published
in the Annals of Natural History in 1851, and classifi^
the genera which constitute it into seven tribes, on cha-
racters dependent mainly. on the structure of the fruit, and
on the position of the cotyledons relatively to the radicle,
whether incumbent or accumbent. The establishment of
sixty-four distinct genera in the order, instead of the
thirty- one admitted by Bentham and Hooker, may be
open to criticism, but several of them contain only single
species now for the first time described, which appear to
be altogether aberrant types of the order. Good plates
are always valuable ; and we have here sixty-six, dra^Ti
on stone by the author himself, containing careful dissec*
tions to illustrate the salient characters of the genera and
more important species. This concluding volume of Mr«
i_/iy!LiiLc;u ijy
e>^'
Nov. i6, 1871J
NATURE
43
Miers's " Contributions to Botany" is no less valuable
than any of its predecessors as a record of laborious and
conscientious devotion to science. A. W. B.
An Elementary Treatise on Statics, By J. W. Mulcaster
F.R. A.S., Military Tutor. (London : Taylor and Francis.)»
This is a good book without any of that attempt at
cramming, too common now in our elementary text-books.
It is calculated to give the reader a good grasp of
the elements of Statics. It ^oes over the usual ground,
states and proves the principles well and clearly, and
contains in each chapter a numerous and excellent series
of examples. These examples consist of " graduated and
classified groups of problems, each involving distinct
statical principles." These, the author says, he finds, and
our experience entirely agrees with his, make " an im-
pression on the student's mind otherwise not attainable
with problems indiscriminately taken." We gather from
the book that it is the production of a good and practical
teacher. J. S.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notiee is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
The Aurora Borealis of Nov. 9 and xo
As the magnificent display of Aurora on the evening of the
loth wa» witnessed here under very favoorable circumstances,
and as several of its phases were of unusual occurrence, an
abridged account may not be uninteresting.
The Northern Lights were first noticed at about 7.30 G.M.T..
the appearance being that of a pale white light, which gradually
rose from the N.N. W., until it completely enveloped the Great
Bear, but was not sufficiently strong to hide even the faint star
near Mizar. Towards 8.40 the auroral mist assumed the more
definite form of three broad white bands, stretching across the
sky from E. to W., the uppermost band lying just below Vega
and Pollux.
At the same time a bank of dense black cloud rose from the
K. horizon to the height of iy Ursae, and shot forth dark streamers
as far as the upper arch of light, The streamers E. and W.
were brighter than the central part, and waves of light moved
slowly and at regular intervals from these brighter parts of the
horizon, minglir^ together at the centre of the arch.
At 9.10 a very bright streamer made its appearance.
Up to this time the display had been colourless, but at 9.20 it
assumed a greyish tinge, and had extended by 9.25 as far as /S
Cassiopeise.
At 9.30 the western extremity of the arch was of a bright red
colour, whilst only a slight appearance of redness was visible in
theE.
The aurora then became wonderfully brilliant, and the rapidity
of the changes surpassed anything that had been seen here for
years. Flashes of light were succeeded by waves, and these in
their turn by small detached clouds, which travelled rapidly
across the sky. At 9.45 the waves and streamers seemed to
converge to a point slightly S.E. of /S Andromedae.
In the square of Pegasus a curiously- formed cloud, in the shape
of an enormous bird, suddenly appeared and disappeared several
times, sending forth each time streams of light E. and W., as if
from its outstretched wings.
At 10 the auroral light was strongest, and then the waves,
moving rapidly from the N., appeared to return for a short dis-
tance on their path when they had passed a few degrees S. of the
zenith, like waves breaking on the sea shore.
At 10.30 two distinct arches of light, the upper one passing
through iS Andromedse, the lower one near Polaris, intersected
each other E. and W. at an altitude of about 20^
At 10.40 all colour had disappeared in the west, but a very
brilliant red streamer stretched from the £. nearly to the Twins.
About this time a thick cloud of elliptic shape was formed be-
tween the points N. W. by N. and W. Beneath this cloud was
a pale auroral glare, and from its upper side a mass of broad
dark streamers rose towards Pobiris. At the E. end of the cloud
a very broad streamer moved gradually westward, and shortly
afterwards a similar streamer formed near the W. and moved in
the same direction.
At 10.45 « Arietis was the centre, towards which the new
violet-coloured streamers and the waves and flashes tended.
The last-mentioned cloud was then replaced by another similar
in form, but situated farther from the E., its outer streamers of a
yellowish green colour meeting in Cassiopeia.
At II the only colour visible was the violet in the W.
At 1 1.5 a point S. of 7 Pcgasi was the centre of motion.
At 1 1. 1 5 the dark streamers were sharply defined, but extended
only a few degrees above the cloud. Ten minutes later the stars
below V^a and Ursa minor were completely hidden, and then
from 11.2^ to 12.15 the aurora gradually died away, leaving only
a faint white glare on the N.W. horizon. S. J. Per&y
Stonyhurst College Observatory
On Friday evening, Nov. 10, I was fortunate enough to wit-
ness a brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis, which, if it did not
surpass, certainly rivalled, that of Oct 24, 1870.
At 9h. 20m. G.M.T. the whole sky was literally covered with
auroral streaks to within 30** of the southern horizon, all appa-
rently converging to a point near a Andromedae. The streaks
were of a white colour, having a slightly blueish tint (probably
caused by the mass of intervening air), and their form, to within
15' of Ae point of convergence, was perfectly straight The
radial point was shown by an irregular mass of auroral light,
from which bright streaks were spread out in eveiy direction,
those to the south being much shorter than the streaks to the
north or west The appearance of the sky at the time was that
of the outstretched wing of an enormous bird. At 9h. 22m. a
rich crimson gkre was visible in the S. W., dividing the constel-
lations Pegasus and Cvgnus, and at 9IL 25m. a resplendent beam
of white light 2* in width was conspicuous in the N. E. ; its length
was about 50% and it was nearly parallel in direction with a line
joining the stars a Capella and /8 Aurigae, but 3' to the left of
them. It renuiined visible for 5011.
At 9h, 25m. 30s. a white luminous meteor (apparently one of the
" Leonides ") shot swiftly across the constellation Pisces, having a
brightness = Sinus, duration 0'58ec., and length of path lo", left
no train or sparks.
At 9h. 32m. the constellation Perseus was overspread by a
luminous glare of a reddish colour (known to dyers by the appel-
lation of "ruddy brown,") and which did not disappear for about
lom. At 9h. 34m. the crimson glow reappeared in the S.W.
between Cygnus and Pegasus, thereby completing a gorgeous
arch about 15' in width, extending from the S.W. to the N.E.
horizon, passing over the constellations Cygnus, Lacerta,
Perseus, Auriga, and Orion. This crimson belt divided the sky
into two halves, that on the north being full of auroral streaks,
two columns of which were very conspicuous in the north, pass-
ing over Ursa Major and extending nearly to the zenith. A small
dark cloud lying horizontally across them divided them into two
parts, each of which was distinctly visible.
At 9h. 40m. the streaks had entirely disappeared, being replaced
by a diffused auroral glare, similar in appearance to the sky be-
fore dawn ; but at loh. the streamers reappeared with equal bril-
liancy. The radial point had now moved to 2' below /S Andro-
meda?, and was now clearly pointed out by an irregular curve, or
hook, about 4* or 5' in diameter, which, although observed at
different times during the evening, was pever completely formed,
as 90* or 120* were ^ways wanting to form a complete circle.
At loh. 23m. a curious phenomenon presented itself. A small
irregular patch of crimson light, about twice the diameter of the
moon, appeared over /S Triangulii, which slowly* and gradually
expanded, but after a lapse of about 30s. (when about 15* in
diameter), its colour changed to the ordinary bluish white of the
aurora, the phenomenon lasting altogether about 2m. At
loh. 25m. a \iTQ9A greenish white band appeared in the N.E.
B^ this time the centre of convergence had reached /S Trian-
gulu, thus showing apparent progressive motion towards the
ecut at the rate of about 15" per hour (which is the rate of the
rotation of the earth upon its axis). It is worthy of notice that
in the auroral displays of October 1870 the same stars formed the
radiant, and its motion was in the same direction.
At loh. 37m. a beautiful crimson beam appeared in Auriga
(in the same position previously occupied by the white streak at
9h 35m.) Its length was about 40", and at loh. 50m. agoigecius
triple stroik was visible in the same position, which presented the
appearance of a broad crimson ribbon, with a border of w/ti/^ on
each side. In about five minutes it faded out of sight.
At II o'clock the auroral light was again dmsed over the
whole northern sky, bounded on the south by a bright milky
L/iyiiiiLcu uy
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44
NATURE
[Nov, 16, 1871
arch extending from the E. to the S. W. by S. horizon, visible
/or ten minutes.
At iih. 3ora. only a few faint streamers, and at 12 o'clock the
arch was again visible to the S. E., but aurora very faint.
During the progress of the display the peculiar undulatory
phases noticed last year were particularly observed. The waves
of light seemed to chase each other in rapid succession along the
i-adiating streaks, coming into collision at the point of converg-
ence. The semicircular masses surrounding this point appear-
ing as if they occupied ^ fixed position in the sky, and becoming
visible to the eye only as the intermittent waves reached them,
.somewhat analogous to the waves of the ocean dashing against
a rock and breaking over it in a mass of white foam .
In conclusion may I venture to suggest the application of
photography to auroral phenomena ; and perhaps some of your
readers might practically answer the query, " Can a photograph
be taken of an auroral display?"
Robert McClure
342, Argyle Street, Glasgow, Nov. 1 1
There was a brilliant display of Aurora Borealis here on the
evenings of Thursday and Friday, November 9 and 10 —
especially the latter night Towards 7 o'clock a hazy light began
to spread itself over the jnorthem sky, near the horizon, not
unlike a brilliant twilight. At 8 p.m. two arches were quite
distinct, the upper one being well defined, with its apex passing
through the head of Ursa Major. Gradually streamers began
to pass from this, and by 9h. 15m. the scene was simply
gorgeous. I do not remember ever seeing the streamers so ex-
panded— ^more like flames, nor possessing such intense whiteness,
so much so, that the evening was almost as light as if the moon
had been shining. After proceeding from the upper arch, their
course was most rapid to the zenith — ^apparently passing at times
behind clouds, then suddenly emerging — where a magnificent
whirling motion was formed, which kept changing in true
Protean fashion. A grand, though somewhat dingy, red haze
next appeared in the west, which gradually ascended towards the
zenith, when it disappeared. Meanwhile flashes of light, re-
sembling summer lightning, darted upwards from about 45° from
all directions, and not least from the south — the N. W. heavens
assuming a muddy green colour. About a quarter-past ten p.m.
the aurora gradually diminished, especially the upper arch, and
streamers from it. Then the lower arch began to give off
streamers, but these were short and. of short duration, though of
considerable brightness. The display of Friday, if it fell short
of those of October 23 and 24, 1870, in point of brilliant colours,
surpassed them in some respects — e.g. extent of streamers, and
brilliancy of light. Barometer corrected and reduced 29*472 :
Tempeiaturc 32.° Thomas Fawcett
Blencowe School, Cumberland
There was a very bright Aurora here last night : the streamers
were white, with a red glow in some places. At about ten there
was that t)eautiful and rare phenomenon — a "corona" of
streamers converging at the zenith. The barometer was about
29*6. This morning is fine, with the barometer rising.
Joseph John Murphy
Old Foige, Dunmurry, Co. Antrim, Nov. 1 1
There have been two magnificent auroral displays on the nights
of the 9th and loth inst. That on the 9th commenced at 10
o'clock, and continued with little interruption until 12.45 ; ^^^
last night from 9.40 until 12 o'clock. Both displays were in the
north and north-west, and at times the streamers reached the
zenith, but I did not observe them to pass beyond that point.
The colours were varied ; at one time of a beautiful crimson, at
another a greenish white. Last night's display was the most in-
teresting, but not so brilliant as that of the previous night. The
aurora made its first appearance by an undefined redness in the
north ; it then gradually developed into a crimson, and assumed
the shape of a vertical pillar, the upper part tapering to a clearly
defined point, within a few degrees of the zenith. It remained
in this snape and position for two minutes, and then faded away.
At 10.15 there appeared, at about 10 degrees above the horizon,
a peculiar lightness, like the edge of a dark horizontal cloud illu-
minated by the hidden moon, but I could distinctly discern some
stars below the illuminated stratum^ which proves that the cloud
was transparent ; the stars could not, however, be seen through
the lightness. At 10.40 there were three distinct streamers
shooting up from this light, emanating from separate parts, but
all in the north and north-we»t. They then assumed an easterly
movement, the right hand streamer before disappearing being in
the north-east. The centre one of these was of a very light
colour, approaching a faint or whitish green ; the others were
crimson. At 1 1 o'clock I saw an exceedingly brilliant patch un-
defined in the north-east ; by this time some clouds, stratified
horizontally, rose from the northern horizon and passed into the
light part of the heavens, which seemed to influence the display
by intensifying the streamers, which were shooting up, at this
time, to the zenith. At 11.30 I saw six beams start across east
and west, of a whitish colour with dark spaces between, and the
southern one in the zenith. The northern streamer now disap-
peared, but the amoral tivilight was still visible, although gra-
dually fading, and by 12 o'clock all was darkness. I did not
continue my observation beyond this hour, the temperature not
being conducive to personal comfort
I may remark that with the exception of the few clouds which
rose last night, both nights were perfectly cloudless, and the
milky way shone with uncommon splendour. A portion of this
band of stars at one time looked grand, as one nughty streamer
ran along its course, some of the largest stars being visible
through the intercepting redness.
I hope that some of your correspondents will give particulars
of any magnetic disturbances which may have occurred on the
nights of the above displays. John Jeremiah
43, Red Lion Street, Nov. 1 1
P. S. — I have been informed that the white horizontal light
mentioned in my communication of the nth insL was visible at
7.30 on the night of the 9th, but no streamers were seen until
the time stated by me.
On Saturday night, at 7.45, I saw in the north-western sky a
slight auroral redness, but it did not last more than two minutes.
Nov. 13 J. J.
Nov. loth, 1 1 P.M. — I have just witnessed a most magnificent
display of Aurora. I first saw it at 9. 30. Here is an account
of it. The bearings given are magnetic.
9.30 P.M. — On the W. was a deep crimson glow of the richest
possible colour, about 50** broad and 60** high. From W.N.W.
to N. the sky was filled by a mass of white light, pulsating in
long horizontal masses moving upwards. At 9.36 they were
moving, not very uniformly, at the rate of 33 waves per minute.
From the N. to the E. extended a bright horizontal bend of
steady white light, marked with vertical Tines and having ja^^ed
edges. Suddenly from the centre of it shot up a vertiod white
streamer 3° or 4"* wide ; this remained stationary for a few minutes
and then graduallv faded away.
At 9.30 a fan-shaped mass of white light appeared at N.K.E.
At 9.45 a band of white light extending from the horizon to a
height of about 20^ From the centre of this streamed upwards
a kind of waving flag of intense red light, about 20* broad and
reaching to the zenitn. At N.N.E. the fan was gone and a
bright horizontal band of white light marked with vertical lines
had taken its place. It was almost 40** long and 30^ high. At
9. 50 there appeared an arch^ of white light about lo* thick.
The centre was about 60** high, white, the ends were on the
horizon at E.N.E. and N.W. This vanished and was replaced
by a horizontal white band, about 60" long and lo** high, the
lower edge being about 20« above the horizon. Out of this pre-
sently rose four beautiful white streamers. At 9. 52 an intensely
bright red light was observed at W. At the N.E. were a few
patches of white light. At the N.N.E. appeared about ten ver-
tical white streaks for a minute or so. They were 15* high and
filled a horizontal space of about 20^ At 9.53 a rather fiue
meteorite fell. At the N.W. was a red stream about 30* broad
and 80' high, while at W.S.W. was a mass of red light. At
9.55 the mass of white light at E.N.E. threw out a number of
jets of light in shape like the streams of water from the rose of
a watering can. At 10 P. M. the arch which had vanished re-
appeared, reaching from W.N.W. to E.N.E. It glowed with
a deep white light, which was motionless, except tlut at ia2 I
observed two downward waves. At 10.3 a long streamer grew
out of it. At 10.5 the right-hand end was tossed up into the form
of a haycock. At 10.8 a glow spread upwards from the centre
of the arch, and filled the upper part of the skv. At the same
time a slight patch of red light reappeared in the W. The sky
to the S. was lighted up with the reflection of the white light in
the N. The reflected light seemed to ha^ a fiednt reddish tinge.
L^iyiiiiLCJAj uy
.oog..
j<rov. i6, 1871]
NATURE
45
By 10. 10 nothing was left except the arch, and between 10.10
and 1 1 that also vanished.
The stars could be seen distinctly through the aurora. When
the light was at the brightest I could see the figures and hands of
a laige watch, but could not distinguish the figures one from
another. Thermometer 30*5 F. ; Barometer 29*69 inches.
Pixholme, Dorking, Surrey J. E. II. Gordon
Structure of Lepidodendron
Professor Dyer has already discovered one of the many
new facts with which he has yet to become familiar, and hastens,
in a straightforward manner, to acknowledge the circumstance ;
bat I must again remind him that this, along with many other
facts, was described in No. 129 of the Proceedings of the Royal
Society. Professor Dyer further says : " Suppose the transverse
septa separating these cells absorbed, as probably ruentuaUy they
•would haz'c been^ and the rows of cells become scalariform vessels.
Bat I can assure him, as a question of fact, that these cells do
not become so changed ; consequently his conclusion that the
central cells and the investing vessels are but parts of "one
central structure " becomes negatived. The separation of these
two structures increases with age instead of diminishing,
W. C. Williamson
Encke's Comet
It may interest those who possess small telescopes to know that
this comet is now within the range of instruments of moderate
apertures. On November 10 I had a very satisfactory view of it,
with a 4" eauatorial by Cooke ; no signs of a nucleus were ob-
served, but there appeared to be a slight condensation of light on
i^SMt follcwing side of the comet. Thos. G. E. Elger
Bedford, Nov. 11
The Science and Art Department
In your last number there appears a letter signed " Henry
Uhlgren," which, among other interesting statements, contains
the following: Referring to Mr. Forster's statement in the
House of Commons that there was no foundation for the report
that " the Examiners after having made their reports had the
papers returned to them, with an instruction to reduce the number
of successful candidates as an intimation had been given by a
right hon. gentleman that the amount of the Grant due upon
those papers must be reduced 20,000/.," Mr. Uhlgren states:
'* But previous to that a provincial local secretary, hearing the
rumour, wrote to ask the Department if it were true, and received
a reply saying it was true, and that instead of the amount being
20,oco/. it was 40,000/. (the Department's letter can be pro-
duced.)" Premising that the amount of the whole vote for pay-
ments to teachers on results in science (which was to be reduced
by 40,000/. ) was 26,000/., may I ask for the production or publi-
cation of this extraordinary official letter ? X
ECONOMICAL ALIMENTATION
IN glancing over the recent issues of the Comptes
Rendus^ one cannot but fail to be struck with the
practical importance of many of the communications
contained therein, a large proportion of which bear
special reference to the Siege of Paris. In nearly every
branch of science there is some endeavour made to sup-
plement and improve our knowledge in matters such as
were then of the greatest importance, and the members
of the Acadimic have come forward eagerly to aid, by
advice and precept, in overcoming the misery of a pro-
longed siege. Unfortunately, but little could be done,
even by such men as Fremy, Dumas, Chevreul, and
others, against the insuperable difficulties which presented
themselves ; but nevertheless Paris owes much to her men
of science who contributed many services of value, at a
time when these were most needed. The manufacture
and employment of nitro-glycerine in mines and shells,
were successfully accomplished at a crisis when the stock
of gunpowder was running terribly short, and the supply
of some other reliable explosive was rendered imperative.
Hitherto nit ro- glycerine had been regarded as a most
dangerous combustible, liable to explode at the slightest
concussion, and yet we hear of its employment in shells
against the Prussians, thundered forth from guns of the
heaviest calibre, without one single instance of its prema-
ture explosion being recorded. Again the question of
ballooning, although not perhaps very far advanced by
the deliberations of the Acaddmie^ has, at any rate, been
more satisfactorily solved than at any previous period,
and Paris has been certainly the first to employ these frail
and romantic contrivances in a practical every-day man-
ner, and thus to render the words, "//?r ballon vionU "
familiar to the ear as a household phrase. In matters of
surgery, as in those of a sanitary nature, sound advice was
not wanting, and even the abstract calling of the soldier,
— the philosophy of his manner of fighting— formed the
theme of much scientific discussion.
But the most interesting, perhaps, of all the subjects
with which the Academic (Us Sciences busied itself,
was that of seeking an economical means of alimeniation
for the inhabitants of Paris during the siege. Given
certain limited sources of supply, a foced amount of suit-
able organic matter, and the problem was how to use the
same to the fullest and most profitable degree. Of sheep
and oxen there was but an exceedingly limited provision
in proportion to the very populous state of the city, and
although corn and wine were said to be in abundance,
there is no doubt the authorities were from the first sorely
troubled by the vague estimates that were published of
these comestibles.
As a suitable manner of economising com, M. Gauldr^
called attention to the method in vogue among the Romans
of parching and bruising the grains, which in this state
may be made to yield an excellent and highly nutritious
soup or porridge. The corn is carefully sifted by hand,
browned without charring, until it breaks when taken
between the teeth, and then ground in any available mill ;
it is mixed with cold water, boiled for thirty minutes, and
seasoned as desired. So economical was this preparation,
that at the public kitchens, established in certain quarters
of Paris, it was possible to dispense one portion of
bouillie romaine together with a small modicum of wine
for the amount of five centimes.
A proi>osition to manufacture artificial milk, brought for-
ward by M. Gaudin, seems worthy of some notice. That
gentleman estimated that50o,ooolitrcsperdayof milk could
be prepared in Paris at an exceedingly trifling cost, which
should have all the nutritious qualities of good milk, and
which should, besides, be neither unpleasant of taste or
smell. An emulsion at a very high temperature is made
of bouillon de viande prepared from bones, fat, and gela-
tine, and when cold, a product is obtained resembling in
taste stale milk of a cheesy flavour ; the components of
ordinary milk are all present, the gelatine representing the
casein ; fat, the butter ; and sugar, the sugar of milk. For
admixture with coffee, chocolate, soup, &c., the milk is
said to be hy no means disagreeable.
Many propositions were brought forward to economise
the blood from the abattoir, the plan suggested by M.
Gaultier of mixing it with flour in the manufacture of
bread being perhaps the best and simplest, as the fibrine
and albumen, so rich in nitrogen — of which the alimentary
properties are well known — are in this way utilised to the
highest degree. Less inviting is the proposal of M. Fud
to consume he carcases of animals that died of typhus,
rhinderpest, and other diseases, the flesh in these instances
being, so asserts M. Fud, capable of use as food, if only
cooked in a suitable manner.
More important, however, than all, is M. Fremy's
attempt to bring forward osseine as an article of food.
Osseine is essentially different from gelatine, which has re-
cendy been asserted by chemists — enoneously, so M:
Fremy thinks— to be not only unnutritious, but positively
injurious to the human system. Leaving, however, the
question of gelatine on one side, M. Fremy proceeds to
advance the qualifications of- osseine as an alimentary
substance. Although gelatine and osseine are isomeric,
in the same way as starch and dextrine are isomeric, they
Digitized by
Google
46
NATURE
\Nov. i6, 1871
have not the same properties. Gelatine, unlike osseine,
does not exist in organism, but is produced by chemical
transformation resulting from the action of water and heat
upon the bony tissue ; gelatine, moreover, is completely
soluble in water, whUe osseine is not so. For these reasons
the two substances would doubtless be different in their
alimentary capacities, and deductions drawn from the
influence of one upon the human system ought not in any
way to prejudice the other. Of course, says M. Fremy,
osseine cannot be expected to fulfil the same duty as a
complete aliment ; such, for instance, as bread, or meat,
but must be employed in conjunction with some other
suitable material. In the same way gluten, which is
simply flour freed from starch, oil, and soluble substances,
would alone be powerless to support life and health. If
regarded in the same light as flbrine, casein, and albumen,
and associated with other bodies, osseine would be found
a valuable aliment White meat, calf's head, neatsfoot,
&c., contain much bony tissue, and their nutritious qualities
are incontestable.
Of this osseine, then, bones are said to contain 35 per
cent., the mode of separation being simply to slice the
bone very thinly, and to treat the same with dilute hydro-
chloric acid ; hard white bones, free from fat, are most
suitable, and some care and attention in manipulation is
of course necessary, so that the product may be perfectly
sweet and free from any taint or unpleasant odour. For
if disgust is once aroused against this kind of food, as
indeed against any other for that matter, no amount of
pushing or puffing can force it into the public market.
Should, therefore, any trace of acid be perceptible after
preparation of the osseine, it is recommended that the
product be treated with an alkali of some kind, for
example, lime or carbonate of soda, but this must obviously
be done with due care and discretion. The cost of this
aliment is about one franc per pound, whereas gelatine of
good quality costs from four to ^y^ francs.
As regards the best method of cooking or curing, M.
Fremy recommends the swelling of the mass with hot
water, and then boiling for about an hour, when the tissue
becomes soft and pliable; it may be seasoned in the
cooking, or may be allowed to cool and then kept for
thirty-six hours in brine. If eaten warm with admixture
of some fat and vegetables the osseine is decidedly
palatable. Owing to its large constituent of nitrogen it is
extremely nutritious, and, furthermore, forms a comestible
not liable to become putrid.
It is right to mention that on some of the points
enumerated by M. Fremy, exception is taken by M. Dumas
and others, who are not so confident of the real value of
osseine as an alimentary substance, those gentlemen
maintaining the injurious nature of gelatine ; M. Chevreul,
however, confirms to some extent M. Fremy, and states
that osseine is decidedly more nutritious than gelatine.
Other measures for improving the alimentation of Paris
were taken during the siege, but these for the most part
present little novelty. Mr. Wilson's plan for salting
the carcases intact, and thus preserving the meat in an
almost fresh condition, was resorted to, that gendeman
bringing his personal staff from Ireland to afford as-
sistance just at the instant of closing the gates of the
metropolis. The assistance of M. Georges, whose plan
of preserving meat is both original and peculiar, was like-
wise obtained ; this invention, which has been practised
it is said with much success in America, is adapted more
particularly for the curing of mutton rather than beef, and
consists in treating the meat in a bath acidified with hy-
drochloric acid, and afterwards in a solution of sulphite
of soda. In this condition, after further sprinkling with
sulphite of soda, the flesh is packed in tins and smdered
down : the sulphite of soda acting upon the hydrochloric
acid gives rise to sea salt and sulphurous acid, thus en-
suring the perfect preservation of the meat.
H.B.P.
THE TEMPERATURE PRODUCED BY SOLAR
RADIATION
SIR ISAAC NEWTON determined the intensity of
solar radiation by observing the increment of tem-
perature of dry earth on being exposed to the sun. In the
latitude of London at midsummer, dry earth acquires a
temperature of 150° in the sun at noon and 85^ in the
shade, difference about 65° Fah. This difference Sir Isaac
Newton regarded as a true index of the intensity of solar
radiation ; hence his celebrated demonstration proving
that the comet of 16S0 was subjected to a tempera-
ture 7,000 times higher than that of boiling water
(ail** X 7,000 = 1,484,000° Fah.).* The comet when in its
perihelion being within one-third part of the radius of the
sun from his surface, we have to add the diminution of
temperature, 0*44, attending the dispersion of the rays in
passing through the solar atmosphere and the remainder of
the stated distance from the sun. Accordingly, the demon-
stration showing that the comet of 1680 was subjected to a
temperature 7,000 times higher than that of boiling water,
establishes a solar temperature exceeding 2,640,000° ; and
if we add 02 1 for the retardation of the rays in tra-
versing the terrestrial atmosphere, it will be found that
the temperature deduced from the experiments with in-
candescent radiators, and our actinometer observations,
differs scarcely ^ from that roughly estimated by the
author of the *• Principia." In order to comprehend fully
the merits of the method of determining solar intensity
conceived by his master mind, let us imagine an extended
surface of dry earth, one half of which is shaded, the
other half being exposed to the sun. Dry earth being a
powerful absorbent and radiator, and at the same time a
bad conductor, the central portion of the supposed surface
evidently cannot suffer any loss of heat by lateral radia-
tion ; while the non-conducting property of the material
prevents loss by conduction laterally or downwards. Con-
sequently, no reduction of temperature can take place
excepting by radiation in the mrection of the source of
the heat. Removing the shade, during atn investigation,
it will be found that, notwithstanding the uninterrupted
radiation of the exposed substance upwards, the intensity
will gradually increase until an additional temperature of
about 65° Fah. has been acquired. Indisputably, this
increase of temperature is due to unaided solar radiation.
Evidently the accidental interference of currents of air
need not be considered. Besides, if the dry earth is con-
fined within a vacuum, such interference may be entirely
obviated. It is scarcely necessary to point out that the
generally-adopted mode of measuring the sun's radiant
heat by thermometers, is in direct opposition to the prin-
ciple involved in the method under consideration. The
meteorologist, in place of preventing the bulb from radiating
in all directions and guarding against loss of heat by
convection, puts his thermometer on the grass, or suspends
it on a post, one half of the convex area of the bulb re-
ceiving the sun's radiant heat, while the other half is per-
mitted to radiate freely, the whole being exposed to the
radiation from surrounding objects and to the refrigerating
influence of accidental currents of air, in addition to the
permanent current produced by the ascending heated
column above the bulb. This explains the cause of the
perplexing discrepancies in meteorological records. The
extent of the diminution of intensity of solar radiation
occasioned by cold air acting on the bulb, and by the
latter radiating freely in all directions, is demonstrated in
the most conclusive manner by tiie result of observations
made with the instrument described by P^re Secchi in
• Sir Isaac Newton has been criticised for comparing the tempcratiire t-'
that of red-hot iron, '* a term of comparison indeed of a very vague ie-
scriptioD," it is said in " Outlines of Astronomy." This aiticism is far free
being correct, since the demonstration clearly shows what is meant by t*^'
term red-hot, viz. a temperature 3*5 times that of boiling water, ^y'
reference to red-heat, exceeded " two thotisand times," was evidently wj^
tended to furnish some adequate notion of the inconceivably high dcgtct <H
temperature involved in the computation.
L/iyiLiiLcvj Oy
Google
Table A. — Showing the Temperature produced by Solar Radiation at Noon, for each degree of Latitude, when
the Earth is in Aphelion. Northern Hemisphere: —
Elqnator ...
Tropic of Cancer
SoUr
Solar '
Solar
Solar
Latitude.
intensity ,
Latitude.
intensuy
Latitude.
intensity
Latitude.
intensity
at Noon. '
at Noon. -
at Noon.
Fah.
at Noon.
Dcg.
1
Fah.
Deg.
Fah.
Deg.
Dcg.
Fah.
o
65-30
24
67-20
49
64-95
I
6545
25
6719
50
6477
2
6560
26
67-18
51
64-58
3
6575
27
67-17
5128
6448
4
65-89
28
67-14
52
6438
72
586^
5
66-02
29
67-10
53
6417
73
58-31
6
6615
30
6705
54
63-96
74
57-92
7
66-27
31
66-99
55
6374
75
5752
8
66-39
32
66-93
56
63*51
76
5710
9
6649 ,
33
66-87
^i
6328
77
5667
lO
6658 '
34
6680
6304
78
5624
II
66-66
35
66-73
59
62-79
79
55 79
12
66-73
6680 1
36
66-66 ,
60
62-53
80
54-84
13
37
66-58 •
61
62 25
81
H
6687 '
38
66-49 '
62
61-96
82
54"35
15
66-93
39
66-39 ,
63
61-65
83
5384
16
66-99
40
66-27
64
61 '34
84
53-32
17
67-05
41
6615
65
61-03 ,
85
5278
18
67-10
42
66 -02
66
6072
. 86
52-23
19
67-14
43
6589
6630
60-57
20
6717
44
6575
67
60-41
87
51-68
21
67-18
45
65 60
68
60*09
88
51-11
22
6719
46
6545
69
5976
89
50-52
23
67 20
47
65-30
70
59-42
90
49-91
2330
6720 ,
1
48
6513 1
1
''
59-06
1
1
Greenwich.
Arctic Circle.
North Pole.
Table B. — Showing the Temperature produced by Solar Radiation of the Earth^s orbit; also the gradual
DIMINUTION of Temperature during the first half and the gradual INCREMENT of Temperature
during the second half-year : —
DATES.
I St
5tt
I.
loth. 15th.
aotJ
1.
25th.
MOKTH.
Max. Diff.
Max.
Diff. j Max.
Diff. Max. 1 Diff.
Max.
1
Diff. Max. 1 Diff.
•
Fah.
Fah.
Fah.
Fah. Fah.
Fah. Fah.
Fah.
Fah. ' Fah.
Fah.
January ... .
90-72
S-88
9070
5-86 90 67
5 83 1 90-62 1 5-78
90-54
5-70 9044
480 8943
5-60
February..
90-28
5-44
90-16
^'^^ 22 '21
5-17 8983 ; 4-99
?9-^^
4'59 ■
March ..
8927
4 43
8909
4-25 88-86
4-02 88-62 I 378
88-37
3-53 8812
3-28
April
87-77
r^i
87-57
2-73 87*32
2-48 87-07 2*23
1-99 86-59
1-75
May
8632
86-15
1*31
85-95
I'll 85*76 0*92
85-58
0-74 1 85-43
0-59
June
July
85-22 0-38
85-13
029
8503
0-19 84-96 . 0-12
8490
0-06 84*86
002 1
< 84-84 ' ox»
8485
001
8487
003 84-92 t 0 08
84-99
0*15 85*07
0-23
August ..
85-22 038
85-34
0-50
85-49
065 85-65 1 o-8r
85-83
099 , 86*03
119 ;
September
1 86-32 1-48
86-50
1-66 8673
1-89 86-97 I 2-13
87-22
2-38 H 87-47
3-87 ' 88-95
2 63 1
October ... .
87*77 2-93
87-97
3-13 88-22
3*38 88-47
4-80 89-83
3-63
88-71
4-II 1
November
8927 4*43
8943
4-59 8964
4*99
90-01
5*17 9016
5-32
December
9033 ' 5*49
1
90-42
558 9052
5*68 9061
5*77
90-66
5 -82 90-70
5-86 '
Table C—Temperatures produced by S
'olar Radiation, June 26, 1871, compared with
the Temperatures \
entered in the Table constructed 1870,/^r
corresponding Zenith distances. Mean discrepan
cy — 0-26^ Eah. : — t
57
Zenith Distances— Degrees.
58
59
Fah.
1
60 61 6a
63
Fah.
64 , 165 ;
Fah.
Fa
ih.
Fah. Fah. Fah.
Fah.
Fah.
Observations June 26, 1871 ...
55-64
55
•00
53-83
53-51 53-41 5276
5223
51-70
51-27
Table of 1870
55-09
54
60
5410
53-58 1 53-05 j 52-50
1
51-90
51-40
50-81
Digitizec
JbyLjO
0
Qle
48
NATURE
\Nov. 1 6, 1871
his recent work ** Le Soleil " (p. 267). " During a great
number of observations made at Rome," says the author,
** the difference between the two temperatures (that indi-
cated by the thermometer exposed to the sun and that of
the surrounding casing), was 12 '06° (2170** Fah.) ; during
' days when the sky was clearer, it rose to 14°." Conse-
quently, the highest temperature indicated by the instru-
ment referred to, was 25*2° Fah., against 6604°, which is
the true maximum solar intensity in the latitude of Rome.
It will be seen- then, that, by exposing the bulb of the
thermometer in the manner pointed out, it is possible to
reduce the temperature produced by solar radiation to
0-38 of the actusd temperature.
It will be proper to observe with reference to the ac-
companying tables— constructed in accordance with the
result of investigations continued winter and summer
during three years— that the opinion expressed by the
Director of the Roman Observatory, respecting solar in-
tensity at different seasons, is wholly at variance with the
facts established by my numerous observations. The
question was raised last summer whether the high tem-
perature during the " heated term " would not charge the
atmosphere with an additional amount of vapour capable
of retarding the passage of the heat rays, thus rendering
the figures entered in my tables to some extent unreliable.
Accordingly, during the solstice June 26, 1 871, the sky
being very clear, the actinometer was put in operation for
the purpose of ascertaining with critical nicety whether
the atmosphere which had been loaded with vapour for
several weeks previously possessed any unusual property
tending to check the heating power of the sun's rays.
The observations were made late in the afternoon under
great zenith distance and increased atmospheric depth,
in order to subject the heat rays to an additional retar-
dation from the supposed vapours. The result is recorded
in Table C, by which it.will be seen that the reduction of
temperature was only 0*26° Fah., a difference too small
to call for any explanation. The result of the observa-
tions made during midwinter are equally conclusive with
reference to the permanency of solar energy at all sea-
sons. Among others may be mentioned that of January 1 7,
1 87 1, the zenith distance being 61° 30', the actinometer
remained perfectly stationary at 5873^ Fah., from I2h. lom.
to i2h. 20m. P.M. The table just referred to shows that on
June 26, 1 87 1, the actinometer indicated 53*08° when the
sun's zenith distance was 61" 30'. Hence during mid-
winter the temperature proved to be 5873°- 53o8°=a5-65°
higher, for corresponding zenith distance, than during the
summer solstice. By reference to Table B it will be seen
that owing to the diminished distance between the sun and
the earth, the increment of temperature on January 17,
ought to have been 575°, discrepancy = o'i° Fah. In
the face of such facts it is idle to contend that the tem-
perature produced by solar radiation under corresponding
zenith distance and a clear sky^ varies from any other
cause than the varying distance between the sun and the
earth. Of course there are many regions in which the
sun, in consequence of local peculiarities, but seldom acts
with maximum energy. Alaska, for instance, is hardly
ever favoured with a full amount of solar heat ; nor does
Rome, we are now informed by the Italian physicist, receive
maximum solar heat excepting during winter, owing, it
may be imagined, to the absorptive power of the atmo-
sphere of the Campagna during summer.
Without entering the field of speculation, let us con-
sider that the established diminution of solar heat on the
ecliptic, nearly 18° Fah., proves the existence of a power-
ful retarding medium, and points to the presence of a
permanent mass of aqueous matter in the higher regions
of the atmosphere ; necessary, it may be urged, to regu-
late terrestrial temperature and render vegetable life
possible under the destructive vicissitudes of heat and
cold, inevitable in the absence of a permanent regulator.
The assumption that the supposed mass of aqueous
matter is nearly invariable, and at all times present, can
alone account satisfactorily for the remarkable fact that,
whenever a clear sun is presented, either by the opening
of the clouds or by their disappearance, the actinometer
indicates the same temperature, subject only to the varia-
tions depending on the sun's zenith distance, and the
varying position of the earth in its orbit The variation
of temperature produced by the latter cause is entered in
Table B, for every fifth day in each month. This table,
an extract from a more elaborate one showing the tem-
perature for every day in the year, the meteorologist will
find indispensable to harmonise observations made at
different seasons. It may be mentioned that the attempt
to construct a curve, the ordinates of which would deter-
mine the temperature for different zenith distances, at
first met with apparently insuperable difficulty. The
result of observations made at different seasons under the
most favourable circumstances, failed to produce a regular
curve until the change of temperature corresponding with
the varying distance between the sun and the earth was
determined and introduced in the calculation. This at
once harmonised the previously conflicting observations,
and rendered the task easy of perfecting the cun'e, and
obtaining /)rdinates consistent with the observed tem-
perature produced by solar radiation at different seasons
and different zenith distance.
Regarding Table A, it will suffice to state that it is
based upon our acquired knowledge of the temperature
produced by solar radiation at given zenith distances
when the earth is in aphelion. Evidently if we know
that, for instance, when the sun's zenith distance is 43'
the temperature is 60*57° Fah., we know also that this \i
the temperature at noon on the Arctic Circle, the latter
being 43" from the ecliptic at the summer solstice. Again,
the North Pole being 66° 30' from the ecliptic at the same
time, we find by referring to the figures entered in the
table of zenith distances and temperatures (previousl)'
published) that the depth of atmosphere to be penetrated
by the rays when the sun is 66°, 30' from the zenith, is
2 '444 times greater than on the ecliptic ; and tha^ therefore,
the radiant intensity, as shown in the table, is reduced
from 67-20° at the tropic of Cancer to 49'9i° Fah. at the
pole. Possibly it may be found necessary to introduce a
correction for the difference of atmospheric density in the
higher latitudes ; but at present I deem it inexpedient to
complicate the matter by appljing a correction which
obviously cannot affect the general Result.
J. Ericsson
NOTES
The Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society will be bcM
on the 30th inst, when Sir Edward Sabine will c'divcr h's
eleventh and last anniversary address. Prof. G. B. Airy, "^
Astronomer Royal, will be brought forward as his successor.
At the opening meeting for the session of the Royal Geogra-
phical Society, on Monday evening last, the president, Sir H-
Rawlinson, announced that, in consideration of Dr. Livingstone's
services, Her Majesty's Government had been pleased to giant m
his children the sum of 300/.
The following are the lecture arrangements for 1871-72 at I'l^
Royal Institution, Albemarle Street:— Profl Tyndall, F.R.'' *
six lectures on ** Ice, Water, and Air," on December 28, 1P^
1871 ; January 2, 4, 6, 9, 1872. Dr. W. Rutherford, F.K.S 1- =
ten lectures on " The Nervous and Circulatory System," 0"
Tuesdays, January 16 to March 19. Prof. Odling, F.R.S. : ^^
Iccturts on «* The Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali MaflO"
facture," on Thursdays, January 11 to March 21. Mr. W. ^'^
Clark, late Public Orator: six lectures on "The History ^^
Dramatic Literature, Ancient and Modem," on Salurdaj8»
January 20 to Feb. 74. Mr. Moncure D. Conway: fo^r
L^iyiLiiLcu kjy
<3''
J^ov. i6, 1871J
NATURE
49
lectures on "Dcmonology," on Saturdays, March 2 to 23.
The Friday evening meetings will commence on January 13-
The Friday evening discourses before Easter will probably be
given by Mr. W. R. Grove, the Archbishop of Wfstmmster,
Professors Odling and Humphrey, Dr. Gladstone, Messrs. C.
W. Siemens, R. Liebreich, and John Evans, and Prof. Tyndall.
Dr. Wm. A Guy, F.R.S. : three lectures on ** Statistics,
Social Science, and Political Economy," on Tuesdays, April
9, 16, and 23. Mr. Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S. : six lectures on
••The DevcLi-ment of Belief and Custom amongst the Lower
Races of Mankind," on Tuesdays, April 30 to June 4. Prof.
Tyndall, F.R.S. : nine lectures, on Thursdays April 1 1 to
June 6. Mr. R. A. Proctor, F.R.A.S. : five lectures on ** Star
Depths," on Saturdays, April 13 to May ii. Prof. Roscoe,
F.R.S. : four lectures on "The Chemical Action of Light,"
on Saturdays, May 18 to June 8.
The following Lectures to Women, on the Elements of Physical
Science, will be delivered during the ensuing term, in the Lecture
Theatre of the South Kensington Museum, by Professors Huxley,
Guthrie, and Duncan. Professor Duncan : ten lectures on "Ele-
mentary Physiography," commencing on Saturday the i8lh
November, and ending on the 20th December ; Saturdays and
"Wednesdays at 2.30. Professor Guthrie: fifteen lectures on
"Elementary Physics and Chemistry," commencbg on Wednes-
day the loth January, and ending on Wednesday the 28th Feb-
ruary ; Wednesdays and Saturdays, at 2. 30. Professor Huxley .
ten lectures on "Elementary Biology," commencing on Saturday
the 2nd March, and continued on Saturdays only at 2.30 p.m.,
on the 9lh, 16th, 23rd March ; 13th, 20lh, 27th April ; 4th,
iith, 1 8th May.
A CLASS for the teaching of Natural Science has been formed
at the College for Women, at Hitchin. Until very recently,
classics and mathematics were almost exclusively the subjects
brought under the consideration of the students ; but a demand
for the teaching of Natural Science has arisen, and under the ad-
vice of Prof. Livcing, of Cambridge, the subject of Chemistry has
been taken to begin with. Prof. Liveing is on the li>t of lecturers
at the College for Women, but in consequence of the weak state
of his health— the result of overwork— he is unable to undertake
the teaching himself. The actual professor at Hitchin is Mr.
Hicks, Natural Science Lecturer at Sidney Sussex College, Cam-
bridge. The lecturer gives one lecture a week, illustrated
by experiments; and Mrs. Whelpdale, a lady who has had
experience in teaching the subject, also gives supplementary
teaching once a week. This lady works under the direction of
Mr. Hicks, and acts as a tutor preparing for the lectures. So
far as this has been worked, the plan seems to answer exceedingly
well. The apparatus considered by Prof. Liveing and Mr.
Hicks to be indispensable, has been provided by the college, but
the authorities would be glad to make it more complete. Prof.
Liveing has kindly promised to lend from Cambridge some of the
more expensive things which are not in constant use. It is quite
evident, however, that until there is a completely fiimished
laboratory, with all the appliances requisite for the study of
Physical Science, the efforts made for the teaching of such science
must be, to a certain extent, partial. It is to be hoped that funds
will be forthcoming from some of the friends of the higher edu-
cation of women to furnish the means for all that is needed in the
new college building near Cambridge, to which the College for
Women will, in time, be removed.
A BARONETCY has becn conferred on Prof. Christison of Edin-
burgh in recognition of his well-earned position at the head of
the profession in Scotland. Prof. Christison already holds the
appointment of Honorary Physician to the Queen in Scotland,
and is President of the Koyal Society of Edinburgh. He has
received the honorary doctorate of Oxford, and has been twice
President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
He has been a professor of the University of Edinburgh since
1822, and is the author of a work on Poisons, which, although
written many years since, is still a standard authority ; and of a
highly esteemed treatise on Materia Medica. Sir Robert
Christison is a Crown Member of the General Medical Council,
and took a leading part in framing the authorised edition of
the British Pharftiacopwia issued by the Council. Recently, as
a mark of especial esteem and respect from his colleagues in the
University of Edinburgh and other friends, his bust was sai^ptucd
by subscription, and placed in the hbrary of the University— an
honour which, according to the British Medical Journalf had
not previously becn conferred on any professor during life.
In the year 1872 there will be open for competition, at St.
John's College, Cambridge, four minor scholarships, two of the
value of 70/. per annum, and two of $oi, per annum, together
with three exhibitions of 50/. per annum, tenable on the same
terms as the minor scholarships, and two of 40/. per annum,
tenable for four years. The examination of candidates for the
above-mentioned scholarships and exhibitions will commence on
Tuesday, the 9th of April, 1872. The exammation will consist
of three mathematical papers and four classical papers. Besides
the nine minor scholarships or exhibitions above mentioned,
there will be for competition an exhibitidn of 50/. per annum for
proficiency in natural science, the exhibition to be tenable for
three years in case the exhibitioner has passed within two years
the previous examination as required for candidates for honours,
otherwise the exhibition to cease at the end of two years. The
candidates for the Natural Science Exhibition will have a special
examination on Friday and Saturday, the 12th and 13th of April,
1872, in (i) chemistry, including practical work in the latx>ra-
tory ; (2) physics, viz., electricity, heat, and light ; (3) physiology.
They will also have the opportunity of being examined in one or
more of the following subjects — (4) geology, (5) anatomy, (6)
botany, provided that they give notice of the subjects in which
they wish to be examined four weeks prior to the examination.
No candidate will be examined in more than three of these six
subjects, whereof one at least must be chosen from the former
group. It is the wish of the master and seniors that excellence
in some single department should be specially regarded by the
candidates. Candidates must send their names to one of the
tutors (Rev. S. Parkinson, Rev. T. G. Bonney, and Mr. J.
E. Sandys), fourteen days before the commencement of the
examination. The minor scholarships sure open to all persons
under twenty years of age, whether students in the university or
not, who have not yet conmienced residence in the university or
who are in the first term of their residence.
Trinity College, Cambridge, offers one or more of its foun-
dation scholarships, of the value of 80/. per annum each, for pro-
ficiency in the Natural Sciences. The examination will commence
on April 5, and will be open to all undergraduates of Cambridge
or Oxford, as well as to persons, under twenty-one, who are not
members of the Universities. Further information may be ob-
tained from the Rev. E. Blore, tutor of the coU^e.
The first course of Cantor Lectures of the Society of Arts
for the ensuing session will be "On the Manufacture and Re-
fining of Sugar," by C. Haughton Gill, and will consist of four
lectures to be delivered Monday evenings November 27, and
December 4, ii, and 18.
At the late examination for the Natural Science Moderator-
ship in Trinity College, Dublin, the first senior moderatorship
was awarded to Phineas Simon Abraham, the second to Charles
B Ball ; the junior moderatorships were given to R. D. Purefoy
and W. J. Smyly. The subjects for examination were — Com-
parative and Physiological Anatom^ Zoology, Botany, Physical
Geography, and Palaeontology. •^^ t
Digitized by VjOOQIC
50
NATURE
[Nov. i6, 1871
The annual general meeting of the Royal Ilorticoltural Society
of Ireland was held in Dublin on the 9th of November. The
report of the Council was most satisfactory, and the treasurer's
account showed a balance on the year to the credit of the society
of upwards of 1,060/. Of this sum 1,000/. was added to the
reserve fund. In addition to the usual early Spring, Summer, and
Autumn shows it was resolved to hold in October next a grand
international fruit show, which we hope will be attended with
success.
Mr. John Rusk in has lately presented a valuable collection
of minerals and fossils to the High School, Nottingham. Among
the former are two hundred metalliferous ores, including some
rare specimens from Hungary, a hundred choice silicates, the
principal varieties of fluor spar, calcite, and barytes, some
agates, and a series of fine gems. The fossils are mainly from
the Cretaceous Rocks of Kent and Sussex.
On Saturday last Sir William Stirling Maxwell was elected
Rector of the University of Edinburgh.
The great Aquarium at the Crystal Palace, of which we re-
cently gave a full description and drawing, was formally opened
to the public on Friday evening last by a soir^f.
The Session of the Institution of Civil Engineers commenced
on the 14th inst., and the annual general meeting **to receive and
deliberate upon the report of the Council on the state of the In-
stitution, and to elect the officers for the ensuing year," will be
held on Tuesday, the 19th of December. At the same time
the members have been reminded of the obligation entered into
on election to promote the public and scientific obligations con-
templated in the Royal Charter of Incorporation granted to the in-
stitution by preparing, or aiding in the preparation of, original
communications for reading at the meetings, by frequent attend-
ance at the meetings and occasionally taking part in the dis-
cussion, and by presenting to the library copies of reports and
scientific treatises not already in the collection. It has also been
notified that the qualifications of candidates seeking admission
into the institution must in all cases be set forth with the utmost
precision and in considerable detail, in order to enable the
Council, upon whom the classification involves, and the members,
with whom the subsequent election rests, to form a correct opinion
as to the nature of the practice, the extent of the experience, and
the degree of responsibility of every candidate. The casualties
which have occurred among the members of this body during the
last three months include the death of Field-Marshal Sir John
Burgoyne, G.C.B., &c., honorary member; of Messrs. Joseph
Hamilton Beattie, John George Blackbume, Robert Benson
Dockray, Albinus Martin, and Josiah Parkes, members ; and of
Messrs. Arthur Field, Edward Mosely Perkins, and Henry
Beadon Rotton, associates. This has reduced the total number
of members of all classes from 2,009, at which it stood on the
1st of August last, to 2,000, comprising 14 honorary members,
725 members, 1,056 associates, and 205 students. During the
period referred to the ordinary general meetings have been
suspended, so that there has been no ballot for new members.
Mr. Brothers has made a photograph eight inches in
diameter of one of Mr. Proctor's star maps, containing nearly
fifty thousand stars. The more marked constellations are just
distinguishable upon a background, which appears to be shaded
with innumerable minute points representing smaller stars. The
increase of intensity in the shading is very evident upon certain
parts of the picture. The whole represents the heavens as we
should see them if the pupils of our eyes were a little more than
two inches in diameter.
Dr. J. B. Petticrew, F.R.S., will deliver a course of
twelve lectures on physiological and pathological subjects at the
Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh.
THE GEOGNOSY OF THE APPALACHIANS
AND THE ORIGIN OF CRYSTALLINE
ROCKS*
III.
nTHK direct formation of the crystalline schists from an aqueous
^ magma is a notion which belongs to an early period in
geological theory. De la Beche, in 1834,+ conceived that they
were thrown down as chemical deposits from the waters of the
heated ocean, after its reaction on the crust of the cooling globe,
and before the appearance of organic life. This view was re-
vived by Daubree in i86a Having sought to explain the
alteration of palneozoic strata cf mechanical origin, by the
action of heated waters, he proceeds to discuss the origin of the
still more ancient crystalline schists. The first precipitated
waters, according to him, acting on the anhydrous silicates of
the earth's crust, at a very elevated temperature, and at a great
pressure, which he estimated at two hundred and fifty atmo-
spheres, formed a magma, from which, as it cooled, were succes-
sively deposited the various strata of the crystalline schists.^ This
hypothesis, violating, as it does, all the notions which sound
theory teaches with regard to the chemistry of a cooling globe,
has, moreover, to encounter grave geognostical difficulties. The
pre-Silurian crystalline rocks belong to two or more distinct
systems of different ages, succeeding each other in discordant
stratification. The whole history of these rocks, moreover,
shows that their various alternating strata were deposited, not a^
precipitates from a seething solution, but under conditions cf
sedimentation very like those of more recent times. In the
oldest known of them, the Laurentian system, great limestone
formations are interstratified with gneisses, quartrites, and even
with conglomerates. All analogy, moreover, leads us to conclude
that even at this early period life existed at the surface of the
planet Great accumulations of iron-oxyd, beds of metallic
sulphids, and of graphite, exist in these oldest strata, and we
know of no other agency than that of organic matter capable of |
generating these products. I
Bischof had already arrived at the conclusion, which in the
present state of our knowledge seems inevitable, that "all the
carbon yet known to occur in a free state can only be regarded
as a product of the decomposition of carbonic acid, and as de- ■
rived from the vegetable kingdom.'* He further adds, "living I
plants decompose carbonic acid ; dead organic matters decom- |
pose sulphates, so that, like carbon, sulphur appears to owe its
existence in a free state to the organic kingdom. § As a decom-
position (deoxidation) of sulphates is necessary to the production
of metallic sulphids, the presence of the latter, not less than that
of free sulphur and free carbon, depends on organic bodies :
the part which these play in reducing and rendering soluble the
peroxyd of iron, and in the production of iron ores, is, moreover,
well known. It was, therefore, that, after a careful study of
these ancient rocks, I declared in May, 185S. that a great mass
of evidence "points to the existence of organic life, even daring
the Laurentian or so-called azoic period. "||
This prediction was soon verified in the discovery of the Eo-
zoon Canadense of Dawson, the organic character <Jf which is
now admitted by all zoologists and geologists of authority. I*a:
with this discovery appearoi another fact, which afforded a signal
verification of my theory as to the origin and mode of deposition
of serpentine and pyroxene. The microscopic and chemical vt-
searches of Dawson and myself showed that the calcareous skel-
eton of this foraminiferal organism was fiUed with the one or the *
other of these silicates in such a manner as to make it evident
that they had replaced the sarcode of the animal, precisely :«< I
glauconite and similar silicates have, from the Silurian times to I
the present, filled and injected more recent foraminiferal skeletons.
I recalled, in connection with this discovery, the observations o:
Ehrenberg, Mantell, and Bailey, and the more recent ones 0:
Pourtal^ to the effect that glauconite or some similar substance
occasionally fills the spines of Echini, the cavities of corals and |
millepores, the canals in the shells of Balanus, and even forms
casts of the holes made by burrowing sponges (Clionia) and
• Address of Prof. T. Story Hunt on retirinf from the office of Presadect
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science : abridged
from the " American Naturalist," concluded from p. 34.
f Researches in Theoretical Geology, pp. 097-300.
X Etudes et exT»6nences synth^iques sur le Metamorphisme, pp. x 19-121
oogle
§ Bischof, Lehrbuch, ist ed. II. 95. English ed. I. 95s, 344.
II Amer. Jour. Science, II. xxv. 436. ^ *
L/iyiLiiLcvj kjy
I7ov. 16, 1 871 J
NATURE
51
worms. The significance of these facts was further illustrated
by showing that the so-called glauconites differ considerably in
composition, some of them containing more or less alumina or
magnesia, and one from the tertiary limestones near Paris being,
according to Berlhier, a true serpentine. *
These facts in the history of Eozoon were first made known
by me in May 1864, in the American' Journal of ScUnce^ and
subsequently more in detail, February 1865, in a communication
to the Geological Society of London, f They were speedily
verified by Dr. Giimbel, who was then engaged in the study of
the ancient crystalline schists of Bavaria, and who soon recognised
the existence, in the limestones of the old Hercynian gneiss, of
the characteristic Eozoon Canadense, injected with silicates in a
manner precisely similar to that observed by Dawson and myself.^
Later, in 1869, Robert Hoffmann described the results of a
minute chemical examination of the Eozoon from Raspeniu, in
Bohemia, confirming the previous observations in Canada and
Bavaria. He showed that the calcareous shell of the Eozoon
examined by him, had been injected by a peculiar silicate, which
may be described as related in composition both to glauconite and
to chlorite. The masses of Eozoon he found to be enclosed and
wrapped around by thin alternating layers of a green magnesian
silicate allied to picrosmine, and a brown non-magnesian mineral,
which proved to be a hydrous silicate of alumina, ferrous oxyd,
and alkalies, related in composition to fahlunite, or more nearly
tojollyte.§
Still more recently, in the course of the present year. Dr. Daw-
son detected a mineral insoluble in acids, injecting the pores of
crinoidal stems and plates in a palaeozoic limestone from New
Brunswick, which is made up of organic remains. This silicate
which, in decalcified specimens, shows in a beautiful manner the
intimate structure of these ancient ciinoids, I have found by ana-
lysis to be a hydrous silicate of alumina and ferrous oxyd, with
magnesia and alkalies, closely related to fahlunite and to jollyte.||
The microscopic examinations of Dr. Dawson show that this
silicate injectea the pores of the crinoidal remains and some of the
interstices of the associated shell-fragments, before the intro-
duction of the calcite which cements the mass. I have since found
a silicate almost identical with this, occurring under similar con-
ditions in an Upper Silurian limestone said to be from Lhngedoc
in Wales.
Giimbel, meanwhile, in the essay on the Laurentian rocks of
Bavaria, in 1866, already referred to, fully recognised the truth
of the views which I had put forward, both with regard to the
mincralc^ of Eozoon and to the origin of the crystalline schists.
His results are still farther detailed in his Gcognost, Beschreibung
des ostbayerischen Grenugebirges^ 1868, p. 833. Credner, more-
over, as he tells us, IT had adready from his mineralogical and
lithological studies, been led to admit my views as to the origi-
nal formation of serpentine, pyroxene, and similar silicates (which
he cites from my paper of 1865, above referred to**), when he
found that Giimbel had arrived at similar conclusions. The
views of the latter, as cited by Credner from the work just referred
to, are in substance as follows : — The crystalline schists, with
their iuterstratified layers, have all the characters of altered sedi-
mentary deposits, and from their mode of occurrence cannot be
of igneous origin, nor the result of epigenic action. The origi-
nally formed sediments are conceived to have been amorphous,
and under moderate heat and pressure to have arranged them-
selves, and crystallised, generating various mineral species in their
midst by a change, which, to distinguish it from metamorphism
by an epigenic process, Giimbel happily designates diagenesis.
It is unnecessary to remark that these views, the conclusions
from the recent studies of Giimbel in Germany and Credner in
North America, are identical with those put forth by me in i860.
At the early periods in which the materials of the ancient crys-
talline schists were accumulated, it cannot be doubted that the
chemical processes which generated silicates were much more ac-
tive than in more recent times. The heat of the earth's crust
was probably then far greater than at present, while a high tem-
perature prevailed at comparatively small depths, and thermal
waters abounded. A denser atmosphere, charged with carbonic
acid gas, must also have contributed to maintain, at the earth's
* Amer. Jour. Sd. II. xl. 360, Report GeoU Survey Canada, 1866, p. 931,
md Quar. Geol. Jour. XXI. 71.
t Amer. Jour. Scl II. xxxvu. 431. Quar. GcoL Jour. XXI. 67.
t Proc K. Bavar. Acad, for z866, and Canadian Naturalist, N. S., III. 8z.
\ Jour. fiSr Prakt. Chem. May, 1869, .-md Amer. Jour. Sci. III. i. 378.
IJ Amer. Jour. Sci. III. i. 370.
V Hermann Credner ; die Gleidenmg der Eoxoischen FormationBgruppe
Kord Amerikas. Halle, 2869.
•• That in the Quar. Gcol. Jour. XXI. 67.
surface, a greater degree of heat, though one not incompatible
with the existence of organic life.* These conditions must
have favoured many chemical processes, which, in later
times, have nearly ceased to operate. Hence we find that
subsequently to the eozoic times, silicated rocks of dearly
mark^ chemical origin are comparatively rare. In the mecha-
nical sediments of later periods certain crystaUine minerals
may be developed by a process of molecular re-arrangement —
diagenesis. These are, in the feldspathic and aluminous sedi-
ments, orthoclase, muscovite, garnet, staurolite, cyanite, and
chiastolite, and in the more basic sediments, homblendic miner-
als. It is possible that these latter and similar silicates may
sometimes be generated by reactions between silica on the one
hand and carbonates and oxyds on the other, as already pointed
out in some cases of local alteration. Such a case may apply to
more or less homblendic gneisses, for example ; but no sediments,
not of direct chemical origin, are pure enough to have given rise
to the great beds of serpentine, pyroxene, steatite, labradorile,
&c , which abound in the ancient crystalline schists. Thus, while
the materials for producing, by diagenesis, the aluminous sili-
cates just mentioned, are to be met with in the mud and cby-
rocks of all ages, the chemically formed silicates capable of
crystallising into pyroxene, talc, serpentine, &c. , have only been
formed under special conditions.
The same reasoning which led me to maintain the theory of
an original formation of the mineral silicates of the crystalline
schists, induced me to question the received notion of the epigenic
origin of gypsums and magnesian limestones or dolomites. The
interstrati6cation of dolomites and pure limestones, and the en-
closure of pebbles of the latter in a paste of crystalline dolomite,
are of themselves sufficient to show that in these cases, at least,
dolomites have not been formed by the alteration of pure lime-
stones. The first results of a very long series of experiments and
inquiries into the history of gypsum were published by me in
1859, and fiirther researches, reiterating and confirming my pre-
vious conclusions, appeared in i866.t In these two papers it
will, I thbk, be found that the following facts in the history of
dolomite are established, viz. : first, its origin in nature by direct
sedimentation, and not by the alteration of non-magnesian lime-
stones ; second, its artificial production by the direct union of
carbonate of lime and hydrous carbonate of magnesia, at a gentle
heat, in the presence of water. As to the sources of the hydrous
magnesian carbonate, I have endeavoured to show that it is
formed from the magnesian chlorid or sulphate of the sea or
other saline waters in two ways : — first, by the action of the bi-
carbonate of soda found in many natural waters ; this, alter
converting all soluble lime-salts into insoluble carbonate, forms a
comparatively soluble bicarbonate of magnesia, from which a
hydrous carbonate slowly separates ; seconcUy, by the action of bi-
carbonate of lime in solution, which, with sulphate of magnesia,
gives rise to gypsum ; this first ciystallises out, leaving behind a
much more soluble bicarbonate of magnesia, which deposits the
hydrous carbonate in its turn. In this way for the first time, in
1859, the origin of gypsums and their intimate relation with
magnesian limestones were explained.
It was, moreover, shown that to the perfect operation of this
reaction, an excess of carbonic acid in the solution, during the
evaporation, was necessary to prevent the decomposing action
of me hydrous mono-carbonate of magnesia upon the already
formed gypsum. Having found that a prolonged exposure to
the air, by permitting the loss of carbonic acid, partiadly inter-
fered with the process, I was led to repeat the experiment in a
confined atmosphere, charged with carbonic acid, but rendered
drying by the presence of a layer of dessicated chlorid of calcium.
As h^ been foreseen, the process under these conditions proceeded
uninterruptedly, pure gypsum first crystallising out from the
liquid, and subsequenUy the hydrous magnesian carbonate. t
Thb experiment is instructive as showing the results which must
have attended this process in past ages, when the quantity of
carbonic acid in the atmosphere greatly exceeded its present
amount.
As regards the hypotheses put forward to explain the supposed
dolomitisation of previously-formed limestones by an epigenic
process, I may remark that I repeated very many times, under
varying conditions, the often-cited experiment of Von Morlot, who
claimed to have generated dolomite by the action of sulphate of
magnesia on carbonate of lime, in the presence of water at a
Amer. Tour. Sci. II. xxxvi. 396.
. Jpi " • "
\ Amer. Jour. Sd. II xxxviu. 170, 365 : xUl 49.
X Proceedings Royal Institution, May 30, 1867, and Canadian Naturalist,
New Scries, III. 931.
Digitized by
Google
52
NATURE
\Nav. 16, 1871
somewhat elevated temperature under pressure. I showed that
what he regarded as dolomite was not such, but an admixture of
carbonate of lime with anhydrous and sparingly soluble carbonate
of magnesia ; the conditions in which the carbonate of magnesia
is liberated in this reaction not being favourable to its union with
the carbonate of lime to form the double salt which constitutes
dolomite. The experiment of Marignac, who thought to form
dolomite by substituting a solution of chlorid of magnesium for
the sulphate, I found to yield similar results, the greater part of
the magnesian carbonate produced passing at once into the in-
soluble condition, without combining with the excess of carbo-
nate of lime present. The process for the production of the double
carbonate described by Ch. Deville, namely, the action of vapours
of anhydrous magne&ian chlorid on heated carbonate of lime, in
accordance with Von Buch's strange theory of dolomitisation, I
have not thought necessary to submit to the test of experiment,
since the conditions required are scarcely conceivable in nature.
Multiplied geognostlcal obseivations show that the notion of the
epigenic production of dolomite from limestone is untenable, al-
though its resolution and deposition in veins, cavities, or pores in
other rocks is a phenomenon of frequent occurrence.
The dolomites or magnesian limestones may be conveniently
considered in two classes ; first, those which are found with
gypsums at various geological horizons ; and secondly, the more
abundant and widely distributed rocks of the same kind, which
are not associated with deposits of gypsum. The production of
the first class is dependent npon the decomposition of salphate of
magnesia by solutions of bicarbonate of lime, while those of the
second class owe their origin to the decomposition of magnesian
chlorid or sulphate by solutions of alkaline bicarbonates. In both
cases, however, the bicarbonate cf magnesia, which the carbonated
waters generally contain, contributes a more or less important
part to the generation of the magnesian sediments. The car-
Donated alkaline waters of deep-seated springs often contain, as is
well known, besides the bicarbonates of soda, lime and magnesia,
compounds of iron, manganese, and many of the rarer metals in
solution, and thus the metalliferous character of many of the
dolomites of the second class is explained. The simultaneous
occurrence of alkaline silicates in such mineral waters, would
give rise, as already pointed out, to the production of insoluble
silicates of magnesia, and thus the frequent association of such
silicates with dolomites and magnesian carbonates in the crystalline
schists is explained, as marking portions of one continuous pro-
cess. The formation of these mmeral waters depends upon the
decomposition of feldspathic rocks by subterranean or sub- aerial
processes, which were doubtless more active in former ages than
in our own. The subsequent action upon magnesian waters of
these bicarbonated solutions, whether alkaline or not, is depen-
dent upon climatic conditions, since, in a region where the rain-
fall is abundant, such waters would find their way down the
river- courses to the open sea, where the excess of dissolved sul-
phate of lime would prevent the deposition of magnesian car-
bonate. It is in dry and desert regions, with limited lake-basins,
that we must seek for the production of magnesian carbonates,
and I have aigued from these considerations that much of north-
eastern America, including the present basins of the Upper
Mississippi and St. Lawrence, must, during long intervals, in the
palaeozoic period, have had a climate of excessive dryness, and a
surface marked by shallow enclosed basins, as is shown by the
widely-spread magnesian limestones, and the existence of gypsum
and rock-salt at more than one geological horizon within that
area.* The occurrence of serpentine and diallage at S3rTacuse,
New York, offers a curious example of the local development of
crystalline magnesian silicates in Upper Silurian dolomitic strata
under conditions which are imperfectly known, and which, in the
present state of the locality, cannot be studied +
Since the uncombinedand hydrated magnesia mono-carbonate
is at once decomposed by sulphate or chlorid of calcium, it fol-
lows that the whole of these lime-salts in a sea-basin must be
converted into carbonates before the production of carbonated
magnesian sediments can begitL The carbonate of lime formed
by ihe action of carbonates of magnesia and soda, remains at
first dissolved as bicarbonate, and is only separated in a solid
form, when, in excess, or when required for the needs of living
plants or animals, which are dependent for their supply of
calcareous matter, on the bicarbonate of lime produced, in part
by the process just described, and in part by the action of car-
• Geology of South-western Ontario. Amer. Jour. Sci. II. xlvL 355.
t Geology'of the 3rd districtof New York, 108 no, and Hunt on Ophiditea,
Amer. Jour. Sci. If. xxvi. 936.
bonic acid on insoluble lime-compounds of the earth*s solid crust
So many limestones are made up of calcareous organic remains,
that a notion exists among many writers on geology that all lime-
stones are, in some way, of organic origin. At the bottom of
this lies the idea of an analogy between the chemical relations of
vegetable and animal life. As plants give rise to beds of coal,
so animals are supposed to prcxiuce limestones. In fact, how-
ever, the synthetic process by which the growing plant, from
the elements of water, carbonic acid and ammonia, generates
hydrocarbonaceous and azotised matters, has no analogy with the
assimilative process by which the growing animal appropriates
alike these organic matters and the carbonate and phosphate of
lime. Without the plant, the synthesis of the hydrocarbons
would not take place, while independently of the existence of
coral or moUusk, the carbonate of lime would still be generated
by chemical reactions, and would accumulate in the waters until,
these being saturated, its excess would be deposited as gypsum
or rock-salt are deposited. Hence, in such waters, where, from
any causes, life is excluded, accumulations of pure carbonate of
lime may be formed. In 1 861 I called attention to the white
marbles of Vermont, which occur intercalated among impure
and fossiliferous beds, as apparently examples of such a process. *
It is by a fallacy similar to that which prevails as to the
organic origin of limestones, that Daubeny and Murchison were
led to appeal to the absence of phosphates from oertun old
strata as evidence of the absence of organic life at the time of
their accumulation. + Phosphates, like silica and iron-oxyd, were
doubtless constituents of the primitive earth's crust, and the pro-
duction of apatite crystals in granitic veins, or in crystalline
schists, is a process as independent of life as the formation of
crystals of quartz or of hematite. Growing plants, it is true,
take up from the soil or the waters dissolved phosphates, which
passed into the skeletons of animals, a process which has been
active from very remote periods. I showed in 1854 that the
shells of Lingula and Orbicula, both those from the base of the
palaeozoic rocks and those of the present time have (like Conu-
laria and Serpulites) a chemical composition similar to the skele*
tons of vertebrate animals. :J: The relations of both carbonate
and phosphate of lime to organised beings are similar to those ot
silica, which, like them, is held in watery solution, and by pro-
cesses independent of life is deposited both in amorphous and
crystalline forms, but in certain cases is appropriated by diatoms
and sponges, and made to assume organised shapes. In a word,
the assimilation of silica, like that of phosphate and carbonate
of lime, is a purely secondary and accidental process, and where
life is absent, all of these substances are deposited in mineral and
inorganic forms.
I have thus endeavoured to sketch, in a concise and rapi^i
manner, the history of the earlier rock-formations of eostera
North America, and of our progress in the knowledge of them ;
while I have, at the same time, dwelt upon some of the geogna$<
tical and chemical questions which their study suggests. Wiih
the record of the last thirty years before them, American geolo-
gists have cause for congratulation that their investigations have
been so fruitful in great results. They see, however, at the same
time, how much yet remains to be done in the study of the A[^-
lachians and of our north-eastern coast, before the history of the^
ancient rock-formations can be satisfactorily written. Meanwhiif
our adventurous students are directing their labours to the vast
regions of western America, where the results which have already
been obtained are of profound interest. The progress of these
investigations wiU doubtless lead us to modify many of the vievs
now accepted in science, and cannot fail greatly to enlarge the
bound of geological knowledge.
THE SCOTTISH SCHOOL OF GEOLOGY §
II.
'\X7'HILE Hutton fortified his convictions by constant appcil^
^ * to the rocks themselves, his disciple Hadl tested their truth
in the laboratory. It is the boast of Scotland to have led x^
way in the application of chemical and physical experiment k
the elucidation of geological histoiy. It was objected to Hut*
ton's theory, that if basalt and similar rocks hod ever been in 1
* Amer. Jour. Sci. II. xxxi. 4Q3.
f Siluria, 4th ed. ppi 28 and 537.
X Amer. Jour. Sci. Il> xvii. 336.
f A Lecture delivered at the opening of the class of Geology and Mincnl^cy
in the UntverBity of Edinburgh, by Archibald Geikie, F.K.S., Not. 6, i$:>
concluded from p. 39.
Digitized by
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^Vov. i6, 1871J
NATURE
53
xnelted state, they would now have been seen in the condition of
^lass or slag, and not with the granular or crystalline texture
^which they actually possess. Hall demolished this objection by
Tneltii^ basalt into a glass, and then by slow cooling reconvert-
ing it into a granular substance like the original rock. Button
liad maintained that under enormous pressure, such as he con-
ceived roust exist under the ocean, or deep within the crust of
the earth, even limestone itself might be melted without losing
its carbonic acid. This was ridiculed by his opponents, on
•whom he retorted that they "judged of the great operations of
the mineral kingdom from havmg kindled a fire and looked into
the bottom of a little crucible." Hall, however, to whom fire
and crucible were congenial implements, resolved to put
the question to the test of experiment, and though, out of
deference to his master, he delayed hb task until after the
death of the latter, he did at last succeed in converting lime-
stone, under various great pressures, into a kind of marble, and
even in reducing it to complete fusion, in which state it acted
powerfully on other rock;:. He concluded his elaborate essay
on this subject with these words, " This single result affords, I
conceive, a strong presumption in favour of the solution which
Dr. Button has advanced of all the geological phenomena ; for
the truth of the most doubtful principle which he has assumed
has thus been established by direct experiment"
Though they saw clearly the proofs which the rocks afford us
of former revolutions, neiUier Button nor his friends had any
conception of the existence of the great series of fossiliferous
formations which has since beSsn unfolded by the labours of later
observers — that voluminous record in which the history of life
upon this planet has been preserved. They spoke of " Alpine
schistus," ** primary " or " secondary " strata, as if the geological
past had consisted but of two great ages — the second replete
with traces of the destruction of the nrsL "The ruins of an
older world," said Button, "are visible in the present structure
of our planet" Be knew nothing of the long, but then undis-
covered, succesaon of such "ruins," each marking a wide in-
terval of time. Nevertheless, for the establishment of the great
truths which Button labour^ to confirm, such knowledge was
not necessary. On the other hand, it was most needful that the
significance of that discordance between the older and newer
strata which Button recognised should be persistently proclaimed.
And the Buttonians, in spite of their limited range of know-
ledge and opportunity, saw its value and heki by it
2. But it was not merely, or even chiefly, for their exposition
of the structure and history of the rocks under our feet that the
geologists of the Scottish School deserve to be held in lasting
remembrance. They could not, indeed, have advanced as far
as they did in expounding former and ancient conditions of the
planet, had they not, with singular clearness, perceived the order
and system of change which is in progress over the surface of the
globe at the present day. It was their teaching which first led
men to see the harmony and co-operation of the forces of nature
which work within the earth, with those which are seen and felt
upon its surface. Button firet caught the meaning of that con-
stant circulation of water which, by means of evaporation, winds,
clouds, rain, snow, brooks, and rivers, is kept up between land
and sea. Be saw that the surface of the dry land is everywhere
being wasted and worn away. The scarped cliff, the rugged glen,
the lowland valley, are each undergoing this process of destruc-
tion ; wherever land rises above ocean, there, from mountain-
top to sea-shore, d^radation is continually going on. Bere and
there, indeed, the tUbrU of the hills may be spread out upon
the plains ; here and there, too, dark angular peaks and crags
rise as they rose centuries ago, and seem to defy the elements.
But these are only apparent and not real exceptions to the uni-
versal law, that so long as a surface of land is exposed to the at-
mosphere it must suffer degradation and removal.
But Button saw, further, that this waste is not equally distri-
buted over the whole face of the dry land, that while, owing to
the greater or less resistance oflfered by different kinds of rocks,
the rate of decay must vary indefinitely, the amount of material
must necessarily be greatest where the surplus water flows off
towards the sea, that is, along the channels of the streams.
Water-courses, he argued, are precisely in the lines which water
Avouki naturally follow in nmning down the slope of the land from
its water-shed to the sea, and which, when once selected by the
surplus drainage, would necessarily be continually widened and
deepened by the excavating power of the rivers. Hence he re-
garded the streams and rivers of a country as following the lines
which they had chiselled for themselves out of the solid land, and
bus he aiTi'ved at the deduction that valleys have been, inch by
inch and foot by foot, dug out of the solid framework of the land
by the same natural agents — rain, frost, springs, rivers — by which
they are still made wider and deeper. " The mountains," he
said, " have been formed by the hollowing out ^f the valleys,
and the valleys have been hollowed out by the attrition of
hard materials coming from the mountains." This is a doctrine
which is only now beginning to be adequately realised. Yet
to Button it was so obvious as to convince him, to use his
own memorable words, " that the great system upon the surface
of thb earth is that of valleys and rivers, and that however this
system shall be interrapted and occasionally destroyed, it would
necessarily be again formed in time while the earth continued
above the level of the sea,"
Although these views were 'again and again proclaimed by
Bntton in the P^es of his treatise, and though Playfair, catching
up the spirit of his master, preached them with a force and do«
ouence which might almost have insured the triumph of any cause,
they met with but scant acceptance. The men were before their
time ; and thus, while the world gradually acknowledged the
teaching of the Scottish school as to the past history of the rocks,
it lent an incredulous ear to that teaching when dealing with the
present surface of the earth. Even some of the Buttonians
themselves refused to follow their master when he sought to ex-
plain the existing inequalities of the land by the working of tlie
same quiet unobtrusive forces which are still plying their daily
tasks around us. But no incredulity or neglect can destroy the
innate vitality of truth. And so now, after the lapse of fully two
generations, the views of Button have in recent years been re-
vived, and have become the war-cry of a yearly increasing
crowd of earnest hard-working geologists.
While they insisted upon the manifest proof:$ of constant and
universal decay over the 8urfiu:e of the globe, the Scottish geolo-
gists no less strongly contended that the decay was a necessary
part of the present economy of Nature, that it had been in pro-
gress from the earliest periods in the mstory of the earth, and
that it was essential for the presence of organised beings upon the
planet They pointed to the v^table soil, derived from the
decomposition of the rocks which it coven, and necessary for the
support of vegetable life. They appealed to the vast quantity of
sedimentary rocks forming the visible part of the crust of the
earth, and bearing witness in every bed and layer to the degrada-
tion and removal of former continents. They showed that the
accnnmlated <Ubris of the land, carried to sea, was there spread
out on the sea- floor to form new strata, which, in due time
hardened into solid rock, would hereafter be upheaved to form
the framework of new lands.
Such was the geology of the Scottish SdiooL It was based
not on mere speculation, but on facts drawn from mountain ^nd
valley, hill and plain, and tested as far as was then possible by
the scrutiny of actual experiment. It strove, for the first time in
the history of science, to evolve a system out of the manifold
complications of nature, to harmonise what had seemed but the
wild random working of subterranean forces with the quiet
operations in progress upon the surface of the earth, to under-
stand what is the present system of the world, and through that
to peer into the history of the earlier conditions of the planet It
taught that the earthquake and volcano were parts of the orderly
arrangement by which new continents were from time to time
raised up to supply the place of others which had been worn
away ; that the surface of the land required to decay to furnish
life to plants and animals ; that in the removal of the debris thus
produced mountains and valleys were carved out ; and that in the
depths of the ocean there were at the same time laid down the
materials for the formation of other lands, which in after ages
would be upheaved by underground forces, to be anew worn
away as before. The Scottish School proclaimed that in the in-
organic world there is ceaseless change, that this change b the
central idea of the system, and that in its constant progress lie
the conditions necessary for the continuance of our earth as a
habitable globe.
That Button and his followers should have seen only a part
of the truth, that they did not perceive the full scope which
their views would ultimately acquire, that they fell into errors,
and attached to some secondary parts of their system an im-
portance which we now see to have been misplaced, is only
what may be said of any body ot men who, at any time,
have led the way in a new development of human inquiry.
But, after all allowance is made for such shortcomings, we see
that their errors were for the most part on mere matters of
detail, and that- he fundamental principles which they laboured
to.establish have become the very life and soul of modem geolo^^
L/iyiLiiLcvj uy
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54
MATURE
\Nov. i6, 1871
I have spoken of this Scottish School as marking a period of
activity which rose into brightness and then waned. It is only
too true, that so far as the originality and influence of its culti-
vators go, Geology has never since held in Scotland the place
which it held here at the beginning of the century. Its decay is
perhaps to be ascribed chiefly, if not entirely, to the introduction
of the doctrines of Werner from Germany. The Huttonians had
dealt rather with general principles than with minute details ;
they were weak in accurate mineralogical knowledge — ^not that
they were ignorant of or in any degree despised such knowledge ;
bat it was not necessary for their object. When, however, the
system of Werner came to be taught within these walls by his
enthusiastic pupil Jameson, its precision and simplicity, and its
Fupposed capability of ready application in every country, joined
to the skill and zeal of its teacher, gave it an impulse which
lasted for years. I shall have occasion in a subsequent lecture
to speak of this system. It is enough for the present to describe
it as a crude and artificial attempt to explain the geological his-
tory of the globe from the rocks of a district in Saxony. It re-
quired mineralogical determination of rocks, and in so far it did
good service, but its theoretical teaching in matters of geology
cannot now be regarded without a smile. It maintained that the
globe was covered with certain universal formations, and that
these had been precipitated successively from solution in a pri-
meval ocean. Of upheaval and subsidence, earthquakes and
volcanos, and all the mechanism of internal heat, it could make
nothing, and ignored as much as it dared. Werner, the founder
of this system, had the faculty of attaching his students to him,
and of infusing into them no small share of his own zeal and
faith in his doctrines. His pupil Jameson had a similar aptitude.
Skilled in the mineralogy of his time, and full of desire to apply
the teachings of Freybeig to the explication of Scottish geology
or geognosy, as he prefeired to call it, he gathered round him a
band of active observers, who gleaned facts from all parta of
Scotland, and to whom the first accurate descriptions of the
mineralogy of the country are due. It is but fitting that a tri-
bute of gratitude should on the present occasion l^ offered to
the memory of Jameson for the life-long devotion with which he
taught Natural History, and especially Mineralogy, in this Uni-
versiry. His influence is to be judged not by what he wrote,
but by the effect of his example, and by the number of ardent
naturalists who came from his teaching. He founded a scientific
Society here, and called it Wemerian, after his chief— a Society
which under his guidance did excellent service to the cause of
science in Scotland. And yet in the course of my scientific
reading I have never met a sadder contrast than to turn from the
earlier volumes of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, containing
the classic essays of Hutton, Hall, and Playfair — essays which
made an epoch in the history of Geology — to the pages of the
Wemerian memoirs, and find grave discussions about the universal
formations, the aqueous origin of basalt, and the chemical depo-
sition of such rocks as slate and conglomerate !
Between the followers of Hutton and Werner there necessarily
arose a keen warfare. The one battalion of combatants was
styled by its opponents ** Vulcanists" or "Plutonists," as if
they recognised only the power of internal fire, while the other
was in turn nicknamed " Neptunists," in token of their adherence
to water. The warfare lasted in a desultory way for many years,
and though the Wemerian school, having essentially no vitality,
eventually died out, and its leader Jameson publicly and frankly
recanted his errors, the early Huttonian magnates had one by
one departed and left no successors. The Huttonian school
triumphed indeed, but its triumph was seen rather in other
countries than in Scotland. Here the Wemerian school attracted
in great measure the younger men who gathered round Jameson,
and when its influence waned there were no great names on the
other skle to rally the thiimed and weakened ranks of Hut-
tonianism. Hence came a period of comparative quiescence,
which has lasted almost down to our own day. From time to time,
indeed, a geologist has arisen among us to show that the science
was not dead, and that the doctrines of Hutton had borne good
Iruit But Geology has never since held such a prominent place
amongst us, nor luive the writings of geologists in Scotland taken
the same position in the literature of the science. The great
name of Lyell, and others of lesser note, have earned elsewhere
their title to fame.
But there is one name which must be in our hearts and on our
lips to-day, that of Roderick Impey Murchison. To his muni-
ficence, and the liberality of the Crown, we owe the foundation
of this Chair of Geology, and to lus warm friendship I am in-
debted for the position in which I stand before yoo. Of his
achievements in science, and of the influence of his work all over
the world, it is not necessary now to speak. But on Scottish
Geology no man has left his name more deeply engraven. It
was he who, along with Prof. Sedgwick, first made known the
order of succession of the Old Red sandstone of the north of
Scotland ; it was he who sketched for us the relations of the
great Silurian masses of the Southern uplands ; and it was he
who, by a series of admirable researches, brought order out of
the chaos of the so-called Primary rocks of the Highlands, and
placed these rocks in a parallel with the Silurian strata of other
conntries. These labours will come i^n before us in detail,
and you will then better understand their value, and the debt wc
owe to the man who accomplished them.
Sir Roderick Murchison looked forward with interest to the
occasion which has called us together to-day. Only a few weeks
ago I talked with him regarding it, and his eye brightened as I
told him of the subject on which I proposed to speak to you. I
had hoped that he would have Uvea to see this oay, and to hear
at least of the banning of the work which he has inaugurated
for us in this University. But this was not to be. He has been
taken from us ripe in years, in work, and in honours, and he
leaves us the example of his unwearied industry, his admirable
powers of observation, and his rare goodness of heart
In the course of study now before us, we are to be engaged
in examining together the structure and history of the earth. We
shall trace the working of the various natural agents which are
now carrying on geological change, and by which uie past changes
of the globe have been effected. In so doing we shall be brought
continually face to face with the historv of life as recorded io
the rocks-— for it is by that history mainly that the sequences of
geological time can be established. We shall thus have to
trespass a litde on what is the proper domain of the professors
of botany and of natural history. But you will find that no hard
line can be drawn between the sciences. Each must needs over-
lap upon the other ; and indeed it is in this mutual interiadng
that one great element of the strength and interest of science
lies. From Profs. Balfour and Wyville Thomson you will learn
the stracture and the relation borne to living plants and animals
by the fossils with which we shall have to deal as our geological
alphabet. By Prof. Cmm Brown you are taught the full meaning
and application of the chemical laws under which the minerals
and rocks, which we in this class must study, have been formed,
and of the processes concemed in those subsequent changes, both
of rocks and minerals, which are of such paramount importance
in Geology.
And now, in conclusion, permit me to give expression to the
feelings which must strongly possess the mind of one who is
called upon to fill the first Chair dedicated in Scotland to the
cultivation of Geology. When I look back to the times of that
illustrious group of men — Hutton, Hall, Plavfair — ^who made
Edinburgh the special home of Geology ; of Bou^and Macculloch,
who gave to Scottish rocks and mountains an European celebrity ;
of Jameson and Edward Forbes, who did so much to stimulate
the study of Geology and Mineralogy in this University ; and to
the memory of Hugh Miller and Charles Maclaren, who fostered
the love of the sciences throughout the community here, and tu
whose kindly friendship and guidance, given to me in my boy-
hood, I would fain express my hearty gratitude — when 1 cast my
thoughts back upon these recollections, it would be affectation :o
conceal the anxiety with which the prospect fills me. Tbs
memory of these great names arises continually before me, beam-
ing with it a consciousness of the responsibility under which I
lie to labour earnestly not to be unworthy of the traditions of the
past. And, gentlemen, I feel deeply my responsibility to you
who are to enter with me upon a yet untrodden path of the
Academic curriculum. It is only experience that will show i:>
how we shall best travel over the wide field before us. In the
meantime I must bespeak vour kindly forbearance. While I
shall cheerfully teach you all I know, and confess what I do not
know, I would fain have yon in the end to regard me rather ic
the light of a fellow-student, searching with you after truth, ^^'^
of a teacher putting before you what is already known. We
have now an opportunity of combined and sedulous work whidi
has not hitherto been obtainable in Scotland. We may not tiyrA
a Hutton or a Hall ; but we may at least try to raise again the
standard of geological inquiry here. On every side ch us are
incentives to study. Crag and hill rise around us, each eloquent
of ancient revolutions, and each a silent witness of the revolution
in progress now. At our very gates tower on one side the pic-
turesque memorials of long silent volcanoes, with their crumbling
lavas and ashes. On the other lie the bnried vi^g^ation of an
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.JVov. i6, 1871 1
NATURE
55
suicient land, and the corals and shells of a former ocean. Every-
'where the scarred and wasted rocks tell of the degradation of the
solid land, and show us how the waste goes on. Let us then
carry into our task some shore of the enthusiasm which these
elaily exemplars called forth in earlier days. Let us turn from
tlie lessons of the lecture room to the lessons of the crags and
x-avines, appealing constantly to Nature for the explanation and
-verification of what is taught And thus, whatsoever may be
Xour career in future, you will in the meantime cultivate habits
of ol^ervation and communion with the free fresh world around
y- ou — ^habits which will give a zest to every journey, which will
e^nable you to add to the sum of human knowledge, and which
vvill assuredly make you wiser and better men.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Zoological Society, November 7. — Profl Newton, F.R.S.,
vice-president, in the chair. The secretary read a report on the
additions that had been made to the society's menagerie during
the months of June, July, August, and September 1871, amongst
>^'hich were specimens of the Tamandua Ant-eater ( Tantandua
/€tradactyla)t Baird's Tapir {Tapirus bairdi), and several other
animals of special interest. — A commimication was read firom
Mr. Gerard kreflt. Curator of the Australian Museum, Sydney,
N.S.W., containing notes on a rare Ziphioid "Whale, which had
been stranded near Sydney, and which appeared to be referable
to Zip/ittis layardi, — Mr. Gould exhibited and characterised a
small but lovely Fruit Pigeon from the Fiji Islands, which he
proposed to name Chrystsna victor. — Mr. Sclater called attention
to the supposed existence of an undescribed animal, of about the
size of a Dingo, in the Rockingham Bay district of Queensland,
and read a letter addressed to him by Mr. Brmsley G. Sheridan,
containing particulars on this subject — Dr. John Anderson, of
Calcutta, communicated a description of a short tailed Macaque
from Upper Burmah, supposed to be new, which he proposed
to call Macacus brunncus. — A communication was read from the
Viscount Walden on a new and interesting Falconine Bird, of
the genus Poiihifrax, recently obtained by Major Lloyd, in the
vicinity of Tongoo, Upper Burmah, and proposed to be called
Polihio'ax tnsignis, — Mr. W. H . Flower, F. R. S. , read a memoir
on the recent Ziphioid Whales, among which he proposed to
recognise the following generic types : — Hyperoodon^ Ziphius^
Mesoplodon^ and Berardius. This was followed by a description
of the skeleton of Berarditts armmxti, founded on a specimen
lately transmitted to the Museum of the Royal College of
Surgeons from New Zealand by Dr. J. Haast, F.R.S.— Mr.
Herbert Taylor Usher read some notes on the habits of the
Homed Viper ( Vipera nasicomis\ as observed by him in the
vicinity of Cape Coast Castle, Western Africa.— Prof. Newton
read a notice of a remarkable peculiarity which he had recently
discovered in an Australian auck, Anas punctata^ viz., that in
this species the osseous development of the lower trachea was
conunon to both sexes.— A paper by Dr. J. C. Cox, of Sydney,
was read, describing a new Volute and twelve new species of
Land Shells from Australia and the Solomon Islands. — A com-
munication was read from Surgeon Francis Day, Inspector-
General of Fisheries of British India, containing some remarks on
the identification of certain species of Indian Fishes. — Mr. P. L.
Sclater, F.R. S. , read some notes on Pelicans, bemg supplementary
to a previous paper on the same subject read at a meeting of the
society in May, 1868. — A communication was read from Mr.
J. Brazier, of Sydney, containing descriptions of eight new
Australian Land Shells.— Prof. Newton communicated a paper
by Dr. J. Murie, containing supplementary notes concerning the
powder-down patches of Rhhiockctus jubatns.
Anthropological Institute, November 6.— Sir John Lub-
bock, Bart, F.R.S., president, in the chair. Mr. M. Allport,
F. R.S., waselected acorrespondingmemberfor Tasmania. — Mr. J.
W. Fbwer, F. G. S. , treasurer, read a pap^ " On the relative ages
of the Flint and Stone Implement Periods in England." In
this paper, which was illustrated by the exhibition of a series of
various kinds of flint implements, the author proposed to show,
that having regard to recent discoveries, the arrangement hitherto
adopted regarding the Prehistoric Stone period in England as
divisible into the Palaeolithic and Neolithic was altogether inade-
quate, and that as well on Geological as on Palseontolc^cal
grounds the drift period was sepanu>le by a vast interval from
that of the bone Caves, as the cave period was separable from
the Tumulus or Barrow period. The author adduced various
reasons for believing that the Unplements were made and th«
drift gravel was thrown down long before this island was severed
from the Continent, and that thus before that event both coim-
tries were inhabited. He also contended, on this and other
grounds founded upon recent discoveries, that the implements
could not have been transported (if transported at all by fluviatile
action) to the places in which they are found by any rivers
flowing in the same channels and dramiug the same areas as now ;
and he also expressed doubts whether the gravels were transported
by river action, and also whether the makers of the implements
were contemporary with the Mammalia with whose remains they
were associated ; the gravel and the fossils having been evidently
carried from considerable distances, whereas Uie implements
were made on the spot from stones taken from the grav^. Mr.
Flower then pointed out that the works of art found in the
cavc»s, as well as the animal remains, differed in many important
particulars from those found in the drift, and that those of the
Tumulus period differed entirely from those in the caves ; that in
truth the cave fauna had then quite disappeared, and had beoi
succeeded by one entirely difierent, including most of our domestic
animals, and that for effecting such a change an interval of long
duration must be allowed. He also point^ out that the use of
bronze was common to both what were known as the Palaeolithic
and Neolithic periods, and could not be r^aided therefore as it
usually has been, as distinct from and posterior to both ; and, in
conclusion, he suggested that the drift period m^ht properly be
termed Palaeolithic, that of the caves as Archaic, uat of the
Tumuli as Prehistoric, whilst that of the polished stones might
still be known as Neolithic.
Geologists' Association, November 3. — ^The Rev. Thomas
Wiltshire, M.A., F.G.S., president, in the chair. ''On the
old Land Surfaces of the Globe," by Prof. Morris, F.G.S.
The indications of land surfaces to be found in Pala^zoic,
Mesozoic, and Cainozoic strata were recapitulated. Con*
glomerates and ripple marks, as well as the great thickness of
the oldest sedimentary rocks, the result of denudation, clearly
show the existence of land during Cambrian and Silurian times.
Though there are indications of vegetable life in Cambrian rocks,
the earliest remains of vegetable organisms allied to our present
land plants occur in the uppermost Silurian Strata, or passage
beds. The Old Red sandstone of Scotland affords evidence of
fresh-water origin, and consequently of lakes and land. But in
carboniferous rocks we have in the vast accumulations of vegetable
remains forming the great coal beds of the world, perhaps the
most striking and conclusive proof of land and terrestrial con-
ditions to be found in the geologic record. After noticing the
indications of land in the Permian rocks, the Mesozoic reptilia
and mammalia, as well as the many other evidences of land sur*
faces to be met with in the Secondary rocks, were dwelt upon ;
and a similar review of Cainozoic, or Tertiary, terrestrial indi-
cations was followed by an exposition of the upward and onward
progress of life, culminating in the present conditions of the globe
with a flora and a fauna admirablv adapted to the wants of the
latest addition to the marveb of tne umverse, roan, whose duty it
is, and whose pleasure it ought to be, to study those successive
changes, thegrand result of which he now enjoys. — ^A note ''On re-
cent exposure of the Glacial Drift at Finchley '' was read ixj Mr.
H. Walker. This was a brief notice, and intended as an intro*
duction of the subject, which will be more fully elucidated in a
paper by the same author to be read at the next meeting of the
association.
Society of Biblical Archseology, November 7. — Dr.
S. Birch, president, in the chair. Dr. Richard Cull, F.S.A.
read a paper contributed by Mr. Henry Fox Talbot, F.R.S.,
"On the Religious Beliefs of the Assyrians." — Mr. R.
Hamilton Lang, H.B.M. Consul at Cyprus, read a paper
"On the Discovery of some Cypriote Inscriptions." After
stating that the credit was due to Due de Luynes of
having proved the existence of a Cypriote alpluu>et, he
enumerated the various inscriptions which he had himself dis-
covered, and drew especial attention to one, a bi-lingual inscrip-
tion in Phoenician and Cvpriote, which he first discovered during
the excavation of a temple at*Idalion. The alphabet, which had
been compiled by the Due de Luynes, consisted of 80 letters, but
Mr. Lang fdt justified in reducing that number to 51, and ex-
hibited an alphabet which he believed to contain all the Cypriote
characters of which we are at present certain. In proceeding
he dwelt at some length upon an apparent resemblance between
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NATURE
\Nov. i6, 187 1
the Cypriote and Lycian alphabets, and stated that they were
both derived from the same source, the Lycians having however
engrafted upon the ancient forms a great many Grecian Letters,
while in Cyprus the character was preserved in its original fulness
and power. Mr. Daniel Sharpe had endeavoured to prove that
the Lycian alphabet was of Indo-Germanic origin, and so also
might be the Cyprian. Mr. Lang alluded to the attempt which
had been made both by De Luynes and von Roth to read the
Cypriote writing, especially as regarded a word which both
gentlemen agreed in rendering ** Salamis," and which they con-
sidered to be the key to the Cypriote characters. Mr. Lang, on
the contrary, gave his reasons for dissenting from this reading
upim the testimony of coins, and showed why he thought that
the word should be read as "King." The evidence of the
bi-lingual inscription before referred to was dwelt upon in con-
firmation of this reading. A resemblance was further pointed
out between the word translated "king" by Mr. Sharpe in
Lycian, and that proposed to be read in the same way in Cypriote,
and a reading was suggested for the whole of the first line in the
Cypriote part of the bi-lingual inscription. Many other points of
interest connected with this alphabet were also detailed, and Mr.
Lang concluded by observing that in it " we have a child long
lost both to the sight and knowledge of the world, and he felt
convinced that more extended research would prove that the
pedigree of the foundling was of more than usual philological
interest and importance."— Mr. G. Smith then read a paper " On
the Decipherment of the Cjrpriote Inscriptions,'* in which, after
alluding to the antiquities discovered by General Cesnola and
Mr. Lang, particularly the bi-lingual inscription already mentioned,
he went on to detail the discovery of the values of eighteen
Cypriote signs from that inscription alone. He further related
the discovery of the sounds of twenty other signs by comparison
of various texts, together with the reading of the names " Ida-
lium Citium Evagoras," and many others. His conclusions
were that the Cypriote language belonged to the Aryan group,
and was written with about fifty-four syllabic signs. Diagrams show-
ing case endings of nouns, proper names, and part of the bi-lingual
inscription, illustrated the paper. A collection of electrotypes of
the Cypriate coins referred to m the foregoing papers was ex-
hibited by Mr. Ready of the British Museum.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, November 6. — A memoir was read
by M. A. Mannheim on the properties relating to the infinitely
small displacements of a body when these displacements are only
defined by four conditions, and one by M. Maurice Levy on the
integration of equations with partial differences relating to the
internal movements of ductile solid bodies, when these move-
ments take place in parallel planes. — M. Phillips also communi-
cated a memoir containing a summary of observations made
during the last seven years at the Observatory of Neuchatel upon
chronometers furnished with spirals with theoretical final curves.
— M . P. A. Favre presented a continuation of his thermic inves-
tigations upon electrolysis. This paper contains chiefly the
results of experiments upon various acids. — General Morin com-
municated a paper by M. H. Tresca on the effects of torsion pro-
longed beyond the limits of elasticity. — M. Le Verrier communi-
cated a note on the observation of the flight of meteors of the 12th,
13th, and 14th of this month at the stations of the French Scientific
Association. — M. £. Peligot presented a further memoir on the dis-
tribution of potass and soda in plants, upon which MM. Dumas and
Chevrcul made some remarks. — M. I. Pierre presented some obser-
va'ions on the solubility of chloride of silver, with reference to the
note on this subject recently communicated by M. Stas. — M. Peligot
communicated a note by M. J. Bonis on the determination of
hydrochloric acid in cases of poisoning, in which he recommends
the beating of the filtered liquids in contact with a plate of gold
af er the addition of a few fragments of chlorate of potass. The
dissolution of the gold indicates the presence of hydrochloric
acid, and it is determined by means of protochloride of tin.— M.
Bert helot presented a note on the formation of precipitates, in
which he commenced the discussion of the phenomena connected
therewith, and noticed especially the heat evolved or absorbed
during the formation of a solid compound, and the dehydratation
of precipitated compounds. — A note by M. F. Cayrol on the
LoMrer Cretaceous formation of Corbieres was presented by M.
Milne- Edwards. The author compared this formation with that
of the Clape, formerly described by him, and stated that it con-
sisted in ascending order of a marly clay containing Orbitolina,
a thick limestone with RequUnia Lonsdalii^ and a second OrbiiO'
lina-ixxity the latter overlain by the Gault — ^A note by M. Guide
Susain was also read on an improved method of managing the
egg-laying of the silkworm moth. — The tables of meteorological
observations made at Paris in October was conununicated to the
Academy.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English.— The Student's Manual of Geology : Jukes and Gelkie : yd
edition (Edinburgh: A. and C. Black).— A Treatise on the Origin, Nature,
and Varieties of Wine : Thudichum and Dupr^ (Macmillan and Co \ — LijzbtN
and Shadows of a Canine Life, by Ugly's ML«tress (Chapman and Hall).—
The Ornithology of Shakespeare : J. E. Haiting(Van Voorst). —The Royal
Institution ; its Founder and its Professors : Dr. Dencc Jones (Longmans
and Co.).
American. — Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum of Comparative Zoology
at Harvard College ; No. 4.— Deep-Sea Corah : Count Poui talis.
FoRViGN. — Mdmoires de la Society de Physique et d'HIstoireNaturcIle <^e
G«nive ; Tome xxi,— Nachtrap zum 6 u. 7 Jahresbcricht des Vercins fur
Erdkunde zu Dresden.— BuUeUn de la Soci^te Imp^riale des Naturalistes de
Moscou, 1870 ; Parts 3 and 4.
DIARY
THURSDAY, NorKMOER 16.
Royal Socibty, at 8.30. — Considerations on the Abrupt Change at Boiling
or Condensing in Reference to the Continuity of the Fluid State of Matter:
Prof. J. TTiomson.— Magnetic Survey of the Ea.st of France in \Uf^ : Rev.
S. J. Perry and Rev. W. Sidffreaves. — Action of Hydriodic Acid on Codda
in presence of Phosphorus : Dr. C. R. A. Wright.— Corrections and Adtii-
tions to the Memoir on the Theory of Reciprocal Surfaces : Prof. Caylcr,
F.R.S —On the Dependence of the Earth's Magrietism on the Rotation of
the Sun : Prof. Miller.
LiNNBAN Society, at 8. — On the Floral Structure of Impatiens fulva. he. :
A. W. Bennett, F L.S— Remarks on DoUchos uniflonis : N. A. DalzelL—
Florae Hongkongensis Supplementum : H. F. Hasce, Ph. D.
Chemical Society, at 8.
London Institution, at 7.30. — The Influence of Geological Phenomena oa
the Social Life of the People : Harry G. Seclcy, F G.S.
SUNDAY, November 19.
Sunday Lecture Society, at 4. — ^The Gulf Stream, what it docs and what
it does not : W. B. Carpenter, M.D., F.R.S.
MONDAY, November 20.
London Institution, at 4. — Consciousness : Pr^f. Huxley, F.R.S.
(Course on Elementary Physiology).
Anthropological Institute, at 8. — Anthropoloeical Collectioas from the
Holy Land: Captain Richard F. Burton, F.R.G S.
Entomological Society, at 7.
TUESDAY, November ai.
Zoological Society, at 9 — On the Osteology of the Marsuplalta. (Part
HI.) Modifications of the Skeleton in the species cf Phascoiomys : Prof.
Owen, F.R.S.— Report on Several Collections of Fishes recently obtained
for the British Museum : Dr. A Gunther, F.R.S.
Statistical Society, at 7 45.— The President's Opening Address. — Sug-
gestions for the Collection of Local Statistics : J. T. Hammick.
WEDNESDAY, November 92.
Geological Society, at 8.— On some Devonian Fossils from the Wii/ea-
bcrg, S. Africa: Prof T. Rupert Jones, F.G.S.— On the Geology of Fer-
nando Noronha : Dr. Alex. Rattray. — Note on some Ichthyosaurlaa
Remains from Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset : J. W. Hulke, F.R.S. — Appendix
to a Note on a Wealden Vertebra : j. W. Hulke, F.R.S.
Society op Arts, at 8. — On the Ih-esent State of the Through Railway
Communication to India : Hyde Clarke.
Royal Society of Literature, at 8.3a
THURSDAY, November 25.
Royal Society, at 8.3a
Society of Antiquaries, at 8.30.
London Institution, at 7.3a — Science and Commerce, illustrated by the
Raw Materials of our Manufactures. ( I.) P. L. Simmonds.
CONTENTS Pace
New Works on Mechanics 41
Our Book Shelf 4*
Letters to the Editor: —
The Aurora Borealis of Nov. 9 and xa— Rev. S. J. Perry ; R.
McClure; J. J. Murphy, F.G.S. ; John Jeremiah; J. E. H.
Gordon , 4;
StructureofLepidodendron.— Prof W. C. Williamson, F.R.S. . 45
Encke's Comet.— Thos. G. E. Elgbr 45
The Science and Art Department ^ *,^
Economical Alimentation .43
The Temperature Produced by Solar Radiation. By J. Ericsson 40
Notes 4^
The Geognosy of the Appalachians and the Origin of Crys-
talline Rocks..— III. By Prof. T. Sterry Hunt, F.R.S. ... 50
The Scottish School ok Geology.— II. By Prof. A. Gsikib, F.R.S. 5.*
Societies and Academies 55
Books Rbceivbo •'^- •••*•••• S*"'
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57
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1871
SCIENCE FOR WOMEN
IN the present condition of the two questions of Science
Teaching and of the Higher Education of Women, it
may be worth while to regard them for a moment from
tliat point of view in which they coalesce, to inquire, in
other words, what is being done for the scientific instruc-
tion of women. We do not propose now to argue the
question whether it is desirable that women should learn
science — that we take to be already decided ; but rather to
speak of the extent to which, at the present time, pro-
vision is being made for carrying out this object. The
attention of the public was called to the subject a fort-
night ago by the publication of the report of the Syndi-
cate appointed by the University of Cambridge for the
examination of women above eighteen years of age in
July last The following are the portions of this report
which refer to the various subjects coming within our
scope : —
** The answers in the present year in Mathematics show
a marked improvement upon those in 1870. The Euclid
was decidedly well done, one candidate answering every
question except one rider. The conic sections were tried
by only two, and without any great success, nothing being
attempted in analytical geometry. The algebra was
creditably done, but I observe, as I did last year, that
while the candidates are fairly skilled in the management
of symbols, they seem to have little idea of a logical
proof. I should recommend, in this subject, a much more
careful study of proofs of rules. The trigonometry,
making allowance for the greater intrinsic difficulty of
the subject, was better done than the algebra. Statics,
astronomy, and dynamics were taken by very few candi-
dates, one of whom^ however, showed a Imowledge of
these subjeas small in amount, but thoroughly sound as
far as it went It may be worth while to remark that one
candidate, who took in Euclid and algebra only, was the
best in each of these subjects.
"In Botany and Zoology the examiner states that the
number of candidates was so small as to give little scope
for a report The examination was satisfactory, as far as
was possible under the circumstances. One of the candi-
dates passed with distinction. In Geology and Physical-
Geography the examiner reports as follows : — * No one
has done well. The answers are in most cases shallow
and full of bad blunders. The examinees seem not to
have sufficient acquaintance with the simple laws of
physics to make much progress ; for instance, it was plain
that some did not understand the ordinary laws of evapo-
ration and condensation of vapour, and it seems to me
impossible to understand the causes of clouds and rain-
fall without such preliminary knowledge. There seemed
no better foundation laid in geology. More than one con-
founded Plutonic with Laurentian rocks. No one showed
a tolerable acquaintance with the outlines of systematic
' geology, or any knowledge at all of Palaeontology.' ^
I
I The report, though in some respects not unsatisfactory,
shows how very much still remains to be done before even
a fair start can be said to be made in a general training
of our women in the elements of Natural and Phy-
sical Science. It is therefore with great pleasure that
we welcome the attempts, unconnected and imperfect
though some of them may be, which are now being made
to remedy this defect.
you V.
To place the matter on its right footing, it is essentia
that the work should be undertaken by the very best
teachers we have at our command ; and in London at
least this is being done in a manner that must in time
bring forth good fruit The classes for women conducted
last season at South Kensington by Professors Huxley,
Guthrie, and Oliver were attended by large and highly
appreciative audiences ; and the programme for the present
season, already announced by Professors Duncan,
Guthrie, and Huxley, is no less attractive. The Ladies'
Educational Association of London has wisely confined its
teaching to that of the professors of University College,
thus affi)rding a guarantee that the instruction shall be of
a first- class kind ; and now that the whole scientific staff
of the College has placed its services at the disposal
of the Association, and the Council has given permission
for the lectures to be delivered within its walls, with full
use of its philosophical apparatus, a scientific training is
for the first time offered to ladies on a par with that ob-
tained by its male students. We learn that the classes
named in the programme have all been started, and with
a fair number of entries. That there is great room for
instruction of this kind is shown also by the eagerness
with which women take advantage of the opportunity of
attending mixed classes wherever they are conducted by
men of high repute. We need only refer to the success
which has attended Prof. Huxley's lectures at the London
Institution in Finsbury Circus, especially as regards the
position taken by girls at the examinations in previous
years, and to the crowded audiences, consisting at least
half of ladies, who are now attending his course on Ele-
mentary Physiology.
In the provinces the same work is going on, though
hardly with the same degree of organisation. The
professors of the University of Cambridge in particular
have shown a praiseworthy zeal in the cause, and have
offered their time and their services for a more general
system of instruction than could be comprised within the
lectures which have been given during the last two years
at Cambridge itself. We referred last week to the attempt
now being made at the College for Women at Hitchin —
to be removed, whenever sufficient funds can be obtained,
to Cambridge— to inaugurate systematic instruction in
Chemistry as an introduction to the other sciences, an
attempt to which we heartily wish the success it deserves.
When the College for Physical Science was founded at
Newcastle, the Council took into consideration a request
from a number of ladies of the neighbourhood that women
should be admitted to its classes, and decided to make no
restriction as to sex in the admission of students or in the
rules to which they should be subject. Greatly, however,
to the disappointment of the Professors themselves, after
all this preparation, when the time came not a single lady
presented herself as a pupiL We cannot but think that
the ladies of Newcastle were ill-advised in urging the
subject upon the Council when there was no actual demand
among them for the instruction itself, and thereby giving
occasion for unjust reflections on the genuineness of the
desire among women for instruction in science.
We wish we could refer with the same satisfaction to
the present position of the question in Scotland. The
ladies of Edinburgh have shown their high appreciation
of the opportunity that has been offered them by several
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NATURE
\^tTov. 23, 1871
of the Professors of the University for the highest intel-
lectual training, and the Ladies' Educational Association
of the Scottish capital has been among the most success-
ful in the kingdom. Emboldened probably by the favour
with which the cause of female education was received in
Edinburgh, several ladies applied to the University for in-
struction in a purely medical course of studies ; and, the
required permission having been obtained, pursued with
credit and success the earlier portion of their studies.
When they had advanced thus far, however, an unexpected
obstacle arose, and the highest governing body of the
University, the Senate, stepped in and barred all further
progress. The mode, indeed, in which the authorities of
the University have played fast and loose with the ques-
tion of the medical education of women redounds little to
their credit It remains to be seen whether the Council
will consent, at the bidding of the Senate, to rescind the
regulations which they themselves freely passed in 1869,
with the sanction of the Senate, viz. : —
'' Women shall be admitted to the study of medicine
in the University. The instruction of women for the
profession of medicine shall be conducted in separate
classes, confined entirely to women. The professors of
the Faculty of Medicine shall, for this purpose, be per-
mitted to have separate classes for women. All women
attending such classes shall be subject to all the regula-
tions now or at any ftiture time in force in the University
as to the matriculation of students, their attendance on
classes, examination, or otherwise."
Any proposal for mixed classes of both sexes in purely
medical subjects excites so great a repugnance both among
the teachers and students of medicine that it would be
extremely unwise to press it ; but it will be observed that
no such question has been raised here, and no such re-
quest has ever been made by the lady medical students
The best of the medical as well as the general press of
London has been almost unanimous in pointing out the
undignified position in which the Senate now stands ; and
it is earnestly to be hoped that wiser counsels will pre-
vail, and that the University will in future pursue a course
which will give greater satisfaction to all its best friends.
We noticed with pleasure the large and comprehensive
views expressed by Lord Lyttelton when presiding last
week over a meeting of the National Union for Improving
the Education of Women of all Classes. Lord Lyttelton's
position as Chairman of the Endowed Schools' Conunis-
sion rendered peculiarly important the opinion he ex-
pressed as to the misappropriation of the enormous
educational endowments of the country to the benefit of
male students only.
The extreme importance to all women, as great if not
greater than to men, of an acquaintance with the elements
of human physiology and of the laws which govern the
body in health and sickness, was admirably set forth in
an introductory lecture by Prof. Bennett to his ladies'
class at Edinburgh, a portion of which will be found in
our present number. The advantage which the com-
munity, no less than individuals, will gain when some
knowledge of Natural and Physical Science is spread
throughout our female population, is so obvious that we
have no fear but that the movement now happily inaugu-
rated will spread and prosper in spite of temporary checks
and disappointments.
ALLEN'S MAMMALS OF FLORIDA
On the Mammals and Winter Birds of East Florida :
with an Examination of Certain Assumed Specific
Characters in Bird Faunce of Eastern North Anurica.
By J. A. Allen, Cambridge, U.S.A. 1871.
THIS essay forms a portion of the second volume of
the " Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology
at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass.," in which work
Prof. Agassiz and his disciples are giving to the world the
results arrived at from the study of the rich collections
accumulated during the past few years under their charge.
Its author is almost new to the particular branch of
zoology which he now enters upon, and puts forward his
views in a very decided and uncompromising manner. Yet
he has obviously taken great pains in the investigations
which have conduced to his results, and has, it must be
allowed, to a certain extent, proved his point, although,
as is usual with most reformers, he has in some cases
pushed his theories too far.
Mr. Allen's paper embraces, as he tells us in his Intro-
duction, " five more or less distinct parts." The first con-
tains remarks on the topography, climate, and fauna of
Florida, based principally upon observations made during
a three months' expedition to that country in the winter of
1868-9. The second portion contains an annotated list of
the Mammals of Eastern Florida. In this list some
unusual identifications are made — e,g.^ the Common
American Fox {Canis fulvus^ auct.) is identified wit 1 1 o/tis
vulpes of Europe, and the American Black Bear {Ursus
americanus) is considered inseparable from Ursus ctrctos.
In Part III. we have the reasons which have led the
author to adopt these and similar views as to certain
species in the class of birds hitherto considered to be
distinct put forward at considerable length. The exami-
nation of the extensive series of the common North Ameri-
can Birds in the Museum of Comparative Zoology '' has
disclosed a hitherto unsuspected range of purely individual
differentiation in every species thus far studied. . . .
Local or geographical variations have been likewise care-
fully considered, with results that were a short time since
unsuspected. . . . These several lines of investigation
have shown that in many instances what have been rc^
garded as reliable characteristics of species have in not a
few cases little or no value, that the importance of many
diagnostic featiues has been too highly estimated, and
that consequently a careful revision of our published
faunae will be necessary for the elimination of the merely
nominal species." To all this every true naturalist will
give his cordial assent. We are all for reform and revision,
when founded on sufficient evidence. But on turning to
Part IV. of our author's work, it would appear that some
of his identifications have been based on mere conjecture
without any evidence at alL For example : Qutscaluj
brachypterus of Porto Rica and Q, erassirostris of Jamaka
are placed as synonyms of Q,purpureus, Yet it does
not appear, or at all events is not stated, that the author
has ever examined authentic specimens of the two former
species. Again, Chordeiles texercis is united to C
popetue without any fiuther remark than that ^this
widely distributed species presents the usual variations in
size and colour." Such and similar errors will, we fear,
tend to discredit the identifications which Mr. Allen has
I*7ov. 23, 1871 J
NATURE
59
discreetly made between certain supposed species, of
^which he has examined a large series of specimens in
a most exhaustive and painstaking manner.
In Part V. of his memoir Mr. Allen treats of the
^ographical distribution of the birds of North America,
*' with special reference to the number and circumscription
of the ornithological faunae." In this essay, which well
merits perusal, although it is evident that the author has
never made himself acquainted with some of the most
certainly ascertained facts of the general distribution of
bird-life,* a new and arbitrary division of the world*s
surface into eight ''realms " is proposed.
The division of North America, however, into its con-
stituent sub- faunae is fully discussal and well worked out.
An appendix to the volume contains a list of authorities
to be consulted on the geographical distribution of North
American birds, which will be useful, although by no
means well arranged. Mr. Allen's knowledge of the
geogrraphy of Central America seems, moreover, to be
somewhat imperfect, as Mr. Salvin's articles on the birds of
Veragua are placed under "Guatemala," and papers
relating to British Honduras (/>., Belize), the Republic of
Honduras, and Nicaragua, are all confounded under one
head. P. L. S.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Sir Isaac Newtoiis Principia. Reprinted for Sir W.
Thomson, LL.D., and Hugh Blackburn, M.A. (Glas-
gow : Maclehose.)
Finding that all editions of the Principia are out of print,
the Glasgow Professors of Natural Philosophv and of
Mathematics have issued a careful reprint of the last
(third) edition as finally reyised by Newton himself; at-
tending, of course, to the Corrigenda^ but wisely abstain-
ing from the insertion of either note or comment. We
have had far too much of such things. Think only of the
painfully elaborate notes of poor Bishop Horsley, which
deface an otherwise splendid edition, and of the truly
amazing comments made by Lord Brougham in his "Ana-
lytical Views !" True, these are coarse attempts at paint-
ing, or rather at "whitewashing," while the Glasgow
professors are quite able to "gild." But even gilding
would have had a smack of profanation about it, and we
are delighted to have Newton left to speak for himself in
the old, imperishable, words whose full meaning is only
now gradually dawning on the world. So far as we have
compared it with other copies, this edition seems to be
better than any of its predecessors ; the printing and
paper are excellent, and the cuts especially are greatly
improved. There is, however, one remark which is forcibly
thnist upon us by this performance. How eccentric and
inscrutable are mathematicians ! Comets are nothing to
them ; and the greater they are, the less do they seem
subject to any law of what would be called common sense
by mere average humanity. One man of exceptional
genius is found wasting day after day in neatly rounding
ofif a sonnet ; anon he calcidates, to fifty places more than
can ever be required, the root of some transcendental
equation. Others occasionally burst from their seclusion
and rush wildly into gynmastic feats, high- jinks, and what
not ; but in cold blood to determine to verify, letter by
letter, a reprint of a somewhat bulky Latin book seems a
species of self-torture, of which nothing we ever before
heard concerning our northern friends, could have led us
* E.g, The "Neotropical Region" of Sdater, i.*.. South and Central
America, ia divided betweoi two " realms," an *' American Tropical " and
a " South American Temperate." than which xiothinff can be more unnatural,
and North America is parcelled out into ** three realms f" ^ ^
to imagine them capable. They have gone through it,
however; and, having done it well, deserve otir hearty
thanks.
Description of an Electrical Telegraph, By Sir Francis
Ronalds, F.R.S. (London : WiUiams and Norgate.)
Sir Francis Ronalds has done well in republishing this
portion of his work, which was first printed in 1823. The
hope which he expresses in the preface to this reprint that
his name "may remain connected with an invention
which has conferred incalculable benefits on mankind,"
is quite justified by the experiments which he made and
published many years before the final success of tele-
graphy. Sir Francis, before 1823, sent intelligible mes-
sages through more than eight miles of wire insulated
and suspended in the air. His elementary signal was
the divergence of the pith balls of a Canton's electro-
meter produced by the communication of a statical
charge to the wire. He used synchronous rotation of
lettered dials at each end of the line, and charged the
wire at the sending-end whenever the letter to be indi-
cated passed an opening provided in a cover ; the elec-
trometer at the far end then diverged, and thus informed
the receiver of the message which letter was designated by
the sender. The dials never stopped, and any slight
want of synchronism was corrected by moving the cover.
Hughes* printing instrument is the fully developed form of
this rudimentary instrument. A gas pistol was used to draw
attention, just as now a bell is rung. The primary idea
of reverse currents is to be found where Sir Francis sug-
gests that the wire when charged with positive electricity
should discharge not to earth but into a battery nega-
tively charged. Equally interesting is the discussion on
what we now call lateral induction, then known as com-
pensation. The author clearly saw that in the under-
ground wires which he suggests as substitutes for aerial
lines, this induction would be or might be a cause of re-
tardation. His own words must here be quoted : — " That
objection which has seemed to most of those with whom
I have conversed on the subject the least obvious, ap-
pears to me the most important, therefore I begin with
*/, viz., the probability that the electrical compensation,
which would take place in a wire enclosed in glass tubes
of many miles in length (the wire acting, as it were, like
the interior coating of a battery) might amount to the
retention of a charge, or, at least, might destroy the sud-
denness of a discharge, or, in other words, it might
arrive at such a degree as to retain the charge with more
or less force, even although the wire were brought into
contact with the earth." This passage, written in 1823, is
very remarkable, and would alone entitle the author to
be mentioned in any history of underground or submarine
telegraphs. Testing-boxes were invented by Sir Francis,
and a code is suggested by him. If these things had
been mere suggestions they would have been remarkable,
but accompanied by practical experiments proving that
the scheme could be carried out, they ought to connect
his name permanently with the history of the Electric
Telegraph. F. J.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Oceanic Circulation
On returning from my second Mediterranean cruise, I find
that Mr. CroU has published in the Philosophical Magazine his
promised demonstration of the theoretical impossibility of the
production of under-curreuts by gravitation, according to the doc-
trine which 1 have advocated with reference to —
1. The Gibraltar Current
2. The Baltic and Black Sea Currents.
3. The General Oceanic Circulation.
At the same time I find awaiting me a very important treatise
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[Nov. 23, 1871
on the Physics of the Baltic ( ** Untcrsuchungcn iiber Physikalische
Verhaltnissc dcs Westlichen Thciles dcr Ostiee") by Dr. H. A.
Meyer, of Kiel, containing the results of a continuous series of
mo^t careful and systematic observations on the temperature,
specific gravity, and movement of the different strata of its water,
dating back to the spring of 1868. With this work I received a
letter from its author, of which the following extracts will, I think,
be interesting to your readers : —
"I have followed with special attention the splendid results of
your different voyages, and hope that the experience which I
have gathered on a more confined area may yet offer something
which you may deem worth your attention. The favourable op-
portunity which I enjoyed for continuing regular observations at
a spot where the waters of the North Sea mingle with those of
the Baltic, enabled me to collect matters which cannot be brought
together on sea-voyages only ; and I should be much pleased to
see similar work undertaken at Gibraltar and Constantinople.
If among your large circle of acquaintance you might know of
gentlemen who may be interested in this cause, I should be
happy to send them my book.
" I regularly read Nature, and am much surprised to find
that your views on Ocean-currents should not be universally ac-
ceptf^d. How one can suppose that such a vast force which
constantly acts in one direction should remain without any in-
fluence whatever, is perfectly incomprehensible to me !
" Most probably the cold under-current coming from the pole
will be — wherever it is not very confined — very slow ; but I
doubt not that, should you consider it of sufficient importance,
you will succeed in provmg that the current, when confined, is
pretty fast, that is to say, fast enough to be measured by the in-
strument which you used in the Straits of Gibraltar.
" With a similar appliance, which I have used for years, and
which you will find figured in my work, I have lately been able
to trace the heavier under-current in the Baltic to a much greater
distance. On board one of the despatch boats of the German
Navy, accompanied by some friends, I have this summer made
several trips through the Cattegat and Skager Rack, and into
the eastern parts of the Baltic ; and my views have been every-
where confirmed."
I have further to state that my prediction that a similar under-
current of dense water must pass through the Dardanelles and
the Bosphorus from the JEgean into the Black Sea, which, it has
been alleged by Captain Spratt, is disproved by experiments
made by him several years ago, is regarded by three of the ablest
of our Hydrographers to be conclusively proved by those very
experiments when rightly interpreted. This I shall shortly
demonstrate in an appendix to the forthcoming Report of my
recent cruise.
The case between Mr. CroU and myself, therefore, stands
thus:—
I. I have experimentally proved the existence of an outward
under- current in the Straits of Gibraltar, and have adopted the
gravitation theory of Captain Maury as affording an adequate
account of it
2. I have shown that this gravitation theory is applicable,
mutatis mutandis, to the converse cases of the Baltic and Black
Sea inward under-currents, the existence of which has been ex-
perimentally demonstrated.
I have further shown that it is applicable to that general Oceanic
Circulation, the evidence of which appears to me to be afforded
by the aggregate of observations that indicate the prevalence of
a temperature not far above $2'* on the deep ocean-bottom, even
under the equator, and by the intermediate soundings which
indicate the existence of two distinct strata, separated by a
'* stratum of intermuEture," in parts of the deep ocean which the
Gulf Stream assuredly does not reach.
These views have been accepted by Physicists of the highest
eminence ; but, as Mr. CroU affirms, without due consideration
of their theoretical difficulties. I venture to suggest, however,
that it is not beyond the range of possibility that Mr. CroH's data
may be erroneous ; and I do so with the more confidence,
because I have been assured by first-rate Mathematicians that the
science of Hydro-dynamics has not yet attained a development
which would justify the assertion, that (to use Dr. Meyer's words)
" a vast force constantly acting in one direction remains without
any influence whatever."
It happens that I very early became impressed with the power
of very small differences in Temperature to produce currents in
liquids, by the following remarkable fact, which has never (so
^ as I am aware) been published. More than thirty years ago
Blr. West of Bristol (where I then resided) built an observatozy
on Clifton Down, the principal instrument of which was intended
to be a refracting telescope of large aperture, the object-glass of
which was to be made on the plan of Mr. Peter Barlow; the
double concave of flint being replaced by sulphuret of carbon,
or some other liquid of great dispersive power. The object-
glass was constructed with the greatest care, Mr. Barlow kindly
assisting in the computation of the requisite curves ; but when tried
it was found to be practically useless, in consequence of the
movement produced in the liquid by the very minute differences
of temperature occasioned by air-currents striking the surface of
the outer lens.
I would also direct the attention of your readers to the
very interesting paper by Prof. Karl Mobius, the coadjutor
of Dr. Meyer, ** On the Source of the Nourishment of the
Anunals of the Deep Seas," of which a translation will be found
in the "Annals of Natural History" lor September. Ca^^
ful and prolonged observation of the movements of organic par-
ticles in aquaria satisfied him that very slight changes of tem-
perature have a very important effect in producing changes in the
stratification, so to speak, of the water ; in oneinsUncc, he»ys,
" a downward current, which readily carried organic bodies along
with it, was produced when the difference between thesupcrfical
and bottom temperatures had scarcely attained half a degree of
Reaumur (i***! Fahr.)."
Such being the facts of the case, and Mr. CroU having offered
no explanation of them, whilst demonstrating to his own satis-
faction that the explanation I advocate is untenable, I do not feel
called upon to discuss the subject further. There can be no
reasonable doubt that, within the next few jesas, a great mass of
additional data will be collected, which will s^ord adequate
materials for the construction of a definite Physical Theory, by
Mathematicians fiilly competent to the task. At present I do
not pretend to have done more than offer a hypothesis whidi
accords with the facts at present known, and with what Sir John
Herschel called the " common sense of the matter."
Nov. 14 William B. Carpkntw
The Solar Parallax
If Mr. Proctor had printed in full my memoranda on the
errors and imperfections of his history of the solar parallax, or «
he had said nothing about it, I should have said nothing morem
defence of my review. But, in Nature of Septemljcr 28, he
gives so inadequate an account of my notes, hiding the point ot
the most remarkab'e of his inaccuracies, and ignoring the impf^
fections entirely, that I am compelled in self-defence to explain-
In describing the various discussions of the Transit of Venus
which preceded that of Mr. Stone, he says (p. 61) : " Newcomb,
of America, was more successful. He deduced the value 8^7
b)r a method altogether more satisfactory than Powalky's. o^^
still the agreement between the different observations was not so
satisfactory as could be wished, nor had Newcomb adopted any
fixed rule for interpreting the observations of internal contact,
which, as I have said, are affected by the peculiar distortion 01
Venus*s disc at that moment"
To express my appreciation of this compliment it is only neco-
sary to say that I have no recollection of having discussed IM
past transits of Venus at all, bevond correcting what I suppose**
to be an oversight in Mr. Stone s paper, and f am still utterly 1^
a loss to know on what ground the compliment is based. In bis
letter he tries to throw the responsibility upon an anonymous
correspondent of the Astronomical Register, which I regret to
say does not circulate here, but he does not quote anything to
justify a single statement in the preceding paragraph. ^^
correspondent says nothing about 8" "87, which, it ^nll be noteo,
is Mr. Petrie*s pyramid value, nor about my treatment of con-
tacts, so far as quoted by Mr. Proctor, so that I am as much m
the dark as ever.
We have all heard suspicions that critics sometimes review
books without reading them, but this is the first time I rc"**°*r?
to have seen so circumstantial a description of a work wbioj
never existed, save in the writer's imagination. I really cannot
help viewing it as something " remarkable " when commg (^
a writer of Mr. Proctor's accuracv and erudition, and must beg
pardon if I measure his writings by too hig^i a standard.
The imperfections consint briefly in the regularity with whicn
the more recent and complete researches on the solar parallax atc
ignored, incorrectly given, or placed in the back-ground of old*
and less complete ones. If any one wants to satisfy himsell <»
this, he has only to look at the papers and discussions wtii^
have appeared in the Comptes Rertdus^ the Monthly Notices, and
L/iyiii^cvj uy
<f>^'
2Vov. 23, 1 871 J
NATURE
6i
tlie German " VierteljahnschriftdesAstronomischenGesellschaft"
^writbin the past four or five years, and see that only a single one
of them all is expressly mentioned, and to note the values of the
parallax adopted in the astronomical ephemerides of France,
^paiD, Portagal, and Germany, andsee that not one of them can
\ye traced in Mr. Proctor's history. If as he once said, he had
not room to describe the recert researches, I should have sup-
posed he would have condensed or omitted the older ones, which
tbese recent ones have superseded, instead of doing the contrary.
'Fhe importance of this matter arises from the lact that th^
ciiscussions and researches put a different face on a number of
c^uestions connected with the determination of the solar parallax
from that given by Mr. Proctor, and I do not think the latter can
successfully argue that the astronomical world of to-day is nearly
a.' 1 wrong in the views to which it has been led by five years of
d iscussiouy experiment, and research.
On Nos. 3, 4, and 7, of Mr. Proctor's defence, it is only need-
ful to remark (i) that I did not write Na 3 till I had verified
Foucault's result by a careful calculation not made on my thumb-
nail ; (2) that Mr. Proctor leaves it to be logicallv inferred that
tVie discussion alluded to in No. 4 was an unpublished one ; (3)
that, having disclaimed my interpretation of No. 7, his book
^ves no explanation of the reason why Mr. Stone's parallax was
so much greater than those of Encke and Ferrer. It is only
necessary to refer to the paper of the latter in voL v. of the
Memoirs of the Koyal Astronomical Societv at pages 254 and
264 to fmd a very full discussion of the apparent, and the so-
called true contacts.
No. 6 involves one of the most important questions connected
'with the determination of the solar parallax from transits of Venus,
and I am sorry to see that Mr. Proctor simply evades ihe issue, as
the misinterpretation to which he refers consists in supposing
him less erroneous than he really is. Let one make a drawing
representing the limbs of Venus and the sun in mathematiou
contact. On each side of the point of tangency there will be an
exceedingly thin thread of light, vanishing at that point How
much of this thread will be visible by an ordinary telescope ?
We must remember that the sun is viewed through a dark glass,
which reduces its light to that of an ordinarily illuminated object
The narrowest visible line so illuminated subtends an angle of
about 20". With a power of 120 this would correspond to a
breadth of one-sixth of a second. But it is well known that at-
mospheric tremors, and, with most old instruments, imperfect
corrections of the object-glass, prevent our seeing an object at
' all approaching the minimum visible, and that the same cause
prevents the increase of magnifying power from giving a corre-
six>nding increase of seeing power. It is pro^ble that the
thickness of the least vibible thread may have varied with the
telescope, the observer, the dark glass, and the atmosphere, from
one or two tenths of a second to one or even two seconds. Let
us take the more favourable cases in which a thread of 0^*2 is
visible. A simple calculation will show that there is a space of
3'' *4 on each side of the point of tangency, in which the thread
will be thiimer than this, and therefore invisible, and that the
visible cu^ps will be about 7" apart. How different this 7" from
Mr. Proctor's invisibly thin ligament ! This explains the observa-
tions of Wolf and Andre, who found that the black drop when
seen at all continued after internal contact at ingrsss and pre-
ceded it at egress.
In answer to Mr. Proctor's letter of October 5, I beg leave to
reply, if the " fringe " is something actually produccid by the
telescope or the atmosphere, it is simply bad definition. If it is
not so produced, it is an optical illusion, of which the laws are
obscure, and the very existence problematical under the circum-
stances in question. See, for instance, the celebrated paper
of Prof. Baden Powell on Irradiation. Mr. Proctor's intimation
that the great mass of astronomers who have observed transits
of Mercury within the past forty years, among whom are included
Bessel, Auy, and the Struves, were careless and inferior ob-
servers, because they did not &ee an optical illusion according to
his view of it, is as good a reductio ad absurdum of his theory
as I could ask for. It is comforting to know that one of his care-
less observers can be turned into a careful and attentive one by
giving him a telescope with plenty of irradiating power.
To prevent misapprehension, allow me to say tnat the theory
set forth in my letter of September 28 is in no way my own, but
was promulgated by B^el nearly forty years ago, and has, I
believe, been since universally received on the continent of
Europe. , Simon Newcomb
Washington, Oct 23
The Aurora of Nov. gth and zoth
I WITNESSED on the night of Nov. 9, at about 7.30 p.m., an
aurora which, for symmetry of form and other features, was very
remarkable ; and unless, as is very likely, some more able ob-
server has already sent you a description of it, you may like to
put my account on record.
In the magnetic north horizon was the usual segment of
auroral light, very brilliant, and stretching considerably to the
east and west, its altitude being 20' or more. High above this,
and extending in a complete arch from the east to the west
horizon, was a remarkable and well-defined band of still brighter
light, about 7" in breadth, and passing about 30*" from the zenith.
Filling the space between these two arcs of light was what I
can call nothing else than a dark shadow, which had somewhat
of a mysterious ap()earance ; for, though decidedly darker to the
eye than other parts of the heavens, it did not in the least ob-
scure even small stars, nor do I think this darkness was the
effect of contrast In this dark space faint auroral streamers
occasionally shot up to the upper arch, but did not pass it
This shadow was what the French observers speak of as the
ntUe,
The light of the upper arched band was silvery, and increased
much in intensity towards the horizon both east and west ; the
points of greatest intensity being about 5^ above the horizon, as
would be expected in the direction in which the arch appeared
most foreshortened.
While watching this phenomenon I was impressed by the con-
viction that, to an observer in space, the north magnetic pole of
our planet would have presented the appearance of being sur-
mounted by a s>mmetrical cap of light streaked by one or more
bands, and terminated at its greatest distance from the pole by a
well-defined brilliant margin.
In the hope that an observer in some other locality might have
made similar observations, I was preparing to measure the dis-
tance of the upper arch of b'ght from the zenith, as well as the
positions in azimuth of the points where it touched the horizon,
when the whole phenomenon was obscured by dense clouds.
Stretton Rectory, Hereford, Nov. 15 H. C. Key
The following brief extract from our observatory note book
may be interesting : —
**Nov. 10. — For about 20* on each side of north, at 9.30 —
9.40 P.M., bnlliant wavis of light followed one another rapidly,
firom two to four in a second, movirg upwards, following the
direction of the streamers, fading away at about 40** from the
horizoiL Three or four waves could be seen at once, measuring
about 5* to 8° by estimation, from crest to crest . . ."
I heud some of the boys remark " How close it must be ; it
looks like pufis of steam from behind those houses."
Rugby J. M. W.
As none of your correspondents who described the brilliant
aurorae of Nov. 9th and loth last week, speak of their being
seen earlier than from 7 to 10 p.m., it may be interesting to note
that in the Midland Counties the latter was visible at a consider-
ably earlier period of the evening. On the evening of the loth
I was walking from Reading in Kerkshire to Caversham in Ox-
fordshire, from ^.45 to 6.5 P.M. During the whole of that time I
had before me the steady whiU light of Uie coming aurora, extend-
ing perhaps 25° to 30** in width, and 20" in height, its centre being
immediately beneath Polaris. The appearance was exactly that
of the departing twilight in a clear winter sky, for which, in-
deed, but for its position and the time of the evening, it would
have been mistaken. As I noticed the light imm^ately on
leaving the railway station above the lights of the town, I have
Uttle doubt that it had been visible since sunset I had no oppor-
tunity of watching its progress after 6.5 p.m. ; up to that time
there were no coloured streamers, nothing but the white light I
have desaibed.
Alfred W. Bennett
The Ghost of Flamstead
I OUGHT earlier to have thanked this venerated shade for a
communication which will enable me to correct (at some future
time) an omission in my treatise on the Sun. I^t me hasten to
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NATURE
[Nov. 23, 1871
assure him (or it), however, that the omission has been in no way
connected with those " queer notions of honour, and justice, and
fairness,'' which he conceives to be rife in our times. Why should
I seek to wrong the honoured dead ? And who would gain in
this case by the injustice? The present Astronomer Royal?
Surely no. To add this small matter to his real claims to our
esteem would be
To gild refined fold, to paint the lily,
And throw a perfume on the violet.
Neither, I am sure, has any other writer who has OTerloolced
Flamstead's claims, desired to do him injustice. On this point I
would merely remark, " Rest, rest, perturbed spirit"
But now ** we'll shift our ground, "by the Ghost's good leave.
Our visitor from Valhalla remarks that "a stir was lately
made about what was represented as a new method of investi-
gating the motion of the solar system in space, and instead of a
new Uiere was brought forward an old acquaintance (known to
Science since the times of our grandfathers)." Here the spirit
of Flamstead refers obviously to the Astronomer Royal's method.
I am sure that Prof. Airy would desire greatly that if his method
be indeed so ancient, the fact should be made widely knowiL
I myself am particularly anxious to be set right on this point,
about which I am at this very time writing. For though I care
more about explaining this and the other methods than about
their history, yet it is desirable to be accurate even in historical
details.
If I may say so without offence, I would remark that a ghost
was not needed — certainly not the ghost of the first Astronomer
Royal — to teach astronomers that the opposition of Mars in 1877
will be exceptionally important At page 25 of my " Sun " I have
already pointed this out, and I dare say others have done likewise.
I hope the " great injustice " to which our ghostly corre-
spondent refers as endured by him in life, does not relate to his
difficulties with Newton, for at the present time the opinion of
Brewster on this point is in vogue— not Daily's ; and the warmest
a dmirers of Flamstead are those who least desire to moot the
subject R. A. P&oCTOK
Brighton, Nov. 4
Creators of Science
Permit me to do my little towards clearing up a moat unfortu-
nate confusion of thought respecting the intellectual ranks of mathe-
maticians and metaphysicians, which is, in my experience, widely
prevalent We may safely divide the mathematicians into three
orders : — (i) Inventors, (2) Experts, (3) Readers or Students, so
as to discriminate from one another those who create systems,
those who manipulate with them, as "ministers and interpreters
of nature" — just as easily and familiarly as Professor Tait (^.^.)
employs and applies the theory of Quaternions — and those who
have merely studied into an understanding of an author or subject.
It was an expedient of the late Sir William Stirling Hamilton to
confound all these orders, and from the heterogeneous lump to
extract — if not extort — testimonies to the worthlessness of mathe-
matics OS a mental discipline, without the least discrimination of
their sources.
On the other hand, the metaphysicians cannot be trichotomised ;
for, even in the present advanced state of metaphysics, there is
no class of philosophers corresponding to the mathematical ex-
perts, the reason of which explains why examiners in mental science
do not set problems. There are^ in fact, only two classes of meta-
physicians : I., Creators ; 11., Studente, more or less thoroughly
▼eriiea in the systems of the leaders, and more or less accepting
or rejecting, with more or less reason, those creations. Accord-
ingly, when on May 17, 1869 (I think that was the date), Pro-
fessor Tait, at a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh,
challenged the metaphysical world to produce a metaph3rsician
who was also a mathematician, he not being able at the moment
to call to mind a single instance, he was to be understood as
asking for a person of the order i, who was also in the class I.
Professor Calderwood's reply, then, was not wholly unexcep-
tionable, for of the three names he adduced, viz., Descartes,
Leibnitz, and Hegel, the last was that of a reader of mathematics,
and not of a mathematical inventor. The challenger might have
spared the respondent the trouble of reply, had he known what
De Morgan wrote in Notes and Queries, 2Dd S. vi. 293-4, where
are distinguished five mathematical inventors, %!& facile frincipa :
viz., Archimedes, Galileo, Descartes, Leibnitz, and Newton ; and
in which Aiistotlr, Plato, and D'Alembert are allowed a very
high rank in mathematics. Had the inventor of Quaternions
been then dead, I have little doubt that De Morgan would have
added to the five the name of Sir William Rowan Hamilton, who,
besides being a ma»h*-m tical inventor of the very first rank, was
also a diligent and accomplished student of Plato, Kant, Reid,
and the other Hamilton, and a writer on Logic ; i.f., as good as
D'Alt-mbert as a philo«opher, and perhaps better than he as a
mathematician. Now, it Ls not a little curious and very instric*
tive to observe that, pace PUUonis, the two who were creators of
strictly defined metaphysical systems, viz., Descartes and Leibnitz,
are the onlv two among the five metaphysicians adduced by De
Moi^n who belong to the highest rank as mathematicil
inventors.
It is quite incredible that a man of Professor Tait's learning
(I say here nothing of his judgment) should not have been aware
of the identity of Descartes (the poor dreamer f) and Carte*, the
founder of the Cartesian Geometry ; still more so that he should
not have known that the immortal analyst, the oo-inventor of
the Differential Calculus, was the most eminent metaphysician
native to Germanv before Kant It was, then, not "ignorance, '
but ** ignoralion," on the part of the Scotch mathematician, that
was involved in his challenge ; and that challenge was doubtless
intended as mere badittagey at the expense of a science which he
had taken no pains to understand.
Be that as it may, I trust I am not singular in adjudging (as
De Morgan did) these two grand intellectual pursjuits to be worthy
of being cultivated together, and to be able to give material aid
to each other. For myself, I cannot but look upon any man as
the enemy of intellectual progress, who delights in setting the
one class of investigators against the other, and endeavoois to
prolong the controversy which has raged between them since the
** Principia " was promulgated.
Highgate, Nov. 8 C. M. INGLEBY
Descartes' "Animated Machines"
As you m)en your valuable* columns to philosophieal discus-
sions, may I request you to publish the following remarks on a
passaj^e in Mr. Lewe/s popular " History of Philosophy" (VoULp.
148 of the new edition), where he confesses himscltpuzzled, along
with other critics, to account for Descartes' theory thatanimals were
only animated machines. " I am not prepared," he says, "with
a satisfactory explanation." I cannot but think that a carcfal
perusal of the " Discourse on Method " (Part 5. sub, fin.) and of
the treatise on les Passions de rSme^ makes Descartes' reasons
perfectly clear. In the first pUce, the use of the word machitu
has misled most of his critics, and if the stoiy of Malebnmdie and
his dog be true, even this great disciple had grievously misuVen
the principles of his master. For in the last-named treatise Des-
cartes endeavours to show that such feelings as joy, grief, fear, &c,
though in us accompanied by really mental acts {/lensM), are
})roduced by physical causes, and produce physical efiects apait
rom the mind. Descartes would therefore never have denied to
brutes any of the bodily sensibilities which we possess ; and says
expressly that he calls them machines in a special sense— «»•
chmes made by the Deity, and therefore infinitely more subtle
and perfect than any which we can construct He says that we
could not ourselves be ranked higher in the scale of beings did
we not possess the gift of language^ the phenomena of which can
only be accounted for by an internal principle different in kind
from those which appear to guide tne lower animals, though
there are also those passions in us which we have in common
with them.
But to come to the psychological reasons for the theory. His*
torians of philosophy before the i8ih century should be paf-
ticularly alive to theological idda, even in sceptical writers; much
more so in good Catholics like Descartes. Just as Berkeley po^
forward prominently the theological advantages of his Idealism?
so Descartes indicates plainly in his "Discourse on Method'
(Joe. cit.) that these were the chief reasons of his theory. '*No^
to the error of those who deny the Deity, which I have already
refuted, there is none more apt to seduce feeble minds frofi ^
path 0/ virtue than to imagine that the soul of beasts is the saipe
as ours. " But the locus dassicus has, I think, escaped Mr Le^'t
and will be found in a letter to a Lord (suppoied to be the Duke
of Newcastle), the 54th of the 1st volume m the original quarto
edition. Descartes there specially answers objections made to hitt
on this point, and in the way above indicated ; adding however
the following passage : " Yet it may be said that although '^
beasts perform no acuon which convinces us that they think, nctf'
theless, as the organs of their bodies do not diflfer much from o-rs,
it HMiy be conjectured that some sort of thought is joined to the*
organs, such as we experience in ourselves, but mudi less pcrf«ct \
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63
to which I have no reply to make^ except that if they thottght aswedo^
they must have an immortal soul as we have, which is not likely,
as we should apply the argument to all animals, such as sponges,
oysters," &c I am sure these ideas are not unfrequently repeated
in his correspondence, as for example, in one of his replies to
Moms (vol. i. No. 67 of the 4to edition, in Cousin's Edition, x,
p. 204 et seq.). He there even talks of two souls, an Ame corpo-
rdle which is the cause of passions and affections, and an incor-
poreal principle of thought, which he elsewhere says was infused
Iw the Deity into man at the first moment of his existence. He
also observes, I think logically enough, that as no boundary line
can be drawn elsewhere, we have no choice between conceding a
soul to oysters or refusing it to all animals save man. I am not
however concerned to defend the validity of his reasons, but rather
to contribute this information as an historical point of interest
Trin. ColL, Dublin, Nov. 11
J. P. Mahaffy
Plane-Direction
I THINK "plane-direction" is the best of the competing
names. The planes of cleavage in a crystal are the "plane-
directions" in which it is most easily split They cannot
be cdled either "aspects" or "positions." The opposite
faces of a cube certainly cannot be said to have the same
•'aspect"
If a rigid body receives a movement of translation, it retains
something unch^ged. What is this something to be called ?
It might be call^ "lie" or "set," but both names are e<jui-
vo<»L Two equal and similar figures possessing this something
in common might be very well described as " similarly laid,^
"similarly set, or "similarly placed." We may say that they
have " similar positions," but we can scarcely say that they have
" the same position ;" for change of position is commonly held to
include movements of translation as well as of rotation, and a
point is usually defined as having position but not magnitude. I
think it is wcnrth while to consid^ whether " position " cannot
be restricted to the more limited sense, " place " being employed
in the wider sense.
I wonder that no one has yet raised a murmur against the
proposition itself, which your correspondents are so anxious to
render literally into English. It appears to me that the plain
English form in which Mr. Wilson first stated it is clearer and
more precise than the German abridgement. In the strictest
sense of "determine," one " Richtung" determines one " Stel-
lung" and one "Stellnng" determines one " Richtung," inas-
much as to one plane-direction there corresponds one normal
direction.
In a special sense it is true that two " Richtungs " determine
a third (perpendicular to them both), and that two " Stellungs "
determine a third (also perpendicular to both) ; just as two points
may be said to determine one plane (bisecting their joining line
at right angles). In all these instances the fact is that not one
only but many are "determined," but all except one come
out in pairs or multiples of twa It is this one, which has no
fellow, that is in a special sense "determined."
I tlunk it is paradoxical and misleading to state, without ouali-
fying words, tnat two linean directions determine one plane-
curection ; inasmuch as two linean directions really serve to define
as many different pairs or multiple pairs of plane-directions as
we please, and if we are permitted to distinguish the two linean
directions by different names, three plane directions can be sepa-
rately defined by them without any ambiguity. Similar remarks,
of course, apply to the other half of the proposition.
J. D. EVBKSTT
Rushmeie, Malone Rood, BeUast, Nov. 11
''WormeU's Mechanics"
Will you do me the finvour of inserting a brief reply to the
few remarks made concerning the above text-book in last week's
Nature?
I. On page 8 of the book occurs an explanation of what is
usually termed the transmissibility of force, and a statement of the
axiomatic principle that we may imagine a force to be applied at
any pomt m the line of its direction, provided this point be
rigidly connected with the first point 0/ application. On page
14 a dtdttction from this principle is mada and tmploytd to prove
the rule for finding the directions of the resultant of two forces
acting on a point The reviewer says that this deduction, "if
true, would assert that the attraction of the sun and the earth upon
the moon might be transferred to any heavenly body in space
which happened to be in the line of direction of the resultant of
the forces." If the restriction laid down with emphasis in the
book, and printed in italics as quoted above, be not ignored, this
is a legitimate inference, and if the point to which the forces are
transferred parallel to themselves be rigidly connected with the
moon, any conclusion having reference to the magnitude or
direction of the resultant action on the moon derived as a con-
sequence of the imaginaiy transpoddon of the pobit of applica-
tion of the forces wUl be correct.
2. In finding the direction of the resultant of two parallel
forces, the same transposition of the point of application is
employed, and, of course, it is understooa with the same proviso.
This proof 3rour reviewer qualifies as "meaningless," whereas I
feel sure that, taJcen in connection with the original axiom and
the deduction above referred to, it would be accepted by any
mathematician as both intelligible and correct
3. The next statement is that the definition of a rigid body is
given as a property of forces. This is not so, but the whole
theory of statics, when developed independently of dynamics,
rests on the properties of a force and the properties of a rigid
body jointly.
4. The reviewer next dwells upon a curious error which im-
fortunately esoaped my nodce until it was pointed out but a short
time ago by a schoolboy, and which forms one of three corrections
on a slip of errata. Any student would, however, have been
able to make the correction for himself by the help of the pre-
ceding pages and the applications to the following exercises, a
circumstance which I thmk an unprejudiced critic should not have
overlooked.
5. Your reviewer next remarks that a student who tries an
experiment with a block and tackle would naturally be sur-
prised at finding that the result of experiment does not agree
with that of the theorv, and adds, "nor can we find a single
word in the book which would enlighten his difficulty." The
reviewer cannot have read section 71.
6. The subjects included in the book are such as comprise the
course described in the curriculum and examination papers of the
University of London, and if occasionally the discussion of un-
practical arrangements of mechanical powers is required, I am
not answerable. Indeed, I hope to see the day when a reform of
this part of the curriculum will necessitate my rewriting the work
on an entirely different plan, namely, one according to which
kinematics forms the first part, kinetics the second, and statics
the third, the propositions of the third part being special cases
of those of the second. But that at present it answers the pur-
pose for which it is intended, is proved by the fact that all the
questions set this year can be answered firom it
So fiur as most of the facts and illustrations are concerned, " I
am but a gatherer and disposer of other men's stu£^" and a writer
of an elementary text-book to suit the requirements of a particu-
lar examination could not easily be more.
The tone of depreciation with which the writer of the article
has been pleased to refer to the work, so directiy opposed to a
previous notice of the same book in the same journal, seemed
to me to call for some reply, and I should wish to describe more
fully the objects I have aimed at in compiling the work, but that
I know I have already taken up enough of your valuable space.
Richard Wormell
ONE OF THE GREATEST DIFFICULTIES OF
THE DARWINIAN THEORY
SIR JOHN LUBBOCK has done good service to
science in directing attention to the metamorphoses
of insects, by admitting freely the great difficulty in con-
ceiving " by what natuial process an insect with a suctorial
mouth, like tJ^at of a gnat or butterfly, could be developed
from a powerful mandibulate t>'pe hke the Orthoptera, or
even from that of the Neuroptera*' (Nature for Nov.
9, page 28}. Such '* difficulties " have struck many from
the fi^t, and it is in no small d^^ree encouraging to those
who love Uie liberty of science, to find that the tmie is ap-
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NATURE
\Nov. 23, 1871
proaching when difficulties may be brought under con-
sideration and discussion.
"There are," Sir John Lubbock remarks, "peculiar
difficulties in those cases in which, as among the Lepidop-
tcra, the same species is mandibulate as a larva, and suc-
torial as an imago." The power of mastication during
the first period of life being an advantage, on account of
a certain kind of food being abundant, and that of suction
during the second, when another kind of food prevailed, or
vice versdy is suggested as a possible explanation of the
origin of species which are mandibulate during one period
of life and not during another. In such cases it is said we
have " two forces acting successively on each individual,
and tending to modify the organisation of the mouth in
different directions." It is suggested that the change from
one condition to the other would take place " contempo-
raneously " with a change of skin. Then it is urged that
even when there is no change of form, the softness of the
organs precludes the insect from feeding for a time, and
when any considerable change was involved, " this period
of fasting, it is remarked, would be prolonged, and would
lead to the existence of a third condition, that of pupa, in-
termediate between the other two."
Theie is much that is assumed in this reasoning ; but I
shall now venture to call the attention of naturalists to one
point only, namely, the analogy between the period of
fasting caused by the temporary softness of the organs
while the caterpillar changes its skin, and the more pro-
longed fasting period when the organs undergo that more
considerable (!) modification involved in the change from the
mandibulate to the suctorial type ot mouth. The change
from a small mandibular apparatus to a larger one seems
to be compared with the change from a mandibular to a
suctorial apparatus — the change of skin of the caterpillar
with the change of skin when the caterpillar becomes the
pupa, and the latter the imago — the temporary softness
which prevails when the little mandibles grow into bigger
mandibles, with the temporary softness which prevails
while the mandibles become converted (!) into the suctorial
mouth. But these changes are surely of different orders,
and the operations of a different nature. The mandibles
do not change. The one type of mouth does not pass
through gradations of any kind into the other kind of
mouth. But one abruptly ceases, its work having been
discharged, while the other is developed anew. As com-
pared with the chang:e of skin of the caterpillar, the change
of skin from chrysalis to butterfly is indeed a ** consider'
able changer It would require an amazing intelligence
to premise from the study of a caterpillar that from it,
after certain changes of skin and periods of rest, would
emanate a butterfly.
It is very well to suggest that " in reality the neces-
sity for rest is much more intimately connected with
the change in the constitution of the mouth"; but
what, I would ask, is the evidence of the connection
implied.? Between the cJiange from the small man-
dibles to the large, and the change from the latter to
the suctorial apparatus, there can be no comparison — no
analogy, for the suctorial mouth is developed anew during
the pupa state, and its formation is not commenced imtil
all traces of the mandibles are gone. Nay, every tissue
of the caterpillar disappears before the development of
the new tissues of the imago is commenced. The muscu-
lar and nervous systems ot the latter are as different from
those of the former as are the digestive apparatus, the oral
mechanism, and the external covering. These organs do
not change from one into the other ; but one, having per-
formed its work, dies, and is removed entirely. Not a
vestige of it remains. Its place is occupied by formless
living matter, like that of which the embryo in its early
stages of development is composed ; and from this form-
less matter are developed all the new organs so marvel-
lously unhke those that preceded them ; and others
unrepresented at all in the larval stage, make their
appearance. To explain, according to Mr. Darwin's
theory, the "period of change and quiescence" inter-
mediate between the caterpillar and imago states of
existence, is likely to remain for some time a very
difficult task. If the difficulty cannot be resolved until
the period of quiescence during which the imago is
formed, is proved to be analogous to the periods of quies-
cence during the change of skin of the larva, the life
history of a butterfly will remain for a long time a puzzle
to Mr. Darwin and those who believe in the universal ap-
plication of his views. Lionel S. Beale
ON THE RECURRENCE OF GLACIAL PHE-
NOMENA DURING GREAT CONTINENTAL
EPOCHS
IN the August number of the Geological Society of
London I published two papers " On the Physical
Relations of the New Red Marl, Rhaetic Beds, and
Lower Lias," and " On the Red Rocks of England of
older date than the Trias." In the latter I attempted to
prove that for the north of Europe and some other parts
of the world, a great Continental epoch prevailed between
the. close of the upper Silurian times and the end of the
Trias or commencement of the deposition of the Rhaetic
beds; in other words, that the Old Red sandstone. Carbo-
niferous strata, Permian beds, and New Red series wffe
chiefly formed under terrestrial conditions, all, with the
exception of the Carboniferous series, in great lakes and
inland seas, salt or fresh.
The Permian strata, in particular, appear to have been
deposited under conditions to which the salt lakes in the
great area of inland drainage of Central Asia afford the
nearest modern parallel. ,
While brooding over the whole of this subject for se>reral
years past, I have often been led to consider its b^°S
on those recurrent phenomena of glacial epochs which
now begin to be received by many geologists.
The phenomena of moraine-matter, scratched stones,
and erratic boulders, whether deposited on land by the
agency of glaciers, or in the sea and lakes by help ol
floating ice, are evidently intimately connected with the
contemporary occurrence of large areas of land, much 01
which may, or probably must, have been mountainous.
The late Mr. Cumming, in his History of the Isle 01
Man, "hints at the glacial origin of certain Old Red conglo-
merates in that island, conceiving that the bony external
skeletons of some of the fish of the period may have been
provided to enable them to battle with floating ice. Id
lectures and in print I have frequently stated my beliei
that the brecciated subangular conglomerates and boulder
beds of the Old Red sandstone of Scotland and the norm
of England are of glacial origin, so distinct, indeed, that
when these masses and our recent boulder clay cope
together, there is often actual difficulty in drawing a hnc
of demarcation between them. I frequently felt this ditn-
culty years ago, when, commencing the Geological ^^^^\
of Scotland, I mapped the strata in the country south 01
Dunbar, and the same difficulty was occasionally fcl|by
others in the valley of the Lune, near Kirkby Lonsdale.
If, as I believe, the Old Red sandstone was depositee
in inland Continental waters, the Grampians, as a moun-
tain tract, bordered these waters, and they must bavebeen
much higher then than now ; not only because of t"*^
probably greater elevation of the whole continent, but also
because the Grampians formed land during the whole 0
the Upper Silurian epoch, and suffered great waste o)
denudation, then and ever since. The glaciers ^f^*^^^^
mountains marked an episode in Old Red sandstone
times, and yielded much of the material of the boulder
beds of the Old Red sandstone.
In these regions and in North America, the Carboniferous
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NATURE
65
Strata were evidently formed under the influence of " a
warm, equable and moist climate," and I know of no
glacial phenomena in connection with this epoch
But rcspcciing Permian times I attempted in 1855 to
prove the existence of ice-borne boulder beds during part
of I hat epoch, and by degrees this opinion has been more
or less adopted These boulder beds were derived by
glacial transport from the mountains of Wales, which then,
also, were necessarily much higher than now. As the Old
Red boulder beds were formed during a glacial episode or
episodes of parts of that epoch, so the Permian boulders
mark another glacial episode occupying part of Permian
time, just as our last great glacial epoch formed an episode
in those late Tertiary times of which the present time forms
a part. At the time of the publication of this paper, I
conceived the Permian boulders to have been deposited
in the sea by the agency of icebergs, but I now consider
them to have been deposited in ixUand lakes.
This, if true, formed a second glacial epoch, of unknown
intensity, during the long continental period that lay
between the close of Upper Silurian and the beginning
of Liassic times.
During the Triassic period there is no certain sign of
glacial phenomena in the British area.
I have elsewhere attempted to show that at the present
day there is an intimate connection between past glacial
phenomena and the occurrence of lakes, large and small,
many of which are true rock-bound basins.
I further believe that this cause would be found to
characterise ancient Continental recurrent glacial epochs
through all past time, if perfect data were accessible, or
had been preserved from destruction by denudation and
disturbance of strata. In the PaJaeozoic cases mentioned
above, there is, in my opinion, an evident connection of
some kind between inland lakes and glacial action, and in
stating this it must be borne in mind that I do not con-
sider the Old Red and Permian strata of Britain to have
been deposited solely in two lake basins during two
epochs, but in various basins during each of two special
eras of geological time. For example, the Magnesian
Limestone beds of Yorkshire and Northumberland were
formed in a hollow quite distinct from the great conglome-
rates (locally called "brockram'') and sandstones of the
Vale of Eden. Prof. Harkness in 1856* showed that in
the South of Scotland Permian beds, partly formed of
brecciated conglomerates, lie in rocky hollows entirely
surrounded by lips of Silurian and Carboniferous strata, in
fact, in rock basins ; and he attributed this singular cir-
cumstance to a sinking in of the Silurian strata in each
case underneath the Permian rocks.
Ever since the publication of my paper, in 1862, on the
Glacial oriein of certain lakes in rock basins, I have
suspected that these Pennian rock basins may also have
been scooped out by the agency of glacier ice. I connect
this view with my paper on Permian glaciers, published
in the Geological Journal in 1855, but as I have not yet
seen the country where these hoUows lie, I have not been
able either to verify or disprove this supposition. I ex-
pect, however, that some day this view will be proved, not
for these areas alone, but for others of larger area and
very different date, which as yet I have only partially
examined, in other European countries.
The unravelling of nearly all stratigraphical phenomena
of eveiy geological age resolves itself simply into attempts
to realise ancient physical geographies, and we may rest
assured that those forces that are now in action have
played their part in the world sometimes with greater,
sometimes with less intensity, through all known geologi-
cal time, as far as it can be studied by an examination of
the rocks that form the crust of the earth. If glacier ice
scooped out many lake rock-basins in the latest great
glacial epoch, it did the same during glacial epochs of
earlier date. A. C. Ramsay
* OfloL Jour., ToL jdl. p. 954.
WOOD'S ''INSECTS AT HO\fE''*
'T^HIS bulky volume of 670 pages appears to us to be
-■- altogether a mistake. It is far too voluminous and
too uninteresting for a beginner, while for the more ad-
vanced student it is almost valueless, being a very in-
complete compilation from the works of well-known
writers. It consists of brief and imperfect descriptions
of a selection of, |>erhaps, one-twentieth of the insects
inhabiting Great Britain, with occasional notices of their
habits and economy, and extracts from a few entomologi-
cal works. These descriptions are generally introduced
by such words as " Our next examfSe," " We next come
to," " We now come to," " Next in order comes," '• Next
OQ our list is," &c. &c ; and for the most part are mere
amplifications of short technical characters, conveying a
minimum of useful information, with a maximum ex-
penditure of words. Let us take two examples at ran.
dom. At p. 76 we have two-thirds of a page devoted to a
beetle :—
"Our first example of the Staphylinidae is one of
the finest, in my opinion the very finest, of that
family. It is called scientifically Creophilus maxillosuSy
but has, unfortunately, no popular name, probably be-
cause it is confounded in the popular mind with the
cotnmon black species, which will be presently de-
scribed. Its name is more appropriate and expres-
sive than is generally the case with insect names.
The word Creophilus is of Greek origin, and signifies
' flesh-lover,' while the specific title, maxillosus^ signifies
'large-jawed.' Both names show that those who affixed
them to the insect were thoroughly acquainted with its
character and form, for the Beetle is a most voracious
carrion eater, and has jaws of enormous size in proportion
to its body. The colour of this beetle is shinmg black,
but it is mottled with short grey down.
" In some places this BeeUe is tolerably plentiful, but in
others it is seldom if ever seen. It can generally be cap-
tured in the bodies of moles that have b^ suspended by
the professional mole-catchers, and, indeed, these unfor-
tuiiate moles are absolute treasure-houses for the coleop-
terist, as we shall see when we come to the next group
of Beetles. A figure of this insect is ^ven on woodcut
No. viiL Fig. 3. It is the only British insect of its genus
which is (ustinguished by having short and thickened
antennae, smooth head and thorax, and the latter rounded."
The descriptive portion of this chsuacteristic passage
could be easily compressed into two or three lines. In the
other twenty we are told that the original describers of
the insect were well acquainted with it, that the public are
not, and that moles caught by professional mole-catchers
are unfortunate !
Turning to page 447, we have a moth described as
follows : —
" The first family of the Geometrae is called Urapterydae,
or Wing-tailed Moths, because in them the hinder wings
are drawn out into long projection^ popularly call^
'tails.' In England we have but one insect belonging to
this family, the beautiful, though pale-coloured^ swallow-
tailed moth {Urapteryx sambucata). The generic name is
spelt in various ways, some writers wishing exactly to re-
present the Greek letters of which it is composed, and
others following the conventional form which is generally
in use. If the precisians are to be followed, the word
ought to be spelt Ourapteryx.
" There is no difficulty in recognising the moth, the
colour and shape being so decided. Both pairs of wings
are delicate yellow, and the upper pair are crossed by two
narrow brown stripes, which run from the upper to the
lower margin. Tnese stripes are very clear and well
defined, but besides these are a vast number of very tiny
*"lDMctsat Home: Being a Popular Aooouat of British Insects, their
Structures, Habits, and Traosfonnations " By the Rev. J. G. Wood, M.A.,
' " " ""iih upwrards of 700 Figures by E. A. Smith and J. B.
" *" ^Loognuuia, Green, and Co. zSja.)
F.L.S.. ac. Wi(
Zwecker. Xngxmved by G. Peanon. (1
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NATURE
\_Nov. 23, 1871
I. Agabus biguttatus. a. Hydrophilus duodedm-ptutulatus. 3. Haliplus variegatus. 4. Cneisidotus caesus. 5. Pelobias Hennin'*>-
m. Dyticus, process of metastemuoL b. Dyticus, maxillary palpus e. Dyticus, anterior eg of male. d. Dyticus, labial palpi, e, GyrinuJ, posterior
Itg. / Gyrinus, antemuu
I. Microgaster glomeratus. a. Mymar pulchellus. i. Teleas eUtior. 4 Cleonymus maculipennis. «. Teleas, antenna, female. h. Do,
ntenna, male. c. Microgaster, larva in caterpillar of cabbage-butterfly. d. Microgaster alvearius, cocoons.
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NATURE
67
I. Sphtmera Tulgato.
9. Ephemera, larva.
DKAGON<PLIBS, MAY-PUXS, AMD CADDIS
^.^ Libellula depressa. yu Libellula emerging from pupa-caie.
Plants
mm^hiHum).
fcpnamera Tuigaca. 9. Apaemera, larva. ^. i^Deiitua aepressa. 34. Laoeiiuia ec
5. Calopteryz virgo. 6. Agrion mmium. 7. Pnyrganea grandis. 8. Phry
jtTS ^-Flowering Rush {ButomMS umbeUntus), In Centre. MMre's-tafl (Hi//urU xmiga,
iHum). On Left.
„-_. ^_^ 4* Tihftlhila, lanra.
Phryganea, larva cases, or Caddis.
' tm). On Right. Water Bistort {Polygonum
Streaks of a similar colour, which look as if they had been
drawn in water-colours with the very finest of brushes,
and then damped so as to blur their edges. The hind
wings have only one streak, which runs obliquely towards
the anal angles, and, when the wings are spread, looks as
if it were a continuation of the first stripe on the upper
wings. The shape of the moth almost exactly resembles
that of the Brimstone Butterfly, described on page 393.
*' The larva affords an admirable example of the twig-
resembling caterpillars. It is exceedingly variable in
colour, but is always some shade of brown. It has seven
bud-like humps, and a few pale stripes along the sides. I
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NATURE
\Nov. 23, 1 871
is a very general feeder, and may be found on a consi-
derable number of trees and plants. It is quite common,
and but for its curious form, would certainly be found
much more frequently than is the case. The perfect insect
appears about July, and can be beaten out of bushes and
hedges. Though die wings are large, ihey are thin and
not very powerful, so that there is no difficulty in captur-
ing the insect.'*
Of course much of the book consists of more interesting
matter than this, but hundreds of pages are filkd with
such verbose and meagre passages as those quoted, which
are far more repulsive to the learner than the most con-
densed and technical description. Those given in Stain-
ton's Manual, for instance, contain more than double the
actual information in about one fourth of the space.
The book is illustrated by copious woodcuts in the
letterpress and by several whole-page pictures. The
former are most admirable, and do great credit to the
artist, Mr. £. A. Smith. We select a group of Water
Beetles (Cut vi.), and one of the minute and curious para-
sitic Hymenoptera (Cut xxxii.) as examples of these
excellent figures, which would do credit to a far more
scientific work. The whole-page illustrations are by
another hand, and are in every respect inferior. Some of
them contain fair representations of insects in their haunts,
but the vegetation is generally badly drawn, and the plants
said to be figured are often quite unrecognisable. The
best and most artistic picture is Plate viii., representing
a group of Neuroptera with aquatic vegetation. The
worst is Plate XI X., representing aquatic Heteroptera.
The insects are pretty well drawn, but the plants are
dreadful. One of them is said to be the Starwort {Aster
tripolium). What is meant for this stands prominently
out in the view ; but the artist has evidently never seen the
plant, and, trusting to his imagination to invent something
suited to die name, has perched three thick six -rayed star-
fish on bending stalks. We venture to assert that no
plant having the faintest resemblance to this monstrosity
forms part of the British flora, and its introduction into a
modem work on natural history is most discreditable. It
is painful to have to speak in these terms of the work of
an author who has done so much to popularise natural
history as Mr. Wood, but we must protest against mere
book-making ; and in this case there could be no pretence
of a want to be supplied, since the excellent series of
" Introductions " published by Messrs. Reeve and the more
general works of Prof. Duncan, Dr. Packard, and others,
are far better guides to the student or to the general reader
than such a hasty and imperfect compilation as the present
volume. A. R, W.
- NOTES
The Council of the Royal Society have awarded the medals in
their gift for the present year as follows :— The Copley Medal, to
Julius Robert Mayer, of Hcilbronn ; the Royal Medals to Mr.
George. Busk, F.R.S., and Dr. John Stenhouse, F.RS.
Prof. Archibald Geikie is desirous of addressing himself
through our columns to those of our readers who were friends
and correspondents of Sir Roderick Murchison. They would
much oblige and assist him if they would let him have the use of
such of his letters as they can allow to be employed in the pre-
paration of the biography which, at Sir Roderick's request, he
has undertaken to write. If the documents are sent to him at
Ramsay Lodge, Edinburgh, they will be returned at the earliest
possible date.
From the English Government Eclipse Expedition we learn
that since leaving Malu, on the evening of Saturday the 4th,
the weather has been all that could be wished, and that Mr.
Lockyer and the other members of the expediuon have not
failed to take all possible advanUge of the calm weather in
testing their instruments and preparing themselves in every
passible way for rapid yet correct observations during the few
minutes over which the phenomena of the morning of the 12th
December will extend. The Mirzapare commenced steering
through the canal at 2.30 on the 8th, and anchored in Suez
Roadstead at twelve on the loth, all well It was hoped that
she might sail by daylight on the morning of Sunday, the 12th.
In that case she might get to Galle by the 25th, and the Expedidon
would then have seventeen days at their disposal for arranging
themselves and their instruments over the line of totality, from
the north of Ceylon to the western shore of Southern India.
The passage through the Canal has been a pleasant and interest-
ing one.
The Falconer Memorial Fellowship, at the University of
Edinburgh, which is of the annual value of about 100/., tenable
for two years, has been conferred on Mr. William Stirling,
B.Sc. The Baxter Physical Science Scholarship, vacant by the
appointment of Mr. Wdliam Stirling, to the Falconer Memorial
Fellowship, has been conferred for one year on Mr. Alexander
Hodgkinson.
Mr. p. L. Simmonds is now deliveiing at the London Insti-
tution, Finsbury Circus, the Travers Course for 1871-2, on Science
and Conmierce, illustrated by the raw materials of our manu-
factures, in two lectures, the first of which will be this evening,
and the second on November 30th.
Prof. Partridge commenced his annual course of lectures
on Anatomy to the pupib and Royal Academicians in the new
theatre at Burlington House on Monday last week, and will con-
tinue the same every Monday evening up to December 1 1 in-
clusive, at eight o'clock.
Among the disastrous results of the recent fire at Chicago,
one not referred to in the public papers was, we regret to learn
from Harper^ s Weekly, the entire destruction of the building and
collections of the Academy of Sciences of that city. This insti-
tution, first started by the energy of the late Mr. Robert Kennicott,
and carried to its late condition of prosperity under the
charge of Dr. William Slimpson, had already taken a front rank
among the learned establishments of the country. Its publica-
tions tmbraced material of the utmost value, while its museum
ranked at least as high as the fifth in the United States. Although
believed to be fire-proof, the building, like others of the same
character in Chicago, presented but little resistance to the flames,
and everything within the walls was destroyed. The lo-ss in-
cluded, besides the collections in natural history of the Academy,
a large number of marine invertebrates belonging to the Smith-
sonian Institution, which had been forwarded to Dr. Stimpson
for investigation. The private cabinet of this gentleman, and a
laqje mass of valuable manuscript belonging to him, embracing
extended memoirs upon the mollusca, radiata, and Crustacea of
North America, with numerous illustrations, were entirely
destroyed.
After a seven years* tour of exploration in South America,
Dr. A. Habcl, a former resident of Hastings-on-the-Hudson, has
returned to New York, where he is assiduously engaged in pre-
paring the results of his labours for the press. Among the
regions traversed by this gentleman may be mentioned the greater
part of Central America, the Cordilleras of the Andes in Co-
lombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and finally the Chincha Islands and
the Galapagos. During this whole period Dr. Habel was dili-
gendy occupied in gathering information in r^ard to the natural
and physical history of the countries mentioned, especially in the
departments of ethnology, meteorology, and zook)gy. He has
already made some communications on the subject of his travels
to the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and other learned bodies,
and we look forward to his detailed report with anticipations of
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Nov. 23, 1871 j
NATURE
69
much interest. The Guano deposits of the Chinchas were tho-
roughly explored by the doctor, who found them to be of a much
more complicated structure than has hitherto been supposed.
Mr. Mestre, the secretary of the Academy of Sciences of
Havana, has lately offered on its behalf certain prizes for memoirs
on subjects of medicine and natural history, indicating a grati-
fying condition of scientific activity in Cuba. Competition is
opcii lo persons of all nations, although the memoirs are to be
written in the Spanish language. Among the prizes mer:i';:;Q3d
by Mr. Mestre is one of three hundred dollars, proposed by the
president of the society, Dr. Gutierrez, for the best paper upon a
certain beetle, which is very destructive to the sweet-potato. A
full account of the animal and its habits is required, and the
best method of protecting the plants against its ravages. The
Zayas premium of one hundred dollars is offered for a paper
upon the hygiene of children — to be written as an aid to mothers.
Competition for these prizes is to close on the ist of March,
1872.
The Royal Geographical Society has again invited the fol-
lowing public schools to take part in the competition for its prize
medals in l%^^:—Eng^ish Schools.— S\, Peter's College, Radley,
Abingdon ; King Edward's School, Birmingham ; Brighton
College; Cathedral Grammar School, Chester; Cheltenham
College ; Clifton College ; Dulwich College ; Eton College ;
Haileybury College ; Harrow ; Huntpierpoint ; Liverpool Col-
lege ; Liverpool Institute ; London, — Charter House ; Christ's
Hospital ; City of London School ; King's College School ; St.
Paul's ; University College School ; Westminster School ; Royal
Naval School, New Cross ;— Manchester School ; Marlborough
College ; University School, Nottingham ; Repton ; Rossall ;
Rugby ; King's School, Sherborne ; Shoreham ; Shrewsbury ;
Stonyhurst College, Blackburn ; Uppingham School ; Welling-
ton College ; Winchester School. Scotch Schools, — Aberdeen
Grammar School ; Edinburgh Academy ; Edinburgh High
School; Glasgow High School. Irish Schools.— Koyal Aca-
demical Institute, Belfast ; Dungannon Royal School ; Ennis
College ; Portora Royal School, EnniskiUen ; Foyle College,
Londonderry ; Rathfamham, St. Columba's College. Examina-
tions will be held in both Physical and Political Geography, the
special subjects for 1872 being as follows : — In Physical Geo-
graphy; the Physical Geography of South America and the
adjacent Islands, Trinidad, Galapagos, Falkland Islands, and
Tierra del Fuego. In Political Geography ; the Geography of
the same districts.
The Bussey Institution School of Agriculture and Horticul-
ture, in connection with Harvard University, has been established
in execution of the Trusts created by the will of Benjamin
Bussey, to give thorough instruction in Agriculture, Useful and
Ornamental Gardening, and Stock-Raising. In order to give the
student a sound basis for a thorough knowledge of these Arts,
the school supplies instruction in physical geography, meteoro-
logy, and the elements of geology, in chemistry and physics, in
the elements of botany, zoology and entomology, in levelling and
road-building, and in French and German. Connected with it
are the names of such eminent professors as Asa Gray in
botany, Whitney in geology, Shaler in zoology, and Trowbridge
in physics.
A Report on the Physical Laboratory of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, has been presented to Prof. J. D.
Runkle, President of the Institute, by E. C Pickering, Thaver
Professor of Physics. The object designed by the establish-
ment of the laboratory was to provide apparatus and other con-
venience for the performance of the more common lecture* room
experiments, to supply a place where investigations of a high
order can be carried on, and to train instructors in physics for
the numerous colleges now springing up all over the Continent
of America. Particulars are given of a number of experiments
of high order successfully carried on in the laboratory during
the past year.
England is banning to acknowledge her forgotten scientific
worthies. We learn that a public meeting was held last week
at Birmingham, for the purpose of taking steps to establish a
memorial to Dr. Priestley. It was resolved that the memorial
should embrace three objects, viz., the purchase of a site, a
scholariliip, and a itatue, io as to pay honour to Dr. Priestley
both as a pioneer of science and as a champion of civil and religious
liberty. A committee was appointed to carry the resolution
into effect It was stated that a sum of 3,000/. would be required,
and several handsome subscriptions have been promised. The
proposed site is that of the house at Fairhill, where Dr. Priestley
resided for eleven years. The building was burnt down by
rioters in 179 1, after which he went to America.
The Hartley Institution at Southampton has issued its Report
for the year ending June 30, 1871. Although the managers of
the Institution appear to have especially cultivated the training
of engineering students for the Cooper's Hill College and else-
where, the report refers wiih satisfaction to the increased num-
ber of students who have entered for general educational training
as compared with former years.
The Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists' Society, vol. vi.,
part I, for January to May 187 1, contains the following papers :—
The Natural Hbtory of the German People, by Dr Beddoe ;
On the Origin of Species in Zymotic Diseases, by D. Davies ;
Personal Experiences in the Deep-sea Dredging Expedition in
H.M.S. Porcupine, by W. L. Carpenter; On the Strata com-
prising the shores of Waterford Haven, with especial Reference
to the Occurrence of Llandeilo Fossils in that Locality, by Major
T. Austin ; On the Development of the Carboniferous System
in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, by E. W. Claypole ; and
On some Gravels in the Valley of the Thames in Berkshire, by
E. W. Claypole. Valuable as these papers may be in them-
selves, it will be seen that not one of them has any special
reference to the natural features of the neighbourhood of Bristol.
Here is a grand opportunity for our young teachers of science ;
we give the trustees the benefit of the advertisement gratis :—
" Grammar School of King Edward VI., Morpeth. — Wanted for
the above school during the year 1872, a competent Master, to
instruct the boys in modem languages (French and German indis-
pensable). He will be required to attend at least forty days in
each half year, and to teach not less than three hours each day.
Salary, 50^ per aimum. Travelling expenses at the rate of 10/.
per annum will be allowed if the master does not reside in Mor-
peth. Also, a Master to teach elementary science (botany, che»
mistry, and geology indispensable). He will be required to attend
twenty days in each half year, and devote three hours each day
to teaching. Salary, 2$l. per annum. Travelling expenses at
the rate of 5/. per annum will be allowed as above. Also, a
Master to teach practical drawing (to include mapping, planning,
mechanical and architectural drawing). He will be required to
attend twenty days in each half year, and devote three hours each
day to teaching. Salary, 25/. per annum. Travelling expenses
at the rate of 5/. per annum will be allowed as above. The trus-
tees will not object to one master holding the two latter appoint-
ments. Applications, accompanied with testimonials, &&, to be
sent to me on or before Friday, the 1st day of December next. —
By order, Benj. Woodman, Clerk to Trustees. Morpeth, ist
November, 1871." Seriously, we had thought the days gone by
when it was deemed possible to teach " botany, chemistry, and
geology," to say nothing of the other branches of '* elementary
science," in sixty hours in each half year, and to remunerate the
teacher who is competent to instruct in all these subjects, at the
rate of I2J. 6^. per diem and 2/. 6^. extra for travelling expenses !
L/iyiii^cu \j^
<3^'
70
NATURE
\Nov. 23,1871
The new edition of Gauss's **Mottts Corporam Coelestium,"
which has just been published by Perthes, in Gotha, and which
is designated as the seventh volume of Gauss's works, and is ac-
companied by a copy of the original vignette, might easily seem
to be a part of the edition of Gauss's works, prepared by the
Royal Society of Sciences in Gottingen. We are informed by
that Society that the designation of this book as *' Gauss's
Works, voL viL," was chosen without their consent, and that
it forms no part of the complete edition of Gauss's works, edited
by the Royal Society, and now in the press.
We are requested by Mr. R. A. Proctor to correct a slight error
in the description of Mr. Brothers' n^ative of his star-chart
given last week. The 8-inch n^atives, like the i i-inch pictures,
are copies of a chart containing upwards of 324,000 stars (not
50,000 only). Prof- Aiiy, at the last meeting of the Astronomical
Society, remarked that the constellations in this chart are not
conspicuous. They could not be so, without spoiling the chart ;
but tJie lithographic key-map practically removes the objection.
The chart is a contribution to physical astronomy — not intended
to aid the search for individual stars, though useful in the Obser-
vatory, as showing where the richer star-fields are.
Mr. Thos. J. Boyd has reprinted his paper, "Educational
Hospital Reform : The Scheme of the Edinburgh Merchant
Company," presented to the Statistical Section at the recent
meeting of the British Association.
A SERIES of " penny lectures for working men" in connection
with the Museum of the Folkestone Natural History Society
was commenced last week. The series is intended to illus-
trate the specimens in the museum — ^the subject of the first by
the hon. secretary, Mr. UUyett, being " Our Chalk Hills and
their Fossils." If the experiment succeeds the lectures will be
continued fortnightly during the winter months. Classes in
botany and geology, also under the direction of the energetic
secretary, were commenced on Wednesday, the 8th inst
Wr are glad to learn that the interesting series of popular
science lectures, to which the charge of admission is only one
penny, have been recommenced this winter session in Man-
chester. The opening lecture was delivered by ProC Huxley on
" Yeast," before a large and attentive audience.
The Echo AgricoU complains of the neglect of instruction
in science in France. " Why," says this journal, complaining
of the importance attached in most schools to a semi-mytho-
logical teaching, ** when an intelligence is just opening to the
light, should it be ^ed through the delusive labyrinths of the
marvellous, instead of showing it the truth in all its splendour?
Let the young intelligence be accustomed to the observation of
natural phenomena, and it will be seen to develop itself normally,
because to all the branches of activity which it is called upon to
exercise it will bring the spirit of methodical order which it will
have been obliged to employ in the study of nature. We there-
fore demand that the Minister of Public Instruction should intro-
duce into our primary schools the elementary teaching of natural
science applied to what children see daily in the country. M.
Jules Simon has ordered that a geographiod class should be held
every fortnight in the colleges and lycees ; now we would have
the Minister complete this measure by requiring the students not
only to mention the principal products of such and such a country,
but, as regards France especially, to take account of the natural
produce of the land, and to know what sort of soil these different
products affect. This would be geography applied to agricul-
ture. . . . Further, we would require that all sciences re-
lating to agriculture taught in the lycte and colleges should be
followed by practical application to the soil, such experiments to
form the basis of special examinations."
A DISCOVERY has been made by several farmers on the Loddon
River in South Australia, that kangaroo rats are good thistle
eradicators. *'It has been found," says the Bendigo Independent ^
" that these animals dig down under the thistles, and eat the roots
of the plants, which thus necessarily die. One farmer has issued
orders that no kangaroo rats are to be killed on his land, in con-
sequence of their having been of much service to him in destroy-
ing the obnoxious thistles."
At a meeting of the Philosophical Society ' of Christchurcli,
New Zealand, in August last, the President, Dr. Haast, made a
few observations on some moa eggs recently received from the
Colonial Museum, in comparison with those of living birds. The
various models of ^gs were displayed on the table. The Presi-
dent said that the first egg to which he would desire to draw their
attention was one the pieces of which had been discovered by
the Hon. Walter Mantdl, and by him reunited after much labour.
The original ^;g, from which a model had been taken by Dr.
Hector, was in the British Museum. The second model was
that of the largest egg found. It had been discovered in the
Kaikoras Peninsula, between the legs of a human skeleton,
which had been buried in a sitting position, and, from the fact
of it ha^g been so found, he argued that the moa was of great
antiquity, as there was no mention in the very earliest Maori
traditions of such a mode of burial being adopted. The egg was
afterwards exhibited at the Otago Exhibition, and the model had
been made by Dr. Hector from measurements taken by him.
The third and last model was that of a small egg now in the
Colonial Museum, which had been found in Otago, and which
had in it the bones of a moa chick.
On the 17th of September the installation of the Academy of
Natural Science took place at Bogota, in Columbia or New
Granada, with much eremony. As yet not much can be ex*
pected from it, but it is another sign of the progress taking
place in the country The orator gratefully commemorated what
had been done for ^olumbia by Humboldt, Boussingault, and
Acosta in geology, and by Mutis and Caldes in botany.
The first meeting of the Eastbourne Natural History Society
for the pKsent season was held on Friday, October ao. A paper
" On the species of Hepaticae found in the Eastbourne District"
was read by Mr. F. C. S. Roper, F.L.S., containing notes on the
structure and development of the group, with a list of the species
(fifteen in number) occurring in the neighbourhood. It was
followed by a paper ** On the Bones of Red Deer, &a, found in
Eastbourne," by Mr. S. Eveshed. We are glad to observe that
active local work is a prominent feature of this young society.
The Whitechapel Foundation School Literary and Scientific
Society held its first annual public meeting last week in the
School-room, Leman Street. The Chairman, Mr. Edmund Hay
Currie, member of the London School Board, having briefly
referred to the importance of the work, and to the dissemination
of scientific knowledge by the society's agency, called upon the
hon. secretary to read the report ; from this we gleaned that the
association had made good progress during its fiirst year of
existence, and that the interest in the undertaking was rapidly
increasing. Twenty-six lectures had been delivered, amongs
the principal subjects were "Oxygen and Hydrogen," by
Mr. Joseph Loane, M.R.C.S,, L.S.A., &c., &c., "Blood and
its Constituents," and "Respiration, with its Mechanism," by
Mr. H. A. A. NichoUs, of St. Bartholomew Hospital; "The
Solar System," "Heat," "Coal and its products," "Elec-
tricity," "Chemical affinity," "Water," &c., &c The evening's
proceedings were brought to a termmation with a lecture on
"Light," illustrated by experiments, by the President, Mr.
Charles Judd. We are glad to find that this sodety has received
considerable recognition from gentlemen interested in science an<^
in education generally.
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NATURE
71
COLDING ON THE LAWS OF CURRENTS
IN ORDINARY CONDUITS AND IN THE
SEA
[I SEND to Nature for translation the abstract (in French)
appended, according to a most excellent custom, to Coldiog's
great paper in the Copenhagen Transactions. The subject is
one o\ espedal interest at the present time, though, of course,
everything written by such a man is deserving of careful atten-
tion. Those in particular who met the genial Dane at tiie
British Association will be glad to have in a compact form his
views on a question which has given rise to much discussion, and
which is of very great practiced importance. — P. G. Tait]
T PRESENTED in 1863 to the Scientific Society, and some
-*- months later to the Congress of Scandinavian Naturalists at
Stockholm, a short exposition of my researches on the motion of
fluid bodies, on which I had been occupied for several years, and
the results o^ which appeared to me worthy of being submitted
to the Society.
The characteristic of this work is that it does not suppose,
like previous works of the same kind, that all the parts of a
current are endowed with the same rapidity ; for it owes, in fact,
its existence to my conviction that this moJe of looking at the
subject can only lead in exceptional cases to exact results. My I
researches are based on the different motions assumed by the
liquid threads or elements of the currents, and are supported by
the well-known fact ihat any body, and consequently any portion
of a fluid, can only move with a constant rapidity when the
accelerating forec is equal to the resistance.
In the case of a fluid flowing by virtue of its own weight over
a plane surface which opposes a resistance to the mbtion of the
water, it was easy to determine how this motion varies with the
depth, when the rapidity of the current is constant in all its
parts ; and, by pursuing this train of thought, I was led to the
taw of the variation of the rapidity with the depth, when the
current moves in a cylindrical conduit with circular section, com-
pletely filled with the liquid. These researches are of greater
interest from the drcumstance that the laws at which I have in
this manner arrived from theoretical considerations, are confirmed
by the experiments which have recently been carried out in
France by Capt. Boileau and Inspector General Darcy. These
laws of the motion of water may be expressed by the formula
where K is the rapidity of the first elements of the current, the
motion of which is the most rapid, v the rapidity at the depth
•^f y the fall per foot of the water, and K^^ a magnitude which
depends entirely on the nature and dimensions of the conduit,
on the depth of the current, &c. The theory shows besides
that the laws of the motion of water on a level sur&ce are in-
cluded in the general law of the motion of water on a cylindri-
cal surface, when the radius of the cylinder is supposed infinite.
Darcy, who has experimentally established the formula given
above for cylindrical conduits, endeavoured, at the same time, to
determine X^* by means of certain experiments performed with
four different kinds of pipes, and found that K^ was inversely
proportional to the square of the radius of the conduit. It
resulted, according to the theory, that, for level conduits, /Tq'
should be in the same manner in an inverse ratio to the square of
the depth of the current. But two series of experiments per-
formed by Boilrau with level conduits led, on the contrary, to
the supposition that K^^ was inversely proportional simply to
the depth of the current. There was thus a want of agreement
between the results of the two experiments, and the point was to
discover which of these two hypotheses was correct Several
circumstances leading me to believe that Darcy's theory could not
be exact, I took a« my starting point the experiments of Boileau,
and considered IC^ as inversely proportionsd to the depth of the
current, which I did with the less scruple since this nypothesis
agreed almost as well with Darcy's experiments as with his own.
I pursued, therefore, my researehes on Uiis basis, and, after many
difficulties, arrived at results which, on the whole, were so en-
tirely in accordance with experiments that I could not suppose
the possibility of Boileau*s hypothesis being inexact. It was
only afterwards, when I approached the study of marine currents,
that new difficidtiet coostanQy arose, which I endeavoured at
fint to oTcrcomet bat which became day by day more lasar*
mountable, until at la«t there was nothing left but to doubt the
correctness of my calculations, since they led to results which
were in obvious contradiction to facts.
The theory then was shown to \yt inexact ; but since in so large
a number of cases it was evidently in agreemen' with experi-
ment, I attempted by a variety of means to discover the error
which I must have committed ; still all my attempts were un-
attended with result, and I was on the point of abandoning the
resolution of the problem to which I had already devoted so
much time, when the idea struck me of examining what woul d
happen if I rejected Boileau's determination of K^\ and adopted
Darcy's hypothesis, although it still appeared to me impossible ;
when I found, with as much delight as surprise, that it removed
not only the great difficulties which I had up to that lime en-
countered, but also all the contradictions which had occurred to
me as an inevitable consequence of that hypothesis, and from
that moment the results of the calculations showed them»elves to
be entirely in the most perfect accordance with what exists in
nature.
The circumstance that the experiments of Darcy are almost as
satisfactory whether -^ — is supposed to be proportional to the
first or to the second power of the depth of the currents, made
me think that the reality would be slill more nearly approached
by expressing this magnitude by a binomial of the first and
second degree, and this was completely confirmed by facts. In
determining the constants of the binomiid according to the results
of Darcy's experiments, I found the law of the motion of the water
in cylindrical pipes with a radius R^ with a coefficient of resist-
ance ///, and a rapidity z'^ at the surface of the conduit, may be
represented by the formula
= 6-8 V»
X fo
\A / ^ 52*5 + iiyy R
V being the rapidity next the axis, to which corresponds ;r = o.
This formula may be applied equally to the movement of water
in level conduits, if by R is designated the depth of the current ;
only the coefficient then becomes — r-- = 4*8, instead of 6*8.
V 2
This formula shows, among other things, that the ratio ^
which corresponds to any point in a given conduit entirely filled
by the current, is entirely independent of the rapidity of the
current, a fact which Darcy's experiments confirm in a re-
markable manner. This relation furnishes us besides with the
means of determining the value of the coefficient of resistance m
for different kinds otpipes which were employed by Darcy, and
it is thus found that for
Old pipes . . m = from 0'Oi2o to 0*0080
New p'pcs . . »» = from 00050 to oxx>33
New varnished pipes. m = from 0.0033 ^ ox>025
values which are altogether independent of the diameter
of the conduit For level wooden conduits, it is found,
according to the experiments of Boileau, that m = 00160 to
0*0090, while the resistance of the air, according to the same
author, corresponds torn = otxx>3 to 0*0002.
Inspector-General Darcy has tmfortunately died, but the
researches on currents which he commenced were continued by
the French engineer Bazin, who published in 1865 a great work
on the results of a considerable number of experiments carried on
with conduits of very different kinds.
However interesting otherwise these researches may be, they
do not display either the powers of observation or the grandeur of
conception which di&tingui>h the works of Darcy. Among those
experiments which are of the greatest interest, there are some
begun by Darcy and finished by Bazin, such as researches into
the motion of water in rectangular conduits, where the rapidity is
determined in 45 points symmetrically distributed. The re&ult
V
for these, as for circular conduits, is that the ratio -p,is indepen-
dent of the absolute rapidity of the current, and if the results of
experiment on the motion of water in level conduits are compared
with those given by the theoretic formulae, it will be found that
these last agree so completely with experiment, that the difference
between the calculated and observed rapidities, in each of the 45
points mentioned above, falls within the limit of errors of obser-
vation. This agreement b especially remarkable in the case of
the conduit which Darcy employed in 1857 for the canying out
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NATURE
\Nov. 23, 1871
ofhiB researches. In 1859 Bazm undertook similar experiments
with a small rectangular conduit ; but he did not make so great
a number of experiments, and his errors of observation are larger
than those of Darcy. In determining the coefficients of resist-
ance of these conduits, it was found that for those of Darcy
m = *oi04. while for those of Bazin it rose to o'OiSa
Bazin performed a considerable number of experiments on the
motion of water in open conduits, and thought himself com-
pelled to admit that the laws of this motion are essentially diffe-
rent from those which relate to perfectly full conduits ; but he is
certainly in error.
The results of a considerable number of ancient measures of
currents are in existence, which Bruning undertook, towards the
close of last century, in different rivers— namely, the Rhine,
Waal, &a They were performed with much care; but, as
might be foreseen, are nevertheless very, defective. They deserve,
however, to attract attention, partly because the rapidity was
determined, for every section of the current, at distances of six
inches from the surface to the bottom, in a series of perpendi-
culars, the imperfections which the measurement of the rapidity
presents losing thus much of their importance ; partly and espe-
cially because the currents examined by Bruning were of a depth
which reached 23 feet. In applying this theory to these currents,
and especially in determining the constants of the formulae with
the aid of Bruning's measurements, it was found that the observed
and calculated rapidities are for all depths as accordant as could
be desired ; and this agreement furnishes a new proof of the
exactness of the theory. The coefficient of resistance m, calcu-
lated according to Bruning's measurements, varies between
0*0250 and oxxSo^ with a mean of 0'Oi6o ; and as the resistance
at the depth of these currents must doubtless approach that which
a marine current experiences in flowing over a mass of water
r laced beneath it, and which does not participate in the motion,
have a right to believe that the extreme value m =0*0250 corre-
sponds nearly to the resistance which currents meet with when
flowing freely in the sea.
After having in this manner assured myself that the preceding
theory agrees with experiment wherever it has been tried, I
endeavoured to determine the laws of the motion of water in
currents of variable rapidity. In considering the simplest case of
this kind, that, namely, in which the conduit is a level surface (I
had already treated this case by the old theory), it was found
that the laws of currents, according to the new theory, are en-
tirely in agreement witii the facts observed in nature ; and con-
sequently this theory may be regarded as giving the explanation
of all permanent currents.
Having thus shown that this theory of the movement of fluid
bodies accounts satisfactorily for all the phenomena, I shall now,
from this as a stand-point, give a review of my recent researches
upon ocean currents. The currents which more particularly de-
mand our attention here are those of the North Atlantic, es-
pecially the Gulf Stream and the Polar Currents.
The Gulf Stream issues, as we know, from the Gulf of Mexico,
but it is possible to follow its course across the Carribean Sea,
where passing between the Antilles, it arrives from the Atlantic,
and afterwards flows to the north-west at the rate of \ mile an
hour until it enters the Gulf of Me»co. From this Gulf the
Gulf Stream takes an easterly course towards the Bahamas along
the north coast of Cuba ; but, after rounding Florida, it bends
northwards, and passes between the latter and the Bahamas, in
the channel which separates Florida Cape from the Islets of
Bemini; here tbd current has a speed of i mile per hour, a
breadth of 8 miles, and a depth of 250 fathoms. From the channel
of Bemini the Gulf Stream proceeds directly northwards at a rate
which decreases gradually from 6^ feet per second at Bemini to
4 feet at St Augustine ; the distance between these two points
being about 70 miles, during which the breadth of the current
increases from 8 miles to iif. From St Augustine to the Bay
of New York the Gulf Stream takes a north-easterly course,
parallel with the land, and conterminous with a cold current
which flows from the north to the south between the stream and
the American coast. In this part of its course it continues to in-
crease in breadth from iif miles at St. Augustine to 31I at Ne^v
York ; meanwhile its speed decreases from 4 feet to 2^ per second.
The depth of the sea along the course of the current is many
hundred fathoms, and the distance between St Augustine and
New York is 180 miles. On quitting the Bay of New York, the
Gulf Stream takes an £.N.£. direction to the south of New-
fonndlandy skirting the cold current, which goes down to south-
weit as fiu: M New Yoric, following the cast coast of Newfound-
land. By the time the Gulf Stream, afler a course of 200 miles,
reaches the south of Newfoundland, it has attained a bread ch of
about 80 miles, while its speed is only 2 feet per second ; but the
current continues to run in the same direction towards Europe
for other 300 miles, with a speed which is from 2 feet to 06
feet, and a breadth increasing from 80 up to 200 mUes. The
Gulf Stream, when it has attained a distance of 750 miles from
Bemini, separates into two branches, the one proceeding s Duth-
wards towards the coast of Africa, at a speed of 06 feet per
second, the other taking a northerly course towards Iceland,
along the shores of the British Islands, and running about 200
miles, at a rate which decreases from 06 to 0*3 feet per second,
the breadth of the current meanwhile increasing from 100 to
105 miles. When the stream reaches the neighbourhood of
IceUnd, it sends off a branch which skirts the south coast
of that island, afterwards takiug a direction north-west towards
the Polar current of the east coast of Greenland, which it seems
partly to follow in its march southwards. As to the main stream,
it indines to the east after passing the extreme north of Scot-
land, and then runs to the north-east, along the weit coast of
Norway, until it ends its wanderings in the Icy Sea.
As to the Polar Current we feel authorised to mention the fol-
lowing statements : — From the region of the Icy Sea, the mo&t
northerly of which we have any knowledge, from the neighbour-
hood of Spitzbergen about the 80th degree of N. latitude,
there descends to the south-west a great polar current loaded
with floating ice. It reaches the coast of Greenland at
about 70' N. latitude, and follows it as far as Cape Farewell ;
its breadth being nearly 40 miles and its speed | of a foot per
second. After passing Cape Farewell, it curves round to northward
and follows the west coast of Greenland for some distance into
Davis Strait; After having run for a few degrees in this direction it
bends to the south-west, towards the coast of Labrador, along
the who!e length of which it runs, then proceeding to the
south-east, enlarged by the polar current which comes from
Baffm's Bay. On quitting Labrador, where its speed is { of a foot
per second, and its breadth 50 miles, the polar current on round-
mg the east coast of Newfoundland makes for the Gulf Stream,
and, after doubUng Cape Race, sends a branch to the south-
west between the Gulf Stream and the American coast, which
branch can be traced as far as Florida. As to the part of the
polar current which does not take this route, it is generally ad-
mitted that it flows underneath the Gulf Stream on the eaist of
Newfoundland, and that it runs uninterruptedly to the south-cast,
towards the African coast, where the waters of the ocean are of
a temperature comparatively low.
In order to explain the causes of these immense ocean currents
by the aid of the laws of the movement of water in ordinary
conduits, it is necessary first - of all to know the forces
which produce and maintain the movement of these currents^
Captain Maury, who has made a special study of this question,
hai given it as his opinion that these ocean currents are due to
the differences caused by the changes of temperature and of
saltness in the specific gravity of the water of the sea. In order
to make this theory more easy of comprehension, Maury imagines
a globe like the earth covered over the whole of its surface
with a sea 200 fathoms in depth, the water throughout bein^
of the same density ; at the same time he supposes the
surrounding circumstances to be the same at ail points,
and that there being neither evaporation nor precipita-
tion, there can of course be neither winds nor currents upon the
imaginary globe. He next supposed the water contained between
the tropics suddenly transformed into oil to a depth of 100
fathoms. From this moment the equilibrium is destroyed, and
there results a general system of currents and counter-currents ;
for the oil, being lighter than the water, will rush along the
surface towards the poles, while the water of these regions makes
for the equator in the shape of a submarine current As the oil
reaches the polar sea, it is supposed to be transformed into water,
which returns to the equator, where it is changed anew into oil
that again rises to the surface and again msdces its way to the
poles, and so on. If then this globe turns, like the earth, on its
axis once in the twenty-four hours from west to east, each par-
ticle of oil, according to Maury, will proceed towards the pole
in a spiral course with a speed towards the east aJways in-
creasing ; on reaching the pole it will turn at a rate equal to
that at which the earth revolves at the equator, viz., 225 miles
an hour. But, says Maury, when the oil mis been dianged into
water, it will return towards the equator describing a curve in a
westerly direction. If the sea in question should m bounded by
land, as is the case on the sux&ce of the earth, the imiibnnity of
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NATURE
n
these currents will be broken np by different local drcamttances ;
and the speed of the currents will vary at rarious plaoes, but
there will always be a system of equatorial and polar currents.
Is it not admissible then to suppose, asks Maury, that the cold
waters coming from the north and die warm waters issuing from
the Gulf of Mexico and made lighter by the heat of the tropics,
will act relatively to each other in the same way as the water and
the oil in the preceding example ?
The Gulf Stream was at one time regarded as a branch of the
Mississippi ; but this notion must be aMndoned since it has been
proved that the volume of the Gulf Stream is many thousand
times greater than that of the river, and that its water is salt,
while the water of the Mississippi is fresh. Next, Benjamin
Franklin's idea was generally adopted, viz., that the trade-
winds drive the waters before them into the Carribean Sea,
whence they issue more slowly in forming the Gulf Stream.
Maury, however, refuses to accept this explanation ; he admits
that the trade-wmds may increase the speed of the stream in the
strait of Florida, but he maintains that it is impossible for these
winds to give such an impetus to the Gulf Stream as would mske
it traverse the whole of the Atlantic as a markedly distinct cur-
rent. He caps his objections to the theory of Franklin by re-
marking, that as surely as a river flows along its bed only imder
the inflaence of gravity, so the course of the Gulf Stream in the
midst of the ocean necessitates the existence of a never-ceasing
moving force ; in short, he says, if gravity did not exist, the
waters of the Mississippi would never leave their source^
and, were it not for a difference of specific weight, those
of the Gulf Stream would remain for ever m the tropical regions
of the Atlantic. But as Maury disputes the correctness of
Franklin's sUtement, viz., that the stuface of the sea b above
the normal level in the Gulf of Mexico, and that the water tends
by virtue of its weight to rush towards the north, and as obser-
vation has proved that along the western edge of the Gulf Stream
there flows a current of those cold waters which descend south-
wards as far as Florida Strait, he can no longer maintain his
first opinion as to the cause of the Gulf Stream. He is forced
to resign the hypothesis that the water of the Gulf Stream, on
account of its greater degree of saltness, has a specific gravity
greater than the water of the polar seas, to which it flows in
virtue of its great density, causing a current in a direction con-
trary to the lighter waters of these colder regions. But from the
moment that Maury supposes that the ocean currents have their
origin at the time when tne water of the tropics is lighter, and
that of the Gulf Stream heavier than the water of the Polar
seas, his point of view becomes uncertain and difficult to sus-
tain ; and he fails all the more signally in presenting the question
of the currents in its true light, from the fact that at that time
there existnl no exact method of obtaining the specific gravity of
the water of the ocean, the degree of sutness of the different
seas being then unknown.
{To he continuitL)
PHYSIOLOGY FOR WOMEN*
TVi Physiology we should understand a knowledge of the
^^ functions of the human body, and of the laws which regu-
Ute and maintain its various actions. The physiology of plants
and of the lower tribes of animals (Botany and Zoology) are
described by two other Professors in the University, and there
will be h'ttle enough time for me to condense and give an
account of what is now known of the subject, even as I have
limited it. Whatever useful information, however, can throw
li^ht on human physiology, derived from every collateral science,
will be made use of to assist inc^uiry. After some preliminary
lectures on the histology, chemistry, the physical and vital
properties of the tissues, I shall more especially dwell on the
two great functions of nutrition and innervation. The former
involves an acquaintance wi.hwhat constitutes a proper food
for man — how it ,is prepared by mastication, insalivation,
digestion, chymification, sanguification, and respiration, to form
the blood ; how out of this blood the tissues are formed ; and
how, after these have fulfilled their proper uses, thev are sepa-
nted from the body in the act of excretion. The latter com-
prehends a description of the functions of mind, including the
mental acts, sensibility, sensation, volition, and the varied kinds
* Abstract of the Opening Lecture of the Ladies' Couxk of Physiology,
delivered in the University of Eduitmrih, Nov. a, by Prof. Bennett.
of motion ; of the functions of the nerves ; of the special senses,
such as smell, taste, touch, sight, hearii^ and the muscular
sense of voice and speech ; and lastly, of sleep, dreams, som-
nambulism, catalepsy, trance, witchcraft, animal magnetisin,
&C. &c Of the subjects included under these heads it is
impossible to overrate the importance in reference to their
relation to the health and happiness of man, his physical
and moral welfare, his social relations, his national resources,
and the prosperity of his race. I have lone formed the
opinion that physiology, besides being essential to the medi-
cal student, snould be introduced as an elementary subject of
education in all our schools — should be taught to all classes of
society. It is an ascertained fact that 100.000 individuals
perish annually in this country from causes which are easily pre-
ventible, and that a large amotmt of misery is caused by an
ignorance of the laws of health. The clergy should especially
study it — first, with a view of diminishing the difference in
thought existing between literary and scientific men; and,
secondly, because their influence on the people from the pulpit,
and as parish ministers, is so important. All other professions
and trades, however, might beneficially study physiology, espe-
cially newspaper editors and reporters, who diffuse a knowledge
of useful things among the public ; and architects, who have
not yet learnt to build dwelling-houses and public halb pro-
perly ventilated But women, in all classes and degrees of
society, have more to do with the preservation and duration
of human life even than men. It nas been argued that, in-
asmuch as even the brutes know instinctively how to take
care of their young, so must women be able to do the same.
But the human infant is the most helpless of creatures,
and nothing is more lamentable than to witness the anxieties and
agony of the young mother as to how she should manage her
first-bom. In no system of education are women taught the
structure and requirements of the ofi&pring which will be com-
mitted to their charge; and certainly no error can l>e greater
than to suppose that the senses and instincts are sufficient for
teaching man as to his physical, vital, and intellectual wants.
The enormous loss of life among infants has struck all who have
paid attention to the subject, and there can be no question that
this is mainly owing to neglect, want of proper food or clothing,
of cleanliness, of fresh air, and other preventible causes. Dr.
Lankester tells us, when ably writing on this topic, that, as
coroner for Central Middlesex, he holds one hundred inquests
annutdly on children found suffocated in bed by the side of their
mothers, and he calculates that in this way 3,000 infants are
destroyed in Great Britain annually alone^ attributable in nine
cases out of ten to the gross ignorance of those mothers of the
laws which govern the life of the child.* But women are the
wives and regulators of the domestic households. They also
constitute the great mass of our domestic servants. On them
depends the proper ventilation of the rooms, and especially the
sleeping rooms, in which all mankind on an average spend one-
third of their lives. Children are too often shut up all day in
crowded nurseries, and when ill, are subjected to numerous
absurd remedies before medical assistance is sent for. Their
clothing is often useless or n^lected, the dictation of fashion
rather than of comfort and warmth being too frequently attended
to. The cleanliness of the house also depends on women, and
the removal of organic matter from furniture and linen, the de-
composition of which is so productive of disease. Further, the
proper choice and preparation of food is entrusted to them,— all
these are physiologicsil subjects, the ignorance of which is con-
stantly leading to the greatest unhappiness, ill health, and death.
Among the working classes it is too frequently the improvidence
and ignorance of the women which lead to the intemperance and
brutality of the men, from which originate half the vice and crime
known to our police offices and courts of justice. Additional
arguments for the study of physiology by women may be derived
from the consideration of— (i) the effects of fashionable clothing
—the tight lacing, naked shoulders, thin shoes, high-heeled
boots— often subversive of health ; (2) the great objects of
marriage— the production of healthy offspring— and all the fore-
sight, care, and provision required, but too often neglected
through ignorance, to the danger both of mother and child ; (3)
the proper employment of women, which should be regulated
with regard to their conformation and constitutions ; and (4)
nursing the sick, which is one of the most holy occupations of
women, and which would be much more intelligently done if
* See his excellent pamphlet, "What shall we Teach; or Physiology la
Schools." London : Grroomteidge ft Sons, zSya
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NATURE
[Nov. 23, 1871
they possessed physiological knowledge. Doubtless those who
regard this study as loo difficult and technical for young men,
will decry it also for women ; yet it so happens that for them
nothing is so tnily interesting as this science. The examination-
papers of school-girls of the Ewart Institution, Newton-Stewart,
contain an amoimt of information in physiology perfectly as-
tonishing. Seldom have medical students given better answers.
And yet it has been argued that physiology was far too diffi-
cult and technical a subject to be studied even by the students
in Arts of our University. Hence women in all ranks of
society should have physiology taught to them. It should be
an essential subject m their primary, secondary, and higher
schools So strong are my convictions on this subject, that I
esteem it a special duty to lecture on physiology to women, and
whenever I have done so, have found them most attentive and
interested in the subject, possessing indeed a peculiar aptitude
for the study, and an instmctive feeling, whether as servants or
mistresses, wives or mothers, that that science contains for
them, more than any other, the elements of real and useful
knowledge.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Geological Society, November 8.— Joseph Prestwich,
F.R.S., president, in the chair. Mr. Henry Hicka was elected
a Fellow, Dr. Franz Ritter von Hauer, 01 Vienna, a Foreign
Member; and M. Henri Coquand, of Marseilles, a Foreign
Correspondent of the Society. The following communications
were read: — I. A letter from the Embassy at Copenhagen,
transmitted by Earl Granville, mentioning that a Swedish scien-
tiiic expedition, just retorned from the coast of Greenland, had
brought home a number of masses of meteoric iron found there
upon the surface of the groond. These masses varied greatly in
size ; the largest was said to weigh 25 tons. Mr. David Forbes,
having recently retnmed from Stockholm, where he had the
opportunity of examining these remarkable masses of native iron,
took the opportunity of stating that they had been first discovered
l«st year l^ the Swedish Arcuc expedition, which brought back
several blocks of considerable size, which had been f >und on the
coast of Greenland. The expedition of this year, however, has
just succeeded in bringing back more than twenty additional
specimens, amongst which were two of enormous size. The
largest, weighing more than 49,000 Swedish pounds, or about 21
tons English, with a maximum sectional area of about 42 square
feet, is now placed in the hall of the Royal Academy ot Stock-
holm ; whilst, as a compliment to Denmark, on whose territory
they were found, the second largest, weighing 20,000 lbs., or
about 9 tons, has been presented to the Museum of Copenhagen.
Several of these spedmens have been submitted to chemical ana-
lysis, which proved them to contain nearly 5 per cent of nickel,
with from i to 2 per cent, of carbon, and to be quite identical,
in chemical composition, with many aerolites of known meteoric
origin. When polished and etched by acids, the surface of these
masses of metallic iron shows the peculiar figures or markings
usually considered characteristic of native iron of meteoric origin.
The masses themselves were discovered lying loose on die shore,
but immediately resting upon basaltic rocks (probably of Miocene
age), in which they appeared to have been originally imbedded ;
and not only have fragments of similar iron b^ met with in the
basalt, but the basalt itself, upon being examined, is foond to
conuin minute particles of metallic iron, identical in chemical
composition with that of the large masses themselves, whilst some
of the masses of native iron are observed to enclose fragments of
Uie basalt As the chemical composition and mineralogical
character of these masses of native iron are quite different from
^ose of any iron of terrestrial origin, and altogether identical
with tho»e of undoubted meteoric iron. Prof. Nordensckjuld
regards them as aerolites, and accounts for their occurrence in
the basalt by supposing that they proceeded from a shower of
meteorites which had fallen down and buried themselves in the
molten basalt during an eruption in the Miocene period Notwith-
standing that these masses of metallic iron were found lying on the
shore between the ebb and flow of tide, it has been found, upon
their removal to Stockholm, that they perish with extra nlinary
rapidity, breaking up rapidly and falling to a fine powder.
Attempts to preserve them by covering them with a coat of var-
nish have as yet proved unsuccessful ; and it is actually proposed
to preserve them from destruction by keeping them in a tank of
alcohol Mr. Maskelyne stated that the British Museum already
possessed a s[>ecimen of this native iron, and accounted for its
rapid destruction on exposure by the absorption of chlorine from
terrestrial sources, which brought about the formation of ferrous
chloride. This was particularly marked in the case of the great
Melbourne meteorite in the British Museum ; he had succeeded
in protecting this, as well as the Greenland specimen, by coating
them externally, after previously heating them gently, with a
varnish made of shellac dissolved in nearly absolute alcohoL
He considered it probable that a meteoric mass falling with
immense velocity might so shatter itself as to cause some of its
fragments to enclose fragments of basalt, and even to impregnate
the neighbouring mass of basalt with minute particles of the
metallic iron ; but he considered the question of meteoric origin
could only be decided by examining the same mass of basalt at
some greater distance from the stones themselves, so as to prove
whether the presence of such metallic iron was actually charac-
teristic of the entire mass of the rock. Prof. Ramsay referred to
the general nature of meteorites and to their mineral relationship
to the planetary bodies, and remarked that, supposing the earth
to have in part an elementary metallic core, eruptive igneous
matter might occasionally bring native iron to the surface. Mr.
Daintree mentioned that he had been present at the exhumation
of the Melbourne meteorite, and that at that time there was little
or no trace of any exudation of ferrous chloride, the external
crust on the meteorite being not above ^inch in thickness.
2. "On the Geology of the Diamond-fields of South Africa."
By Dr. J. Shaw, of Colesberg. Communicated by Dr. Hooker,
F. R. S. The author described the general structure of the region
in which diamonds have been found. He considered that the
diamonds originally belonged to some metamorphic rock, pro-
bably a talcose slate, which occupied the heights during a late
period of the '*trappean upheaval," to which he ascribed the
origin of the chief physical features of the country. This up>
heaval was followed by a period of lakes, the traces of which
still exist in the so-called " pans " of the region ; the Vaal river
probably connected a chain of these lakes ; and it is in the valley
of the Vaal and the soil of the dried up ** pans " that the diamonds
are found. The author referred also to the firequent disturbance
and removal of the diamentiferous gravels by the floods which
prevail in these districts after thtuider-storms. 3. "On the
Diamond-gravels of the Vaal River, South Afirica." By Mr. G.
W. Stow, of Queenstown, Cape Colony. Communicated by
Pro£ T. Rupert Jones. The author described the general geo-
graphical features of the country in which diamonds have been
found, from Mamusa on the south-west to the h^dwaters of the
Vaal and Orange Rivers. He then indicated the mode of occur-
rence of the diamonds in the gravels, gravelly days, and boulder-
drifts of the Vaal Valley, near Pniel, including Hebron, Dia-
mondia, Cawood's Hope, Gong Gong, Klip Drift, Du Toil's Pan,
and other diggings. By means of sections he showed the suc>
cessive deepenings of the Vaal Valley and the gradual accumula-
tion of gravel-banks and terraces, and illustrated the enormous
catchment area of the river-system, with indications of the geo-
logical structure of the mountains at the headwaters. The
specimens sent by Mr. Stow, as interpreted by Prof. T. R. Jones,
snowed that both igneous and metamorphic locks had supphed
the material of these gravels. The author concluded that a large
proportion of these materials have travelled long distances, pro-
bably from the Draakensberg range ; but wheSier the original
matrix of the diamonds is to .be found in the distant mounuins
or at intermediate spots in the valleys, the worn and crushed
condition of some of the diamonds indicates long travel, pro-
bably with ice-action. Polished rock-surfaces and striated
boulders, seen by Mr. Gilfillan, were quoted in corroboration of
this view. Mr. Woodward mentioned that Mr. Griesbach and
M. Hiibner had been over the cotmtry described in these papers,
and had communicated a map of it to Petermann's Journal. Mr.
Griesbach stated that the rock described as metamorphic in the
paper was by M. Hiibner regarded as melaphyre, and that in
some parts of the Vaal Valley the beds of the Karoo formation
might be seen in situ. He disputed the possibility of any ot the
gravels being of glacial origm. He was convinced that there
were no metamorphic rocks on the western side of the Draakens-
berg ; those regarded as such probably belonged to the Karoo
formation. Prof. Tennant commented on the large size ot the
diamonds from the Cape, of which he had within the last few
months seen at least 10,000, many of them from 30 to 90 carats
each. Some broken specimens must, when perfect, have been
as large as the Koh-i-Noor. Mr. Tobin corroborated-the infor*
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Nov. 23, 1871]
NATURE
75
mation given by Mr. Stow, and stated tbat the source of the
Vaal was in sandstone, and that it was not nntil it had traversed
some distance that agates, peridot, and spinel were met with.
The large diamonds, in his view, occurred principally in old high-
level gravels, at a considerable elevation above the river, which
had much deepened its valley since the time of their deposit
At Du Toil's Pan, however, none of the diamonds, nor indeed
any of the other stones, showed any signs of wear ; and he con-
sidered that at that spot was one of the centres at which
diamonds had been found in their original matrix. Mr.Daintree
stated that in Australia there were a^te-bearing beds of
amygdaloid greenstone similar to those m South Africa, and
that he had called attention to their existence in the neighbour-
hood of the Burnett River, where since then a diamond of the
value of 80/. had been discovered. Mr. Maskelyne commented
on the dissimilarity of the minerals found in the diamond-
bearing beds of Brazil from those of Du Toit's Pan or of South
Africa generally. He thought that possibly the minerals described
as peridot and spinel might be bronzite and garnet, which, how-
ever, came from igneous rocks ; and the remarkable fact was
that with them occurred unrolled natrolite and diamonds in an
equally unrolled condition, which was suggestive of their having
been due to a common origin. Mr. Ward gave an account of an
examination of some of Die rock from Du Toil's Pan, with a
view of discovering microscopic diamonds, none of whidi, how-
ever, had been found. Prof. Rupert Jones had been equally
unsuccessful in the search for minute diamonds, both m sand
from Du Toil's and in the ochreous gravel from Klip drift He
pointed out the walerwom condition of the agates from Du Toil's
Pan, which showed aqueous action, though there were also
several other minerals present in a perfectly fresh and unrolled
condition. He thought a careful examination of the constituent
parts of the gravel might ultimately throw light on their origin.
That fluviatile action was sufficient to account for their presence
had already been shown by Dr. Rubidge and othexi, who had
treated of the grand plateaux and denudations of the district
umder notice.
Royal Geographical Society, November 13.— Major-
General Sir H. C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., president, in the chair.
The president, on opening the session, delivered an address, in
which, after paying an eloquent tribute to the worth of the late
president. Sir Roderick Murchison, and expressing his sense of
the loss which the Society had sustained in his death, he reviewed
the progress of geography since the last meeting of the previous
Session. He congratulated the Fellows on being again per-
mitted to meet in the handsome and commodious hidl of the
London University ; and stated that the Council felt that the
Senate of that body, in granting the use of the hall, conferred an
obligation not only on the Society but on the public at large,
whose instruction and education m geography formed the especial
objects of their sludv. He also announced that the Society had,
during the recess, taken up its pennanenl quarters in Savile Row,
where it was now located on its own freehold estate. In Physi-
cal Geography the important subject of Oceanic Circulation, and
Dr. Ca^enter's researches thereupon, was prominently noticed ;
and he stated that Dr. Carpenter, during his Mediterranean
voyage of the past summer, had met the objections of his critics
in so far as related to the under-current outwards at the Straits
of Gibraltar by experimentally proving that such a current really
does exist In Arctic exploration the recent German expeditions
were noticed, particularly the voyage of Messrs. Payer and
Weyprecht, who, last summer, had found an open sea, in lat.
70", between Spitsbergen and Nova Zembla. In Central Asia
and Eastern Persia much accurate information had recently been
obtained by English travellers and surveyors ; and in Syria their
medallist, Captain Burton, had recently, in company with Mr.
Drake, exammed the Anti-Libanus and the little-known district
east of Damascus, — subjects on which this indefatigable traveller
would read papers at a subsequent meeting. An excellent de-
scriptive paper had been received from the well-known and able
traveller Captain Blakiston, on the subject of the island of Yezo,
the circuit of which he had recently explored in the capacity of
an official of the Japanese Government No direct news had
been recently received either from Dr. Livingstone or Sir Samuel
Baker ; but authentic intelligence of Livingstone could not be
much further delayed, as an able and adventurous American
gentleman, Mr. Stanley, left Zanzibar for the shores of Lake
Tanganyika in February last, taking wiih him '* Bombay," one
of Speke and Grant's ** faithfuls," as guide. He (the president)
added that if Mr. Stanley succeeded in restoring Livingstone to
us, or in assistbg him to solve the great problem of the upper
drainage into the Nile or Congo, he would be welcomed by the
Society as heartily and warmly as if he were acting under their
own immediate auspices. — A paper was then read "On the
Exploration of the Limpopo River," by Captain Frederic EltoiL
This remarkable journey was performed between July 6 and
August 8, 1870, the author starting from the Tati gold-fields and
proceeding by an easterly route to the junction of the Tuli River
with the Limpopo, and thence descending the great stream or
marching aloiig its banks to beyond the junction of the Lipalule,
whence he struck across to Loren90 Marques, in Delagoa Bay.
The middle part of the Limi>opo, between the Tuli and Lipalule,
was found to be encumbered with rapids and waterfalls, some of
which, especially the cataracts called Tolo-Azime, were truly
magnificent, the river, after a series of rapids five miles in length,
here plunging over a ledge into a deep chasm. These falls mark
the spot where the Limpopo leaves tne great interior plateau of
Africa and descends abruptly into the plains whidi extend hence-
forth to the sea. The paper described the country traversed as
rich and abtmdant in game of all descriptions.
Mathematical Society, November 9.— Dr. Spottiswoode,
president, in the chair. The following gentlemen were elected
to form the council for the ensuing session: — President: Dr.
Spottiswoode. Vice-Presidents : Profs. Cavley, Henrid, H. J. S.
Smith, and Mr. S. Roberts. Treasurer: Dr. Hirst Honorary
Secretaries : Messrs. M. Jenkins and R. Tucker. Other mem-
bers : Profs. Clifford and Crofton, Dr. Sylvester, Hon. J. W.
Strutt, Messrs. T. Cotterill, Merrifidd, Stirling, and Walker.
Mr. A. Freeman was proposed for election. It bdng unani-
mouslv agreed upon that the number of honorary foreign mem-
bers should be increased to six, the president read out the names
which the coimcil recommended for nomination, viz. : Dr.
Clebsch, M. Hermite, Prof. Cremona, Dr. Hesse, and Prof.
Betti. The only foreign member at present is M. Chasles.
Dr. Sylvester then gave an account of his communication
'*0n the partition of an even number into two primes."
In one of his minor papers Euler has enunciated as a theorem,
resting entirely on intuition from a comparatively small number
of instances, that every even number may be decomposed into a
sum of two primes. The object of Dr. Sjrlvester^ communi-
cation was to obtain some measure of the probable number of
ways in which such decomposition can be effecied for anv given
number ; if it can be shown to be probably greater than the
square root of the number itMlf, it will follow from generally
admitted principles of the theory of chances, that the proba-
bility of the theorem being universally true above any assigned
limit, if proved to be true up to that umit, may be represented
by an infinite product of terms, which will approach as near as
we please to unity the higher the limit in question is taken. The
mere £sct of the Uieorem, as Euler save it, being proved up to
100,000,000, or any other number however great, would leave
the probability of its being universally true, absolutely zero, just
as tne fact of the sun having risen 100,000,000 times would not
contribute an atom of probability to the supposition that it would
continue to rise for all time to come. In the case before us, on
the contrary, the probability of the theorem being nniversallv
true by a sufficiently copious induction, may be made to approach
as near as we please to absolute certitude. The author con.^iders
that he has established beyond the reach of reasonable doubt that
the magnitude which represents the mean probable value of the
number of modes of eflecting the resolution of a very large even
number into two prime numbers is that of the square of the
number of primes inferior to the given numbor divided by the
number itself, or which (thanks to the discoveries of Legendre
and Tchebichefi) we know to be the same thing, the number of
the decompositions in question bears a finite ratio (assignable
within limits) to the numbertobedecomposed,dividedby the square
of its Napierian logarithm. If we agree provisionally to call preter-
primes in respect to », those numbers wnich are prime themselves,
and also when subtracted from n leave prime remainders, the
author shows that the probable number of such preter-primes
(/>., the most probable value attainable under our present con-
ditions of knowledge) may be found approximately dv multiply-
ing the number of ordinary primes interior to fi by the proauct
of a set of firactions, depending in part on the magnitude and in
part on the constitution of the number n. If » is the double of
a prime, the product in question is got by multiplying together
all the quantities -^^ where / is every odd prime between unity
and the square root of n ; but if n itself contains any such
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76
NATURE
{Nov. 23, 1871
primes 'amonc; its factors, then the corresponding factors
are to be omitted out of the product. We thus see that
if two even numbers of coDstderable magnitude lie adjacent
or tolerably near to each other, one of which is the double of a
prime, but the other six times a prime, the number of preter-
primes relative to the latter will be about twice as many as
those relative to the former. For the purpose of greater sim>
plicity of explanation, the formula of approximation has been
stated above with less accuracy than it admits of being stated
with. Instead of the total number of odd primes being multi-
plied by the product of factors last described, those only should
nave been taken which are not intermediate between 2 and \//r,
and the result so modified should have been stated to be the
probable value not of the total number of preter-primes, but
only of such of them (by far the larger number) an are not of
the excluded class above described, nor subtracted from », give
rise to remainders belonging to such class. The author has found
by actual trial on an extensive scale, that the estimated values of
the number of decompositions never differ by more than a
moderate, and in some cases exceedingly slight, percentage from
their actual values determined bv the use of Borchardt's tables.
The same methods enable him aUo to assign a probable value to
the number of modes of resolving an odd number into the sum
of one prime and the double of another, and in general lead to
an approximate representation of the number of solutions in
prime numbers of any system of linear equations of which the '
total number of solutions is limited, and even to resolve approxi-
mately such questions as that of determining how many prime
numbers there are inferior to a given limit, which are followed bv
prime numbers differing from them by any assigned interval.
Since the communication made to the Mathematical Society, the
secretaries have been favoured with a note from which they un-
derstand that Dr. Sylvester has verified his results by quite a
different method. The exact number of the solutions of the
equation j: + K = « in prime numbers may be expressed alge-
braically by means of the method of generating funcdons in terms
of the inferior primes to n. The expression will be found to
consist of two parts, one a constant multiple of ». the other, a
function of the roots of unity corresponding to the several inferior
primes and their combinations. The former non- periodic part
may obviously be regarded as the even value of the expression,
and Dr. Sylvester has found that it is identical with the value
obtained by the method of averages previously employed. In
order to prove strictly Euler's theorem, it only remains to show
that the entire expression can never become zero. This Dr.
Sylvester believes be has the means of doing, and at the same
time of assigning exact limits to the number of solutions in
question ; but in a matter of so much moment, and of such singu-
lar interest, does not wish to express himself in a more decided
manner, until he has had the opportunity of subjecting his
method to a further rigorotis examination.
Royal Astronomical Society, November 17. — Mr. W.
Lassell, president, in the chair. The Astronomer Royal showed
a drawing of Encke's comet made by Mr. Carpenter of Green-
wich ; it gave the impression of a somewhat shuttlecock-shaped
nebulous haze, with two wings of much fainter light, extending
on either side, giving a flattened appearance to the head of the
comet. Yit, Huggms made a drawing which coincided in all
e^-scniial paniculars with that of Mr. Carpenter. He thought
that he had detected a very minute but distinctly-marked nucleus
in the paraboidal-fchapcd head of the shuttlecock. The whole
light of the comet was very faint, but he had succeeded in
ob aining its spectrum, which, as in the case of that of Comet II,
1868, consisted of three bands, apparently idcnti<»l with the
bands in the spe tram of the vapour of carbon. The middle band
situated near " little b " was much brighter than than the orher
two, and he was quite satisfied of its identity with the middle
bands of carbon vapour ; the two outlying bands were much too
faint for him to speak with confidence of their identity, but they
appeared to correspond. The Astronomer Royal showed a
celestial globe, on which he had fixed a small white wafer in the
place occupied by the sun, and a piece of white paper cut out
to represent the comet He pointed out that its longer axis was
directed almost exactly to the sun, and that its head and nucleus
were turned away from the sun. This appears to be the almost
universal rule with the smaller class of comets. Unlike the sheep
of little Bo Peep they carry their tails before them, and not until
their smaller fan-shaped appendages have been well warmed by the
sun's rays, do they begin to shoot out large tails in the other
direction. — A paper was read by ProC Grant, in which he
pointed out that as early as the year 1852 he had realised the
continuity of a red envelope enclosing the sun, of which the
prominences were merely the more elevated portions ; he had
come to this conclusion from a comparison of the observations
made during the total eclipses of 1842 and 1851. — A discussion
then followed as to whether there were any permanent markings
upon Venus. Dr. W. De la Rue and Mr. Browning affirm^l
that they often saw spots and other irr^ularities of surface. The
authority of Mr. Dawes, and many other observers of note, was
cited to the contrary. — Some careful drawings of the Zodiacal light
as seen by Captain Tupman while cruising in the Mediterranean
were handed round. It was pointed out by Mr. Ranyard that
the axis of symmetry of the light was in many instances greatly
inclined to the ecliptic, and that the distance of the node of the
axis from the sun was in some instances more than 40*.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English —The Geology of Oxford and the Thames Valley : J. Phillip*
(Macmillan and Co.).— Weale's Treatises : Radimencary Geo*ogy : Histori-
cal: R. Tate (1 ockwrood and Co ).— Profiuble and Oraamental Poultry:
H Piper (Groimbrid^e and Sons).— Ganot's Elementary Treati e on Physics,
Expsrimental and Applied : TransUted byG. Atkinson, 5th edition (Long-
mani and Co A— Tables of Velocity, Time of Flight, and Energy of Various
Projectiles ; Basbfonh Chronograph (K. and F. Spoo).— The Discovery of a
New World : G. Thomson ^Longmans and Co.).
Foreign.— (Through Williams and Norgate )— Les Migrations Humaines
en Oc^anie d'apr^ les faits naturelles : Jules Gamier.
DIARY
THURSDAY, NorsMBER 93.
Royal Society, at 8.30.-00 the Behaviour of Supersaturated Saline
Solutions when Exposed to the Open Air: C TonJinson, F.R.S.— On
Exoerimental Determination of the Velocity of Sound: E. J Stone,
F.R.S ; (i) Second Paper on the Numerical Value of Euler'a Constant'
&c : (a) Second Paper on the Numerical Values of «. \az e' log e'. loe e'
and log f", &c. : W. Shanks. » • t » , * .
Society or Antiquaries, at 8.30.— On Medieval Representations of the
Months and Seasons: James Fowler, F.S. A. -On some Casts of Ivories
from Cologne : Augustus W. Franks
London Institution, at 7.30.— The Influence of Geological Phenomena on
the Socul Life of the People : Harry G. Seeley, F G.S.
FRIDAY^ November 24.
QuEKETT Microscopical Club, at 8.— On the Minute Structure of Tre-
melloid Uredines : M. C Cooke.
MOSDAY, November 27.
Royal Geographical Society, at 8.30.— Exploration of the Volcanic
Districts East of Damascus : Capt. R. F. Burton— Journey in Sbuthem
Arabia : Baron de Maetian.
^A^ IT?"/?.'*^''' ■* t.r^"»«"» Ta^te, and Touch: Prof. Huxley.
LL.D., F.R.S. (Course on ElemenUiy Physiology).
WEDNESDAY, November 99.
Society oy Arts, at 8 -On Tramways and their Structux«, Vehicles.
Haulage, and Use* : W. Bridges Adams.
Archaeological Association, at 8.
THURSDAY, November 30.
Royal Society, at 8.3a— President's Address.
Society of Antiquaries, at 8.30.
London Institution, at 7. 30.— Science and Commerce, Qlustrated by the
Raw MatenaU of our Manufactures, (II.) P. L. Simmonds, F R. C I
Pack
• 57
• 58
• 59
CONTENTS
Science for Women
Allen's Mammals of Florida .....',.
Our Book Shelf
Letters to the Editor:—
Oceanic Circulation.-Dr. William B. Carpenter, F.R.S. . . 60
The Solar Parallax.— Prof. Simon Newcomb ... 61
The Aurora d[ Nov. 9 and i«.-Rev. H. C. Key; Alfred V.
Bennett. F.LS ^
The Ghost of Flamstead.-R. A. Proctor, F.R. AS.* *. *. *. * ' V,
Creators of Saence.-Dr C. M. I ncleby 6.
Descartes' "Animated Machines "—Rev. J. P. Mahaffy . ' ' * S
PUne-Direction.— Prof. J. D. Everett , "^""''•'^ ?
" Wormell's Mechanics.'— R. Wormell . . '. %
^^ ?7 ^"* Greatest Difficulties of the Darwinian Tiiborv! ^
tty Dr. Lionels. Bkale, F.R.S g
On the Recurrence of Glacial Phenomena 'during Great
Continental Epochs. By Prof. A. C. Ram.say, F.R.S. . &.
Wood's*' Insects AT Home." iWitk lUustmtu^.) . . . ' * 6^
No IBS . , ' ?^
COLDING ON THE LaWS OF CURRENTS IN ORDINARY CONDUITS AND* IN
THE oEA A. .......,.,
Physiology for Women. By Prof. Bennett '.'.'.*. !I
Societies and Academies • • • • 73
Books Received '1
Diary 7J
7*
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NATURE
77
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1871
ARCTIC EXPLORATION
IN 1865 Captain Sherard Osbom proposed an explora-
tion of " the blank space around our Northern Pole/'
by a route which he and his brother Arctic explorers,
from considerations based on the history of the subject
during three centur ies, and on their own experience in the
ice, were convinced was the best, and the most sure to
lead, to useful scientific results.
Their reasons for adopting the views then set forth, the
correctness of which has since been confirmed by Swedish
and German explorers, were as follows : —
The immense tract of hitherto unvisited land or sea
which surrounds the northern end of the axis of our
earth, is the largest, as it is the most important field of
discovery that remains for this or a future generation to
work out The undiscovered region is bounded on the
European side by about the Both parallel of latitude, ex-
cept where Parry, Scoresby, and a few others have slightly
broken through its circumference; but on the Asiatic
side it extends south to 75° and 74°, and westward of
Behring's Strait our knowledge is bounded by the 72nd
paralleL Thus in some directions it is more than 1,500
miles across, and it covers an area of upwards of 2,000,000
square miles, with the North Pole towards its centre.
Unlike the ocean-girt region of the Southern Pole, the
northern Polar region is surrounded, at a distance of
about 1,000 miles from its centre, by three great con-
tinents, while the glacier-bearing mass of Greenland
stretches away towards the Pole for an unknown distance.
There are three approaches by sea to this land-girt end
of the earth, namely, through the wide ocean between
Norway and Greenland, through Davis Strait, and through
Behring's Strait. One wide portal and two narrow gates.
It was through the wide portal that men naturally
sought, in the first instance, to reach the mysterious region
of the Pole; and they continued to persevere in that
direction until experience had taught those who were
capable of learning from it that, as in other cases, the
longest way round was the shortest way home. The first
true Arctic voyager was William Barents, who sailed from
the Texel in 1594. He discovered all we now know re-
specting the Spitzbergen seas ; first, the open lane of
water which almost always enables vessels to sail up the
western side of that kuad; second, the impenetrable
Polar pack to the north, and between Spitzbergen and
Novaya Zemlia ; third, that the young ice formed in the
early autumn and rendered the sea unnavigable ; and,
fourth, that winds and currents caused open water even
in the winter and early spring, but again drove the ice
upon the coast at every change of wind. Hudson, in two
voyages, explored the whole of the pack-edge from Green-
land to Novaya Zemlia, and found it to be impenetrable ;
and many others followed him with the same result. In
later years four expeditions sailed up the west coast of
Spitzbergen beyond the 80th parallel, and Dutch and
Cnglish whalers collected a vast mass of information,
which has been ably brought together by Scoresby and
Jansen, and which pretty well exhausts the subject.
During the winter and early spring the ice extends in a
vou V.
line from the east coast of Greenland to the northward of
Jan Mayen Island, crossing the meridian of Greenwich
between the 71st and 72nd parallel, then passing up north
I for several degrees, and leaving a deep bay, and finally
i stretching away to Novaya Zemlia. The deep bay in the
ice, left to the eastward of the Greenwich meridian
in the winter, is probably caused by the so-called
Gulf Stream. It forms the route by which the whalers
proceed to their fishing-ground, and is known as '^the
whale-fisher's bight." In the spring the Polar pack
begins to drift to the southward and westward, so that
the western or lee sides of large masses of land, such
as Spitzbergen, are usually left with open navigable
lanes of water ; while the eastern or weather sides are
generally close packed with ice. The pack, consisting
of vast fields of thick ribbed ice, has never been pene-
trated, though whalers annually sail through streams
of lighter floes until they reach its edge. The Polar
pack is met with in different parallels according to the
season and the meridian. Between Spitzbergen and
Novaya Zemlia it is usually in 75" or 76** ; but occasionally
vessels have reached as far as 81" without encountering it,
and in the very exceptional year when Parry attempted
to reach the Pole, he was only coming in sight of it at his
extreme point in 82" 43', although he had been travelling
for 92 miles over closely-packed fioes of ice through
which no steamer could have forced her way. In another
exceptional year, that of 1806, Scoresby sailed along the
edge of the pack for 300 miles, between the parallels of
81° and 82* ; and at his extreme point in 81° 30', on the
meridian of 19** E., the margin of the ice trended to
E.N.E., while to the eastward there was an open sea to
the horizon, with no ice blink. Farther east a latitude of
82"" or even 83° might possibly have been attained in that
year, before arriving at the edge of the Polar ice. Analo-
gous conditions of the ice were found by James Ross in the
Antarctic sea. He sailed through pack ice met with in the
62nd parallel, which was drifting north, and then reached
the edge of the impenetrable Polar pack which he found
extending for 400 miles in a wall 150ft to i8oft. high in
the parallel of 78** 30' S. In the northern sea the Gulf
Stream flows up until it meets the ice-laden Polar
current between Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlia. It
keeps the ice ofl" the shores of Norway and Lapland, but
the parallel on which the warm current meets the ice-
bearing stream, and is cooled down to 27°, varies in dif-
ferent seasons. Even if it were possible, by extraordinary
luck, to force a steamer through the pack to the open water
supposed to be left by its southerly drift, the autumn
would be so far advanced by the time she reached it that
young ice would be forming on the surface, and all navi-
gation would be at an end. In 78° N. ice forms on the
sea during eight months in the year, and Scoresby often
saw it grow to a consistency capable of stopping the pro-
gress of a ship, even with a brisk wind blowing.
These facts, the results of thousands of observations
extending over many years, proved that an attempt to
force a vessel through any part of the Polar pack be-
tween Greenland and Novaya Zemlia was not the best
way to explore the unknown region of the north.
Sir Edward Parry was the discoverer of the true method
of Polar exploration, by sledge travelling. He proposed
to attempt to reach Uie North Pole, in 1827, by travelling
L/iyiLi^cju kjy
'^_- * 'V.^ '»._>' ^^^ ^-
78
NATURE
\Nov. 30, 1 871
with sledge boats over the ice to the north of Spitzbergen ;
and he actually reached the farthest northern point that
has yet been attained by civilised man. But the rainfall
was exceptional that year ; and the ice was in a very
unfavourable condition. It was not until he reached
82'* 43' N. that he descried the strong yellow ice blink
overspreading the northern horizon, and denoting the vast
ice fields over which he hoped to travel His provisions
then only sufficed to take him back to bis ship, and he
was obliged to return. He made a mistake in the route
and in the time of year ; but he has the credit of having
been the pioneer of Arctic travelling, and of having
pointed out the true way of exploring the unknown Polar
region.
In deciding upon the best route, Sherard O shorn had
his own great experience in the ice, and the recorded
observations of Parry and Ross, and of generations of
previous explorers to guide him. The first Arctic canon
is, " Never take the pack if you can possibly avoid it,
but stick to the land floe." The second is, " Reach the
highest possible parallel in your ship, and then complete
the exploration by sledge travelling." A glance at a Polar
chart will show that the first canon can only be followed
by passing up the west coast of Spitzbergen, or the west
coast of Greenland. But the Greenland coast reaches a
higher parallel than that of Spitzbergen. Therefore the
Greenland coast is the route to follow, — up Smith Sound
and Kennedy Channel to the farthest point attainable.
A vessel can almost always reach Smith Sound in one
season, for the same reason that a vessel seldom finds it
difficult to sail up the west coast of Spitzbergen, namely
that she is to windward of the ice. She sticks to the land
floe and lets the pack drift past her. Out of thirty-eight
exploring vessels that have gone up Baffin's Bay from
1 818 to i860, only two have failed to reach the open water
at its head which leads to Smith Sound, before the
navigable season was over. From the position that may
thus always be reached by an exploring ship, sledge
parties could be despatched to the North Pole and
back— a distance of 968 miles — a distance often exceeded
by the Arctic sledge travellers in search of Franklin ; as
well as to complete the exploration of the northern coast
of Greenland, and of the land to the westward. Such was
the plan proposed by Osbom in 1865. It was feasible;
it promised useful scientific results; it ensured a vast
accession of new geographical knowledge ; and the
Government could scarcely have refused to adopt it if
there had been unanimity in the counsels of geographers
nd explorers.
But a fatal apple of discord was thrown into their
midst by the eminent geographer of Gotha ; and the
Admiralty seized on this want of unanimity as an excuse
for postponing indefinitely the consideration of the sub-
ject. Dr. Petermann has done serious injury to the cause
of Arctic exploration by thus forcing his theories into
notice at a time so extremely inopportune. It was in
1852 that he first brought forward the theory that
there is an open navigable sea between Spitzbergen
and Novaya Zemlia leading straight to the Pole
especially late in the autumn. He assured the Ad-
miralty that the Erebus and Terror were somewhere
near the Siberian coast, and that they could be reached
without serious difficulty by this wonderful route. Had
he been listened to, and had our gallant countrymen been
then alive, it makes one shudder to think of the conse-
quences if the searchers had thus been led off the true scent
That time no harm was done. But in 1865 Dr. Peter-
mann found more willing listeners. He again declared
that the sea between Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlia
was the easiest and most navigable entrance to the un-
known region ; and he added two new discoveries ; first,
that Parry, at his farthest point, found a perfectly navigable
sea extending far away to the north ; and second, that
Smith Sound is a cul de sac (of which he published a
map), and unconnected with the Polar Ocean. The first
discovery is surely a dream, for Parry himself saw a
strong ice blink overspreading the northern horizon at his
farthest point. ^.The second exists only in Dr. Petermann's
imagination, and, before he announced it, he should have
called to mind the fate of a certain range of mountains
named after the late Mr. Wilson Croker. The only tangible
grounds for believing in an open Arctic ocean navigable
to the Pole, are that the Russian explorers Hedenstrom,
Anjou, and Wrangell, saw patches of open water and rotten
ice off the northern coast of Siberia in March and April,
and that Dr. Kane's ship's steward reported having seen
a wide extent of open water in June to the north of
Smith Sound. The Russian polynias or water holes are
in all probability caused by winds and currents acting on
a shallow sea, and, so far as we yet know, they are merely
local. The same thing was observed by Barents off
Novaya Zemlia in November, and an off-shore wi > . ^^U1
carry the ice from the head of Baffin's Bay at all sea-r ns-
But this does not make the sea navigable. The open
water of Dr. Kane's steward in June was only what might
be expected at that season, though Dr. Hayes found the
same spot covered with ice within a few days of the same
time of year, in 1861. Dr. Petermann's arguments un-
fortunately had the effect of destroying that unanimity,
without which it was hopeless to attempt a successful
representation of the importance of Arctic exploration at
the Admiralty.
The ostensible reason given by the Duke of Somerset
for postponing the question, was in order that the results
might be learnt of a Swedish expedition then engaged in
exploring Spitzbergen, under the direction of Professor
Nordenskiold. Those results fully confirmed the correct-
ness of Sherard Osbom's views. Nordenskidld reported
that no vessel could force its way through the closely-
packed ice north of Spitzbergen ; but that the ice moves,
after long southerly winds, considerably to the north. "All
experience seems to prove," adds Nordenskidld, " that the
polar basin, when not covered with compact, unbroken ice,
is filled with closely-packed,unnavigable drift-ice, in which
some large apertures may be found ; though in favourable
yeats it may be possible to sail a couple of degrees north
of the 80th parallel in September or October."
Dr. Petermann has since promoted the equipment of
Arctic expeditions, which were expected to prove his
theory, and to disprove the opinions of Captain Osbom.
But he has sent prophets to curse his opponent, and
behold, they have blessed him altogether ! In 1868 the
first German Arctic Expedition sailed under the com-
mand of Captain Koldewey, with instructions to pene-
trate as far north as possible along the east coast of
Greenland, or to try to reach Gillis Land, east of
L^iyiLiiLcv,! uy
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tJov. 30, 1871J
NATURE
79
Spitzbergen. They made four attempts to press through
the ice, and failed, as all their predecessors had failed.
But it is stated by German writers that this expedi-
tion attained the highest point ever reached by a
sailing vessel, namely, Si^'s'N. This is a mistake. Parry
reached 81° 5' N. in the Hecla^ and 81° 13' in his boats,
and Scoresby reached 81** 30' N. in 1806, on board
the Resolution of Whitby. In 1869 the second Ger-
man expedition sailed, also under command of Captain
Koldewey, with instructions from Dr. Petermann to pene-
trate through the belt or girdle of ice which encircles the
open polar basin of his imagination, to winter at the pole,
and then to sail across it and explore the Siberian islands.
All very easy to write at Gotha ! But, as usual, Captain
Koldewey was stopped, as all his predecessors had been,
by the closely-packed ice, and wintered, on the east coast
of Greenland, at a part which was visited by Sabine and
Clavering in 1823. The German explorers made careful
scientific observations, and partly examined a very in-
teresting navigable fiord running into the heart of Green-
land. The expedition returned to Bremen in September
1870, and the experience acquired by two seasons in the
ice has enabled its talented and energetic commander to
orm an authoritative opinion on the best route for north
polar exploration. Captain Koldewey, the first German
authority on Arctic navigation, fully concurs with Captain
O shorn that the way to explore the unknown region is by
sending an expedition up Smith Soimd.
The other Arctic voyages that have been made since
1865 are of minor importance. In 1869 Dr. Bessels
crossed the sea between Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlia,
and met with field ice between 76° and 77° N. in August.
Norwegian fishermen named Ulve, Carlsen, and Johan-
nesen, found the Sea of Kara comparatively free of ice in
1869 — 70, and the latter is said to have sailed round
Novaya Zemlia. In 1870 Count Zeil and von Henglin
made some useful observations on the east side of Spitz-
bergen during a yacht voyage, and obtained a sight of the
still more eastern Gillis Land. In the present year Lieut.
Payer, who served under Captain Koldewey, made a
voyage towards the Polar pack, between Spitzbergen and
Novaya Zemlia, and he reports having nearly reached the
79th parallel, between the 40th and 42nd meridians east
from Greenwich, and again in 60° E., finding open water.
But Mr. Smith, an English yachtsman, in the same sea-
son, was more lucky or more adventurous. He reached
the latitude of 81'' 13' N., the highest that has ever been
ever observed on board a ship. Scoresby, indeed, reached
an estimated latitude of 81^ 30' on May 24, 1806, but his
highest observed latitude was 81® 12' 42^ on the 23rd.
These voyages merely confirm the observations of Nor-
denskifild and earlier explorers, that, though the pack is
usually met with, east of Spitzbergen, between 75^ and
yj^ N,, it may not be reached in exceptional years until
the 8 1 St, or even the 82nd parallel is attained.
Such have been the results of Arctic exploration since
Sherard Osbom submitted his proposal in 1865. They
fully confirm the correctness of his views; and the best
English and German Arctic authorities are now in com-
plete accord. There is, therefore, no longer any reason
for postponing the consideration of this question. Six
years have been wasted, and the men who were available
to lead an expedition in 1865, may be unable to do so
now. But the navy of England still abounds in the same
stuff that made a Parry, a James Ross, a McClintock, and
an Osbom in former years : and it must always be re-
membered that it is out of young Arctic explorers that
Nelsons are formed. The arguments for Osbom's scheme
of exploration by Smith Sound are now strengthened by
the experience of Nordenski51d and Koldewey. The same
evidence of the important scientific residts to be obtained
by an Arctic expedition that was produced by the highest
authorities in 1865, is forthcoming now. The argument
that such enterprises in the pursuit of Science have an
excellent effect upon the naval service is as strong now as
it was then. We may, therefore, reasonably hope that
(the Duke of Somerset's reason for postponing the ques-
tion having been entirely removed) ihe Admiralty would
take the subject of Polar exploration into favourable con-
sideration, if the scientific societies once more submitted
it, with the same arguments as were used six years ago.
C. R. Markham
ORirs NOTES ON COMPARATIVE ANATOMY
Notes on Comparative Anatomy : a Syllabus of a Course
of Lectures delivered at St, Thomafs Hospital, By
W. M. Ord, M.B. (ChurchiU, 1871.)
DR. ORD may be congratulated on having put together
this compact, lucid, and well-arranged Syllabus.
It is well adapted to serve as a framework, for lecturers
on Comparative Anatomy to fiU up, and students may also
use it to refresh the memory when once stored with more
slowly acquired information. The abuse of it will be
for men to bolt this condensed extract of scientific food
in order to produce it again under examination. The
author seems to have foreseen this danger, and not only
warns against it, but has been carefiil to preserve the bald
and dry style which ought to repel those who do not know
how to use the book as he intends. S*.ill, experience of
the way in which Prof. Huxley's ^ Introduction to Classi-
fication" is misused by being literally learned by rote,
shows to what ill u>essuch compendia may be put.
The Syllabus begins with a short summary of the dis-
tinctive characters of the organic and of the animal king-
doms, followed by a scheme of classification which follows
that of the introduction just referred to. The several
animal classes from Protozoa to Mammalia are then
treated, so that the arrangement is a zoological one. It
would perhaps have been better if the author had dwvoted
less space to the enumeration of the characters of orders
and classes, since these are found in other manuals, and if
anatomical points of difficulty had been more fully ex-
plained. For example, more detailed exposition of sub-
jects like the morphology of the compound Hydrozoa,
the development of Echinoderms, and the formation of
the placenta, would have been exceedingly valuable. For
such an object, however, diagrams are almost essential, and,
accepting Dr. Ord's plan, it must be admitted that he has
carried it out with a due regard to symmetry. The only
subject which the Syllabus appears comparatively to
neglect is the difficult but important one of Embryology.
The account given of the Annulata and Entozoa is parti-
cularly clear and excellent The following extract is a fair
specimen of the author's style and method :«-
<* Cl. Brachiopoda.— Solitary bivalvesy in which the
L/iyiLi^cju kjy
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NATURE
\Nov. 30, 1871
valves are dorsal and ventral, like the two parts of a
cabriolet in relation to the animal within, instead of lateral
(wing-like) as in Lamellibranchs. Valves joined by hinge
or not ; never with elastic spring. When not hinged, the
valves imperforate; when hinged, one, the larger, is
perforate for the transmission of an anchoring ligament,
in the non-hinged the ligament passes out between the
valves. The class is divided into two orders or subclasses,
— the Articulate and the Inarticulate. The Articulate, of
which Terebratula is type, have usually curious shelly
processes developed from the inner surface of the imper-
forate valve for the support of the arms, and have in the
adult condition no anus ; the Inarticulate, of which
Lingula is type, have no arm-supporting processes and
have no anus.''
The account given of the vertebrate skeleton, and
especially of some disputed questions of homology, is not
so satisfactory as most other parts of the Syllabus. It
may be doubtful whether it is desirable to introduce into
elementary lectures the difficult subject of the representa-
tives of the tympanic bones in the lower vertebrata ; but if
so, it is quite useless for men to learn to repeat the " views "
of Owen, Huxley, Peters, Parker, and Humphry, and to
assign the right view to the right man, unless they are
familiar with the facts of embryology, on which alone a
judgment can be formed. Now, whether the incus belongs
to the first visceral arch, as here stated (p. 1 1 3), or to the
second, as is believed by some original observers, makes
all the difference as to the correctness or incorrectness of
the statements which follow. Again, whatever doubt still
remains as to the homologies of the pelvis and shoulder
girdle, surely no one who has read Prof. Flower's paper
on the subject and his subsequent remarks in the '* Osteo
logy of the Mammalia," can accept the correspondence
of the pubes with the clavicle. The former may very
probably answer to a procoracoid, as Gegenbaur and
other anatomists suppose, but its mode of development
its position in reptiles, and its relation to the great
nerves and vessels of the hind limb, are all conclusive
against the homology given in p. 116, and more fully in
p. 146. No reason is assigned for the query affixed to the
statement (p. 171) that the elephant's placenta is deciduous
and zonary, which zoologists have hitherto accepted on
the testimony of more than one careful and independent
observer. The statement as to the number of the cervical
vertebrae in mammalia (p. 172) is not exact. No Cetacean
has yet been found in which the full number cannot be
distinguished, however much fused together the vertebrae
may become. On the other hand, the manati has never
more than six, and the same appears to be true of one
species of Cholopus (not Cholcepus).
No mention is made of the order Dipnoi in the classifi-
cation of fishes taken from MUller (p. 117), or again in
the characters of the orders (pp. 1 33- 1 35). So remarkable a
form as Lefndosiren should not have been omitted, even if
Dr. Ord accepts the conclusion which Dr. Giinther has very
lately stated in these columns (vol. iv. Nos. 99 and 100),
The new genus Ceratodus^ now diat its anatomy has been
so fully investigated, forms no doubt a very complete link
between the Ganoids and the Dipnoi, and many zoologists
will agree with the classification proposed in the ad-
mirable paper just referred to ; but books intended for
students should scarcely pursue the ''latest views" so
closely.
In conclusion it is only fair to repeat that these Notes
deserve conmiendation for their general accuracy, and
contrast very favourably with some other manuals for
students on the same subject. They will, if well used, be
valuable to learners, and perhaps still more so to teachers.
P. H. Pye-Smith
OUR BOOK SHELF
Note-book on Practical Solid or Descriptive Geometry^
containing Problems with Jielpfor Solutions. By J. H .
Edgar, M.A., Lecturer on Mechanical Drawing at
the Royal School of Mines, &c., &c., and G. S. Prit-
chard, late Master for Descriptive Geometry, Royal
Militairy Academy, Woolwich. (London and New York :
Macmillan and Co., 1871.)
When our Civil and Military Engineering Examinations
are daily making larger demands for geometrical profi-
ciency a new and exceedingly lucid Note-boolc on
Descriptive Geometry comes well-timed. Though much
has been done to expand this collateral offshoot of
geometrical science since M.Monge, of theEcole Polytech-
nique, first started it, the co-ordinative characteristic of a
science has hitherto been wanting ; it has contained,
doubtlessly, all the abstract principles of orthographic
projection, but principles, to be available, must be inter-
dependent and derivative. Messrs. Edgar and Pritchard
have felt this deficiency, and have done much to remove
it Their book, unlike the majority of cheap hand-books,
is neither '* patchy nor scrappy," but a continuous and
coherent whole. " Elementary Explanations, Definitions,
and Theorems " come first, followed by twenty-eight pro-
blems on '' The Straight Line and Plane ;" to these suc-
ceed Solids, first singly, and then in *' Groups and
Combinations." In like logical order we next have
" Solids with the inclinations of the plane of one
face, and of one edge or line in that face given,"
and then " Solids with the inclinations of two adjacent
edges given," and, lastly, in this category, " Solids with
the inclinations of two adjacent faces given." So far we
have the principles of projection in a much more per-
fectly co-ordinated arrangement than we have hitherto
found them in, and we must say that the mere act of
mentally assimilating this interdependence of principles
would be wholesome discipline, even if it did not, as it
unquestionably does, facilitate each successive step in
progress, and, most of all, conduce to an integral enter-
tainment of the subject. Again, as naturally derivable
from Uie consideration of the inclined faces of solids, we
arrive at " Sections by oblique planes," and " Develop-
ments," or the spreading out in one plane of the adjacent
faces of such solids ; and, finally, the development of
curved surfaces. '* Miscellaneous Problems" now have
place, and amongst them we notice one from the ** Science
Examinations " of last year. The sequence of the four
next chapters is judicious. " Tangent Planes," " Inter-
sections of solids with plane surfaces," *' Intersections of
solids wiA curved surfaces," ** Spherical Triangles." A
short chapter on Isometric Projection (quite as long as it
deserves) ends the work, the authors of which we rejoice
to find (in these days of "result-seeking") much more
desirous of results actual than results visible, and ac-
cordingly, foregoing a somewhat too popular profusion of
diagrams, which, while it undoubtedly facilitates the bare
apprehension of subject-matter, by no means enforces that
comprehension of the subject which attends upon the act
of accomplishing a mental diagram for ourselves. In this
expression of their conviction the authors, we observe,
are at one with Mr. Binns, who, with the same sincerity,
and for like reason, resisted the systematic use of modds
in the teaching of "mechanical drawing."
Messrs. Edgar and Pritchard have produced an inex-
pensive, but a well-digested, comprehensive, lucid, and
typographically attractive vade mecurn^
Nov. 30, 1 871]
NATURE
81
On the Constitution of the Solid Crust of the Earth, By
Archdeacon Pratt, F.R.S. (PhiL Trans., 1871.)
Another contribution to a subject on which the author
has laboured for many years — ^never perhaps very brilli-
antly, but always in the main soundly. Such unmitigated
nonsense has been talked on the subject of the thickness
of the solid crust of the earth, even by scientific men of
real power — generally mere mathematicians, sometimes
geologists, rarely indeed physicists—and such extravagant
views on Uie subject are still propounded and defended
by men like Delaunay, who have done good work in closely
allied questions, that it is really refreshing to read Arch-
deacon Pratt's paper. Yet its tone is somewhat hesitating,
almost apologetic, and he finally arrives at the conclusion
that what seems to us to be at least a natural assumption
to make at startine (viz., that a level surface may be drawn,
not very many miles under the surface of the earth, such
that in spite of hills and ocean beds the amount of matter
shall be the same in every vertical line between these two
surfaces) leads to results not after all very inconsis-
tent with those derived from actual pendulum observa-
tions made over the Indian Continent Sir W. Thomson's
bold investigation of the tides in the solid earth, due to
elastic yielding, furnishes us with by far the most power-
ful mode of attacking the general question which has been
devised since Hopkins's celebrated sup^gestion of the in-
formation to be derived from precession and nutation ;
and it is to be hoped that the labours of the Tidal Com-
mittee of the British Association will soon furnish, from
observation, the data required for its numerical application.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondettts. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Instruction in Science for Women
In thankiDg you for the usefiil account given in your last
number of the various attempts being made in different parts of
England to improve the scientific Vacation of women, may I
give you a few more details of the effort now being made at
Cambridge to assist the training of those ladies who live too far
from any educational centre to be able to get oral instruction ?
Correspondence classes have been formed in some of the sub-
jects selected for the University Examination of Women, and the
teachers (chiefly resident fellows of colleges) are attempting to
assist the reading of their correspondents by means of advice,
examination papers at fixed intervals, and free criticism.
Of course this scheme cannot offer the advantages which the
lecture systems of London, Edinburgh, and Cambridge itself
afford ; but that it docs meet a real want in what I may venture
to odl the " rural districts " is shown by the fact that more than
seventy women have joined the scheme within a month. Among
the subjects of which you take notice in your article, Mr. Stuart
of Trinity has undertaJcen the higher mathematics, Mr. Hudson
of St. John's the arithmetic (how woefully ill-taught in the average
girls* school no one but the examiner can appreciate), Mr, Bonney
of St. John's the geology, and myself the botany. I should add
that it is not at aU the wish of the promoters to limit the scheme
to possible candidates for the Cambridge examinations, but as
far as possible to assist any woman who may be struggling with
the difficulty of reading a new subject by herselfl
All women who wish to avail themselves of this scheme are
requested to communicate with the Hon. Sec., Mrs. Peile, of
Trumpington, near Cambridge. F. E. Kitchener
Rug^, Nov. 25
True and Spurious Metaphysics
Db. Ingleby is evidently a strategist of no mean order. The
appalling suddenness of his totally unexpected personal attack,
and the ^ill with which he has almost made it impossible for me to
reply without laying myself open to the charge of Egotism (second
only in gravity to a diarge of Inmiorality), shows that he is a
good deal more than a mere metaphysician. Of metaphysics
anon—meanwhile about mathematiaans.
I alto^ther repudiate the Trichotomy, as Dr. Ingleby gives ^
it. The man is either a Mathematician or a Non-Mathematician.
There is no intermediate class. Merely to be able to int^rate, to
solve differential equations, to work the hardest of Senate- Houes
Problems, &c., &c., is notxoh^ a Mathematician. To deserve
the name a man must have some of the creative faculty ; must be
the nottrnfs, if ever so little. And to be a Creator in this sense
it is not necessary that one should have devised a new Calculus.
Are Stokes, Thomson, Clerk-Maxwell on the one hand, or Caylcy,
S)lvester, Clifford on the other mere Experts? Yet there can
be no doubt that, in Dr. Ingleby's classiAcation, this is their
rank.
As regards Hamilton's having placed Metaphysics higher than
Mathematics, I may avail myself of the remark, which I heard
not long ago in conversation, that " what Hamilton thus exalted
was the Metaphysics of the great thinker (and Mathematician)
Kant, not the common Cant of Metaphysicians." The distinc-
tion implied in this poor pun is one of enormous importance. For
there are Metaphysicians and Metaphysicians. Here I am
happy so far to agree with Dr. Ingleby, and I shall dichotomise,
but not quite as he proposes.
Metaphysicians A. The genuine article. To this class al 1
men worthy of the name of Mathematicians necessarily belong,
as do the higher Physicists, &c, &c., such as Faraday. Hence,
of course, Archimedes, Descartes (Cartesius, not Cartes!)
D'Alembert, Hamilton, &c., &c., appear in the list. Leibnitz
wa?, I fear, simply a thief as regards Mathematics, and in Physics
he did not allow the truth of Newton's discoveries ; so he does
not belong to this class.
Metaphysicians B. The spurious article, which has somehow
managed to arrogate to itself the title belonging of right to the
genuine one. Test this class by what it has to show "even in
the present advanced state of metaphysics " (as Dr. Ingleby has
it) : what have we but stagnation, ropes of sand, bitter ouarrels
as to the meaning of unintelligible words, and, above all, com-
placent pride in being "not as other men" but dwellers in a
sublimer sphere? Even Longfellow's idiotic "Youth," who
ascends the Matterhom when " the shades of night are falling
fast," carrying a pompous ** banner with a strange device," does
not so ridiculously contrast with the practical Whymper and
Tyndall carrying Uieir ropes and ice-axes, as do the Metaphysi-
cians B with the Metaphysicians A : — the Drones with the
Working-Bees.
When I asked for the name of a Metaph}sician who was also
a Mathematician, it was of course of Class B that I spoke, the
class containing Hegel and Sir William Hamilton, Bait, (the
former of whom proved that Newton did not understand
Fluxions nor even the Law of Gravitation, while the latter
asserted that the pursuits of the Mathematician reduce him
either to passive Credulity or to absolute Unbelief!), the class
which is popularly, and (almost therefore) erroneously, known by
the name. P. G. Tait
"WormeU's Mechanics"
I REQUEST to make a few observations upon Mr. Wormeirs
letter in your last number. I shall refer to the paragraphs he
has numbered.
1. It is true that, by a collation of two passages, a really intel-
ligent student might be able to eliminate the error from the first
statement in Mr. Wormell's book to which we have taken excep-
tion. I consider that such collation should be unnecessary in
a text-book.
2. A mathematician would, of course, understand what Mr.
Wormell means, however he might disapprove of its logic ; but
Mr. Wormell writes for begiimers, and should state his demon-
strations without ambiguity.
4. " Curious" is not the adjective we are tempted to apply to
such a blunder as that on p. 112. This has not been corrected
in even the second edition of the book, notwithstanding the
"schoolboy's "aid.
5. We bad read Sec. 71, and consequently made the remark
about the block and tackle to which Mr. Wormell objects. We
now re-assert that the effect of friction upon the mechanical
powers is too important to have been omitted in a book profess-
ing to treat of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.
Nov. 25 The Reviewer
SoUr Halo
The following description and drawing of a solar halo and
mock sons seen on the morning of the 13U inst., by the Rev. J.
L/iyiLi^cju kjy
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82
NATURE
\Ngv. 30, 1871
A. Lawson, at Brancepeth, near Durham, is so perfectly similar
to its appearance as drawn and des jibed to me by another ob-
server at Woodbnm, at the same hour on the same morning,
about twenty-miles north-west from Newcastle, and abouc thirty
miles from Durham, that its unusually bright appearance near
Durham may not impossibly correspond with equally favourable
views of it obtained by observers at more distant places. The
sky, which remained dear during the day, clouded over towards
midntght on the 13th, and the stars were completely bidden
during the remainder of the night. A slight rain, which began
ih the momine, also continued to fall during the day of the 14th,
and the sky bere remained entirely overcast on that evening
until after midnight. Shortly before foar o'clock on the morning
of the I5»h the douda cleared off, and the appearance of scvrral
meteors, one of which was as bright as Jupiter, gave evident
signs of the progress of the November star shower. The perfect
deamess and darkness of the sky, in the absence of the moon,
at the same time gave e-pecial brightness to the meteors and to
their phosphorescent streaks. Between four o'dock and the first
approach of daylight, at six o'duck, thirty-two meteors were
counted, or at the rate of sixteen per hour, of which three wf^re
as bright, or brighter, than first magnitude stars, nine as bright
as second, six as bright as third, and eight no brighter than stars
of the fourth or leaser magni>udes. Twenty-six of these meteors
were directed from the u^ual radiant point m Leo, which on this
occasion, although not very well defined, appeared to be approxi-
ma'ely close to the star Zeta, in Leo's sickle. About one half of
their number left persbtent streaks, which sometimes appeared
to grow brighter after the meteors had disappeared, and 1 vainly
endeavoured to bring them into the field of view of the direct-
vision prtsms of a small spectroscope, the duration of the brightest
streaks noted scarcely ever exceeding one or two secon* s. A
very brilliant meteor, casting around a flash like that of lightning,
was seen here shortly after nine o'clock on the evening of the
13th (and its appearance was a'so noted at Woodbam), traversing
the north-west sky. The e particulars, imperfect as they were,
imfonunately, rendered by the cloudy weather, are the only
descriptions of the November star-shower which its appearance
here has hitherto enabled me to supply.
Newcastle-on-Tyne, Nov. 17 A. S. Herschel
*< I had occasion to be at the station at 8.30 A.M. I then first
saw them. The night had been hard frost with a clear sky.
The ground was covere i with hoar. There was no misL The sun
was intensely bright, but the air was very chilly. I went home
and looked at my thermometer in the porch at the north side of my
house ; it stood at 29** F. 1 then went to the top of a hill to
have a better view. I instantly made a sketch of the phenomenon,
a copy of which I enclose. The Ic wer | art of the cirde was
hidden by a bank of dark clouds. The upper part presented
the most marked appearance, and was intensely white. The
lump to the north side was more intense in colours than the
southern, but both were distinct as to qiiantity of reflected light.
The CO ours were prismatic, but a bright amber prevailed. The
disappearance begin at a few minutes before ten, and by five
minutes past t^n all had cleared away. With the exception of
the bank of clouds beneath, there were only a few pencils of
cirrus cloud in the skv.
^'Bnnoepethy Dorham, Nor. 13"
Paraselene
In Nature, Nov. 9, there appeared t]M descriptioQ of a
remarkable paraselene observed at Highfield House op the i^tli
of Oct A similar phenomenon was seen at Penrith the tune
night from about 10.30 to 11. As this, however, differed
altogether in detail from that observed by Mr. Lowe, I iutw
offer a sketch of what we saw.
Thin mists and white flying scuds travelled across the sky. A
luminous rine of perhai>s at a guess 150* radius endrded the
moon. Within this was a cn>ss of the same brightness as the
encircling ring. The bars of the cross were to the eye horizontal
and vertical, intersecting in the moon. Where the horizontal bar
cut the luminous ring there were bright patches of lieht (mock
moons), rivalUtig the moon, as seen through the mist, in brilliancy,
but wiihiiUt its defined outline. Where the vertical bar cat the
ring there v^as no increase of brightness. Such a portent in ages
gone by might well have filled cru.sader8 with hope, and perhaps
thus turned the tide of battle on the m< >rrow. We may make a
useful note for future guidance by remarking what followed its
appearance in thb disinct. Up to the 25th we had for some
time had very fine weatherr After the 25th we had five stormy
days of wind and rain. T.^McK. HUCHIS
The Solar Parallax
Prof. Newcomb wishes apparently to make this discussion
as personal as possible. Though I do not intend to follow him
in tnis respect, 1 must answer him.
He asserts that my abstract of his notes was inadequate ; that
I ** hid the point of the most remarkable of" my ** inaccuracies,
and ignored the imperfections entirely." This is not so. My
ab.stract was strictly a« curate and very much fuller than the
utter triviality of his objections warranted. I distinctly stated
why I did not discuss the matters which he is pleased to regard
as imperfect — his comments being too vague. But this was not
ignoring them. His memoranda were not in a state to be printed
in full, nor d d he even hint that he wished them to be.
As he himself characterises my mistake about his own re-
searches as **the most remarkable of my inaccuracies," it is
fortunate that this mistake is also one I am forced to expliin
at length, owing to the tone Prof. Newcomb has taken
respecting it. I certainly did omit a part of Prof. Newcomb s
charge ; but in his own interest, for it was worded in the very
tone to which I now take exception.
In the first place, it is not to be inferred that, because an
author comments on -uch and such a work, he thereby wishes it
to be understood that he has himself studied the original memoir
in which the work was presented to the world. For instance :
many very eminent men have commented on the work of Adams
and Leverrier in the matter of Neptune who have not read a line
of the original reasoning of these astronomers. That I, of all
men (who have expressed something like contempt for memoir-
hunting, and have always cared ratiier to explam methods and
descril^ facts than to write the history of astronomy), should be
expected to read every memoir to which I refer, is preposterous
in the extreme. It may seem only natural to Prof. Newcomb
that when 1 heard of his having discussed the transit of Venus,
I should hurry to obtain his memoir that I might study it ab initio
usque adfinem ; but, as a matter of fact, a paper of the sort, even
if placed in my hands, would scarcely tempt me to take up mT
paper-knife.
Here are the facts of the case.
I read in the Astronomical Renter a letter which may be called
L^iyill/LCU IJ'j
e>^'
Nov. 30, 1 87 1 J
NATURE
83
anonymous, if we please, but which was referred by every one
who read it to the Astronomer- Roval for Scotland, who showed
not the slightest wish to conceal his identity. Doubtless on
hearsay evidence (in which, however, he placed, I am sure, as
much reliance as I placed in his own statement), Prof. Smyth
asserted that Newcomb had anticipated Stone's labours. I took
it for granted that it was so, since I saw no room or reason for
doubt. There was my error. But, sajrs Prof. Newcomb, whence
comes the value 8 ''87 "which ii will be noted is Mr. Petri^s
pyramid value ? " and on what does Mr. Proctor found his
comments " about my treatment of contacts? I am as much in
the dark as ever." I will tell him. The value 8 ''87 has nothing
on earth to do (so far as I am concerned) with Mr. Petrie's
pyramid value. It is simply the value insisted upon by Prof.
Newcomb in a paper which appeared in the Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Society for November 1868 ; respecting
which Mr. Stone remarked (see the same number of the Notices)
that "the point Mr. Newcomb has raised is a question of only
01^*04, viz. between my value and 8" '87 — a question, therefore,
of comparative insignificance." Most just remark ! With my
belief as to Prof. Newcomb's prior work, was it wonderful that
I concluded that 8" '87 was his own pet figure for the parallax ?
Then it chanced that the Royal Astronomical Society, venturing
to ignore Prof. Newcomb's objections, bestowed on Mr. Stone,
in 1869, the Gold Medal of the Society for his researches into
the Venus transit ; and in the remarks which accompanied the
presentation, it was stated that all preceding researches were
miperfect in this respect, that (to use my own words) " no fixed
rule had been adopt€^d for interpreting the observations of internal
contact. '' Prof. Newcomb cannot fail to see how this statement
accounts for the estimate (not my estimate) of his supposed
researches.
As a matter of fact, however — apart from the inference to
which Prof Newcomb is so anxious to give point — I am somewhat
hardly treated in this matter. When I came to the part of my book
where Prof Newcomb's supposed researches should be dealt with,
I thought thus in my mind : " Assuredly Newcomb has done
this thing, for Prof. Smyth says so. Shall I leave his researches
unnoticed because I can find no trace of them ? That would be
scarcely fair. Moreover, he is an American, and to omit all
notice of his work will be so much the more objectionable.
Verily I will repeat the statement of my esteemed friend at
Edtnourg^h, and I will combine with it the weighty judgnient
of my fnends at the council-board of the Astronomical Society.
Thus will the researches of Newcomb be recorded, and due credit
be assigned to him for his industry and skill, while yet no undue •
weight will be given to the numerical result of his labours. ^
That I thus fell into error I have already admitted. But the
error is venial in its nature, and utterly insignificant in its qffects.
As I am conscious that it arose chiefly from my desire (shown in
other ways and places) to do justice to our American fellow-
workers in science, I am in no way ashamed of it ; and I conceive
that Prof. Newcomb should have been the last to comment
in the manner he has done on the subject.
I shall not follow him in hb discussion respecting irradiation,
leaving Mr. Stone to deal, in his own good time, with the
arguments by which two Continental astronomers (and one
American mathematician) have sought to deprive him of his
justly-earned credit.
I would submit, in conclusion, that February 1869 (the date
of the presentation of the Astronomical Society s medal to Mr.
Stone) can scarcely be described as " five years** ago even now,
and my treatise on the sun was published in February 1871,
Chapter I. bemg in type in November 187a Nor has the council
of the Astronomical Society (or any member of it) expressed any
doubt, a5 yet, regarding the justice of the decision arrived at in
1869. Vet not a few members of the council have paid marked
attention to Prof. Newcomb*s attacks upon Mr. Stone. Verbum
sat. Rich. A. Proctor
Brighton, Nov. 24
The Density and Depth of the Solar Atmosphere
The demonstration relating to the density and depth of the
tokr atmosphere, published in Nature October 5, 1871, page
449» has been entirely misconceived by Mr. Ball. The volume
01 the terrestrial atmosphere is an element which obviously has
nothing to do with the que^^tion. Atmospheric air, if raised to a
tempentnre of 3,272,000° Fah., will expand 6,643 times ; bence
^ verticsl cohunii fortytwo miles high will reach a height of
279,006 miles, if brought to the stated temperature. The basis
of computation adopt^ by Captain Ericsson being an area of one
square inch, he shows that a medium similar to the terrestrial
atmosphere containing an equal quantity r>f matter for corre-
s|x>nding area, transferred to the solar surface, will» owing to the
superior attraction of the sun's mass, exert a pressure of 147 x
27 9 = 410 pounds. And that, if the said medium be heated to
a mean temperature of 3,272, ooo* Fah., it will expand to aheightof
^^ = 10,000 miles above the solar surface. But, if a gas
279 > 6
compK)sed chiefly of hydrogen x '4 times heavier than hydrogen
the specific gravity of which is ^ of that of air, be substituted,
the height wiU be '4 x 10,000 ^ ,00,000 mUes. Admitting
that the ascertained coefficient of expansion, 0*00203 for 1° Fah.,
holds good at the hfgh temperature before referred to, the stated
altitudes of the solar atmosphere cannot be disputed. Mr. Ball's
announcement concerning the properties of spheres, it is scarcely
necessary to observe, has no bearing on the forc^ing calculations.
With teference to the effect of intense heat, it will be well to
bear in mind that the before-mentioned rate of expansion holds
good for atmo<pheric air — within an insignificant fraction — under
extreme rarefaction as well as under mgh temperatures. We
have no valid reason, therefore, to suppose that any deviation
from the ascertained law of expansion takes place in the solar
atmosphere, sufficient to alter materially the before-mentioned
computations of its depth.
Mr. Ball, in expressing the opinion that we shall not gain much
correct knowledge of the solar atmosphere l^ the inquiry insd-
tuted by Captain Ericsson, forgets that the retardation which the
radiant heat suffers in passing through our atmosphere has been
ascertained, and that the properties of atmospheric air with
reference to temperature and expansion are nearly identical with
those of bydiogen, now admitted to be the chief constituent of
the solar atmosphere. It is evident that Mr. Bail does not com-
prehend the object of adopting the terrestrial atmosphere as a
means of determining the extent and dep>h of the solar atmo-
sphere, since he does not perceive that the comparison instituted
by Captain Ericsson has brought out the fact that either the depth
of the sun's atmosphere exceeds 100,000 miles, or it contains less
gaseous matter than the earth's atmosphere for equal area. The
importance of this conclusion with regard to the determination of
the retardation of the radiant heat in passing through the sun's
atmosphere is self-evident to all who regard solar radiation as
energy which cannot be absorbed unless an adequate amount of
matter be present Mr. Ball's suggestion that the retardation
depends on the "chemical, i.e, molecular-constitution" of the
solar atmosphere, calls to mind how glibly some physicists talk
of ''arresting" one half, or more, of the solar energy. These
reasoners apparoitly do not perceive that the means of arreting
such stupendous eneigy is more difficult to conceive than the
means of producing it
Respectmg the experiments which have been made with incan-
descent cast-iron spheres, and inclined discs, it is important to
mention that previous experiments bad established the fact that
the radiant heat of flames transmits equal temperature, under
similar conditions, as incandescent cast iron. The inference,
therefore, which has been drawn by Captain Ericsson from the
results of his experiments with incandescent cast-iron spheres
regarding the feeblmess of radiant heat emanating from the sun's
border is not unwarrantable as supposed by Mr, Ball.
New York, Nov. 10 Thule
An Aberrant Foraminifer
I CHANCED upon an aberrant form of
Peneroplis the other day, in which the irec
terminal series of chambers of this Forami-
nifer, ordinarily single, is constricted mto
two distinct tubes.
Though new to me, it may not be sd
to some of your readers ; Dr. Carpenter,
however, does not mention it in his mono-
graph.
St John's Collie, Cambridge W. Johnson Sollas
"New Original Observation"
Ernst Friidingbr, of Vienna, begins a communication on
the subject of ** which cells in the gastric glands secrete the
L/iyiiiiLCJU uy
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84
NATURE
\Nov, 30, 1 871
pepsine ? "* as follows : — " Kollikcr crwahnt zucrst das Vorkom-
men von zweierlei Zellen in den Pepsindriisen des Hundes." JOn
refening to KoUiker I find, '* Bei Thieren sind,wie Todd- Bowman
zuerst beim Hunde, ick und Donders bei vielen andem Saugem
gezeigt haben, die Magendriisen tiberall doppelter Art," &c. In
Todd and Bowman, published some yean before this, the two
kinds of glands are figured (the drawings being better than those
of KoUiker), the difference between them in anatomical charac-
ters, the difference of the two parts of the gland, and the differ-
ence in the function discharged by the two kinds of cells of each
of the two kinds of glands, pointed out Friedinger does not even
mention the names of the English observers. L. S. B.
New Zealand Forest-Trees
In your paper of Nov. 9 I observed a letter about New
Zealand Forest-Trees, signed by Mr. John R. Jackson of Kew.
Mr. Jackson refers to several of the magnificent varieties
of forest trees belonging to the natural order of Coniferse, which
arc widely distributed in New Zealand ; omitting, however,
some of tne most common and most valuable, especially the
Kahikatea or "white pine "of the settlers. This tree affords
timber of a white colour, much like yellow deal in appearance
and quality, which is admirably adapted for use as weather-
board, floormg-boards, and scantling for all in-door work as well
as for ordinary furniture. It is most extensively used for all
those purposes. The "Totara " is particularly used for mak-
ing shmgles, which form a good substitute for slates as a cover-
ing for roofs.
The Rimu is used for such work as rec^uires a more durable
wood, and for the making of superior furniture, the wood being
much harder and more difficult to work, than that of the
Kahikatea, while its beautiful colour renders it very suitable for
ordinary cabinet work.
Variet ies of the acacia, called Kowai by the natives, supply
timber wh ich is specially adapted for the making of pales and
fendng, and which is as durable as English oak ; and there are
many varieties of trees suitable for all purposes.
It is, however, in reference to that which is mentioned as the
*• Makia " that I think it worth while to trouble you, as I believe
that I may be able to suggest what the word so referred to really
is. I know of no tree or shrub so called, but Manuka, pronounced
Manooka, is the name of the tree from which the natives in
former times used to make all sorts of implements, especially the
spears, which formed at once the weapons and the sceptres of
the chiefs. That hardly deserves to be called a forest-tree, as it
rarely attains any great si^e.
It belongs, I believe, to the family of " Diosma,"and its wood
is used to make axe-handles, ramrods for guns, &c The leaves
have a pleasant aromatic odour, and an infu&ion of them forms
a passable substitute for tea, to which we were frequently glad
to resort in the early times of New Zealand settlements. The
fresh twigs form an elastic couch, which constituted our favourite
bed on explorirg parties and in temporary dwellings.
Braintree^ Nov. 20 William Davison
The Food of Plants
Your reviewer takes exception to my empirical description of
carbonic acid in " Notes on the Food of Plants," p. 23. I readily
admit — and I should have thought it was unnecessary to do so —
that to describe carbonic acid as " carbon dioxide combined with
water " is not strictly conect ; but I think it is much more likely
that I should have led my unscientific readers astray, had I ex-
plained, in more accurate language, the supposed composition of
this acid. Cuthbert C. Grundy
The Genn Theory of Disease
In Nature, October 5, p. 450, Prof. Bastian, verstu the
Germ Theory, says: — '*Such germs when present would be
sure to go on increasing until they brought about the death of
their host" Now, is it not well known that the larvse of
Trichina spiralis become encysted in the muscles of the animal
infested by them, and are then perfectly harmless to their host,
the fever, sometimes with fatal results, being produced by the
* Aus dem bar. Bande der Sitzb, der k. Akad. der Wissensch. II. Abth.
Oct -Heft JahxE. 1871.
migration of the parasites firom the alimentary canal through the
tissues to their favourite muscles.
Is it necessary, for the support of the germ theory, that the
organism must be found in the blood?
George Dawson
Balbriggan, Ireland, Nov. 20
The Origin of Species
Some months since a letter appeared in Nature, asking the
author of the article on "The Origin of Species," published in
the North British Review, 1 867, to explain the following passage
which occurs in the article : — ** A million creatures are bom ;
ten thousand survive to produce offspring. One of the million
has twice as good a chance as any other of surviving, but the
chances ^^ fifty to one against the gifted individuals being one
of the* //««</r^i survivors." There is an error in this passage ;
the word "hundred" should be altered to "ten thousand." I
presume that with this correction the writer of the letter will
have no difficulty in following the argument. I am much obliged
to him for drawing my attention to the slip.
The Author of the Article
NEW VOLCANO IN THE PHILIPPINES
THE island of Camiguin is situated to the north of
Mindanao, at some six or eight miles from the
coast, is only a few miles in circumference, and consists
principally of high land. On the slopes and in the valleys
is grown a large quantity of one of the most important
staples of the Archipelago, the well-known Manila Hemp
— the fibre of the Musa textilis.
On the first of May, 1871, after a series of violent
earthquakes, a volcano burst out in a valley near the sea.
The earth is said to have swelled, cracked, and then opened,
ejecting large quantities of stones, sand, and ashes, out no
liquid lava. The mischief done by the eruption was
limited to a small area of two or three miles in extent,
and the loss of life did not exceed eighty or ninety per-
sons, who might have escaped if they had been less
anxious to save their little property.
As the eruption and volcanic disturbances continued for
some time, the alarmed natives abandoned the island in
great numbers, and took refuge in the neighbouring isl^mds
of Mindanao, Bohol, &c., from which, after some weeks,
the eruption having subsided, most of them returned.
Dtmng the month of June the volcano ejected smoke and
scoria, which latter are said to have been slowly pushed
up as it were out of the crater, sliding down the sides over
an underlying mass of fine grey ashes which were thrown
out in the first instance ; and a feeble action has continued
by the latest accounts (August).
The eruption, instead of bursting from the top or sides
of the higher hills, occurred in a valley between two spurs
of high land near the sea and in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of one of the principal villages, which the inha-
bitants abandoned, and do not seem disposed to re-
occupy, though the damage done there was trifling.
As is usual here, the stories circulated were of the most
exaggerated kind, and it is only by sifting and comparing
the accounts of reliable eye-witnesses that I have been
able to write an account at all worthy of attention. The
observations made by two intelligent Dersons,who visited
the island expressly for the purpose, have furnished the
materials for this memorandum. The accounts as to the
height of the cone are mere guesses— from 300 to 1,500
feet. H.M. surve^^ing steamer Nassau^ Captain Chimmo,
is said to have visited the island in June, and we may
therefore hope for a careful and scientific account of this
phenomenon.
The present year has been remarkable for the extent
and frequency of earthquakes over the whole of the Archi-
pelago, though, with the exception ofthe case of Camiguin,
they were not followed by any very serious consequences.
Manila, Sept. 25 ^^^ W. Wood
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Nov. 30, 1871]
NATURE
H
SPECTROSCOPIC NOTES*
On the ConstriictioH, Arrangemeni^ and best Proportions of the
Instrument with reference to its efficiency,
'T'HE spectroscope consists essentially of three parts — a prism,
-^ or train of prisms, to disperse the light ; a collimator, as it
is called, whose office is to throw upon the prisms a beam of
parallel rays coming from a narrow slit ; and a telescope for
viewing the spectrum formed by the prisms.
Supposing the slit to be illuminated by strictly homogeneous
light, the rays proceeding from it are first rendered parallel by
the object-glass of the collimator, are then deflected by the prisms
and finally reeeived upon the object*glass of the view-telescope,
which, if the focal lengths of the collimator and telescope object-
glasses are the same, forms at the focus a real image of the slit,
its precise counterpart in every respect except that it is somewhat
weakened by loss of light and slightly curved t
If the focal length of the view-telescope is greater or less than
that of the collimator, the size of the iinage is proportionally in-
creased or diminished.
This image is viewed and magnified by the eye-piece of the
telescope.
If now the light with which the slit is illuminated be composite,
each kind of rays of different refrangibility will be differently
reflected by the prisms, and form in the focus of the telescope
its own image of the sliL The series of these images ranged side
by side in the order of their colour constitutes the spectrum,
which can be perfectly pure only when the slit is mfinitely
narrow (so that the successive images may not overlap), and
accurately in the focus of the object-glass of Uie collimator, which
object-glass, as well as that of the telescope, must be without
aberration either chromatic or spherical, and the prisms must be
perfectly homogeneous and their surfaces truly plane.
Of course, none of the conditions can be strictly fiilfilled. An
infinitely narrow slit would give only an infinitely faint spectrum ;
and no prisms or object-glasses are absolutely free from faults.
A reasonably close approximation to the necessary conditions
can, however, be obtained by careful workmanship and adjust-
ment, and it becomes an important subject of inquiry how to
adapt the different parts of the instrument to each other so as
to secure the best effect, and how to test separately their excel-
lence, in order to trace and remedy as far as possible all faults of
performance.
With reference to the battery of prisms, several questions at
once suggest themselves relative to tne best angle and material,
the number to be used, the methods of testing their surfaces and
homogeneity, and the most effective manner of arranging them.
Angle and Material of the Prisms, — As to the refracting angle,
the careful mvestigation of Prof. Pickering, published in the
American Journal of Science andArtior May 180S, puts it beyond
Question that with the glass ordinarily employed an angle of about
00" is the best. For instruments of many prisms there is an
advantage as regards the amount of light in making the angle
such that the transmitted ray at each surface shall be exactly per-
pendicular to the reflected. For ordinary glass, the refracting
angle determined by this condition somewhat exceeds 60"* ; for
the so-called " extra-dense '' flint it is a little less.
The high dispersive power of this " extra-dense " glass is cer-
tainly a great recommendation. But it is very yelfow, power-
fiilly absorbing the rays belonging to the upper portion of the
spectrum, and is very seldom homogeneous. It is so soft also,
and so liable to scratch and tarnish, that it can only be safely used
by casing it with some harder and more permanent gUss, as in
the compound prisms of Mr. Gmbb, and the direct vision prisms
of many makers.
For many purposes these direct vision prisms are very con-
venient and useful, but they are hardly admissible in instruments
of high dispersive power designed to secure accurate definition of
the whole spectrum, the violet as well as the yellow.
* By C A. YouniTf Ph.I>., PrefeMor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy
in Dartmouth College. Reprinted from advance-sheeu of the Journal of the
Franklin Institute, by permission of the Editor.
t The curvature arises from the (act that the rays from the extremities of
the slit, though nearly parallel to each other, make an appreciable angle
with those which come from the centre. They therefure strike the surface
of the prisms under different conciitions from the central rays, and are
diflierently refracted, usually more. The higher the di%per>ive power of the
instrument and the shorter the focal length of the collimator, the greater
this distortion, which is also accompanied by a slight indutinctness at the
•dgec of the apoctnun.
Test for Flatness of Surfacc^Yox testing the flatness of the
prism surfaces, probably the best method is to focus a small
telescope carefully upon some distant object (by preference the
moon or some bright star), and then to scrutinise the image of
the same object formed by reflection from the surface to be tested.
Any general convexity or concavity will be indicated by a
corresponding change of focus required in the telescope ; any
irregularity of form will produce indistinctness, and by using a
cardboard screen perforated with a small oriflce of perhaps \
inch in diameter, the surface can be examined little by Uttle, and
the faulty spot precisely determined.
Test for Homogeneity, — It is not quite so easy to test the homo«
geneity of the glass. Anv strong veins may, of course, be seen
by holding the prism in the light, and if the ends of the prism
are i>olished, the test by ijolarised light will be found very
effective in bringing out any irregularities ofdensity and elasticity
in the glass. A blackened plate of window glass serves as the
polariser ; a Niool's prism is held in one huid before the eye
m such a position as to cut off the reflected ray, and with the
other hand the glass to be tried is held between the Nicol and
the polariser. If perfectly good it produces no effect whatever ;
if not it will show more or less light, usually in streaks and
patches.
On the whole, however, the method of testing which has been
found most delicate and satisfiictonr is the following : —
A Geissler tube containing rarened hydrogen is set up verti-
cally, and illuminated by a small induction coil.
A small and very perfect telescope of about six inches focus is
directed upon it from a distance of seventjr-five or one hundred
feet, and carefully adjusted for distinct vision.
The prism to be tested is then placed in front of the object-
glass of the telescope with its refracting edge vertical, adjusted
approximately to the position of minimum deviation, and tele-
scope and pnsm togetner then turned (by moving the table on
which they stand), until the spectrum of the tube appears in
the field of view. This spectrum consists mainly, as is wdl
known, of three well-defined images of the tube, of which the
red image, corresponding to the C line, is the brightest and best
defined, and stands out upon a nearly black background.
Supposing then Htntflatness of the prism surfaces to have been
previously tested and approved, the goodness of the glass may
be judged of by the appearance and ^haviour of this red image ;
and by using a perforated screen in the manner before described,
inequalities of optical density are easily detected and located.
Irregularities, which would hardly be worth noticing in a tele-
scope object-glass, where the total deviation produced by the
refraction of the rays is so small, are fatal to definition in a
spectroscope, especially one of many prisms, and it is very
difficult to find glass which will bear the above-named test with-
out flinching. Of course it must be conducted at night, or in
a darkened room.
Number and Arrangement ofPrtsms, — ^The number of prisms
to be employed will depend upon circumstances. If the spectrum
to be examined be faint, and either continuous or marked with
dark lines^ or by diffuse bands, either bright or dark, we are
limited to a train of few prisms.
The light of the sun is so brilliant that, in studying its spec-
trum, we may use as many as we please. The light is abundant
after passing through 13, and I presume would still be so if the
train were doubled.
Spectra of fine well-defined bright lines also bear a surprising
number of prisms. The loss of light arising from the trans-
mission throueh many surfaces is nearly, if not quite, counter-
balanced by the increased blackness of the background, and the
greater width of slit which can be used.
As to the best arrangement for the prisms, this also must be
determined by circumstances.
Where exact measurements are aimed at, as, for instance, for
the purpose of ascertaining the wave-length of lines, or the dis-
persion co-efficient of a transparent medium, the prism or prisms
ought to be firmly secured in a positive and determinable relation
to the collimator. A train of many prisms can hardly be safely
used in such work on account of the difficulty in obtaining this
necessary fixity, and if high dispersion is indispensable, it can
only be obtained by enlarging the apparatus.
But for roost purposes it is better that the prisms, instead ot
being fixed, should be mounted upon some plan which will
secure their automatic adjustment to the position of minimum
deviation.
Having now thoroughly tri^ the pltm which I proposed and
L/iyiLiiLcvj kjy
<3^'
86
NATURE
[Nov. 30, 187 1
published in this Journal last November, I am prepared to say
that I cannot imagine anything more effective and convenient
The arrangement of Mr. Browning and its extension by Mr.
Proctor, are equally effective so far as the adjustment of the
prisms is concerned, but are less compact and simple, and do
not afford the same facility in changing the number of prisms in
use.
In my instrument tlie light, after leaving the collimator, falls per-
pendicularly upon the face of a half-prism, passes through the train
of prisms near their bases ; at the end of the train is twice totally
reflected by a rectangular prism attached to the last of the train
(which is also a half pnsm), is thus transferred to the upper
story of the train, so to speak, and returns to the view-telescope,
which is firmly attached to the same mounting as the collimator
and directly above it. Both are immovable, and the different
portions of the spectrum are brought into view by means of the
screw, which acts upon the last prism, and through it upon the
whole train. The adjustment for focus is by a milled heaa, which
carries the object-glasses of both collimator and telescope in or
out together. Since they have the same focal length, this secures
the accurate parallelism of the rays as they traverse the prisms.
The annexed diagram, taken from the paper already alluded
to,* exhibits die plan of the arran^;ement, and rec^nires no ex-
planation, unless to add that, to avoid complication m the figure,
I have represented only two of the radial forks which maintain
the prisms in adjustment ; also, that the prisms are connected to
each other at top and bottom, not by hinges, but by flat springs,
preventing all shake.
By addmg another tier of prisms and sending the light back
and forth tlm>ugh a third and fourth story, the dispersion can
be easily doubled with very small additional expense, exce|>t for
the prisms themselves ; the mechanical arrangements remaining
precisely the same.
I desire, in this connection, to call attention to the great ad-
vantages gained by the use of the half prism at the commence-
ment of £e train, a point which hitherto seems to have escaped
notice.
With a prism of 60"*, having a mean refractive index, /i, i *6,
and placed in its best position, the course of the rays is asdiown
in Fig. 2. The side ab'ys just 1} times the cross section, a d^
* After the appearance of the article referred to, I found that Mr. Lockyer
had anticipated me by some months, not only in respect to the method of
making the rays traverse the prism train twice, but also in the use of a half
prism at the b^;inning of the train, and the employment of an elastic spring
m the adjustment for minimum deviation. In all essential particulars his in-
strument is the same as mine, though in some matters of detail there are
differences which have proved to be of practical importance in &vour of
my own.
Mr. Lockyer has, however, never printed an account of his instrument,
and at the tune of my publication I knew only the fact (which I then men-
tioned), that he intended to send the light twice through the prism train by a
total reiflection.
The beautiful instrument recently constructed for Dr. Hugfpas bv Mr.
Grubb differs mainly in using compound prisms, and in produdng the ad-
justment for minimum deviation by an arrangement of imk worl^ which,
though not thooratically exact, is pntcticallj accunue.
of the transmitted beam. In other words a prian of the same
material and angle described, in order to transmit a beam one
inch in diameter, must be one inch high and have sides if inches
long.
But when the light is received perpendicularly upon the^ face
of a half prism, as in Fig. 3, then, since bc—be-^zoi&Z^^ the
length of the prism side, bc^ requires to be only i -15$ times as
great as the diameter of the transmitted beam.
Thus a train of prisms each I inch high, and having the sides
of their triangular bases each I '155 inches long, led by an initial
half prism in the way indicated, would transmit a boim i inch
in diameter, while without the initial half prism the sides would
have to be 1*667 long, the surface to be worked and polbhed
would be I '44 (/ e, i •667-t-i '155) times as great, and the quantity
of glass required 2'o8 (1.^. i -44*) times as great With a higher
index of refraction the gain is still greater.
This advantage of course b not obtained without losinp; the
dispersive power of one half prism. But where the train is ex-
tensive this loss is comparatively insignificant, and minr be made
up by a dight increase of the refracting angles. Indeed, in an
instrument of the form above described, it is necessary, if the
train is led by a whole prism, to reduce the re&acting angle firom
60° to about 55% in order that the reflecting prism at the end of
the train may not interfere with the collimator, while with the
initial half prism the full angle of 60° can be used, so that in this
case there is practically no loss whatever.
It would seem to deserve consideration, whether in the con-
struction of spectroscopes to be used with some of the huge
telescopes now building, it may not be advisable to cany the
principle still further, 1^ employing two or more half prisms at
the binning of the train m order to economise material and
weight
Disf^sive Efficiency. — ^The dispersive efficiency of the spectro-
scope is its abiUty to separate and distinguish spectral lines whose
indices of refraction differ but slightly ; it is doselv analogous to
the dividing power of a telescope in dealing with double stars.
It depends* not only upon the train of prisms, but also upon the
focal lengths of the telescope and collimator, the width of the
slit, and the magnifying power of the ejre-piece.
As has been said before, each bright line is an image of the
slit whose magnitude^ referred to the limit of distinct vision,
depends upon the telescope and collimator, but is independent
of the prism train. The distance between the centres of two
neighbouring lines, on the other hand, depends upon the number
and character of the prisms, the focal length ot the tdescope,
and the magnifying power of its eye-piece, bat is totally inde-
pendent of the coUimator.
In order that two lines may be divided, it is Decenary that
the edges of their spectral images diould be separated l^a certain
small distance — a minimum visibile^ whose precise value is of no
particular importance to our present purpose, but which I
suppose to be about ^H o^ <^ i^ch.
* It is very common to describe the dispersive power of a spectroscope
as being eqmvalent to a cotain number of prisms, or a certain number of
degrees from A to H. But either method fiuls enturely to convey an idea of
the appearance of the spectrum in the instrument, and it is much better to
name the closest double line which it will divide, or else to give the distance
between the two D lines, either linear (referred of course to the limit of
distinct vision), or angular. If we know, for example, that the D lines
are separated z% or, what comes to the same thing, appear to be one-sixth
of an inda apart, we have a definite idea of the power bt the instrument .
L/iyiLi^cvj kjy
d^'
N<ro. 30, 187 1 J
NATURE
87
From these principles it is etsjr to deduce a fonnuU which will
express the dispersive effidenqr of a given instrument^ and
enable ns to judge of the effect of variations in the proportion
and azTsngement of the parts.
Let / be the focal length of the collimator.
P" ,. •• „ telescope.
m the magnifying power of the Cjre* piece (which is found
by dividing the umit of distinct vision b^ the equivalent
focal leng^ of the eye-piece and adduig unity to the
quotient).
H vent number of prisms in the trsin.
w the width of the slit.
k the minimum visiibile above alluded ta
d /«, the difference between the indices of tefraction for
two adjacent lines ; and finally
S, the co-efficient of dispersion for each prism (which, r
being the refracting angle of the prism, is given by the
equation
sin I r \
If, now, we put D for the distance between the centres oi the
two lines, and b for' their breadth, we shall have
D='m n s ip, d ft, and
b^m wP-t/,
But the distance between the edges of the lines equals D-b ;
and this, for two lines as dose as the instrument will divide,
must equal >&.
m_w/^
S =
Hence k^ mn J/>. d /i -
/
Finding from this the
value ct d fi, taking its reciprocal as'a msasure of the dispersive
efficiency of the instrument, and calling it £, we get
zmfiji ^^
E=
(I)
kf^mwp
This formula, in which m, n, and 8 appear as simple factors,
of course supposes that the perfection of workmanship and
intensity of the light are such that there is no limit to the
magnifying power and number of prisms which may be em-
ployed.
My special olnect, however, in working it out has been to
exhibit clearly what is evident from its last term, the dependence
of the dispersive efficiency upon the focal lengUis of coUimator
and telescope.
Differentiating equation (i) with respect to/and/^ we obtain
* {kf-^mw/^Y *
which shows that any increase in either for p adds to the dis-
persion. If /increases, both D and b increase in the same pro-
portion, and so, of course, does the width of the interval between
the adjacent lines; while every augmentation of /^ decreases the
width of the spectral images without in the least affecting the
distance between their centres.
This principle seems to have been often overlooked, and colli-
mators and telescopes of short focus employed when longer ones
would have been ur better.
In spectroscopes designed to be used for astronomical purposes,
at the principal focus of a telescope, there is, of course, no
advantage in making the angle of^ aperture of the collimator
much greater than that of the equatorial itself; accordingly a
collimator of one inch aperture ought to have a focal lengui of
10 or 12 inches, or, if special reasons determine a focal length of
only 6 inches, then it is needless to make the collimator and
view telescope much over half an inch in diameter, and the
prisms may be correspondingly smaU.
I( on the other hand, the focus of telescope or collimator is
lengthened for the purpose of securing increased dispersion,
object glasses and prisms must also be correspondingly enlarged,
in order to transmit the same amount of light
It is, perhaps, worth noting that when / andy^ are equal,
formula (I) becomes simply
Luminous Efficiency. — The extreme faintness of many spectra
greatly embarruses their study, so that it becomes a matter of
mterest to examine how the different dimensions and proportions
of a given instrument stand related to the brightness of the
spectrum produced.
It appetn to be^necesaary, for this pvpose, to distinguith two
classes of spectra, those composed of narrow and well defined
bright lints, and those which are not, the lijg^t being spread out
more or less evenly and continuously.
The brightness of a spectrum ot the latter kind is evidently
directly proi>ortional to tne amount of light admitted, diminished
by its subseauent losses, and inversely to the area over which it
is distributed ; similar considerations apply in the first case, only
as the lines are exceedingly narrow images of the slit, their
brightness, being independent of their distance from eadi other,
is inversely proportional to the length of the lines simply— i.<.,
to the wtdth of the spectrum, having nothing to do with its
length.
Using the same notation as before, merely adding
/ =: intensity of source of light.
/ = length of the slit
a = linear aperture of the collimator object glass ;
and supposing the prisms and view telescope of a siie to take in
the whole beam transmitted by the collimator, and that the
angular magnitude of the luminous object, as seen from the slit,
is sufficient to furnish a pencil large enough to fill the collimator
object glass, we shall then have for the quantity of light trans-
mitted to the prisms the expression
This is afterwards diminished in passing through the prism
train and telescope.
To estimate the precise amount of this loss is very difficult,
and the algebraic expression for it is of so complicated a
character t£it it would be of little use to attempt to intrtxluce it
into our formula. Calling it .9, however (whi^ of course is a
function of the number and refracting angle of the prisms, as well
as of the optical character of the glass), we may write for the
quantity of light effective in forming the spectrum,
a*
Q = i7w -- - S. And this expression applies to both kinds
of spectra — bright line and continuous.
In the continuous spectrum this light is spread out over an
area whose length is the angular dispersion of the train * a ,
multiplied by the magnifying power of^the eye-piece and by the
focal length of the view telescope, and whose breadth is the
width of the spectrum. Putting A for this area, we have
A =if!lJLAiAl
J
And for the intensity of li^ht in the continuous spectrum,
which equals Q -^ A, we get mially
lm^n£,f^Y'
ndtake/=/'.
If we neglect the loss of light in transmission,
the formula simplifies itself to
U=J^^^ (S)
Either of. these forn»ul« shows how rapidly the light is cut
down by any increase of the dispersive power, whether by adding
to the prisin train or by enlargement of the linear dimensions oi
the apparatus.
Our only resource in dealing with spectra of this kind, when
the limit of visibility on account of faintness is nearly attained,
seems to be either to increase 1 or ^ If the luminous object be
a point (like a star) we can do the former by concentrating its
light on the slit with a lens ; if it be diffuse, like the light ot the
sky, I know no means for producing the desired concentration,
and we can only gain our end by increasing the angular aperture
of the coUimator.
For tiie discontinuous bright-line spectrum, the case is quite
different Q, ie, the quantity of light which goes to form the
spectrum, remains unchanged, but instead of A the whole area
covered by the spectrum we have only to consider its width, i.e.
the length of the lines, t
• A = <«(Sio - » 0«. X Sb I r) - Sia - » {/i^ Sin i r) ) where Ma ^^
M| are respectively the indices of refraction for the lines A and H ; the prisms
being supposed to be so mounted as to maintain the position of minimum
deviation.
t So long as the opening of the slit is small enough to secure accurate de>
finition of tne lines, it is not necessary to take into account either this or the
magnifybg power as diminishing the brightness of the lines by increasing
their breaJth, since irradiation alone gives them a sensible width sufficient
to itnder Ihe effect of other causes comparatively unimportant. ^
L/iyiLiiLcvj uy
ogle
88
NATURE
\Nov. 30, 1 871
We then have Ai=i^;
and for the brilliance of the bright line spectrum, we get
If we neglect S, the loss of light in transmission throngh the
apparatus, and suppose/ = /\ this becomes ^
A' =
w/a
(7)
These formulae show that with a spectrum of this kind we may,
without diminishing the brightness of the lines, increase the
dispersive power of our instrument to any extent by increasing
its linear dimensions ; if we increase the dispersive power by
adding to the prism train, the case is different, since .S is a func-
tion of n, the number of prisms.
New form of Spectroscope, — I close the article with the sugges-
tion of a new form for a chemical spectroscope, which seems to
present some advantages in the saving of material and labour as
well as of light
The figure (Fig. 4) sufficiently illustrates it, except that it may be
necessary to add that I have not represented any of the many pos-
sible convenient arrangements for reading off the positions of
lines observed. The centre of motion for the telescope is at f,
the collimator remaining fixed.
The half prisms of heavy flint-glass are concave at the rear
surface, and direcrly cemented to the single crown glass lenses,
which form the object-glasses of telescope and collimator. There
is thus a saving of two surfaces over the common form ; and, what
is more important, the prisms to 6t telescopes of a given aperture
are coni»iderably smaller on the face, and can be made from plates
of glass of less, than half the thickness required by the ordinary
construction, a circumstance which greatly reduces the difficulty
of obtaining suitable material.
NOTES
We learn by British-Indian cable that the English Govern-
ment Eclipse Expedition arrived at Galle on Monday last ; all
welL The authorities in India and in Ceylon are doing every-
thing they can to assist the party. M. Janssen has gone to the
Neilgherries. Mr. Lockyer is in communication with Colonel
Tennant The weather was at that time fine.
Proffssor John Young has written to the North British
Daily Afcui, detailing the reasons for the notice of motion which
he gave in April last to the General Council of the University of
Glasgow, relative to the division of the chair of Natural History
in that University. The duties of the chair would render it
ncumbent on its occupant to teach, if required to do so, Zoology,
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, Geology and Palaeonto-
logy, Mineralogy, Mining, Metallurgy, and possibly Meteorology.
Actually, Professor Young gives instruct'on in Comparative
Anatomy and Geology. He is naturally extremely anxious that
he should no longer be called upon to teach subjects which, in
the present state of science, it is impossible can be efficiently
combined. It is to be hoped that, before long, the University
will see the necessity of instituting a separate chair of Geology,
as has recently been done at Edinburgh ; but where will be
found a Sir Roderick Murchison to endow it in so munificent a
manner?
At the second M.6. Examination for Honours at the University
of London, Mr. William Henry Allchin, of University College,
has taken the Scholarship and gold medal, and Mr. Henry
Edward Southee, of Guy's Hospital, the gold medal in Medi-
cine ; Mr. Richard Clement Lucas, of Guy's Hospital, the gold
medal in Obstetric Medicine, and Mr. Ernest Alfred Elkington,
of the General Hospital, Birmingham, the gold medal in Forensic
Medicine. At the second B. A. and second B.Sc Examination,
Mr. Thomas Olver Harding, of Trinity College, Cambridge,
obtained the Scholarship in Mathematics and Natval Philo-
sophy. No gold medals were awarded in Animal Physiology,
Chemistry, Geology and Pakeontology, or Zoology.
Mr. Lazarus Flstcher, of the Manchester Grammar
School, was on Saturday last elected to the vacant scholarship at
Balliol College, on the foundation of Miss H. Brakenbury, for the
encouragement of the study of Natural Science. Mr. Hains-
worth, of the same school, and Mr. Greswell, of Louth School,
were also mentioned by the examiners as worthy of commenda-
tion. The scholarship is worth 70/. a year, and is tenable for
three years.
With reference to the destruction of the Museum at Chicago,
we learn that Dr. Stimpson's own collection of North American
shells formed part of the Smithsonian Museum ; and that the
collection made by Professor Agassiz and Count Pourtales, in
their deep-sea explorations of the Gulf of Mexico, belonged to
the Cambridge Museum. Many of Dr. Stimpsons MSS. and
drawings have been published. Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys was, as our
readers are aware, fortunately the means of saving some of the
shells from the Gulf of Mexico, which he is now engaged in
working out before returning. Many valuable specimens which
Mr. Jeffreys took to Chicago of course shared the fate of the
remainder; some ol them, however, he hopes to be able to
replace. Professor Agassiz has offered Dr. Stimpson a place at
Cambridge, Mass., and to give him the means of again carrying
on dredging operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
A FINE young pair of the Grey seal (Halichotrus grypus) has
just been added to the Zoological Society's living collection.
This species, although not uncommon on some pares of the
British coast, has never previously been received alive by the
Society. The present specimens were obtained near St David's
in South Wales, where this seal is said to be of not unfrequent
occurrence. Besides this seal, the Society's collection also con-
tains examples of three other Phoddse— namely, the sea-lion
(Oiaria jubata), the Cape eared seal (Otaria pusilla), and the
common seal {Phoca vitulina).
In the Northern United States the richest marhie fauna is to
be found in the vicinity of Eastport, Maine, the adjacent region
of the Bay of Fundy having become classic ground through the
labours of Stimpson, Verrill, Packard, Morse, Webster, Hyatt,
&c It is rumoured, according to Harper's Weekly^ that Mr. J.
E. Gavit, of New York, president of the American Bank-note
Company, and at the same time an eminent microscopist, has it
in contemplation with some friends to erect a building at East-
port, to be suitably endowed and maintained for the use of any
naturalists who may wish to avail themselves of the facilities it
may afford. We can only hope that so excellent an idea may be
realised at an early day.
The latest advices from Captain Hall's expedition were dated
at Upemavik, September 5, being somewhat later than the in-
formation brought back by the Congress, After parting with
the Congress at Disco, Captain Hall sailed nearly north until he
reached the harbour of Proven, where he landed and endeavoured
to obtain dogs. In this, however, he was not very successfiil,
procuring only eighteen, most of which were not well fitted for
service. From Proven the Polaris proceeded to Upemavik,
arriving there on the 30th of August. He left that port on the
5th of September, and continued on his polar journey.
Among the movements of naturalists abroad, we understand
that Mr. J. Matthew Jones, F.L.S., President of the Nova
Scotian Institute of Natural Science, intends spending the
winter months in the Bermudas, for the purpose of more
thoroughly investigating the marine zoology of the group.
Messrs. Wsstermann, of Brunswick, announce for early
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Nov. 30, 1871]
NATURE
89
jmblicatioay in two volumes, a rendering into German, by Herr
Schellen, of the French translation of P. Seochi's "Le SoleiL"
The FeuUU da yeunes NahiraJistes, to which we called atten-
tion some time ago, has entered on its second year of existence
in a somewhat enlaiged form. Aiming at the development of an
intelligent love of nature amongst French schoolboys, it claims
the sympathy of all those amongst ourselves who, by means of
school uiiueums and natural history societies, are labouring in
the same field. The editor solicits contributions from English
boys, on any subject connected with natural science, which he
promises carefully to translate and publish.
On the 5th of January, 1872, will be published, in Bombay
the first number of a monthly journal, the Indian Antiquary ,
intended as a medium of communication between Oriental
scholars in India, Europe, and America, and a repertory for in-
lormation on the Antiquities, History, Geography, Literature,
Religion, Mythology, Natural History, Ethnography, an4 Folk-
lore of India and adjoining countries, and thus embracing a
similar variety of subjects to the English NoUs and Qiuries, the
plan of which the Indian Antiquary will, to some extent, follow.
Tiie most eminent Orientalists in India, Europe, and America,
it is expected, will become contributors to the pages of this
journal, and it will be edited by Mr. J. Burgess, M.R.A.S.'
F. R. G. S. The London agents will be Messrs. Triibner and Co*
We have received the first number of •* The Garden," a
weekly newspaper, edited by Mr. W. Robinson, F.L.S. It
contains original articles by the editor and other correspondents
on gardening topics, illustrated by wood-cuts, instructions for
gardeners suited to the time of Uie year, descriptions of new
plants, &c
Mr. W. F. Denning, the Honorary Secretary of the Ob-
serving Astronomical Society, publishes " Astronomical Pheno-
mena in 1872," a complete guide to the astronomer for the more
important phenomena to be looked for during the year.
Ms. Rothschild, of the Rue des Saints Fires, Paris, has
commenced publishing, in large folio numbers, a magnificent
work upon the Trajan Column at Rome. A complete series of
mouldings was executed in 1862, by order of the Emperor, for
the Louvre Museum. A cast was taken of these mouldings in
galvano, by the Procede Oadry, and from these casts phototypo-
graphic plates have been done. There will also be many wood-
cuts interspersed through the work. The letterpress will be by
M. W. Frochnor, the conservator of the Louvre Museum. It
will be finished in 1873.
Mr. Cuthbert Collingwood, M.A. and B,M., Oxon,
F.L.S., &c., author of " Rambles of a Naturalist on the Shores
and Waters of the China Seas," &c., announces, as in the
press, "A Vision of Creation," a poem, with an introduction,
geological, and critical
Prof. Huxley, in his address at the distribution of prizes at
the Oxford Local Examination at Manchester, spoke as follows :
" He believed that he was speaking entirely within measure
when he said now that there i^as nowhere in the world a more
efficient or better school, so far as it went^ for teaching the great
branches of physical science than was at the present time to be
found in the University of Oxford. He thought it right that
he should here state what had come to his knowledge as a mem-
ber of the Royal Commission connected with these matters.
That noble University had within the last ten or fifteen years
devoted no less than about loo^ooo/. to the endowment and
equipment of physical science and physical science only.
M. JOLY, a distinguished member of the French Academy of
Medicine, has recently read a paper before that learned society,
in which he attributes the enervation of the nation, as evinced
during the late war, to the combined effect of alcohol and nico-
tine upon the national character. "Tobacco," says Dr. Joly,
" although of only recent introduction, has gained upon its older
rival. Imitativeness and 'moral contagion' have done their
work, until the use of this poison has penetrated everywhere —
has enslaved the nation, caused personal and racial degeneracy,
enervated the entire army, and made it slow to fight and power-
less in action. The use both of spirits and tobacco his fright-
fully increased, and hum^n depravity Cwuld scarcely devise a
worse compound than the mixture of brandy and tobacco, which
is the latest liquid novelty patronised by Parisian sensualists.
The French consume more tobacco than any other nation."
The Gardeney^s Chronicle states that a series of photographs
devoted to the illustration of Linnean relics has been recently
issued in Sweden, and copies are to be procured in London.
They consist of photc^raphs of Linne's statue in the Botanical
Garden at Upsala, of the Botanical Garden itself, the monument
in Upsala Cathedral, his country seat and museum at Hammarby,
a portrait, one of his letters, and other objects of interest in con-
nection with the great naturalist.
An interesting contribution to the supposed "Serpent Wor-
ship " in Scotland is stated to have been lately discovered near
the shores of Loch Fell, near Oban, where the form of a mon-
strous serpent three hundred feet in length has been disinterred.
From the accounts which have been published it would appear
that the figure of the serpent was excavated in the rocks above
the lake, and had become overgrown.
SOMX interesting experiments have lately been tried at the
Crystal Palace to improve the illuminating power of ordinary
gas. The inventor, by mixing a certain proportion of oxygen
with the gas as it issues from the burner, claims to have found
both a more economical and a more wholesome method of burn-
ing gas. There is no doubt that the light is much more bril-
liant, the only question is whether it is not too expensive. The
oxygen is generated by passing supersaturated steam over red
manganate of soda previously heated in dry air. The steam
absorbs the oxygen fiK>m the manganate, and on being con-
densed the oxygen passes over alone and is mixed with the gas at
the burner.
The Indian Medical Gazette says that a report furnished by the
Inspector of Police to the Bengal Government shows that of 939
cases of snake bites in which ammonia was administered by the
police 702 are reported to have recovered, and the average length
of time between the bite and the application of the ammonia is
said to have been in fatal cases 4h. 12m. 13s , and in cases of
recovery 3h. 28m. 14s.
On the 29th of September a slight shock of earthquake was
felt at Memoodabad in the Ahmedabad Collectorate, Bombay.
iTisstated that an aerolite weighing 1271b. fell lately near
Montereau (Seine-et-Mame) in France It appears to have come
from the east, and burst with a loud explosion, giving a bright
blue light. It is of an irregular spheroid shape and black, and
is to be sent to the Academy of Sciences.
A VERY violent typhoon raged at Hongkong on the 2nd of
September, doing an immense amount of damage both on land
and sea.
On October i6th a terrific hurricane swept over Halifsu, New
Brunswick, and caused a large amount of damage. It was
accompanied by an extraordinary high tide, which was un-
exampled in the history of the city for damage and violence. On
the same and the following day, very heavy storms were ex-
perienced on Lake Superior and Lake Huron, which caused the
destruction of many vessels and the loss of numerous lives.
In Ecuador there have been discovered in the forests of Santa
Helena the trees yielding the red guinea bark.^
L/iyiiiiLcvj kjy
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90
NATURE
[Nov. 30, 1871
An earthquake took place in the beginning of October on the
Isthmus of Chiriqui near Panama.
Dr. Robert Brown, in a communication on the " Interior
of Greenland," states that all the results of the attempted explo-
rations of the interior serve to show that this is one huge fmr
de glace^ of which the outlets and overflow are the comparatively
small glaciers on the coast, though when compared with the
glacier system of the Alps, they are of gigantic size. The out-
skirting land is, to all intents and purposes, merely a circlet of
islands of greater or less extent. There are, in all probability,
no mountains in the interior — only a high plateau, from which
the unbroken ice is shed on either side to the east and west, the
greater slope being toward the west No mountains have been
seen in the interior, the prospect being generally bounded by a
dim, icy horizon. Dr. Brown considers Greenland susceptible of
being crossed from side to side with dog or other sledges, pro-
vided the party start under experienced guides, and sufficiently
early in the year.
Occasional glimpses of pre-historic times are afforded to ns.
One of the Indian papers records the deeds of a mad elephant,
which made its way from the Rewah territory into the Mundla
district The first day it attacked the village of Tarraj, when
the inhabitants took refuge on the roofs, but it killed a woman
and child. The next night it went to the village of Mauzah and
killed a boy. Two days after it killed a woman at Barbashore,
and on the following night added to the number a man and
woman at Kamaria. Thence it made its way to Donoria, and
the villagers tried to escape, but two old women met their
deafi, aad another was trampled on and seriously injured. Its
next stage was Manori, destroying a woman and two children,
and so to Karbah. Here it snatched a baby from the mother's arms
and killed it, and in the evenii^ succeeded in killing a man in the
same place. The next night a man was killed at Nigheri, and
on that following another at Banu. On the 7th February it met
with a check in passing the Ramgurgh Tahsil, where it was fired
on, and retreated to Bijori, taking revenge by killing a man and
a boy. On the 8th it surprised a party of villagers in the jungle,
who had escaped from Nanda, again taking a woman's baby
from her arms and killing it The next slaughter was of a man
at Belgaon a^id another at Belgara. It then visited Sayla, the
villagers making their escape, except one boy, who was caught
by it, but only rolled about for fiin, but the elephant went into
the village and pulled d jwn several houses. By the 15th he was
at Mohari, and injured a man and woman by rolling them about
without killing them. On the iQ.h it killed one man and
wounded another at Naraingunj. By this time a party was got
together to resist it, about three weeks having elapsed, and the
animal was driven across the river Nerbudda and into the jungle
of a hill, but from which the force was inadequate to dislodge it
In three weeks it drove the people out of many villages, killing
twenty-one persons, wounding others, and ravaging the country.
It is alleged to have devoured five of its victims. The above
recital of what took place in a relatively settled country, gives
colour to the legends of Hercules and Theseus. In this case
nothing is said of the destruction of crops which must have
taken place.
An improvement in the appazatos attached to fire-engines has
been proposed by Mr. Prosser in the form of a spreading fire-
nozzle, the object of which is, by means of a number of moveable
as well as fixed fingers so to direct the jet of water that it shall
divide it into a more or less fine spxay. The water is thus
economised, and instead of a large proportion running off after
scarcely coming into contact with the buming material, every
drop, falling in the form of a conical shower of rain, performs
its part towards extinguishing the fire.
COLDING ON THE LAWS OF CURRENTS
IN ORDINARY CONDUITS AND IN THE
SEA
II.
■pORCHHAMMER has filled up that gap by his researches
^ upon the water of the ocean ; for we can now, by the help
of his results and of the temperatures, ascertain pretty exactly the
specific weight of the water of the ocean in the principal seas of
the globe. Calculation has proved the correctness of Maury's
original notion, viz., that the density of ihe water of the ocean
is least at the equator, and increases with tolerable regularity in
proportion as we advance towards the north and towards the
south. The water of the Atlantic seems to be of the greatest
density at about 60*^ N. latitude to the south and south-east of
Greenland. If we take this density as unity, the specific weight
of the water of the sea will on an average be represented by the
following numbers : —
NORTHBRN HeMiSPHBRB
Between 60* and 70* lati-
tude in Davis Straits o'998o
About 60* latitude in the
Atlantic 1*0300
Between 50* and 60* lati-
tude in the Atlantic . . 0*9994
Between 40* and 50' lati-
tude in the Atlantic
Between 93* and 40* lati-
tude in the Atlantic . .
Between o* and a^" lati-
tude in the Atlantic . .
0-9985
0*9972
09966
SouTHaxN Hbmisphbrx
Unknown
Unknown
In the Cold Currents of
Cape Horn 0*9990
In the Atlantic .... 0*9984
In the Atlantic
In the Atlantic
99970
09966
Of these the former, those of the Northern Hemisphere, are
most to be depended on, because the observations there have
been most numerous.
It will be seen by tliis table that the density of the water
of the ocean increases along with the latitude, and in almost
the same proportion both north and south of the equator. But
Forchhammer has also determined the salmess of the sea at various
depths, and has found that it decreases in very slow proportion
with the increase of the depth. It we start from this fact,
taking account at the same time of the decrease of temperature
in proportion to the depth, we find the resxilt to be that, at 500
fathoms below the 1 surface, the density of the water of the sea
over the whole globe maybe considered as equal to I, the differ-
ence at any particular point being scarcely discernible. But
since the density of the water of the ocean at a depth of 3,000
feet is everywhere equal to I, and since at the surface it di-
mmishes as we approach the equator, it is evident that the mass
of water underneath cannot be in equilibrium ; that if the surface
of the sea is more elevated between the tropics than under the
poles, and if we take the mean densities given above, at the
surface, and at the bottom of this liquid mass, we find that the
height of the surface of the sea above the level corresponding to
the density of I, ought to be nearly as follows : —
Height between the Equator and the Tropics 6*6 feet
„ „ Tropics and 40° lat . 4*2 „
„ „ 40' and 50' „ 2-2 „
u M 50 and6Q' „ 0*9 „
„ at K , . " ®'° "
„ between 60 and 70 „ 30 „
But a similar difference of level necessitates the formation of a
double surface-current passing from the equator to the two poles,
and that cannot take place without entailing a diminution of the
height of the water under the tropics, unless, indeed, there be an
equivalent afHux into the tropical seas. But if the level of the
water between the tropics be lower, the equilibrium of the under
strata will be destroyed, and there ought, consequently, to be a
submarine current which comes both from the north and the
south towards the equator. That there really exists a current in
that direction is a result of the circumstance that the temperature
of the sea decreases with the depth.
Supposing then that there were no other forces in action, the
difference of level mentioned above, ought, as Maury at first ad-
mitted, to give rise to a surfoce-current from the equator to the
poles, and an under-current from the poles to the equator.
But these currents are enormously modified by the interven-
tion of other forces. The north-east trade-winds react against
this equatorial current of the northern hemisphere, exercising
upon the surface of the sea an oblique pressure, of which the
effect is greater than that of the difference of level There re-
sults from this, reckoning from the 30^ latitude, a rising of the
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Nov. 30, 1871J
NATURE
91
water in a direction contrary to the liquid masses which the
south-east trade-winds tend to draw from the south Atlantic ;
at the same time the north-east trade-winds force the waters
of the surface, as Franklin supposed, to take a south-western
direction towards the Carribean Sea. In this sea, and in the
Gulf 01 Mexico, where the trade-wind* exercise no influence, the
water continues its course to the north by the Strait of Florida,
and thus gives birth to the Gulf Stream. Rut in order to enable
the Gulf Stream to advance from the Gulf of Mexico and the
Strait of Florida as far as 30"" N. latitude, a difference of level is
necessitated, which can be calculated by the help of the general
formula? for the movement of water in currents ; by this means
we find that the level of the water in the Gulf of Mexico ought
to be about 6 feet higher than at St. Au^^tine. If we then ob-
serve that in accordance with the density of the water at St.
Augustine, the level of the sea ought to be found to be about
3^ feet above the point marked zero, which corresponds to the
mean density of i, it follows that the level of the Guli of Mexico
is about 94 feet above that poinr, and that the trade winds are
the means of adding a height of 3 feet to the water of that gulf.
Af«er this immense curr nt — which, in the Strait of Bernini,
may be compared to a river delivering at the rate of 1,600,000,000
cubic feet pMsr second — has passed St. Augustine, it pursues its
course to the north* east, as has been said above. In order to
accomplish this long passage, it has at its disposal, at the most,
an incline of "i^ feet ; but it is easy to see that the force which
results from this is altogether insufficient to accomplish the work
which this movement demand^, and it eviden'ly follows that the
Gulf Stream ought, during all this omrse, to be subjected to the
action of another force, to which hitherto our attention has not
been drawn. But what is this force of which we have thus taken
no notice? Singularly, it is an old acquaintance, whose function we
have not sufficiently undersood, although Keplt-r was the first to
announce its import mce. In fact, the force which impels the
Gulf Stream towards the north is simply that which results from
the rotation of the Earth ; and it acts not only upon the Gulf
Stream, but is, as we shall see, the chief cause of all currents,
both a'mospheric and marine. That the daily rotation of
the earth should exercise an influence upon all currents which
go from the equator to the polrs and vice versd, and that the
direction of the trade winds are due to the same cause, are facts
well known. But though it is agreed that this rotation acts upon
the currents of the ocean, opinion has hitherto tteen very much
divided as to the importance of the action ; some maintainm^
that 'the rotation of the earth is the chief cause why the <fulf
Stream and the polar currents follow respectively the directi«»ns
north-east and south-west, while others hold that it cannot cause
any change to speak of in the courses taken by the ocean currents,
courses wh^ch they would continue to follow all the same were
there no rotation of the earth. But although there is so much
dispute as to this point, every one agrees in acknowledging that
we know but little about the matter, and in any case nothing
certain of the laws which regulate the movements of the ocean
and atm«tsphere ; for we are at pre^^ent ignorant whether the
atoms of water or air move without resistance, or whether they
meet and are subject to the action of certain forces, and we
know still le^s about the origin of these forces, their mag-
nituf^e, &C. This ignorance on the subject of the influence
which the rotation of the earth exercises upon the currents
is evidently due to the imperfect knowledge which we have
of the laws which regulate the movement of fluids in cur-
rents ; for if we had been able to establish that iuch a
force ought to be in play, we would, without doubt, .soon
htve determined the true expression. The thmg -s, in fact,
very simple ; if we suppose that a section of element cur-
rent fli»ws from the equator ia the direction of the meridian
in a definite channel, that line will turn with tlie earth with a
speed from west to east = %^— qos C, B representing the lati-
06400
tude, and R the 'radius of the earth. After a time dt^ during
which the current in question will arise at latitude 0 ■\- d d,
it will act upon the sides of the canal as if it were sub-
jected to a force which, in the time <//, had communicated to it
an increase of speed --^ — sin. B d 6 from west to east, the line
06400
of current being supposed perfectly free. The force which results
from the rotation of the earth ct>uld then be represented by
^ 86400 V t' 86400
f being the speed in the supposed channel But the movement
not being free, since the material section which we tu'e consider-
ing is forced to move in a channel from south to north, it will
exercise per unit of mass against the sides of the canal, a pressure
^ directeJi firom west to east. If the section, as we have sup]>osed,
forms part of a current compelled to move circularly in a channel,
it is evident that the surfece of the wa'er will rise from left to
right ; and if we designate the height by what it rises by A, for a
breadth of channel = /, we shaU have - ^ A = ^'"' ^ ^.
I 13750
The trajectory being the same, it is clear that the surface of the
cucrent ought to present the same slope, whether it moves in a
channel or flows freely in the middle of the sea. But it is no
less evident that whatever be the situation of this trajectory on the
surface of the globe, the section which m the time / is found at
latitude 0, and after the infinitely small time dt, arrives at latitude
B -\- d B, ought, imder the iofluence of the rotation of the earth,
to move in the same manner as if, the earth being immovable, it
had been driven from west to east with a force
*=l
sm. 6 -;— =
d_B
dt
sin. B, .sin. wv
86400 ' d t 13750
where v still represents the speed of the section under considera-
tion, and w the angle which the direction of the trajectory described
makes with the eastern part of the circle of latitude. But we
can, in consequence, put aside the rotation of the earth, and
consider the latter as immovable if to the other forces which
act upon the water, we suid the force ^ acting from west to east.
If we rtecompose this into two other rectangular forces, one of
them following the direction of the current, which, let us suppose,
has throughout its course a fall -^ , we find that its surface
ought to present from left to right, and perpendicularly to the
direction of the current, an elevation -j , whose value is given by
the equation
(I)
^7 =
sin. B sin * w. v
13750
and that the liquid mass is impelled forward by a force
[sin. B sin, w cos w v du l
i3750 dl^ J
which, in accordance with my theory, leads to the following
equation of the movement of the current : —
(a) it - ^*-^24-00>^ K« -hK. V^-k-Vl t ^ sin.tf sin.wcos-w V±}\t,
2^ 3 zg H X3750 ^a
where u is the fall of the current in the length X>. H its depth,
V^ its initial speed, and F'its final speed after having run the
course ^. In short, if, according to the theory, we place for the
delivery of the current per second
(I) 2 - 082 V.H.L
we shall have the fundamental formulas which give the laws of
the course of ocean currents over the whole surface of the globe ;
the angle 0, which is p>ositive in the northern hemisphere and
negative in the southern, having its values comprehended between
o* and 90°, while the angle w^ following the direction of move-
ment, may be found in the ist, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th quadrant.
It folUws from these three formulas that all the currents of the
northern hemisphere, whatever be their direction, have a surface
which goes on rising firom left to right, and whose progress, the
force resulting from the rotation of the earth, accelerates or retards
according as they move in the 1st or 3rd, or in the 2nd or 4th
quadrant : hence it follows that a movemeut in one of these latter
quadrants is possible only when the current possess* s a sufficent
fall, or an equivalent force, due, for example, to the action of
the wind, the specific weight of the water of the sea, &c. When
the current follows the meridian, the inclination of its surface,
perpendicularly to its direction, is at the maximum ; but besides
this, the rotation exercises no influence upon its course. When
the current flows at right angles to the meridian, the fall - = o^
and the rotation has, in short, no effect upon its cour$;e.
If, then, we consider the Gulf Stream from its exit from the
Gulf of Mexico, we see that, in its passage from Bernini to St
Augustine by the Strait of Florida, where it runs directly north,
the current is kept up by a diffe'cnce of level which, as has been
stated above, may, for that extent, be estimated at six feet.
Throughout this course the current presents from west to east
an elevation whose total value is about I 3 feet.
From St Augustine to the Bay of New YorkUic Gulf Stream
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92
NATURE
\Nov. 30, 1 87 1
runs towards the north-east ; in all this coarse it is impelled by
the rotation of the earth with a force corresponding to a fall of
from nine to ten feet, and rises from left to right about I '2 feet.
From the Bay of New York the GuU Stream runs eastward
towards the shores of Europe, and, throughout the passage,
obeys the impulse of the force of rotation, which raises it from
left to right by a total elevation of about one foot. Having
reached the neighbourhood of Europe, the current divides into
two nearly equal branches, one of which, under the influence of
the diminished force of the action of the earth's rotation, runs in
a south-easterly direction towards the coast of Africa, with an
elevation from left to right. The other branch, meanwhile, is
forced to skirt the coasts of Great Britain, taking a more
northerly direction on account of the resistance it meets with
from the land, the action of the force of rotation causing it to
advance in its northerly course with an elevation from left to right
facing the land of one and-a-half feet If we try to estimate the
intluence which the earth's rotation exercises upon the Golf
Stream from St Augustine to the 60th degree of N. latitude, we
find that the force is nearly the sam: as that which would act
upon the current, if, between these two points, a distance of
about 950 miles, the Atlantic showed a difference of level of
twenty-five feet When the Gulf Stream has passed the northern
extremity of Scotland, the resistance which obliged it to take a
more northerly direction disappears, and, from this time, the
principal current inclines more to the east towards the coast of
Norway, which it then skirts to the north>east, sloping towards
the land on account of the earth's rotation. Another branch of
the Gulf Stream is arrested by Iceland in its course to the north,
and turned to the north-west, striving against the earth's rota-
tion, which elevates it towards the south and south-west coast of
the island just mentioned, it ought consequently to present a
slope towaixls the north-west as far as the polar current
[To he continued,)
I
SCIENCE IN GERMANY*
N his address at the opening of the present University Session
at Berlin, the out-going Rector quoted some interesting figures
showing the effect of the recent war on the activity of the Uni-
versity. In October 1870 there matriculated in all the faculties
1,236 students, while the number of entries for the winter session
of 1869 was 2,421. Of the 1,236 students who entered their
names in October, only 904 continued their attendance through-
out the winter. The actual number of medical students last wm-
ter was 173, while in the previous winter session they amounted
to 5 )0. The falling off in numbers extended about equally to
a'.l the four faculties ; but it appears that none of the theological
s udents who entered at the beginning of the session were required
to break off their studies. The courses of lectures, public and
pi ivate, that were announced amounted to 366, and of these 27 1
actually came off. Forty students took their degrees — 8 in juris-
]>rudcnci, 19 in medicine, and 13 in philosophy. The number
of deaths, so far as was ascertained, amounted to 32. The Uni-
versity seems now to have returned to its full activity, to judge
fr>m the crowded state of many of the classrooms. A few
of the students are to be seen wearing the ribbon of the Iron
Cro>8.
T«v'o ladies from America have applied to the Berlin University
eutho.iiies fcr permission to attena the medical classes. One
la ly, a Russian, is studying chemistry in Prof. Hofmann's labora-
tory. An American lady has been studying medicine at Bres'au,
and has sent to an American newspaper a glo^^ing account of
htr friendly reception at the Silesian Universiiy. Another pioneer
of the same sex is studying engineering at the Polytechnic School
of Aix-la-Chapelle ; and two ladies recently joined the University
of Prague, where they are studying under the professor of his-
tory. During the past summer a solitary American lady, M.D.,
attended the clinics at the Vienna General Hospital, and appeued
to suffer, to the full extent, the inconveniences of being in so
considerable a minority.
Tlte autumn season on the Continent, as in England, is marked
by the occurrence of various scientific gatherings. At several
of these, Prof. Virchow baa been receiving invitations, which the
Berlin newspapers have chronicled firom time to time. At the
Assembly of German Naturalists and Physicians, held at Ros-
tock, his speech was the great event of the meeting. During
the Bologna Conference of Arcbasologists, he was entertained at
•From a Coocspondoit oC the Britith Midkal y^moL
a banquet b^ the Italian dignitaries and men of science ; and
at a scientihc assembly held in Rome, the audience rose to their
feet to welcome the celebrated Berlin professor, who made them
a speech in French. In his address to the Rostock Conference,
Virchow made some remarks upon the nature of annual scientific
gatherings, of which he himself is an assiduous frequenter. *' It
was a matter of encouragement to me," he said, " when I read
in the proceedings of the recent meeting of the British Associa-
tion, in the opening address of its renowned President, Sir William
Thomson, that Brewster, in his letter by which he called the
Association into existence, expressly stated that he was led to
this step from considering the great and beneficent results that
the German Naturalists' Association (Naiurforscherversammiung)
had achieved during its nine years' previous activity. We were
the first to advance among all nations ; the English fcklowed, and
the number of these associations has gradually increased. They
have, by degrees, extended into every possible province of human
activity, and we have thereby become accustomed, by the co-
operation of the many, to define more clearly the common objects
at which the whole has to aim." And again, speaking of the
results of these meetings, he says : "Not only the pleasures of
fellowship, which are mse{>arable from a great congress of indi*
viduals ; not only the amenities of personal acquaintance, which
cannot be too highly valued ; the forming of friendly ties, where
perhaps, under other circumstances, harsh and even bitter oppo-
sition would have sprung up ; the reconciling of many controver-
sial antagonisms through personal intercourse— all this is the
smaller result There is yet a greater—the communication of
knowledge, the explanation of methods, the clearing up of the
directions in which research should be undertaken — and these are
things which can be nowise better told than by word of mouth."
The main subject of Professor Virchow's address was the part
that science would have to play in the new national life of Ger«
many. Their work, he held, was to introduce into the popular
life of the nation the great and all-pervading idea of evolution.
Space will not permit even to give an abstract of his views.
Among the books that have ismed from the German press
within the last month or two are — the new edition of Virchow's
" Cellular Pathology," much improved and enhurged ; Professor
Traube's "Contributions to Physiology and Patholocy," in two
bulky volumes, one containing experimental and the oUier clinical
researches ; a new instalment (the fifth) of Strieker's " Hartdbuch ;"
a treatise on Leuchaemia, by Professor Mosler of Greifswald ;
and an elaborate work with plates, by Barkow of Breslau, on
" Dilatations and Tortuosities of the Blood-vessels," with special
reference to aneurism of the aorta in its various sites.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
The fourth number of the Zeitschrift fur Ethndogie for the
present year begins with Dr. A. Erman's concluding part of his
" Ethnological Observations on the coasts of Behring's Sea." He
draws attention to the bold and often successful surgical treatment
which was found to have been practised b^ the Aleutians when they
were first visited by Europeans. The mfluence exerted by the
Russians on these primitive people has tended to make them
conceal, or even gradually relinquish the practice of many of their
old national habits, and, amongst other usages, they have almost
wholly given up their heroic surgical operations. Dr. Erman
met, however, with one skilled Aleutian operator, from whom
he learned manv particulars in regard to the native practice of
his art It would appear that their variously-sized lancets are
formed of finely-polished and sharply-edged flakes of obsidian.
With these instruments bleeding in the leg as well as the arm is
performed, and incisions made in various parts of the body, in*
eluding the thoracic walls, for the purpose of removing blood or
pus, in cases of their effusion into the cavity of the pleura, or in
pulmonary disease. But although we are told that this practice is
not found to be attended with any dangerous results, we are not
informed how the injurious effect of any possible admission of air
into the chest is guarded against The Aleutians exhibit great
dexterity in removing various parts of the bodies of whales, and
of sea-lions and other seals which they have killed, as, for instance,
the mucous membrane of the neck, without in any way in-
juring the contiguous parts. And they show wonderful skill
in fabricating from such membranes thoroughly water-proof and
highly elastic coverings for the feet and legs, as weU as those
invaluable rowing dresses known as " Kamlejkes," which, when
drawn over the head and upper part of the body and fastened
L/iyiLiiLcv,! kjy
<3^'
Nov. 30, 1871J
NATURE
93
down to the rowing seat, enable the Aleutian in his one- holed
haidurka to bid denance to the fiercest storm and roughest sea.
Unlike their neighbours, the Kamtschadales, who, in their
aversion to come in contact with a corpse, throw their dead to
their dogs to be devoured and removed from sight, the Aleutians
devote much t'me and care to the preservation of the body after
death. This they do so effectually that they can keep the corpse
in their dwellings for more than a fortnight without causing in-
jury or annoyance to the living, while long after death the
features and external appearance of the deceased remain uii-
changed. Dr. Erman supplies us with many valuable addi-
tions to our knowledge of the social habits, taste for
ornamentation^ traditional lore, language, &c., of the Aleutians.
In counting the Aleutian employs 20 as his highest
numeral, making all larger quantities dependent upon that
number; thus, 40, 60, &c, are respectively 2, 3, &c., twenties.
— In Uie second paper of the Zdtsckrift, Dr. Robert Hartmann
continues his careful summary of the remains of Swiss
Lacustrine dwellings, passing in review the principal mammals
represented in the deposits, and entering fully into the often-
discussed question whether the diluvial Cave bear ( Ursus spd€nis\
is identical in species with our common bear ( U. arctos) or whether
and to what extent it differs from it. Dr. Hartmann seems dis-
posed in this inquiry to regard the question of identity as pos-
sessing strong claims to probability, although there may not be
sufficient ground at present to answer it affirmatively. — " The
Nirvana and Buddhistic Morality *' forms the title of a very com-
prehensive paper by A. Bastianf which treats very fully of the
principles on which the faith of Buddha is based, the ideas under-
lying the various forms which it has assumed, and the special
phases of human thoughts and feelings to which it more par-
ticularly addresses itself. — In a paper by G. Rohlfs, entitled
** Henry Noel, of Bagermi,'* the writer gives an account of the
kingdom of Bagermi, which is situated on the N. K of Lake Tsad,
in Central Africa. The Bagermi people are a pure Ethiopian
race, who, in point of moral and intellectual capacity, may be
said to form the link between the most highly-developed negro
kingdoms, and the numerous small negro states, lying to the S.
of them, of which we do not even know the names. The King
and Court of Bagermi, after a temporary adhesion to Islamism,
have relapsed into their old Fetish worship, in which trees appear
to form the principal objects of adoration. The practice of
taking sisters and daughters in marriage prevails in the reigning
family ; but, while the rich indulge extensively in polygamy, poor
men take only one wife.~Dr. Behmauer, of Dresden, gives a
rhumi of an official paper by the Assistant- Resident, Herr J.
Riedel, of Batavia, on the geographical, topographical, and
Geological character of the districts of Holontalo, Limoeto, Bone,
ioalemQ, and Kattingola or Andagile in the Celebean Isthmus
of the Eastern Archipelsga To this is appended much useful
information in regard to the statistical, historical, and social con-
dition of these countries, from which, however, we are not
led to form a favourable opinion of the character, either
of the Aborigines or of the Chinese and other foreign settlers.
There are different grades of nobility, and till lately slavery and
the slave-trade were allowed. Opium is undermining the health
and vigour of the upper classes, and the poor are sunk in misery
in the midst of an abundant vegetation, and with numerous
sources of wealth around them ; the mountains and river beds
being rich in minerals. On the banks of the river Lonoeo lumps
of gold have from time to time been found as large as a hen's
egg. — The last paper in this number of the Zeitschrifi that we
can notice is one by Herr Neumayer on the intellectual and
nr.oral qualities of the native Australians.
Thb American Journal of Science and Arts for* October.
The first paper in this number is " On the Connecticut River
Valley Glacier, and other examples of Glacier Movement along
the Valleys of New England," by James D. Dana. In former
papers by the author he has pointed out the existence of a Con-
necticut valley glacier in the gladal era, understanding bv this
expression that the under part of the great ccntinental glacier,
lying in the Coimecticut valley, moved m the same direction. In
the present paper the evidence with regard to this movement ii
gone into more fully, and further evidence is given to show that
other large valleys of Central axd Western New England had, in
the same sense, their valley glaciers, that is the > alleys deter-
mined the direction of the ice that lay within them. — Mr. R.
Pumpelly follows with a second contribution "On the Para-
§enesis and Derivation of Copper and its Associates on Lake
luperior." He gives a number of observations as to the minerals
occurring with copper in various mines. In many of the cases
in which calcite crystals are found enclosing copper, it is difficult
to distinguish as to the relative ages of the two. The author
has, however, conclusive proof that each of the following cases
occur: — (i) that the copper was present before the calcite Ise-
gan to form and became enclosed in the growing crystal ; (2) the
crystal of calcite was partly formed, then became incrusted with
copper, and was finished by a new growth of calcite over the metal-
lic nlm ; and (3) the copper has entered the calcite crystal since
its growth was finished.— A valuable paper follows, " On photo-
graphing Histological Preparations by Sunlight," by J. J. Wood-
ward. The arrangement which is found most suitable is to place
the microscope at the window of the dark room, the body being
horizontal, the achromatic condenser is then illuminat^ by a
solar pencil, which is reflected from a heliostat on to a movable
mirror. Between this minor and the achromatic condenser there
is placed a 2-incb lens of ten inches focal length, at such a
distance that the solar rays are brought to a focus, and begin
again to diverge before they reach the achromatic condenser.
When a photograph is to be taken, a cell containing ammonia-
sulphate of copper is placed between the lens and condenser,
working with a power of 500 diameters ; the time of exposure
was but a fraction of a second. By allowing the solar rays to
come to a focus before reaching the achromatic condenser, the
heat rays may be separated from the light rays by so adjusting
the* condenser as to bring the light rays to a focus, while the
heat-rayr, after passing the second lens, became parallel, or
even divergent according to the position of the achromatic
condenser. The author nnds that a right-angled prism may be
used instead of the heliostat, 'and in working with low powers
a piece of plain unsilvered plate-glass is sufficient instead of the
mirror. — The concluding original paper in this number is ** On
the Discovery of a New Planet, oy Dr. Peters, which will
probably receive the number 116 of the asteroid group. The
elements of the 1 14th asteroid have been computed, and are
given, which show that this planet is not so small as was sup-
posed. It is found to be now in the remotepart of its orbit,
near its aphelion.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, November 16. — General Sir Edward
Sabine, K.C.B., president, in the chair.
''Contributions to the History of the Opium Alkaloids. —
Part III." By C. R. A. Wright, D.Sc.
•' On a Periodic Change of the Elements of the Force of Terres-
trial Magnetism discovered by Prof. Homstein."
'* Corrections and Additions to the Memoir on the Theory of
Reciprocal Surfaces, PhiL Trans, vol. clix. (1869).'* By Prof.
Cay ley, F.R.S.
"Corrections to the Computed Lengths of Waves of Light
published in the Philosophical Transactions of the year 1860.''
By George B. Airy, C.B., Astronomer Royal. The author, after
adverting to the process by which in a former paper he had
attempted the computation of the lengths of waves of light, for
the entire series measured in the solar spectrum by Kirchhoff,
from a limited number of measured wave-lengths, and to the dis-
cordances between the results of these computations and the
actual measure of numerous wave-lengths to which he subse-
quently had access, calls attention to his remark that means
existed for giving accuracy to the whole. The object of the
preient paper is so to use these means as to produce a table of
corrections applicable through the entire range of KirchhofTs
lines, and actually to apply Sie corrections to those computed
wave-lengths which relate to spectral lines produced by the
atmosphere and by many metals. Adopting as foundation
the comparisons with Angstiom's and Ditscheiner*s measures
given in the former paper, and laying these down graphi-
cally, the author remarks that in some parts of the spec-
trum the agreement of the two experimenters is very close,
that in some parts they are irreconcilable, and that in one part
(where they agree) there is a peculiarity which leads to the sup-
position that some important change was made in Kirchhon's
adjustments. He then explains the considerations on which he
has drawn a correction -curve, whose ordinates are to give the
corrections applicable to his former computed numl:«rs. A
Digitized by
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94
NATURE
\Mov. 30, 1871
general table of corrections is then given, and this is followed by
tables of the lengths of the light-waves for the air and metals as
corrected by the quantiiies deduced from that general table. The
author remarks that he has not yet succeeded in discovering any
relation among the wave-lengths for the various lines given by
any one metal, &c., which can suggest any mechanical explana-
tion of their origin.
Zoological Society, November 21. — Prof. Flower, F.R.S.,
V.P., in the chair. Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on
a fine skin oi Atelesvaricgatus Wagner (i4. bartletti Gray) which
had been received in a collection from Oyapok. on the eastern
limits of Cayenne, bei«'g a new locality for this species. — A com-
munication was read from Prof. 0*en, F.R.S., containing the
thirrl of a series of memoirs on the osteology of the Marsupials.
In this memoir Prof. Owen entered at full length into the modi-
fications observable in the cranium of the three kn »wn species
of Womb Its {Phascolomys). — Dr. Giinther, F.R S., read a report
on several important collection of Fishes which had been recently
obtained for the British Museum collection. Amongst them were
many new forms from the Pacific, obtained through the agency
of the Museum Godefroianum of Hamburgh ; several novelties
from Celebes, collected by Dr. B. Meyer ; and some interesting
fishes from Tasmania, transmitted by Mr. Morton Allport.
Dr. Giinther called special attention to the occurrence of many
well-known European forms of fishes in the Australian seas, and
in explanation of this fact, su^ested that these might also occur
as deep-sea fishes in the intermediate seas of the tropics. — A
paper by Mr. A. Anderson was read, containing notes on
the Raptorial Birds of North Western India. — A communi-
cation was read from Messrs. G. Srewardson Brady and David
Robertson, giving descriptions of two new species of British
Hohthuroidea, — Mr. P. L. Sclater exhibited and described, under
the name Turtur aldebranus, a specimen of a new species of Dove
of the genus Turtur, from the coral reef of Aldabra, norh of
Madagascar. This specimen had been lately living in the
Society's Gardens, having been presented by Mr E. Newton.
— A paper by Mr. John Brazier, of Sydney, N.S. W., was read,
giving descriptions of seven new species of the genus Helix,
and of two Fluviatile MoUu^ks from Tasmania. A second paper,
by Mr. Brazier, contained notes on the specific names of cenain
Land Shells from the South ^ea Islands. — A communication was
read from Count Thomas Salvadori, containing a note on Cericrnis
cabotL — A communication was read from Mr. W. T. Blanford
ving a description of a new Himalayan Finch, proposed to
le called Procarduelis pubescens, from Sikim.
Anthropological Institute, November 20. — Sir John Lub-
bock, Bart., M.P., president, in the chair. — Captam R. T.
Barton, late H.M.'s Consul, Damascus, read a paper on *' An-
thropological Collections from the Holy Land." Captain
Burton having unexpectedly returned to England, under the
peculiar circumstances now publicly known, travelled to Palmyra
&om Damascus between April 5 and April 20, 1870, and has
brought home specimens of the Palmy rene mummies, the first
which have seen the light in England, statuettes, beads, coins,
and other articles calculated to throw light upon a subject hitherto
left in the gloom of antiquity. On some ot the figures described
were emblems illustrative of the Phallic and other mysteries, and
according with similar reli ^nes found at Nineveh. — Dr. Carter
Blake read a lorg note on the human remains discovered by
Captain Burton ac Palmyra. These indicated an entirely dif-
ferent race from that which inhabited modem Syria, and tl e
skulls afforded many points of resemblance to the ancient Phoeni-
cians which have been described by other anthropologists. The
men were of large btature, in one case reaching probably about
6 feet 4 inches. There were among these remains not one which
could be confidently referred to the Hebrew race, a fact on which
the author laid stre^ without offering any comment. Minute
descriptions and measurements of all the specimens were given.
Captam Burton will read further papers before the Anthropo-
logical Institute, and describe, with topographical notes, the
various objects of silex and others which he collected during his
22 months of seivice in Syria and Palestine.
Entomological Society, November 20. — Mr. A. R. Wallace^
Sesident, in the chair. The following gentlemen were elected :
r. C. V. Riley, State Entomologist for Missouri, as foreign
member; Lieutenant B. Lowrley, R. E., and Mr. F. Raine, as
ordinary members ; and Mr. W. H. Mi-kin as a subscriber. —
Wiih reference to Prof. Westwood's exhibition of Formua her^
culanta (at the last meeting), fonnd in the crop of a great black
woodpecker said to have been shot near Oxford, Mr. Dunning
t
remarked that, according to information received, several ex-
amples of this bird (presumably of foreign origin) were exposed
for sale in the London marke s at the precise time of its supposed
occurrence near Oxford. Prof. West wood had information from
Messri. Robertson and Jack^n that it occurred in Devon ; the
former gentleman affirming that he had repeatedly seen it at Clo-
velly. Mr. F. Smith was informed that thirty examples had been re-
corded as British, and that one in particulAr had been shot by the
grandfather of the present Lord Derby. Mr. Jenner Weir re-
iterated his belief in the species not being British, and Mr. Bond
said that every recorded instance had been traced and found to
be erroneous, save Lord Derby's example, concerning which
doubt exLsttd. Mr. E. Sheppard could not reconcile the occur-
rence of a gigantic ant, not hitherto known as British, in the crop
of a bird, the origin of which was open to dou^t, with the idea of
I he former being an addition to the British Fauna. Mr.
McLachlan suggested that Prof. Westwood should visit the locality
in which the bird was said to have been shot, and search for the
ant The discussion ended by Prof. Westwood promising to
furnish further evidence. — Mr. Bond exhibited small pale ex-
amples of Ijisiocampa trifoiii, which appeared to form a distinct
race ; also females of Clisiocampa castrensis, with the wings on
one side assuming male characters, without any evidence of
gynandromorphism. — Mr. Stainton exhibited a vzneXjoi Agrotis
comes ( Triphana orbona of collections), captured near Exeter by
V!r. Dorville. — Mr. Smith exhibited the cocoons of the Americ2ui
Tiphia tarda ; these were double, consisting of a flimsy outer
casing, and a hard inner cocoon. He expressed his belief that
the larvae of the Tiphia devoured those of Aphodiut, Mr.
McLachlan brought before the notice of the meeting an instance of
mimetic resemblance between two common North American
Ubdlulida. The insects in question were Libellula pulchdla
Drury, and Plathemis tritnaculata De Geer. In the former the
sexes were nearly similar in appearance ; in the latter very dis-
similar, and the female almost precisely resembled that of Libii^
lulapulckella. During the discussion which followed, the ques-
tion was raised as to the liability or non-liability of dragon-flies
to the attacks of birds. Mr. F. Smith had seen swallows
devouring Agrions, and Mr. Bri|?gs had observed a congest
between a sparrow and a large dragon-fly in the streets of London,
in which the former was obliged to retreat. It was recommended
that American entomologists should observe the habits of these
two species, and suggest a reason for the close mimicry existing
between them. — Mr. Miiller related that he had fonnd the larvae
of a Thrips to be destructive to peas, by eating the out^de of the
green pods. — Mr. McLachlan read notes on the confusion ex-
isting in the nomenclature of the common European Myrtnde'
onu&, in consequence of Linnaeus having confounded them in his
descriptions. — The publicatiim of a further portion of the pro-
pos<Hi general Catalogue of British Insects [HynutwpteraAculeaia^
by Mr. F. Smith) was annocmced.
Linnean Society, November 16.— Mr. G.Bentham, president,
in the chair. — **0n the Floral Structure of Impatiens Julva,*' by
A.|W. Bennett, F L. S 1 he author described the closed " deisto-
genous " flowers of this plant, which are far more numerous than
the well-known conspicuous flowers, and which produce nearly
all the seed-vessels, being abundantly self-fertiUsed. He sug-
gested that the " cap " formed by the calyx and corolla in these
dosed flowers is thrown off by the elasticity of the stamens,
which are entirely different in structure from those in the con-
spicuous flowers, the anthers never dehiscing, but the pollen
pur ting out its pollen-tubes while still in the anther, and piercing
the wall in order to come into contact with the stigma In the
conspicuous flowers there is a peculiar arrangemtmt in the form
of a membrane attached to the stamen-iube, which prevents the
access of pollen to the stigma, and as they do not appear to be
visited by insects they seldom produce seed-vessels. — " Florae
Hongkongensis Supplementum," by H. F. Hance, Ph.D. In
this paper a large number of new species are described, increas-
ing the number included in Bentham's " Flora Hongkongensis"
by about one-seventh.
Glasgow
Geological Society, November 2.— Mr, John Young, vice-
president, in the chair. Mr. James Thomson, F.G S., laid
before the meeting some portions of curiously spotted day which
he had obtained during the recent excavations to the east of the
old College of Glasgow. He suted that the occuzrence of white
spherical spots in the Old Red sandstone, particularly in the
neighbonrhood of Dumbarton, had often been remarked by the
members, and various opinions had been expressed as to the pro*
L/iyiiiiLcu kjy
<f>^'
Nov. 30, 1871]
NATURE
95
bable cause of the discolouration. Having observed similar
sphmcal markings in a bed of dull red clay which was being
excavated near the old College, he secured several portions of it,
which, after drying, split freely and exposed both discoloured
spots and lenticular patches similar to those found in the Old Red
sandstone referred ta On examination, he observed m the centre
of each discoloured spot faint indications of some foreign bodv,
which, on closer scrutiny, proved to be decayed vegetable
matter ; and on further braking up the clay, he found the matrix
around this vegetable nmtter uwap more or less discoloured,
while the fibrous or woody matter itself was nearly black. He
suggested that the phenomenon was due to the chemical affinity
of the oxide of iron in the clay for the constituents of the vegetable
matter, and that the dvcolouved spots in the red sandstone
might be due to a similar cause, though no trace remained of the
organism by which they were occasioned.
Dublin
Royal Geological Society, November 8. — Edward Hull,
M. A., F.R.S., Director of the Geological Survey of Ireland, in
the chair. G. H. Kinahan, M.R.I.A., read a paper on the Coal
Measures of Ireland. This paper was in reply to some state-
ments made by Mr. Hull at a former meeting oi the Society in
regard to the work of the late Mr. J. B. Jnkes and his colleagues.
Mr. Hull had stated that, while true Coal Measures existed in
Connaught, there were none in either Leinster or Munster. The
author argued that this assertion was quite erroneous, and that
the Coal Measures of these three provinces were identicaL Mr.
Hull, in reply, seemed to aigue that the lower Measures in
Munster ana Leinster were very similar to the so-called Yoredale
rock and millstone grits of England, but acknowledged the
general correctness of the maps published under Mr. Jukes'
direction. Rev. Dr. Haughton moved that Mr. Kinahan's paper
be published, and express»l his belief that all such subjects were
much better discussed on published data. — Rev. Dr. Haughton
F. R.S., read a note from Mr. Richardson, secretary to G. R.
Graves, M. P., of Liverpool, mforming him that the Neptune^
CapUin Edwards, had just put in from Quebec, and that the
Captain reported that on the 12th October, at sea, in lat 46** N.,
long. 35° W., at about 4 P.M., blowing strong from W., he
observed a dense cloud of fog arise on the western horizon,
which gradually came up with and surrounded the vessel, and so
continued until midnight From first coming up with the ship
until clearing off, there prevailed a very strong smell of burning
wood, both the Captain and crew felt their eyes much irritated by
the smoke, and the decks were strewn with fine dust At the time
the ship was more than 2,000 miles from Chicago. — Prof.
Macali^ter exhibittd for the President, Lord Enniskillen, the skull
of Urms ferox found in the County of Monaghan.
Royal Irish Academy, November 13. — The President, Rev.
Dr. Jellett, in the chair.— Dr. Whitley Stokes read a paper " On
the Feire of Oengus." This ancient Irish MS., of^ which Dr.
Stokes presented a translation to the Academy, although it, he said,
was of but little literary merit, possessed from the purity of its voca-
bulary considerable value to the student of comparative philology,
revealing very fully the position whidi the Celtic occupied in
the great Aryan family of languages. Dr. Stokes illustrated
his views by the comparison of many words with their cognate
forms in Greek, Latin, Sanscrit, &c. He also explained the
structure of the metre in the poem, and mentioned the several
copies of the MS. in existence. — Prof. R. Ball read a paper,
written by his brother, Valentine Ball, B.A., of the Geological
Survey of India, " On the Andaman Islands,'' in whidi he gave
a short account of a visit to the " Home " at Mount Augusta,
which he made in company with Mr. Humfrey, who is the
superintendent of the Home, and Dr. Curran. — Prof. Ball
read a paper " On a Geometrical Study of the Kinematics, Equili-
brium, and small Oscillations of a Rigid Body."— G. H. Kina-
han read a paper " On the Granitic and other Ingenite Rocks of
the Mountainous track of Country west of Loughs Mask and
Corrib." The term Ingenite he adopted from David Forbes.—
Paris
Academy of Sciences, November 13. — M. Dumas noticed
the lo58 which the Academy had sustained in the death of its
foreign associate, Sir Roderick Murchison, of whom he spoke in
high terms. — M. F. du Moncel read a note on the most economical
smmngement of voltaic piles with respect to their polar electrodes,
in continuation of a former note. — 'M. Faye presented a note on
the spectroscopic measurement of the rotation of the sun by
means of Dr. ZoUner's reversion spectroscope, in which he stated
that Dr. Vogel of Bothkamp, near Kiel, had succeeded in effecting
this measurement, and ascertained a velocity of rotation of 2,497
metres per second. — M. Faye also communicated a memoir on
the law of rotation of the sun, in reply to a reclamation by
Father Secchi, and a memoir by Dr. ZoUner ; in this he indicated
the reasons which led him to the belief that the sun is a gaseous
body. — M. Le Venier announced that but few meteors had been
observed in France on the night of the 1 2- 13th November. — M.
Phillips read a paper on the governing spiral of chronometers. —
M. H. Resal presented a note on the movement of a material
system referr^ to three rectangular axes capable of moving
around their origin. — General Morin communicated a memoir by
M. Tresca on the results of experiments of flexion made upon steel
and iron rails beyond the limit of elasticity. — A note bv M. W.
de Fonvielle was read relating to an observation made by M.
Tanssen on the stoppage of the rotation of the car of a balloon. —
MM. BecQuerel presented a memoir on the temperature of soils
covered with low vegetation or denuded. The observations were
made at various depths below the surface, from five to sixty cen-
timetres, and showed that the mean temperature during the
months of August, September, and October is lower under a
denuded surface than under one covered with herbage. — M. C.
Sainte-Claire Deville noticed the observation of faint aurora
boroJis in France on the evening of the 9th November. — A
memoir, entitled "Thermic Investigation on Crystalhne Disso-
ciation," by MM. P. A. Favre and C. A. Valson, was read. The
authors remarked upon the variety of phenomena involved in the
solution of a crystalline salt in water, which they proposed to
study from the thermo-chemical point of view, and tabulated and
discussed the results of the solution of a long series of crystalline
salts chiefly sulphates. — M. £. P. Berard presented a note on the
salant^ or saline crust, which is formed on the shores of the Medi-
terranean upon certain unproductive soils. Common «^alt is the
chief ingreaient in this crust — M. Berthelot communicated a
continuation of his memoir on the formation of precipitates, in
which he discussed the thermal phenomena associated with the
separation of the acid of salts from the base. — M. Maumen^
presented a note calling attention to the fact that he had some
years ago indicated the possibility of the slow transformation of
cane sugar into gluco«e. — M. J. Decaisne communicated some
observations on the Fomacese, the chief object of which was to
indicate the characters by which this important group of plants
may be divided into good natural genera. — M. Bos.sin and M.
Baudet communicated suggestions for the destruction of
Phylloxera vastatrix.-'Vi, Claude Bernard presented a note by
M. Ranvier, on the Histology and Pnysiology of the Peripheral
Nerves. — M.Milne- Ed wards presented a note on Oncidium edit'
cum, by M. L. Valiant, in which the author described the
anatomy of that curious gasteropod, and expressed the opinion
. that although rightly placed among the Pulmoaata, it presents
certain affinities with the Opisthobranchiate mollu>ca. — M. de
Quatrefages communicated a note by M. E. Perrier on Eudrilus,
a new genus of Lumbricina from the West Indies. — M. M^ne
presented some investigations on the fat of domestic animals.
November 20. — A paper was read by M. de Saint- Venant
on the mechanics of ductile bodies. — M. H. Resal presented
a memoir on the movement of a point subjected to the
action of a periodical cause, which experiences a con^^tant
resistance directed in the inverse direction of the velocity ; M. C.
Roz^ a note on the asymmetry of the terminal curves of the spiral
spring of chronometers ; and M. de ^aint Venant a memoir by
M. J. Boussinesq on the theory of the undulations and movtments
which are propagated along a rectangular horizontal canal when
there is communicated to the lioutd Cvntained in this canal like
vel«*ciiies from the surface to tne bottom. — M. Yvon Viliarceau
communicated extracts from a letter from Mr. Gould relating to
the establishment of an Observatory at Cordoba in the Argentine
Republic. — M. Le Verrier communicated a note giving the resulu
of observations of meteors made in France on the 12th. 13th, and
14th November. Those observed on the 12th and 13th issued from
a point in the neighbourhood of the ctmstellation Auriga ; the
"Leonides" or meteors issuing from Leo were most numerous
on the night of the 14th. M. Faye made some remarks on this
communication, and to these M. Le Verrier replied. — M. Cha*
pelas also presented a note on the meteors of November 1871. —
M. Le Verrier presented a note by M. de Gasparis on the formulae
for calculating the orbits of double stars. — M. P. A. Favre read
a continuation of his thermic investigations upon electrolysis, in
which he discussed the thermic phenomena observed during the
electrolysis of sulphate of copper, sulphate of zinc, nitrate of copper^
L/iyiLi^cvj kjy
<f>^'
96
NATURE
\Nov. 50, 1871
and mixtures of neutral sulphates of dnc and copper with sulphate
of hydrogen. — ^M. Elie de Beaumont made some remarks upon
the Mont Cenis tunnel, and read a letter from Father Seccbi on
the pendulum experiments which it is proposed to make in the
tunneL — M. J. Bourcet presented a paper on the velocity of sound
in sonorous tubes. — -M. Jamin communicated a note by M. £.
Gripon on the transverse vibrations of wires and thin plates, and
also a note by M. Alvergniat on a new phenomenon of phospho-
rescence produced by frictional electricity. According to the
latter a small quantity of chloride or bromide of silidum
hermetically sealed in a vacuum tube gives a bright luminosity
when the tube is rubbed with a piece of silk. The chloride
gives a rose colour, the bromide a greenish yellow.— M. Lc
Verrier presented a note on the history of the observations on
the action of ecliptic conjunctions upon the elements of terrestrial
magnetism, by M. Moise Lion. — M, Le Verrier also presented
a note by M. Tarry, giving an account of an aurora borealis ob-
served at Brest on the 9th November, in which the author
noticed particularly the perturbations manifested by the appara-
tus employed in telegraphy. — ^M. Le Verrier also remarked that
auroras had been observed in Piedmont on the nights of the
snd, 9th, loth, and 15th November, and referred to the coin-
cidence between the occurrence of these phenomena and the
November flight of meteors, which M. C. Sainte-Claire Deville
supposed to exist — M. Berthdot read the conclusion of his paper
on the formation of precipitates. In this he discussed the changes
which take place in the state of aggregation of precipitates,
illustrating bis views by the facts observed in the cases of the car-
bonates of strontia, baiyta , lead, and silver, and of the oxa-
lates.— M. Wurtz presented a note by M. £. Ritter on the trans-
formation of albuminoid matters into urea by permanganate
of potash. This note contained an experimental confirmation of
M. B^champ's statement — M. de Quatrefages communicated an
extract from a letter by M. £. S. Delidon, on the butts of Saint-
Michel-en-rHerm, and on the means by which their elevation
above the sea, and other local elevations, may have been
eflected. He considers that local elevations mav be due to infil-
tration of fresh and salt water. — Mr. £. Blanchard presented a
note by M. S. Jourdain on the anatomy of the sunfish (Orthugo*
riscus mo/a)^Axi extract of a letter from M. A. Poey to M. fiie
de Beaumont, on the influence of violet light upon the growth
of the vine, pigs, and cattle, was read. — M. de Quatrefages pre-
sented a note by M. F. Garrigou on lacustrine habitations in the
Pjrrenean region of the South of France. In this note the author
describes the results obtained bv him in the investigation of the
deposits of ancient lakes at the foot of the Pyrenees.
BOOKS RECEIVED
Ei^GLiSM.— Beeton's Medical Dictionary (Ward, Lock, and Tyler).
Foreign ^Anales del Museo pubUco de Buenos Aires : Entrega octava :
por German Burmeister ( Paris. Savy). (Through Williams and Nor:gate.)—
Beitrige cur Parthenogenesis aer Arthropoden : von Siebold. — Lehrbuch der
chemischen u. physilcalischen Geologie: G. Bischof. — Untersuchung des
Wegcs eines Lichutrahls durch eine beliebige Anzahl von brcchenden
sph&rischen Oberflichen : P. A. Hansen —Die Arachniden Australiens nach
der Natur beschrieben und abgebildet : Dr. L. Koch.
PAMPHLETS RECEIVED
English.— On the Formation of the Cirques of Brittany : Rev. T. G.
Bonney.- Law of Husband and Wife: PhiloGunilias.— The Obstacles to
Science Teaching in Schools : Rev. W. Tuck well —Educational Hospital
Reform: T. J. Boyd. — Report of Science and Art Department of the Com-
mittee of Council on Education, South Kensington — Directory, with Regu-
lations for Establishing and Conducting Science Schools. — Flinu, Fancies, and
Facts ; a Review : W. Robinson.— Cases of Diarrhoea : Dr. Cbapnun. —
Apprenticeship to the Sea Service ; a Circular of the Boud of Trade.— Pro-
ceedings of the Bristol Naturalists' Soeiety, Vol. iv., part z. — Glaciatioa of
the Morth-west of England : C E. De Ranee.— Cholera and Disinfection ;
Asiatic Cholera in Bristol in x866 : Dr. Budd. — Primary Schools and the
Difficulty of Spelling : £. Jones —On the Eff.ctof Small Variations of Tem-
perature on bteel Magnets : Gordon and Newall. — Prize Medals of the
Royal Geographical Society.— General Representation on a Complete Read-
justment and Modification of Mr. Hare's Scheme : A. E. Dobbs — Reply to
John Hampden's Charges airainst Mr. Wallace. ^The Variations at Different
Seasons of a HitraciHm : Prof. Balfour. — Quarteriy Jotunal of Education,
Oaober— Fifteenth Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health of St.
James's. — On the Pre-fl^adal (Geography of Northern Cheshire : C K. De
Ranee.— Man contemplated Physiodlyi Morally, Intellecttially, and Spiritu-
ally: T. W. Jackson. — Introductory Lecture on Experimental Physics:
1 .Qerk Maxwell.— On Ocean Currents : J. K. Laughton.
American and Coloniax..— On the Constitution of the Solid Crust of the
Earth : Archdeacon Pratt.— On the Direction and Force of the Wind : F. C
Loomis.—Influenceof Temperature : F. C. Loomis.— Thotightsoo the Hicher
Education of Women: Prmdpal Dawson.— Papers and ^occedings of the
Royal Society of Tasmania, 1871.— Monthly Notices of the Royal Society of
Ta^maniu, 1871.— ReporU of the Mining Surveyors and Registrars, Victoria,
June 30, 1871.— Victoria ; Patents and Patentees^ VoL iv. : W. H. Ardw.-
Victona : Seventh Report of the Board of Visitors to the Obeenratory.-
Lessons on Population, suggested by Grecian and Roman History : Dr. N.
Allea.— An Address delivered at the Annual Exhibition of the Fanners' Oob.
Princeton : Dr. N. Allen.— On the Intermarriage of Relations : Dr. N. Allen.
—Remarks on the Relations of Anomia: E S. Morse.— Corrcspoodcaaoo
the subject of Atmospheric Electricity : Seth Boydcn--Spean>KopicNote.
Prof. C A. Young.
FoRUGN.— Mediziniscfae Jahrbflchcr, 1870: S. Stricker.-On the Knraal
Variation of the Inclination of the Magnet at Batavia. : P. A Bergnuan.-
Onthc Lunar Atmospheric Tide at Batavia : P. A. Befjmann.— Balklin de
la Sod^t* d'Anthropologie de France, Tome v.— Siudi sopra mi^Kyasgo
anemofilo delle composte ossia soprail fcruppo ddle Artcmisiacee : Delpbo.-
Zeitschrift des oesterreichischen (;eseH»chaft fur Meteorologie, Band n.,
Nos. 14-aa.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Novkmbkx 3a
Royal Socistt, at 4. — Anniversary Meeting.
Society or Antiquakibs, at 8,30.— Notea on an Example of Alaminna:
Phalar*: W. M. Wylie. F.S.A.— On an Early French Deed (a.d. ik;)
Relating to the Knights of Saint John of Jeruudem : C K. WatsoD, U.K.
FRIDAY^ Dbcbmbbk 1.
Gboixksists* Association, at 8.— On the Glacial Drifts of North Londa :
H. Walker.
ASCIL«0L0GICAL INSTITUTE, at 4.
SUNDAY, Dbcbmbbk 3.
Sunday Lbctuke Society, at 4.— The Coast Line and its Teadiisp:
Dr. T. Spencer Cobbold, F.R.S.
ZMONDAY, DBCBMBBE4-
Entomological Society, at 7.
Antheopological Institute, at 8.— Anthropological CoUertions mm te
Holy Land. No II.: Capuun Richard F. Burton, F.R.aS -Ob s Cot
lection of Flint ImplemenU from the Cape of Good Hope : Prot. Bu«.
F.R S., and Rev. Mr. Dale. ^
VicTOEiA Institute, at 8.— The Serpsnt Myths of Ancient Egypt : »». k-
Cooper. 1
London Institution, at 4.— The Physiology of Bodily Motion and
Consciousness (VI.) : Prof. Huxley, F.R.S.
Royal Institution at a.— Geoend Monthly Meeting.
TUESDAY, Decbmbkb 5.
Zoological Society, at 9.— On the Freshwater Siluroids of IndiaiBd Bitf-
mah : Surgeon Francis Day, F.Z.S.— On a Small Collection of »iBerfl«*
from Angola : A. G. Butler.— Description of a New Genns of Lepidoptera,
allied to.^/a/«m : A. G. Butler.
Society op Biblical AECHiCOLocv, at 8.30.
1VEDNESDAY, Decbmbbk 6.
Geological Sooety, at 8. . , j
Society ok Aets, at 8.-On Sewage as a Fertiliser of Land, and Landasa
Purifier of Sewage: J. Bailey Denton. ^^
MiCEOSCOPiCAL Society, at 8.— On Microscopic Uredines : M. C to<*«»
M.A.
THURSDAY, December 7.
Royal Society, at 8.3a
Society op Antiquaries, at 8.30.
Chemical Sooety, at 8. „ j- • •
LiNNEAN Society, at 8.— Botany of the Grant and Speke Expcditioo.
Lieut,.Col. Grant, CB , CS.I.— On a hvbrid Yaainimm bet«««>.»5
Bilberry and Crowberry : R. Gamer, F.L.S.— On the Formation of Bntun
Pearis, and their possible improvement : R. Gamer, F.L.S.
CONTENTS Pa«
Arctic Exploration. By C R. Markham. F.R.G.S. JJ^
Ord's Notes on Comparative Anatomy. By Dr. P. H. PvE-SMrrM. 79
OuE Book Shelp ^
Letters to the Editob: — „
Instmction in Science for Women.— F. E. Kitchener g,
Tme and Spurious Metaphysics.— Prof. P. G. Tait, F.R.S. • • • 5;
" Wormell's Mechanics."^ : : J'
Solar Halo.— Prof. A, S. Herschel, F.R.A.S. iiVitA lUMstnUum) 8'
Paraselene.-T.McK. Hughes, F.G.S. IWiik JUustrtttum) - • f
The Solar Parallax.— Rich. A. Proctor, F.R A,S \*
The Density and Depth of the Solar Atmosphere ^^
An Aberrant Forammifcr.— W. Johnson Sollas. {H^itk lUustf*-
tion) ;^
•' New Original Observation *• J*
New Zealand Forest-Trees.— W. Davison ^
The Food of Plants.-<:uTHBERT C Gruwdy J^
The Germ Theory of Disease.— George Dawson J*
The Origin of Species* J}
New Volcano in the Philippines. By Wm. W. Wood **
Spectroscopic Notes. By Prof. C A. Young, Ph.D. {With Jlhu-
tratums.) g
Notes ^
Coloing on the Laws op Currents in Ordinary Conduits and ix
THE Sea. II ^
Science in Germany ^
SciENTiPic Serials ^
Societies and Academies 93
Books and Pamphlets Received • * S
Diary "f
Eratum.- P. ^, col. s, lines 19. x8, x6 firom bottom, for ** lioean" v»^
Digitized by
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NATURE
97
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1871
THE CHAIRS OF SCIENCE IN THE
SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES
THE biographer of a Scottish Professor says (we fear
boastfully) that his friend had lectured on anatomy,
chemistry, physiology, pathology, medical jurisprudence,
and medicine, and that he was well qualified also to lecture
on botany, mineralogy, and geology. There were giants then
surely, but their day is past ; for the Professor of Natural
History in Glasgow University is just now trying to pro-
cure the erection of a new Chair, on the ground that geo-
logy or comparative anatomy is, either of them, as much
as he can effectively teach. Perhaps no better indication
of the enormous progress of Science during the last half
century could be found than the facts we have mentioned.
The earlier professor found his multifarious duties possible
because the subjects were very limited, and, in physiology,
chemistry, mineralogy, and geology, the means of investi-
gation were few. Now geology has outgrown the dimen-
sions of anatomy, as a teaching subject. The Chairs of
Natural History in Scotland, now only two in number,
those in Glasgow and Aberdeen (for Science is only pro-
vided for temporarily in St. Andrews at present at the
cost of Civil History), are remarkable foundations. There
is no clear notion what the Professors may not teach.
Custom has settled that geology and zoology shall be ex-
pected of them, and the Ordinances of the University
Commissioners act upon this tradition. But it is
doubtful if successful restraint could be put upon an
eccentric Professor who selected ethnology and meteoro-
logy as his topics. He would lose class fees ; but as he
holds from the Crown, and the Crown has not defined his
duties, he would be legally safe. Fortunately there has
been no attempt hitherto to act independently of Uni-
versity needs ; on the contrary, there have been from time
to time voluntary modifications of the class work, both
as regards the length of the courses and the subjects, so
as to meet the needs of students. But this very com-
plaisance has been injurious ; for, to take the case of
Glasgow, the Universities (Scotland) Act made zoology a
compulsory subject for medical students, and the Court
and Senate at a later date resolved to grant a degree in
Engineering Science (modestly calling it a certificate), re-
quiring geology as one of the subjects of examination.
Complete systematic courses were therefore indispens-
able, and the attempt to provide these has demonstrated
their impossibility ; hence the present attempt to procure
a change.
While sympathising with the Glasgow Professor, and
with his colleagues in Aberdeen and in Queen's Col-
lege, Ireland, we decline to discuss the question as one
of individual hardship, or even as detracting from
the efficiency of one or several Universities. The
existence of lectureships which profess to be scientific,
but which can only be popular if the work is equally
divided between the different subjects, is an evil which
demands a remedy, and Scotland cannot be indulged in
her fancy for multiple Chairs, as anatomy and botany,
logic and rhetoric, moral philosophy and political
economy, civil and Scots law. If the teacher has a strong
VOL, V.
bias in favour of either subject he will throw himself
into that and neglect the other, even though it forms
part of that curriculum for which a degree is granted.
Now, apart from the degradation of a scientific honour, the
lowering of the standard of scientific teacliing is especially
to be guarded against at the present time. There are too
few inducements for young men to devote themselves to
Science as a life profession, still less encouragement do
they receive to devote their energies to one branch exclu-
sively. If our Universities continue to sanction average
teaching, it will be a substantial injury to education
throughout the country, and will put an end to that scientific
work upon which the progress of science and the reputa-
tion of the country ought to rest : for it cannot be expected
that a man whose ideas are frittered away by desultory
work can have either the inclination or the time for patient
continuous research. It is to be regretted that the
Scottish Universities are too poor to help themselves in
this matter. Private liberality has placed Edinburgh in
a right position ; geology and zoology being respectively
the entire occupation of Geikie and Wyville Thomson.
In Newcastle the new college has started wisely with one
subject, geology ; but it is to be hoped that zoology will
ere long be added as a separate professorship. In the
London colleges separate provision, such as it is, is made
for these two branches of Science, and even in the Uni-
versities which flippant so-called Radicals are wont to
denounce as effete, and to contrast unfavourably with their
Scottish sisters, there is provision for teaching as well as
for the teacher.
It is in the interest of these and other bodies that
we urge the necessity of reforming Scottish Universities
in the matter of Science teaching. If they are per-
mitted to continue as at present, the good done by their
better equipped rivals will be diminished. It is a
mistake to suppose that one college is better off if the
teaching in another is defective ; that may happen for a
year or two, but in the end all suffer for the fault of one,
all are lowered in tone though they may not be brought
equally low. To maintain English teaching, Scottish
teaching must be raised. But as no funds exist on which
a just claim may be established for this purpose, private
generosity or the State purse are the only appeals.
Cabinet Ministers have been known to talk of Science as
having condemned itself if it is not self-supporting, and
in London there is a current opinion that Science is too
largely subsidised, comparatively speaking, north of the
Tweed. But it must be remembered that in Glasgow and
Aberdeen, even in Edinburgh, it is impossible, save in the
exceptional case of the director of the Scottish Survey,
to find a man qualified for the post, and at the same time
deriving an adequate income from other sources ; for the
time is past when Science was the pursuit only of the
wealthy. It may not be sound in principle, but it is a
practical necessity for the State to endow Science in the
provinces ; failing that and failing local effort, it would be
best, in the interests of sound education, to suppress the
starved chair altogether. But in the particular cases at
present under consideration there is a strong claim on the
State ; the chairs of Natural History are creations of the
Crown, and as circumstances have altered greatly since
their creation, it behoves the Crown to secure that its in-
tentions are fulfilled by making corresponding alterations.
L/iyiiiiLcu ijy
<^-
98
NATURE
{Dec. 7, 1 87 1
Of course this is the final resort after it is clear that
Scotsmen decline to supply the money needed ; but in
Glasgow at least it is not to be believed that the examples
of Manchester, Birmingham, and Durham will be without
effect. All that has been said is equally true of Ireland ;
but the practical treatment of the difficulty involves other
considerations upon which we cannot at present enter.
JUKES'S LETTERS
Letters and Extracts from the Addresses and Occasional
Writings of J. Beete Jukes, M,A,, KR.S., KG.S.
Edited, with connecting Memorial Notes, by his Sister,
with a Portrait. (London : Chapman and Hall, 187 1.)
HOW few among us — ^when his glass is run — would care
to have the story of his life from year to year, even
from his boyish days, writ down and published to the
world — indeed, how very few would be found worthy of
more record than "born, lived, died." Now and again,
however, one meets with a man whose career in life is not
only lifted above the monotonous hum-drum existence of
ordinary mortals, but who, both by his life and writings,
attracts our admiration and regard.
Such a man was Joseph Beete Jukes, a sketch of whose
life and writings, together with some two hundred letters,
edited by his sister, Mrs. A. H. Browne, form the substance
of this volume.
Blest not only with a goodly person and stature but
with a noble and generous nature, which won to his side
both the ignorant and the educated, Mr. Jukes was also a
man of high mental endowments, and both as a speaker
and a writer had the knack to command attention. But
in his leisure hours no one entered more keenly than he
into all the enjoyments of the country, being fond of hard
riding, and a keen sportsman and good shot. Nor was he
less fond of a good joke, as his letters often testify.
Educated at Cambridge during Sedgwick's palmy days,*
no wonder that he caught some of the fire from " Old
Adam," as his students lovingly nicknamed him, and
instead of entering the Church, as his mother fondly hoped,
inaugurated a career for himself by walking through Der-
byshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire,
and many other parts of England, geologising and lec-
turing wherever he could get a class to attend. And very
successful Jukes seems to have been. Writing from Not-
tingham in June 1838, he says, " I have had a very good
class here, never less than two or three hundred, and
frequently four or five hundred " (p. 26).
Having about 1838 made himself acquainted with prac-
tical surveying, he was in 1839 offered the appointment of
Geological Surveyor of Newfoundland, a post he gladly
accepted, and which occupied his time until the close of
1840. Into all the hardships of this work he entered with
his accustomed good-will and spirits. Mr. Jukes contrasts
his own easier lot with that of the hardy naturalist Prof.
Stiiwitz, who " set off at the beginning of December in a
boat with a little cuddy, to which (he says) my cabin is a
palace, to see the winter fishing in Fortune Bay, with the
chance of being frozen up on his return, and having to get
ashore and come through the woods and snow," and he
adds, " don't talk of my hardships and privations and
courage" (p. 91). But the Newfoundland survey ended
* He matriculated al St. John's in 1830, being then nineteen years or age.
in October 1840,* and early in 1842 Mr. Jukes had the
satisfaction to find himself appointed to the office of
Naturalist to the Expedition for surveying Torres Straits,
New Guinea, &c., on board H.M. ship Ftj^, commanded
by Captain E. P. Blackwood, R.N. This task, so conge-
nial to him who loved no occupation so well as one re-
quiring constant out-door exercise in the saddle, on foot,
or on the water, occupied him until June, 1846, and during
his four years' absence his letters and journals furnish
abundant materials of interest to the reader ; much of
which, however, will necessarily also be found in Mr.
Jukes*s book entitled " Narrative of the Surveying Voyage
of H.M.S. Fly (2 vols.), published in 1847.
His description of scenery in the interior of Java is
very interesting :— " Rich plains covered with all kinds of
tropical productions, watered in every direction by clear
rocky brooks, surrounded by mountains, either in single
cones or serrated ranges, from 5,000 to 11,000 feet in
height ; abundance of game whenever we choose to stop
and shoot, jungle-fowl, peacocks, deer, wild pigs, tigers.
We crossed one great range of mountains by a path that
led us through the extinct crater of a volcano, five miles
across and 7,000 feet above the sea, and in the centre of
which was a small cone and crater still in action, though
when we looked down into it it was only blowing out
steam, with a roar as of a thousand blast-furnaces.
Take a scene on the slope of these mountains, as they
dip into the plain of Malang. Scene : — An open mountain
valley, full of coffee plantations, with small scatte ed
villages, into which opens a deep mountain glen, cro Aded
with the rankest luxuriance of tropical vegetation, groups
of tree ferns and great broad-leaved plants, so as to arch
over and frequently hide altogether the full brook
that comes flashing and roaring down the rocks in a
succession of rapids, varied by waterfalls ; the road,
narrow, steep, and slippery, as it winds down the sides of
the glen, expands into a broad green lane, with an ex-
quisite carpet of turf as it opens on the more level lands ''
(pp. 238, 239).
Like every other man who is fond of the sea, we find
him exclaiming, " I confess I am getting more and more
enamoured of a sailor's life, and regret I did not know
the navy early enough to enter it. I see it would have
suited me exactly" (p. 251).
But Mr. Jukes was destined to be a geologist. On
the return of the good ship Ely, in June 1 846, he only
allowed himself a few weeks at home before he had
again " signed articles " to Sir H. T. de la Beche, then
Director- General of the Geological Survey, and in October
joined Profs. Ramsay and Forbes at Bala. These appear
to have been his most intimate friends, as his letters to
Ramsay abundantly attest. His letters to Forbes have,
unfortunately, not been preserved. To those not con-
nected with the Survey, this is the section of the book
which it seems to us will be the least interesting, although
here and there one comes upon a funny bit or a matter
of public interest
His fagging away at the geology of the rocks south of
Conway forms the subject of many letters, and the solu-
tion of their puzzling structure is well given at p. 306. For
^^ * For an account of his Newfoundland experiences and travels, see also
" Excursions in and about Newfoundland during the years 1839 and 1840,"
a vols. 8vo, London, 1842. Sec also " Report on the Geology of Newfound-
land." folio. 1840.
Dec. 7, 1871]
NAtukn
^9
comical bits, the story of a new fossil discovered (p. 314) ;
the boundary of the Caradoc Sandstone at Pentre Voelas
(p. 318); and "a strange and marvellous history of a
temptation and what befel thereon " (p. 323)) must be read
and laughed over, as also must the account of Miss
Moggore and Miss Bood, natives of Murray and Damley
Islands, who would walk arm-in-arm with Mr. Jukes
(p. 252).
Besides a vast number of letters to Prof. Ramsay, all
more or less relating to geology, there are letters to Dr.
I ngleby and other relatives ; one on Versification (p. 377),
in which two of Mr. Jukes's own verses appear. The
annexed is a sample, probably intended for the Old Annual
Survey Dinner : * —
Free o'er the hills our feet shall roam.
We'll breathe the mountain air, sir ;
Care shall not ever dare to come,
Nor grief pursue us there, sir.
Joyous in Nature's wildest scene,
Where rocks lie topsy-turvy.
And falling waters flash between.
We'll prosecQte the Survey.
Oh, the Survey, the Geological Survey !
Health and good humour shall be queen
Of the Geological Survey !
We have religious beliefs considered (p. 375) ; views
on Providence (p. 386) ; creeds (p. 409) ; political opinions
(p. 405), and many other matters discussed.
But we have said sufficient to recommend the book to
all who are likely to be interested in it. We would es-
pecially direct geologists to it, as being the record of the
life of a man who did very much for their science — indeed,
who died in its service. To his friends, who are to be
found scattered far and wide, the title of the book is suffi-
cient to recommend it to them. To his relatives and
intimate companions his memory will always be dear.
It seems strange that Prof. Jukes's life should be dedi-
cated to Prof. Sedgwick, his early teacher ; but so it is —
the old oak, though decayed and feeble, still puts out its
green leaves ; but the younger man, whom he bid God
speed thirty years ago, has already rested from his
labours. H. W.
OUR BOOK SHELF
The Science of Arithmetic. By James Comwell, Ph.D.,
and Joshua G. Fitch, M.A. Thirteenth Edition.
(Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1870.)
The School Arithmetic, By the same authors. Eleventh
Edition. (Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1871.)
These books are too well known to mathematical teachers
to need detailed notice from us. Both are very good,
and stand in the first rank among the scores of arith-
metics published in England. The explanations, arrange-
ment and examples, especially in the former book, are
generally very good. We will venture, however, to
suggest two or three changes to the authors, which we
think would render the book better still, and which our
experience would make us wish to see universally
adopted. The rule for multiplication of decimals given
in these books is the old one of counting the decimal
places. We think this becomes a rule of thumb. The
method ought to be the same as that in multiplication of
integers ; and it is at once seen by the pupil that as in
* Alas I that this time-honoured iiudtutkm of meetins " all hands " once a
year should have fallen into disuse. It was a very bond of union.
multiplying by tens and hundreds, the figures are shifted
to the left ; so in multiplying by tenths and hundredths,
they are shifted to the right The decimal point is
brought down straight, and each line in the working has
its meaning ; as in the example, multiply 71 2*35 by
15807 :—
7"-35
15-807
35617s
569-^
498645
11260*11645
ude
This is more certain to be understood every time it is
dotie than the old counting rule, and each line means
something. Again, in that schoolmaster's crux^ the di-
vision of decimals, we have in the books before us, the
old Case i. Case 2, and Case 3 ; and everybody knows
the result in an examination. A better method is this,
which we indicate briefly. Explain first that you cannot
divide until the quantities are of the same kind, and of
the same denomination. You cannot divide 2/. by 3
pence, till you have reduced the pounds to pence. Nor
can you divide tenths by thousandths, till you have re-
duced the tenths to thousandths. Hence, to divide
I '375 by '0025, the dividend must first be expressed in the
same denomination as the divisor, namely as ten thou-
sandths ; this amounts to marking off as many decimal
places in the dividend as there are in the divisor, which is
best done by drawing a line after the figure, and then
dividing. It is plain that the result is integral until the
figures on the right of the line are brought down. It is
worth while, perhaps, to give examples of the different
cases ; the explanation is obvious from what has been
already said —
Divide 7-9 by 4*308—
4-3o8)7-900voo(i-83..
4308
35920
34464
14560
Divide 3479628 by 2*5—
2S)347\9628(i3-9i....
97
75_
229
225
""46
Lastly, the methods of summation by differences and
interposition are essentially arithmetical, and of consider-
able interest, and we thmk might be introduced with
advantage in the larger work.
The miscellaneous questions at the end of the larger
book are not particularly good. They are often tedious^
and not sufficiently varied, suggestive, or difficult. Never-
theless, the books are very good, and will teach teachers
as well as learners. J. M. W.
Skandinaviens Coleoptera, synoptiskt bearbetade af G. C.
Thomson. Tom. X. 8vo. (Lund, 1868. London :
WilUams and Norgate.)
Therk are few investigations of more interest to the
student of British Natural History than the comparison
of our native productions with those of the Scandinavian
peninsula, and no descriptive works published on the
Continent, a knowledge of which is of greater importance
to him, than those of the acute and laborious naturalists
of Scandinavia and Denmark. The work done by these
L/iyiLi^cju kjy
<3^'
lOO
NATURE
[Dec. 7, 1 8 71
men is usually of the highest quality, both for carefulness
of investigation and clearness of statement ; and the great
similarity which exists between the faunas and floras of
our islands and of the Scandinavian region, enables their
work to be used to a certain exteat as handbooks by
British Naturalists. May their study lead the latter to
imitate the Scandinavian mode of work ! We are led to
these remarks by the receipt of the tenth and concluding
volume of Prof. Thomson's descriptive work on the Scan-
dinavian Coleoptera, although this consists almost entirely
of corrections, emendations, and additions to the con-
tents of the nine previous volumes, in which the syste-
nriatic description of those insects was completed. Prof,
"ifhomson's work will be found of th; highest value to the
British entomologist, inasmuch as a very large proportion
of the insects described in it are inhabitants of these
islands, and many of the others will probably be dis-
covered hereafter in the north of Scotland. The whole
descriptive portion of the book is written in Latin, the
characters, although often brief, are admirably drawn
up, and the determination of the species is greatly facili-
tated by the excellent tables both of genera and species
given throughout the work. Amended tables, introducing
all new forms discovered during the progress of the book,
are given in the second part of the ninth and in the tenth
volumes. Although it appears under a Swedish title, the
only portions of the work written in that language are the
notices of localities of occurrence and critical remarks on
genera and species, the former, at any rate, requiring little
knowledge of^Swedish for their comprehension. \V. S. D.
Ichneumonologia Suecica^ auctore Aug. Emil Holmgren.
Tom. II. (Stockholm, 1 87 1. London: Williams and
Norgate.)
This is a second most important Swedish work, which
illustrates in a striking manner the remarks which wc
made in noticing M. Thomson's " Skandinaviens Coleop-
tera." In this the author has commenced a monographic
revision of the Swedish members of one of the most
difficult families of insects, the Ichneumonidae, which he
here treats in an almost exhaustive fashion. We cannot
venture to say how far he is correct in his synonymies, or
in the reference of supposed species toothers as varieties ;
but he has spared no pains in the preparation of his de-
scriptions, and the student of his book will find no difficulty
in understanding precisely what he means. This work,
when completed, will be an invaluable aid to the few ento-
mologists who venture upon the study of the Ichneu-
monidae. W. S* D.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not held himself responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondettts. No notiee is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
The Planet Venus
This beautiful planet being now very favourably situated for
examination, it may interest many of your astronomical readers
if I give a brief description of the markings which have recently
been seen on her surface. That these markhigs are exceedingly
difficult objects to detect, even with a powerful telescope and
under favourable atmospheric conditions, there b no doubt, and
many observers have consequently failed to see them. The late
Rev. W. R. Dawes, although possessed of very excellent vision,
could never make them out, and it seems that the fact of their
existence is doubted at the present time by some ob^rvers. At
the meeting of the Rojal Astronomical Society on November
10 last, " me Astronomer Royal mentioned that Venus was veiy
favourably situated for observation, especially for noticing spots
if any existed on her surface, his own experience being that there
were no certain markings thereon, which the President corrobo-
rated. " The opinions of such eminent astronomers should always
be carefully considered, and the matter in dispute thoroughly
investigated, before a contraiy opinion is entertained. In the
present case, however, I think that there is a suffic*c cy of
evidence to prove that markings of various forms exist on the
surface of the planet I ana the more particularly induced to say
this by having before me upwards of sixty sketches of their appear-
ance, made by expsriencei observer*, whi in the making of ob-
servations employ telescopss of great power and excellent defini-
tion. No doubt the faint cliudl ke mirkings can only be made
out after attentive gazing, and then are scarcely visible, though
they have been distinctly seen by many observers. It is difHcult
to account for the fact that Mr. Dawes could not dist nguish
them, but perhaps the reas m may be apparent, if we consider that
an observer who is the most successful in the observation of faint
companions to double stars, cannot satisfictorily observe ih?
faint markings with which th: plane's disc is diversified.
Many observations of the spots were mule at Rome in 1839—
1841, and of six observers those we-e the most successful who
experienced the greatest difficulty in detecting minute com-
panions to large stars.*
With respect to the spots ani markings which have recently
been examined, it may be said that they are of various forms and
degrees of visibility. Some of them are only just perceptible
after a long and careful scrutiny of the planet's di c, while others
are much more apparent, and distinguishable with less difficulty.
Whether or not they are permanent in their form remains to be
determined from a comparison of the whole of the observations.
Some of the representations of the cloudy spots taken at different
dates seem to be somewhat similar in their principal features.
Several times that position of the planet's^ surface immediately
adjacent to the terminator has been seen to' be interspersed witti
small bright circular spots, which seem to be analogous to lunar
formations. These bright spots have been seen by several of
those who have critically examined the planet's appearance.
They were seen by Mr. T. H. BufTham on May 4 and May 6,
1868, and Dr. Huggins at the last meeting of the R. A.S. said
that " he had occasionally seen dusky spots, but he considers
them as very uncertain or illusive. When, however, the
crescent was thin and the planet near the earth, he had seen
minute points of light on the termiiuitor, which by most ob-
servers was described as irregularly indented. He had also
noticed that when definition was very good, appearances analo-
gous to those of lunar craters had been seen. Dr. De la Rue
had often seen markings on Venus similar in character to those
observed on Mars." An observation made by Mr. F. Worthing-
ton, with a 13-inch reflector, on June 1 1 last, confirms the
statement made by Dr. Huggins in reference to the bright mark-
ings on Venus being similar to objects on the surface of our
satellite. He writes, "Definition extremely good. The markings
were very clearly seen, and bore a very remarkable resemblance
to the craters and inequalities of the moon as seen with a low
power, say an opera glass." From the foregoing it would appear
to be beyond a doubt that, when the planet is in a crescent form,
small bright markings, resembling lunar craters, are perceptible.
These objects should be persistently looked for, and when
observed the details of their appearance ani position duly
registered.
That the dark, cloud-like markings are similar to those on the
surface of Mars, as stated by Dr. De la Rue, seems also an
established fact. Mr. Henry Ormesher saw seversil irregular spots
on Venus on May 10 last, and he says they were ''clear and
well-defined, and reminded me very much of those on the planet
Mars, as they had much the same appearance." Of course the
markings on Mars are much more conspicuous than those visible
on Venus, but in their appearance there is no doubt that they
are not altogether unlike.
In many of the drawings which I have before me the outlines
of the cloudy patches do not terminate abruptly as in the case of
the penumbnc to solar spots {macula) but seem to fade away
into the general brilliancy of the disc. In some uf the sketches,
however, the boundary of the spots appears to have a well-
marked outline. In r^rd to the terminator, it seems to have a
very serrated edge, but in some of the drawings this is not
depicted.
Referring again to the coincidence in the appearance of the
bright spots of Venus and the craters of the moon, I would
draw the attention of your readers to the Rev. T. W, Webb's
•' Celestial Objects," second edition, p. 51, in which there is an
observation of interest recorded. William F. Denning
Hollywood Lodge, Gotham Park, Bristol, Nov. 28
•S«e Webb's "Celestial Objects,** p. 50. It is there stated that " a verv
sensitive eye which would detect the spots more readily would be easily
overpowered by the lijrht of a brilliant star, so as to miss a venr murnte one
in its neighbouriiood. /^"^ ^^ ^^ "l ^
..yitizedbyCjOOgle
Dec. 7, 1871]
NATURE
lOI
The Flight of Butterflies
In the 103rd numher of Nature there are two notices of
xemarkable butterfly flighU in America, and it is asked " Where
the yellow butterflies are going?" Mr. R. Spruce, in ** Notes
on some Insect and other Migrations observed in Equatorial
America" (published in the Journal of the Linnean Society,
voL ix. No. 38, read June 6, 1867), has the following curious
account of similar flights, which, he says, have also been de-
scribed by Messrs. Edwards, Wallace, and Bates : ** The fir^t
time that I fell in with such a migration was in November 1849,
rear the mouth of the Xingu, when I was travelling up the
Amixon from Parii to Sautareon. . . . We saw a vast
multitude of butterflies flying across the Amazon from the
northern to the southern side in a direction from about N. N. W.
to S. S. E. They were evidently in the last stage of fatigue. They
were all of common white and orange yellow species, such as are
bred in cultivated and waste grounds, and having found no
matrix wheneon to deposit their eggs to the northward of the
river (the leaves proper for their purpose having probably been
already destroyed or at least occupied by caterpillars) were going
in quest of it elsewhere. The very little wind there was, blew
from b^ween E. and N.E., therefore the butterflies steered their
course at right angles to it ; and this was the case in subsequent
flights I saw across the Amazon. . . . But the most notable cir-
cumstance is that the movement is always southward. . . . Since
my return to England I have read Mr. Bates's graphic description
of a flight of buttcrfliej across the Amazon, below Obidos, lasting
for two <ia)rs without intermission during daylight. These also
all crossed in one direction, from north to south. Nearly all
were species of Callidryas, the males of which species are wont
to resort to beaches, while the females hover on the borders of
the forest and depos't their eggs on low-growing, shade-loving
Mimosas. He adds, * the migrating hordes, so far as I could
ascertain, are composed only of males.' It is possible, there-
fore, that in the flights witnessed by myself the individuals were
all males in which case the flights should probably be looked
upon, not as migrations, but dispersions, analogous to tho^e of
mile ants and bees when their occupation is done, and they are
('oomed by the workers to banishment, which means death. In
the case I am about to describe, however, the swarms certainly
comprised both sexes, although I know not in what proportion ;
and their movements were more evidently dependent on the
failure of their food.
*' In the year 1862 I spent some months at Chandsey, a small
village on the desert coast of the Pacific northward of Guayaquil,
where one or two smart showers are usually all the rain that falls
in a year ; but that was an exceptional year, such as there had
not been for seventeen years before— with heavy rains all through
the month of March, which brought out a vigorous herbaceous
vegetation where almost unbroken sterility had previously pre-
vailed. In April swarms of butterflies and moths appeared coming
from the East, sucking the sweets of the newly-opened flowers,
and depositing their ^gs on the leaves, especially of a Boerha-
avia and of a curious Amsuranth, until the caterpillars swarmed
on every plant. New legions continued to pour in from the
East, and finding the field already occupied, launched boldly out
over the Pacific Ocean, as Magalhaens had done before them,
there to find a fate not unlike that of the adventurous navigator.
No better luck attended most of the offspring of their prede-
cessors, especially those who fed on the Boerhaavia. The shoal
of caterpillars advanced, continually westward, eating up what-
ever to them was eatable, until, on nearing the sea shore and the
limit of vegetation, I used to see them writhing over the burning
sand in convulsive haste to reach the food and shelter of some
Boerhaavia which had haply escaped the jaws of preceding
emigrants. The explanation of this continual westward move-
ment is not difficult. A few leagues inland, instead of the sandy
coast-desert with here and there a tree, we find woods, not very
dense or lofty, but where there is sufficient moisture to keep
alive a few renmants of the above-mentioned herbs all the vear
round, and doubtless also of the insects that feed on them. There
are also cattle farms. When the rains come on, therefore, they
cause as it were a unilateral development of the vegetation from
the forest across the open ground, and a corresponding expansion
of the insect-life which breeds and feeds upon it."
The whole paper is very interesting, but I have copied only
such portions as bear on the question " Where are the yellow
butterflies going?"
T. S-M.
The Origin of Insects
In an article by Dr. Beale, in your number for Nov. 23, on
" One of the Greitest Difficulties of Darwinism, "a most extrao> .
dinary misconception is stated to be a difficulty. That the pupa
state is a modification of the ordinary process of skin-shedding in
the Insecta is proved by so mmy facts, that one cannot under-
stand for a moment how it can possibly bs denied, mu^h less how
its denial can be mide us? of as an argument against the doc-
trine of evolution. Sir John Lubbock pointed out long ago that,
in the development of the Insecta, every grade of modification
exists b^ween those insects which are gradually developed,
each successive ecdysis producing only the slightest possible
modifications, and those which undergo a change so complete
that it may be likened to the process of metagenesis, as it has
been called, which takes place in the Echinodermata.
It is an utter mistake to suppose that any insect is redeveloped
during the pupa state. The most perfect instance of metamor-
phosis is that of the flies (some Diptera). In these the materials
out of which the perfect insect is developed are supplied by the
breaking up of the muscular sjrstem and fat bodies of the larva ;
but the cellular structures known as the Imaginal discs of Weis-
mann are formed in the egg, and persbt all through the life of
the larva. These, it is true, only form a skin or case in which
the fly is developed; but they are reaiy nothing more ihaa
a larva skin, formed on the inside of the larva skin in the e^,
and deUchei from it by the subsequent modifications of the
larva.
Tne nervous system undergoes extensive modification in the
development of the fly, but it never undergoes degeneration. The
mouth organs of the imago, it is true, are not the mouth organs of
the larva, nor are they formed by their modification, but they are
foreshadowed in the egg before the n^outh organs of the larva
are formed. It is the mouth organs of the larva which are new
formations, not those of the imago. In this most extreme case,
the pupa skin is derive 1 directly from the inner layers of the first
larval skin, about twelve hours before the creature emerges from
the egjj. The imaginal skin is likewise derived from cells laki
down in contact with the imaginal disc^ There is absolutely
only a difference in the time at which the successive skins are
formed in this and in ordinary ecdysis.
A cimex which undergoes no change of form develops each
successive skins from cells laid down within the last integu-
ment, and the same process is followed in the development of
the fly.
The alimentary canal is likewise undoubtedly formed in a
similar manner around that of the larva, and the sexuad organs
are gradually developed, even from the tims when the embryo
is enclosed in the egg.
Fritz Miiller in his ** Facts for Darwin," has shown very coa-
clusively that the larval forms of insects are probably derived from
imaginal forms ; such seems, without doubt, to bs the case with
the flies {Musca). Every day the difficulties presented by the
development of the Insecta to the doctrine of evoluti m are
vanishing. It is extremely probable that insects first emerged
from the water with fully formed wings. We have still relics
of an aquatic winged insect fauna in the hymenopterous genus
discovered by Sir J. Lubbock. We may readily believe the
larval forms now existing on the earth are modified forms of
originally perfect insects ; we know that the larvae are subject to
far greater changes of life and far greater struggle for existence
than the perfect insects. They are all probably embryonic forms,
brought firom the egg in a modified state before their perfect
development is attained. The same thing is seen in several
crustaceans, which are hatched as Nauplius forms, whilst all their
allies attain the Zaa stage in the tgg. The existence of mandi-
bulate larvse in insects which in the perfect state have suctorial
mouths, is an additional argument m favour of this view. It
appears to be either a reversion in the larva to an anterior type,
for the earlier types of the Insecta were undoubtedly mandibu-
late, or it may by an embryonic character, which has never been
lost in the egg, modified by reversion or circumstances. This
view may appear fanciful, but the aortic arches of a fish un-
doubtedly exist in the mammalian embryo, and no one can say
what changes might take place by reversion in those arches under
altered conditions. Teratological embryology goes far to show
that the embryo may revert to long anterior types in its develop-
ment
I should,, however, transgress too far on your vmloable space in
giving proo£i of mil that has been pat forward. I trust, how-
Digitized by
Google
I02
NATURE
[Dec. 7, 1 87 1
ever, that even this little may do some good, for it does seem
hard, when the labours of men like Fritz MUller, Weismann,
and Lubbock, are throwing light on this intricate subject,
4hat darkness should return in the form of manifest miscon-
ceptions of well-known pheaomena. B. T. X/)WNX
99, Guilford Street, W.C.
Aspect
Mr. Laughton's asp^t is not only a felicitoos word in rela-
tion to a plane, but it is susceptible of a wider application than
that which he proposes for it, since it expresses a fundamental
idea in the theory of surfaces. Every surface has at every point
an aspect^ whidi is the direction of a normal at that point This
may be regarded as the first property of surfaces, for if wedeBne
a surface as that form of extension which has at every part two
and only two dimensioni^ we virtually say that, among all the
directions in space that radiate from any point of the surface,
there i^ one and only one perpendicular to all those (infinite in
number) that lie within the surface at that point ; in other words,
that the surface has a normal at every point A plane is then a
continuous surface which has the same aspect throughout^ the
angle of two planes is the measure of their difference in respect of
aspect; parallel planes (as Mr. Wilson pomts out) are those
which have the same aspect^ a plane tangent to a surface is OQe>
which contains a point of the surface, and has tJu aspect of the
surface at that point, and a line tangent to a surface is one that
contains a point of the surface, and has a direction which lies
within the surface (or is perpendicular to the normal) at that
point. Then a straight line tangent to a plane lies wholly in the
plane, and if such a line, passing through any assumed point of
a plane — rotate about that^point— always remaining tangent to
the plane, it must vnt.t.'Q* every point of tfie plane, for it will
generate a continuous and infinite surface coincident throughout
its extent with the plane, and the plane, being continuous, can
have no points without this surface. Therefore, a strMght line
which joins two points of a plane lies wholly in the plane, whence
the prop^>sitions that a plant is determined by three points, and that
the intersection of two planes is a straight line, together with the
other elementary theorems of the geometry of space, are readily
derived.
The use of aspect in the sense now proposed is not absolutely
new, as Mr. Proctor (Nature for October 26) seems to aigue.
It has the high authority of Sir W. K. Hamilton in his " Lectures
on Quaternions" (1853). Thus we read on page 92 (the italics
and capitals of the original are preserved) : — "A biradial has
also a PLANK and an aspect, depending on the star or region of
infinite space, towards which its plane may be conceived to
FACE. . . . When two bi-radials have, in the sense just now
explained, the same aspect, their planes both facing at the same
moment the same star, they may be said to be condirectional
BIRADIALS. When, on the other hand, they face in exactly
contrary ways, and, therefore, have opposite aspects, they
may be called contradi RECTI ONAL. . . . Both these two
latter classes may be included under the common name of
PAKALLEL BIRADIALS, SO that the PLANES of any two parallel
biradials are either coincident or parallel"
Vaguely, indeed, aspect of a plane may be used in the sense
Mr. Proctor would assign it, as well as in several other senses.
But if we could give it an exact and technical signification, that
which is proposed by Mr. Laughton seems to issue directly from
the proper meaning of the word ; and it is a signification which
DO other word yet suggested will so easily boir. At present,
therefore, it ought to be accepted as the very word that is
needed in the re-consttuction of geometry.
A& ioT position, it is pertinent to ask whether anyone would
say that parallel planes have the same position. The attri-
bute of planes, for whidi a word is demanded, b precisely that
element of position in which parallel planes agree ; and the
position of a plane requires for its determination not that element
only, but alsK) some other element whereby the plane shall be
distinguished from its parallek.
Permit me, by way of appendix to my too long note^ to call the
attention of those who are interested in the early teaching of
Geometry, which has lately been discussed in your columns, to
Dr. Thomas Hill's " First Lessons In Geometry. Facts before
Reasoning " (Boston, 1856.)
J.M.PBncB
Cambridge, MtatdrasettB, Not. 15
Cause of Low Barometric Pressure
In the number of Nature for July 20, 1871, I find a paper
by Ferrel, "On the Cause of Low Barometer in the Polar
Regions," &c The author says that the law which deflects a
body to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left
in the southern is not understood by meteorologists, and that it
is admitted only when the movement is north and south.
I believe this law is now admitted by almost all meteorologists.
The proof of it is the general acceptance of Buys Ballot's law
of winds, which states that the wind will always blow towards
a barometrical depression, and be deflected to the right in the
norrhem hemisphere.
The most important meteorological works of the last years are
based on thi« principle, as, for example, Buchan's " Mean
Pressure and Prevailing Winds," and Mohn's" Storm Atlas."
Mr. Mohn states the error which was committed in former times,
and gives the expression of the deflecting force (page 17). —
15°. sin L. (latitude) per hour. As to Mr. Ferrel*s explanation
of the low barometer at the poles, I must first state that it is not
lowest near the poles. In the northern hemisphere, the lowest
pressures are near Iceland and near the Aleutian islands^ but
northwards they are higher, as the observations of Greenland
have shown, as is seen aho in the prevalence of N.E. winds in
winter at Stykkissholm (Northern Iceland) ; this would indicate
that the pressure to the north and north* west of the last place is
higher.
The great barometric depressions which so often visit Iceland
cannot exist at temperatures of some degrees below freezing
point This explains why the barometer cannot be lower at the
Arctic Pole than near Iceland in winter ; the temperature there
must be certainly much lower, even if the pole be surrounded
by open water.
It is the low temperature also that expluns the course of the
Atlantic storms across European Russia (from N. W. to S.E.), as
the winter temperature of Siberia is too low to admit the storms.
This was already stated by Mr. Mohn, and I can but confirm his
opinion.* In southern latitudes the barometrical depression
seems to increase towards the pole, but do we know enough of
these regions to say that the lowest barometer will be at the
pole? In the highest southern latitudes attained by Sir James
Ross the barometer was a little hightr than northward. AU that
we know about the origin and propagation of barometrical
depressions gives us the right to say that pressure cannot be
lowest at the south pole, but that, as in the northern latitude, the
greatest depression will be found at some distance from the pole,
perhaps as far as the Antarctic Circle.
St Petersburg, November 28 A. WCJEIKOFIR
Symbols of Acceleration
I WISH to direct the attention of the reviewer of the " New
Works on Mechanics," in No. 107 of Nature, to the following
statements which he makes while speaking of Wernicke's book : —
"The svmbol/ is here and throughout the work used to denote
an acceleration ; for example/ x (sic) is the acceleration parallel
to the axis of jr. This notation (unfamiliar to English readers)
has obvious advantages when the more appropriate language of
the differential calculus cannot be employed."
Now I cannot see how the notation is *' infjuniliar to English
readers," when we have in common use a to denote an ac-
celeration, and a^^ an acceleration parallel to the axis of jr.
Again, though I agree with the reviewer that/, (or the English
a,) " has obvious advantages when the more appropriate language
of the Differential Calculus cannot be employed," yet it should be
remembered that there is a more appropriate notation still, viz.,
that of Newton's Fluxions, recalled to its proper position in
mixed mathematics by Sir W. Thomson (see Thomson's and
Tate's
*Nat PhiL") and |>eginning to spread, in which ~
ft t*
or an acceleration parallel to the axis of ji* is denoted by x. Thfs
notation can be employed at all stages of the student's progress, for
it is as easy for him to learn that acceleration parallel to the axis
of 2, actual acceleration in thepath, &c.,are denoted by z, s, &c.,
as to make himself acquainted with Wernicke's symbols After-
wards, when studying the Differential Calculus, he may be told
the name of the noution, and have his knowledge of it enlarged,
but he will never need to unlearn it ; on the contrary, he will
• 8«e also my paper "On Barometrical Amplitudes,'* in the Journal
^ike Austrian Meteorolegieml Society, 2871, No. 10.
L/iyiLi^cvj kjy
ogle
Dec. 7, 1871]
NATURE
103
find its service increase in importance as he makes his way into
the highest parts of the subject.
Of course no attempt is here made to attack D-ism, but to
state that it and Dot-ism have their proper spheres, tlie latter
generally, with more or less appropriateness, throughout the
whole resdm of functions, the former in the realm of motion,
where the functions are functions of / — the sway over which
realm was originally given to it by Newton, and acknowledged,
as I have been told, by the D-ist Lagrange.
Glasgow Collie Thomas Muir
Occurrence of the Eagle* Ray
A DOUBLE-SPINED specimen of the eagle ray {Mylwbatis
aquiia)f taken in Torbay on the 1st Nov., has been presented to
this museum by Mr, Frank Gosden, fish dealer, High Street,
Exeter. Its dimensions are as follows : — Breadth across the fins,
2ft. 34 in. ; length from snout to the base of the spines,
I ft. yfin. ; total length firom snout to extremity of the tail,
3ft 64in. W. S. M. D' Urban, Curator
Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
Deep Sea Dredging
While winter allows of time for complete arrangements to be
made in anticipation of dredging weather, will you permit me to
raise the question of the conditions under which our knowledge
of the natural history of the sea may be most readily extended ?
As a rule, yacht owners object to the fatigue and dirt of
dredging, but as we have the successful example of the Noma^
may we not hope that other yachts may farther the cause of
science, if assistance] in the way of instruction or apparatus be
afforded to them by those having the necessary experience and
means ?
The idea of now urging the question is not mine alone, but is
entertained by many ardent naturalists who are much in favour of
a skilful seardi of our seas at home, as well as of the Mediter-
ranean and other distant and almost untried seas.
Your pages have often borne witness to the interest and
importance attaching to marine zoology, and if men of practical
experience, such as Carpenter, W. Thomson, Marshall Hall,
&c. , will indicate the best localities for search and the best mea-
sures to adopt, we may hope that others may follow in their steps,
and that the large aquaria now built and building will be sup-
plied, as only private zeal and enterprise can compass, with new
and rare specimens from deep waters.
T. H. Hennah
Milton House, Clarence Street, Brighton, Dec. 5
The Solar Halo
The solar halo of the mominc: of the 13th ult described in
your last number as seen near, and at about thirty miles from,
Durham, and which Prof. A. S. Herschel conjectures may have
been seen from more distant stations, was visible here.
I first saw it at about S A.M., when it appeared as the arc of a
circle, with a very short portion of an inverted arc touching it at
the vertex— the sun itself being hidden by a bank of cloud, from
behind which issued several nwiiating spikes. Shortly after half-
past nine this halo had disappeared, except a small portion at
the point of contact of the two arcs, vertically over the sun,
whioi appeared like a bright elongated patch, forked at each
end, and projected not on mist, but on blue sky, and tinned with
dull prismatic colours, which were most strongly marked in the
inverted arc, in which the red or orange was downwards, or on
the outside of the circle. I then suddenly caught sight of a
second hsdo, of much greater radius than the first — visible through
perhaps 130** or 140** of arc, above, and to the right of, the sun,
projected on the dear blue sky, but so £aintly that it might easily
have been missed. This outer circle exhibited the prismatic
colours with a purity and delicacy that I have never before seen
in halos, and which was quite different to the ordinary dull,
muddy colours. In fact, it had just the appearance of a very
fiiint and narrow rainbow, the red being inside, and the blue
oatside the circle^ I was shortly after able to borrow a sextant,
and measured the distance from the sun to the bright patch and
the outer circle, which appeared respectively 21° 40' and 43* 20' ;
but they were already growing so faint that I was imable to
do this with much precision. Except the bright patch before
named. I did not observe any appearance of ** mock-sun."
CardifT, Dec. 4 Geo. C. Thompson
ON THE ZIPHIOID WHALES
'X^HE peculiar division of Cetaceans to which the term
-■• " Ziphioid " is now commonly applied, from one of
the earliest known forms, Ziphius of Cuvier,* is in
many respects one of the most interesting of the order.
They form a very compact group, united closely together
by the common possession of very definite structural
characters,, and as distinctly separated from all other
groups by equally definite characters.
With the singular exception of Hyptroodon rostratus
(the structure and habits of which species are as well
known, perhaps, as those of any other cetacean), no spe-
cimen of the group had ever come under the notice of
any naturalist up to the commencement of the present
century. Since that time, however, at irregular intervals,
in various and most distant parts of the world, solitary
individuals have been caught or stranded, now amounting
to nearly thirty, these being by some naturalists referred
to upwards of a dozen distinct species and to very nearly
as many genera. No case is recorded of more than one
of these animals having been observed at one place at a
time, and their habits are almost absolutely unknown.
Their very presence in the ocean seems to pass unnoticed
and unsuspected by voyagers, and even by those whose
special occupation is the pursuit and capture of various
better known and more abundant cetaceans, until one of
the accidental occurrences just alluded to reveals the
existence of forms of animal life of considerable magni-
tude, and at least sufficiently numerous to maintain the
coiitinuity of the lace.
This comparative rarity at the present epoch contrasts
greatly with what at one time obtained on the earth, espe-
cially in the period of the crag formations, and leads to
the belief that the existing ziphioids are the survivors of
an ancient family which once played afar more important
part than now among the cetacean inhabitants of the
ocean, but which have been gradually replaced by other
forms, and are themselves probably destined ere long to
share the fate of their once numerous allies or proge-
nitors.
The Ziphioid whales belong to the great primary divi-
sion or sub-order of the Odontocetes or Toothed whales,
as distinguished from the Whalebone whales. They are
allied on the one hand to the Cachalots or Sperm whales,
and on the other to the true Dolphins and Porpoises, but
more nearly to the former than the latter. They are
animals varying between fifteen and thirty feet in length,
and in external characters very closely resemble each
other, all having small pointed snouts or " beaks," small
rounded or oval pectoral fins or "flippers," a comparatively
small triangular dorsal fin, situated considerably behind
the middle of the back, and a single " blowhole " of con-
centric form, situated in the middle of the top of the head
One of their most obvious characteristics, distinguishing
them from the true dolphin, is the complete absence of
teeth (except occasionally a few mere rudiments concealed
in the gum) in the upper jaw, while in the lower jaw there
is usually but a single pair, which in some species may be
greatly developed and project like tusks from the mouth,
though sometimes even these are rudimentary and covered
up by the gum, so that the animal is practically toothless.
In addition to these external and easily-recognised charac-
ters, there are others connected with the skeleton and
internal organs which separate them still more trenchantly
from the other members of the order. Their food appears
* V J'appUquerai au genre dont elle (a skull found on the shore of the
Mediterranean) devient le premier type, !e nom de Ziphius, employ^ par
quelque^ auteurs du moyen age (Voyez Gesner I., p. 209) pour ua c6tace
qu'ils n ont point determine " ( Cuvier, "Osseiuens fossiles "). Accordmg to strict
rules of prority ''Hvperodontoid" would be the more correct term, a«
Hyperoodon was the first genas of the group distinctly characterised ; but as
the name is erroneou-» in its signification, it wilt be better to keep to the more
generally adopted and less objectionable term of ** Ziphioid,** first applied by
(jervais. The group is equivalent to Eschricht's " Rhynchocctl"
L/iy!Li,^c;u \J^
d^'
104
NATURE
[Dec. 7, 1871
to consist almost exclusively of cephalopods, or cuttlefish-
like animals.
One of the greatest obstacles to acquiring a more accu-
rate knowledge of this group is the excessively confused
Slate of ihe nomenclature of the different animals of which
it is composed. Nearly every single specimen that has
been met with has been described under a different name,
and before their characters and affinities were understood
they were bandied about from one genus to another, even
different individuals of the same species having been
placed by systematists in different genera, until it has
become almost impossible to write or speak of any of them,
without the fear of inadvertently adding to the perplexity
of those that come after, by adopting and pej^etuating
some ill chosen or incorrect term.
In a valuable recent memoir on the subject by Prof.
Owen,* the difficulty is disposed of in a very summary
manner by uniting all the known forms, both recent and
extinct (with the exception of Hyferoodon), under the
generic name of Ziphius, This proceeding, at all events,
has the merit of running no risk of adding to the confusion
of nomenclature, caused by hasty or ill-defined generic
subdivisions, founded on imperfect or fragmentary know-
ledge of the animal described. But, however great our
admiration may be for this strong-handed resistance to the
passion for name- coining, which is fast rendering the study
of zoology almost an impossibility, it must not lead us to
overlook well-marked structural characteristics by which
certain small groups of species are allied together, and
cifferentiated from others, whether we call them genera
c r by any other term.
In a paper recently presented to the Zoological Society
(read Nov. 7), I have given reasons for my belief that the
species of ziphioids at present known (I refer only to those
now existing, not to the extinct forms), may be naturally ar-
ranged by certain structural characters, especially the con-
formation of the skull and teeth, into four groups ; and as,
so far as is yet known, these are not united by inter-
mediate forms, they may, I think, be considered as generic,
though of course this is a subject upon which the judgment
of different zoologists may differ. This arrangement does
rot differ from that adopted by several other zoologists,
who have specially studied the animals of this group, but
the characteristics of each section or genus have not
hitherto been clearly defined.
It is not my present purpose to enter into the details of
these characteristics, for which I must refer to the above-
mentioned communication, but to give a short summary
of the known zoological facts relating to the different
animals of which eadi is composed, so that a general idea
may be gained of our present state of knowledge of the
whole group.
I. Genus Hyperoodon^ Lac^p^de. — This genus differs
from the rest in having a very prominent convex " fore-
head " as it appears externally, though really correspond-
ing to the lower part of the face of other animals, sup-
ported by strong bony crests on the maxilla, and below
which the small pointed snout projects, something like the
neck of a bottle from its shoulder, hence the name
'* Bottle-nose " often applied to these animals, in common
with various other cetaceans. The conmion Hyperoodon
(//. rostratus) is, as before mentioned, one of the best
known of cetaceans, being a regular visitor to our
coasts, and having been frequently described and figured
by naturalists who have had opportunities of observing
it in a fresh state. Skeletons, moreover, are to be seen
in nearly every considerable osteological museum. The
first really good description and figure is that of John
Hunter, founded on an individual which was caught in
the Thames near London Bridge, in the year 1 783, and
the skeleton of which still hangs in the great hall of the
Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. The figure of
* British Fossil CeUcea from the Crag. Palaeontological Society, vol
xxiii., X870.
the animal appears in the Philosophical Transactions for
1787. Among the numerous subsequent contributions to
the knowledge of the structure and natural history of this
species, the monographs of Vrolik and of Eschricht are
of especial importance.
The common Hyperoodon attains the length of twenty
to twenty-five feet. It has no functional teeth, the only
two which it possesses are quite small and buried in the
gum at the front end of the lower jaw, but the palate is
beset with numerous minute homy points. As in many
other whales in which the teeth are either absent or very
rudimentary when adult, it possesses a complete set at a
very early period of its gfrowth, but the majority of these
disappear even before birth. Judging by the contents of
the stomach of the captured specimens, their food con-
sists of several kinds of squid and cuttlefish, and not of
true fish ; they are, therefore, not the enemies to fisher-
men that some have supposed them, but rather the re-
verse, for the cuttles, of which they destroy great quanti-
ties, are themselves voracious fish-eaters. In geographical
range this species is limited to the North Atlantic, having
been found both on the American and European coasts,
extending as far north as Greenland, but its southern
limit has not been accurately determined ; it has, how-
ever, never been known to enter the Mediterranean.
Within this range it is migratory, spending the summer
in the Polar seas and the winter in the Atlantic, and it is
chiefly on its passage northwards in the spring and south-
wards in the autumn that it visits our shores. It happens
almost every year that in the last-named season one or
more are stranded on some part of the extensive coast-
line of the British Isles ; usually a female accompanied by
a young one, seeking probably for food in too shallow
water, are cut off by the retreating tide from their chance
of regaining the open sea. In these cases it appears that
it is the less experienced younger animal which gets
into danger, and is then rarely abandoned by the
old one, who thus falls a victim to the strength of the
matemad instinct so largely developed in the cetacea.
The old males are apparently more wary, and rarely ap-
proach the shore near enough to be taken. They are never
seen in herds or " schools " like so many of their congeners,
but always either singly or in pairs.
Another animal, allied to Hyperoodon rostratus but of
larger size, being fully thirty feet in length, and of heavier
proportions, has been occasionally met with in the North
Seas, and is generally supposed to be another species of
the same genus {H, latifrons\ though some naturalists
have maintained that it is nothing more than the old
male of the former.
II. Genus Ziphius, — The type of this genus is Z, cavi"
rostris of Cuvier, founded on an imperfect skull picked up
in 1804 on the Mediterranean coast of France, near Fos,
Bouches-du-Rh6ne, and described and figured in the
" Ossemens Fossiles." It was at first supposed to be a
fossil, but has since been proved to belong to a species
still living in the Mediterranean, and there is no evidence
that the skull is of ancient date.
2. An animal of the same species was afterwards taken
on the coast of Corsica ; its external characters are de-
scribed and figured by Doumet in the Revue Zoologiquc^
v. 1842, p. 208, and its skeleton is preserved at Cette.
3. A third specimen was stranded near Aresquiers,
Hdrault, South France, in 1850; the skull, which is now
in the Museum at Paris, has been described by Gervais
and Duvemoy {Annates des Sciences Naturelles^ 3 series,
1850 and 1 851). 4 In the Museum of Arcachon is a
skull found on the beach at Lanton, Gironde, West
France, in 1864, and described and figured by Fischer,
in the Nouvetles Archives du Musium^ tome 3, 1867.
5. A complete skeleton of an adult animal is mounted in
tiie Anatomical Museum of the University of Jena. This
was obtained at Villa Franca in 1867 by Prof. Haeckel,
but has not yet been described. 6. In the Museum of
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NATURE
105
the University of Louvain is a skull of an animal of this
genus, brought from the Cape of Good Hope, of which a
description has been published by Prof. Van* Beneden,
under the name of Zi^hius indicus (Mem. de FAcad.
Roy. de Belgique, coll. m 8vo, 1863). 7. A very similar
skull in the British Museum, also from the Cape of Good
Hope, has been described by Gray (Proc. ZooL Soc 1865,
p. 524) by the name of Petrorhyncus cafensis. 8. A
complete specimen of a young male, thirteen feet long,
was taken near Buenos Ayrcs in 1865, and is the subject
of an elaborate memoir by Burmeister (Annales de Museo
Publico de Buenos Aires, Vol. i. p. 312, 1869), accom-
panied by detailed figures of external characters, skeleton,
and some of the viscera. The specimen was first named
in a preliminary notice Ziphiorhynchus cryptodon^ but sub-
sequently described as Epiodon amtralis.
Such are the materials upon which our knowledge of
the genus Ziphius is based. For the present it is im-
possible to determine whether the differences that have been
noticed in the above-mentioned specimens are the result of
age, sex, or individual peculiarity, or whether they denote
specific distinctions. The remains that are preserved
indicate in every case an animal of rather smaller size than
the Hyperoodon.
III. — Genus Mesoplodoriy Gervais. It is not without some
hesitation that I assign this designation to the present
well-marked section, as it is extremely difficult to deter-
mine which of the numerous names which have been
given to it by various authors should have the preference.
The type-species of the group, Sowcrby's whale, has had
no less than eleven generic appellations given to it
since its discovery in 1804, viz., Physeter^ Deiphinus,
Heierodottj Diodon, Aodon, Nodus ^ DelphinorhynchuSy
Micropteron^ Mesoplodon^ Mesodiodon^ and Ziphius!
Many of these names had to be abandoned almost as soon
as they were bestowed, as their authors had overlooked the
fact that they had been previously appropriated to other
members of the animal kingdom. To give a full account of
the entangled literary history of the genus would occupy too
much space for the present communication, so I wiU con-
tent myself with enumerating the specimens which are re-
ferable to it, as far as they are known to me, existing in
various museums, from which some idea of the frequency
of occurrence and of the geographical distribution of the
animals will be obtained. They are rather more numerous
than those of Ziphius,
I. An imperfect skull in the University Museum,
Oxford, from an animal (a male) sixteen feet long, ob-
tained on the coast of Elginshire, figured and described by
Sowerby {British Miscellany ^ p. i, 1804) under the name
of Physeter bidens^ but to which the specific name of
Sowerby i\iz& since been generally attached. (This is DeU
phinus {Heterodon) Sowerbensis of De Blainville, Nouv.
Diet. d'Hist. Nat, t, ix., 1817, Second edition; D,
Sowerby i Desmarest, Mammalogie, 1822.} 2. A skull
in the Paris Museum from a female specimen fifteen feet
long, stranded at Havre, Sept. 9, 1825, described by De
Blainville (Nouv. Bulletin. Sc. t iv., 1825) as the " Dauphin
du Dale," by Cuvier as Delphinus {Deiphinorhynchus)
micropteruSf and afterwards by a variety of other names,
but now generally considered to be specifically identical
with the first mentioned. 3. A complete skeleton in the
Brussels Museum from a young specimen stranded at
Ostend, August 31, 1835. 4. A skull and part of
skeleton in the Museum at Caen from Sallenelles,
Calvados, North France, 1825. 5. Mutilated skull in the
Museum of the Royal Dublin Society, from an animal
fifteen feet long, stranded in 1864 in Bandon Ba^,
Kerry, Ireland. 6. Another skull and some bones m
the same museum from a second specimen from the same
locahty, in 1770. 7. A lower jaw in the Christiana
Museum, from the Coast of Norway. 8. A skull in
the University MuseunK Edinburgh, of unknown origin.
(I am indebted to Prof. Van Beneden for information about
this specimen, which has not hitherto been recorded.)
All these appear to belong to one species. The adult
males have a single triangular compressed tooth on each
side, rather in front of the middle of the lower jaw, which
projects beyond the lip like a tusk, working against a
hard callous pad in the upper jaw. In the specimen from
Calvados, a group of barnacles had attached themselves
to the outer sunace of the tooth. 9. In the British
Museum is a skull received from the Cape of Good Hope,
with teeth in a similar situation, but developed to such an
exteut as to pass (curving upwards, backwards, and finally
inwards) all round the upper jaw, and actually to meet
above, preventing the mouth from opening beyond a very
few inches at most. It is very difficult to imagine how
the animal could have lived and obtained foc^ in this
condition, and it might well be supposed to be an indi-
vidual deformity, but Mr. £. Layard has shown me a
tooth of another individual having exactly the same con-
formation, and being upwards of a foot in length. To
this species the name of Layardii has been applied by
Dr. Gray. 10. An animal probably of the same
species, but with the tooth much less developed
(? a female), was very lately stranded at Little Bay,
about six miles from Sydney, and its skeleton is
now in the Australian Museum. 10. In the Museimci
at Caen there is another skull, from an animal caught in
the entrance of the Channel about 1840, which appears to
belong to a different species from those ordinarily found
on our coasts, as the compressed tooth is placed nearer
the apex of the jaw. 12. A skull in the Museum at
Paris, remarkable for the peculiar form of the lower jaw,
and of the heavy massive tooth which it supports, obtamed
from the Seychelle Islands, has received, the specific name
oi densirostris^ and very recently a complete skeleton of the
same (13), obtained by Mr. Krefft from Lord Howe's Island,
has been added to the Sydney Museum, already rich in
skeletons of rare Cetaceans. Lastly (14), in the Museum at
Wellington, New Zealand, is a skull and some bones of an
animal, nine feet long, which was killed in Titai Bay,
Cook's Strait, January 1866, and figured by Dr. Hector
in the '^ Transactions of the New Zealand Institute," vol.
iii., part xv., of which the conformation of the skull shows
that it is a member of this group ; but the single com-
pressed tooth in the lower jaw is situated farther forwards
than in any other known species, thus completing the
series of different positions in the side of the ramus occupied
by the developed teeth, and proving its small value as a
generic character.
IV. — Berardius^ Duvemoy. This genus was founded
by Duvemoy upon a skull received at the Museum of
Paris in 1846, having been obtained from an animal
stranded in Akaroa Harbour, New Zealand. In the name
of Berardius Amuxti conferred upon it by Duvernoy, the
captain of the French corvette, Le Rhin^ Bdrard, and the
surgeon, Amoux, who jointly presented the specimen, with
some others of considerable mterest to the Museum, are
commemorated in zoological literature.
Only three other specimens of this animal have since
been seen, and all on^he coasts of New Zealand : — One in
1862, embayed in Porirua Harbour, was converted into
oil, and can only be conjectured to have been a Berardius
by its dimensions, and a slight description published by
Mr. Knox. In January 1870 another was taken in
Worser's Bay near the entrance to Port Nicholson,
and its skull and some bones were preserved for the
Wellington Museum ; and, lastly, a specimen of this fine
animal, which is thirty feet long, ana, after Hyperoodon
latifronsy the largest of the group, ran aground on the
beach near New Brighton, Canterbury, on the i6th of
December, 1868, where it fortunately came under the
notice of Dr. Julius Haast, F.R.S., the energetic and able
geologist, and Curator of the Museum at CSrist Church.
The details of its capture are given by Dr. Haast in the
Proceedings of the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury,
L/iyiii^cvj kjy
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NATURE
{Dec. 7, 1871
New Zealand, May 5, 1869, and also in the <' Annals and
Mag. Nat. Hist" October 1870.
The skeleton of this animal has been lately placed
among the fine series of Cetaceans in the Museum of the
Royal College of Surgeons, thanks to the extremely
liberal desire of Dr. Haast that it should be made as
available as possible for scientific examination, com-
parison, and description, and to the generosity of Mr.
Erasmus Wilson, F.R.S., a member of the Council of
the College, in providing the means of adding it to the
collection without expense to the Institution. A detailed
and fully illustrated description of this skeleton formed
part of the conmiunication to the Zoological Society
alluded to above, and will appear shortly in the '^ Trans-
actions." All the characters of the skeleton agree generally
with those of the other Ziphioids, but it appears in some
respects to be a less specialised form, approaching some-
what nearer to the true dolphins, while Hypcroodon is at
the other extremity of the series, being modified in the
direction of the sperm whales. It has two teeth on each
side of the lower jaw, situated near the front end or
symphysis, which show nearly the same characteristic
and peculiar structure as that described by Mr. Ray
Lankester in the teeth of Mesoplodon SowerbyL The
skuU is far more symmetrical than in any other member
of the group, and wants the great maxillary crests of
Hyperoodon^ and the dense ossification of the rostrum
found in so many of the others. The cervical region is
comparativdy long, with the majority of its vertebrae free,
the dorsals and ribs are ten in number, the lumber and
caudals thirty-one, making forty-eight in all. Viewing
the skeleton as a whole, the most striking feature is the
small size of the head compared with the great length of
ihe vertebral column, and the massiveness of the indi-
vidual bones, especially of the lumbar and anterior cau-
dal vertebrae. It presents in this respect a remarkable
contrast to the sperm whale, which hangs near it in the
museum, though agreeing generally with the other
Ziphioids. As before mentioned, it is thirty feet in length,
and, as Dr. Haast was able to observe, it agrees with its
congeners in the nature of its food, for its stomach was
found to contain about half a bushel of the horny beaks
of cephalopods. The colour of the whole animal when
fresh was of a deep velvety black, with the exception of
the lower portion of the belly, which was greyish.
Extinct Ziphioids,— -'Xq the circumstance of the extreme
density of the rostral portion of the skull of certain
Ziphioids, owing to the firm ossification of the mesethmoid
cartilage and its coalescence with the surrounding bones
(the maxilla, premaxilla, and vomer) our knowledge of
many of the ancient members of this group of whales is
due. When all other portions of the skeleton have yielded
to the destructive influence of time, these rostra, generally
in the form of elongated and somewhat flattened cylin-
ders, worn and eroded by the action of water, gravel, and
sand, occasionally come to light to attest the presence of
a former world of oceanic life. A few teeth also have
been found which would appear to be referable to these
same animals. The localities in which these occur in
Englandare the Red Crag deposits ofSuifolk. They are still
more abundant, and in a much more perfect condition in
the beds of corresponding age in the neighbourhood of
Antwerp, which have fortunately been laid bare by the
excavations made in the defensive works of that city. A
magnificent series of these fossils containing many new
forms has recently been added to the Brussels Museum,
but until M. le Vicomte Du Bus, the accomplished late
Director of the Museum, has completed the great task
he has undertaken of determining and describing them,
they are as little available for zoological science as if they
still lay
In the bottom of the deep
NVherc &thom line could never touch the ground.
W. H. FlX)WER
CONTINUITY OF THE FLUID AND GASEOUS
ST A TES OF MA TTER ♦
A17HEN we find a substance capable of existing hi two fluid
^* states different in density and other properties^ while the
temperature and pressure are the same in both ; and when we
find also that an introduction or abstraction of heat without
change of temperature or of pressure will effect the change from
the one state to the other ; and also find that the change either
wa)r is perfectly reversible, we speak of the one state as being an
ordinary gaseous and the other as being an ordinary liquid srate
of the same matter ; and the ordinary transition from the one to
the other we would designate by the terms boiling, or coa-
densing ; or occasionally by other terms nearly equivalent, such
as evaporation, gasification, liquefaction from the gaseous state,
&C. Cases of gasification from liquids, or of condensation from
gases, when any chemical alteration accompanies the abrupt
change of density, are not among the subjects proposed to be
brought under consideration in the present paper. In such cases
I presume there would be no perfect reversibility in the process ;
and if so, this would of itself be a criterion sufficing to separate
them from the proper cases of boiling or condensing at {present
intended to be considered. If now the fluid substance, in the
rarer of the two states — ^that is, in what is commonly called the
gaseous state— be still further rarefied, by increase of temperature
or diminution of pressure, or bie changed considerably in other
ways by alterations of temperature and pressure jointly, without
its receiving any abrupt collapse in volume, it will still, inordinary
language and ordinary mode of thought, be regarded as being in
a gaseous state. Remarks of quite a corresponding kind may be
made in describing various conditions of the fluid (as to tempe-
rature, pressure, and volume), which would in ordinary language
be regarded as belonging to the liquid state.
Dr. Andrews (Phil. Trans. 1869) has shown that the ordinary
gaseous and ordinary liquid states are only widely separated formi
of the same condition of matter, and may be made to pass into
one another b^ a course of continuous physical changes presentuig
nowhere any mtemiption or breach of continuity. If we denote
geometrically all possible points of pressure and temperature
jointly by points spread continuously in a plane surface, each
point in the plane being referred to two axes of rectangular co-
ordinates, so that one of its ordinates shall represent the tempe-
rature, and the other the pressure denoted by that point ; and if
we mark all the successive boiling- or condensing-polnts of tem-
perature and pressure as a continuous line on this pUne ; this
line, which may be called the boiling line, will be a separating
boundary between the regions of the plane corresponding to the
ordinary liquid state and those corresponding to the ordinary
gaseous state. But, by consideration of Dr. Andrews's expe-
rimental results, we may see that this separating boundary
comes to an end at a point of pressure and temperature, which,
in conformity with his language, may be called the critical point
of pressure and temperature jointly ; and we may see that, from
any ordinary liquid state to any ordinary gaseous.state, the tran-
sition nuiy be effected gradually by an infinite variety of courses
passing round outside the extreme end of the boiling line.
Now it will be my chief object in the present paper to state
and support a view which has occurred to me, accordmg to which
it appciurs probable that, altliough there be a practical breach of
continuity in crossing the line of boilino;- points from liquid to gas
or from gas to liquid, there may exist in the nature of things a
theoretical continuityacross this breach, having some real and
true significance. This theoretical continuity, from the ordi-
nary liquid state to the ordinary gaseous state, must be sup-
posed to be such as to have its various courses passing through
conditions of pressure, temperature, and volume in unstable
equilibrium for any fluid matter theoretically conceived as homo-
geneously distributed while passing through the intermediate
conditions. Such courses of transition, passing through unstable
conditions, must be regarded as being impossible to be brought
about throughout entire masses of fluids dealt with in any phy-
sical operations. "Whether in an extremely thin lamina of gradual
transition from a liquid to its own gas, in which it is to be notice<l
the substance would not be homogeneously distributed, condi-
tions mav exist in a stable state, having some kind of correspond-
ence with the unstable conditions here theoretically conceived,
^ " Considerations on the abrupt change at boiling or condensing in re-
ference to the Continuity of the Fluid State of Matter," by IVofessor James
Thomson, LL.D., Queen's College, Belfiut, read before the Ro^ Society,
Nov. 16, 1871.
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NATURE
107
will be a question suggested at the close of this paper in connec-
tion with some allied considerations.
It is first to be observed that the ordinary liquid state does not
necessarily cease abruptly at the line of boiling-points, as it is
well known that liquids may with due precautions be heated
considerably beyond the boiling temperature for the pressure to
which they are exposed. This condition is commonly manifested
in the boiling of water in a glass vessel by a lamp placed below,
when the temperature of the internal parts of the water, or, in
other words, of the p>arts not exposed to contact with gaseous
matter, rises considerably above the boiling-point for the pressure,
and the water boils with bumping. * At this stage it becomes
desirable to refer to Dr. Andrews's diagram of curves, showing
his principal results for carbonic acid, and to consider carefully
some of the remarkable features presented by those curves. In
doing so, we have first, in the case of the two curves for I3"*i
and 2I°*5 which pass through the boiling interruption of con-
tinuity, to guard against being led by the gradually bending
transition from the curve representing obviously the liquid state
into the line seen rapidly ascending towards the curve repre-
senting obviously the gaseous state, to suppose that this curved
transition is in any way indicative of a gradual transition from
the liquid towards the gaseous state. Dr. Andrews has clearly
pointed out, in describmg those experimental curves, that the
slight bend at about the commencement of the rapid ascent from
the liquid state is to be ascribed to a trace of air unavoidably
present in the carbonic acid ; an I that if the carbonic acid hxd
been absolutely pure, the ascent from the liquid to the gaseous
state would doubtless have been quite abrupt, and would have
shown itself in his diagram by a vertical straight line, when we
r^ard the co-ordinate axes for pressures and volumes as being
horizontal and vertical respectively. Now in the diagram here
submitted, the continuous curves (that is to say, those which are
not dotted) are obtained from Dr. Andrews's diagram with the
slight alteration of substituting, in accordance with the explana-
tions just given, an abrupt meeting instead of the curved transi-
tion between the curve for the liquid state and the upright line
which shows the boiling stage. Looking to either of the given
curves which pass through boiling, and, for instance, selecting
the curve for I3'*-I, we perceive, from what ha» been said as to
the conditions to which boiling by bumping is due, that for the
temperature pertaining to this curve the liquid state does not
necessarily end at the boiling pressure for this temperature ; and
that thus in the diagram the curve showing volumes for the
liquid state must not cease at the foot of the upright line which
marks the boiling stage of pressure, but must extend continuously,
for some disUnce atleast, into lower pressures iu some such way
as is shown by the dotted continuation from a to b. But now the
question arises, Does this curve necessarily end at anv particular
point b ? We know that the extent of this curve in the direction
from a towards or past ^ along which the liquid volume will
continue to be represented before the explosive or bumping change
to gas occurs, is very variable under different circumstances, being
much affected by the presence of other fluids, even in small
♦ It ha« even been found by Dufour (Biblioth^que Universelle, Archives,
year 1861. vol. xii. " Recherches sur I'EbuIIition des Liquidcs") that globu es
of water floating immersed in oil, «o as neither to be in contact with any solid
nor with any gaseous body, may. under atmospheric pressure, be raised to
various temperatures far above the ordinary boiling-point, and occasionally
to so high a temperature as 178* C. without boiling. On this subject refer-
ence may also De made to the important researches of Donny^^ Sur la
Cohesion des Liquides et sur leur Adherence aux Corps solides. ' Ann. de
Chinrfc, year 18^ 3«i scr. vol xvi. p. 1671— July a8, 1871.
quantities, as impurities in the fluid experimented on, and by the
nature of the surface of the containing vessels, &c
The consideration of the subject may be facilitated, and aid
towards the attainment of clear views of the mutual relations of
temperature, pressure, and volume in a given mass of a fluid may
be gained, by actually making, or conceiving there to be made,
for carbonic acid, from the data supplied in Dr. Andrews* ex-
perimental results, a solid model consisting of a curved surface
referred to three axes of rectangular co-ordinates, and formed so
that the three co-ordinates of each point in the curved surface
shall represent, for any given mass of carbonic add, a tempera-
ture, a pressure, and a volume which can co-exist in that mass.
It is to be noticed here that in his diagram of curves the results
for each of the several temperatures experimented on are com-
bined in the form of a plane-curved line referred to two axes of
rectangular co-ordinates, one of each pair of co-ordinates repre-
senting a pressure, and the other representing the volume corre-
sponding to that pressure at the temperature to which the curve
belongs. Now to form a model such as I am here recommend-
ing, and have myself made. Dr. Andrews' curved lines are to
be placed with their planes parallel to one another, and separated
by mtervals proportional to the differences of the temperatures to
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NATURE
{Dec. 7, 1871
which the curves severally belong, and with the origins of co-
ordinates of the curves situated in a straight line perpendicular
to their planes, and with the axes of co-oidinates of all of them
parallel in pairs to one another, and then the curved surface is to
be formed so as to pass through those curved lines smoothly or
evenly.* The curved surface so obtained exhibits in a very
obvious way the remarkable phenomena of the voluminal condi-
tions at and near the critical point of temperature and pressure,
in comparison with the voluminal conditions throughout other
parts of the range of gradually varying temperatures and pressures
to which it extends, and even throughout a far wider range into
which it can in imagination be conceived to be extend«l. It
helps to afford a dear view of the nature and meaning of the con-
tinuity of the liquid and gaseous states of matter. It does so by
its own obvious continuity throughout its expanse round the end
of the range of points of pres&ure and temperature where an
abrupt change of volume can occur by boiling or condensing.
On the curved surface in the model Dr. Andrews' curves for the
temperatures la^'i, 2r-5, si'-i, sz'^'S, 35°*5 and 48'*i Centi-
grade, which afford the data for its construction, may with advan-
tage be all shown drawn in their proper places. The model
admits of easily exhibiting in due relation to one another a second
set of curves, m which each would be for a constant pressure,
and in each of which the co-ordinates would represent tempera-
tures and corresponding volumes. It may be used in various
ways for affording quantitative relations interpolated among those
more immediately given by the experiments.
We may now, a^ed by the conception of this model, return
to the consideration of continuity or discontinuity in the curves
in crossing the boiling stage. Let us suppose an indefinite
number of curves, each for one constant temperature, to be
drawn on the model, the several temperatures differing in suc-
cession by very small intervals, and the curves consequently being
sections of the curved surface by numerous planes clos^ely spaced
parallel to one another and to the plane containing the pair of
co-ordinate axes for pressure and volume. Now we con see that,
as we pass from curve to curve in approaching towards the
critical point from the higher temperatures, the tangent to the
curve at the steepest point or point of inflection is rotating, so
that its inclination to the plane of the co-ordinate axes for
pressure and temperature, which we may regard as horizontal,
increases till, at the critical point, it becomes a right angle. Then
it appears very natural to suppose that in proceeding onwards
past the critical point, to curves successively for lower and lower
temperatures, the tangent at the point of inflection would con-
tinue its rotation, and the angle of its inclination, which before
was acute, would now become obtuse. It seems much more
natural to make such a supposition as this than to suppose that
in passing the critical point from higher into lower temperatures
the curv^ line, or the curved surface to which it belongs, should
break itself asunder, and should come to have a part of its con-
ceivable continuous course absolutely deficient. It thus s^ems
natural to suppose that in some sense there is continuity in each
of the successive curves by courses such as those drawn In the
accompanying diagram as dotted curves uniting continuously
the curves for the ordinary gaseous state with those for the ordi-
nary liquid state.
The physical conditions correfponding to the extension of the
curve from a to some point b we have seen are perfectly attain-
able in practice. Some extension of the gaseous curve in^o
points of temperature and pressure below what I have called the
boiling, or condensing line^ as for instance some extension such
as from ^ to ^ in the figure, I think we need not despair of prac-
tically realising in physical operations. As a likely mode in
which to bring steam continuing gase< us to points of pressure
and temperature at which it would collapse to liquid water if it
had any particle of liquid water present along with it, or if other
circumstances were present capable of affording some appa-
rently requisite conditions for entiling it to make a begin^
ning of the change of state;\ I would suggest the ad-
* For the practicah execution of this, it is well to commence with a rectan-
gular block of wood, and then carefilly to pare it down, applying, from time
to time, the various curves as templets to it : and p<tx:eeair>g according to
the general methods followed in a shipbuilder's modelling room in cutting
out small models of ships according to curves laid down on paper as cross
sections of th« required model at various peaces in its length.
t Tne principle tha' *' the particles of a subsunce, when existing all in one
state onl , and in continuous contact witn one another, or in contact only
under «.pec*J circuTsUnces with other substances, experience a diMculty
tf making a beginning of their change of state, whether from liquid to
•oUd, or from liquid to gaseous, or probably also from solid to liquid," was
proposed by me, and, so far as I am aware, was first announced in a paper by
mitting speedily of dry steam nearly at its condensing tempera-
ture for its pressure (or, to use a common expression, nearly
saturated) into a vessel with a piston or plunger, all kept hotter
than the steana, and then allowing the steam to expand till by
its expansion it would be cooled below its condensing point for
its pressmre j and yet I would suppose that if this were done
with very careful precautions the steam might not condense, on
account of the cooled steam being surrotmded entirely with a
thin film of superheated steam close to the superheated con-
taining vessel. The fact of its not condensing might perhaps
best be ascertained by observations on its volume and pressure.
Such an experiment as that sketched out here would not be
easily made, and unless it were conducted with very great pre-
cautions, there could be no reasonable expectation of success in
its attempt ; and perhaps it might not be possible so completely
to avoid the presence of dust or other dense particles in the
steam as to make it prove successful. I mention it, however,
as appearing to be fotmded on correct principles, and as tending
to suggest desirable courses for experimental researches. The
overhanging part of the curve from e to/ seems to represent a
state in which there would be some kind of unstable equilibrium ;
and so, although the curve there appears to have some important
theoretical significance, yet the states represented by its various
points would be unattainable throughout any ordinary mass of
the fluid. It seems to represent conditions of co-existent tempera-
ture, pressure, and volume, in which, if all parts of a mass of
fluid were placed, it would be in equilibrium, but out of which
it would be led to rush, partly into the rarer state of gas, and
partly into the denser state of liquid, by the slightest inequality
of temperature or of density in any part relativSy to other parts.
I might proceed to state, in support of these views, several con-
siderations founded on the ordinary statical theory of capillary
or superficial phenomena of liquids, which is dependent on the
supposition of an attraction acting very intensely for very small
distances, and causing intense pressure in liquids over and above
the pressure applied by the containing vessel and measureable
by any pressure-gauge. That statical theory has fitted remarkably
well to many observed phenomena, and has sometimes even led
to the forecasting of new results in advance of experiment
Hence, although dynamic or kinetic theories of the constitution
and pressure of fluids now seem likely to supersede any statical
theory, yet phenomena may still be discussed according to the
{)rinciples of statical theory; and there may be considerable
ikelihood that conditions explained or rendered probable under
the statical theory would have some corresponding explanation
or confirmation under any true theory by which the statical
might come to be superseded. With a view to brevity, how-
ever, and to the avoidance of putting forward speculations per-
haps partly rash, though, I think, not devoid of real significance,
I shall not at present enter on details of these considerations,
but shall leave them with merely the slight suggestion now offered,
and with the suggestion mentioned in an earlier part of the
prese nt paper, of the question whether in an extremely thin
lamina of gradual transition from a liquid to its own gas, at their
visible face of demarcation, conditions may not exist in a stable
state having a correspondence with the unstable conditions here
theoretically conceived.
ALTERNATION OF GENERATIONS IN
FUNGI
T T has long since been shown that certain fungi pass
^ through an alternation of generations on the same plant.
The Rev. M. J. Berkeley demonstrated that in the case of
the common ** bunt " at least four consecutive forms of re-
productive cellules were produced. In the majority of Ure-
dines there are two forms of fruit, but these can scarcely
be regarded as an alternation of generations, since there
is no evidence that the spores of Trickobasis by germi-
nation, or otherwise, produce the bilocular spores of Puc-
cinia. In Podisoma and Gymnosporangium (if the two
genera are really distinct) the bilocular spores germinate
freely and produce unilocular secondary spores. Prof.
me in the Proceedings of the Royal Society for November 94, 2850, and in a
paper submitted to the British Association m the same year. In the present
paper, at the place to which this note is annexed, I adduce the like further
supposiuon that a dijficnlty qf making a beginming qf change of stnie from
gaseous to liquid may also probably exist. — '
L/iyiLizLcvj Oy
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Dec. 7, 1871J
NATURE
109
Oersted contends that if these secondary unilocular spores
are Sown upon young plants of the Sorbus aucuparia^
they will germinate, and that the ends of the germinating
filaments penetrating the tissues of the leaf of the sorb will
in turn produce the spermagonia and peridia of Rastelia
cornuta. This is very similar to the deductions of Prof,
de Bary that the spores of the jEcidium which flourishes
on the berberry may be employed to inoculate young
plants of wheat, and will produce as a result the wheat-
milde^v [ruccinia graminis), which he contends is another
generation of the berberry fungus completed upon a
different host {See Nature, vol. ii. p. 318 )
Such experiments as those of Professors Oersted and
De Bary must always prove unsatisfactory unless per-
formed with extraordinary care, and until confirmed by
other observers. One or two strong presumptions can
always be urged against them, and require to be boldly
faced. Wheat is very subject to the attacks of mildew
{Puccinia\ and the results claimed for certain experiments
are that they have produced by inoculation with other
spores the common Puccinia upon wheat plants, to which
the wheat is particularly addicted all the world over.
Admitting that the ALcidium spores sown on the leaves
of young wheat plants germinate, and that the germinating
filaments enter the tissues of the leaf, are we therefore
justified in affirming, or admitting that the inoculating
spores produce the Puccinia which ultimately exhibits
itself? Is it not more feasible to believe that the germi-
nation of the foreign spores have only served to stimulate
the latent germs of the Puccinia already present in the
tissues of Uie wheat plant 1 What guarantee is afforded
by those who have already experimented, that the wheat
plants experimented upon would not ultimately, without
inoculation, have developed precisely the same parasite as
that supposed to have been produced by inoculation?
Assuming also that the experiment was pursued in the
opposite direction, and that the spores of the wheat mildew
were sown upon young plants of the berberry, if the
.-Ecidium should soon afterwards appear on the leaves, it
is easy enough to jump to the conclusion that they were
produced by inoculation, but assumption is insufficient
since the berberry is very subject, year after year, to bear
on some of its leaves the peridia of the ^cidium. What
evidence could be given that the ^cidium would never
have appeared but for the inoculation ? It is manifest that
no amount of care in cultivation under bell glasses or other
exclusion from foreign influences is sufficient against a
contingency which dates back to the seed of the nurse-
plant.
If the sowing of the spores of ^cidium upon the leaves
of wheat resulted in the production of an Mcidium iden-
tical with it, or if the inoculation of berberry with wheat
mildew was succeeded by the development of a Puccinia
of a very similar character, it would not be so difficult to
believe in both cases that the resulting forms might have
been caused by inoculation. When the fungi assumed to
be produced by inoculation are those to which the nurse-
plants are particularly and specially subject, the evidence
should be very strong before it is affirmed that a very
natural phenomenon had an imnatural* cause.
The evolution of Raestelia on the leaves of the " moun-
tain ash " by inoculation with Podisoma spores is quite
analogous to the berberry and wheat fungi It is common
enough to find the Podisoma on junipers, and the Raestelia
on ''mountain ash," and the presumption would be, if
young plants of mountain ash ' were covered up ever so
carefully with bell glasses, notwithstanding that the leaves
had been sprinkled with the spores of a dozen other
species of fungi, if Rasstelia made its appearance, that it
bore no relation whatever to any of the foreign spores
which had been sown upon it, but would have been there
* The term " unnatural " is employed here in the sense that the presumed
cause is one of which we have no experiencAi and which is contrary to the
ordinary course of nature.
independent of inoculation, or bell glasses, or a dozen like
contingencies.
In both cases to which allusion has been made above,
there is need of the strongest evidence to show that the
ultimate parasite would not have made its appearance
but for the inoculation, or that the whole chain was com-
pleted which connected the inoculating spore with the
parasite produced. It would be folly to contend against
facts for the sake of theory, and absurd to combat con-
clusions fairly deduced from ascertained facts ; 1:ut ia
this instance we arc bound lo contend, in honesty to our
convictions, that in neither case has Oersted or De Bary
shown to our satisfaction that they were justified in de-
claring for an alternation of generations of fungi in which
the stages were passed on different nurse- plants. When
the facts are confirmed and established will be time
enough to inquire whether both stages are essential the
one to the other, and, if so, ho v it is that mildewed wheat
in such great profusion can be found in districts where
berberry bushes are unknown, or why the Rasstelia on the
leaves of pear trees should be so common in counties
where scarcely a savin can be found.
I have been led to these ob.-ervations partly because
some writers have accepted the conclusions at once as if
they were incontrovertible facts, and partly because I
have personally been charged with ignoring (by silence, it
is presumed) the results of De Bary and Oersted's experi-
ments, whereas I only claim the privilege of doubting
where I would not dare to deny.
M. C. Cooke
THE SCIENCE AND ART DEPARTMENT
THE following important Minute on the subject of
Science instruction has recently been issued by the
Committee of the Privy Council on Education : —
It appears desirable that the instruction of students in
Science, after they have completed the course of the
ordinary elementary school, should be carried on more
methodically than is at present the case, and that they
should not attempt to grapple with the more advanced
forms of Science until they have received sound and prac-
tical instruction in those subjects which constitute the
groundwork of all the physical sciences.
To this end the course of instruction specified below
has been prepared as adapted both to secondary day
schools and to night classes.
It will depend on circumstances, especially if the
student can only attend night classes, how many subjects
he can take up in one year. It must therefore be under-
stood that the course should not only comprise the sub-
jects named below, but also that they should be taken in
the order in which they are stated.
The terminology used is that of the Science and Art
Directories. The syllabus of subjects there given states
precisely what is included under each head. And it is
assumed that before commencing the following course, the
student will have been made acquainted, in the elementary
school, with the elements of arithmetic, and the primary
conceptions of physical science.
Course of Instruction, — First Year. — Mathematics
(Subject v., First Stage) ; Freehand Drawing (2nd Grade
Art) ; Practical Plane Geometry (2nd Grade Art) ; Ele-
mentary Mechanics, including the physical properties of
liquids and gases (Subject VI., First Stage) ; Physics :
Acoustics, Light and Heat (Subject VIII., First Sta^e).
Second Kf^r.— Chemistry, Inorganic (Subject X., First
Stage), with practical work ; Physics ; Magnetism and
Electricity, frictional and voltaic (Subject IX., First
Stage) ; Mathematics (Second Stage and, if possible,
Fourth Stage, Subject V.) ; Practical Geometry, Plane
and Solid (Subject 1., First Stage) ; Animal Physiology,
if possible (Subject XIV., First Stage). The student
Digitized by
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NATURE
[Dec. 7, 1871
should also, during the first and second year, work at
mechanical drawing as provided for in the Art Directory,
Stage 23^. Third Year. — The work of this year must
depend so much on the student's aptitude, and the pro-
gress he has made in the preceding course, that it is im-
possible to lay down the subjects for the third year's
course with any definiteness. It is essential that before
continuing his course, or commencing new subjects, he
should have a sound knowledge of the first stage of Ma-
thematics, Elementary Mechanics, Physics, and Qiemis-
try ; that he should have such a knowledge of practical
Geometry and Mechanical Drawing as to be able to draw
and read simple plans, elevations, and sections with
readiness, and that he should have sufficient facility in
Freehand Drawing to make clear and neat explanatory
diagrams.
When these subjects have been mastered, the student
should, while continuing his studies in mathematics, take
up the first stage of Animal Physiology, if he has not
already done so. He will then be in a position to specialise
his studies with advantage in one of the following groups,
according to his requirements, taking up, for instance —
I. Physics and Chemistry and Metallurgy ; 2. Theoretical
and Applied Mechanics, Steam, and Machine Construc-
tion and Drawing ; 3. Theoretical and Applied Mechanics,
and Building Construction and Drawing ; 4. Biology ; 5.
Geology, Physical Geography, Mineralogy, and Mining.
The student may also with advantage continue his free-
hand drawing and practical geometry.
The foregoing course is framed to lay the foundation of
a thorough and systematic scientific training. It must,
however, be understood that this course, though strongly
recommended for all those who can devote sufficient time
to go through it, in no way supersedes or does away with
the power of holding special classes in different subjects
for those who have not these opportunities, or diminishes
the aid at present offered to such classes.
The fact of the course being intended as a systematic
training will also explain the omission of certain subjects
which are not to be considered unimportant because they
find no place in the course. Thus systematic Botany will
be found of very great use as a preliminary to the study
of natural science. As such it may be taught in elemen-
tary schools before this course is commenced. But, fur-
ther than that, it cannot be considered a step in a sys-
tematic course till the student takes it up as a portion of
Biology in his third year. In the same way Physical
Geography is a subject which may with great advantage
be studied in all schools, and is especially adapted for
students who cannot go through a systematic course.
The first elements of Physical Geography, treating broadly
the outlines of physical science and describing its objects,
should, as stated above, be taught as an introduction to
its systematic study. But Physical Geography in its
general sense covers so wide a field, embracing to a greater
or less degree so many branches of Science, that it does
not fall into a systematic course of training in science,
though as a means of imparting highly valuable general
information, as distinct from a systematic training, it may
be strongly recommended.
ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS
AN excellent paper on the above subject appears in
Nature of Nov. 30, and it is to be hoped that it
may have the desired effect of reanimating in our Govern-
ment and among scientific men a fresh interest in the
prosecution of a further survey of the unknown seas round
the Pole.
Agreeing as I do with the writer as to the great impor-
tance of such an exploration as he recommends, I cannot
so readily acknowledge the correctness of his opinion as
to the advantages of the route by Smith Sound over that
along the west shore and to the north dF Spitzbeigen,
from which point Parry (the greatest' and noblest of
arctic explorers) attempted to reach the Pole with boat
sledges in 1827.
Parry had, I think, on this occasion chosen the right
route, but the wrong season of the year ; for he attempted
the journey in the month of July, instead of in March,
April, May, and June.
At Spitzbergen a vessel can always get as far as 80®
north, probably higher ; for Mr. Lamont has, during the
last two summers, on his pleasure cruises, readily reached
the latitude named.
I had it from the great navigator Parry himself, that the
ice he saw to the north of Spitzbergen would not have
been difficult to travel over at the proper season of the
year.
The farthest north point reached with much difficulty
by ships in Smith Sound has been 78^40', and we have
not the least warrant or certainty that any future expedi-
tion may be able to winter its ship or ships nearer the
Pole by this route.
From lat. 78^40' the distance to the Pole is 680 geo-
gniphical miles, making the journey there and back 1,360
miles in a straight line.
But surely no experienced Arctic traveller would be
sanguine enough to believe that he could take a " bee line ''
in a sledge journey to the Pole ; in fact, he would require
to make an allowance of about one-fiftii for obstructions
by rough ice, probable contour of coast line, &c., so that
the actual distance to be made would be 1,360 + 270 —
1,630 geographical miles, a journey 200 or 300 miles
longer than any that has yet been accomplished, even by
that admirable Arctic traveller, the late Lieut. Mecham.
Yet Mecham, in his two longest journeys of 1,200 or 1,300
miles each (I forget whether these are geographical or
statute miles, but I think they are the latter), had advan-
tages not hkely to be found in a journey to the Pole. On
the one occasion deer, musk-cattle, and other game were
so abundant and so tame that he could and did easily kill
as many as the party required, and could have killed
many more. On the other occasion he was travelling
along a known route, at several points of which depots of
provisions had been placed by ships wintering there, or by
other means, from which he was enabled to obtain supplies
both on the outward and homeward march.
Mr. Markham says that a ship can always get so far
north in Smith Sound that the Pole can be reached by a
journey from it with sledges of 968 miles there and back.
By what powers of reasoning or rule of arithmetic this
conclusion has been arrived at I am at a loss to know,
unless there is always a certainty of ships getting into
winter quarters in Smith Sound as far up as 82° latitude,
yet Kane was stopped 200 miles south of this, and Hayes
even at a greater distance.
The Spitzbergen route has never had a fair trial with
sledges over ice either with or without the aid of dogs, and
I believe that if the Pole is ever to be reached, it will be
by it, and not by Smidi Sound. The distance to be
travelled will not probably be less than 1,400 geographical
miles, possibly more, a journey practicable enough under
favourable circiunstances, but by no means easy of accom-
plishment. John Rae
NOTES
At the Anniversary Meeting of the Fellows of tlie Royal Society
on Thursday last, Lieut -General Sir Edward Sabine, R.A.,
K.CB., resigned the office of president, which he has filled since
1861, and the Astronomer Royal was elected to fill the presiden-
tial chair. The following gentlemen were appointed officers and
council for the ensuing year : — President : George Biddell Airy,
M. A., D.C.L., LLbD., Astronomer Royal Treasurer ; William
Spottiswoode, M. A. Secretaries : William Sharpey, M.D.,
i_/iyiLiz_c7u kjy
e>^'
Dec. 7, 1871J
NATURE
III
LUD. ; Prof. George Gabriel Stokes, M.A., D.C.L., LL.D.
Foreign Secretary: Prof. William Miller, M.A., LL.D. Other
Members of the Council : George J. Allman, M. D. ; John Ball,
M. A. ; George Burro wes, M.D.; George Busk, P.R.C.S.; Prof.
Robert B. Clifton, M. A. ; H. Debus, Ph. D. ; Prof. P. M. Duncan,
M.B. ; Piof. G. Carey Foster, B.A. ; Francis Galton; Thos.
A. Hirst, Ph.D. ; Sir John Lubbock, Bart ; Sir James Paget,
Bart., D.C.L. ; The Earl of Rosse, D.C.L. ; General Sir E.
Sabine, R.A., K.C.B. ; Isaac Todhunter, M.A. ; Sir Charles
Wheatstone, D. C L. The President's annual address was occu-
pied by a rhunU of the most important advances in science,
mainly physical, during the year. After alluding to the loss sus-
tained by the Society in the deaths of Sir John Herschel, Mr.
Babbage, and Sir R. Murchison, General Sabine referred par-
ticularly to the munificence of Mr. J. P. Gassiot, by which the
Kew Observatory has been transferred to the Royal Society in
trust, with an income of 500/. per annum towards the cost of
carrying on and continuing magnetical and meteorological obser-
vations with self-recording instruments, and any other physical
investigations that may from time to time be found practicable
and desirable in the present building at Kew belonging to the
Government ; or, in the event of the Government at any time
declining to continue to place that building at the disposal of
the Royal Society, then in any other suitable building which the
Council of the Royal Society may determine. The following
papers and investigations were also specially named by the presi-
dent :— ** On the Dependence of the Earth's Magnetbm on the
Roution of the Sun," by Prof. Homstein, of Pngue ; the
Pendulum Experiments in India, by the late Captiin Basevi,
R. N. ; Mr. EUcry*s report on the Great Melbourne Telescope ;
the Investigations of the Lunar Atmospheric Tide, by M.
Bergsma, of Batavia ; and the Memoir by Prof Heer, of Ziirich,
on the Fossil Plants brought from Greenland by Prof. Nordens-
kiold. The Copley and Royal medals were then awarded, as
already noted.
With regard to the Australian arrangements for observing the
Total Eclipse of Tuesday next, we learn that the Royal Society
of Victoria (not of New South Wales, as had been previously
reported) were up to the end of September making vigorous
preparations for an Expedition, but that at that time they were
afraid that their plans would be seriously frustrated by the failure
of Government aid, which they had been led to expect would be
liberally granted. Mr. Ellery, the president, and Mr. Rusden,
the secretary of the Royal Society of Victoria, were exerting
themselves to the utmost to secure the success of the Ex-
pedition, which was to start not later than November 22nd. By
the most recent Melbourne papers of October 9 and 10, we learn
that, notwithstanding the supinene^s displayed in the matter by
the other Australian colonies, it was still hoped that the Govern-
ment of Victoria would render such pecuniary assistance as
would make it po^^sible for the Expedition to set out with some
chance of success in obtaining results of scientific value. The
number of persons who had already agreed to join the expedition
up to that date was twenty, of whom four or five were of Adelaide,
three of Sydney, and one or two of Tasmania. No very certain
information had been procured about the prevailing weather in
the latitude where the eclipse will be visible. The destination
of the steamer will be Cape Sidmouth, about midway between
Cardwell and Cape York, where there is some risk of the weather
bting unfavourable, inasmuch as during December the N.W.
winds frequently bring heavy rain. Probably the Expedition
will be broken up into several observing parties, and two or more
stationed at different points of the mainland, and one on a neigh-
bouring islani.
Thb elevation of Mr. W. R. Grove, Q.C., to the judicial
bench is % noteworthy event in the history of the personnel of
Science. It is well known that the author of the *' Correlation of
Forces," and quondam President of the British Association, is an
authority of no mean rank on some of the most abstruse questions
of law.
The Exhibition of Stone Implements (Neolithic and Savage)
at the Apartments of the Society of Antiquaries in Somerset
House will be open at the meeting of the Society this evening,
and from the 8th to the 14th inclusive from eleven to four. Cards
of admission may be obtained from the secretaiy.
We learn from Prof: H. A. Newton, of New Haven, Conn.,
that between 11 '20 p.m. on November 13, and 1-45 a.m'.
November 14, ninety- eight meteors were seen, though the sky
was cloudy. Not more than one-tenth of them were, however
regarded as belonging to the meteor stream of November. Prof.
Newton thinks that if the earth met the stream this year, it was
either before or after the interval of observation.
An application has been received by the Kew Committee ot
the Royal Society from Dr. Jelinek, Director of the " Central
Anstalt fUr Meteorologie and Erdmagnetismus," to procure for
that establishment a set of self-recording magnetographs similar to
those at Kew. The request has been complied with ; and it is
hoped that the apparatus will be ready for transmission to Vienna
in March next, being the time named by Dr. Jelinek as that at
which the new building in course of erection in that city is ex-
pected to be completed. The Committee has also been apprised
by a letter from Mr. Stone, Astronomer Royal at the Cape of
Good Hope, that he had at that date applied to the Admiralty for
a set of magnetographs, similar to those at Kew, to be employed
at the Cape. The Kew Committee hold themselves in readiness
to supply the desired apparatus when they may receive directions
to that effect from the Admiralty ; such directions, however
have not yet been received. If Mr. Stone's request is granted
the Cape Observatory will be the third in the British Colonial
Dominions employing such instruments, the other two being the
Colaba Observatory under Mr. Chambers at Bombay, and the
Mauritius Observatory under Mr. Meldrum.
It is reported that the French Government intends to establish
two schools, one at Lyons and the other at Nancy, in place of
the Strasburg medical school. The Strasbuig professors are to
go to Lyons ; and it is expected that that school will assume an
important position in consequence of the large amount of hos
pital accommodation in the city. At Nancy, physics, chemistry
and physiology will be more especially taught.
Harper's Weekly announces the death, in Boston, of the Rev. J.
A. Swan, on October 31, at the age of forty-eight. Mr. Swan
has been long known among his New England friends for his
love of natural history and his skill in the use of the microscope ;
and during his residence at Kennebunk, although a devoted
pastor in that village, he found time to make numerous im-
portant explorations and observations in the natural history of
the vicinity. Failing in health a few years ago, he visited
Europe, and on his return was appointed to ihe responsible post
of secretary of the Boston Society of Natural History, in con-
nection with Prof. A. Hyatt, succeeding Mr. Scudder in charge
of the business of the society. Apart from his scientific accom-
plishments, Mr. Swan was endeared to all his friends by personal
qualifications of the rarest merit
The Society of the Friends of Science, in Posen, propose, on
February 19, 1873, to celebrate the 400th birthday of the eminent
astronomer, Nicholas Copernicus, at his birth-place, in the
village of Thorn. In addition to the festivities of the occasion,
they intend to publish an accurate biography of their coimtry-
man, and to prepare a monumental album, as also to strike an
appropriate medal A prize of 500 thalers is offered for the best
biography that can be prepared before January I, 187^, to be
based only upon authentic documents. C^ r^r^rAo
L.,y,u^cu by VJiiJVJvlV^
112
NATURE
[Dec. 7, 1871
Wk have received the first number of " The German Quarterly
Magazine ; a Series of Popular Essays on Science, History, and
ArL" The plan of the publication is to give in English such
essays, selected from the "Sammlung gemeinverstandlicher
wissenschafilicher Vortiage," edited by Profs. Virchow and Franz
von HoltzendorfT, as are likely to interest the English reading
public, and also original contributions ; the numbers presenting
alternately selections from the departments of Science, History,
and Art. The present number contains three papers :—** The
Cranial Affinities of Man and the Ape," by R. Virchow ; ** Sight
and the Visual Organs," by A. von Graefe; and "The Circu-
lation of the Waters on the Surface of the Earth," by H. W.
Dove ; all papers of great interest and importance, but losing
something to the English reader irom the German phraseology
in which the translations are clothed. They are illustrated by
good woodcuts, and the subscription to the magazine is lor. per
annum.
Mkssrs. Longman & Co. are about to publish a volume by
Mr. Serjeant Cox, entitled '* Spiritualism answered by Science,"
in which he will detail the arguments that satisfied himself and
the other scientific investigators that the phenomena of alleged
*' Spiritualism " are purely physical, and in no manner associated
with spirits of the d^d.
Da. BfiSSELS, the director of the scientific corps of Captain
Hall's steamer Polaris^ in a letter addressed to the president of the
American National AcaJemy of Sciences, dated Godaven, August
16, states that he had already made some important observations
in regard to the physics of the northern seas, such as a peculiar
coloration of the water and an unexpectedly high specific gravity,
the maximum density noticed being i 028. His experiences
with his colleagues, Mr. Bryan, the astronomer, and Mr. Meyer,
the meteorologist, have been very satisfactory ; the former gentle-
man having made a number of successful azimuth observations,
and the latter approving himself an excellent mathematician and
an accomplished observer, and an honour to the Signal Service,
from which he was detailed for duty with Captain Hall.
The recently published report of Commissioner R. W.
Raymond upon statistics of mioes and mining in the stites and
territories west of the Rocky Mountains for the year 1870, forms
a stoat volume of nearly 600 pages, illustrated by a number of
plates and sections, embodying the result of a laborious personal
examination, and that of several assistants. The report contains
a detailed account of the present condition of the mining in
•dustry in California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah,
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming, together with
interesting statements in regard to improved metallurgical pro-
cesses, such as especially relate to the treatment of auriferous
ores, the chlorination and smelting of silver ores, &c. There are
also chapters on nurow-guage railways and their adaptation to
mining regions, the mining law, the geographical distribution of
mining districts, the origin of gold ingots and gold-dust, and the
bullion product The Commisioner congratulates the country
upon an increased prosperity in the mining industry, ai seen not
only in an augmented bullion product, but an improved tone in
the business itself, and relief from more or less of the irritating
and burdensome questions that have hitherto been connected
with the mining interest. Although the excitements which so
frequently cany off the miners and settlers of one region into a
new locality have been comparatively rare, yet there have been a
few of special note. Among these mentioned by Mr. Rajrmond
are those caused by the discovery of gold in Southern California,
near San Diego ; the discovery of silver in the Burro Mountains,
and the rumours of rich plactrs on Peace River, far into the
interior of British Columbia ; the bars of Snake River ; several
localities in Nevada, and others in Utah ; the silver mines in the
Caribou district of Colorado, &c.
COLDING ON THE LAWS OF CURRENTS
IN ORDINARY CONDUITS AND IN THE
SEA
HI.
T ET us now direct our attention to the polar currents, and
'*-' especially to that one which from Spitzbergen proceeds to the
5outh-west along the coast of Greenland as far as Cape Farewell.
It will be seen that this current has received an impulse from the
force of rotation, and rises about one foot towards the west coast
of Greenland, an effect which however ceases as soon as it has
passed the southern point of that country. As soon as the
resistance which compelled the current to follow the line of the
coast in proceeding to the south-west disappears, it can no longer
continue in the same course, but takes a westerly direction towards
labrador, partly iu consequence of the rotation of the earth,
partly because the level of the current is then higher than that of
the waters of Davis Strait After having advanced a little into
the strait, the polar current encounters the currents coming from
the north by Baffin's Bay, and joins them in their progress to the
south-east along the coast of Labrador, towards which it slopes
in virtue of the rotation of the earth. During this passage, aud
until its arrival in the neighbourhood of Neuvfoundland, this
current is stemmed by the force of rotation, and ought, conse-
quently, to present a slope all along Davis Strait and the east
coast of Newfoundland as far as the Gulf Stream. During its
course southwards along this course, the polar current is elevated
towards the land by the earth's rotation ; but as soon as it has
passed Cape Race, this resistance suddenly disappears, and the
same phenomenon is reproduced as at Cape Farewell. The
current bends suddenly to the south-west, and follows the coast
as far as Florida, while its breadth and the volume of its water
continue to diminish.
From Newfoundland to Florida, a distance of about 500 miles,
the Gulf Stream and the polar current flow constantly side by
side, under the impulse of the earth's rotation, which raises the
polar current towards the land and connptls it to follow all the
ins and outs of the coist But what force is it that impels the
Gulf Stream, which flows freely in the ocean, to keep by the
side of the polar current in all its windings, instead of taking
the more easterly direction, which the rotation of the earth tends
to give it ? It is, of course, gravity, to wit, the force resulting
from the slope which the Gulf Stream presents from right to left
perpendicular to its direction throughout its entire breadth, a
slope which is 12 feet from the point where the current de-
bouches into the Atlantic to New York, and about one foot from
New York to the place where, after having approached the
shores of Europe, it separates into two branches. And if it be
asked why the Gulf Stream has this slope ; the reason evidently
is that the water of the polar current has a specific gravity greater
than the water of the Atlantic, and ou^ht consequently to have
a lower level than that of the latter sea, since the water beneath
is in equilibrium. That this is the real state of the matter is
fully confirmed by the researches made in recent years in the
Gulf Stream at the instigation of the American Government,
and which leave no room to doubt that this current has not kept
its place on account of the difference of density which exists
between the waters of the polar current and those of the Atlantic
Under these circumstances it is easy to see that the Gulf Stream
ought to follow all the sinuosities of the polar current as far as
Newfoundland.
But while the Gulf Stream ought thus to be considered as pre-
senting a uniform slope from the Atlantic towards the polar
current, the researches undertaken by the American Government
prove that the bottom of the Gulf Stream could be in equilibrium
only if that current had an inclination directed away from the
polar current towards the Atlantic, such that its maximum level
would be nearly one-third of the distance from the polar current.
Under the actual conditions, then, there is no equilibrium. The
waters of the polar current exercise upon the Gulf Stream a
pressure which increases with the depth, and causes a continual
afflux of cold water, especially in its lower depth. In propor-
tion as these cold waters penetrate into the Gulf Stream, it com-
municates to them its heat and its motion, and ia proportion as
it is raised under the influence of the pressure of the polar cur-
rent driving away the water which it displaces, its breadth
ought to go on increasing. But in order that the breadth
ol the Gulf Stream may increase, it is necessary that its level
in the centre of the current be elevated above that which cor-
responds to the equilibrium of tiie surface^ so that the force of
LyiyiiiiLcvj uy
<3^'
Dec. 7, 1871]
NATURE
"3
rotation should acqaire the preponderance necessary to produce
an enUrgement of breadth towards the east ; and this elevation
of the level gives birth at the same time — from the middle of the
Gulf Stream to the polar current — to the surface current of warm
water which has been ascertained to exist by the American Com-
mission.
It follows then from what precedes, that on the one hand the
polar current penetrates at all points into the Gulf Stream,
nearly as far as its surface, which sends to the polar current a
surface-current of warm water from twenty to fifty fathoms deep ;
and, on the other hand, that the Gulf Stream ought, throughout
the whole of its depth, to exercise upon the waters of the Atlantic
a pressure which forces them to give place to those which it
receives from the polar current, and which it draws along with it
The researches which have recently been made as to the Gulf
Stream all appear to confirm these conclusions, so that if we
suppose that the volume of the Gulf Stream is increased by all
the water which the polar current loses in its course, it will follow
that if we designate by Q the volume of the Gulf Stream at
Bemini, and by q that of the polar current in any section between
Newfoundland and Florida, the volume of the Gulf Stream, for
the same section, will be equal to <2 + ^. After that, it is
necessary that the polar current— which, from the east coast of
Newfoundland, flows towards the Gulf Stream, and from Cape
Race takes a south-westerly direction along the American coast
—gives up in its passage towards Florida all its water to the
Gulf Stream. If, then, we assume the speed of the polar cur-
rent to the south of Newfoundland to be i *8 feet per second,
its breadth 50 miles, and its depth 900 feet, it wiO be found
that its delivery per second is 1,600^000,000 cubic feet, which
makes that of the Gulf Stream to the south of Newfoundland
3,200,000,000 cubic feet per second.
From the southern part of the North Atlantic, then, between the
equator and 30"* of latitude, itdischargesatthe rate of 1,600,000,000
cubic feet per second ; but besides the loss which has been accounted
for, there is another which is due to evaporation ; the latter deprives
the Gulf Stream of a quantity of water greater than that which
falls into it in the form of rain, and which flows into it from the
neighbouring lands. To calculate this diflerence, we cin make
use of the results of the researches which were made in
i860 at St. Helena by Lieut Haughton. We thus find that
the excess of evaporation in the Atlantic, between o* and 30® of
latitude, is equivsilent to a mean height of water of 0'22'', which,
after deducting one-tenth for the water which comes from rivers,
gives a loss of 50,000,000 cubic feet per second. The total quan-
tity of water, then, which passes from the Atlantic between
o*" and 30'' of N. latitude, can be stated as equal to 1,650,000,000
cubic feet per second.
If we then admit that two-thiids of all the surface of the lands
situated to the north of the 30th degree of latitude send directly
or indirectly their waters to the Atluitic, and if we estimate the
quantity of rain which annually falls upon that surface, the north
part of the Atlantic will receive per second an addition of
50,000,000 cubic feet of water, or, about the same quantity
which is carried off by evaporation from the south part between
o' and 30" of N. latitude.
But it follows hence that since the southern branch of the
Gulf Stream is formed by the water which flows from the south
part of the North Atlantic, it ought to have a delivery of
1,650,000,000 cubic feet per second ; and, as the delivery of
the entire current, after having passed Newfoundland, may be
stated at 3,250,000,000 cubic feet, it follows that that of the
northern branch is 1,600,000,000 cubic feet, while the united
polar currents ought to rejpresent a volume of 1,650,000,000
cubic feet per second. At St. Augustine the depth of the Gulf
Stream is about 300 fathoms, which goes on diminishing regu-
larly, as far as Newfoundland, where it is 1,000 feet. From
Newfoundland, where it has a breadth of eighty miles and a
speed of two feet, the current proceeds E.N.E., with a decreas-
ing speed and an increasing breadth ; at the end of 300 miles it
has a depth of 200 and odd fathoms, a speed of 0*6 feet, and a
breadth of 200 miles. Moreover, during this part of its course
it rises about 2 feet above its level at Newfoundluid. Until it
attains this height, the Gulf Stream forms only a single current
maintained by the fall of i foot, which it presents from right to
left ; but as soon as it reaches that, its southern part presents
a slope sufficient to give birth to a branch which proceeds to
the south-east, towards the African coast, at a speed of o'6 feet,
and with a delivery of 1,650,000,000 cubic feet per second.
When the latter current reaches the 30th degree of N. latitude,
it meets the north-east trade-wind, which urges it towards the
south.
But while the southern half of the Gulf Stream proceed*
towards the south, its northern half, whose delivery per second
is 1,600,000,000 cubic feet, pursues its course towards the north,
along the shores of Great Britain, as far as the 60th degree of
latitude in this passage, during which the current rises towards
the Und and gradually increases in breadth from I03 to 150
miles, while its speed diminishes from 0*6 to 0*3 of a foot per
second, it is subjected to the impulse of the earth's rotation, and
its western margin, which naturally blends with the surface of
the Atlantic, is raised from i^ foot through a course of 140
miles, so that at the 6oth degree of latitude this side is 3^ fest
above the level of the ocean at Newfoundland.
After the Gulf Stream, which throughout this course has a
depth of from 200 to 300 fathoms, reaches the north coast of
Scotland, about two-Uiirds of its waters proceed eastwards
towards the Norwegian coast, while the other third runs against
Iceland, and afterwards continues its course to the north-west to
the polar current of Greenland. The latter branch, which the
force of rotation raises towards the land, has a depth of 200
and odd fathoms, and a breadth of al>out 50 miles ; in order to
be able to advance towards the polar current with a speed of
al>out 0*3 feet per second, a fall of nearly half a foot is neces-
sary. If next we remark that the northern Gulf Stream, towards
the north point of Scotland, presents an elevation of i '5 foot
towards the land, we shall easily see that the branch of the Gulf
Stream, which proceeds to the north-west, has, along the Icelandic
coast, a level which exceeds by half a foot the southern maigin
of the same current From this it follows that the waters which
skirt the coast of Iceland encounter the polar current on the
west of that island at a level higher by 3} feet than the surface of
the Atlantic at Newfoundland. But while these waters advance
towards the polar current in virtue of the above-mention m1 fall,
those of the southern margin of the Gulf Stream have precisely
the same level as the polar current The waters of the western
side of the north branch of the Gulf Stream, which are forced to
bend towards the west after having reached the 60th degree
of north latitude, cannot then continue their course towards the
polar current ; they spread themselves over the surface of the
Atlantic and take a southerly course towards Newfoundland, on
account of the difference of leveL With regard to those parts
of the current situated between the north and south boundaries
of this branch of the Gulf Stream, they are, according to their
position, drawn for a shorter or longer time still torads the
polar current, before taking their course towards the south ; and
It is thus evident that the warm current must spread itself over
the whole surface of the Atlantic between the Northern branch
of the Gulf Stream and the polar current which descends from
Greenland.
If next we turn our attention to the progress of the polar
current from the east coast of Greenland, starting from the fol-
lowing data, viz., that the eastern margin of this current, about
65^ north latitude, on the west of Iceland, has a level of 3^ feet
higher than that of the Atlantic at Newfoundland, and that it
pursues a course to the south-west at the rate of f of a foot per
second — we see clearly that it is obedient to the impulse com-
municated by the rotation of the earth. Moreover, let us esti-
mate, after Irminger, the breadth of the current at 40 miles,
and suppose that the half of the water which the Gulf Stream
carries into the icy sea, as well as the half of that which falls iu
the form of rain or snow, returns towards the south with the
current, while the other half descends by Baffin's Bay ; we then
find that the force of rotation raises the polar current, whose depth
may be estimated at 1,000 feet, one foot above its eastern margin,
and, regarding the speed as constant as far as the south point of
Greenland, we arrive at the result that, along its eastern side,
which naturally blends with the Atlantic, its surface must con-
tinue to rise as far as Cape Farewell, firom 3) to 5 feet above the
level of the ocean at Newfoundland. If, after having doubled
Cape Farewell, the Gulf Stream descended straight towards
NeWoundland, the water in Davis Strait ought to rise to a
height sufficient to hincfer the current from moving in a more
westerly direction. But, as the water in Davis Strait cannot
have a higher level than is necessary to impel towards the south
the tributary bodies of water as rapidly as they join it, and, as
for this purpose, at the 63rd degree of north latitude, an
inclination of only 3^ feet above the level of the sea at New-
foundland is required, the polar current, on arriving at Cape
Farewell, presents towards Davis Strait a slope of 7\ feet along
Digitized by
Cooglc
114
NATURE
[pec. 7, 1 87 1
the Greenland coast, and a foot and a half along its opposite
margin, and in consequence of this slope proceeds several degrees
into the Strait But as Baffin's Bay and Davis Strait, as his
been said before, are traversed by a polar current descending
towards the south-east, it ought to have an inclination in that
direction ; and it is on this account that the current from the
east coast of Greenland, after advancing for some time into Davis
Strait, is forced to run westwards towa^ the coast of Labrador,
along which it then flows southwards after joining the current from
Baffin's Bay. The two united polar currents, whose delivery may
be estimated at 1,200,000,000 cubic feet per second, have a
breadth of fifty miles, a speed of f of a foot per second, and a
depth of about 250 fathoms. They flow to the south-east, under
the influence of the earth's rotation, which raises theoi towards
the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, and continue their
course along the latter towards the Gulf Stream until they have
doubled Cape Race, when they bend westward and make for
Florida.
If now we return to the warm current which, from the Gulf
Stream, curves round the south of Iceland, and then spreads
itself gradually over the cold waters of the Atlantic, we see that
on its arrival at the south point of Greenland, it rises from left
to right, from the Gulf Stream to Cape Farewell, about 24 feet,
which shows clearly that its course is really to the south. More-
over, this elevation from left to right enables us to give a more
satisfactory account of the conditions of currents. In short, the
western margin of the warm current accompanying the polar
current, ought, along the latter, to have a depth of 1,000 feet
and a speed of f of a foot ; and as the speed of the current di-
minishes regularly in approaching the Gulf Stream, and as all
the parts of the current follow, as far as Cape Farewell, a di-
rection nearly parallel, it follows that the speed along the Gulf
Stream ought to be at the rate of about 4 ^ foot per second.
But if the returning branch of the Gulf Stream proceeds to the
south-west with a fall of 4 a foot on its west border, it follows
that the depth of the current ought to be 76 feet. By determin-
ing in the same way the depth for a certain number of points of
a transverse section, and by calculating according to these data
the total delivery of the current, we find that it is raised to
410,000,000 cubic feet per second, which perfectly accords with
the result which we ought to obtain. If next we inquire how
the variou'3 parts of the warm surface current move under the
united action of the slope and the earth's rotation, we ascertain
that this current ought to follow the course of the polar current
which gradually absorbs the waters that penetrate underneath,
the water of the current being more dense than that of the polar
current, and we find at the same time that in thus flowing towards
the polar current the water ought to spread itself all over the
Atlantic as far as Newfoundland.
After having thus shown that the preceding theory accounts in
a tolerably complete manner for all the movements of the ocean
currents, I shall add, in conclusion, that it is very possible, con-
sideriog our imperfect knowledge of the progress of currents,
that many details may be very different from those which have been
expounded above ; but, so far as the main question is concerned,
I believe I am entitled to say with con6deace that the laws of
ocean currents are pretty much those which I have attempted to
establish.
That these laws are equally applicable to the atmospheric
currents is evident, and it is scarcely necessary to repeat, that in
periods when the differences of temperature on the surface of the
globe were greater than at present, all these currents were much
stronger, and of a nature otherwise very energetic
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
The QuarUrty ymirna/ of Micrascopkal Science for October,
1 87 1. '*The origin and distribution of Microzymes (Bacteria)
in water, and the circumstances which determine their existence
in the tissues and liquids of the living *body," by Dr. Burdon
Sanderson, F.R.S. This paper is occupied chiefly by details of
experiments to determine the conditions which are fatal or
favourable to the existence of microzymes in the liquid or gaseous
fluids by which we are surrounded, in order to approach one
degree nearer to an understanding of their influence on the pro-
cesses which go on in the living hody. After a definition of
" microzymes " the author proce«ls to their chemical composition
and their relation to the media in which they grow. This portion
> brief and incomplete. The remainder of the paper is occnpied
with the experiments, which are grouped under these three
sections. (i) Experimental determination of the conditions
which govern the development of microzymes in certain oiganic
liquids to be used as tests. Having found in a number of cases
that either contact with surfaces w^ch had not been snperheated,
or the admbcture of water which had not been boiled, was the
exclusive cause of the growth of microzymes in the experimental
liquid, it was inferred tl^t water is the primary source from whence
the germinal particles of bacteria are derived whenever they seem
to originate spontaneously in oiganic solutions. A number of ex-
periments were made with different varieties of water in ordinary
use, in order to confirm the observations already made, and to ascer-
tain if all waters possess the properties in question in a like degree.
These experiments are detailed under the second section (2)
Distribution of the Germal Matter of Microzymes in ordinary
Water. The results under this head were not deemed satis-
factory. (3) Circumstances which determine the existence of
microzymes in organic liquids and tissues, that is, whether the
tissues and liouids of the living body participate in the zymotic
property which exists in water and moist substances. The con-
clusion drawn from the facts Is, that " it has appeared certain
that there is no developmental connection between microzymes
and torula cells, and that their apparent association is one of mere
juxtaposition. Thus fungi are not developed, notwithstanding
the presence of microzymes in the same liquid in which, mi-
crozymes being absent, but air having access, they appear with
the greatest readiness." Finally, the writer is certain that,
although air is the main source of what he calls fungus impreg-
nation, as distinguished from impregnation with microzymes, yet
the two acts may take place at the same moment, germs of torula
being often contained in the same liquid media as the germ par-
ticles of microzymes. — " On the Colouring Matter of some
Aphides," by H. C. Sorby, F.R.S.— "Observations and Ex-
periments on the Red Blood Corpuscles, chiefly with regard to
the Action of Gases and Vapours," by E. Ray Lankester. — " On
Undulina, the type of a new group of Infusoria," by E.
Ray Lankester. — "On the Circulation in the wings of
Blatta OrUntalis and other Insects, and on a new method of
injecting the vessels of insects," by H. N. Moseley. After
describing the method adopted for preparing and fixing the wings
of insects for examination of the circulation, the writer proceeds
to his experiences with the cockroach. The corpuscles in Blatta
are so large that the circulation may readily be seen with a high
power of a simple dissecting microscope. If an insect be carefully
lied, the circulation may be observed in action for as long as twelve
hours. Abundance of parasites were found in the blood vessels
ol Blatta and coleopterous insects. The method recommended
for the injection of the circulatory system of insects is through the
laigest artery on the front border of the wing, and the injecting
fluid is indigo carmine. — " On the production of Spores in the
Radiolaria, by Prof. L. Cienkowski; translated from voL vii.,
part 4, of the " Archiv. fur Mikroskop. Anatomic." The obser-
vations on which this paper is based were mainly made upon
CoUosphaera and CoUozoum. The capsule is the source of the
zoospores. In the mature capsule the contents break up into a
quantity of little spheroids. — "On the Peripheral Distribu-
tion of non-meduUated Nerve-fibres," by £. Klein. The writer
purposes treating of the nerves of the cornea, those of the
nictitating membrane of the frog, of the canal in the tail of
the rabbit, and of the mesentery. The present communication is
confined to the nerves of the cornea, the remaining subjects are to
be embodied in a second paper.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Geological Society, Nov, 22.— The Rev. Thomas Wiltshire,
M.A., in the chair. Mr. Samuel Baillie Coxon was elected a
Fellow of the Society. The following communications were
read : — l. " Notes on some Fossils from tiie Devonian Rocks
of the Witzenbeig FUts, Cape Colony." By Prof. T. Rupert
Jones, F.G.S. In this paper the author noticed some Devonian
fossils like those of the Bokkeveld, found on Mr. Louw's farm
on the Witzenberg Flats, Tulbagh. Ortlioceras vittatum^ Sand*
berger, was added to ^e South African list of fossils. The
fossils under notice were stated by the author to help to sub-
stantiate the late Dr. Rubidge's view, that the old schists termed
" Silurian" by Bain are of Devonian afi;e, and continnotis across
the colony. Their presence in the Witzenberg Flats was also
i_/iy!Li,iLc;u kjy
<3^'
Dec, 7, 1 871]
NATURE
"5
shown to be conclusive against the idea of coal-measures being
found there. Mr. Godwin- Austen remarked that the presumed
Devonian species of South Africa appeared not to have been
completely identified with those of European origin* Although,
judging from the range of European marine mollusca^ some of
which were found of precisely tne same species both m Europe
and at the Cape, there was nothing surprising in the extension of
any old deposit, yet it seemed unreasonable to suppose that the
whole district over which the wide-spread Devonian rocks
extend could have been snbmeiged at the same time. He traced
the original foundation of the Devonian system to the late Mr.
Lonsdale, who, in the fossils found in the deposits of Devonshire,
thought he traced sufficient grounds for a marked discrimination
between those beds and those of Carboniferous age. Mr. Austen
had, however, always r^arded the Devonian Sjrstem as merely
an older member of the Carboniferous, holding much the same
relation to it as the Neocomian to the Cretaceous ; and he would
be glad to see it recognised, not as an independent system, but
merely as the Introduction of that far more important system, the
Carboniferous, during the deposit of which the globe was subject
to the same phjrsiographical conditions. Mr. Etheridge did not
agree with Mr. Austen as to the suppression of the name of
Devonian system, and commented on its wide-spread distribu-
tion, and on the peculiar fades of its fossils, and their importance
as a group. He was rather doubtful as to specific determinations
arrived at from casts. Though the species of many fossils of
Queensland procured by Mr. Daintree did not correspond with
those of European areas, yet some of the corals were identical
with those of South and North Devon, as were also the lithologi-
cal characters of the containing beds. Mr. Seeley objected to
any attempt to supersede the arrangements of the South African
rocks in accordance with the lo<»l phenomena, by correlating
them too closely with any European series. The reco^tion of
the correspondence in forms seemed to him more to prove a simi-
larity of conditions of life than any absolute s3mchronism. As to
* the connection between the Devonian and Carboniferous s]rstems,
he agreed with Mr. Austen in regarding the one as merely con-
stituting the natural base of the other. 2. "On the Geology of
Fernando Noronha (S. laL 3* 50', W. long. 32* 50')." By
Alexander Rattray, M.D. (Edin.), Surgeon R.N. Communicated
by Profl Huxley, F.R.S. The author described the general
geological structure of Fernando Noronha and the smaller islands
which form a group with iL The sur&ce-rock was described as
a coarse conglomerate, composed of rounded basaltic boulders
and pebbles, m a hard, dark red, clayey matrix. This overlies
a hard, dark, fine-grained basalt, which forms the most striking
of the bluffs, cliffs, and outlying rocks. The highest peaks in
the group consist of a fine-grained, light grey granite. The
author remarked upon the possible relation of the geology of
these islands to that of the neighbouring continent of South
America, and stated that there is evidence of the islands having
been elevated to some extent at a comparatively recent period.
3. " Note on some Ichthyosaurian Remains from Kimmeridge
Bay, Dorset" By Mr. J. W. Hulke, F.R.S. The author
noticed some teeth found, with a portion of an Ichthyosaurian
skull, in the Kimmerk^e clay of Dorsetshire. The fragments of
the snout were said to mdicate that it was about three feet long
and proportionally stout The author indicated the character by
which these teetn were distinguishable from those of various
known species of Ichthyosaurtu, and stated that they approached
most closely to those of the Cretaceous /. campylodon, Mr.
Seeley did not consider that, in the main, the teeth of Reptilia
afforded any criteria for specific determination. In the Cambridge
Greensand, though there were five species of Ichthyosaurus^ pos-
sibly including a second genus, the teeth found were so closely
similar that it would have been impossible, from them only, to
identify more than one species. Mr. Boyd Dawkins recognised
in the specimens exhibited by Mr. Hulke a form of tooth he had
found in the Kimmeridge beds of Shotover, near Oxford, but
which he had been hitherto uiuble to attribute to any recognised
species. He could not fullv agree with Mr. Seeley as to the ab-
sence of specific criteria in the teeth of Saurians, as, from his own
experience, he was inclined to attribute some importance to their
external sculpturing. 4. " Appendix to a ' Note on a New and
Undescribed WeaWen Vertebra,' read 9th February, 1870, and
published in the Quarterly Journal for August in that year."
By Mr. J. W. Hulke, F. R.S. I he author generically identified
this vertebra with Omithopsis, Seeley, Streptospondylus^ Owen,
and Cdiosaurus^ Owen, takmg the last to be typified by the large
species in the Oxford Museum. He remarked that if this be the
type of Cttiosaurus^ C, brevis^ Owen, can hardly belong to it, as
the trunk vertebnc are described as being of a totally different
structure. Mr. Boyd Dawkins, who had recently visited Oxford^
stated that he had there examined the remains referred to.
There was, however, no tooth found with them of a character to
show the nature of the food on which the animal subsisted. But
one of his students had lately found in the same pit that had
afforded the remains, a tooth corresponding in its principal
characters with those of Iguanodon^ with which, therefore, the
Cctiosaurus seemed to be allied, so that it was probably a vege-
table feeder. Mr. J. Parker had lately procured from the Kim-
meridge day a number of Saurian remains, and among them
were some vertebrae of Megalosaurus^ to which were articulated
others presenting distinctly the characters of Streptospondylus,
He thought that probably many of the supposed Streptospon-
dylian vertebrae might prove to belong to the cervical region of
Dinosaurians. Mr. Seeley disputed the attribution to Cctiosaurus
of the vertebrae described, and questioned whether the remains
at Oxford might not be assigned to Streptospondylus or Or nit hop'
sis. The depressions in the vertebrae, which might be connected
with the extension of the air-cells of the lungs, did not exist in
Cctiosaurus, but were to be found in MegaJosaurus, As to the
premaxillary tooth mentioned by Mr. Dawkins, he was uncertain
whether it diould be referred to what he considered as CctiosaU'
rus proper, or to the Oxford reptile. Mr. Hulke replied, point*
ing out that, since the determination of the Oxford reptile as
Cctiosaurus, numerous other remains of the same species had
been discovered, which had added materially to the basis of
classification. — ^The following specimens were exhibited to the
meeting :— Devonian fossils from the Witzenberg ; exhibited by
Profesior T. R. Jones, F.G.S., in illustration of his paper.
Specimens of Silver Ores from South America ; exhibited by
Professor Tennant, F.G.S. Fragment of the Wolf Rock, near
the Land's End, and section under polarised light ; exhibited by
Mr. Frank Clarkson, F.G.S.
Royal Geographical Society, November 27. — Major-Gen.
Sir H. C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., president, in the chair. — The
President read a letter from Dr. Kirk, of Zanribar, to the late
Sir Roderick Murchison, giving news of a serious outbreak in
Unyanyembe, the country lying on the main route to Lake Tan-
ganyika, which is likely to prevent communication with Dr.
Livingstone for some time to come. The letter was dated
September 25th, and stated that a native chief, having been
attacked by a force of Arabs settled in Unyanyembe, had waited
his assailants in ambush when returning with their plunder, and
had killed many of the principal men. Mr. Stanley, an American
gentleman, who was travelling to Lake Tanganyika, and who
had charge of letters and stores for Dr. Livingstone, was in the
fray, and had been deserted by the Arabs. He had also been ill
of fever, and his future plans were uncertain. A report, to which
Dr. Kirk attached little credence, had spread in Zanzibar, to the
effect that Livingstone and the Arab Mohammed bin Gharib,
with whom he had been living, were returning round the south
end of Tanganyika, and out of the region of disturbances.
Captain R. F. Burton, in commenting up jn this letter, informed
the meeting that similar affrays between Arab trading parties and
the natives had occurred before, and that this unsettled state
might continue for two or three years. He thought that Living-
stone would find no difficulty in returning by the south of the
lake, and that a fearless man like him, speaking the native
languages, would be able to pass through the disturoed districts.
He had not the slightest misgiving with regard to hioL — Ciptain
Burton then read a paper " On the Volcanic Region east of
Damascus and the Cave of Umm Nirdn." This was a narrative
of a hazardous journey of fifteen days, wluch he had performed
in May and June 187 1, in company with Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt
Drake, through the Saia Region, the Oriental Trachon of the
Greek geogprnphers, a wide extent of ancient lava- fields, the hills
of whidi, hke little p)rramids, dot the eastern horizon, as viewed
from Damascus. The danger and difficulty of visiting the many
interesting places in thb district arose simply from certain petty
tribes of Bedouin, descendants of the refractory robbers of the
Trachonids, who dwell in the highlands of the Hauran, under
the patronage of the Druses. The worst are the Ghijras and the
Shtayi, who idthough they have given hostages, were allowed,
during the author's stay at Damascus, to ride the country within
three hours of the walls, and to plunder the vilbges. During
one of his excursions a skirmishing party of Ghiyds attacked his
party, severely wounding one of his companions. During his
journey 120 inscriptions were collected, including three in the
Palmyrene dialect. The volcanic outbreak to which the district
Ii6
NATURE
[Dec, 7, 1871
owes its singular character the author was inclined to attribute
to the epoch when the Eastern Desert, a flat stoneless tract, ex-
tending from the Trachonitis to the Euphrates, was a mighty
inlet of the Indian Ocean, having its northern limit in the range
of limestones and sandstones, the furthest outliers of the Anti-
Libanus, upon whose southern and eastern feet Palmyra is built,
and which runs eastward to the actual valley of the great river.
Mr. Drake took a continuous set of compass bearings during
the journey, which had enabled him to draw an excellent map of
the region. Mr. \V. GifTard Palgrave spoke on the subject of
the paper, stating that Captain Burton was the only European
who had properly explored El Safa. He had himself explored
about two-thirds of the distance, without, however, reaching the
cavern of Umm Niran. His own visit terminated at the southern
part of the £i Leja, the great volcanic district celebrated for the
destruction of the Egyptian army in the time of Ibrahim Pacha,
when they attacked the Druses in the basaltic labyrinth. —
A second paper was read, '*On the Geography of Southern
Arabia," by the Baron Von Maltzan, which contamed interesting
elucidations of the physical configuration and tribal distribution
of the region north of Aden, compiled by systematic interroga-
tion of Arabs at Aden.
Edinburgh
Naturalists* Field Club. — The annual business meeting of
this club was held on Wednesday, the 29th ult, when Mr.
Skerving was elected President and Mr. John Brown Honorary
Secretary and Treasurer. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr.
Taylor, the retiring secretary. The club now numbers 87
members ; and 13 excursions have been made to places of local
interest during the summer months.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, November 27.— M. Chasles pre-
sented a theorem concerning the harmonic axes of the geometri-
cal curve?, in which there are two series of points corresponding
anharmonically on a unicursal curve. — M. P. A. Favre com-
municated the continuation of his thermic investi|;ations upon
electrolysis, in which he gave the results of expenments made
especially with the voltameter with plates of copper immersed in
sulphate of copper. — M. de Fonvielle presented a note on musi-
cal sounds ' produced at the opening of the valve in balloon
ascents. — M. des Cloiseaux communicated some optical and
crystallographical observations upon montebrasite and the ambly-
gonite of Montebras, the former a new fluophosphate of alumina,
soda, and Uthia. — A letter was read from M. Moison describing
the use of sea- water for making bread in the environs of Cancale.
— M. H. Sainte- Claire Deville presented a note by M. T.
Schlcesing on the separation of potash and soda. The author's
process is founded upon that proposed by Semllas, in which
perchloric acid is employed. He uses, instead of this acid, pure
perchlorate of ammonia, treated with weak nitro-muriatic acid.
The preparation of the perchlorate is described by the author. —
M. Chabrier presented some further observations on the alternate
predominance of nitrous and nitric acids in rain-water. The
author finds that in calm weather nitrous acid is present in excess
in rain-water, whilst nitric acid predominates in stormy weather.
— M. Chevreul communicated a letter from M. Sacc on the
properties of drying oils, with regard to which M. Thenard also
made some observauons. — A note by MM. Dusant and C. Bardy
on the phenoles was presented by M. Cahours. — M. C. Bernard
communicated a note by M. £. Faivre on the movements of the
sap through the bark. Thft author describes a series of experi-
ments made upon mulberry trees, and demonstrates that it is in
the bark, and particularly in its liber, that the ascending and
descending movements of the sap take place. — M. Joseph-Lafosse
presented some observations on the germination of seeds sub-
merged in 1870-71 during the inundation of the neighbourhood
of Carenton for the defence of Cherbourg. He stated that after
the retirement of the water many plants sprang up in unusuid
abundance and vigour, and suggested that experiments should be
made upon the efiects of long soaking upon the germination of
the seeds of useful plants. — A letter from M. A. dela Rive on
M. Marey's recent communications relating to the electrical dis-
charge ot the torpedo was read. The author considered the
action of the nerves in causing muscular contraction to be electri-
cal, and that the electrical elect produced by the apparatus of
the torpedo was caused by the accumulation in it of the energy
of the immense multitude of nervous filaments with which it is
supplied. — M. C. Bernard presented a note by M. L. Reverdin
on epidermic grafting, describing and discussing the phenomena
produced by the transfer of portions of skin from one living
animal to another. The author maintains that the adherence of
these grafts is produced principally by the epidermis, the dermis
having only a secondary action. — M. S. Meunier, in a note on
meteoric metamorphinm, described the transformation of aumalite
into chantonnite by exposure for a quarter of an hour to a red
heat, which confirms his conclusion that the latter is the eruptive
form of the former.
BOOKS RECEIVED
Ekglish.— The Younff Collector's Handybook of Botany: Rev. H. N
Dunster (Reeve and Co.).— Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute. Vol. II.,
No. 4. — Astronomical Phenomena in 1872 : W. F. Denning (Wyraan and
Son).
American and Colonial. — ^The Fossil Plantsof the Devonian and Upper
Silurian Formations of Canada. 21 plates : Principal Dawson.— Elements of
Chemistry, Vol. II. : G. Hinrichs.
FoRBiGN — Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie : Supplement Band : Bastian and
Hartmann. (Through Williams and Norgatc.)— Die Sonne, von P. A
Secchi, autorisirte Ausgabe von Dr H. Schellen, x^^ Abtheilung. — Sitzungs
berichte der Gesellschaft aaturforschender Freunde zu Berlin, 1870. — Die
altesten Spuren Menschen in Europa : A. Muller.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Decbmbkr 7.
Royal Socibty, at 8.30.— On the Fos&il Mammals of Australia. Part VI.
Genus Phascolomys: Prof Owen, F.RS— On the Solvent Power of
Liquid Cyanogen. On Fluoride of Silver. Part III. : G Gore, F.R.S.
Society or Antiquaries, at 8.30. — Exhibition of Stone Implements.
LiNNEAN Society, at 8 — Botany of the Grant and Speke Expedition :
Lieut.-Col. Grant, C.B., C.S.I. — On a hybrid Vaccinium between the
Bilberry and Crowberry : R. Gamer, F.L.S. — (>nthe Formation of British
Pearls, and their possible improvement : R. Garner, F.L.S.
Chemical Society, at 8.
FRIDAY^ December 8.
Astronomical Society, at 8.
Quekett Microscopical Club, at 8.
SUNDAY^ December la
Sunday Lecture Society, at 4. — On the Optical Construction of the Eye ;
Dr. R. E. Dudgeon.
MOSDAY, December xz.
Royal Geographical Society, at 8.30.
TUESDAY, December ra.
Photographic Society, at 8.
WEDNESDAY, December 13.
Society of Ats, at 8.— Observations on the Esparto Plant : Robert Johnston
ARCHiCOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.
THURSDAY, December 14.
Royal Society, at 8.3a
Society op Antiquaries, at 8.30.
Mathematical Society, at 8. -On the Celebrated Theorem that any
Arithmetical Progression, two of whose Terms have no Common Factor,
contains an Infinitude of Prime Numbers: J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S.
CONTENTS Pace
The Chairs op Science in the Scottish Universities 97
JuKEs's Letters 9S
Our Book Shelf 99
Letters to the Editor: —
The Planet Vcnus.--WiLLiAM F. Denning, F.R.A.S 100
The Flight of Butterflies. 101
The Origin of Insects.— B.T. LowNB, M.B loi
Aspect.— Prof. J. M. Peirce loa
Cause of Low Barometric Pressure. — A. Wcjsikofer ..... 102
Symbob of Acceleration.— Thomas Muir 102
Occurrence of the Eagle Ray.— W. S. M. D'CJrban 103
Deep Sea Dredging.— T. U. Hennah 103
The Solar Halo— Geo. C Thompson 103
On the Ziphioid Whales. By Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S. . . 103
Continuity op the Fluid and Gaseous States op Matter. By
ProC James Thom):on, LLD. {JVith diagram.) 106
Alternation op Generations in Fungi. By M. C Cooke . . . ioS
The Science and Art Department 109
Arctic Explorations. By Dr. John Rab, F.RG.S ito
Notes no
COLOING ON THE LawS OF CURRENTS IN ORDINARY CONDUITS AND IN
THE Sea. Ill XX2
Scientific Serials 114
Societies and Academies 1x4
Books Receiyeo 1x6
Diary xi6
Errata.— Vol. v., p. 8a, col. a. line 9, for "xso"' read *' xsV— Vol. v.
p- 95. col. a, line aa from bottom, for *' inverse direction " read *' inverse
rauo."
Digitized by
Google
NATURE
117
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1871
THE COPLEY MEDALIST OF 1871
DR. JULIUS ROBERT MAYER was educated for
the medical profession. In the summer of 1840,
as he himself informs us, he was at Java, and there
observed that the venous blood of some of his patients
had a singularly bright red colour. The observation
riveted his attention ; he reasoned upon it, and came to
the conclusion that the brightness of the colour was due
to the fact that a less amount of oxidation sufficed to
keep up the temperature of the body in a hot climate
than in a cold one. The darkness of the venous blood
he regarded as the visible sign of the energy of the oxi-
dation.
It would be trivial to remark that accidents such as this,
appealing to minds prepared for them, have often led to
great discoveries. Mayer's attention was thereby drawn
to the whole question of animal heat. Lavoisier had
ascribed this heat to the oxidation of the food. One great
principle, says Mayer, of the physiological theory of
combustion, is that under all circumstances the same
amount of fuel yields by its perfect combustion the same
amount of heat ; that this law holds good for vital pro-
cesses ; and that hence the living body, notwithstanding
all its enigmas and wonders, is incompetent to generate
heat out of nothing.
But beyond the power of generating internal heat, the
animal organism can also generate heat outside of itself.
A blacksmith, for example, by hammenngcan heat a nail,
and a savage by friction can warm wood to its point of
ignition. Now unless we give up the physiological axiom
that the living body cannot create heat out of nothing,
" we are driven," says Mayer, " to the conclusion that it is
the total heat generated within and without that is to be
regarded as the true calorific effect of the matter oxidised
in the body."
From this again he inferred that the heat generated ex-
ternally must stand in a fixed relation to the work expended
in its production. For, supposing the organic processes to
remain the same ; if it were possible, by the mere alteration
of the apparatus, to generate different amounts of heat by
the same amount of work, it would follow that the oxida-
tion of the same amount of material would sometimes
yield a less, sometimes a greater, quantity of heat.
" Hence," says Mayer, " that a fixed relation subsists
between heat and work, is a postulate of the physiological
theory of combustion."
This is the simple and natural account given subse-
quently by Mayer himself of the course of thought started
by his observation in Java. But the conviction once
formed that an unalterable relation subsists between work
and heat, it was inevitable that Mayer should seek to
express it numerically. It was also inevitable that a mind
like his, having raised itself to clearness on this important
point, should push forward to consider the relationship of
natund forces generally. At the beginning of 1842 his
work had made considerable progress ; but he had become
physician to the town of HeUbronn, and the duties of his
profession limited the time which he could devote to
purely scientific inquiry. He thought it wise, therefore,
vou V.
to secure himself against accident, and in the spring of
1842 wrote to Liebig, asking him to publish in his
" Annalen " a brief preliminary notice of the work then
accomplished. Liebig did so, and Dr. Mayer's first paper
is contained in the May number of the "Annalen" for
1842.
Mayer had reached his conclusions by reflecting on the
complex processes of the living body ; but his first step
in public was to state definitely the physical principles
on which his physiological deductions were to rest. He
begins, therefore, with the forces of inorganic nature.
He finds in the universe two systems of causes which
are not mutually convertible ;— the different kinds of
matter, and the different forms of force. The first
quality of both he affirms to be indestructibility, A
force cannot become nothing, nor can it arise from
nothing. Forces are convertible, but not destructible.
In the terminology of his time, he then gives clear ex-
pression to the ideas of potential and dynamic energy,
illustrating his point by a weight resting upon the
earth, suspended at a height above the earth, and
actually falling to the earth- He next fixes his atten-
tion on cases where motion is apparently destroyed
without producing other motion ; on the shock of inelastic
bodies, for example. Under what form does the vanished
motion maintain itself? Experiment alone, says Mayer,
can help us here. He warms water by stirring it ; he
refers to the force expended in overcoming friction. Mo-
tion in both cases disappears, but heat is generated, and
the quantity generated is the equivalent of the motion
destroyed. Our locomotives, he observes with extra-
ordinary sagacity, may be compared to distilling ap-
paratus. The heat beneath the boiler passes into the
motion of the train, and it is again deposit^ as heat
in the axles and wheels.
A numerical solution of the relation between heat and
work was what Mayer aimed at, and towards the end of
his first paper he makes the attempt It was known that
a definite amount of air, in rising one degree in tempera-
ture, can take up two different amounts of heat. If its
volume be kept constant, it takes up one amount ; if its
pressure be kept constant, it takes up a different amount
These two amounts are called the specific heat under con-
stant volume and under constant pressure. The ratio of
the first to the second is as i : i'42i. No man, to my
knowledge, prior to Dr. Mayer, penetrated the significance
of these two numbers. He first saw that the excess 0*42 1
was not, as then universally supposed, heat actually
lodged in the gas, but heat which had been actually con-
sumed by the gas in expanding against pressure. The
amount of work here performed was accurately known,
the amount of heat consumed was also accurately known,
and from these data Mayer determined the mechanical
equivalent of heat Even in this first paper he is able to
direct attention to the enormous discrepancy between the
theoretic power of the fuel consumed in steam-engines
and their useful effect
Though this first paper contains but the germ of his
further labours, I think it may be safely assumed that, as
regards the mechanical theory of heat, this obscure Heil-
bronn physician in the year 1842 was in advance of all
the scientific men of the time.
Having, by the publication of this paper, secured him-
Digitized uy ^^^^^m^--^
n8
NATURE
[Dec. 14, 1871
self against what he calls " Eventualitaten," he devoted
every hour of his spare time to his studies, and in 1845
published a memoir which far transcends his first one in
weight and fulness, and, indeed, marks an epoch in the
history of science. The title of Mayer's first paper was,
" Remarks on the Forces of Inorganic Nature." The title
of his second great essay was, " Organic Motion in its
Connection with Nutrition." In it he expands and illus-
trates the physical principles laid down in his first brief
paper. He goes fully through the calculation of the
mechanical equivalent of heat He calculates the per-
formances of steam-engines, and finds that 100 lbs. of coal
in a good working engine produce only the same amount
of heat as 95 lbs. in an unworking one ; the 5 lbs. dis-
appearing having been converted into work. He deter-
mines the useful effect of gunpowder, and finds 9 per cent,
of the force of the consumed charcoal invested on the moving
balL He records observations on the heat generated in
water when agitated by a pulping engine of a paper manu-
factory, and calculates the equivalent of that heat in horse-
power. He compares chemical combination with mecha-
nical combination — the union of atoms with the union of
falling bodies with the earth. He calculates the velocity with
which a body starting at an infinite distance would strike
the earth's surface, and finds that the heat generated by
its collision would raise an equal weight of water 17,356°
C. in temperature. He then determines the thermal effect
which would be produced by the earth itself falling into
the sun. So that here, in 1845, we have the germ of that
meteoric theory of the sun's heat which Mayer developed
with such extraordinary ability three years afterwards.
He also points to the almost exclusive efficacy of the sun's
heat in producing mechanical motions upon the earth,
winding up with the profound remark, that the heat deve-
loped by friction on the wheels of our wind and water-
mills comes from the sun in the form of vibratory motion ;
while the heat produced by mills driven by tidal action is
generated at the expense of the earth's axial rotation.
Having thus with firm step passed through the powers
of inorganic nature, his next object is to bring his prin-
ciples to bear upon the phenomena of vegetable and ani-
mal life. Wood and coal can bum ; whence come their heat,
and the work producible by that heat ? From the immea-
surable reservoir of the sun. Nature has proposed to
herself the task of storing up the light which streams
earthward from the sun, and of casting into a permanent
form the most fugitive of all powers. To this end she has
overspread the earth with organisms which, while living,
take in the solar light, and by its consumption generate
forces of another kind. These organisms are plants. The
vegetable world indeed constitutes the instrument whereby
the wave-motion of the sun is changed into the rigid form
of chemical tension, and thus prepared for future use.
With this prevision, as shall subsequently be shown, the
existence of the human race itself is inseparably connected.
It is to be observed that Mayer's utterances are far from being
anticipated by vague statements regarding the •' stimulus "
of light, or rt- garding coal as " bottled sunlight." He first
saw the full meaning of De Saussure's observation of the
reducing power of the solar rays, and gave that observation
its proper place in the doctrine of conservation. In the
leaves of a tree, the carbon and oxygen of carbonic acid,
and the hydrogen and oxygen of water, are forced asunder at
the expense of the sun, and the amount of power thus sacri-
ficed is accurately restored by the combustion of the tree.
The heat and work potential in our coal strata are so much
strength withdrawn from the sun of former ages. Mayer lays
the axe to the root of many notions regarding the vital force
which were prevalent when he wrote. With the plain fact
before us that plants cannot perform the work of reduction,
or generate chemical tensions, in the absence of the solar
rays, it is, he contends, incredible that these tensions should
be caused by the mystic play of the vital force. Such an
hypothesis would cut off all investigation ; it would land
us in a chaos of unbridled phantasy. " I count," he says,
'* therefore, upon assent when I state as an axiomatic truth
that during vital processes the conversion only and never
the creation of matter or force occurs."
Having cleared his way through the vegetable world,
as he had previously done through inorganic nature,
Mayer passes on to the other organic kingdom. The
physical forces collected by plants become the property
of animals. Animals consume vegetables, and cause
them to reunite with the atmospheric oxygen. Animal
heat is thus produced, and not only animal heat but
animal motion. There is no indistinctness about Mayer
here ; he grasps his subject in all its details, and reduces
to figures the concomitants of muscular action. A bowler
who imparts to an 8-lb. ball a velocity of 30 feet consumes
in the act j\j of a grain of carbon. A man weighing
1 50 lbs., who lifts his own body to a height of 8 feet, con-
sumes in the act i grain of carbon. In climbing a mountain
10,000 feet high, the consumption of the same man would be
2 oz. 4 drs. 50 grs. of carbon. Boussingault had deter-
mined experimentally the addition to be made to the
food of horses when actively working, and Liebig had
determined the addition to be made in the case of men.
Employing the mechanical equivalent of heat, which he
had previously calculated, Mayer proves the additional food
to be amply sufficient to cover the increased oxidation.
But he does not content himself with showing in a
general way that the human body bums according to
definite laws, when it peforms mechanical work. He
seeks to determine the particular portion of the body con-
sumed, and in doing so executes some noteworthy calcu-
lations. The muscles of a labourer 150 lbs. in weight,
weigh 64lbs. ; when perfectly desiccated they fall to 15 lbs.
Were the oxidation corresponding to that labourer's work,
exerted on the muscles alone, they would be utterly con-
sumed in 80 days. The heart furnishes a still more strik-
ing example. Were the oxidation necessary to sustain
the heart's action exerted upon its own tissue, it would be
utterly consumed in 8 days. And if we confine our atten-
tion to the two ventricles, their action would be sufficient
to consume the associated muscular tissue in 3^ days.
Here, in his own words, emphasised in his own way, is
Mayer's pregnant conclusion from these calculations : —
" The muscle is only the apparatus by means of which
the conversion of the force is effected ; but it is not the
substance consumed in the production of the mechanical
effect!" He calls the blood "the oil of the lamp of life ;"
it is the slow-burning fluid whose chemical force in the fur-
nace of the capillaries is sacrificed to produce animal motion.
This was Mayer's conclusion twenty-six years ago. It was
in complete opposition to the scientific conclusions of his
time; but eminent investigators have since amply verified it.
L/iyiiiiLcv,! uy
<3^'
Dec. 14, 1871]
NATURE
119
Thus, in baldest outline, I have sought to give some
notion of the first half of this marvellous essay. The
second half is so exclusively physiological that I do not
wish to meddle with it I will only add the illustration
employed by Mayer to explain the action of the nerves
upon the muscles. As an engineer, by the motion of his
finger in opening a valve or loosing a detent, can liberate
an amount of mechanical motion almost infinite compared
with its exciting cause, so the nerves, acting upon the
muscles, can unlock an amount of activity wholly out of
proportion to the work done by the nerves themselves.
As regards these questions of weightiest import to the
science of physiology, Dr. Mayer in 1845 was assuredly
far in advance of all living men.
Mayer grasped the mechanical theory of heat with
commanding power, illustrating it and applying it in the
most diverse domains. He began, as we have seen, with
physical principles ; he determined the mumerical relation
between heat and work ; he revealed the source of the
energies of the vegetable world, and showed the relation-
ship of the heat of our fires to solar heat He followed
the energies which were potential in the vegetable up to
their local exhaustion in the animal. But in 1845
a new thought was forced upon him by his calculations.
He then for the first time drew attention to the astoimd-
ing amount of heat generated by gravity where the force
has sufficient distance to act through. He proved, as I
have before stated, the heat of collision of a body faUing
from an infinite distance to the earth, to be sufficient to
raise the temperature of a quantity of water equal to the
falling body in weight I7,356°C. He also found in 1845
that the gravitating force between the earth and sun
was competent to generate an amount of heat equal
to that obtainable from the combustion of 6,000 times the
weight of the earth of solid coaL With the quickness ot
genius he saw that we had here a^ower sufficient to pro-
duce the enormous temperature of the sun, and also to
account for the primal molten condition of our own planet.
Mayer shows the utter inadequacy of chemical forces, as
we know them, to produce or maintain the solar tempera-
ture. He shows that were the sun a lump of coal, it would
be utterly consumed in 5,000 years. He shows the diffi-
culties attending the assumption that the sun is a cooling
body ; for supposing it to possess the high specific heat
of water, its temperature would fall 15,000** in 5,000
years. He finally concludes that the light and heat
of the sun are maintained by the constant impact of
meteoric matter. I never ventured an opinion as to the
accuracy of this theory ; that is a question which may still
have to be fought out But I refer to it as an illustration
of the force of genius with which Mayer followed the
mechanical theory of heat through all its applications.
Whether the meteoric theory be a matter of fact or not,
with him abides the honour of proving to demonstra-
tion that the light and heat of suns and stars may be
orig^ated and maintained by the collisions of cold
planetary matter.
It is the man who from the scantiest data could accom-
plish all this in six short years, and in the hours snatched
fit>m the duties of an arduous profession, that the Royal
Society has this year crowned with its highest honour.
Dr. Mayer had never previously received any mark of
recognition from the society.
It was not in my power to be present at our late presi-
dent's last address ; but Sir Edward Sabine has done me
the honour of sending me a printed copy of it It con-
tains the reasons assigned by him for the award of the
Copley medal Briefly, but appreciatingly, he expresses
his opinion of the merits of Dr. Mayer, committing to Prof.
Stokes the task of drawing up a fuller statement of the case.
This statement is marked by an evident desire to act fairly
towards Mayer, and at the same time to qualify the award
so that no erroneous inferences may be drawn from it
It will be observed that Prof. Stokes confines himself to
Mayer's first paper, the real value of which, however, is
best appreciated in connection with Mayer's subsequent
work, as the soundness of the root is best demonstrated
by the vigour of the tree. Prof. Stokes writes thus : —
'' In a paper published in 1842, Mayer showed that he
clearly conceived the convertibility of falling force, or of
the vis viva, which is its equivalent or representative in
visible motion, into heat, which again can disappear as
heat by reconversion into work or vis viva, as the case
maybe. He pointed out the mechanical equivalent of
heat as a fundamental datum, like the space through
which a body falls in one second, to be obtained from
experiment He went further. When air is condensed
by the application of pressure, heat, as is well known, is
produced. Taking the heat so produced as the equivalent
of the work done in compressing the air, Mayer obtained
a numeric2d value of the mechanical equivalent of heat,
which, when corrected by employing a more precise value
of the specific heat of air than that accessible to Mayer,
does not much differ from Joule's result This was un-
doubtedly a bold idea, and the numerical value obtained
by Mayer's method is, as we now know, very nearly
correct" Prof. Stokes then qualifies the award in these
words :— " Nevertheless it must be observed that an
essential condition in a trustworthy determination is
wanting in Mayer's method ; th^ portion of matter
operated on does not go through a cycle of changes,
Mayer reasons as if the production of heat were the sole
effect of the work done in compressing air. But the
volume of the air is changed at the same time, and it is
quite impossible to say a priori whether this change may
not involve what is analogous to the statical compression
of a spring, in which a portion or even a large portion of
the work done in compression may have been expended.
In that case the numerical result given by Mayer's
method would have been erroneous, and might have been
even widely erroneous. Hence the practical correctness
of the equivalent obtained by Mayer's method must not
lead us to shut our eyes to the merit of our own country-
man Joule, in being the first to determine the mechanical
equivalent of heat by methods which are unexceptionable,
as fulfilling the essential condition that no ultimate change
of state is produced in the matter operated upon."
The judgment of Prof. Stokes, r^jarding'the possible
error of Mayer's determination of the mechanical equi-
valent of heat, g^ives me occasion to cite another proof
of the insight of this extraordinary man. His paper of
1845 contains the details of his calculation, which were
omitted from his first brief paper. Mayer prefaces the
calculation with these memorable words : —
"To prove this important proposition, we must fix
our attention on the deportment of elastic fluids towards
heat and mechanical effect ^OOCtIp
L/iyiLizLCJU kjy
I20
NATURE
[Dec. 14, 1871
"Gay Lussax: has proved by experiment that when
an elastic fluid streams from one receiver into a
second exhausted one of equal size, the first vessel is
cooled, and the second one heated, by exactly the same
number of degrees. This experiment, which is distin-
guished for its simplicity, and which, to other observers,
has always yielded the same result, shows that a given
weight and volume of an elastic fluid may expand to
double, quadruple, in short, to several times its volume
without experiencing, on the whole, any change of tem-
perature ; or, in other words, that for the expansion of
the gas of itself {an und fiir sich\ no expenditure of
heat is necessary. But it is equally proved that a gas
which expands under pressure suffers a diminution of
temperature.
" Let a cubic inch of air at i**, and under the pressure
of 30 inches of mercury, be warmed by the quantity of
heat X to 274^ C, its volume being kept constant ; this
air, on being permitted to stream into a second exhausted
vessel of the same size, will retain the temperature of
274^, and a medium surroimding the vessel will suffer no
change of temperature. In another experiment, let our
cubic inch of air be kept, not at constant volume^ but
under the constant pressure of the 30-inch mercurial
column, and heated to 274^ In this case a greater
quantity of heat is required ; let it be jr -|- y,
"In comparing these two processes, we see that in both
of them the air is heated from o** to 274*', and at the same
time permitted to expand from one volume to two
volumes. In the first case the quantity of heat necessary
was » X, in the second case = jr -f 7. In the first case the
mechanical effect was » o, in the second case it was equal
to 15 lbs. raised one inch in height*
He then proceeds with his calculation.
Here it will be seen that Mayer was quite awake to the
importance of the considerations dwelt upon by Prof. Stokes
— that he knowingly chose for his determination a sub-
stance which, an undfUr sick, in expanding, consumes no
heat Hence, when by its expansion against pressure heat
is consumed, no part of that heat is lost in producing " a
change of state in the matter operated upon." The heat con-
sumed is, therefore, the pure equivalent of the work done.
With regard to Dr. Joule, I have, to my regret, vainly
endeavoured to find a mislaid document written a year ago,
in which I ventured to describe his labours,* and to express
the esteem I entertain for them. Supposing him to have de-
rived his inspiration from Mayer's papers, that they had even
caused him to prosecute his experiments on the mechanical
equivalent of heat, he would still have rendered immortal
service to science, and more than merited the honours
bestowed upon him last year. For, wanting his work, the
mechanical theory, however strong the presumptions, and
however concurrent the evidence in its favour, could not
be regarded as completely demonstrated. But ]o\x\i was
not stimulated by Mayer. His work is his own, being
practically contemporaneous with that of Mayer. I le not
only demonstrated experimentally the mechanical theory
of heat, but in its completer form he was an independent
creator of that theory. And so impressed was the Council
of the Royal Society last year with the magnitude of his
• Thanks to the friendly efforts of Dr. Sharpey, this document reached mv
hands just as the proof of this paper was being returned for pre i. With
the perroisiion of the Editor of NATaRB I will publish the document, with
some additional matter, next week. J. T.
merits, that they actually added to the Rumford Medal
already bestowed upon him, the final distinction of the
Copley MedaL If England rated him as highly as I do,
his reward would not be confined to mere scientific recog-
nition.
As regards the latter, however, I do not think that the
possibility suggested by Prof. Stokes represents any real
danger. I do not imagine that the eyes of Science are in
the least degree likely to be " shut to the merits of our
own countryman." And I believe that the Royal Society,
by stamping in two consecutive years these two men with
the highest mark of its approval, will have strengthened
that confidence in its impartiality which, throughout the
whole scientific world, it has so long and so justly enjoy ed«
John Tyndall
AIRY ON MAGNETISM
A Treatise on Magnetism, By G. B. Airy, Astronomer
RoyaL (Macmillan and Co.)
THIS is a book written upon the true scientific prin-
ciple expressed by Newton when he said " Hypo-
theses non fingo." The elementary laws of magnetism
are deduced by rigorous induction from particular cases
and are then applied to explain phenomena. The book
contains the substance of a series of lectures delivered by
the Astronomer Royal at the University of Cambridge.
One g^at element of excellence in the book is that the
mathematics employed throughout are of a simple
character, so that the first principles of magnetism are
thus thrown open to one who has gone no great way in
mathematical reading.
Formulae having been obtained in the early sections for
the action of one magnet on another, and the law of the
inverse square having been established by a comparison
of calculation with experiment, the great bulk of the
volume is occupied in investigations which bear more
directly on terrestrial magnetism and the magnetism of
iron ships. The methods of determining the values of
the magnetic elements at any place are carefully explained
and illustrated, and the necessary formulae deduced from
the theory established in the preceding sections. We
would especially recommend to the reader's attention the
articles on the theory of the dipping needle. One chapter
of extreme interest is devoted to " Theories of Terrestrial
Magnetism," and the beautiful theory of Gauss is sketched
out. We sincerely hope that that theory which was carried
by Gauss to the fourth order of approximation will be
before long carried to a higher order. Data now exist
for this advance, as it requires accurate determinations of
only eleven more elements.
The subject of the deviation of the compass in iron
ships is one upon which the Astronomer Royal is peculiarly
justified in speaking or writing. All the sections relating
to the disturbance of compass needles are full of most
important and suggestive matter. One section is devoted
to the continuous registration of small changes in terres-
trial magnetism , and the concluding section just touches on
the subject of the relation between galvanic currents and
magnetic forces, without entering into any calculations.
The book supplies a distinct want which has hitherto
existed in the list of our mathematical text-books, and is
a most valuable contribution to the diffusion of physico-
mathematical science. James Stuart
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Dec. 14, 1871]
NATURE
121
OUR BOOK SHELF
Rudimentary Treatise on Geology, — Part IL Historical
Geology. By Ralph Tate, A.LS., F.G.S., &c. With
Illustrations and an Index. (London : Lockwood and
Co.)
This little book is partly based on Portlock's " Rudiments
of Geology," and '* is set forth in the full belief that it
will be found to be an epitome of the history of the British
Stratified Rocks." The first three chapters are introduc-
tory, and contain the usual table of the British Sedimen-
tary Strata, with some brief remarks thereon, which are
followed by what the author calls a " Palaeontological
Summary." In this summary he takes a rapid view of
the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and points out briefly
under which classes and orders fossil organic remains
may be ranged. The rest of the volume is entirely occu-
pied with descriptions of the Formations and their sub-
divisions, and with lists of characteristic fossils. We have
no doubt that the preparation of this book has cost its
compiler considerable labour ; and he certainly has
managed to cram a good deal into the short space at his
command. The information, indeed, is just too tightly
packed ; it forms very dry reading, and will be apt to
frighten a beginner. If it was necessary that the volume
should be no lai^^er than it is, we think some of the palae-
ontological details might have been omitted, and here and
there Uie description of minor subdivisions of formations
conveniently cut even shorter than they are, sa as to ob-
tain room for certain particulars about the history of the
strata, which are either too meagrely noticed or are alto-
gether ignored. The references to former volcanic action
in Britain are quite inadequate. We find no mention of the
fact that volcanoes were active in the South- West of
England during the deposition of the Devonian Strata ;
nor is there any notice taken of the occurrence of volcanic
rocks in the Old Red Sandstone of Ireland. A slight
allusion is made to the igneous rocks of the Scottish
Middle Old Red Sandstone, but the far more extensive
volcanic products belonging to the Lower Old Red series
are passed over altogether. The igneous rocks of the
Pentland Hills are not, as the author states, of " Upper,"
but of Lower Old Red Sandstone age. Again the
reader, looking over what is said about the igneous rocks
of Carboniferous age, would never learn that volcanoes
played so active a part in Scotland during the accumula-
tion of the Lower Carboniferous and Carboniferous Lime-
stone periods; nor that in Ireland also volcanoes here
and there piled up ejectamenta upon the bed of the Car-
boniferous Limestone sea. Surely in a book purporting
to be an epitome of the history of British stratified
rocks, the volcanic phenomena that characterise so many
successive epochs of the past ought to have had a some-
what fuller notice. There are various other points in con-
nection with physical geology which are quite ignored.
For instance we find no mention of Prof. Ramsay's theory
of the Glacial origin of certain breccias and conglomer-
ates of Silurian, Old Red Sandstone, and Permian age —
a theory which, whether Mr. Tate agrees with the Professor
or not, ought certainly to have had some reference made
to it no matter how brief. We had marked a number of
passages where the author's meaning is not very clear and
will be apt to puzzle a learner. One of these will suffice.
Speaking of the Glacial epoch, the author says :— " Our
inquiry has now come to that point where, though we
still see in the recent results of geological phenomena
evidence of the formative processes of nature, yet we are
kept at a distance from the present epoch ; for although
the shells are all of living species, they are generally
arranged in positions and associated with detrital matters
of such a description that their appearance indicates the
action of forces prior to the present order of things."
Occasionally we come across statements which are very
far from being consistent ''with the opinions generally
held by geologists." We read, for instance, that "the
first trace of a land plant is at the very top of the Upper
Silurian, and we may conclude that there were no terres-
trial plants during the long Silurian epoch, a vast interval
far exceeding in duration that of any other system."
Besides figures of characteristic fossils, the volume is
illustrated with a number of diagrammatic sections. A
copious index is appended. J. G.
Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum of Comparative
Zoology at Harvard College, No, IV, Deep-sea
Corals, By L. F. de Pourtales, Assistant U.S. Coast
Survey. 1871.
Count Pourtales had the good fortune to be one of
that band of naturalists who, dredging for the first time in
deep water between Key West and Havana, came to the
conclusion that " animal life exists at great depths in as
great an abundance as in shallow water." This opinion
was published in his ^ Contributions to the Fauna of the
Gulf Stream at great Depths" (Cambridge, U.S., 1867).
Moreover as a zoophytologist he had the credit of
obtaining the first true stony corals from great depths.
Numerous corals were dredged up under his superintend-
ence in 1868 and 1869 from off the sea floor of the so-
called Straits of Florida in the course of the Gulf Stream,
and they were carefully described by him in Nos. 6 and 7
of the last-mentioned work. Now the results of the Deep-
sea Dredging so far as the Corals are concerned, appear
in the handsome essay in cjuarto before us ; the specific
descriptions have been revised, new forms are described,
and the illustrations in lithography testify to the excel-
lence of American printing from stone. The interesting
coral fauna in the deep sea of Florida has already to a
certain extent been compared with that of the cold and
warm area of the North Atlantic, in the Proceedings of
the Royal Society, March 24, 1870 ; and the new species
described by M. de Pourtales, together with the remarks
upon the classification of the corals, will probably enhance
the importaDce of the labours of those English naturalists
who have undertaken the description of the results of
our abyssal dredgings. The great horizontal range of
some of the deep-sea corals is as remarkable as the ver-
tical range of others; and M. de Pourtales, although
strongly impressed with the importance of some struc-
tural characters in the distinction of specific differences
which are not thought so valuable and important in
England, leans to the belief in these ranges. The Ameri-
can deep-sea coral fauna is not so rich in species, and
apparently in individuals, as that of the North Atlantic
and Lusitanian Coasts, but there is one form which is
found in the globigerina mud off BahiaHonda, Florida,
in 324 fathoms, which will always be of interest to the
naturalist who studies palaeontology. Haplophyllia par-
adoxa Pourtales, possesses all the essential characters of
the Rugosa, and is allied to the simple coral, Calophyl-
lum profundum Germar— the Permian Polycoelia pro-
funda of King, but it has been shown to be also allied to
Guynia annulata Duncan, a small rugose coral dredged
off the Adventure Bank in the Mediterranean. Both Hap-
lophyllia and Guynia have a strong central axis or colu-
mella, the existence of which is of generic importance,
and it is therefore necessary to ally these two modern re-
presentatives of the old Rugosa which dominated in the
coral fauna of the Palaeozoic age with the Cyathaxonidas
of the Carboniferous rocks. M. de Pourtales is so gentle
a critic that if one wished to differ from him in print, the
desire would fail. When the Zoological Society print,
which they are about to do, the Essay on the deep-sea
corals dredged from H.M.S. Porcupine^ nothing will be
more satisfactory than that an interchange of notes and
specimens should take place, so that in a supplement the
American and English authors may terminate their un-
important little differences in classification. The beauty
and correctness of the illustrations are extreme, and they
do the artist, and especially the printer, great credit. It
Digitized uy ^^^OQIC
122
NATURE
[Dec. 14. 1871
is to be hoped that some EngUsh lithographic printer will
see the American triumph in this particular, and will
forthwith mend his ways. P. M. D.
LETTERS TO THE ED/TOR
[ TA^ Editor does not hold hifnsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Alternation of Generations in Fungi
In Mr. Cooke's article on this subject, itis sUted that I have
shown that there are at least four consecutive forms of reproduc-
tive cells in the bunt ( Tillctia caries), I imagine that by a slip
of the pen he must have substituted this for hop mildew ; but,
be this as it may, what I really did say at a time (1847) when the
formation of secondary fruit was not ascertained in Ustilago,
Puccinia, and allied parasites, was as follows, after describing
the curious anastomosing threads which are produced on the ger-
minating processes of the bunt spores :— " I was at first inclined
to think that it had something to do with the reproduction of the
bunt, and it is quite possible that in plants as well as in the
lower animals, there may be an alternation of generations. This
is, however, merely thrown out as a hint which may be followed
out by those who have fewer avocations than myself. Many
anomalous appearances, amongst Algae especially, seem to indi-
cate something of the kind. " * This growth can only be regarded
as an intermediate state, which is probably necessary for the pro-
pagation of the parasite, and the same must be said of other cases
m which the anomalous form does not produce organisms similar
to itself In such cases as the hop and vine mildew, the Oidium
forms may be propagated almost indefinitely with only an occa-
sional production of another form, and this, perhaps, may safely
be regarded as an alternation of generations, while mere conidia-
bcaring forms can scarcely be so regarded. In such cases as
that of the Uredos, which accompany or precede Puccinia, though
both are fertile, we can scarcely recognise such an alternation ;
but if it is once established that a Puccinia produces an ^^cidium,
or an iEcioium a Puccinia, we should have a clear case. The
usual argument about wheat being subject to mildew where there
are no berberry plants, or Roestelia where there are no savines,
does not seem to me to be good. It appears quite dear that
wheat mildew may be produced, either from the germination of
U. rubigo vera^ or from its own secondary spores, and that
almost indefinitely, where there is no berberry ; but this does
not show that the spores of Puccinia, when sown on the berberry
leaf, may not produce the -/Ecidium, or the spores of the ^Ecidium
the mildew. I quite agree with Mr. Cooke, that the observations
of Oersted and De Bary are not absolutely conclusive, though I
may be inclined to give them more weight than he does. The
observations should certainly be repeated ; but, if the results
should be the same, 1 should certainly feel inclined to accede to
their views, indispcwed as I always am either to jump hastily to
conclusions myself^ or to accede at once to the crude observa-
tions of others. M. J. Berkeley
Whether Mr. Cooke has sufficiently appreciated the labours of
De Bary and Oersted, in his article published in your colunms of
last week under the above title, I leave for others to determine.
I wish now merely to call attention to one sentence in his article,
as follows : — ** It is manifest that no amount of care in cultiva-
tion, imder bell glasses or other exclusion from foreign influences,
is sufficient against a contingency which dates back to the seed of
t/ie nurse-plant," Does Mr. Cooke mean that the spores of the
fungi themselves deposited in the seed of the nurse-plant are
carried up, so to speak, in the process of growth, into the leaves,
where they germinate ; or that the liability to produce parasitic
fungi is communicated from the seed to the mature plant by some
process which combines the Pangenesis of Darwin with the spon-
taneous generation of Bastian ? I see no other explanation of
the sentence than one or other of these alternatives.
Mycelium
Leibnitz and the Calculus
Prof. Tait need not wonder if an attack that is "totally
unexpected " should seem * * appallingly sudden. " In the absence
of a statute of limitations restricting to two years and a half
* " Jounud of Horticulcund Society of London," vol. ii. p. 11?.
the right to take up a gage, there can be no reason why an attack
should not be made, save its personal bearin^^ ; and the circum-
stances of the challenge might be cited in bar of any exception
taken on that grotmd. I thank the Professor for his explanations.
I could not have guessed that under cover of his challenge to
produce a metaphysician who was also a mathematician, lurked
the assumptions, that every mathematician was a metaphysician,
and that every metaphysician was either a mathematician or (in
the old sense) a physician. Well, he has a perfect right, for his
own private convenience or pleasure, to identify two names which
he had from the first asserted to be eternally distinct Accepting
his classification, then, for the sake of argument — certainly not
for fruitless controversy — to wit, that everyone is either a mathe-
matician or a non-mathematician, and that every true metaphy-
sician must be either mathematician or ph3rsician (Faraday did
not hate the term "physicist " worse than I do) we are confronted
with some surprising results. Leibnitz, the au»hor of the Mono*
dologie and the ThSodicie^ works that are known to contain the
germs of the Kriiik der rdnen Vemunfi^ was a spurious meta-
physician. Why, in the name of common sense ? "Because,"
says Prof Tait, " he was a non-mathematician ; there is no
medium, you know ; he must have been either a non-mathema-
tician or a mathematician, and a mathematidau he was not"
What 1 Leibnitz not a mathematician ? " Not a bit of it," says
Prof Tait ; "for he was, I fear, simply a thief as regards
mathematics, and in physics he did not allow the truth of New-
ton's discoveries." 1 do not object to the Professor calling a
spade a spade ; but I assure him that this charge is made just
twenty years too late. It is exactly that time since the last
vestige of presumption against the fair fame of the great German
was obliterated. If Prof Tait does not understand me, or,
understanding me, disputes the unqualified truth of my statement
I promise to be more explicit in a future letter. But I incline
to think the question is not susceptible of proof until the
Council of the Royal Society, who »o grossly disgraced them-
selves in 1 7 12, shall do the simple act of justice and reparation
required of them, viz., publish the letters and papers relating
to this controversy, which since that date have slumbered in the
secret archives. I advise Prof Tait to utilise the meantime by
reconsidering some of his utterances on the Principia^ lib.
ii. lem. 2.
It appears, too, that Descartes, notwithstanding his physics,
which are very sad, ivas a mathematician, and therefore a true
metaphysician, and this, I suppose, despite the spurious meta-
physics of his Discours and his MSditations. By the way, when
rrof Tait parenthetically and admiratively corrects me for calling
him Cartesy he surely overlooked the fact that Cartes is his English
name, the name by which he was known to the readers of Dr.
Samuel Clarke, &c, and is therefore preferable to the dog-latin
alternative.
Such, then are some of the surprising results of adopting Pro
Tait's classification of mathematicians and metaphysicians. But
he objects to my classification of the former, that the greatest
mathematicians of our own day — among which Prof Tait will
allow me to count himself — would fall into my second class,
since they are not inventors of a calculus, and >et they are not
mere experts. Among the names he adduces are Cayley and
Sylvester, the co-inventors of a new calculus, viz., that which
has been so fertile in its application to Linear Transformations ; I
mean, of course, the Higher Algebra. Accordingly, both would,
of course, fall into mv first class ; and I will ad(C that I should
assuredly think that ^* something is rotten in the state of Den-
mark " if I found the true mathematical iroiirr^t had ever con-
tented himself with the improvement and application of other
men's productions. C. M. Inglebv
Highgate, Dec. 4
The Science and Art Department
I HAVE been expecting, but in vain, to see Mr. Uhlgren's
reply to the request made to him a few weeks since, to produce
the Department's letter of which he spoke, and in which it was
stated that thfe rumoured reduction of the number of certificates
awarded had actually taken place through the examination papers
having been returned for revision. I quite agree with your
correspondent who challenged its production, that such a docu-
ment ought to be made widely known if it exists ; whereas if
Mr. Uhlgren's statement is founded on any misapprehension
it ought to be corrected without delay.
If such a statement were unfotmdea, such complaints as those
Mr. U. made are, I think, more likely to damage the cause of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Dec. 14, 1871]
NATURE
123
science teachers, who have already enough grievances to urge
against the Depattment on the score of its administration, than
to obtain any amelioration of their status.
I do not think many science teachers will endorse more than
one other of Mr. Uhlgren's complaints ; so that it is of the
greatest importance that that one which affects them all should
be proved in the fullest and most circumstantial manner.
Plymouth, Dea 9 A Local Committee-Man
Lunar Calendars
I WISH to call attention to the variations observable between
the true period of new moon and the commencement of lunar
months, as set forth in the following table : —
Period of New
Moons
A.D. 1873 H.M.
Jan. xo s 58 P.M.
Feb. 9 1.5a A.M. zst Adar
Mar. 0 0.53 P.M. and „
April 8 0.33 A.M. Nisan
May 7 X.19 P.M. lyar
Tunc 6 3 33 A.M. Sivan
July 5 6.35 P.M. Tammuz
Aug. 4 9.46 A.M. Ab
Sep. 3 a 54 A.M. EIluI
Oct a 3 31 P.M. TUhri
Nov. z 5.38 A.M. Heshvan
>« 30 6. ^5 p M. KisJev
Dec. 30 6.36 A.M. Tebcth
Jewish Calendar Mahomedan Calendar
A.M. 5633-3 A.H. Z2S8-9
Shebat commences xz Jdm. X3 Dulkaadah
10 Feb. IX Dulhagee
zz Mar. xx Mulharram
9 April xo Saphar
9 May 9 Rabta (i.)
7 June 8 „ (li.)
7 July 7 Gomada(i.)
5 Aug. 6 „ (ii.)
4 Sept. 4 Rajah
3 Oct. 4 Shaban
3 Nov. 3 RamadAn
X Dec 3 Shawal
3x „ 31 Dulkaadah
As many eminent and practical astronomers write to Nature,
I shall be much obliged [f some one will add a fourth column to
the above, fully explaining these differences. My object is to as-
certain if a calendar, founded on lunations, is at all susceptible
of universal use, so as to be correct to time in all places. The
true new moon is invisible^ the visible new moon is not the true
new moon ; is there a medial average ?
November 23 Myops
New Zealand Forest Trees
Let me recommend those of your readers who take an interest
in this subject, to trust for correct information thereanent to the
works whose names are appended, and twt to the statements of
recent correpondents of Nature, who commit errors so great
as to refer Manuka to the genus or family Diosma !
(1) Dr. Hooker's "Handbook of the New Zealand Flora,"
which contains at the end of vol. iL an " Alphabetical
List of Native and Vernacular Names *' of New Zealand
plants, including trees.
(2) A similar Catalogue of Native and Vernacular Names,
published, subsequently to Dr. Hooker's list, by Dr. Hec-
tor, Director of the Geological Survey of New Zealand.
(3) " Report and Award of the Jurors" of the New Zealand
Exhibition of 1S65 ; which contains at page 474 an admir-
able table — showing the strength and other qualities of
New Zealand woods, in connection with the names of the
trees yielding the said timbers — carefully drawn up by the
late Provincial Marine Engineer of Otago, J. M. Balfour,
C.E. ; and
(4) The 3 vols, already published of the ** Transactions and
Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute."
W. Lauder Lindsay
Solar Halo
Seeing in your last number an account of a Solar Halo, it has
occurred to me that the following description of a similar phe-
nomenon, which I saw in Norway this autumn, may not be un-
interesting to some of vour readers.
The sun, at 4 o'clodc P.M., was just setting behind a range of
mountains in the Romsdalen, when a bright halo of light ap-
peared round it, forming a clearly-deRned circle, and at the crown
of the circle there appeared two horns, as of the beginning of
another circle inverted, the junction of the two circles being very
luminous ; the limbs of the inverted circle — if I may so caul it —
were rather straight than curved^ and were not very long. A
second and outer circle, just twice the diameter of the inner one,
shortly appeared, and this circle had all the colours of a rainbow
most distinctly visible. These two bows were strongly defined
for an hour at least, and during that time constant waves of light
shot up and across the sky, not always from the centre, where
the sun was, but often from some point within the inner circle to
the j;outh of its centre. At other times rays of light would shoot
out at a tangent from the outer bow, sometimes on one side and
sometimes on the other. Again, some would shoot from one
circle to the other, forming a series of bars parallel with the
horizon, and at last the rays seemed to concentrate, and, radiating
from the centre of the inner circle, shot right through both circles
across the sky over our heads, forming a series of gigantic ribs,
which extended from west to east.
The day (it was September 23) had been perfect, with a bright
sun, a cold, frosty atmosphere, and a blue, cloudless sky. Snow
had fallen heavily about three days before, and was still lying
everywhere ; but on the day we saw this grand display not a
cloud had been visible from morning till evening. After all was
over, the clouds crept up, and we saw several brilliant shoots of
the Northern Lights. W. W. Harris
Manningham, Bradford, Dec. 6
Proof of Napier's Rules
Such a structure m cardboard as that described by Prof. A. S.
Herschel in Nature, No. 106, may be found very useful in
facilitating the study of the proof of •* Napier's Rules," but the
ingenious learner might object that the demonstration was con-
fined to one particular species of trianjjle — the isosceles right-
angled with a perimeter equal to a quadrant ; for Mr. Herschel's
angles a and b are plainly equal, and together with c make up a
right anjile. The corresponding construction for any cise would
be as follow : — Take a circular piece of cardboard with centre D
(referring to Mr. Herschel's diagram), and on the circumference,
in the same direction, take any two arcs Bi, 12. Let a perpen-
dicular from B or Di meet it in D, and a second from C or D2
meet it in A, and be produced to reach the circumference in B'.
Finally, a semicircle on A B' as diameter and another with centre
A and radius A C will determine by their intersection the point C
To a conbtniction thus generalised all that Prof. Herschel adds
would apply.
As a question of "Queen's English," it seems hard to connect
the last clause in the first paragraph of Prof. Herschel's letter with
what precedes. "Them 'can only refer grammatically to ** diffi-
culties ; " but surely Mr. Cooley did not propose to himself * to
render them as easily accessible as possible to the inquiring
student in mathematics." J. J. W.
The Cause of Specific Variation
I HAVE only just read Mr. Mivart's " Genesis of Species," and
was glad to find that his ideas, so ably expressed, are nearly, if
not quite, identical with my own, which 1 laid before the Vic-
toria Institute in a paper ** On Certain Annlo^jies between the
Method of Deity in Nature and Revelation," May 10, 1869.
On p. 259 of his ** Genesis of Species " he has the following
remarks : — ** But are there any grounds for thinking that, in the
Genesis of Species, an internal force or tendency intervenes, co-
operating with and controlling the action of external conditions ?"
This question appears to me to exactly correspond with the sen-
timents of the following passage from the "Journal of the
Transactions of the Victoria Institute," vol. iv., p. 265.: —
" Rather than venture on any attempt to explain the Divine
methods by ordinary terms, I would prefer adopting some general
expressions to convey an imagined idea of the causes of existing
things, and as less liable to the charge of anthropomorphism.
" I purpose, therefore, adopting the general word force^ and
recognising all issues in nature as the effect produced upon matter
by the resultant of component forces. These forces are separable
into physical, chemical, biological, &c. ; and, in addition to all
those which the chemist and the physicist can eliminate and claim
as the objects of their special studies, there still remams a residuum
of forces in those organisms endowed with life, and which produce
those results which we say are designed, and which it is customary
to regard as witnessing to a Divine Intelligence.
"In recognising these latter forces, I would call them evolutive,
but as being so far like others that their resultant with them
produces relative effects only according as in their continual
L/iyiiiiLcvj uy
d^'
124
NATURE
[Dec. 14,1871
attempt at equilibration they are more or less counteracted or as-
sisted by other natural forces.
"As an illustration I would recognise every special issue of evo-
lution, as, for example, some well-marked variety of animal (say
pigeon) or plant (say rose) as the effect of the combination of the
usually so-called natural forces in conjunction with the evolutive,
as a temporary stable form, so long as environing conditions to
which it was subjected remain the same. Hence appears the
permanency of some species and races. Subject them, however,
to altered conditions, and thus bring an unaccustomed set of forces
to bear upon them, e.g,^ by domestication or cultivation ; the
forirs once so stable soon * break,' the equilibrium is overthrown,
and variations once more ensue
"After all, therefore, what I have here called evolutive forces in
the organic world may prove to be only particular phases of those
which conspire to constitute animal and vegetable life. And just
as in the vital force itself it is usual to recognise two such phases,
viz., the vegetative and reproductive, so the power of develop-
ment or continual advance or alteration from an assumed type
may ultimately appear as particular forms of life-force
issuing in those results which we are accustomed to look upon, as
designed." George Hen slow
ON DEEP-SEA THERMOMETERS*
THE objects of this paper and of the experiments and
observations recorded therein, are : —
1. The ascertainment of the effect of pressure on ther-
mometers used for deep-sea purposes.
2. To obtain a scale whereby observations made by
the thermometers now in use could be corrected for
pressure.
3. To obtain a scale whereby observations made pre-
viously by other thermometers can be utilised.
In the early part of the year 1868 the attention of the
Hydrographer of the Navy was directed to the unsatis-
factory nature of the deep-sea Six's thermometers then
in use.
The objections made to these thermometers were : —
1. Their fragility, the slightest jar or blow often break-
ing them.
2. The necessity of their being always kept in a vertical
position.
3. The uncertainty of the register, the indices being
generally capable of being shaken down.
4. Their large size, in connection with friction in passing
through the water.
5. The substance they were mounted on, being generally
wood, became so swollen by pressure of the water as
often to render them incapable of being withdrawn from
the case.
It was also considered that in all thermometric obser-
vations at great depths we had been "working in the
dark," in that we had no idea of the effect pressure had
on the instrument, and consequently on the recorded
results; and it was reasonable to suppose that as the
action of a thermometer was affected in vacuo, an opposite
effect would be had by placing them under pressure, the
more especially as in the one case the pressure of only ore
atmosphere, or 151b. to the square mch, was removed,
while in the other the atmospheres would have to be
reckoned by hundreds and the pressure by tons. On this
point we were not without actual observation ; for Mr.
Glaisher, during the year 1844, in some experiments made
on the temperature of the Thames near Greenwich with
delicately constructed instruments, found that the indica-
tions of temperature were affected by pressure on the bulb
of the thermometers, and that at a depth of only 25 feet,
or about three-fourths of an atmosphere, the readings were
increased by 2° ; but no definite conclusion could be
arrived at from these observations in respect to our deep-
sea thermometers, beyond the fact fhat they were liable to
be so affected.
* Abridged from a paper read before the Meteorological Society, April
19, 1871, by Capt. J. £. Davis, R.N.
It was therefore suggested to the Hydrographer—
1. That the author might be placed in personal com-
munication with different makers in respect to the best
construction for the purpose required ; and
2. That a series of experiments should be made by
placing some thermometers in a hydraulic press in con-
junction with one in an hermetically sealed iron bottle (as
a standard) and subjecting them to pressure, that they
should be kept under pressure sufficient time to allow the
thermometer within the bottle to take up the temperature
without, and then the whole compared with the standard.
The first suggestion was immediately acceded to ; and
those makers from whom the Meteorological Department
obtained instruments were applied to, and a list of deside-
rata submitted to each. Three makers responded, and sue
instruments were ordered from each.
These instruments were sent in (hereafter called the
Hydrographic Office pattern), and Mr. Balfour Stewart, of
the Observatory at Kew, was consulted as to the modus
operandi of testing by pressure, and he approved of that
already suggested.
A difficulty arose in respect to a hydraulic press -the
use of some in London could not be obtained, and others
were not adapted to the purpose, so that the testing was
deferred, and some of the instruments were sent to
H.M.S. Gannett then deep-sea sounding on the edge of the
Gulf-Stream, and afterwards some to H.M.S. Ltghtning
for her dredging cruise.
On the return of these vessels the conflicting nature of
the temperatures obtained from those supposed to exist
(as derived from observations in other localities) rendered
the necessity of ascertaining the nature and amount of
error due to pressure the more imperative.
At this juncture Mr. Casella undertook to have a testing
apparatus constructed at his own expense, capable of pro-
ducing a pressure of three tons to the square inch.
At a meeting of the Committee of the Royal Society,
held in the Hydrographer's Room in April, 1869, and at
which the plan of operation for testing the thermometers
was discussed, that by means of an iron bottle approved.
The late Dr. Miller, V.P.R.S., proposed encasing the full
bulb in an outer covering of glass containing air, in order
to permit the lighter fluid (air) to be compressed without
affecting the bulb within, and one such was directed to be
made ; but instead of the outer casing being filled with
air it was nearly filled with alcohol, which being heated to
reduce the quantity of air, the bulb was then hermetically
sealed. Mr. Casella was also directed to make others
that would facilitate the observations.
At the time these experiments were proposed, it was not
known that a thermometer had been constructed, at the
suggestion of Mr. Glaisher, by the late Admiral Fitzro/s
directions, with the view of removing the difficulty of
Pressure ; this was done by encasing the long bulb at the
ack of the instrument in glass, and nearly filling the
space between the case and the bulb with mercury;* and
one on this principle was then in the Instrument-room of
the Meteorological Office ; but although some had been
used for deep-sea purposes, the further issue of them had
been stopped on account of their fragility, and thus the
means for obtaining accurate observations were virtually
the same as before.
It was decided to test them at pressures equal to the
following depths in the ocean, viz., 250, 500, 750, 1,000,
1,250, 1,500, 1,750, 2,000, 2,250, and 2,500 fathoms, the
rule to be applied being 33 feet = one atmosphere = 1 5 lb.
on the square inch. From this a table was constructed
for use.
On the 4th of May the following thermometers were
taken to Hatton Garden, viz. : —
Nos. 56 and 57 Casella . Hydrographic Office pattern.
66 and 67 Elliott . . „ „ „
72 and 73 Pastorelli. „ „ „
* See Meteorological Papers, Na I., 1863.
.yu... by Google
Dec. 14, 1871]
NATURE
"5
No. I • •
3 • •
4
6
Casella
Specially made with an extra-
thick cylinder bulb to defy
compression.
Spherical bulb ; extra-thick
glass. This thermometer
was made, at the special re-
quest of one of Mr. Casella's
workmen, in order to resist
effect by pressure.
Short cylinder bulb : extra-
thick glass.
A glass cup fitting over bulb,
designed by Mr. Siemens.
AU the above were Six's thermometers with the bulbs
unprotected.
No. 2 . . . . Casella . Glass-encased bulb, as pro-
posed by Dr. Miller, but
with the case nearly filled
with spirit.
5 . . . . „ • Long cylinder bulb at the
back, encased in glass, and
nearly filled with spirit
These instruments were first compared in air and then
inmiersed in a tub of water. No. 57 being placed in an
iron bottle. Set the indices and placed the thermometers
in the cylinder of the press, and pumped on a pressure
equal to 250 fathoms, and kept it on two hours.
It is useless to record the result of this first experi-
ment ; or it may rather be stated that the results were
nil^ except ascertaining the weak points of the process
adopted.
The Miller-pattern thermometer subsequently proved
so near perfection it was decided to use that as a standard
for the Hydrographic Office pattern.*
It was found necessary to reduce the number of ther-
mometers, and also of the readings, to a minimum.
With the view of testing the efficiency of Dr. Miller's
pattern (No. 2) it was placed in the cylinder with No. 57,
and subjected to a pressure of 4,032 lbs. (about 1,480
fathoms) for a quarter of an hour, with the following
result.
Experiment No. i (pressure = 1,480 fathoms).
Dr. Miller reading.
Ther-
Minimmn.
Majcimum.
iH<r.
of
Max.
raometer.
Before.
After.
Before.
After.
a
57
47*5
47*5
•
47*5
47*5
475
47*5
55*o
•
o*5
7*5
This experiment at once proved the efficacy of the
encased bulb ; and the experiment was repeated with
more thermometers, with the same pressure and for the
same period of time.
It was found by this experiment that while the mean
difference of the encased bulbs was only 0^*95, that of the
two made to defy compression was 7^*25, that with the
cover io°'5, the Hydrographic Office pattern the same as
in No. I. 7**'5, and a Phillip's Alpine tnermometer 7o®*3,
The "Phillip's*' was an onunary make, with a very
small bulb ; and the great difference shown by it proved
that the amount of compression is in proportion to the
thickness of the glass ; but in immediate connection with
the subject the experiment clearly demonstrated two facts,
viz. :
1. That very nearly aU the difference, or error, is due to
pressure on the full bulb ; and
2. That by encasing the bulb we have nearly a perfect
instrument
Notwithstanding the satisfactory result obtained in
enabling us to decide on a thermometer for future use, it
was necessary, if possible, to establish a scale whereby
temperatures already taken with instruments of the Hydro-
graphic Office pattern might be corrected for pressure,
and also to ascertain if aU, or what part, of the difference
shown under pressure in the Miller pattern was due to
calorific effect produced by sudden compression of the
water in the cylinder or by compression of the unprotected
parts : preparation was accordmgly made to continue the
experiments.
It being necessary, as before stated, to reduce the
number of the thermometers, and also the readings, to a
minimum, the following were selected, viz. :—
Nos. 2 and 5 Casella . Encased bulbs.
56 and 57 „ , Hydrographic Office pattern.
73 .... Pastorelli „ „ „
67 .... Elliott • „ „ „
9641 .... Casella . Alpine.
These were attached to a float (to avoid inmiersing the
hand in the water) and placed in the cylinder filled with
water, to remain all nieht ; the cistern, from which the
water is pumped into the cylinder, was filled, and also a
tub of water tor replenishing placed by the side in order
that the water in each might be, as nearly as possible, of
the same temperature in the morning.
The thermometers were read in the order in which they
are placed ; wnen aU were read, the indices were set as
(juickly as possible, and the instruments at once lowered
into the cylinder and the pressure applied.
May 5. Thejfirst series of experiments were made, Mr,
Casella reading.
First Series of Experiments. Errors at different pressures. (Abridged from origituiL)
Ther-
mometer.
No. X.
ajofms.
682 lbs.
No. 2.
500 fms.
1,363 lbs.
No. 3.
7Solms.
a,o45 lbs.
No. 4.
x.ooofms.
a,7a8 lbs.
Na«.
1,950 fms.
3,400 lbs.
No. 6.
x,Sopfais.
4,089 lbs.
No,y.
1,750 few.
4,77x Ibfc
No. 8.
9,000 fois.
5,45* lbs.
s
x'5
air
•
xo
x*«
•
1-6
VA
rs
5
x'3
x-6
0*9
0*6
0*4
0-8
0-8
• x'6
S6
I'X
a*7
3-8
4*3
5*5
7'o
8-0
9'5
57
x'o
a-7
3-8
4'9
5«
7*4
8-«
•7
73
1*9
a-6
4'a
60
6-8
8*9
97
lO't
67
3-9
7*9
Brokent
...
...
...
M«
...
66
•««
...
...
...
13*3
i6-4
187
Brokent
Phillip'tAl-l
pbe . J
•••
...
...
...
M.
M.
...
71-0
Thomson).
*•*
...
...
...
...
...
...
1*1
* I was not aware at that time of the existence of the enclosed PhiUip's thennometer as designed hf Sir Wmiam Thonuoa
t The instrument was taken out safely, but while reading off the foil bulb cracked right acrosa.
X Broke at a pressure equal to 1,848 fatttoms. ^^
I This insubted thennometer is a Phillip's encased in a glass cylinder oontaimng a little Bpitit, detigntd by Sir WiDiaa ThoniMB.
L-ziyiiiiLou ijy
I. . T
ogle
126
NATURE
[Dec. 14, 1871
The thermometers were under pressure for an average
time of 37 minutes in each experiment.
Afay 6. — The following experiment was made with the
Hydrographic Office pattern (not used yesterday) for
comparison. Mr. Casella reading.
Pressure ■= 2,000 fathoms = 5,452 lbs.
seventeen minutes.
Under pressure
Thermometer.
5 . •
U : :
7x . .
74 • •
Thomson
Error.
x*4
I 'a
9*9
10*7
ix'3
xo'3
9-6
June
Second Series of Experiments
21. —The thermometers were placed in the
cylinder^ which was filled with water ; the supply-tub or
cistern for pumping in from, and a tub of water standing
near the press, were also filled and thus left all night.
June 22. — A dull morning, with no sun, and a£ condi-
tions most favourable for observing.
Before commencing, obtained two tubs of water with
1 2** difference of temperature, and tested the thermometers
as to time in taking up heat and contrariwise, and it was
found that, by allowing the thermometers to remain under
pressure eight minutes, the same results would be obtained
as if they were allowed to remain half an hour or more,
as in the first series of experiments.
The thermometers, used were —
Standard
No. 54
76
73
Thomson
Casella
Pastorelli
Casella
Dr. Miller's pattern.
Hydrographic Office pattern.
Encased (Sir William Thom-
son's design).
Second Series of Experiments. Errors at different pressures. {Abridged from original.)
Thermo-
meter.
No I.
350 fma.
No. 3.
500 fms.
No. 3.
750 fms.
No. 4.
1,000 fms.
1,350 ms.
No. 6.
x,5oo fms.
No. 7.
1,750 fms.
'x'7
No. 8.
3.000 fms.
No. 9
3.350 fms.
No. xo.
3,500 fins.
Standard.
o*7
•
07
x'a
x'5
1-6
x'5
•
3'0
ao
a '3
54
«'4
3'«
3*9
5 a
6-4
78
83
97
II 'x
"9
S6
x-8
a-8
4'o
5*3
63
7*8
8 8
9*9
X019
xa-o
76
x'a
as
4-a
4*9
6-3
7'a
8-4
9-6
xo*9
IX 7
73
x'4
30
4-6
49
7'4
78
IO-3
"•5
13 3
»3'7
Thomson .
00
o'x
0©
o*3
o-x
05
03
016
08
o'4
The thermometers were under pressure eight minutes in
each experiment
The mean difference for each 250 fathoms by each
thermometer is as follows iflhridgei) : —
By First Series of Observations
Diffl
a
5I : : : : : : :
57
73
+ oao
+ o-ao
+ X-I9
+ xao
+ x»7
By Second Series of Observations.
Thermometer.
Diff.
Standaid
^ ; ;• ;■ ; ; ; ;
l%onison ....
+ o'aa
+ x-a9
+ x-ao
+ X-X7
+ 1*37
+ 005
Experiments ior Calorific Effect.
The Phillip's encased maximum thermometers (Thom-
son's) being entirely protected from any effect by com-
pression, it was decided to ascertain by their means the
calorific effect produced by the sudden compression of the
water in the cylinder ; but, as in the two series of experi-
ments recorded, there was such a {gradual increase in the
temperatore of the air and alsQ m the water used for
supplying the cylinder, that for any delicate observation
the conditions were not favourable ; the observations for
calorific effect were therefore delayed until the weather got
colder, when a more equable temperature could be ensured
throughout the experiment.
In order to ascertain what time it would require for
these instruments to take up temperature (as it was of im-
portance they should not be kept under pressure longer
than necessary) observations were made for the purpose,
and it was found that five minutes would be sufficient
time for the Thomson thermometers to take up the most
minute portion of heat observable.
November 12. — The following observations were made
day cloudy, all the conditions favourable.
No. I. Pressure « 2,500 fathoms « 6,8 1 /lbs.
ten minutes.
Under
Thermometer.
Diff.
Remarks.
".424
9,649
9,645
+ 0-I
j-o-4
+ o-a
Temperature in air . . iao
,» tub. . 41-6
„ duem. 388
M cylinder 38*0
Experiment No. 2 (same pressure). Under pressure
twenty minutes.
Thermometer.
Diff.
*«.4a4
9.649
9,645
+ o'o
+ o'o
+ o'a
Remarks.
Temperature in air . . 43*6
I, tub . . 41'a
M ciatem . 4X*a
,» cylinder 38*9
Digitized by
Google
Dec. 14, 1871]
NATURE
127
hh - Mbomir protect&Tp
vtmnvcd
c - India rubber , to
prevent jar
d -Capper cast.
DBBP-SBA THBRMOMETBR US8D BY THE HYDROGRAFHIC OFFICE
It will be observed that the water pumped into the
cylinder was a little warmer than that in the cylinder ; but
as the valve through which it passed into the cylinder is
near the top, while the bulbs ot the thermometers were at
the bottom, the small difference it could have made in the
upper water could not have affected them.
By Mr. Casella (previously observed).
Tliemioineter.
Pressure.
Diff.
Remarks.
fins.
500
i,ooo
z,5oo
3,«00
+ oa
O'O
00
+ 0-3
3,000
3,000
+ 0*6
+ 03
The result of the foregoing Experiments (some rejected
in forming the mean) : —
0*0178, calorific effect for each 250 fathoms' pressure.
o-i8 „ „ 2,500 „ „
It would seem almost unnecessary, for the purpose for
which this paper is prepared, to record the above observa-
tions at all, so small is the result ; but as the amount of
heat caused by compression is supposed by some to be
much greater, it has been thought best to give it
Experiments to Determine the Amount of Heat
Produced by Friction.
To ascertain if any error could arise from heat created
by friction in a thermometer passing rapidly through the
water, one of Casella's Hydrographic Office pattern was
towed astern of one of the fast river-steamers {Naiad\
keeping the thermometer well submerged by means of a
Digitized »
<3^'
128
NATURE
{Dec. 14, 1871
lead weight attached to the line before it ; and with re-
peated trials at full speed not the slightest difiference could
be detected.
The error of the Miller-pattern thermometer as deduced
from the observations (some rejected in forming the mean),
abridged: -
Error per 250 fathoms as shown by hy- ^
draulic press o*i6i mean
Deduct for calorific effect . . . . 'oiS
True error for 250 fathoms , , . .0*143
True error for 2,500 fathoms . . . i'43
Mean Errors of Hydrographic Office pattern Thermo-
meters, by testing-apparatus, corrected for calorific
effect :—
Fathoms.
Casella.
Pastorklli.
250
»"307
1-482
500
2789
2664
750
3*821
4-279
z,ooo
4853
5J95
1,250
5-860
6*743
1,500
7392
7-625
1.750
9-638
9*307
2,COO
io"io6
2,250
X0838
"•438
3,500
Z2 270
12-520
The Progressive Rate of Error of the Hydrographic
Office pattern Thermometers, as deduced from the fore-
going table, by testing-apparatus, is by Casella, equal to
an increase of effect at the rate of o°*oi4 per 250 fathoms'
pressure ; and by Pastorelli, equal to a decrease of effect
at the rate of 0° 044 per 250 fathoms* pressure.
Thus, while one set of thermometers show an increase
of effect under pressure, the other set denote a decrease,
and the mean of the two would be so small a decrease as
not to be appreciable ; and the practical conclusion is,
that, by the testing-apparatus, the elasticity of the glass is
in exact proportion to the pressure applied.
Ocean Observations by Staff- Commander
E. K. Calver
Although from the result of the experiments with the
testing apparatus, a scale could be formed for the correc-
tion of the Hydrographic Office pattern thermometers,
that scale may be said to be made under theoretical
conditions rather thaun practical, and as it was necessary
to verify its correctness by observations in the ocean,
a number of the instruments used in the press were sent
on board the Porcupine in 1869, and a series of most
carefully taken observations were recorded by Staff-Com-
mander Calver at the same depths as the calculated pres-
sure applied in the press.
It is unnecessary to give the details of these observa-
tions ; it will suffice to give the progressive error derived
from the mean of them, and corrected for the error of the
standard.
Fathoms.
Casella.
Pastorklli.
250
500
750
x,ooo
1,350
1,500
1,750
a,ooo
1*329
2-8z6
4 0O3
7058
7 -SOX
7-71Z
Z*3ZO
2-986
4*779
6*423
8-,oz
8844
The progressive rate of error derived from the above is
by Casella, equal to a decrease at the rate of 0*13 per
250 fathoms, and by Pastorelli, equal to a decrease of
effect at the rate of 0*09 per 250 fathoms.
This result, contrary to that by the hydraulic press,
proves that the elasticity is not regular or in ratio to the
pressure, but that after continuing regular up to a pressure
of 1,000 fathoms, it decreases in a compound ratio to a
pressure of 2,000 fathoms, when its elasticity nearly ceases.
Comparison of the Hydrographic Office pattern Ther-
mometers as found by the hydrauUc testing-apparatus and
by the Ocean Observations : —
Casblla.
Error.
Per 250
fathoms.
Pressure.
Press.
Ocean.
Press.
Ocean.
fms.
,
^
a
,
350
1*307
»*329
1*307
X329
500
2789
3-8j6
x*394
x-408
750
382Z
4*002
x-274
J '334
z,ooo
4-853
5-427
X-2X3
x*357
1,250
5860
6286
XZ73
1*257
1,500
7 •39a
7058
x-332
1*176
1.750
8199
730X
x*i7i
t*043
2,000
9638
7-71X
I 205
0-964
3,250
xo-838
X-204
2,500
X2-370
...
X337
...
Means .
X*340
i'233
Error at 3,500 fathoms by the means .
»-4
X2-3
Pastorelli.
Pressure.
Error.
Per 250 fathoms
Press.
Ocean.
Press.
Ocean.
fms.
250
500
750
z,ooo
1,250
1.500
X.750
3,000
3,250
2,500
z,482
2664
4*279
5*«95
6*743
7*625
9307
io*xo5
"•438
I3'530
z-210
2-986
4*779
6-422
1*482
x'426
x-299
»*349
Z-27Z
«*329
1*363
Z-27Z
X*252
X-2IO
1*493
1*413
ZX05
Means ...... .
1*327
X3'3
1*370
»3*7
Error at 3,500 Fathoms by the means .
By this comparison, although the errors, as found by
the two modes of observation, differ at individual depths
or pressure, still the means of Casella's per 250 fathoms
are almost the same, and those of PastoreUi's differ only
three-tenths of a degree in 2,000 fathoms, the extent to
which the comparison can be made.
There can be little doubt that, without the aid of the
Miller pattern, by an extended series of observations a
scale could have been obtained to correct the Hydro-
graphic Office pattern to a very close approximation of the
truth (in accordance with the proposed first intention of
the experiments) ; but the timely suggestion of Dr. Miller
has quite set at rest any difference of opinion as to the
instrument for future use.
OYSTERS TN IRELAND*
TLI IS Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland having
^ ^ had represented to him that the artificial propa-
gation of oysters was imperfectly understood in Ireland,
appointed in October 1808 Messrs. Blake, M.P., Francis,
Hart, and Brady, commissioners to inquire into and re-
port on the artificial cultivation and propagation of oysters.
The instructions to the Commission were to visit the
principal places in France, England, and Ireland, where
oyster cultivation is or can be carried on, to examine the
best authorities on the subject, and to ascertain as far as
possible the causes which have led to failures. It was
also hinted that three weeks would suffice for Ireland, a
* Report of the Commission appointed to inquire into the Methods of
Oyster Culture in the United Kingrom and France, with a View to the
Introduction of improved Methods of Cultivation of Oysters into Ireland.
(Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty.)
Dublin, 1870.
Digitized by
Google
Dec. 14, 1871]
NATURE
129
fortnight for England, and the same amount of time for
France. The Commission proceeded in October 1868
to France to commence their fortnight's tour, and in June
1870 presented their report, which has now been laid be-
fore Parliament The Report occupies about fifty pages ;
and 150 more are very usefully taken up with a series of
appendices. Ten plates are aJso included in the volume.
The Report commences with a list of the places visited
by the Commission, from which we notice the omission
of Dul'in Bay, although Howth and Mabdiide had each
at one time a respectable name for oysters. It then pro-
ceeds to give the natural history of the oyster, which we
pass over without further conunent than that it is a pity
the Commissioners did not consult some person tolerably
skilled in malacology ere they printed it — to criticise it
would be but to break a butterfly on a wheel The
various branches of oyster fisheries are well described,
and an interesting epitome is given of Coste's labours.
It would appear that the great bulk of the oysters bred at
Arcachon are sent to Marennes and Tremblade, where
the green tint, so much esteemed in France, is imparted
to the beard of the oyster. Such a prejudice exists in
England against this green tint, that the Essex oysters are
largely exported to France. It should be recollected that
oysters impregnated with copper have always a greenish
tinge of body, while those with green beards do not owe
their colour to copper but to their peculiar feeding. The
reporters suggest that the Diatomaceae are probably the
cause, and give figures of some Diatoms, to which we
would call the attention of Dr. Donkin, who is writing a
monograph of this group ; to say the least, they are very
comical.
The diminution in oyster production which has taken
place in England, though very considerable, is not so
great as in France. The Hayling Island enclosure is
described, and plans of the beds given. The various
methods of oyster culture are described, and appropriate
places for their cultivation are pointed out. In reference
to this portion of the subject, we may refer to the
elaborate report on the temperature of the surface of the
sea on the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, and France,
by Prof. Hennessy, in which he deduces that :
'^ I. The temperature of the sea on the coast of Ireland
varies within narrower limits than on the coast of Great
Britain, or, in other words, it is more equable throughout
the year and also during the summer season, when oyster
breeding takes place.
" 2. The temperature of the sea at noon on the Irish
coast, especially on the south and west coasts during the
months of June and July, is, upon the whole, higher than
on the coast of Great Britian, and less than on the west
coast of France.
" 3. This temperature seems to be sufficient for the re-
Suirements of oyster breeding, and therefore, a fortiori^
le temperature about two in the afternoon under the con-
ditions above referred to.
" 4. The highest temperature of the seas surrounding
Ireland, and probably also of those surrounding Great
Britain, is during the month of August, and the least
during the month of February.
'^ 5. Any advantages as to temperature possessed by the
seas which wash the Irish coast are unquestionably due
to the thermal influence of currents connected with the
Gulf Stream."
Prof. Sullivan also appends an important Report on the
Composition of the Soils of Oyster Grounds, and on the
qualities which exert most influence on oyster cultivation,
and comes to the conclusions : —
'' I. That the influence of the soil upon the breeding
and growth of oysters is complicated by : tem-
perature, especially during the spawning season ;
sudden alternations of heat and cold, due to cur-
rents ; alternation of depth of water, especially as
regards whether the maximum of sun-heat and
light concords with low water during the spawning
season ; velocity of tide, angle of inclination of
shore, &a
" 2. That the soil of oyster grounds may be made up of
materials of any of the great classes of rocks,
arenaceous, argillaceous, or calcareous, provided
they contain—
" 3. More or less of a fine flocculent highly hydrated
silt, rich in organic matter, which indicates that
Diatomaceae, Rhizopoda, Infusoria, and other
irirute cre3*iir'»s rViird.
'^ 4. That the character and abundance of such small
organisms in a locality seems to be the true test of
a successful oyster ground.
*' 5. And lastly, that although oysters do undoubtedly
assimilate copper from water where mine-water
containing traces of that metal flows into the sea in
the neighbourhood of the oyster beds, the copper
is chiefly, if not exclusively, confined to the body
of the oyster, and does not appear to reach the
mantle or beard. That the so-called green oysters
of Essex, Marennes, and other places, on the other
hand, are green-bearded and contain no copper,
nor can the most minute trace of copper be detected
in the soil of the oyster grounds where such green-
bearded oysters are produced."
The Report concludes with the following recommenda-
tions : —
" I. That all regulations with regard to the close time
around the Irish coast should be strictly maintained.
" 2. That the inspectors of Irish fisheries should have
power, whenever they determine to reserve a bank or any
portion thereof from public dredging for the purpose of
recovery, to make such arrangements as may seem desir-
able for keeping the restricted part free from weeds and
vermin.
" 3, That there should be procurable at each coastguard
station, at a small cost, general information as to oyster
cidture, and simple instructions as to the best modes of
proceeding.
" 4. That the inspectors be empowered to adopt such
other means as they may deem necessary to afford infor-
mation and instruction to those requiring it with respect
to oyster culture.
^ 5. That having unsizable oysters in possession in places
where it is prohibited by any bye- law to take oysters from
any public beds under a certain size, shall be pnmd facie
evidence that such oysters were taken in places so pro-
hibited ; such regulations not to apply to private oystci
grounds.
'* 6. That facilities be afforded to the coast population
to acquire the use of small portions of foreshore, or
sea bottom, for oyster cultivation, and to obtain loans on
satisfactory security for the preparation of same, and for
the purchase of oysters, collectors, &c.
"7. That landed proprietors desirous of cultivating
oysters on the shores adjoining their lands, be empowered
to avail themselves of the provisions of the Irish Land
Improvement Acts, for the purpose of oyster cultivation."
We would commend the perusal of this Report to those
interested in this subject ; of its importance there can be
little doubt ; and while we agree with the commissioners
that no very extraordinary profits are to be made out of
oyster culture, and that hence it is not a subject for exten-
sive commercial speculation, yet we know of none more
deserving of the attention of those interested in the general
welfare of this country. E. P. W.
ARTIFICIAL MILK
AMONG the many sorrowful records of the Siege of
Paris, one of the most enduring, and not the least
touching in its melancholy eloquence, is afforded by the
L/iyiii^cvj uy
<f>^^
130
NATURE
lDec.14, 1871
Com fifes Rendus of the Academy of Science. The con-
struction, the filling, the guiding, and general management
of balloons, occupied so much of the attention of the
Academy, that, if all other records of the Siege were lost,
its date and effective duration might be pretty accurately
determined by the sudden appearance, the continuance,
and sudden cessation of these abundant papers on
aerostation.
There is another series of papers of equal, if not
greater significance, viz., those on the utilisation of strange
materials for food, the economising of waste nutritive
materials, and their substitutive uses.
The investigations on these subjects have led to more
practical results than the papers on aerostation. This has
been especially the case with the researches that are
described in the papers of M. Boillott, M. Dubrunfant,
and M. Charles Fua, on " Alimentary Fats."
" Alimentary fats " is a wide expression, including some
rather unsavoury hydro-carbons and very curious refuse
materials. The main object of these investigations was
to determine how such substances may be " usefully
employed in alimentation," or, in plain unsophisticated
English, how to make butter from candle-ends, dirty
dripping, colza oil, fish oils, the refuse of slaughter houses,
the restored grease of the wool-dresser, &c. The general
result has proved that the " frying process *' — which was
not altoeetner unknown to certain enterprising English-
men before the investment of Paris — is triumphant over
all its rivals ; that by simply raising the fat to 140° or
1 50° Centigrade, and in the mean time cautiously sprink-
ling with water, the cellular tissue, the volatile oils, the
rancidity, offensive odours, and all other non-sentimentsd
impediments to " alimentation," are removeable.
This frying process has already effected something like
a revolution m the industry of soap-boilers, some of whom
have changed their trade to that of butter- fryers. We
may thus explain the remarkable fact that, although the
excessively dry summer of 1870 reduced the dairy produce
of England to about half the average, and had nearly the
same effect on our other sources of cow-butter supply, there
was no material reduction in the supply or consumption of
fresh butter for the London and Provincial markets during
the following winter, the only notable disturbance which
occurred being in the demand for kitchen-stuff and empty
Dutch butter-tubs.
M. Dubrunfant is not content with superseding the cow
in the mater of butter, but has subsequently made similar
attempts upon milk. He proceeds in a strictly scientific
manner, commencing with the following summary of the
results of Boussingault's analysis of cow's milk :—
Nitrogenous material (caseine and albumen) o '0337
Fatty material (butter) .... ox>376
Sugar (of milk) 0*0567
Salts 0'0020
Water 08700
Quoting the observations of Payen and others which show
that milk is alkaline, and owes its alkalinity to soda, he
proceeds to refute the theory of churning which has been
generally adopted by microscopists, viz, that the fat
globules in milk are invested with a delicate membrane
which is ruptured in the chum, and thereby permits the
agglomeration of the fatty material into butter.
M. Dubrunfant contends that milk is simply an emul-
sion of neutral fatty matter in a slightly alkaline liquid,
such as can be artificially imitated ; and that the process
of churning consists in hastening the lactic fermentation,
thereby acidifying the serum of the milk, and at the same
time agglomerating the fatty matter which the acidity sets
free from its emulsion. He further controverts the cellular
theory by showing that the fat globules of milk do not
display any doable refraction, as do all organised mem<
branous tissues.
Having thus examined the theoretical constitution of
milk, he proceeds to the practical method of imitating it.
and gives the following directions : Add to half a litre of
water forty or fifty grammes of saccharine material (cane
sugar, glucose, or sugar of milk), twenty or thirty grammes
of dry albumen (made from white of egg)^ and one or two
grammes of subcarbonate of soda. These are to be
agitated with fifty or sixty grammes of oUve oil or other
comestible fatty matter until they form an emulsion. This
may be done either with warm or cold water, but the
temperature of 50° to 60** C. is recommended. The result'
is a pasty liquid, which, by further admixture with its own
bulk of water, assumes the consistency and general
appearance of milk.
Luxuriously-minded people who prefer rich cream to
ordinary milk can obtain it by doubling the quantity of
fatty matter, and substituting two or three grammes of
gelatine for the dry albumen. The researches of Dumas
and Fremy having reinstated gelatine among the nitro-
genous alimentary materials, M. Dubrunfant prefers gela-
tine to albumen ; it is cheaper, more easily obtained, and
the slight viscosity which it gives to the liquid materially
assists the formation and maintenance of the emulsion.
He especially recommends this in the manufacture of
"siege-milk,'' on account of the obviously numerous
articles from which gelatine may be obtained.
The uses of artificial milk need not be limited to sup-
plying the wants of the residents of besieged cities. As
an ordinary element of the human breakfast table, it is not
likely to supersede the product of the cow, but calves are
suggested as being superior to vulgar human prejudices.
In the ordinary course of rearing, these animals demand
a large proportion of the milk of their mothers, and are
commonly ill-fed or prematurely sacrificed on that account.
By feeding them luxuriously on artificial milk (which may
be still further cheapened by using colza oil, which has
been rendered tasteless and alimentary by the frying pro-
cess above described), the milk, butter, and cheese of the
cow may be considerably economised, and the supply of
veal improved both in quantity and quality, by keeping
the calves a much longer time before they are kUled.
I might make further suggestions in the direction of
" dairy-fed pork," &c., but this is unnecessary, tie com-
mercial instinct is sufficiently strong to avail itself of all
such cheapening applications of science. Those who are
professionally engaged in detecting the adulterations of
food will do well to study the physical peculiarities by
which M. Dubrunfant*s milk may be distinguished from
that of the cow, both in the ordinary and condensed form.
By substituting vegetable albumen for the white of egg or
gelatine, the vegetarian may prepare for himself a milk
that will satisfy his uttermost aspirations.
W. Mattibu Williams
NOTES
The following telegrams have been received from the Eclipse
Expedition since our last :— " Manglore, Wednesday, Dec 6. —
We have landed here from the flagship ; all well. The Govern-
ment arrangements are admirable. The weather is promising.
The parties are posted as arranged." From N. R. Pogson, at
Avenashy, to the Astronomer Royal, Royal Observatoiy,
Greenwich: — "Weather fine; telescopic and camera photo-
graphs successful ; ditto polarisation ; good sketches ; many
bright lines in spectrum.— Dec 12." From Colonel Tennant,
F.R.S., Dodabeta, Ootacamund, to W. Huggios, F.R.S.,
Dec 12, 9.15 A. M. :—'* Thin mist. Spectroscope satisfactory.
Reversion of lines entirely confirmed. Six good photographs."
At the meeting of the Geological Society on the 6th inst, the
President announced the bequest to the Society, on the part of
the late Sir R. I, Murchison, of the sum of 1,000/., to be in-
vested in the name of the Society or its trustees, under the title
of the " Murohison Geological Fund," and its proceeds to be
annually devoted by the Council to the encouragement or assis-
L/iyiLi^c;u kjy
d^'
Dec. 14, 187 1 J
NATURE
131
tance of geological investigation. The donation of the proceeds
of the fund was directed by the testator to be accompanied by a
bronze copy of the Murchison Medal.
At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Monday
last, Sir Henry Rawlinson stated that the Council intended to
address the Foreign Office, with a view of arranging, either
directly from the Foreign Office, or through co-operation between
the Foreign Office and the Society, some means of communicating
with Dr. Livingstone, either by sending messengers into the
interior of Africa, and offisring a reward of 100 guineas to any
African who will bring back a letter in Dr. Livingstone's hand-
writing to the sea-coast, or by organising a direct expedition,
headed by some experienced and well-qualified European, who
should himself penetrate to the point where Dr. Livingstone is
supposed to be.
Bv a decree, dated April 18, 1866, of the Minister of Public
Instruction in France, a prize of 5o,ooofr. (2,000/.) was offered for
the most useful application of the Voltaic Pile, the period for
competition to expire in April 1871. From a report of the
minutes presented by the President of the Republic, it appears
that candidates are few in number, and that in the opinion of the
savants to whom the memoirs were submitted, none is of suffi-
cient merit to have earned the prize. By a decree of the 29th
of November, the competition is now extended for another period
of five years, to terminate on November 29, 1876.
We learn from the Lancet that the promoters of the scheme for
commemorating the life and labours of John Goodsir, late Pro-
fessor of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh, have got only
700/. instead of 2,000/., and have had to relinquish the idea of a
fellowship, and adopt that of a triennial prize, to be open to all
graduates of the University of not more than three years' stand-
ing, to be given for an essay or treatise containing the results of
original investigations in anatomy, human and comparative,
either normal or pathological, or in experimental physiology.
The Acting Committee of the Association for the better Endow-
ment of the University of Edinburgh have prepared the deed of
endowment for the Syme Memorial. The capital sum amounts
to 2,500/.; whereof 2,000/. were paid over to the Association
by the Syme Memorial Committee, and 500/. was added by the
Association.
The authorities of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at
Harvard College have placed in Prof. Allman's hands for deter-
mination the whole of the collection of hydroid zoophytes ob-
tained by the United States Coast Survey during its late explora-
tion of the Gulf Stream.
The Council of the University of Edinburgh has decided to
take into consideration on the 21st inst the appeal against the
decision of the Senate as to rescinding the regulaiions for the
education of women in medicine.
The Examiners in the Natural Science School at Oxford (W.
Ogle, M.D., Corpus ; J. A. Dale, Balliol ; and R. H. M. Bosan-
quet, St. John's) on Saturday issued the subjoined class list : —
Class I.— H. A. Black, Christ Church ; W. T. Goolden, Magda-
len ; £. H. Jacob, Corpus ; A. S. L. Macdonald, Merton ; J.
A. Ormerod, Jesus ; A. G. Riicker, Brasenose ; S. H. West,
Christ Church. Class II.— E. H. Forty, Christ Church ; J.
Turner, Exeter ; J. L. Twynam, St Mary Hall. Class HI.—
Nil. Class IW.^NU.
Mr. W. a. Brailey, who was second in the Natural Sciences
Tripos at Cambridge, has been elected a Fellow of Downing
College in that University.
M. Georges Delaporte, engineer of M. Tessi^ de Motay's
Oxyhydxx)gen Light Company, has been nominated a Chevalie
of the Legion of Honour, as an acknowledgment of the services
rendered to the State during the Siege of Paris in the application
of the Electric Light to strategic operations.
The Lord President of the Council has nominated Mr. T. S.
Aldls, formerly scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge (Second
Wrangler in 1866), to be an Inspector of Schools.
The following are now announced as the probable arrange-
ments for the Friday evening meetings at the Royal Institution
before Easter 1872 :— January 19, Mr. William R. Grove,
F.R.S., on Continuity; January 26, the Archbishop of West-
min ster, on the Demon of Socrates ; February 2, Prof Odling,
F.R.S., on the new metal Indium; February 9, Prof. Hum-
phry, F.R.S., on Sleep ; February 16, Dr. Gladstone, F.R.S.,
on the Crystallisation of Silver and other Metals ; February 23,
Mr. Henry Leslie, on the Social Influence of Music ; March i
Mr. C. W. Siemens, F.R.S., on Measuring Temperatures by
Electricity ; March 8, Mr. R. Liebreich, on the Effect of certain
Faults of Vision on Painting, with especial reference to Turner
and Mulready ; March 15, Mr. John Evans, F.R.S., on the
Alphabet and its Origin; March 22, Prof. Tyndall, F.R.S.
We learn from I^s Mondes that the lamentable disagreement
between M. Daubree, the director of the mineralogical depart-
ment of the Museum of Natural History at Paris, and his
assistant, M. Stanislas Meunier, is now happily terminated, and
that the latter is again permitted to carry on his researches at the
Museum.
The Exhibition of the Photographic Society, held in its rooms
in Conduit Street, closed on Saturday last. While among speci-
mens of portraits the works of Grasshofer of Berlin, Rylander of
Paris, and other Continental artists, challenged comparison with
any of our home productions, there can be no question that in
landscape photography, the exquisite workmanship of Bedford,
Robinson, Cherrill, and some other English photographers,
easily bore off the palm. There were some very fine specimens
of Edwards's heliotype process, as well as of the autotype and
other carbon-printing processes.
We learn from the American Naturalist that the State Micro-
scopical Society of Illinois lias issued a prospectus of The Lens^
a Quarterly Journal of Microscopy and the Allied Natural
Sciences; with the Transactions of the State Microscopical
Society of Illinois. It will be an octavo, each number contain-
ing at least forty-eight pages of reading matter. Terms, 2 dols.
per annum in advance. The editor will be Mr. S. A. Briggs,
177, Calumet Avenue, Chicago. Though its appearance has
been delayed by the fire, we learn that it will soon be issued.
At a recent meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Mr. W.
T. Blanford exhibited a collection of chipped quartzite imple-
ments found about forty miles west of Bhadrachalam, on the
GoddvarL The thirty- five specimens exhibited were all found
within a space of about fifty yards square, and at least as many
more were rejected on account of being badly made. The place
where they were found was in dense jungle, the rock soft sand-
stone, and the implements, as was usually the case in Southern
India, had evidently been chipped from pebbles. Several were
formed of white vein quartz, an unusual circumstance. The
forms of these implements were those of the kind most frequently
found in French and English gravels, and they varied from about
3in. to 6in. in length. That the spot where they were found was
a place of manufacture was probable, not only from the occurrence
of ill-formed implements, but also from flakesj evidently chipped
from the quartzite being abundant.
A very beautiful and extraordinary Aurora Borealis was wit-
nessed at Montreal on NoTcmber ax. The following account of
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132
NATURE
[Dec. 14,1871
the phenomenon has been sent us by Dr. Smallwood of the
Montreal Observatory :— A few minutes past $ ©'dock yesterday
evening, the eastern horizon showed a bank of cumulo-stratus
clouds, which reached to an altitude of 9", behind which was
discernible an auroral light, which increased in intensity as the
darkness became more dense. At 5.30 a diffused light of a
bright crimson colour occupied the whole of ;the eastern and
north-eastern horizons. Rismg behind this bank of douds,
s' reamers were frequently observed, reaching to the constellation
Cassiopeia. The light was frequently so dense as to prevent even
the stars 8 and y Ursae Majoris being seen through it While these
appearances were present, a far more brilliant display was
seen in the north-west, triangular in shape, its base hidden by
the Mountain, but which appeared about 10® in breadth, and
extended upwards, passing part of the constellations Hercules,
Corona Borealis, and Draco, to the zeniih. The bright
crimson colour was very intense ; its edges Were occasionally
softened by a band of narrow streamers of a palish green colour.
Stars bdow the third magnitude were hidden from view, owing
to the great density of this light. Small patches of cumulus
douds were seen passing across and in front of this display.
The surpassing beauty of these appearances has rarely been
equalled. At 6. 15 P.M. the intensity of the brightness was much
diminished, and at 7 only a soft auroral light was visible in the
north and north-east. The dedination magnet was very sensibly
deflected from its normal state, showing a great easterly variation.
The weather during the day was comparatively warm (having suc-
ceeded a slight fall of snow), with a rising barometer, which at
6 P.M. stood at 29*902 inches. Thermometer, 37*. Humidity,
'806. Wind west ; vdocity three miles per hour.
Prof. Panceri, of Naples, has been studying for some time
past the phosphorescence of marine animals. He has examined
Noctiltuaf Beroe^ Pyrosoma, Pholas^ Chcetopterus^ and has lately
published a paper on the phosphorescence of Fmnatula. He
finds in all cases that the phosphorescence is due to matter cast
off by the animal — it is a property of dead separated matter, not
of the living tissues. In all cases (excepting No<tiiuca) he also
finds that this matter is secreted by glands^ possibly special for
this purpose, but more probably the phosphorescence is a
secondary property of the secretion. Further, the secretion
contains epithelial cells in a state of fatty degeneration, and it is
these fatty cells and the fat which they give rise to which are
phosphorescent Hence the phosphorescence of marine animals
is brought under the same category as the phosphorescence of
decaying fish and bones. It is due to the formation in decompo-
sition of a phosphoric hydro-carbon, or possibly ofphosphuretted
hydrogen itself In Pcnnatula Prof. Panceri has made phos-
phorescence the means of studying a more important physiologi-
cal question — namdy, the rate of transmission of an irritation.
For when one extremity of a Pennntula is irritated, a stream of
phosphorescent light runs along the whole length of the polyp-
colony, indicating thus by its passage the rate of the transmission
of the irritation. This admits of accurate measurement, and
furnishes data for extending Helmholtz's and Donder's inquiries
to animals so widdy separated from their " Versuchs-thiere " as
the C<elenUrata, It is also a proof of the thoroughness of Prof.
Panceri's investigation that he has made use of the spectroscope
for studying the light of phosphorescence.
Attention has been called in Harpet^s Weekly to the injuries
to the Florida submarine cable supposed to have been caused
either by the bites of the sea-turtles, or from some kinds of fish ;
and we now learn that in China a similar difficulty has been ex-
perienced in consequence of the attacks of a minute crustacean.
This is so small as scarcely to be perceptible to the naked eye,
but can be readily defined under the microscope. Various breaks
have been satisfactorily referred to the agency of these animals,
which had embedded themselves in the gutta pereha. It has be-
come necessary, therefore, to envelop the cables in certain
localities with an external supplementary layer of metallic wire,
in order to prevent injury in this manner.
With a commendable promptness, the first volume of the
Annual Report of the United States Commissioner of Patents
for 1870 has made its appearance, and inaugurates the new order
in regard to this document Insteid of publishing the specifica-
tions of the patents with wood-cut illustrations, the present
volume embodies — first, an alphabetical list of patentees during
the year; second an alphabstical list of the pattnts extended
during the year ; next, an alphabetical list of inventions and of
reissues. It will be remembered that at the present time the
patents are printed in detail, accompanied by photo-lithographic
drawings of working size, 150 copies being published, some of
them to be distributed, and sets placed for free public inspection
in the various State and Territorial capitals, and in the derks*
offices of the District Court of the various judicial districts
throughout the United States. The issue of additional copies is
also authorised in proportion to the demand, to be sold at a
price not exceeding the contract price for such drawings. The
total number of patents issued during the year 1870 amounted
to 13,321, of which considerably the largest number were made
out to citizens of New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
Ohio, Illinois, Connecticut, Indiana, and Michigan, in the order
mentioned.
The Mechanic^ Magazine states that amber is reported by the
collectors as being sometimes found in a sofl *' unripe*' state;
Herr H. Spirgatis was fortunate enough to receive a specimen
from the Baltic, near Brusterort, Elast Prussia. Its interior con-
sisted of an almost transparent yellow resin, surrounded by a
thin opaque crust When freshly broken the centre was soft and
elastic, but on exposure to the air it soon became hard and
brittle. Its analysis differed so much from that of amber, that
though it evidently bdongs to the same dass of substances, it is
not to be mistaken for it Its percentage composition agrees
with that of Benntheim asphalte, and with the fossil resins from
the Elast Indies, examined by Duflos and Johnston.
On Nov. 7 at 2.30 p.m. a slight earthquake was fdt at Smyrna.
It was simultaneous at Mytilene and Cheshmeh.
Two smart shocks of earthquake were fdt at Cavalla in
Macedonia at ii P.M. on Nov. 28.
On Oct< 13 an earthquake was fdt in the fort of La Libertad,
at II P. M. It was also fdt at La Union and Nicaragua.
About a year ago many English and foreign sdentific journals,
following the BulUtino Romano, announced that a large meteorite
had fallen near the town of Murzok, in December 1869. M.
Rose has lately made a communication to the Berlin Ai^emy,
in which he states that the results of his inquiries made both at
Tripoli and Murzuk have shown that no such fall was ever
observed, much less that any such meteorite had been found.
It is stated in Land and Water that the whole of the pack of
fox-hounds of the Durham County Hunt has been condemned to
be destroyed in consequence of the prevalence among it of a form
of hjrdrophobia defined as ''dumb madness," which has run
through the kennds, and has carried off twelve couple of hounds.
As to the details of this ''dumb madness," it will be interesting
to hear more of the exact Sjrmptoms attending it. Old works
upon canine diseases used to spedfy seven species of canine mad-
ness, "dumb madness'' among them, the last and worst being
" running madness," which was undoubtedly hydrophobia, though
probibly many other phases of so-called madness were simply
distemper, which in primitive days was little understood as a
spedfic disease.
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Dec. 14, 1871J
NATURE
133
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
yournal of the Franklin InsHhiii, September. This numbsr
opens with numerous editorial notes, principally abstracts
from other scientific journals ; there is also the commencement
of a description of the Stevens Institute of Technology in
Hoboken. Amongst the notes we notice an account of Grubb*s
automatic spectroscope, and a description of the properties of
Nitroglycerine as found by M. Champion. It is stated that when
pure it may be heated up to 200° without explosion, but at 257**
It deflagrates violently ; and although it explodes with terrific
force by a blow, the electric spark does not aifect it A number
of original communications follow. Under the head of Civil
and Mechanical Engineering, we find a paper containing some
useful " formulae, rules, and examples for cases of earth-work
under warped and plain surfaces," and another " On Descriptions
of Wood-working Machinery." Under mechanics, physics, and
chembtry, there is a paper ' 'On Apparatus Illustrating Mechanical
Principles;" the various pieces of apparatus are intended to
show experimentally the truth of problems, such as the parallelo-
gram ot forces, the parallelopipedon of forces, and so on ; a
machine is also described to illustrate the action of the forces of
gravity and projection in giving a projectile its parabolic trajectory.
They are designed by J. Pemberton, and seem to be well adapted
to the various purposes which have hitherto been neglected.
The continuation ot a lecture on the sun by Dr. Gould follows ;
he deals shortly with the prismatic analysb of light and with
the solar spectrum, explaining the curves of thermal, luminous,
and chemical intensity. Prof Leeds contributes a valuable paper
for the use of students "On the Measurement of the Angles of
Crystals," and Mr. Coleman Sellers reviews Mr. Crookes's
Experimental Investigation of a New Force ; he boldly states
that he believes Mr. Crookes has been deceived, giving several
reasons why he is of thb opinion. An editorial note is attached
to this paper, stating that Mr. Sellers is very accomplished in
the field of legerdemain, which would lend peculiar vuue to his
view.
yaumal of the Franklin InstUuU^ October. The editorial
notes contain several valuable abstracts, amongst which may be
noticed one on Fluorescence, originally published by £. Lommel
in the "Repert. der Physik. From his observations Lommel
shows that Stokes's law " that the refrangibility of the exciting
rays is always the upper limit of the refrangibili^ of the exdted
rays " does not alwa3rs hold good, and also that the very common
opinion that Fluorescence is an action by which refrangible rays
are converted into less refrangible rays is not altogether true. —
Prof. Thurston communicates a report "On a Steam Boiler
Explosion," to which is added a clear statement of many of the
causes of such explosions. Prof. Heines contributes the first of
a series of papers on binocular vision ; he deals shortly with the
human eye and monocular vision, and then proceeds to some
phenomena of binocular vision. The last paper was read before
the American Association for the advancement of Science by
Prof. Owen, ** On Physio^phic and Dynamical Geology in-
volving the discussion of Terrestrial Magnetism," in which it is
thought probable that the sun is the source of the modifications
on the earth, giving the form and dimensions to the land, and
that magnetism, either directly or by conversion into chemical
force, has been the most powerful agent in causing various
natural phenomena, such as the geysers, volcanoes, ocean cur*
rents, &c.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, December 7.—" On the Fossil Mammals of
Australia. Part VI. Gtn\aPhascolomys^G^ofh"—BjVrotOwtii,
F. R. S. In this paper the author premises a reference to former ones
on the Osteology of existing Marsupialia^ in the "Transactions
of the Zoological Society," and to his " Catalogue of the Osteo-
logical Series in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,"
in which are defined cranial characters serving to distmguish
existing species of the genus Phascolomys^ Geoffr. ; and aAer
showing, m subsequently received materials, the kind and extent
of variety of such characters in the same species, he proceeds to
apply the knowledge so gained to the determination ot some fossil
remains of species of Wombat, similar in size to the known existing
kinds. The extinct Phascolomys Mitchdli^ indicated by remains
brought to England in 1835 by Sir Thomas Mitchell, C.B., the
discoverer of the bone-caves of Wellington Valley, Australia, is
determined by specimens subsequently obtained by Prof. Alex.
M. Thomson and Mr. Gerard Krefft, from the same caves. A
second species, distinguished by characters of the nasal bones, is
called after its discoverer Phascolomys Krefflii. Modifications of
the lachrymal, maxillary, and palatal bones in the existing kinr^s
of Wombat are also applied to the determination of the fossil > :
specimens from the fresh water deposits of Queensland are thus
snown to belong to the species Phascolomys Mitchell i, originally
founded on fossils from the breccia>caves of New South Wales.
The author next proceeds to point out the characters of the
mandible in existing Wombats, available in the determination of
extinct species of Phascolomys. On this basis he defines speci-
mens which he provisionally refers to his Phascolomys Krefftii.
He then points out the mandibular characters of Phascolomys
MUchdli^ and shows that the existing Phascolomys latifrons was
represented by mandibular fossils from the breccia-caves of
Wellington Vallejr. Proceeding next to the description of fossil
mandibular remams of the genus Phascolomys from the fresh
water deposits of Queensland, the author defines Phascolomys
Thomsonif Phase, /latyrhinus, and Phase, panms. The latter,
seemingly extinct, species is markedly inferior in size to any of
the known existing species. An account of the extinct kinds of
Wombat, exceeding in size the existing species, will be the sub-
ject of a succeeding communication. The present is illustrated
by subjects occupying seven plates and eight woodcuts, all the
f^res being from nature, and of the natural size.
" On Fluoride of Silver. Part III." By G. Gore, F.R.S.
"On the Solvent Power of Liquid Cyanogen." By G. Gore,
F.R.S.
Zoological Society, December 5.— John Gould, F.R.S-i
V.P., in the chair. — The Secretary read a report on the addi-
tions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie during the
months of October and November 187 1, and called particular atten-
tion to a young female specimen of the Cape Fur-Seal {Otaria
pusUla\ presented by Sir Henry Barkl^, Governor of the
Cape Colony, being the first example of this interesting animal
received alive in Europe. — A letter was read from Dr. Bur-
meister, of Buenos Ayres, containing remarks on Messrs.
Sclater and Salvin's " Synopsis of the Craddae," published in
the Society's " Proceedings " for 1870. —Dr. E. Hamilton exhi-
bited and made some remarks on an adult skull of the newly-
discovered Chinese Deer (ffydropotes inermis), and compared it
with an immature skull of the same species exhibited bv Mr. R.
Swinhoe at a meeting of the Society, February 10, 1870. Dr.
Hamilton also drew attention to the statement made by his corre-
spondent respecting the wonderful fecundity of this animal, which
tended to corroborate the facts stated by Mr. Swinhoe on that
occasion. — Mr. Sclater exhibited and remarked on a skin of the
Water Opossum ( Chironectes variegutus), which had been sent to
him by Mr. Robert B. White, from Medillin, United States
of Columbia. — Prof. Newton exhibited and made remarks
on the humerus of a Pelican (believed to be Pelecanus crispiis\
which had been found in the English fens. — A communication
was read from Surgeon Francis Day, Inspector-General of
Fisheries of British India, containing remarks on the fresh-
water Siluroids of India and Burmah, with observations on the
range of the species, their classification, and general geographical
distribution. — Mr. A. G. Butler read a paper on a small collec-
tion of Butterflies made at Loanda, the capital of the Portuguese
Settlements of Angola. A second Pfper by Mr. Butler gave the
description of a new genus of Lepidoptera, allied to Apatura,
which was proposed to be called EulaeeHra — ^A paper oy Mr.
E. A. Smith was read, containing a list of species of Shells
from the Slave Coast, West Africa, collected by the late Com-
mander Knocker, R.N., the majority of which had been dredged
at Whydah, on the Dahomey shore. — ProC Newton communi-
cated some notes by Herr Robert Collett, of Christiana, on the
singular asymmetxy of the skull in Tengmalm's Owl {Strix
tenmalmi), — Mr. Sclater read the third and final portion of a
series of notes on rare or little-known animals now or lately
living in the Society's Gardens. Mr. Sclater gave an account ot
a collection of Birds firom Oyapok, on the river of the same name
which divides Cayenne from the northern frontier of Brazil,
amongst which were two species believed to be undescribed, and
proposed to be called OchthoUca murina and Heteropelma ij^niceps,
A third communication from Mr. Sclater contained remarks on
the species of the genera Myiozetetes and Conopicu, belonging
to the family Tyrannidae. — Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth
read some notes on the Red-spotted Cat (Fdis rubiginosa) of
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134
NATURE
[Dec. 14, 1 87 1
Ceylon, and its varieties. — Mr. D. G. Elliot read a paper
on various Felidae, rectifying the synonomy of several species,
and giving a more perfect description of one recently obtained
from North- West Siberia, which he proposed to call Fe/is
euptilura. Dr. Giinther made a reply to some critical remarks
in a paper by Surgeon Francis Day, read at a recent meeting of
the Society.
Geologists' Association, December i. — ^The Rev. Thomas
WUtshire, M.A., F.G.S., president, in the chair. —** On
the Glacial Drifts of North London," by Mr. Henry Walker.
These drifts were described under the classification and nomen-
clature given to the glacial deposits by Mr. Searles V. Wood, jun.
They were traced from liasc End (Highgate) and Muswell Hill
to Fmchlcy, Colney Hatch Lane, and Whetstone. The pro-
fusion of chalk found in the glacial clay at these places bears nut
the designation of the main deposit in south-eastern England as
the great Chalk Boulder Clay ; but it is also found that Ihe
sands and gravds of the Middle Glacial, which Mr. Wood seems
to restrict to a much lower horizon than Finchley, are also to be
found at these localities. At Whetstone the Chalky Boulder
Clay is found overlying twenty-five feet of gravel and sand, and
in the apparently corresponding beds at Finchley and Hendon
Lane, drift fossils and c<ists are occasionally found. Mr. Henry
Hicks agreed with the conclusion that these sands and gravels
are Mr. Wood's Middle GladaL Mr. Caleb Evans thought that the
heights to the north of London marked the southern termination ot
the glacial drift. Mr. Batt considered that the Drift had extended
to the country south of the Thames. Several other gentlemen
took part in a very animated discussion. — Collections of fossils
and boulders from the Middlesex Drift were exhibited, and a
quantity of peat obtained from the same source, was shown by
Mr. J. T. B. Ives.
Society of Biblical Archaeology, December J. — Prof.
Donaldson, B.A., F.R.S., in the chair. A paper by the Chev.
de Saulcy, membre de I'lnstitut, ** On the true sites of Capernaum,
Choiazin, and Beihsaida (Julius) " was read by the secretary. In
the chevalier's paper, which took the form of a letter (addressed
to the Dean of Westminster), he stated that, having considered
the whole tenor of the argument first advanced by him in the
Revue Arckaologique twenty years ago, he could come to no
other conclusion than that the tradidonal town of Bethsaida and
the identification of Kerlueh as Chorazm and Tel Houm as Caper-
naum were unsupported by geographical evidence, and were
contrary to the express statements of Josephus, who would be
sufficiently exact in describmg the town where he was wounded.
At the same time the ruins of Kerdzeh were too extensive to be
those of insignificant village like Chorazin ; and those of sup-
posititious Btthsaida were too few, and contained no indica-
tions of the Family Mausoleum of Herod Phihp. The conclu-
sion of the author was that Tel Hoimi was more probably the
real site of Capernaum. A considerable amount of philological
evidence illustrated these statements. On the close of the read-
ing of this paper an interesting discussion ensued, in which the
chairman and the following gentlemen took part ;— Mr. W. R. A.
Boyle, Dr. CuU, Mr. S. M. Drach, Mr. John Macgregor, and
Captain Wilson.
Entomological Society, December 4. — A. R. Wallace,
president, in the chair. — Mr. Shearwood exhibited an extra-
ordinary variety of Argynnis aglaioy taken at Tcignmouth. Mr.
Bond exhibited varieties, or mallormations, of various British
Lepidoptera, — Mr. Jan^on exhibited a large collection of insects
(chiefly Coleoptera) from the diamond fields of South Africa.
— Mr. Higgins ejthibited examples of letracha crucigera of
MacLeay, Irom Australia.— Pro t. Westwood made some remarks
concerning Papilio 'Jhersander, figured by Donovan, and arrived
at the conclusion that this species (figured originally by Jones in
his ** Icones ") was founded on the combination of a Fapilio with
Charaxes Fabius, A discussion ensued concerning the right of
named figures of insects, by the older authors, to be regarded in
questions of priority.— With reference to the question of the
liability of large dragon-fles to the attacks of birds, Mr. Miiller
called attention to a statement by Natterer, to the effect that
some species of Fcdconida habitually prey upon dragon -flies. Mr.
Home stated that during his residence in India he had never
seen those insects attack^ by birds of any description. — Major
Parry communicated notes concerning Lissapterus HorwUtanm^
and Mr. W. F. Kirby on the synonymy of vanous Lepidoptera.
Linnean Society, December 7.— Mr. G. Bentharo, preskient,
in the chair. "On the formation of British Pearls and their
possible improvement," by R. Garner. The author referred to
the theory, now generally adopted, that the production of pearls
in oysters and other mollusks is caused by the irritation pro-
duced by the attacks of the minute parasite known fas DUtcma^
and believed that, by artificial means, this parasite might be
greatly increased. British pearls are obtained mostly from
species of Unh^ Anodon, and MytiJis, but it is probable that all
mollusks, whether bivalve or univalve, with a nacreous lining to
the shell, might be made to produce pearls. An interesting dis-
cussion followed, in which Mr. Gwyn Jeffireys, Mr. Holdsworth,
and Dr. Murie took part. — "On certain Coleopterous Larvae,"
by Dr. Burmeister, of Buenos Ayres. — **0n the Botany of the
Speke and Grant expedition," by Lieutenant-Colonel Grant
Notwithstanding the difficulties of their journey, and that they
had more than once to destroy or abandon their whole collection,
Captain Speke and Captain Grant succeeded in bringing} home
between 700 and 800 species of plants, many of them entirely
new, which have been described by Prof. Oliver, and will be
published in the ** Transactions" of the Society, with at least
100 plates.
Anthropological Institute, December 4. — Sir John Lub-
bock, Bart., president, in the chair. — Messrs. J. Cordy Burrows,
J. Park Harrison, and P. C. Sutherland were elected members.
Captain Richard F. Burton read his second paper on * * Anthro-
pological Collections from the Holy Land." The paper included
a catalogue raisonni of articles presented to the museum of the
institute, found by Mr. John S. Rattray at Sahib £1 Zamda
( Lord of the Age), the reputed tomb of Hezekiah. This " find "
consisted of fragments of human skulls and long bones, old
copper bracelets, brass bracelets, coins, bits of lachrymatories
(the glass being highly iridescent), porUons of Syrian majolica
of the type of that usually made at Damascus by the Tartars,
beads of various kinds, &c. The tomb was situated in a hollow
on the Eastern slope of the Libantis, and proved to be an arti-
ficial cavern, with a shaft for ventilation. A full detailed
descripdon of this very^interesting discovery was given. Another
interesting discovery made by Captain Burton was at the upland
village of Ma'alulah, distant three hours from the large convent
SaidjQdyd, roughly speaking N.E. of Damascus, and occupying
a position on the N. E. ranges of the Anti-Libanus. This find
consisted of various fragments of skidls and lower jaws, which,
together with the hiunan remains from the tomb at Sahib £1
Zaman, were described by Dr. Carter Blake. The third part of
Captain Burton's ptaper was occupied by an account of a series
of flint and stone implements and flakes, and articles of bronze
and bone found near Bethlehem. In a detailed description of
these articles Mr. John Evans, F.R.S., pointed out for special
notice a basaltic hammer, which differed from the usual form of
similar instruments discovered in Scandinavia, in Britain, and in
North America, inasmuch as in the specimen the lateral de-
pressions were absent — Prof. Busk, F.R.S., read a communica-
tion from the Rev. Mr. Dale on flint implements from the Cape
of Good Hope, which were exhibited on the table ; and Mr. F.
W. Rudler, F.G. S., exhibited a stone implement of tmique form,
also from the Cape. The President submitted for inspection
some stone implements of rare beauty from Greece.
Quekett Microscopical Club, Nov. 24. — Prof. Lionel S.
Beale in the chair. A paper was read by Mr. M. C Cooke on
** The Minute Structure of Tremelloid Uredines {Fodtsoma)," in
which the structure of the Tremelloid masses, commonly found
on juniper bushes, was detailed, together with the results
of the observations of Tulasne, Oersted, and others on the
germination and development of these fungi, with a critical
examination of the species described under the geacra Gymuo-
sporangium and Fodisoma, It was held by the author that no
good foundation existed for the constitution of two genera, since
the minute structure and development of both were idcnticaL
Some conversation ensued on the phenomena of alternation of
generations which these and other fiingi present, and especially
m cases where some of the phases of existence were presumed
to be passed on different hosts. Especial reference was made to
the opinions entertained by Prof. Oersted that the Podisomas
were foimd in one state parasitic on leaves of Pomaceous trees,
as Roestelias, &c, in another stage inhabiting the branches of
jtmipers, as Podisoma. The anthor of the paper did not con-
sider that this supposed phenomenon was satisfactorily proved.
Manchester
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, Octo*
ber 31. — E. W. Binney, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—
L/iyiLiiLcu \jy
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Dec. 14, 187 ij
NATURE
135
Mr. Wm. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., gave a short account of the
discoveries in the Victoria Cave, made since the last account was
published in the Transactions of the Society. The clay forming
the bottom of the cave, and which hiiherto had been barren, was
now yielding broken fragments of bone, some of which had been
gnawed b^ the cave-hyxna. A lower jaw of this animal was
found, which indicated the presence of the characteristic Pleisto-
cene mammalia in a part of Yorkshire in which they had not
been known to have existed up to the present time. There
were, therefore, three distinct groups of remains in the cave,
the Romano-Celtic on the surface, the Neolithic beneath, and
lastly that which has been furnished by the clay which is glacial
in character. And since two feet of talus had been accumulated
above the Romano- Celtic layer during the last 1,200 years, it is
very probable that the accumulation of debris of precisely the
same character between the Romano-Celtic and Neolithic layers,
six feet in thickness, was formed in about thrice the time, or
3,600 years. If this rough estimate be accepted, and it is pro-
bably true approximately, the Neolithic occupation of the cave
must date back to between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago. There is
no clue to the relative antiquity of the group of remains found in
the clay ; but it may safely be stated to be far greater than that
of the Neolithic stratum. Throughout Europe the break between
the Pleistocene age represented in the cave by the bones in the
clay and the Prehistoric age- the Neolithic of the cave — is so
great and so full of difficulty that it cannot be gauged by any
method which has hitherto been invented. Mr. Boyd Dawkins
also exhibited a remarkably perfect javelin head of bronze which
had been dug up in a field near Settle. — " Species viewed
Mathematically," by Mr. T. S. Aldis. We have learnt that
all energy is really one, whether seen in heat, constrained posi-
tion, or motion. Many also believe that life is really one, whether
seen in man or a toadstool But for our part we have often felt
a difficulty. Why, if all life be one, do we not see it passing
through every variety of form instead of being restricted to certain
well-defined types? The present paper is an attempt to explain
this. Let us consider what Plato might have called the ahro^faov
or complete type of animal. It consists of a certain definite
number of organs, composed of a certain definite number of
parts. It will also have certain aliments, location, enemies, &c.,
which we may call its province, necessary for its life. Thus our
tjrpe animal is capable of a flux passing through all possible forms
and provinces in all possible combinations. I include amongst
these, of course, many arrangements necessarily absurd. To
each arrangement of oigans and provinces thus imagined would
correspond a certain vitality or power of living in the type. I
mean not merely power of individual existence, but existence as
a race. The vitality is therefore a function of a large number of
variables, some independent, others connected by equations of
condition. It is to us quite an unknown function, but not there-
fore indefinite. Therefore, as in any other function of variables,
certain relations amongst the variables will give maxima values of
the vitality. These maxima of vitality constitute species.
Vitality is not mere physical might or agility or fecundity, but
compounded of all. Now for a maximum, we know that any
change in the variables lessens the function. We thus see how
species are stable. In the constant variation, for no being seems
capable of reproducing itself exactly, all individuals have less
vitality as they depart from the special type which gives the
maximum of vitality, and will be choked out by those which,
being nearer to the type, possess more vitality. So hybrids, in-
termediate between two maxima, will possess less vitality than
either, and will be choked out, though the main cause of failure
is that the process is like that devised by Swift's Laputan
philosopher, who sawed the Whigs' and Tories* heads in half,
and changing them, left each brain to settle its politics in itself.
So the poor mule, with a bundle of habits, half horse and half
ass, in this intestine conflict, has little power to take care of
itself. Of course all maxima may not have plants or animals
representing them. If there be several maxima suited for nearly
the same province, the maximum of greatest intensity will choke
out the others. So, too, there are probably many maxima now
unoccupied, as, for instance, the thistle represented a maximum
of vegetable life in South America, but till man imported the
thistle to fill it up, other maxima of less intensity held the ground.
In some cases possibly several maxima are closely related, and
differ little in their intensity, so that slightly differing species exist
together, and may in their variation pass one into the other, as
perhaps in brambles and some species of St John's wort, &c.
If then the province of a species, #>., the physical geography of
a cotmtry, alter, and its enemies and food with them, clearly the
maximum will shift and the species change. But tlus is not the
evolution of new species, though to a person who only notes geo-
logical evidence it appears so. For, just as in a storm the light-
ning shows the trees still, though r^iUy waving to and fro, so the
different species in geology are probably but steps in a constant
change. Such a change of course must be slow for life to follow
it, for a species consists <|uite as much in a bundle of acquired
and transmitted habits as m a certain formation of organs, and
the change in habit will probably be far slower than the change in
form. How then do new species arise ? For we see that, if the
species be a maximum of vitality, in a multitudinous progeny
those nearest the type will choke out the others, and the species
will be stable. Varieties will be connected with maxima of
vitality in two ways. Firstly, slight differences in the province
will slightly shift the maximum. Thus mountain sheep would
be more agile than lowland sheep. Secondly, in such a way as
this. Suppose this table a low mound, narrow though long.
Then the height at any point will be a function of the distances
from the north and east walls of the room. There will be one
point of maximum height, but whilst a change north or south
produces a great change in the altitude, one east or west will pro-
duce but liole. So there will be variations in some characteristics
which will produce little alteration in the whole vitality. Thus,
amongst wild oxen probably no varieties without horns would
exist, for they affect the vitality. Amongst protected races they
do not, and so hornless varieties arise. Still these varieties are
but varieties, and are not steps towards a new maximum which a
gulf of lesser vitality still separates them from. Or let us con-
sider the varieties that we try to make by select breeding. These
are least of all likely to produce new species. We simply by
main force depress vitality in removing individuals as far as we
can from the normal type, and when the vitality is sufficiently
depressed we can go no further. As for altering the province,
the independent variables, so to speak, we know so little how to
do it, and certainly could not do it gradually enough, that we
have no chance in this way of effecting anything. How then can
new species arise ? Apparently in some such way as this, b^ what
we may call the bifurcation of a maximum. If we drew a horizontal
line alonff which the variation of the oigans of an animal were
expressed and the corresponding vitality were drawn by ordinates,
we should get a curve we might call the vitality curve, whose
maxima values would be species. As time elapses and the con-
ditions of the earth, &c., alter, the constants, so to speak, of the
curve alter, and we get our curve to vary and the maxima shift ;
and as the curve alters, one maximum may separate into
two or more others, and thus in the lapse of time, one
species may separate into two or more others. Roughly
to illustrate it, suppose some species developed free from
the influence of camivora, and that, owing to various causes,
size little affects its vitality, it may vary all through, from
little and swift to big and heavy. Now, introducing car-
nivora, we can see how a bifurcation of our maximum would
take place. The very light and swift would preserve them-
selves by their agility, the strong and heavy by their strength,
whilst the intermediate would be killed out, and thus two distinct
species would arise, which might in course of time by further
variation separate still further apart Doubtless, however, this
bifurcation goes back to very remote times. Carnivores and
herbivores probably separated not as mammals but as reptiles,
or even long before, wnilst ruminants and non-ruminants may
have separated since they became mammals. Thus Australia
seems to have possessed at one time only one marsupial, which
has bifurcated mto various marsupials, but not into any of another
kind. The older the species grow, the deeper is the gulf between
them, and, like a river, we have to ascend nearly to the source
before we can make a passage from one bank to the other. To
recapitulate — Maxima of vitality are species. Any alteration
from the normal type produces less vitality, hence the normal type
is stable. A slow change of physical geography, &c., slowly
dianges these maxima, and the species change with them, extinct
species being generally glimpses of steps in this change. New
species will generally arise from the bifurcation of maxima under
circumstances over which man can exercise little control, and
which, if he could, he would very likely alter so as either hardly
to affect the maximum at all, or too rapidly for the species to
shift with it Selected breeding produces types of less vitality,
and therefore will har41y produce new species. Thus the present
stability of species is no argument against the doctrine of evolu-
tion.
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136
NATURE
[Dec, 14, 1871
Glasgow
Geological Society, November 30. — Dr. Robert Brown,
F.R.G.S., delivered a lecture on "Greenland: Its Physical
Geology and Fossil Flora." After alluding to the interest which
Greenland possessed, as presenting a picture of what the British
Isles were supposed to have been during the glacial period. Dr.
Brown gave a graphic sketch of the coast scenery of the
country, which he compared to a succession of islands with
water on the one side and ice on the other. He described the
interior of Greenland as one vast sheet of ice of ^eat thickness,
pressing out on all sides to the sea, and occupvmg as separate
glaciers the fiords which indent the coast. These glaciers in
many instances push their way out to sea, where portions are
broken off and dirift away as icebergs ; in other cases, the glacier
dissolves near the head of the fiord, and great stores of muddy
water escaping from it form a deposit of fine clay, which has
sometimes silted up part of the fiord so effectually as even to
turn the glacier aside into another channeL From what he had
observed in Greenland, he was inclined to hold that the lower
////, or boulder-clay, as it exists in the Forth and Clyde valley,
was formed by such a sheet of massive land ice slowly moving
over the country, while what he had described as resulting from
the waste of the glaciers near the sea might account for some of
the well-known ^ds of laminated clay associated with that de-
posit He questioned whether icebergs really did much in the
way of conveying rocks or dSris to any distance. So far as he
had observed they bore wonderfully little of such material in or
upon them ; and he thought that to call in their agency, as had
sometimes been done, to account for the dispersion of plants, &c,
was highly visionary. Dr. Brown then alluded to the rock-
formations of Greenland, and to the plant remains of the Car-
boniferous and middle Tertiary periods which had been found in
the country, showing that it once enjoyed a very different climate
from that to which it is now subjected. The Carboniferous
plants had only been recently discovered by Dr. Pfaff, and he
trusted that gentleman, who was resident on the spot, would be
enabled to make further researches.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, December 4. — M. Chasles presented
a number of theorems relating to the harmonic axes of geometrical
curves, and M. C. Jordan a pa]>er on Gauss's sums with several
variables. — M. Tresca read a paper on the effects produced
during the planing of metals ; and M. H. Resal communicated
some mvestigations on the calculation of the fly-wheels of steam-
engines. — Letters were read from Father Secchi on a new method
of measuring the heights of the solar protuberancer*, smd on the
temperature of the sun. Upon the^ latter M. Faye made some
remarks. — M. Le Verrier presented a note on the shooting stars
of the month of November, from observations made in France
and Italy. Many meteors issued from the constellation Leo, but
the point of radiation was slightly displaced. Five or six currents
of meteors in different directions were observed. In August a
displacement of the point of radiation was observed between the
9th and I ith. — An extract from a letter firom M. J. F. J. Schmidt
to M. Delaunay on the November meteors observed at Athens
was also read. — M. C. Saint-Claire Deville communicated a note
on the early cold weather of 1S71, which appears to have prevailed
over the whole of France. — M. F. de Biseau recorded the observa-
tion of aurora borealis in Belgium on the nights of the 9th and
loth November. — A note from M. de Magnac on the determina-
tion by means of chronometers of the differences of longitude
of distant places was read. — M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran pre-
sented a note on the separation and quantitative determination
of some metals by means of a voltaic current — M. A. Bechamp
communicated some observations on a recent note by M. Ritter
on the formation of u^ea by albuminoid materials and permanga-
nate of potash. — M. Wurtz presented a note by M. L. C. de Coppet
on a new method of preparing su]>ersaturated saline solutions, in
which the author stated that solutions identical with those called
supersaturated could be prepared by dissolving certain dehydrated
salts (sulphate and carbonate of soda) in cold water. — M. Peligot
presented a note by M. T. Schloesing, containing a comparison
of the two conditions of a soil in part wooded and in part cleared
and treated with lime. — M. Peligot also presented a note by M.
A. Renard on the determination of ground-nut oil in olive oil.
The process, which is rather complicated, consists in the saponi-
fication of the oil, and the separation from the soap of the ara-
chidic acid which is characteristic of ground-nut oiL— M. Balard
communicated a note by MM. Scheurer-Kestner and C. Meunier
on the composition and heat of combustion of lignites, containing
the analyses and results of combustion of six lignites from various
parts of France, and from Bjhemia. The heat of combustion
was always found to be inferior to that of the cirbon and hydro-
gen contained in the lignites. — M. Elie de Beaumont exhibited a
collection of minerals from Bolivia, Chili, and Peru sent by M.
Domeyko. — M. S. Meunier presented a note on a new method of
obtainmg Widmaimstatten's figures by attaching a polished plate
of meteoric iron to the positive pole of a Bunsen*s battery and a
plate of silver to the opposite pole, and plunging both into a so-
lution of bisulphate ot potash. — M. Husson communicated an
analysis of the milk of cows attacked by contagious typhus. — A
note was read on the Garumnian typs of the department of the
Aude, by M. A. Leymerie, in which the author maintains the
distinctness of this geolo^cal stage, and indicates some of the
fossils which characterise it.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English. — Marvels of Pond Life : H. J. Slack (Groombridfe and Sons).
— The Amateur's Flower Garden : Shirley Hibberd (Groombridge and Sons)
— Flowers for Sundays : P. Spenser (Longmans). —The Laws of the Wind
prevailing in Western Europe ; No. i, with Charts and Diagrams ; W. C.
Ley (E. Stanford).
Foreign.— (Through Williams and Norgate.)— Die Axendrehung dcr
Welt-kOrpcr : E. F. T. Moldenhauer.
DIARY
THURSDAV, December 14.
Royal Sociarv, at 8.30. — &>ntributions to the History of Ordn. No. II.
Chlorine and Bromine Substitution Compounds of the Ordns ; Note on
Fuedsol: Dr. Stenhouse, F.R.S. — On some recent Discoveries in Sdar
Physics : and on a Law regulating the Duration of the Sonspot Period :
W. De La Rue, F.R.S.. B. Stewart, F.R.S , and B. Loewy.
Mathematical Society, at 8.— On the Celebrated l*heorem dut every
Arithmetical Progression, if it contains more than one must contain an
Infinite number of Prime Numbers : J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S.
FRIDAY^ December 15.
London Institution, at 4. Elementary Physiology, by Prof. Huxley,
F.R.S. No. 7. (Extra Lecture.)
SUNDAY^ December 17.
Sunday Lecture Society^ at 4.— On the Physiology of (Contagion and
Infection : Dr. John S. Bnstowe.
MONDAY, December 13.
Anthropological Institute, al 8.— The Anthropology of Auguste
Comte: Joseph Kaines.— On the Hereditary Transmission of Endow-
ments : (George Harris.
London Institution, at 4. No. 8.
TUESDAY^ December 19.
Statistical Society. at 7 45— On the Comparative Health of Seamen
and Soldiers : Dr. Balfour.
WEDNESDAY, December 20.
Geological Sooety, at 8.— Further Remarks on the Relationship of the
Limulidae to the Kurypteridae and to the Trilobita : Henry Woodward,
F.G S.— Further Notes on the Geology of the neighbourhood of Malaga :
M. D. M. d'Orueta. sx •« -«
Royal Society op Literature.— On a capiul Joke recorded by Sueto-
nius : Dr. C. Mansfield Ingleby.— On a Collection of Roman Brick Stamps
in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford : Mr. Vaux.
Society or Ats, at 8.— On the Study of Economic Botany, and its (Claims
Educationally and Commercially Considered : James CoUins.
THURSDAY, December 91.
Royal Society, at 8.3a
Linnran Society, at 8.— On the Anatomy of the American King-Crab
{Limulus pdyphemus^ Latr.) : Pro£ Owen, F.R.S.
Chemical Soobty, at 8.
CONTENTS Pace
The Copley Medallist of 1871. By Prof. John Tyndall, F.R.S. 117
Airy on Magnetism. By Jambs Stuart 120
Our Book Shelp X2\
Letters to the Editor:—
Alternation of Generadons in Fungi.— Rev. M.J. Berkeley, F.L.S. 122
Leibnitz and the Calculus.— Dr. C. M. Ingleby laa
The Science and Art Department 122
Lunar Calendars laj
New Zealand Forest Trees.- Dr. W. Lauder Lindsay, F.R.S.E. . 123
Solar Halo.— W. W. Harris 123
Proof of Napier's Rules 133
The Cause of Specific Variation.— Rev. G. Henslow, F.L.S. . . 123
On Deep-Ska THERMOMBTBRS.—By Oipt. J. E. Davis, R.N. (With
lUustratioti) X24
Oysters in Ireland lai
Artificial Milk. By W. Mattieu Williams, F.CS lao
Notes 129
Scientific Serials 133
Societies and Academies 133
Books Received 136
I^'^v .^. ....... 136
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NATURE
137
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1871
THE COPLEY MEDALIST OF 1870
THIRTY years ago Electro-magnetism was looked to
as a motive power which might possibly compete
with steam. In centres of industry, such as Manchester,
attempts to investigate* and apply this power were
numerous, as shown by the scientific literature of the time.
Among others Mr. James Prescot Joule, a resident of
Manchester, took up the subject, and in a series of papers
published in Sturgeon's "Annals of Electricity" between
1839 and 1 841, described various attempts at the con-
struction and perfection of electro-magnetic engines. The
spirit in which Mr. Joule pursued these inquiries is re-
vealed in the following extract: "I am particularly
anxious," he says, ** to communicate any new arrangement
in order, if possible, to forestal the monopolising designs
of those who seem to regard this most interesting subject
merely in the light of pecuniary speculation." He was
naturally led to investigate the laws of electro-magnetic
attractions, and in 1840 he announced the important
principle that the attractive force exerted by two electro-
magnets, or by an electro-magnet and a mass of annealed
iron, is directly proportional to the square of the strength
of the magnetising current ; while the attraction exerted
between an electro -magnet and the pole of a perma-
nent steel magnet varies simply as the strength of the
current. These investigations were conducted inde-
pendently of, though a little subsequently to, the celebrated
inquiries of Henry, Jacobi^ and Lenz and Jacobi on the
same subject.
On the 17th of December, 1840, Mr. Joule communi-
cated to the Royal Society a paper on the production of
heat by Voltaic electricity ; in which he announced the law
that the calorific effects of equal quantities of transmitted
electricity are proportional to the resistance overcome by
the current, whatever may be the length, thickness, shape,
or character of the metal which closes the circuit ; and
also proportional to the square of the quantity of trans-
mitted electricity. This is a law of primary importance. In
another paper, presented to but declined by the Royal
Society, he confirmed this law by new experiments, and
materially extended it. He also executed experiments on
the heat consequent on the passage of Voltaic electricity
through electrolytes, and found in all cases that the heat
evolved by the proper action of any Voltaic current is
proportional to the square of the intensity of that current
multiplied by the resistance to conduction which
it experiences. From this law he deduced a number
of conclusions of the highest importance to electro-
chemistry.
It was during these inquiries, which are marked
throughout by rare sagacity and originality, that the great
idea of establishing quantitative relations between Mecha-
nical Energy and Heat arose and assumed definite form
in his mind. In 1843 Mr. Joule read before the meeting
of the British Association at Cork a paper " On the Calo-
rific Effects of Magneto-Electricity and on the Mechanical
Value of Heat." Even at the present day this memoir is
tough reading, and at the time it was written it must
VOL, V.
have appeared hopelessly entangled. This I should think
was the reason why Prof. Faraday advised Mr. Joule not
to submit the paper to the Royal Society. But its drift
and results are summed up in these memorable words by
its author, written some time subsequently : "In that
paper it was demonstrated experimentally that the mecha-
nical power exerted in turning a magneto electric machine
is converted into the heat evolved by the passage of the
currents of induction through its coils, and on the other
hand, that the motive power of the electro-magnetic
engine is obtained at the expense of the heat due to the
chemical reaction of the battery by which it is worked."*
It is needless to dwell upon the weight and importance of
this statement
Considering the imperfections incidental to a first
determination, it is not surprising that the " mechanical
values of heat," deduced from the different series of ex-
periments published in 1843, varied somewhat widely
from each other. The lowest limit was 587, and the highest
1,026 foot-pounds for i" F. of temperature.
One noteworthy result of his inquiries, which was
pointed out at the time by Mr. Joule, had reference to the
exceedingly small fraction of the heat which is actually
converted into useful effect in the steam-engine. The
thoughts of the celebrated Julius Robert Mayer, who was
then engaged in Germany upon the same question, had
moved independently in the same groove; but to his
labours due reference will doubtless be made on a future
occasion. In the memoir now referred to Mr. Joule also
announced that he had proved heat to be evolved during
the passage of water through narrow tubes ; and he
deduced from these experiments an equivalent of 770
foot-pounds, a figure remarkably near to the one now
accepted. A detached statement regarding the origin
and convertibility of animal heat strikingly illustrates the
penetration of Mr. Joule and his mastery of principles at
the period now referred to. A friend had mentioned to
him nailer's hypothesis, that animal heat might arise
from the friction of the blood in the veins and arteries.
" It is unquestionable," writes Mr. Joule, " that heat is
produced by such friction, but it must be understood that
the mechanical force expended in the friction is a part of
the force of affinity which causes the venous blood to
unite with oxygen, so that the whole heat of the system
must still be referred to the chemical changes. But if
the animal were engaged in turning a piece of machinery,
or in ascending a mountain, I apprehend that in pro-
portion to the muscular effort put forth for the purpose, a
diminution of the heat evolved in the system by a given
chemical action would be experienced." The italics in
this memorable passage, written it is to be remembered
in i843f are Mr. Joule's own.
The concluding paragraph of this British Association
paper equally illustrates his insight and precision regard-
ing the nature of chemical and latent heat. " I had," he
writes, " endeavoured to prove that when two atoms com-
bine together, the heat evolved is exactly that which
would have been evolved by the electrical current due to
the chemical action taking place, and is therefore pro-
portional to the intensity of the chemical force causing the
atoms to combine. I now venture to state more explicitly,
that it is not precisely the attraction of affinity^ but i*ather the
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138
NATURE
{pec. 21, 1871
mechanical force expended by the atoms in falling towards
one another, which determines the intensity of the current,
and, consequently, the quantity of heat evolved ; so that
we have a simple hypothesis by which we may explain
why heat is evolved so freely in the combination of gases,
and by which indeed we may account * latent heat ' as a
mechanical power prepared for action as a watch-spring
is when wound up. Suppose, for the sake of illustration,
that 8 lbs. of oxygen and i lb. of hydrogen were pre-
sented to one another in the gaseous state, and then
exploded ; the heat evolved would be about i** F. in
60,000 lbs. of water, indicating a mechanical force ex-
pended in the combination equal to a weight of about
50,000,000 lbs. raised to the height of one foot. Now
if the oxygen and hydrogen could be presented to each
other in a liquid state, the heat of combination would be
less than before, because the atoms in combining would
fall through less space." No words of mine are needed to
point out the commanding grasp of molecular physics, in
their relation to the mechanical theory of heat, implied by
this statement
Perfectly assured of the importance of the principle
which his experiments aimed at establishing, Mr. Joule
did not rest content with results presenting such discre-
pancies as those above referred to. He resorted in 1844
to entirely new methods, and made elaborate experiments
on the thermal changes produced in air during its expan-
sion : firstly, against a pressure, and therefore performing
work ; secondly, against no pressure, and therefore per-
forming no work. He thus established anew the relation
between the heat consumed and the work done. From
fi\^ different series of experiments he deduced five different
mechanical equivalents ; the agreement between them
being far greater than that attained in his first experi-
ments. The mean of them was 802 foot-pounds. From
experiments with water agitated by a paddle-wheel, he
deduced, in 1845, an equivalent of 890 foot-pounds. In
1847 he again operated upon water and sperm-oil, agitated
them by a paddle-wheel, determined their elevation of
temperature, and the mechanical power which produced
it From the one he derived an equivalent of 781*5 foot-
pounds ; from the other an equivalent of 782*1 foot-
pounds. The mean of these two very close determina-
tions is 781*8 foot-pounds.
At this time the labours of the previous ten years had
made Mr. Joule completely master of the conditions
essential to accuracy and success. Bringing his ripened
experience to bear upon the subject, he executed in 1849
a series of 40 experiments on the friction of water, 50
experiments on the friction of mercury, and 20 experi-
ments on the friction of pLites of cast-iron. He deduced
from these experiments our present mechanical equivalent
of heat, justly recognised all over the world as *' Joule's
equivalent"
There are labours so great and so pregnant in conse-
quences, that they are most highly praised when they are
most simply stated. Such are the labours of Mr. Joule.
They constitute the experimental foundation of a principle
of incalculable moment, not only to the practice, but still
more to the philosophy of Science. Since the days of
Newton, nothing more important than the theory of which
Mr. Joule is the experimental demonstrator has been
enunciated.
I have omitted all reference to the numerous minor papers
with which Mr. Joule has enriched scientific literature. Nor
have I alluded to the important investigations which he
has conducted jointly with Sir William Thomson. But
sufficient, I think, has been here said to show that, in
conferring upon Mr. Joule the highest honour of the
Royal Society, the Council paid to genius not only a well-
won tribute, but one which had been fairly earned twenty
years previously.*
Comparing this brief history with that of the Copley
Medalist of 1871, the differentiating influence of" environ-
ment " on two minds of similar natural cast and endow-
ment comes up in an instructive manner. Withdrawn
from mechanical appliances, Mayer fell back upon reflec-
tion, selecting with marvellous sagacity from existing
physical data the single result on which could be founded
a calculation of the mechanical equivalent of heat. In
the midst of mechanical appliances. Joule resorted to
experiment, and laid the broad and firm foundation
which has secured for the mechanical theory the ac-
ceptance it now enjoys. A great portion of Joule's time
was occupied in actual manipulation ; freed from this,
Mayer had time to follow the theory into its most ab-
struse and impressive applications. With their places
reversed, however, Joule might have become Mayer, and
Mayer might have become Joule.
John Tyndall
THE BROWN INSTITUTION
IN 1852 a large sum of money was bequeathed by the
late Mr. Thomas Brown to the University of London
for the purpose of " founding and upholding " an Insti-
tution for "investigating, studying, and if possible en-
deavouring to cure " the diseases and injuries of animals
useful to man. The sum was to be allowed to accumulate
for a limited period, at the end of which the principal and
interest were to be applied in the manner directed. And
it was provided that in case the University should fail to
carry out the trust imposed upon it within nineteen years
after the testator's death, the whole sum with the accumu-
lations should be transferred to the University of Dublin,
to be applied for the endowment of certain philological
professorships. The will contains various directions for
the administration of the proposed Institution. The most
important are those which relate to the appointment of a
Committee of Management and of a Professor. The
committee must be appointed by the governing body of
the University, and must consist either of members of the
Senate or of other persons, members of the medical pro-
fession. As regards the qualifications of the professor
nothing is said. He must be appointed by the University,
must give a course of lectures annually, and must have a
residence adjacent to the Institution.
The nineteen years have now almost expired. In pur-
suance of the testator's directions, the "Brown Institution "
has just been opened. Last summer a large plot of free-
hold land was acquired by the University in the Wands-*
worth Road, close to the goods station of the South-
* Had I found it in time, this notice
Copley Medalist of 1871.
should have preceded that of the
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NATURE
139
Western Railway. On this ground a Hospital for Ani-
mals has been built, consisting of stables for the reception
of the larger quadrupeds, and of houses of various de-
scriptions for those of a smaller size. All of these build-
ings are constructed in the best style, with a view to the
well-being of the creatures they are destined to contain,
being thoroughly drained, paved, and ventilated, and
warmed with hot- water pipes. Adjoining them there is a
spacious exercise ground.
As many of our readers already know, the Senate have
placed the Institution under the management of Dr.
Burdon Sanderson, of University College, London, who,
as Professor, will, in future, deliver the annual course of
lectures.
If the scope and purpose of the Brown Institution were
limited to the care and cure of diseased animals, its
establishment would scarcely be worthy of record in the
pages of Nature, for, however desirable it may be that
the animals that serve us should be kindly and skilfully
treated when they are sick, the object has so remote a
relation to the promotion of physical science that our
readers could not be expected to take any special interest
in it. But, happily alike for humanity and for science,
the late Mr. Brown showed by his selection of persons to
be entrusted with the carrying out of his intentions, by
the instructions contained in his will for their guidance,
and by the terms in which he defined the purposes of the
proposed Institution — placing study and investigation
first, cure afterwards — ^that he was not actuated by a mere
sentimental sympathy for the lower animals as such, but
that he desired, by promoting the scientific study of their
diseases, to benefit mankind.
As might have been expected, the Senate of the Uni-
versity of London have not 6nly fulfilled the letter of the
testator's dispositions, but have proved by the manner in
which they have done so, that they are actuated by the
same noble purpose. They have shown this first of all
in their seleaion of a Committee of Directors. What
could be a better guarantee for the future good administra-
tion of the Institution than the fact that among its direc-
tors are to be found such men as Busk, Carpenter, Gull,
Paget, Quain, Sharpey, Sibson, and Simon, men eminent
as physiologists, pathologists, or clinical teachers ; of
each of whom it may be said that he has contributed a
large proportion to the total amount of work done in
his own branch of science in England during the
past thirty years. We do not think that it would
have been possible, even if their choice had been per-
fectly unlimited, to have selected persons more fitted
for the purpose, whether as regards personal character
or scientific attainments.
Under the direction of Dr. Sanderson, a laboratory in-
tended, to quote the terms of the will, " for the study and
investigation of disease," has been built on the ground
already referred to at Vauxhall, adjoining the hospital for
animals. The laboratory consists of four admirably-
lighted and spacious working rooms, connected by a
corridor. Underneath these are four other rooms, which,
although not so lofty, are also well adapted for many kinds
of research. In the same building is included a stable
for the reception of animals intended to be the subjects
of special observation.
In the work of the laboratory the Committee of Direc-
tion have most wisely associated with Dr. Sanderson
under the title of Assistant Professor, Dr. E. Klein, whose
name is well known as the contributor of valuable articles
to Strieker's '' Histology," and of several important em-
bryological researches. Well trained as a pupil of Briicke
and Strieker in the methods of research, whether physi-*
cal, chemical, or microscopical, young in years though old
in accomplished work. Dr. Klein is singularly fitted for
the post Dr. Sanderson is much to be congratulated in
having so able a coadjutor.
It may not be out of place if we attempt to give our
readers an idea of the work which we suppose will be
done or attempted in the laboratory of the Brown In-
stitution.
The facts on which the science of disease, so far as it
may as yet be called a science, is founded, are gathered
from two sources, the bedside and the laboratory. In
clinical studies the same, or even greater, exactitude is
required as in those of the physicist or chemist ; but
even when they are conducted in the wards of a hospital,
the Harveian method of " searching out the secrets of
nature by way of experiment," can only be applied under
limitations which very materially embarrass the inquiry.
The pathologist at the bedside is not in the position of an
experimenter, but only in that of a student, who stands by
at a greater or less distance, while another, over whom he
has no control, performs experiments in his presence,
without deigning to explain to him their nature or pur-
pose. The true physician fears to meddle with the pro-
cesses of which he is the attentive and anxious spectator.
Although the more ignorant members of the medical
craft—the so-called "practical" men — may sometimes,
with the best intentions, experiment on their patients with
harmful drugs, such experimentation is repudiated by the
man of science.
There are, however, many questions relating to disease,
of the most profound importance to the human race, which
cannot be solved, and never will be solved, by thus, as it
were, standing on one side and watching what goes on at
a distance ; such questions, for example, as the nature of
contagion, and those which relate to the origin and proxi-
mate causes of our most common diseases, such as inflam-
mation, fever, and tubercle. The knowledge which has
been acquired on these subjects during the last few years
has been gained by work done in laboratories. The ad-
vantages of this mode of inquiry, as compared with the
indirect clinical method, are of two kinds — the one
relating to the objects of observation, the other to the
means which are at the disposal of the inquirer. In deal-
ing with animals, he is embarrassed by scarcely any of
the limitations which render clinical observation so diffi-
cult The very considerations, indeed, which in the case
of man, absolutely forbid his entertaining any other pur-
pose excepting that of prolonging life and alleviating pain,
not only allow, but encourage him, in the case of animals,
to disregard altogether the present suffering for the future
benefit We are clearly justified in profiting by the suffer-
ings of the lower animals for man's sake. We may
subject them experimentally to the action of remedies
without any immediate view to their being thereby bene-
fited. We may place them under conditions which we
know will produce disease, for the purpose of studying
the mode of action of those conditions. We have
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NATURE
{Dec. 21, 1871
at least as good a right to kill sick animals for
the purpose of investigating the anatomical changes
produced by disease, as to slaughter healthy ani-
mals for food. And even if in the pursuit of our inquiries
we are compelled to inflict pain, we are perfectly right in
doing so— provided that truths valuable to humanity are
to be learnt by it.
The other respect in which the comparative patholo-
gist has an advantage over the clinicist, lies in the choice
of means. It is true that during the last few years much
progress has been made in the application of instru-
ments of precision to the investigation even of human
diseases ; but, after all, there are. few of those instruments
which are really valuable. In the case of animals it is
entirely different. The microscope may be applied to the
investigation of tissues unaltered by those changes which
speedily follow the extinction of life. The measurement
of the temperature of the body, whether with relation to
the changes which it undergoes in disease, or to the dif-
ferences between diseased and healthy parts, can be per-
formed in animals with all the exactitude which such
investigations require — in man such exactitude is impos-
sible, because the conditions of observation cannot be
controlled. Instruments of precision may be used for the
investigation of the changes which disease produces in
the mechanical functions of respiration and circulation,
which, for reasons already adverted to, could not be
applied in the sick room, or in the wards of a hospital —
and if they were applied^ would yield no satisfactory
results.
Again, in animals it is possible to apply the ordinary
methods of chemistry to investigate the modifications
produced by disease in the process of nutrition ; whereas
in man this is attended with such insuperable difficulties,
that it may be regarded as impossible.
Many other similar examples might be mentioned ; but
these may serve to explain the way in which we hope to
see the new laboratory at Vauxhall brought into rela-
tion with the hospital for sick animals. Believing that
the study of pathology, like that of physiology, of which
it forms part, can only be successfully prosecuted by
observing the operation of chemical and physical laws in
the living diseased body, and applying the same methods
as are used by the chemist and physicist to their investi-
gation, and that the more this principle is acted on, the
more rapid and solid will be the progress made, we
regard the establishment of the Brown Institution as an
important step in the right direction. We should have
been still better pleased if it had been a laboratory of
physiology, for this ought to have preceded the other.
We think it, however, not unlikely that it may, by setting
an example of good work, exercise a considerable indirect
influence in the promotion of physiological studies in this
country.
We must not omit to mention that although the labora-
tory is intended for research rather than for instruction,
it will be open to those who may wish to engage on their
own account in scientific inquiries. The only condition
imposed by the directors on those who desire admission
to the laboratory as workers, is the possession of ^ previous
scientific training." Each worker will have to defray the
expenses of material, but no other payment will be re-
quired of him. It is imderstood that the laboratory will
be opened on the ist of January, 1872.
FOREIGN YEAR-BOOKS
Jahrbuch der Erfindungen. Herausgegeben von H.
HirzelundH. GretscheL Sechster Jahrgang. (Leipzig:
Quandt und Handel ; London : Williams and Norgatc,
1870; pp. 472.)
THE sixth volume of this series fully sustains the
high character achieved by its predecessors. As-
tronomy, physics and meteorology, mechanics and me-
chanical technology, and chemistry and chemical tech-
nology form the subjects of the respective chapters.
We cannot open any part of the work without observing
the care with which it is edited. We shall select for special
notice the latter part of the chapter on chemistry, which
treats of organic compounds, beginning with the following
paragraph upon the products of oxidation of paraffin. After
describing the recent improvements introduced by Hiibner
in the preparation of this substance from coal-tar, and in
its mode of purification, and noticing its remarkable
stability (it being unaffected by concentrated hydrochloric
or sulphuric acids, and by the alkalies), the reporters
state that there are certain oxidising agents, and especially
chromic and nitric acids, which it is imable to resist Gill
and Meusel have studied the action of these reagents on
paraffin, and have arrived at the following results : —
" The paraffin in common use fuses at 56^ C, and by
repeated crystallisation from sulphide of carbon the fusing
point may be raised to 60° and upwards. If we boil from
300 to 500 grammes of pure paraffin with 1 20 grs. of bi-
chromate of potash, and 180 grs. with sulphuric acid
diluted with twice its volume of water for three or four
days in a glass retort till the chromic acid is completely
reduced to chrome-oxide, acetic acid and other acids of
the same series, and principally cerotic acid, are formed ;
the latter being a white solid substance that does not fuse
at a lower point than 78^ C, and also occurs as a main
constituent of bees'-wax. If we boil paraffin continuously
with five or six times its volume of nitric acid of 1*3 sp. %r,^
which has been previously diluted with i^ times its
volume of water, we likewise obtain cerotic acid, in addi-
tion to acetic, butyric, valerianic, and succinic acids, and
other products" (p. 261).
Passing over a section on " Fats, fatty oils, and allied
substances, and the products of their decomposition,"
in which is a notice of the explosive compounds derived
from glycerine, we come to one treating of "Resins,"
in which there is a notice of Puscher's interesting and
highly-practical conununication on shellac-ammonia solu-
tions. Perhaps the most valuable of the applications of
these solutions is their property of dissolving certain of
the aniline colours, as aniline green, aniline yellow, and
fuchsine.
The organic non-nitrogenous acids, the carbo-hydrates,
alcohol and its products, the albuminous bodies and their
allies, newly-discovered organic bases, pigments and pig-
ment-yielding bodies, both natural and artificial, nutritious
matters, and disinfectants, are all duly considered. The
report on artificial pigments is especially deserving of
commendation. It consists of nearly fifty pages full of
practical matter, and, taken in conjunction with a pre-
vious report that appeared in the second volume (for 1866),
forms the most complete summary of this important de-
partment of practical chemistry, that, taking its limits
into consideration, we are acquainted with.
As usual the volume concludes with a necrology for the
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Dtc. 21, 1871]
NATURE
141
OUR BOOK SHELF
Marvels of Pond' Life: or a Yearns Microscopic Recreations
amonfr the Polyps^ Infusoria^ Rotifers^ Water-Beats^
iind Polyzoa. By Henry J. Slack, F.G.S., &c. Second
Edition. (London : Groombridge and Sons.)
This little volume is already so well and favourably
known to microscopists that any formal notice or com-
mendation is scarcely necessary. Professing only to be a
first book on ^' Pond- Life/' it does not attempt more than
to guide the young student in searching after, collecting,
and examining the various animal organisms which in-
habit fresh water. The division into months indicates
that it is sdso popular rather than abstruse, and the num-
ber of species mentioned or figured is very limited. There
appears to be no good reason why the present edition
should not have made an advance beyond its predecessor,
and given us an additional chapter or two on the con-
struction and management of small aquaria at home,
adapted especially and entirely to minute pond-life, by
means of which metropolitan students might continue
the study when unable to go to the ponds ; and also on
those artificial ponds for the evolution of Infusoria, so
much alluded to of late, infusions of organic substances.
Keeping in view the simple pretensions and elementary
character of this volume, it fully answers the design of its
author, and we are glad to announce the appearance of a
second edition.
Physikalisches Repetitorium, 6f*c,f 6r»c. Von Dr. Ferdi-
nand Bothe. Second Edition, revised and enlarged
(Brunswick: Vieweg, 1871.)
A BRIEF enumeration of the more prominent facts and
formulae of physics ; carefully divided into subjects, and
with occasional dates and names of inventors or disco-
verers. We conceive that to make an excellent work of
this kind (if such a thing be at all desirable), all that is
necessary, is to take a really good treatise on natural phi-
losophy and construct something between an Index to,
and an Abstract of, its contents. It seems probable
that some such process has been employed by Dr. Bothe ;
but either he cannot have used a trustworthy book for
analysis, or his analysis is not a faithful one. In fact, if
we look on it seriously, a more painful volume we have not
often met with ; nor a more amusing one, if we coidd fancy
its blunders intended to amuse. We simply open its pages
at hazard, and make a few pickings : —
" 64. The density and resilience {Spannkraft) increase
in proportion to the pressure, the volume is mversely as
the pressure, and vice versd—BoyWs or Mariotte's Law,
1679." James Bernoulli was a contemporary of these
men, and says in his work, " De Gravitate Aetheris,"
" Veritas utriusque hums regulae manifesta fit duobus
curiosis experimentis ab Illustr. Dn. Boylio banc in rem
factis, quae videfis [sic] in Tractatu ejus contra Linum.''
The date of this tract of Boyle's is 1662, and it is to be
observed that Bernoulli does not mention Mariotte at
all. We notice, in passing, that Young's name is not
mentioned under Capillarity, and we arrive at the follow-
ing curiosity : — " 140. Unit of momentum or of work
(ArMt) is the force {Kraft) which can in one second
commimicate to unit of weight a velocity of unit of
lengUi. (Its) metrical measure is the kilogramme-m^tre ;
in Prussia, England, &c., the foot-jwund." But we beg
Dr. Bothe's pardon. We had no right to render Arbett
by " work," which is its usual equivalent in scientific books ;
for looking back we find : — " 1 29. The product of the
weight of a body into its velocity is called Momentum,
and aAsoArMt^ ! It is scarcely possible to conceive a
more hopeless jumble of essentiadly different things than
these sentences exhibit. The Heliotrope is (468) ascribed
to Gauss, 1830 (?). Did not Drummond use it in 1826?
471 gives Bunsen and Kirchhoff the credit of the spectro-
scope, with its collimator, &c. What of Swan ? As to the
equality of absorption and radiation, Angstr6m is given
without date, Stokes and Balfour Stewart not mentioned.
'* 472. The planets and comets (!) send back only the rays
which the sun has sent to them." 484. In the enumera-
tion of the earliest attempts to produce photographic im-
pressions, there is no mention of Wedgwood, &c 558.
No mention is made of Northmore, whose long priority in
the liquefaction of gases was insisted on by Faraday. 592.
The old story of Mayer and the dynamical theory of heat
His date is given as 1842 ; Davy and Rumford (who did all
that is referred to in the text more than forty years before)
are not mentioned. Joule is coupled with Clausius, and the
date 1 85 3 is assigned to them! OfCarnot,Colding,Rankine,
Thomson, &c., not a word. 598-600. The experimental
laws of heat of combination are very imperfectly given,
and, without any mention of Andrews and Hess, handed
to Thomsen and Favre and Silbermann, with the date
1853 ! 666. The similarity of the order of bodies con-
sidered separately as conductors of heat and electricity is
given to Wiedemann and Franz in the same prolific year.
Surely Forbes pointed it out twenty years earlier ! So far
as we have seen. Sir W. Thomson, Clerk- Max well, &c ,
are not even named in the book.
If the reader remember that these are merely the things
which have caught our eye in turning over the pages at
random, he will not blame us for absolutely declining to
examine the work more closely. A series of worlung
tables is appended, but without very close examination we
should hesitate to trust them, after what we have seen of
the character of the book. That we have noticed it at all
is due to the circumstance that some consolation is to be
derived from the mere fact of its existence. We are all
(in consequence, perhaps, of recent events) more or less
imbued with the notion that Germany (Prussia especially)
is rapidly taking the lead in matters of scientific education
and investigation ; and no doubt there is some truth in
this. But the game is not lost, we are not yet passed in
the race, and our old supremacy is quite within our reach
even now, provided we make speedy and sufficient exer-
tions to regain and maintain it It will not drop into our
mouths for a mere wish ; but is it reasonable to wonder at
the state of science in tliis country, where so few states-
men pay the least attention to it, when we find that even
in eiUightened Prussia, such a book as the above can be
written by a recognised teacher, and published in a second
edition by one of the highest firms in the world ?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible fir opinions expressed
by his corrapondetUs. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications. ]
Proof of Napier's Rules
I AM greatly obliged to ** J. J. W." for pointing out the objec-
tion of a want of generality in the constroction of the figure con-
tained in my former letter (in Nature, No. 106), for the proof
of Napier's Kales ; which the more general construction nonr
descrihKxl by "J.J. W." most simply and most cfTectually re-
moves. To illustrate his more perfect general construction with
a figure— D is the centre, and B12B' a part of the circumference
of a circular piece of cardboard, upon which the arcs Be, 12 are
taken equal to the sides of the right-angled spherical triangle
which it is required to represent If we join DB, Di, D2, and
draw BC, CA perpendicular to Di, D2, the latter perpen-
dicular prolonged meeting; the circle of the circumference in B',
and join DB' ; and on A B' as diameter describe the semicircle
AC'B' ; and with the centre A, and radios AC, another circle,
meeting the semicircle in C, so that the straight line AC is equal
to AC ; and join FC. Then it is easily shown that if AC CB
are the two sides, AB' is the hypothenuse of a right-angled
triangle, which, when the four triangles are closed together so as
to form a solid figure, will coincide with the triangle AC'B'. As
BC (or B'C) will then be perpendicular both to CD and to CA
(or CA), it will be perpendicular to the plane DCA ; and the
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142
NATURE
\_Dec. 21, 1871
arc 6x, which is in the same plane with it» will be at right angles
to the arc 12. The third arc 2B' will therefore be the hypo-
thenuse of a right-angled spherical triangle, of which Bi, 12, are
the two sides. Calling these arcs or the angles of the faces re-
sented by them, ayb^e, and the angles oppKisite to them in the
spherical triangle, A,R,C, the proof of Napier's Rules, with this
solid figure, proceeds by the same direct steps as those already
described, with a special example of the Bgure in my former
letter. As the construction there described is confineid to the
representation of a particular kind of right-angled spherical
triangle, and is therefore inapplicable to iHustrate the proof of
Napier*s Rules experimentally in every given case, the general
construction supplied by "J. J. W.," which is limited by no such
restrictions, and which is at least equally convenient, will evi-
dently serve more effectively the same practically useful and in-
structive purpose.
Instead of *' accessible," as applied to the difficulties of the
geometrical proofs produced by Mr. Cooley in his letter on
" Elementary Geometry *' (in Nature, No. 103), which are
indeed there obviously overcome, I would have used the word
'* surmountable " as more descriptive of geometrical difficulties,
properly treated and discussed, had the word inmiediately pre-
sented itself to me ; but having often found an easily executed
model extremely useful and convenient in practical applications
of Napier's Rules, with whose design, as a general resource to
facilitate their study, I was not, however, so fully satisfied, I
appUed, perhaps unconsciously, to Mr. Cooley's demonstrations
a term expressing strictly only the diffidence with which I ven-
tured to present to readers of Nature my own very imperfect
geometrical contrivance. In thus making my difficulties acces-
sible to " J.J. W.,'* I very gratefully aclmowledge the assistance
which I have derived from his remarks on my letter in Nature,
No. iii., and I cheerfully admit the merit and superiority of the
general rule for constructing a proper model in cardboard, to
illustrate the proofs of Napier's Rules, and to facilitate their
study, which he has kindly consented to describe.
Newcastlc-on-Tyne, Dec 16 A. S. Herschel
Alternation of Generations in Fungi
I AM sure that the Rev. M.J. Berkeley will exonerate me from
any deliberate intention to misrepresent him; nor do I think
that there is, after all, much difference of opinion between us
regarding the present subject, unless, perhaps, that I am more
sceptical I alluded to the paper cited by him from the " Journal
of the Horticultural Society," on propagation of bunt spores, and
not to his communications on the hop or vine mildew. I was
under the impression that he regarded the "four consecutive
forms of reproductive cells in Uie bunt" as an instance of
alternation of generations. On reference to the original paper,
I find that he did not go so far then as to indicate four consecu-
tive forms of reproductive cells ; but that Tulasne followed on
his track in 1854, and in 1857 Mr. Berkeley seemed to have
accepted the results of Tulasne's observations, since, in his " In-
troduction," he gives figures at page 318, in the description of
which the following phrases occur: — '* spores of the second
order, " " spores of the third order," ** spores of the fourth order."
Here are the '*four consecutive forms of reproductive cells" to
which I mllnded. At page 321 he writes concerning the bunt :
— ** The spores, however, are not immediate means < . . _
tion ; they are, in fact, only a sort of prothallus, from which the
mycelium grows, producing at the tips, or on lateral branchlets,
bodies of various forms, which are themselves capable of germi-
nation, and immediately reproduce the species." The real
issue between us seems to lie in the phrase, "alternation of
generations." If the bunt spores, on germination, produce
fusiform bodies, which, after conjuption, produce short
cylindrical spores, and thus intermediate reproductive cells
unlike the parent cell come between that and the ultimate repro-
duction of the species, I am induced to call it an ''alternation
of generations. It would be waste of time to discuss phrases,
or I might take exception to the application of this phrase to the
Erysiphei, The conidia and pycnidia of the hop mudew may be
developed without sporangial conceptades, and the parasite
reproduced without sporangial fruit, but I cannot recognise alter-
nation of generations in the reproduction of a species by means
of conidia, stylospores, or sporidia, or by one of these alone. If
such may be construed into an alternation of generations, it must
be by permitting greater elasticity to the phrase. Conidia ^r-
minating and producing pycnidia, the stylospores of the pycmdia
germinating and producing sporangial conceptacles, containing
the sporidia which, upon germination, will prcfduce the mycelium
and conidia again, retummg to the original form after two or
three consecutive departures from it, appears to me a perfect type
of alternation of generations. I fully admit that *' if it is once
established that a Pucdnia produces an iCddium, or aniEcidium
a Puccinia, we should have a clear case, especially when the
third form reverts to the first again." Without the slightest
desire to "depreciate the labours of Oersted and De Bary," I
cannot admit that they have established facts until their obser-
vations are confirmei, especially when there is an evident possi-
bility of their having been deceived. I shall have no hesitation
in accepting the facts when they are confii-::ied by independent
and equally trustworthy observers, although I may be unable to
account for some of the phenomena. At present I must confess
that I am not so sanguine as Mr. Berkeley appears to be.
The correspondent signing himself " Mycelium " wishes to
know if " the liability to produce parasitic fungi is communicated
from the seed to the mature plant. In some instances we know
such to be the case, in others perhaps only suspect it The
" bunt " is an instance, or why the steeping of seed com ? or how
did the Rev. M. J. Berkeley succeed in producing bimted wheat
plants from seed com inoculated with bunt spores? Two or three
years since I published particulars of a simiUr instance of celery
seed and Puccinia Apii, It would be as rash to afiirm that this
is always the case as to deny its occurring at aU.
M. C. Cooke
In Re Fungi
The letters in your last two numbers have reminded me how
ill this subject is studied by some botanists in this country. I
will give two recent instances : I. In the last number of the
Journal of Botany ^ p. 383, it is positively stated that Agaricus
cartilaginem (a rare and very critical spedes by the way) was de-
termined by a growth which is there described a mere mass oj
mycelium. He must have been a bold man who ventured to
name an agaric (above all things) from a mass of mycelium,
2. In the first number, October 1871, of the new edition of
"Paxton's Botanical Dictionary" — ''enlarged and revised" —
under the artide Agaricus there is to be found such a collec-
tion of obsolete names and absurd errors as to make the article
simply ridiculous. W. G. S.
Mr. Lowne and Darwinian Difficulties
Mr. Lowne (Nature, December 7) sees no difficulty what-
ever in explaining by what natural process an insect with a suc-
torial mouth is developed from one having the mandibular tjrpe
of mouth, but still he does not explain. He affirms there is no
doubt that "the pupa state is a modification (!) of the ordinary
process of skin shedding," and that this is "proved " by so many
facts that he cannot understand how it could be " denied," &c.,
but he does not prove it.
For aught I can tell, every internal tissue and every external
scale of the butterfly may be represented in the larva ; but I do
not know and cannot prove that this is so, nor do I believe any
one can prove it. That the changes which take place during the
pupa state are very different from those that occur during any
portion of the larva period, will be admitted by every one who
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NATURE
143
has kept silkwonns or bred butterflies. The assertion that there
is absolutely only a difierence in the time at which the successive
skins are formed in this and in ordinary ecdysis, is but assertion
on the part of Mr. Lowne. Indeed, controversy becomes profit-
less if authority is to be substituted for fact, and an attempt made
to silence opponents and stop inquinr by such positive assertions
as the above and the following : — ** The imaginal skin is likewise
derived from cells laid down m contact with the imaginal discs."
If Mr. Lowne will be so good as to explain what no books tell
me, and I &U to make out myself, I will study what he says with
great attention, and thank him heartily. He knows me well
enough to feel assured that I would do so ; but it is useless, and
he must permit me to say that it is not in good taste, for him to
conmient about the " return of darkness," and to use expressions
more positive and arbitrary than are called for.
Let us, if we can, get at the facts concerning some of these
marvellous changes. For this there is nothing like discussion,
carried on with care and consideration, even for an opponent ;
and though the fittest may be certain that he will survive, don't
let any one be in too great haste to proclaim himself either sur-
Tivor or fittest, or call himself strong and others weak, as has
been done once already by one distinguished evolutionist Evo-
lution is a much quieter and far more complex process than some
enthusiasts would have us believe.
Mr. Lowne appeals to the fly. By all means let the fly be the
subject of our inquiries. Of this creature he says, the nervous
system undeigoes modification but not degeneration. Now I
ask, what part of the nervous system that is present in the
maggot can Mr. Lowne find in the fly ? I have studied both fly
and maggot carefully, have worked at the matter long, and have
utterly^led to find a trace of the nerve tissue of the maggot in
the fly. Not only so, but I find the nerves of the fly as different
as are the muscles firom those of the nu^got The latter are
altogether distinct in structure and in action. They contract at
a very different rate, and are very different in many particulars.
Again, I must ask Mr. Lowne if he has seen any vestige of the
mouth oigans in the larva, for he says : — ** It is the mouth
organs of the larva which are new formations, not those of the
imago.*' I have failed in my attempts to find any traces. There
are other assertions about the alimentary canal and the sexual
organs which are not proved. Does Mr. Lowne mean to say,
for instance, tha^ he or anyone else can adduce any reliable ob-
servations to prove that "the sexual organs are gradually deve-
loped, even from the time when the embryo is enclosed in the
egj" ? On p. 112 of his book on this very matter he says that
he has not been able to verify Dr. Weissmann's assertion as to
their presence, even in the lazVa ; and now he suggests they exist
in the ^g !
But I must ask Mr. Lowne to explain what he means by saying
in hisJetter, that it is an "utter mistake to suppose that any in-
sect is re-developed during the pupa state," and that the nervous
system " never undergoes degeneration ;" because on p. 1 16 of his
own book, published only last year, I find the following passage :
"All the tissues of the larva undergo degeneration^ and the
imaginal tissues are re-developed . . . under conditions similar
to those appertaining to the formation of the embryonic tissues
from the yolk " I Lionel S. Beale
The Auditory Nerves of Gasteropoda
In your issue for October 26, I notice an account of Leydig's
recent paper on the auditory organ of the Gasteropoda, which,
though excellent in other respects, has an error of omission which
I should like to see rectified. When so important a discovery
for morphology is discussed as that of the innervation of the
otolithic sac from the supra-cesophageal in place of the sub-
oesophageal ganglion which is its apparent connection in all
Gasteropoda (excepting the Heteropodous forms), the credit of it
should be given to the right man. That man is the most eminent
and accurate of French comparative anatomists — M. Lacaze-
Duthiers. Prof. Leydig states m the b^inning of his own paper
that Lacaze-Duthiers* statements on this subject (published in the
Comptes Rendus about three years ago, if my memory serves me,
and curiously mistranslated, sus-auophagien being rendered sttd'
cesophageal in one of the first numbers of the Monthly Micros-
ccH>ical Journal), caused him to direct his attention agam to this
subject, and he has, as a result, confirmed the observations of the
French savant, which were in opposition to the previously-received
views of all observers, himseU and Leydig included. Germany
has a host of indefatigable anatomists, and the services of Franz
Leydig, of Tubingen, are brilliant enough to eclipse most zooto*
mical reputations; but let us not, at this moment above all others,
forget to do justice, when the opportunity occurs, to a naturalist
whose comprehensive, accurate, and beautiful zootomical mono-
graphs, rich in discoveries, have done more than those of any
other Frenchman to sustain the great name of Cuvier's school.
Naples, Dec. 8 K R. Lankester
DR, CARPENTER AND DR. MA YER
AT the Anniversary Dinner of the Royal Society on
November 30, I was honoured by a request from the
President to say a few words in acknowledgment of the
toast to the Copley Medalist. I did so, stating briefly the
origin of my acquaintance with Dr. Mayer's writings.
Though Dr. Carpenter at the time was within sight of me,
it did not occur to me to introduce his name into my
remarks. A few days afterwards I was favoured by a
letter from Dr. Carpenter, in which he reminds me some-
what sharply of this and other lapses as regards himself,
and requests me to rectify the omission by a brief com-
munication to the Athenceum or to Nature. It will
be fairer to Dr. Carpenter, and more agreeable to me, if
he would state his own case in extenso. Here is his
letter :—
" University of London, Burlington Gardens, W.,
" December 5th, 1871.
" My dear Tyndall,— If I correctly apprehended what
you said at the Dinner of the Royal Society in regard to
Dr. Mayer, you repeated what you had previously stated
in your Lecture at the Royal Institution in 1863, as to
the entire ignorance of Mayer's work which prevailed in
this country until you brought it into notice on that
occasion.
*• Now, I very distinctly remember that a few days pre-
viously to that Lecture, I mentioned to you that as far
back as 1851 I had become acquainted, through the late
Dr. Baly, with one of Dr. Mayer's earlier publications ;
and that, in bringing before the readers of the British
and Foreign Medical Review (of which I was then the
Editor) the * Correlation ' doctrine, as developed in
Physics by Grove, and in Physiology by myself, I had
stated that we had both been to a great extent anticipated
by Mayer — as I should have shown much more fully if the
pamphlet had earlier come into my hands.
** I also most distinctly remember that, as you stated in
that Lecture, no one in this countrv — *not even Sir
Henry Holland, who knows everything* — ^had ever heard
of Mayer, I spoke to you again on the subject a few days
afterwards ; and that you then expressed your regret at
having entirely forgotten what had previously passed be-
tween us on the subject.
"As it would seem that this second mention of the matter
has also passed from your mind, I shall be obliged by your
looking at the passages I have marked in pp. 227 and 237
of the accompanying volume, from which I think that you
will be satisfied that I had at that date correctly appre-
hended Mayer's fundamental idea, and that I have done
the best to put it before the public that I could under the
circumstances — ^the article having been in type and ready
for press before his pamphlet came into my hands.
" Since, in thus bringing forward Mayer, I spontaneously
abdicated the position to which I had previously believed
myself entitled, of having been the first to put forward
the idea that all the manifestations of Force exhibited
by a living organism have their source ab extra, and not
— as taught by physiologists up to that time — ab intra^ I
venture to hope that you will do me the justice of stating
the real facts of the case in a short communication either
to the AthencEum or to Nature. — I remain, my dear
Tyndall, yours faithfully, " William B. Carpenter
" Prof. Tyndall."
. This letter was accompanied by a volume of the
MedicO'Chirurgical Review^ containing an article headed,
" Grove, Carpenter, &c., on the Correlation of Forces,
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NATURE
[Dec. 21, 1871
Physical and Vital." As I am very anxious that my
amende to Dr. Carpenter should be all that he could de-
sire, I shall deem it a favour to be permitted to publish
in Nature the passages to which, by marginal pencil
marks, he has directed my attention. The first of them
is this : —
** We now come to the memoir ' On the Mutual Rela-
tions of the Vital and Physical Forces,' communicated to
the Royal Society by Dr. Carpenter, which bears date
June 20, 1850, and which is published in the * Philosophical
Transactions' for last year. This, we believe, is the first
systematic attempt that has been made, in this country at
least, to work out the subject, and, as it is mainly an
expansion of the ideas which had been put forth in our own
pages at the beginning of 1848, the author may claim
priority as regards the enunciation and development of
the idea, both of Dr. Fowler and Dr. Radcliffe, although
to a certain degree anticipated by Mr. Newport. We
shall presently find, however, that both these gentlemen
were themselves anticipated in a quarter they little guessed,
and the whole case is obviously one of a kind of which
the history of physiology as well as of other sciences
furnishes many examples, in which a connecting idea,
developed in another department of inquiry, struck many
individuals at once as applicable to die same class of
facts, and was wrought out by them in different modes,
and with various degrees of success, according to their
previous habits of thought."
The impersonal way in which this and other passages
of the article distribute merit among scientific authors
caused me to ask Dr. Carpenter who wrote it. His reply
to me was " I thought I had made it sufficiently plain
to you that the article was written by myself."
Here follow the other marked passages quoted in
full : —
" We must not omit, however, to give our readers some
account of the remarkable production of Dr. Mayer, who
seems to have arrived at conclusions in all essential
respects similar to those of Prof. Grove and Dr. Carpenter
previously to the publication of the first edition of the
* Correlation of the Physical Forces,' though subsequently
to the delivery of the lectures in which Prof. Grove first
announced his views and to the publication of the abstract
of them. Of the existence of this treatise we have only
recently been made aware, and we venture to affirm that
Prof. Grove and Dr. Carpenter were alike ignorant of it.
We bring it before the public now, both as an act of
justice to its author, and also because it affords additional
evidence in favour of the Correlation doctrine, that it
should have been independently worked out by a clear
and intelligent thinker.
"The first part of Dr. Mayer's treatise is concerned
entirely with physical forces. He starts with the two
axioms, ' £x nihilo nil fit,' and ' Nil fit ad nihilum,' and
founds upon abstract considerations his first argument for
the unity of force, and for the convertibility of those
which are commonly accounted distinct forces. Of this
convertibility he then proceeds to adduce experimental
proof, in very much the same mode with Prof. Grove,
and he at last arrives at the following scheme expressive
of their relations.
Mechanical Force.
Mechanical Effect.
1. Force of Gravity,
2. Motion.
A. Simple.
B. Undulating, vibratory.
i 3. Heat.
Imponderables. < 4. Magnetism, Electri-
( city. Galvanic ctirrent
5. Chemical decomposi-
tion of certain ele-
ments.
Chemical combination
of certain other ele-
ments.
Chemical
Force.
" He then passes on to the study of vital phenomena,
and he finds, like Dr. Carpenter, the source of all change
in the living oi-ganism, as well animal as vegetable, in
the forces acting upon it ab externa; whilst the changes
in its own composition he considers to be the immediate
source of the forces which are generated in it. He
does not enter, like Dr. Carpenter, into an analysis of
the phenomena of growth and development, but fixes his
attention rather upon the production of heat, light, elec-
tricity, and (above all) motion by living bodies, and aims
to show that all these forces are developed in the course
of material changes in the organism, and hold a certain
definite relation to them. On these points his exposition
is very full and complete, and the perusal of his essay
will amply repay any who desire to see how much may be
done in imparting precision and clearness to physiological
reasoning by minds trained in the school of exact science."
To these passages I would add one other brief quotation
regarding the conversion of heat into electricity : —
** Of the production of electricity by heat, the
phenomena first brought into view by Seebeck, and known
under the name of * thermo-electricity,' afford the most
characteristic example. When dissimilar metals are made
to touch, or are soldered together, and are heated at the
point of contact, a current of electricity is set in motion,
which has a definite direction according to the metal
employed, and which continues as long as an increasing
temperatture is pervading them, ceasing when the tempera-
ture is stationary, and fiowing in the contrary direction
whilst it is decreasing" (pp. 213-14).
Having thus, it may be tardily, done justice to Dr.
Carpenter, a very few words regarding his letter will com-
plete the subject.
1. Dr. Carpenter has not correctly apprehended what I
said at the dinner of the Royal Society in regard to Dr.
Mayer. Neither at that dinner nor on any other occasion
did I say that the ignorance of Mayer's labours in this
country was ^^ entire.^*
2. I have not been altogether unmindful of Dr. Car-
penter's desire to have his name mentioned in con-
nection with this subject. In the printed report of
the lecture referred to by Dr. Carpenter, delivered
not in 1863 but in 1862, and published in the Pro-
ceedings of the Royal Institution for that year,
these words appear—" Mayer's physiological writings
have been referred to by physiologists— by Dr. Car-
penter, for example — in terms of honouring recogni-
tion. We have hitherto, indeed, obtained fragmentary
glimpses of the man, partly from physicists, partly from
physiologists ; but his total merit has never yet been
recognised as it assuredly would have been had he chosen
a happier mode of publication."
3. If this be not sufficient, my error was one of ignor-
ance, not of will ; for it is an entirely new idea to me that
Dr. Carpenter regarded his relationship to Dr. Mayer in
the light of a " spontaneous abdication," and it explains
to mc, what I could not previously understand, the im-
portance attached by Dr. Carpenter to the passages above
quoted.
4. I have looked at p. 227, and, indeed, throughout the
entire article in the Medico-Chirurgical Review (and else-
where), for evidence to prove that " at that date " (or at
any other date). Dr. Carpenter had "correctly appre-
hended Mayer's fundamental idea," which is that of
quantitative or numerical equivalence. Had I found such
evidence, it would give me sincere pleasure to reproduce
it here, but my search for it has not been successful
5. This however entirely depends on my ability to
appreciate such evidence. Holding the opinion that he
does regarding the claims of his work to public recogni-
tion, Dr. Carpenter is perfectly consistent in demandmg
that even in an after-dinner speech those claims shall not
be ignored
John Tyndall
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145
THE GEOLOGY OF OXFORD''
PROFESSOR PHILLIPS'S new work on the Geology
of Oxford and of the Thames Valley is a most im-
portant contribution to the knowledge of the ancient his-
tory of the earth, and supplies a need which happens just
at this time to be keenly felt. The Palaeozoic rocks had
been described and the form s of life which they contain
unfolded, in ^ Siluria." The second, or Mesozoic chapter,
is written with remarkable ability in the present work.
Fig. T.—MecalosauraA^hind leg. Scale, one>tenth of nature.
This rtstoration in outline of the left hind lirob of Megalosaunis is ^awn from specimens, with the exception of the fibula, calnneum, and
ordinary phalangal bones— the claw-bone is known. Dotted lines repiesent the probable position of the pubic and ischial bones (acoordiac to the
view ot ]m»fessor Huailey) ; these bein^ preserved in the British Museum and in the collections of the Umversity of Oxford.
The principal bones are marked :— il. = ilium, pub. = pubis, isch. = ischium, fem. = femur, tib. = tilria, fib. = fibula, c = calcaneum, a. =
astragalus. Cuvier supposed the calcaneum to be smaller than here represented.
The position of Oxford relatively to the formations which
traverse Britain diagonally from the north-east to the
south-west, equidistant on the one hand from the Malvern
Hills which overlook the low-lying vale of Tewkesbury,
* " Geoloffy of Oxford and the Valley of the Thames.** By John Phillips,
IIJC, f5X. F.O.S. (Oxford Clarendon Press : sSji).
and on the other from the basin of the Lower Thames,
renders it a convenient centre around which to group
observations which are primarily local, but which also affect
the general question of Mesozoic Geology. In its latter
aspect the book demands a most careful attention. The
large number gf plates ftn4 the carefully prepared lists
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NATURE
{Dec. 21, 1871
Fig. 8.— Ilium of Cetcosaurus, seen on the external face. Scale, one-tenth of nature, a b. The acctabu!u
Fig. 3. — ScapuUe of Ceteosaunu. Scale, one.tenth of nature.
of fossils will be welcomed by all palaeontologists ; and
those who enjoyed the advantage of studying geology at
Oxford will fiind in this book the sabject-matter of many
of the lectures, and will have recalled to their minds the
many pleasant associations connected with the expeditions
of the Professor.
The work, as might be expected from the great and
varied knowledge of the writer, is many-sided. In it the
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physical geograiAer will find the delicate questions of physicist the temperature and the prevailine winds • and
denudation, and of the excavation of hill and vaUey, dis- ' the surveyor the position and thickness of the various
cussed ; the meteorologist will find the rain-faU tabulated ; strata from the Malvems eastward to London
the hydraulic engineer the amount of water which is ; Prof. PhiUips has, however, devoted his maii strength to
available for the use of Oxford and of London; the i the description of the wondrous forms of reptilian life which
Fig. 4.— Femora and Fibula of Ceteosaurus. Scale, one-tenth.
The left-hand figure represents the specioaen found in 1848 : the right-hand figure that found in 1868 ; in the middle a small fibub found in 1848 is
MaOWJXa
have been furnished by the neighbourhood of Oxford, and
which are preserved in a museum which is worthy of an old
and wealthy University. The description of the Megalo-
saurus, and especially of the Ceteosaurus, is a most valu-
able addition to Palaeozoology.
We owe to Prof Huxley the clue to the right interpreta-
tion of the bones of boUi these animals, and the right
definition of the whole group of Deinosauria, or Ornithoske-
lida, to which they belong, as being intermediate in cha-
racter between the struthious birds and the reptiles. To ti^is
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NATURE
[Dec. 21, 1871
conclusion, however, he was largely aided by Prof. Phillips, Stonesfield had been assigned to its true position in the
and that it is true is rendered almost certain by the I skeleton of its possessor, and the so-called " clavicle "
independent observations of Prof. Cope on the fossil j shown to be in all probabihty a long, stiliform, bird-like
reptiles of America. When the large pelvic bone from ' ischium, there could no longer be any doubt as to the
Fic. 5.— Head of Megalosaurus. Scale, one-tenth of nature. . _
Restoration of the head and lower jaw, of which, however, only the anterior portions are known. These are shaded. The type ot vannus
Aii«««.^.i :. .^..^.-.i 1 ., tA. ^^^^.ju:t,Zi ._ ^-1 :_ .i:dr.-JL.. A- 1 : 1. ^i v.: 1....1 r-^_ .^...:^..:.,» :oi>anA and othcT uzards
continuauon of the jugaL This may be objected to. The nasal cavity is supposed to be divided by a median rid^e (the single lusal oontmuous
with the intermaxiUary bone) into two openmgs, as in some of the monitors. The intermaxillary bones, which origmally included four teeth each,
appear united to the maxillary in this adult specimen.
kind of animal to which it belongs. The massive an-
chylosed sacrum of five vertebrae, and the whole arrange-
ment of the pelvic arch, as well as the peculiar form of
Fig. 6L--Mega]o«aurus. Scale^ one-tenth of nature.
The left aspect of the shoulder cirdle u here restored in outline from
specimens in the Oxford Museum, which are complete except in regard to
the lower end of the humerus. It will be remarked how bird like in the
general arrangement and the forms of the bones is the humero*scapuUr
structure, and specially how closely it resembles Apteryx.
T. Scapula. a. Caracoid. 3. Humerus.
the astragalus and the shape of the coracoid and scapula,
indicate a close alliance with the birds; while, on the
other hand, the rest of the structure is mainly reptilian.
The specimens which are preserved in the Oxford
Museum, and which have been figured by Prof.
Phillips, afford a very complete idea of the creature. The
magnificent upper maxillary described by Prof. Huxley
in the "Geological Journal," enables the front portion
of the cranium to be restored with considerable certainty,
and the accompanying woodcut (Fig. 5) may be taken to
represent the entire head.
The premaxillaries of the Megalosaurus from the Oxford
clay, in the collection of Mr. James Parker, are traversed
by foramina which may indicate the presence of a small
homy beak, x>r snout
The arrangement of the shoulder girdle may be seen
in Fig. 6, in which i = Scapula ; 2 = Coracoid ; and
3= Humerus, as well as that of the pelvic arch and
hind leg (Fig. x), and the comparison of the two dia-
grams, will show the enormous disproportion of the hind
to the fore limb in respect of size. All these three figures
are drawn to one-tenth of natural size, and enable us to
realise the form of one of the most remarkable of the
fossil reptiles. The recent discovery of a nearly perfect
skeleton by Mr. James Parker establishes the fact that
some, at least, of the opistho-ccelian vertebras, on which
the genus Streptospondylus has been based by Prof.
Owen, belong really to this animal In point of time,
the Megalosaurus lived from the liassic to the Wealden
age, and was one of the most formidable inhabitants of
the great Mesozoic continent. The pains and labour
which Prof. Phillips has bestowed in collecting and
putting together the fragments and disjecta memdra of the
animal, and the carefiu criticism to which he has sub-
jected each bone, render this portion of the work pecu-
liarly valuable.
Nor is the chapter on the most gigantic of the fossil
reptiles, the Ceteosaurus, inferior in interest to that which
relates to Megalosaurus. The bones discovered in the
Great Oolite at Enslow Bridge, near Oxford, in 1870,
settled for ever all doubt as to the animal having been
aquatic or terrestrial. The scapula (Fig. 3) and the
ilium (Fig. 2) resemble in general outline those of
Megalosaurus, and show tkat the animal belongs to the
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NATURE
149
same Deinosaurian class, although "its fore limbs are
more crocodilian," and " its pelvic girdle more lacertian."
And the evidence offered by the articular ends of the
bones of the extremities being adapted for movement in
particular directions, the possession of large claws, and
the hollowness of the long bones, indicate that it was of
terrestrial, and not, as its name seems to imply, of marine
habit. It may, however, have been, as Prof. Phillips
suggests, "a marsh-loviag or river-side animal." Its
gigantic size may be gathered from the fact that one of
the femora measures no less than 64, and a humerus 51*5
inches (Fig. 4).
Nor is there evidence wanting as to its diet. From the
mutilated fragment of a tooth in the Oxford Museum,
Pr.>f. Phillips infers that its possessor lived on vege-
tables, since it resembled "that of an iguanodon in gene-
ral shape (as far as can be known, one edge being broken),
with a similar sweep of the concave surface seen in the
diagram, and corresponding alternation towards the edge.
The edge is not serrated, but the striae of accretion are so
arranged as to suggest that it may have been." The
truth of this conclusion is proved by the subsequent dis-
covery of a nearly perfect crown by Mr. Burrows, one
of my students, in the Enslow Quarry, which has very
much the appearance of a young tooth. It presents the
serrations which have been worn away in the specimen
above described^ and bears out completely Prof.
Phillips's description.
I have chosen merely these two animals as illustrating the
subject-matter of the book, which is in every sense worthy
of the high reputation of its author. W. B. D.
PARTHENOGENESIS AMONG THE LEFT-
DOPTERA
THE port of the Archives N^erlandaises, published
by the Society Hollandaise des Sciences k Harlem,
for 1870, contains the results of some very interesting ex-
periments undertaken by M. H. Weijenbergh, jun., on
the above subject, one fraught with considerable interest
to others besides entomologists. By Parthenogensis is
meant the power that is possessed oy females of pro-
ducing egjps endowed with vitality, and from which
young ones are produced, without impregnation taking
place on each occasion. This subject has been extensively
treated by von Siebold in his *' Wahre Parthenogenesis
bei der Schmetterlinge und Bienen,*' Leipzig, 1856, but
confirmatory and new investigations were much needed.
Those of M. Weijenbergh were conducted with every
possible care and precaution, so that they can be re-
lied upon. In the autumn of 1866 he sa;v a male and
female of the species Liparis dispar together, and
some days afterwards he saw in the same place a great
quantity of the eggs, about 500 in number. In order to
leave the rearing of these to natural processes, as far as
possible, he left them exposed all the winter in the open
air, and in April 1867, he removed them into his house.
Before the end of the month the caterpillars had suc-
cessively made their appearance. These were regularly
fed, and by the middle of July each of the chrysalides
which had beenfomicd during June gave birth to a perfect
butterfly. It was easy, with a little practice, to distinguish
the sexes whilst in the caterpillar state, and all the males
were removed as far as possible, and the females were
placed in a box closed to all access from without. So suc-
cessfully was this separation of the sexes effected, that
only one male butterfly made its appearance among the
females; and, as these had been successively removed
to a third closed box as soon as they escaped from
the chrysalis state, it was only necessary to sacri-
fice the three or four females which were in the box
at the time. In all, about sixty females were obtained,
to which there was absolute certainty that no male
could by any possible chance have had access. Of
these, two-thirds laid eggs in the autumn,— some, one,
two, or three eggs only ; others as many as ten or twenty,
but yet even at the most not one-twentieth of the eggs of
their mother. The other one third laid no eggjs at all In
all about 400 eggs were collected, which were removed
and carefully packed up till April 1868, when a large
number of little caterpiUars were seen. These were im-
mediately placed on leaves in a large glass vase and
watched carefully. It was easily to be seen that this
batch of caterpillars possessed far less vitality than those
of the previous year. A large number of the eggs dried
up and were worthless, some fifty caterpillars alone appear-
ing, and of these only about forty survived to become
chrysalides. From these, by the end of July, twenty-
seven butterflies made their appearance. The same pre-
cautions having been taken as before, the number of
females was found to be fourteen. Of these, when again
there had been no possibility of male access, one half laid
^o eggs, the remaining half, however, laying in all
a fair number. As in previous years, these were re-
moved and left all the winter carefully packed up, till, in
April 1869, three years after the commencement of the
experiments, young caterpillars again made their ap-
pearance. From these, strange to say, the number of
butterflies obtained was in excess of those obtained in
the previous year. The number of females as compared
with males, wais almost the same, in contradiction to
the results of other investigators, which had indicated the
probability of the ratio of the males to the females
greatly increasing with each additional year. The eggs
laid by the females of this year, carefully isolated as
before, were packed up during the winter, but when
examined in the spring of last year, 1870, no caterpillars
made their appearance, the eggs became shrivelled up,
and the experiment was at an end. There is every
reason to believe that it was most carefully conducted, and
that every regard was paid to strict accuracy during the
whole three years or more that the experiment was being
carried on. The results amount to these : —
(i.) Aug. 1866, eggs laid by impregnated female ; April
1867, caterpillars appear ; and, in July, perfect butterflies.
(2.) Aug. 1867, eggs laid by females of this year without
impregnation ; Apnl 1868, caterpillars appear, and, in
July, perfect butterflies.
(3.} Aug. 1868, eggs laid by females of this year without
impregnation; April 1869, caterpillars appear, and, in
July, perfect butterflies.
(4.) Aug. 1869, eggs laid by females of this year without
impregnation; April 1870, no results — the eggs all dried
up.
Thus, after the first impregnation of the female in the
autumn of 1866, three successive broods of caterpillars
and, ultimately, of butterflies made their appearance ; and
four successive times were eggs laid without further impreg-
nation, in three of which they proved endowed with vitality.
It would take a long series of experiments, each conducted
with the same care as this, before an average could be
drawn to determine the limit of this strange reproductive
power. These experiments are so easily performed, and
yet so valuable when accurately made, that a wide
field is opened to those who do not care to undertake
long and elaborate scientific investigations, and to such we
most cordially commend them. Their value, as bearing
on the theories of spontaneous generation, is very great,
as there is much apparent probability that this power
of Parthenogenesis will increase as we descend in the
scale of life just as it decreases as we ascend. By its
aid many phenomena, now apparently very strange and
perplexing, will be found to be but obeying one great and
universal law of nature, which becomes less visible the
higher we ascend in the scale of life, but yet never ceases.
In conclusion, it may be stated that this power of Pai-
thenogenesis has been found in many species of butter-
flies, and also among bees ; and M. Weijenbergh, at the
i_/iyiLiz_c7u kjy
<3^'
ISO
NATURE
[Dec. 21, 1871
end of his interesting paper, gives a list of the seventeen
or eighteen species which are known to him, or which
are recorded as possessing this power. It is extremely
probable that the more the subject is investigated, the more
commonly will it be found to exist. J. P. E.
RESULTS OF SANITARY IMPROVEMENT IN
CALCUTTA
WHEN a great public work is being done, it is a
duty to call attention to it. In March 1862, Prof.
Longmore, of Netley, who had acted as Sanitary Officer
during the Mutiny at Calcutta, gave the following e^dence
before the Royal Commission on the sanitary state of the
Indian Army: — ^^'As regards the chief part of this ex-
tensive city (Calcutta)— 3iat inhabited by the native popu-
lation— the pestilential condition of the surface-drains and
yards, and many of the tanks among the huts and houses,
would not be credited by any one who had not been among
them.'' In the ^' Report on Sanitary Improvements in India
up to June 1 87 1," recently printed by the India Office, is
given a table showing that the cholera mortality in Cal-
cutta had, for twenty years preceding 1861, averaged nearly
5, coo deaths per annum. In i860 the cholera deaths were
6>S539 suid in 1866 they were 6,823. About this latter date
works of drainage and water supply were commenced and
have been gradually extended. Water is taken from the
Hooghly and thoroughly filtered — it is then conveyed in
pipes 12^ miles in length to a reservoir in Calcutta and
thence distributed. The whole population had this benefit
conferred on them in the beginning of 1870, from which
date the use of foul tank and river water was discontinued.
The drainage works are as yet confined to the southern
districts, the sewage from which is conveyed to an outfall
at the Salt Lake, and will be passed over a square mile of
reclaimed land there, for irrigation of crops. The mortality
from cholera in 1870 was 1,563, and the general mortality
has fallen year by year with the extension of the works.
Last year (1870) the death-rate was 23*4 per i,coo, con-
siderably less than half what it was in 1865.
At a Social Science meeting held in Calcutta last March,
a native physician, Dr. Chuckerbutty, gave his experience
of the sanitary results as follows : — " I am in the habit of
visiting, in the pursuit of my profession, the houses of the
rich, as well as of the poor, in both divisions of the town,
and I frankly confess that in the southern division, wherever
the drainage works have been brought into play, the dwell-
ings even of the humblest cottagers are in an infinitely
better sanitary state than the mansions of the richest mil-
lionaires in the northern division where the drainage opera-
tions have not been extended. Before the completion of the
water-works and the partial operation of the new drainage
works, the mortality m Calcutta from dysentery, cholera,
and fever, was most appalling. In 1865 dysentery was so
common and fatal that sloughing cases of it were of daily
occurrence. Such cases are now rarely to be seen. My
annual share of cases of cholera in the Medical College
Hospital before the completion of the new water- works
v/as about 700, and I declare to you that, during the last
eight months, I have scarcely had a dozen cases of that
disease. Fever, too, has decreased during the same period
in a like manner.'' The actual deaths from cholera in
April, May, and June, of the present year were 85, 29, and
26, jespectively.
After such results as these, we need not feel surprised
that the Justices of Calcutta, a large proportion of whom
arc enlightened native genUemen, decided unanimously
last August to extend the drainage works all over the city,
notwithstanding the opposition on purely theoretical
grounds of certain British medical ofncers who ou^ht to
have known better, to the use of ordinary house drainage
for Indian houses.
The opinion of the Army Sanitary Commission on this
subject is quoted as follows in the India Office report : —
"The municipal authorities of Calcutta and their officers
have set an example of enlightened administration and
effective expenditure to other Indian municipalities, which
it is hoped will be followed. There are indeed few cities
anywhere which can show so much |^ood work done in
so short a time and with such promising results for the
future."
The laws of nature are the same everywhere, Calcutta
has in times past suffered as London used to do from
fatal fevers and bowel diseases, and there is now every
prospect that a few years of active work will remove this
stigma from the capital of the East, as it has been removed
from the metropolis of the British Empire.
NOTES
The following telegrams respecting the Total Eclipse of
Dec. 12 have been received siace our last : — " From the
Governor of Ceylon to the Earl of Kimberley, dated, Co-
lombo, Dec. 12, 10.45 •^^* ■ — * ^ telegram from Jaffna states
that splendid weather prevailed during the eclipse. Most
satisfactory and interesting observations have been made.'"
"Mangalore, Dec. 16. — ^Tbe eclipse observations have been
very successful. The extension of the corona above hydrogen
apparently small. Five admirable photographs have been
taken." From Mr. Davis, photographer to the English Eclipse
Expedition, through Lord Lindsay: — "Mangalore, Baikal. —
Five totality negatives ; extensive corona ; persistent rifts ; slight
external clianges." The French Academy of Sciences has re-
ceived from M. Janssen the following telegraphic despatch, dated
Octacamimd, December 12, 5h. 20m. : — ** Spectre de la Couronne
attestant mati^re plus loin qu'atmosph^re du Soleil."
We can hardly credit the report which has just reached us
that the Treasury has, at the last moment, declined to sanction
the expenditure of public money on the publication of the Eclipse
Reports of i860 and 1870. We understand the combined report
is now nearly ready, and both Parliament and the nation are en-
titled to receive a statement of the manner in which the public
money has been expended. There are innumerable cases which
may be cited as precedents for the publication of similar docu-
ments by the Government; as, for example, the Survey of
Sinai, and the annual Greenwich Reports of Observations.
After t&e Government has so generously granted money ^ for
recent scientific observations, we can hardly believe that the
spirit of parsimony will so far prevail at the last moment as
to mar, in this manner, the services it has performed towards
Science.
The death is announced on Octol>er 10, in Nicaragua, of fever,
of Dr. Berthold Seemann, one of our most enterprising travellers
and naturalists. Bom at Hanover in 1825, Dr. Seemann
was, in 1846, appointed naturalist to H.M.S. Herald, in its
survey of the Pacific, during which voyage he had the oppor-
tunity of exploring, more thoroughly than almost any other
European, the Pacific countries of South America and the
Isthmus of Panama. In the same vessel he subsequently visited
tlie Arctic regions, and the ** Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S.
Hfrald,*^ by Sir John Richardson and Dr. Seemann, is an im-
portant contribution to the natural history of previously little-
known regions, the portion contributed by the latter comprising
an account of the flora of Western Eskimo-land, north-western
Mexico, the Isthmus of Panama, and the island of Hong-Kong.
In i860 he was sent by the English Government to the Fiji
Islands, then lately acquired, and on his return published two
works, one containing *a narrative of his mission, the other,
under the title of ** Flora Vitiensis,'* a history of the vegetable
productions of the islands. Since 1864, h& has l>een greatly
interested in the mining ca])abilities and other resources of the
Dec. 21, 1871]
NATURE
151
varioas states of Central America, and has spent much of his
time there in the interest of different trading communities,
and in promoting the route across the Isthmus. Dr. Seemann
is the author of several popular botanical works in German
and English, and has been since its foundation, Editor of the
Journal of Botany ^ British and Foreign,
Prof. Sedgwick's appeal for subscriptions from members of
the University of Cambridge, to enable him to purchase the valu-
able collection of fossils belonging to Mr. Leckenby, has resulted
in the collection of the sum required, 800/. Arrangements have
been made for the completion of the purchase, and it is expected
that in a few weeks Mr. Leckenby's valuable collections will be
deposited in the Cambridge Geological Museum. This prompt
and liberal response to the touching appeal of the venerable
Professor demonstrates the regard in which he is universally
and deservedly held by the members of the University.
Thb following is the result of the examination for the Natural
Science* Tripos at Cambridge :— First Class — Garrod, John's;
Lydekker, Trinity ; Lewis, Downing ; Warrington, Caius.
Second Class— W. Edmunds, John's; Fox, Peter's; Read,
John's ; Owen, Downing; Everaid, Trinity ; Maudslay, Trinity-
hall ; Brewer, John's ; Buddon, John's ; Wigan, Trinity ; Blunt,
John's. The following acquitted themselves so as to deserve
ordinary degrees :— Burrows, Caius ; Murphy, John's ; Phelps,
Sydney ; Pittman, Corpus ; Wakefield, Caius. In the second
class Fox and Reed are bracketed, also Brewer, Buddon, and
Wigan.
Next term, Mr. Ruskin, Slade Professor of the Fine Arts at
Oxford, will deliver a couxse of lectures on "The Relation of
Natural Science to Art"
The Government is advertising the appointment, by open
competition, of a clerk to the Curator of the Royal Gardens at
Kew, and of a second assistant in the Herbarium. The salaries
commence at 100/. and 60/. respectively, and the specified age is
in one case from 20 to 30, and in the other firom 18 to 3a The
examinations will take place on January 16.
The following lectures have already been delivered this winter
at Manchester, as Science Lectures for the People :— The first on
November 3 on "Yeast," by ProC Huxley; November 10
" Coal Colours," by Prof. Roscoe ; November 16, "The Origin
of the English People," by Prof. A. S. Wilkini ; November 24,
"The Food of Plants," by Prof. Odling ; December i, "The
Unconscious Action of the Brain," by Dr. Carpenter. These
lectures are always well attended, but since they are all reported
and printed at the low price of a penny each, they appeal to a
mudi wider circle than most of a similar character. This is the
third year of these Science Lectures. The lectures for this
session and those of past years are published by John Heywood,
Deansgate, Manchester.
The Pall Mall GazdU states that the approaching 400th
anniversary of the birth of Copernicus has revived a contest of
long standing between Poland and Germany, each of which
claims the great astronomer as a son. The Germans argue that
he was a German because he was bom in Thorn, which at the
time of his birth was under German rule ; to which the Poles
reply that Thorn was then really a Polish town, having been
separated from Poland only seven years before ; that his father
and mother were Poles ; that when he studied at Padua he en-
rolled himself among the students of the Polish nationality ; and
that throughout his life he gave constant proofs of his attachment
to Poland and her King. Poland has always honoured Coper-
nicus as one of her greatest men. A statue of him was erected
by national subscription many years ago at Warsaw, and there are
two others at Cracow, besides which numerous Polish medals and
books have been issued in celebration of hia memory. The
anniversary above mentioned will be celebrated on the 19th of
February, 1873, and great preparations are already being made
at Posen for the occasion. The " Society of the Friends of
Learning " in the old Polish city held a meeting the other day,
at which it was decided, on the motion of a Polish clergyman.
Canon Polkowski, to offer a prize for the best life of Copernicus,
comprising the results of the latest investigations on the subject,
and to publish it in the Polish, French, and German languages.
With a view towards the completion of the collection of water
colour paintings illustrating the history of that art, Mr. William
Smith, Vice-President of the National Portrait Gallery Trustees,
has allowed Mr. Redgrave, R.A., the Inspector-General for Art,
to select from his choice and valuable collection as many rare
fpedmens as, in Mr. Redgrave's judgment, would illustrate the
early period of the art The works selected by Mr. Redgrave
have been presented by Mr. Smith to the nation.
It has been arranged that the new machines for printing, com-
posing, and distributing type, which have been recently perfected
at the Times printing office, shall be completely exhibited m
working at the London International Exhibition of 1872. The
power of rapid production by these several means is probably
threefold in advance of any existing modes of printing. The
Mail newspaper will be printed three times a week, and if
possible the daily supplement of the Times,
The third part of Mr. W. H. Baily's "Figures of Charac-
teristic British Fossils, with Descriptive Remarks," has just been
published. Part 4, which will complete the first volume, is in
progress ; each part consists of ten beautifully-executed plates,
and the text is interspersed with many woodcuts. These latter
are chiefly of recent forms. The figures are for the most part
original, and this little work most worthily fills up a blank in
biological literature. <
From the commencement of November till December 12,
a period of six weeks, the temperature at London was below
the average, with the break of only a single day. The tables
forwarded weekly by Mr. Glaisher to the Gardener's
Chronkle show the average depression during the whole of
that period to have amounted to as much as 6**5 F. below
the mean of the last fifty years, the minimum being on De-
cember 8, when the thermometer fell to iS^'HS, and the tem-
perature of the twenty-four hours was 19'' 3 below the mean.
Throughout France the month of November was very severe,
the mean temperature of the month having been lower only
four times during the last century. According to statistics pre-
sented to the Academy of Sciences by M. Ch. Sainte-Claire De-
ville, the thermometer fell as low as - ii''^ CCii***; F.) at Mon-
targis on Decembers, while even at Marseilles the remarkably
low temperature (for that latitude) of -2° '5 C. (27" '5 F.) is re-
corded on November 23. During the present month the frost
is stated to have been still more severe in France and Italy,
where much snow has fallen at Rome; and the unusual de-
pression appears to have extended to North America.
The Smithsonian* Report, 1869, contains an account of the
eiuption of the Volcano of Colima in June 1869, by Dr. Charles
Sartorius. The height of the volcano is 1 1, 745 feet, and it had re*
mained in repose since the last eruption in 1818. On June 12,
1869, dense smoke issued from the crater, and violent detonations
were heard. On the 13th smoke and stones were ejected from
the crater, and a "glowing upheaval" of the surface was seen.
It was visited on June 15, when it was found that an upheaval of
some 1 14 feet by 754 feet had taken place, forming a flattened
arch. The appearance was that of a wild mass of volcanic red-
hot rocks heaped one upon another, and constantly in motion,
not unlike freshly-burned lime when sprinkled with water. The
rocks which rolled down were, on cooling, of a grey colour. A
piece broken off rang like glass, and wis vitreoos and porous.
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NATURE
[Dec. 21, 1871
In the middle of the upheaved mass the movement was strongest ;
three large clefts and intense light were displayed, while en-
gulphed stones, which were swallowed up in great masses, were
followed by a noise as of violent wind, and by clouds of smoke
sometimes blue, sometimes yellow. The temperature of the air
in the vicinity was 126^ F. The stones in the midst of the
heaving mass seemed to be softened, though not melted, and no
flow of lava took place. This upheaval had taken place on a
small, flat plain upon the north-east side of the moimtain, it
ascended to the scarp of the cone, and stretched in the direction
of the snow peak, which was some 2f miles distant On reach-
ing this summit the temperature was found to be 41* F. From
here the whole of the new upheaval could be surveyed. In the
middle of it the most vehement movement was in progress, at-
tended by the constant upheaving and descent of rocky masses,
fire, and blue and yellow columns of smoke. The upper ancient
crater has a diameter of 492 feet, and from it arose dense sulphur-
ous vapour. Later explorers found a fissure from the new up-
heaval to the upper peak, i — 3 feet wide and about 3 feet in
depth, but neither heat nor vapour issuing from it Such volumes
of fetid gases issued from the fissure that the inhabitants of the
district were forced to leave their abodes. Cows and sheep were
killed by it, so that it was found necessary to drive away the
herds from the neighbourhood of the volcano.
Prof. Vkrrill has lately given, in the AmerUan Journal
of Scicme, an account of the researches in marine zoology
prosecuted by him during the past summer at Wood's Hole,
Massachusetts, in connection with investigations of Frof. Baird
respecting the food fishes of the coast of the United States ; and
in this he calls the attention of zoologists to some of the more
important features of these examinations, promising a fuller
account hereafter^ One of these results consisted in ascertaining
that, while the shores and shallow waters of the bays and sounds,
as far as Cape Cod, are occupied chiefly by southern forms be-
longing to the .Virginian fauna, the deeper channels and central
parts of Ix)ng Island Sound, as fat as Stonington, Connecticut,
are inhabited almost exclusively by northern forms, or an exten-
sion of the Acadian fauna. Both the temperature observations
at the surface and the deep-sea dredgings prove that there must
be an offshoot of the arctic current settling into the middle of
Vineyard Sound. Quite a number of interesting ascidian«, both
simple and compound, were met with by Prof. Verrill, several
of them entirely new to science. Several new sponges were col-
lected, and also a large number of crustaceans and molluscs
previously unrecorded in that region. We would refer our
readers to Prof. Verrill's article in the November number of the
American youmal 0/ Science for these interesting facts.
Harfct^s Weekly furnishes the following additional information
of the great exploring expedition upon which Prof. Agassiz has
been expecting to engage during the voyage of the Coast Survey
steamer Hcusler^ from Boston to San Francisco, by way of the
Straits of Magellan. The expedition was originally to start as
early ai July or August, and in that event the exploration in
question would have commenced off the coast of the United
States. Owing, however, to unexpected delays, the vessel has
but recently fitted out and reported at Boston, where she has
been detained, undergoing alterations of her machinery. We
have already noticed the general plan and objects of the ex-
pedition. The scientific corps, as will be remembered, consists
of Prof, and Mrs. Agassiz, Count Pourtales, ex-President Hill, o
Cambridge, Dr. White, Mr. James Blake, and Dr. Steindachner,
each gentleman having special charge of a particular department
of the work, and interested in its successful accomplishment.
The vessel itself is under the command of Captain P. C. Johnson,
with Messrs. Kennedy and Day as lieutenants. Owing to the
lateness of the season, the original plan of making extended ex-
plorations in the West Indies and off the eastern coast of South
America has necessarily been modified, and the vessel will pro-
bably proceed almost directly to the Falkland Islands and the
Straits of Magellan, there to commence the comprehensive in-
vestigations proposed, as otherwise a sufficient share of the
summer season of the Straits could not be secured. The
Atlantic Ocean work thus given up will, in all probability,
partly at least, be performed by the A^ D, Bache^ a consort of
the Hassler^ next year.
The American Museum of Natural History, established at
Central Park, New York, has, we learn from Harpet^s IVeekly^
had a most liberal offer made to it The collection of shells of
Dr. John C. Jay, formerly of New York, but now of Rye, is
well kno^m as one of the largest in the world ; indeed, some
years ago it was decidedly the finest in the United States ; and
although, with the lapse of years, the doctor has been less ener-
getic in keeping it up to the present date, yet it forms a cabinet
of magnificent exten*^, embracing, it is said, 14,000 sprcie?,- 20,000
varieties, and 50,000 specimens, and costing many years of
labour, and over 25,000 dols. in money. In addition to this
there is a library of 850 bound volumes, almost approaching
completeness in its extept upon the subject of conchology. This
has cost the doctor 10,000 dols,, many of the works having been
purchased at a time, too, when they were cheaper than at pre-
sent. The doctor now oflers to sell this library to the Museum
of Natural History for the sum of 10,000 dols., and with it to
present the entire collection of shells just referred to, so that the
whole may go together, and form a complete section of the
museum.
Advices from Portland, Oregon, under da*e of November 17,
announce the arrival of Prof O. C. Marsh, with his party of
Yale College students, from an extended geological and palseon-
tological exploration in the Blue Mountains and the John Day
Valley. As might have been anticipated from the previous dis-
coveries of the Rev. Thomas Condon, of Portland, in the same
region, under much less favourable auspices, very extensive col-
lections of fossil animals were made, which, when placed, as in-
tended, in the museum of Yale Collie with those previously
gathered by Profl Marsh, will make a series of the extinct ver-
tebrates of Noith America unequalled in any other cabinet
At the meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists'
Society, held Nov. 18, Mr. Barrett read some further notes on
the coast insects found at Brandon, which he considered con-
firmatory of the opinion expressed by him in a former paper,
that these species have occupied this district, now far inland,
from the time when it was part of the sea-coast Amongst other
coast species mentioned by Mr. Barrett was Agrostis Tritici^ and
of this species he remarked fhat, although it occurs sparingly on
inland heaths, all the specimens are of a dull brown colour,
whilst those found on the sea-coast are generally distinctly marked
and richly coloured ; all those taken by him at Brandon had
precisely the deep style of colour and markings which characterise
it on the sea-coas^ Agrostis cursoria, although very abundant on
the sea-coast, is not to be found at Brandon ; and this Mr. Barrett
considers a very strong proof hat the other strictly littoral
species enumerated have not reached their present situation by
migrating across the intervening land from the present sea-coast
This species he thinks it not improbable was an immigrant from
the eastward at a comparatively recent date, and that it has
attained its greatest abundance on the spot where it first obtained
a footing. It would not, therefore, have been an inhabitant of
this portion of the post-glacial coast
An earthquake shock was felt in New Jersey, Delaware, and
Pennsylvania in the United States, on October 9. At Delaware
it was noticed at 9.40 A. M , and at Philadelphia at the same time«
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Dec.2 I, 1871]
NATURE
153
THE MONOCOTYLEDON THE UNIVERSAL
TYPE OF SEEDS*
1 T must be evident to those who heard my "paper on " Adna-
^ tion in Coniferse " at the Chicago meeting of the Association
that the obs-inatioDS there detailed could scarcely be accounted
for, if the belief be true which is generally held by botanists,
that the leaf originates at the node from which it seems to spring.
It is not, however, an object with me to attack existing theories,
or establish new ones, but simply to present facts as I see them.
The origin of the leaf will no doubt prove a question which will
in time take care of itself. But this generalisation cannot be
avoided by the readers of that paper, that the whole plant is
originally a unity ; and that the subsequent formation of ele-
mentary organs, and their complete development, or absorption
into one another, is the result of varying phases of nutntion.
The leaves in Coniferae were found to be free or united with the
stem in proportion to the vigour of the central axis. Following
up the subject, I now offer some facts which will show that all
seeds are primarily monocotyledonous ; and that division is a
subsequent act, depending on circumstances which do not exist at
the first commencement of the seed growth.
It is well known that in some species of Coniferous plants the
number of cotyledons varies. I have noticed in addition to this
that whether the cotyledons are few or many, there is no increase
in the whole cotyledonous mass. In the Norway spruce, Abia
excdsa^ there are sometimes as many as ten cotyledons, in others
only two. In the latter case they are broad and ovate, while in
the former they are narrow and hair-like ; in short, when in the
two cotyledoned state it is not possible to note any difference
between a seedling Norway spruce and a Chinese arbor vitse.
Biota orUnialis, except by the lighter shade of green. The two-
leaved condition is not common, but specimens of threes and
others I exhibited to Drs. Torrey and Gray at the Troy meeting.
Any one who will examine sprouting seeds of the Norway spruce
will agree to the proposition that the cotyledons are not original
and separate creations, but a divided unity. My next observa-
tions were on some acorns of Quercus agrifolia^ the division into
cotyledons were numerous and irregular. Cut across vertically,
some represented the letter C, others the letter N, and again,
with four cotyledons the letter M. Here again it was clear that
whatever the form and number of the cotyledons, there was no
increase of the original cotyledon mass. Examining sprouting
peach kernels, the variations in form and number were of the
most remarkable character. I need not repeat them in detail
here, as they are reported in the April and Mav '* Proceedings of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia." In addition
to the fact of no increase in the whole cotyledon mass, it was
here clear that when the cotyledons were duplicated, the duplica-
tions at least were subsequent to the original ones. Still so far
nothing had been seen to indicate when the first pair of cotyle-
dons were formed. Ouercus macrocarpa and Quercus palustris
were silent to my questions. In a large number I found no
variations whatever. Each mass was divided smoothly and
exactly into two cotyledons. Quercus robur^ the English oak,
however, gave some curious evidence. Two germs under one
seed coat were numerous, and often three, and the cotyledons
took on a variety of forms. But there was never any more in-
crease in the cotyledonous mass than if but two lobes had been
formed, and there was no more rule in the division than there
would be in the sudden breakaee of a piece of glass. A detailed
account of these will also be found in the " Proceedings of the
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia" for May.
Quercus rubra, the American red oak, furnished the one link
wanting to connect the first division into lobes with the other
phenomena. All the acorns examined had three or four sutures
in the cotyledon mass, and extending all along the longitudinal
surface externally, without any reference to cotyledonal divisions.
These sutures extended sometimes but a line in depth, at others
almost to the centre of the mass, always accompanied by the
inner membrane, as is the case in ruminated seeds. The whole
mass was divided only in two parts in any that I examined of this
species, but the division was always in the direction of the sutures.
Hence each cotyledon was very irr^ular. Sometimes one-third
the mass only went to one while the other had two-thirds of the
whole mass. It was easier to burst in the weaker line of resist-
ance. But the interest for us is to note that ordinarily the coty-
* Abstract of a Paper read at the IndianopoUs Meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, August 187 1, reprinted from
t^e Ameriean NaturalUi, By Thomas Meehan.
ledonotts mass was a unit—then the sutures or fissures were
formed, and ultimately the two divisions of the lobes followed in
their direction. The division was the last condition, not the
first. I know how much we should guard against generalising
on a limited supply of facts, but it requires an effort to believe
that oaks, pines, and peaches, as we have seen primordially
monocotyledons, are in this respect different from other so-called
dicotyledonous plants ; and if we grant that all seeds are primarily
monocotyledonous, may we not ask why in any case they are
divided ? We have seen that there is no increase of miss in the
division, the same amount is furnished in one as in many. Would
it in any way injure the Indian com to have its mass divided into
two lobes ? or would not the plantlet be as well provided for if
the acorn were in one solid mass ? Division would seem to be a
necessity occurring subsequent to organisation, and existing from
the position of the plumule alone. In monocotyledons, as we
know, the plumule is directed parallel to, or away from, the coty-
ledonous mass, when, of course, on this theory, it remains an un-
divided mass. But in the dicotyledonous section, the plumule
is directed towards the apex of the mass ; and as we know in the
case of roots against stone walls, or mushrooms under paving-
stones, the disposition in the growing force of plants is to go right
forward, turning neither to the right nor the left ; so in this mass
of matter the development of the germ would make easy work of
the division ; and no doubt often at so early a stage as to give
the impression we have been under hitherto, that the division is
a primary and essential process.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
The Monthly Microscopical Journal^ No. 35, November 1 87 1.
" On the Form and Use of the Facial Arches," by W. Parker,
F. R. S. , is chiefly occupied by observations on emhrvo salmon.
'* Another Hint on Selecting and Mounting Diatoms," by Capt.
Fred. H. Lang, details the method employed by the author for
remounting diatoms, either previously baldly mounted, or from
which it is desirable to select certain forms. — '*The Monad's
Place in Nature," by Metcalfe Johnson, M.R.C.S.E., has for its
object to show a connection between the earlier forms called
Monads, and those higher and more complicated organisms at
present recognised under the name of Infusoria, Mucedinae,
ConfervK, Oscillatorise, &c. The conclusions deduced from
some of the experiments are that the author looks upon Monas
in its earliest forms to be the starting point whence several pro-
ducts may result, and among the number are Infusoria, Mucedinae,
Englenx, Osdllatorise. He is induced to believe that the Pin-
point Monad, when developed under absence of light and only a
Itmited quantity of air, gives rise to the class of plants known as
Mucedinae. Again, he maintains that during the watching of the
liquids under experiment the Monads presented various forms,
evidently transitional, firom the round Pin-head Monad to oval
young Paramcecia, until we come to sufficient size to give it a
name such as Kolpoda Cucullus^ &c.—** Infusorial Circuit of
Generations," byTheod. C. Hilgard, deals with a similar subject,
but in a very different style. It is often very difficult to gather
the author's meaning from language such as the following : —
"And from each little dot in these * clouds of life' a separate
vorticella can be seen to develop 1 It is here, indeed, at this
first visible advent or exordium of animate life, and the resurrec-
tion of millions of germs through the spontaneous dissolution of
a single one, that the last nubecular microscopic perceptions
closely resemble the last nebular telescopic as welt as the theoretic
ones of Laplace's cosmogony." The concluding portion of this
paper, which is reprinted from SillimatCs Journaly appears in
the succeeding number, and is interesting as a contribution to the
"curiosities of scientific literature."
The Monthly Microscopical Journal^ No. 36, December 187 1.
—"Notes of Prof. Tames Clark's Flagellate Infusoria, with
Descriptions of New Species," by W. Saville Kent, F.Z.S. An
entirely technical paper, consisting of the diagnostic characters
of new species, with those of previously-descril^ ones amended.
Eleven forms are figured and described, all of which were found
in fresh water at Stoke Newington.— **0n Bog Mosses," by R.
Braithwaite, M.D., F.L.S., Part II., is occupied chiefly with the
anatomy of the leaf and development of the plant.— " On the
Conjugation of Amoeba," by J. G. Tatem, is a note serving to
strengthen the supposition previously advanced by this author,
" that these large Amcebae so frequently met with in the autunm
months are actually the incorporation of two individuals in a
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154
NATURE
[Dec. 21,1871
copulative act," from which free-swimmmg ciliated germs might
eventually issue. " On the Connection of Nerves and Chromo-
blasts," by M. Georges Pouchet. The inference drawn from an
examination of the pectoral fin of a young flat-fish is that
there is a reality of connection between the nervous and sarcodic
elements, but tnat the nature of this connection is unknown.
T HZ Revue Scientifiquf^ Nos. 1 9 — 25, contains, among others,
the following articles, translations, and reprints : — General
Morin's eulogy on Piobert and his inventions in artillery ; Dr.
Carpenter's lectures at the Rojral Institution ; the continuation
of Grehant's course of lectures on Experimental Physiology ;
M. Lorain on primary and secondary instruction in France ;
Berthelot on the union of alcohols with bases, and on the history
of carbon ; Moleschott on the regulators of human life ; Saus-
sure on the life and works of Clapar^de ; Valentin on the
electric properties of nerves during embryonic life, and during
putrid decomposition ; a summary of the most important papers
read at the Bolog^na International Congress of Anthropology and
Prehistoric Archaeology ; Contejean on the origin of sedimentary
deposits ; Mr. Bentham's last anniversary address to the Lionean
Society ; Fonvielle on aerial navigation ; Prof. Huxley's article
in the Contemporary Rei'ieiv on English Critics of Darwin.
The twentieth volume (1870) of the Verhandlungen der k.k.
zoologisch'hotanischen Geselhchaft in fVien, although a stout
octavo, is hardly equal in bulk or in the variety of its contents to
some of its predecessors; nevertheless its readers will find in it
an abundant supply of valuable papers on zoological and
botanical subjects. As usual, entomological articles are in the
majority under the former head, and here Dr. Winnertz leads off
with two papers on Diptera, containing descriptions of species
belonging to the Lesfremina, a sub- family of Cecidomyidse, and
of the species of Heteropem and Miastor — two genera of the same
family. Singularly enough these, and a short notice by M. von
Bergenstamm on the metamorphoses of Platypeza holoserkca^ are
the only papers on Diptera in the volume. — The Lepidoptera also
receive tnit little notice, but on the Rhynchota we have some
important papers : — M. P. M. V. Gredler furnishes a list, with
notes, of the Heteropterous Rhynchota of the Tjrrol, and Dr. F.
X. Fieber the characters of twelve new genera and twelve new
species of the same group. The forms described by the latter
are from various parts of Southern Europe. — M. C. Tschek
describes a number of Austrian Ichneumonidse belonging to the
group of the Cryptoides, Dr. G. Mayr a number of new species
of ants, and Dr. J. Kriechbaumer four new South European
species of humble bees. — A paper on the Orthoptera of the
Syrnian valley in Hungary by M. V. Graber, which includes an
intereiting description of the district, is the only other entomo-
logical paper to which we shall tefcr. — The malacologist will
find a list of the land and freshwater moUusca of Galicia by
Dr J. Jachno, a monograph of the genera Emmerida and Fossa-
rultis by M. Brusina, tmd an important paper on the anatomy of
Tribonophorus and Philomycus—Uro forms of naked Pulmonata ;
whilst for the ichthyologist we have the first part of a descriptive
synopsis of the fishes of the Red Sea from Dr. C. B. Klunzinger,
who also notices the animals observed upon a coral reef in the
Red Sea. — M. D. Dybowski describes a new form of Salunander
from Siberia imder the name of Salamandrella Keyserlingii, and
Dr. Burmeister gives a description of the pelvis of Megatherium.
The botanical papers are to a condderable extent of the nature
of local lists, but some of these contain a good deal of descrip-
tive matter. Thus in M. Schulzer von Miigeenburg's ** Myco-
logical Observations in North Hungary " we find many descrip-
tions of fungi; Glowacki and Arnold's " Lichens from Camiolia "
contains descriptions of species, as does also the latter's " Licheno-
logical Excursion into the Tyrol,'' and the contribution to the moss-
flora of East by MM. Juratzka and Mdde. M. F. Hazslinsky
describes the Spharia which are parasitic upon the rose ; M. Julius
Klein's mycological communications contam a description of a new
genus of Mucorine fungi, and of some other forms which grew
with its representative ; and M. Schulzer von Miiggenburg, a£>ve-
mentioned, has also his mycological contributions, which consist
almost entirely of descriptive matter. The papers which treat of
the higher forms of plants, and those describing the natural
history journeys of their authors, are not numerous. We may
mention esp^ially a long paper l^ M. F. Krasan on the
periodical phenomena of v^etable life, and an article by Dr.
A. Unterhuber on the position of the scales of the fruit in
Ceratoxamia mexicana. This list of papers will be sufficient to
show how much there is in the proceedings of the Vienna
Zoologico-Botanical Society to interest both the zoologist and
the botanist
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Geological Society, December 6.— -Mr. J. Prestwich, presi-
dent, in the chair. Prof. Giovanni Capellini, of Bologna, was
elected a Foreign Correspondent of the Society, i. •* On the
presence of a r?Jsed beach on Portsdown Hill, near Portsmouth,
and on the occurrence of a Flint Implement at Downton." By
Mr. Joseph Prestwich, F. R. S. , President. The author noticed a
section observed by him in a pit ten miles westward of Bourne
Common and five miles inland in a lane on the north side of East
Cams Wood. It is situated at an elevation of 300 feet above the
sea level, and shows some laminated sands with seams of shingle,
overlying coarse flint-shingle with a few whole flints, which the
author regarded as a westward continuation of the old sea-beach
which has been traced from Brighton, past Chichester, to Bourne
Common. A flint flake was found by the author at the bottom
of the superficial soil in this pit The author also noticed the
occurrence of a flint implement of the type of those of St. Acheul
in a gravel near Downton in Hampshire. This gravel capped a
small chalk-pit, and its elevation above the River Avon was about
150 feet. Two gravel terraces occur between this pit and the
river, one 40 by 60 the other 80 by 1 10 feet above the level of the
latter. Mr. Codrington stated that, accordmg to the Ordnance
Survey, the level of the pit at Cams Wood was not more than
100 feet above the sea, so that it was at about the same level as
the gravels of Titchfield and elsewhere. Mr. Evans remarked
that the flint flake from Cams Wood presented no characters
such as would prove it to be of Palaeolithic age. He was, on
the contrary, inclined to regard it as having been derived from
the surface. He commented on the height at which the Downton
implement had been discovered, which was, however, not so
great but that the containing gravels might be of fluviatile origin.
Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys thought that if the beds at Cams Wood
were marine, some testaceous remains might be found in them.
If these were absent, he should rather be inclined to regard them
as fluviatile. Mr. J. W. Flower contended that the gravel at
Downton could not be of fluviatile origin. He thought, indeed,
that the gravel was actually at a higher level than the present
source of the river. If this were so, he maintained that <he trans-
port of the gravel by fluviatile action was impossible. He further
observed that gravels precisely similar, also containing imple-
ments, had now been found, as well in the Hampshire area as
elsewhere, the transport of which, in his view, could not possibly
be attributed to any existing rivers. At Southampton they occur
150 feet above the River Itchcn and the sea, and considerably
inland ; at Bournemouth, on a sea cliff' 120 feet in height ; and at
the Foreland (at the eastern extremity of the Isle 01 Wight), on
a cliff" 82 feet above the sea, and far remote from any river. If,
therefore, these deposits were effected by fluviatile agency, it was
evident that all traces of the rivers were afterwanS effaced by
some great geological changes, or, in the alternative, some great
geological change, not fluviatile, must have caused the deposit
Upon the whole he was disposed to conclude with the French
geologists as well as with many eminent English authors that the
accumulation of all these superficial drifts was, as the late Sir
Roderick Murchison had said, sudden and tumultuous, not of long
continuance ; and thus it was such as would result from some
kind of diluvial action, rather than from the ordinary long-conti-
nued action of water. Mr. Judd pointed out, in contravention to
Mr. Jeffreys' views, that in the Fen district, over large tracts of
deposits of undoubtedly marine origin, not a trace of marine shells
could be found. Mr. Prestwich, while willing to concede that
the implement-bearing gravel-beds had beendepoiitcd un Icr more
tumultuous action than that due to rivers of the present day, was
still forced to attribute the excavation of the existing valleys and
the formation of terraces along their slopes to river-action. He
showed that Mr. Flower's argument as to the present level of the
source of the river was of no weight, as the country in which it
had its source was formerly, as now, at a much higher level than
the gravel at Downton. As to the absence of marine shells at
Cams Wood, he cited a raised beach in Cornwall which, in com-
pany with Mr. Jeffreys, he had examined for a mile without
finding a trace of a shell, though for the nexr. half-mile they
abounded. There was the same d fference between the raised
beach at Brighton and at Chichester. He was obliged to Mr.
Codrington for his correction as to the level at Cams Wood,
though the pit was at a higher elevation than the one to which
Mr. Codrington had alluded. — 2. " On some imdescribed Fossils
from the • Menevian Group of Wales.' " By Mr. H. Hicks. Ii»
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NATURE
155
this communication the author ^ve descriptiois of ali the fos>iIs
hitherto nndesaibed from the Menevian rocks of Wales. The
additions made to the fauna of the Lower Cambrian rocks (Long-
mynd and Menevian groups) by the author's researches in Wales
during the last few years now number about fifty species, belong-
ing to twenty- two genera, as follows : — Trilobites, 10 genera and
30 species ; Bivalved and other Crustaceans, 3 genera and 4
species ; Brachiopods, 4 genera and 6 species ; Pteropods 3 genera
and 6 species ; Sponges, i genus and 4 species ; Cystideans, i
genus and i species. By adding to these the Annelids, which are
plentiful also in these rocks, we get seven great groups repre-
sented in this fauna, the earliest known at present in this country.
By referring to the Tables published in M. Barrande*s excellent
new work on Trilobites, it will be seen that this country also has
produced a greater variety, or, rather, representatives of a greater
number of groups from these early rocks than any other country.
The species described inchided AtpiostuSy 5 species ; Arhndlus^
I species ; Erinnys, 1 species ; Holocephalinay I species ; Cono-
cory'phe^ 2 species ; Anopolenus^ 2 species ; CyrtotAtca, I species ;
SUnothcca^ I species ; Thecay 2 species ; Protocystitesy I species,
&c. The author also entered into a consideration of the range of
ihQ genera and species in these early rocks, and showed that, with
the exception of the Brachiopods, Sponges, and the smaller Crus-
tacea, the range was very limited. A description of the various
beds forming the Cambrian rocks of St. David's was also given,
and proofs adduced to show that frequent oscillations of the sea-
bottom took place at this early period, and that the barrenness of
some portions of the strata, and the richness of other parts, were
mainly attributable to these frequent changes. Mr. Gwyn Jef-
freys suggested that the term Pol^zoa might be adopted in pre-
ference to that of Bryozoa, as bemg the more ancient term, and
that the name Proserpina should not be applied to the new genus
of Trilobites, as it had already been appropriated to a tropical
form of land-shelL
Royal Geographical Society, December 11. — Major-Gen.
Sir H. C. Rawlinson, president, in the chair.— A paper wa*
read by Mr. Keith Johnston, " On the Rev. Thomas Wake-
field's Map of Eastern Africa ; " the subject being limited to the
form of Spcke*s Lake Victoria Nyanza, which Wakefield's native
t ravellers had decided to consist of at least two lakes. — Capt
K. F. Burton followed with a paper on '* Lake Ukara or Uka-
x-ewe," in which he argued from the new information gleaned by
^r. Wakefield at Mombaz, and Captain Speke's own data, that
'^'ictoria Nyanza consisted of many separate lakes^ and that it
^as a " Lake Region," and not a smgle lake.
Sunday Lecture Society, December 17.— "On the
Optical Construction of the Eye," by Dr. Dudgeon. The
early part of the lecture was occupied with a description of
Ibe optical construction of the eye. In order to ascertain
the precise focal length of aqueous humour, the lecturer
immersed his eyes in water, which, being of the same refrac-
tive power as the aqueous humour, extinguishes it as a lens.
He then ascertained what power of lens was required to restore
perfect vision under water, which he found to be affected by an
artificial lens, whose focus was exactly i^ inch under water. He
constructed a pair of spectacles fitted with air lenses, formed by
very concave watch-glasses placed back to back, and united round
their edges by a ring of wood or vulcanite. In this way he
formed air lenses which had a focus of i| inch in water, but
which offered no obstruction to vision in the air. With these
spectacles perfect vision both for near and distant objects below
the water was obtained, and oncoming to the surface these spec-
tacles allowed of perfect vision in the air. He then explained
the construction of the eyes of fishes and amphibia, which have
no anterior aqueous lens, but only a nearly spherical crystalline
lens. He next explained the mechanism of the accommodation
of the eye from distant to near vision. He showed that this was
not effected by any increase of the convexity of the anterior
surface of the crystalline lens, as is generally supposed, but by a
slight rotation of the crystalline lens from without inwaids,
whereby the focus of the crystalline lens was shortened to the
degree necessary to throw the image of a near object accurately
on the retina. Finally, he pointed out that some of the principal
discoveries of modem phjrsicists already existed in the eye. Thus,
the principle of achromatic lenses by the combination of two
lenses of different refractive power was seen in the eye when a
water lens was combined with the crystalline lens ; the discovery
of Descartes, that an elliptical surface of a lens obviated
spherical aberration, was also found in the eye ; and Herschel's
discovery that a combination of the meniscus with the double
convex lens prevented spherical aberration also obtained in the
eye.
Photographic Society, December 12. — A paper was read by
Lieut Abney, R.E., F.R.A.S., on albumen applied to photo-
g^phy. He first referred to the use of albumen as a substratum
for collodion films. Taking different proportions of albumen
and water, and iodising part of each, he found that with the best
collodion process the iodised substratum as a whole gave neither
increase nor diminution of sensitiveness, whilst with the uniodised
substratum the sensitiveness was slightly diminished. He next
pointed out the cau«c of blisters in developing dry plates, and
traced them to the expansion of the albumen ; the substratum
rising from the glass at the smoother portions. He lastly touched
upon the uncombined sulphur always present in albumen, as
much as I *2 grains being found in a whole sheet of psmer, whilst
but \ grain of metallic silver was found in prints of^the same
area. He argued from this that silver prints must fade, apart
from the imperfect washing, unless the sulphur be removed. He
recommended the makers of albumenised paper to try to do this,
first forming albumenate of potash by the addition of potash to
the albumen. The unprecipitated part contained the sulphur.
This might be removed and the albumen once more dissolved by
the addition of acid — A paper on M. Dagrou's microphotographic
despatches was also read, detailing the methods of preparation ;
as many as 50,000 messages were received in Paris during the
Siege upon these films, conveyed to the capital by pigeons.
Manchester
Literary and Philosophical Society, November 14. — E.
W. Binney, F.R.S., president, in the chair. The president said
that, on Friday the loth inst., he observed at Douglas in the Isle
of Man, a splendid display of the aurora borealis. At 8 P.M. it
appeared as an arch of a greenish colour, extending from west to
east, through the tail of the Great Bear. Afterwards, at ten
o'clock, the same kind of arch was observed with another higher
up, which ranged west and east through the Pole star. At this
time numerous streamers and flashes of light of a green and
yellowish-white colour flashed up from near the horizon to the
zenith, from east, south, and west ; those towards the west had
a reddish hue. The sky was beautifully clear, and the light from
the aurora was greater than ever previously observed by him. —
** On the Origin of our Domestic Breeds of Cattle," by William
Boyd Dawkms, F.R.S. There are at the present time
three well-marked forms inhabiting Great Britain. i. The
hornless cattle, which have lost the horns which their
ancestors possessed through the selection of the breeder. The
polled Galloway cattle, for instance, are the result of the care
taJcen by the grandfather of the present Earl of Selkirk, in only
breeding from bulls with the shortest horns. The hornless is
altogether an artificial form, and may be developed in any breed.
2. The Bos longi/rons^ or the small black or dark brown Welsh
and Scotch cattle, which are remarkable for their short horns
and the delicacy of their build. 3. The red and white vari^ated
cattle, descended from the urus, and which have on the whole
far larger horns. These two breed freely together, and conse-
quently it is difficult to refer some strains to their exact parentage.
The large domestic cattle of the urua type are represented in
their ancient purity by the Chillingham wild oxen, as they are
generally termed, but the exact agreement of their colour with that
specified in the laws of Howel Dha proves that they are descended
from an ancient cream-coloured domestic ox with red ears.
The animal was introduced by the English invaders of Roman
Britain, and was unknown in our country during the Roman
occupation. The Bos longi/rons^ on the other hand, was the
sole ox which was domestic in Britain during the Roman occu-
pation, and in the remote times out of the reach of history it
was kept in herds by the users of bronze, and before that by the
users of polished stone. This is proved conclusively by the ac-
cumulations of .bones in the dwelling-places and the tombs of
those long- forgotten races of men. The present distribution of
the two breeds agrees almost exactly with the areas occupied by
the Celtic population and the German or Teutonic invaders.
The larger or domestic uius extends throughout the low and
fertile country, and indeed through all the regions which were
occupied by Angle, Jute, Saxon, or Dane; while the smaller
Bos iongifrofts is to be found only in those broken and rugged
regions in which the unhappy Roman provincials were able to
make a stand against their ruthless enemies. The distribution,
therefore, of the two animals corroborates the truth of the view
taken by Mr. Freeman, that the conquest of Britain by thf
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156
NATURE
[Dec. 21, 1871
EnglUh was not a mere invasion of one race by another, but as
complete a dispossession as could possibly be imagined. The
Bos longifrons lingers in Wales, afier having once occupied the
whole country, just as its Celtic owners still linger, while the urus
is an inva'Jer just in the same sense as their English possessors.
The Bos longif> ons is of a stock foreign to Europe, and the urus
was most probably domesticated in some other region by those Neo-
lithic people. Both these animals have probablyT)een derived from
an area to the south &nd east of Europe, and were introduced by
the Neolithic herdsman an \ farmers at a very remote period.
DUBLI.V
Royal Dublin Society, November 20.— Prof. R. Ball, M. A.,
in the chair. Mr. Maurice Cole exhibited and explained a working
model of an improved seed sowing machine. — Prof. Edward Hull,
F. R S , read some notes of a recent visit to Vesuvius. — Dr Emer-
son Reynolds exhibited a new apparatus for gas analysis, and Mr.
A. G. More exhibited some specimens of well-stuffed birds
from the museum of the Societv.
Royal Irish Academy, November30.— Rev. J. H. Jellett, presi-
dent, in the chair. The Secretary read a paper by M. Donovan on
Earl Stanhope's alleged imperfections of the tuning fork ; also
for Dr. Whitley Stokes a paper on a fragment of Cormac's
glossary. — Mr. G. H. Kinahan read a paper on and exhibited
sketches of what appeared to him a new type of Clochdn,
observed in the cotmty of Mayo, South of Louisburgh. The
structure was composed of large flags inc'ining inwards to form
sloping sides and roof, the very apex of which was covered by
horizontal flags. He also exhibited a sketch of a form of cross
observed in the same neighbourhood, and which was unlike any-
thing he had ever seen.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, December 11.— M. J. Boussinesq
read a paper on a remarkable property of the points where the
lines of greatest slope of a surface have their oscuUtory planes
vertical, and on the difference which generally exists at the
surface of the earth between the lines of the ridge or the thalweg,
and those along which the slope of the soil \% a minimum. — M.
Becquerel presented a third memoir on the discoloration of
flowers by electricity, and on the cause of the phenomenon, in
which he shows that electricity acts in this case by destroying
the envelopes of the cells containing the coloured niaterials.
Heat produces the same effect The author remarked upon
some general applications of these facts. — A paper on the diffu-
sion and deleterious influence of mercurial vapours, by M. Merget,
was read. The author disputed the conclusions of Faraday,
founding his opposition upon experiments and observations which
show that the vaporisation of mercury is a continuous pheno-
menon not even interrupted by the solidification of the metal,
and that the vapours emitted by it are capable of great diffusion,
nearly in accordance with the dynamic theory of gases. M.
Dumas called attention to some observations on this subject
by - M. Boussingault — M. C. A. Valson presented a note on
the part played by space in the phenomena of solution, in
which he discussed the contraction produced by the solution
of various salu in water. — A note on different acoustic pheno-
mena observed during balloon-ascents, by M. W. de Fonvielle,
was read. The author remarked upon the fact that certain
acute but very feeble sounds are often heard in balloon
ascents, and accounts for the phenomenon by the reverbera-
tion of the balloon itself. — M. Serret presented a note by
M. de Tastes on a new propeller, consisting of a plate or fan
worked in the manner of the tail of a fish or whale. M. A.
Barthelemy presented a memoir on the vibrations communicated
to mercury and liquids in general, in which he described and
figured the curious effects produced by these vibrations in vessels
of various forms. — M. Detaunay read a note on the cold of the
9th December, con'aining some interesting observations on the
range of this extreme cold over the Continent of Europe ; and
M. C. Sainte-Claire Deville presented a second note on the pre-
cocity of the cold in the present year. — M. P. P. Deh^in pre-
sented a memoir on the intervention of the nitrogen of the
atmosphere in ve^tation, in which he demonstrated by experi-
ment the absorption of the atmospheric nitrogen by decomposing
organic matters, and suggesf cd that by this means nitrogen may
be absorbed by the soil— -M. Wurtz presented a note by MM, C.
Friedel and R. D. Sylva, on the action of chlorine upon chloride
of isopropvl ; and a note by M. E. Grimaux on derivatives of
chlorideof tollylene.~A note was read by M. Dubiimfaut on
the combustibility of carbon, in which he maintains that carbon
is combustible only in gases containing water ; and another by M.
F. Jean on the quantitative determination of glucose, recom-
mending a process depending on the precipitation of metallic
silver by protochloride of copper, prepared from the protoxide
precipitated by glucose. — The deposits of phosphate of lime in
France formed the subject of three papers, namely, a note on
the composition of that recently worlced in the Departments of
Tam-et- Garonne and of the Lot, by M. A. Bobi^re ; an
account of the deposits of Samt-Antonin and Caylux, in
the former department, by M. Trutat ; and a short note
on the oi^anic origin of the deposits in the Quercy,
by M. Malinowski. M. Trutat described the structure of the
deposits, and noticed the remains of certain mammalia found in
them. — M. Daubree communicated a note by M. P. Fischer on
the existence of Lower Tertiary strata in Madagascar. These
beds, belonging apparently to the great Nummulitic formation,
occur on the west and south-west coast of the island. No
nummulites have been found in them. — M. E Blanchard pre-
sented a note by M. A. Milne-Edwards on the structure of the
placenta in the Tamandua. The author describes this placenta
as differing in various respects from those of other Edentata, and
remarked that the diversity in the foetal envelopes of thg^
mammals would lead to the supposition that either tne characters
derived from them are not so important among the Edentata as
in other groups, or the forms united in the Edentata are less
nearly related than is generally supposed. He is inclined to the
latter opinion. — M. Duchartre communicated a note by M. J. de
Seynes on Penicillium bicolor, Fr. ; and M. Robin presented a
note by M. Rabateau on the physiological properties of various
chlorides.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English.— Nature : or, the Poetry of Earth and Sea : From the French
of Madame Michelet ( 1*. Nelson and Sons). — The Mountain : From the
French of J. Michelet (T. Nelson and Sons).— Beautiiul Birds in Far-off
kinds : M. aad' £. Kirby ( V. Nelson and Sons).— Text Books of Science :
Theory of Heat : J. Clerk Maxwell (Longmans). — A Manual of Zoolo^ :
H. A. Nicholson ; and cd.tion (Blackwood).— Comparative Metaphysics ;
Part II. : S. H. Hennell (TrubnerX
FoRBiGN.— (Through Williams and Norgate.)— Handbuch der ver^lei-
chenden Anatomic : E. O. Schmidt.— Miueralogische Mittheilungen, Jahrg.
I., He t 1 : 0. Tschermak.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Dbcbmbbr 2u
Royal SociBTY, at 8.30. — (lontribudons to the History of Orcin. No. II.
Chlorine and Bromine Substitution Compounds of the Orcins ; Note on
Fuedsol: Dr. Stenhouse, F.RS.^— On some recent Discoveries in Solar
Physics ; and on a Law regulating the Duration of the Sunspot Period :
W. De La Kue, F.R.S., B. Stewart, F.R.S , and B. Loewy.
LiNNEAN SociBTY, at 8.— On the Anatomy of the American King-Crab
{LimulHS Polyphemus^ Latr.); ProC Owen, F.R S.
Chbmicai. Society, at 8.
London Institution, at 4,— The Philosophy of Magic, x. The Magic of
Modem Conjurers : J. C Brough, F.C.S.
FRIDAY^ Dbcbmbkr aa.
QUBKETT MicaoscopiCAL Cli'b, at 8.
THURSDAY, Dbcbmbbr a8.
Royal iNsxiTunoN, at 3.— On Ice, Water, Vapour, and Air. No. I. Prof.
John Tyndall, F.R.S.
London Institution, at 4.— The Philosophy of Magic, a. The Magic of
the Iheatre : J. C. Brough, F.C.S.
CONTENTS Pac
Thb Coplby Medalist of 1870. By Prof. J. Tyndall, F.R.S. . 137
The Bkown Institution 138
FoKEicN Ybar-Books 140
Our Book Smblp 141
Letters to thb Editor: —
Proof of Napier's Rules ( With Diagram).— ^rot A. S. Herschbl 1 4 1
Alternation of Generations in Fungi.— M. C Cooke 14a
In Re Fungi 14a
Mr. Lowne and Darwinian Difficulties.— Prof. L. S. Bealb, F.R S. 14a
Ihe Auditory Nerves of Gasteropoda.— E. R. Lank ESTER . . . 143
Dr. Carpentbr and Dr. Mayer. By Prof. J. Tyndall, F.R.S. . 143
The Geology of Oxford. {IVith Juustrations.) 145
Parthenogenesis among the Lbpidoptera 149
Results of Sanitary Improvement in Calcutta 150
NOTBS 150
The Monocotyledon the Univbrsal Tvpb of Seeds. By Thomas
Mebhan 151
Scientific Sbrials 153
SocibTiBS AND Academics 154
Books Rbcbived 156
Diary 156
Errata-— P. ia3, coL a, line 36 from top, for "or Dx
'*on Dz . . . on Da.**
or Da," read
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157
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1871
TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN HOUSE
CONSTRUCTION
REFERRING to the recent sad events at Londes-
borough Lodge, and the disclosures made in the
medical press, showing how the whole internal air of this
house was tainted with sewer j^as for want of ordinary
care, the Timesj in an able article which appeared on
l^ecember 9, has the following telling passage : " What a
satire on the universal diffusion of knowledge, on the
lectures of the Royal Society, on hundreds of scientific
and educational institutions, and all our new inventions
and discoveries ! Here is the simplest thing in the whole
world, which wanted only common sense, and nobody
seems to have thought of it— nay, we are not sure that
our architects and builders will be thinking of it next
year. It is far too simple and too deadly an affair."
We purpose to deal with this subject ; and in doing so to
show briefly how it is that with every apparent advantage
our houses are still not altogether safe to live in.
In the first place, the whole subject of house-drainage
kis been thoroughly discussed, and simple rules have been
laid down, which any one with ordinary technical skill can
apply to any conceivable case.
The question has been treated in published reports by
the Health of Towns* Commission, by the Metropolitan
Sanitary Commission, by the General Board of Health, by
the Barrack and Hospital Improvement Commission, by
the Local Government Act Office, and recently, by the
Army Sanitary Commission, for application in India. These
official documents, extending over a period of nearly
thirty years, contain all the principles on which whole-
some house-conveniences can be constructed ; and be-
sides all this, engineering, architectural, and medical
jcuroals have never ceased to advocate attention to the
requirements of healthy house construction. The Legis-
lature, on its side, has been anxiously engaged in defining
and granting every necessary power for the efficient carry-
ing out of town-drainage works ; but hitherto these powers
have stopped short with the house drain. All between
the head of the house drain and the interior of our bed-
rooms has been left to chance, or to the imperfect know-
ledge or no knowledge of such officials as we have seen
defending the deadly arrangements of existing houses,
or to plumbers' journeymen or apprentices. The whole
experience shows that every official has considered his
tluty fulfilled when he had ensured an outlet for the refuse
water of the house. As to the subsidiary traps, and such
like things, they have been introduced without regard to
scientific considerations ; so that, instead of proving an
advantage, they have, in some instances, increased the
evil Now, it must henceforth be recognised that house
drainage is not a question of hydraulics merely, it is in a
higher sense a question of pneumatics ; but even in
this extended sense it is far from being a difficult art, as
some would have us suppose. It is by no means a " refuge
of despair," as some have asserted. It is a great and
beneficial necessity. Because carelessly-fitted water-pipes
are burst by frost, and our houses are deluged every
VOL, V.
winter, are we to have a crusade against water supply ?
Bursting of water-pipes and the influx of foul air from
sewers are indications of want of ordinary common sense ;
or, at all events, of very ordinary technical skill. And
the real future question before us, is not whether we are
to abolish household drainage and water supply, but
whether some public control in these matters ought not to
be exercised over the proceedings of plumbers' appren-
tices and other similar persons, so that when we rent or
buy a house, we may be assured that typhoid fever, or
some other pestilence, is not included in the contract.
Every such contract should, however, ensure three
things, viz., that water-pipes are protected from frost ;
that the house is thoroughly drained ; and that no sewer-
air can, under any circumstances, enter the house. Now
all these things can be assured.
It is a mere truism to say that there are plenty of non-
conductors of heat with which water-pipes can be effi-
ciently surrounded. Why should water-pipes be left un-
covered under flooring or in walls, as at present ? Surely
any local authority could deal with so simple, and, at the
same time, so important a question as this.
As regards efficient drainage-pipes, traps, and the like,
there are great manufacturing interests involved in the
production of these, and any one who will cast an eye
over the advertising columns of our architectural and
engineering contemporaries, will see how much ingenuity
and wholesome competition there exists in the production
of the most scientific forms of apparatus of this class.
But the missing link in the whole of these drainage
arrangements is how to prevent foul air entering the
house. In an ordinary second or third-class house in
London, there are three or four water-closets, the main
pipe from which enters the drain, either directly or
through an inefficient trap. It may be safely stated that
at all times there is more or less pressure of sewer air on
the pan or trap of the closet, which must lead to an infil-
tration of foul air into the house. But nobody appears
to have applied the long-known remedy for this, viz , to
take off the pressure by a small leaden pipe carriod from
the upper end of the soil-pipe to the open air.
It is not, however, from the soil-pipe that most of the
danger arises. Houses of the same classes have generally
what is called a safe under the water-closet, from which
safe a pipe passes directly to the drain. Next there may
be a bath with its outlet pipe, its overflow, and the pipe
of its safe, all connected with the drain. There may be
three or even four sinks all connected with the drain, and
then every cistern has its overflow, also connected with
the drain. As these various open pipes are distributed all
over the house, we can easily understand how, while ful-
filling the function of removing waste water, they may,
in conformity with the laws of pneumatics, distribute the
most deadly poison among the unconscious sleeping in-
mates of every bed- room.
Foul sewer air returns into a house for the following
reasons, viz. : — i. A wind-pressure exercised on the open
mouth of a sewer perhaps many miles away ; or a
similar pressure exerted on an ordinary gulley grate.
2. By pressure of foul air into the house from the superior
specific gravity of the atmosphere outside. 3. The draft
of chimneys, when doors and windows are shut, as during
the night This draft must be supplied, and will supply
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NATURE
[Dec. 28, 1871
itself from every one of these small pipes, perhaps a dozen
or more in a house, if it cannot be supplied more easily
elsewhere.
The principles to be kept in view in dealing with de-
fects such as those stated are obvious enough.
The general drain system of every street or district
should be studied as regards its pneumatic relations, and
means should be adopted for relieving the pressure within
the system by ventilating outlets in safe positions. By
placing charcoal strainers at all these outlets, sewer air
would be deprived of its destructive qualities before pass-
ing into the streets. In special cases provision would
have to be made for preventing the tide or strong winds
from entering the mouth of the main sewer.
Then as regards the household drains. There is nothing
easier than to ventilate the soil-pipes through charcoal
filters in the manner stated. And as regards the numerous
small pipes of sinks, baths, &c., not one of these ought
on any account to communicate directly with a sewer.
They ought all to be collected and allowed to discharge
their contents in the open air over a trap communicating
with the house drain, so that reflux of sewer gas into the
house would be simply impossible.
Much evil has in times past arisen from imperfect
drains within houses. Properly there should be none such.
All connections of water-closets, sinks, baths, &c., with
the house drain, should take place outside the house walls,
and where from bad construction drains have been laid
within houses and cannot be altered, they should be re-
placed by glazed earthen pipes laid in concrete, every
joint made perfectly air-tight.
Cess-pits and traps ought never to be permitted within
walls. The trapping should be all outside.
From want of attention to these long>known principles
most of our houses are sick, and require separate diagnosis
and treatment. They can all be cured if we only could
find an authority to undertake the cure.
Were it not that in many instances we should have men
of straw to deal with, we should feel disposed to advocate
the application of Lord Campbell's Act to these cases.
But as the recovery of damages would be a remote
contingency, why should not Local Boards of Health,
with their highly-paid health ofBcers and surveyors, be
required to see not only that all the details of water
supply and drainage in new houses are safe, but that un-
safe houses are made safe by their proprietors, or con-
demned as unfit for habitation ?
After all is done, however, the chief remedy must be
sought in technical training on all house questions in the
application of which scientific principles are involved.
It may be safely stated that there is no technical sub-
ject of greater importance than this, and our recent ex-
perience has shown that there is no subject on which
more training is necessary than to build a comfortable
healthy dwelling.
SUTTOM'S VOLUMETRIC ANALYSIS
Volumetric Analysis, By F. Sutton. Second Edition.
(London : J. and A. Churchill)
I^HE present volume is almost the only representative
of a considerable branch of chemistry. We are sur-
prised that Volumetric Analysis has not come into more
general use amongst chemists, for the saving of time in
most instances is very great, whilst for accuracy it frequently
surpasses gravimetric analysis. Since the last edition of
this work was published (1863), chemistry has made great
advances ; in volumetric analysis there has been a gradual
extension and development, although nothing very new or
startling has taken place during this period. This edition
is a far more handsome volume than the last, the type
and engravings being everything that can be desired.
The author states in his preface that the new system of
atomic weights has been adopted ; the nomenclature also
has been changed to a great extent, although we are
sorry to find that the system adopted is by no means
perfect Thus we read of " the carbonates of lime, baryta,
and strontian " (p. 26), whilst in a later part of the book
such terms as " hydric chloride," &c., are met with. These
of course are extreme cases ; would it not have been
better to have adopted some definite system through-
out the book? We regret to say that the larger
portion of the book is disfigured by a great number
of small errors ; for instance, the cross references in
many cases are wrong, thus at page 80, the reader is
referred to § 80, 2, for the determination of chlorides by
Liebig's method, the paragraph referred to is an article
" on the examination of raw phosphates and phosphatic
manures." Again, we are told on p. 116 to refer to § 71
for the titration of phosphate, but this paragraph describes
the estimation of sulphuretted hydrogen. We have
noticed so many errors, some in formulae, some in equa-
tions, and again in grammar, that, though making every
allowance for printer's errors, we must conclude that the
edition has been carelessly revised. There is one para-
graph we should wish to call attention to, the first on
p. 132, which we confess we have not been able to under-
stand clearly. The number of new processes introduced
is not large, nor are they of very great importance. We
think, however, that methods such as the estimation of
nitric acid by indigo might have been omitted, and that,
for instance, the iron process for phosphoric acid might
have been introduced. If Mr. Sutton would give, as far
as possible, the precise cases for which each process is
most suitable, we think the value of the book would be
much increased. His long experience in these matters
would render this addition of great importance, and
would save much trouble.
Fifty-four pages of the volume are occupied by a descrip-
tion of the processes of water analysis (furnished by Mr. W.
Thorp) ; this consists of a lengthy description of Frank-
land and Armstrong's process, which has undergone con-
siderable modification, and a much shorter description of
Wanklyn and Chapman's process. We look upon this
part of the book as very valuable, for water analysis has
now become quite a study, and such a clear and concise
statement as that in the present volume will be found of
great service to any one engaged in this work.
The last section of the book, consisting of seventy- four
pages, is " On the Volumetric Analysis of Gases," con-
tributed by Prof. H. McLeod. We cannot praise this
portion of the volume too highly, the engravings are
excellent, many of them we believe being from the original
drawings of the author. We do not think that any
student could do better than take this as his guide to gas
analysis. It is the most clearly written and practical
L/iyiiiiLcv,! kjy
<3^'
Dec. 28, 1871]
NATURE
159
accotmt that we have seen in the English language, and
we should be glad to see it still further extended by the
author.
On the whole Sutton's "Volumetric Analysis'' has cer-
tainly improved on the first edition, but with more care
its value would have been much increased.
MORELErs TRAVELS IN CENTRAL
AMERICA
Travels in Central America^ including Accounts of some
Regions unexplored since the Conquest; from the French
of the Chevalier Arthur Morelet, By Mrs. M. F. Squier.
Introduction and Notes by £. G. Squier. (London :
Triibner and Co., 1871.)
T N that portion of Central America which lies between
Yucatan on the north and the city of Guatemala to
the south, and bounded on the east by British Honduras,
is a considerable tract of country which has remained
almost unknown to Europeans since the Spanish conquest,
and in which the traditions of the neighbouring States
place vast aboriginal cities and wonderful enchanted lakes.
To explore this i^on was the object of the adventurous
expedition of M. Arthur Morelet, a French gentleman of
leisure and extensive scientific acquirements. M. More-
let's natural history collections were deposited in the
Museum of Paris, and described in the Comptes Rendus of
the Institute ; a new crocodile was named after him (which
he pathetically declares to be the only result of the journey
as far as fame to himself is concerned), and an account
of his travels was printed for private circulation in his own
country. In the volume before us a portion of this is now
translated for the benefit of the American and English
publia Although the work records no important* or
striking discoveries, it is a valuable and interesting contri-
bution to the geography and natural history of an almost
unknown district.
M. Morelet's journey was divided into two portions.
The first was devoted to a visit to the ruins of the ancient
city of Palenque, near the great river Usumasinta, in the
western portion of the district. The existence of these
ruins was not known till 1750, but they have been suffi-
ciently described in the works of Dupaix, Stephens, and
others. Notwithstanding the traditions of immemorial
antiquity which hang around them, the author attributes
their origin to the Toltecs, who, in the middle of the
7th century were in possession of Anahuac, where
civilisation peaceably developed itself. Later, about the
year 1052, they abandoned this region, and emigrated in
a south-easterly direction, that is to say, into the provinces
of Oaxaca and Chiapa. It is easy enough, therefore, he
thinks, to arrive at the conclusion that Palenque was
founded at this time, and was consequently contempora-
neous with Mitla.
The second and more important portion of M. Morelet's
expedition had for its special object a visit to the great
lake of Itza, situated in the province of Peten. Although
nominally within the territory of the Republic of Guatemala,
and but a comparatively short distance from the British
settlement of Belize, he was unable to obtain at any of
the seaport towns of Yucatan any exact information as to
the exact locality of, or the means of access to, this
mysterious region. Proceeding from Palenque up the
Usumasinta River, his route then lay eastwards for up-
wards of a fortnight through virgin forests of great mag-
nificence, abounding in insects of all kinds, and in mkny
rare and curious birds, and with a floral vegetation of
great interest and beauty. The author describes in par-
ticular the Aristolochia grandiflora, with a flower often
not less than twelve to fifteen inches in diameter, the
calyx resembling the figure of a swan suspended by its
bill, but when full-blown assuming the form of the con-
ventional cap of liberty, turned up with a violet velvet
lining, and worn by the Indian children as a helmet
The great lake variously referred to by chroniclers as
that of Itza, of the Lacandones, and of Peten, is described
by M. Morelet as having a circumference of upwards of
twenty-six leagues, and a depth in most cases exceeding
thirty fathoms. It is not fed by any river, or eren brook,
of importance, and has no outlet ; how its waters are kept
fresh is not described. Its shores are defined by a girdle
of broken calcareous hills, which are more or less silicious.
On an island situated near its south-western shore is the
Indian town of Flores, the only one of importance in this
vast, almost uninhabited, district. Its description, and
the illustration, convey an idea of great beauty: —
" I was impressed with the magnificence of the land-
scape which presented itself from the eminence where the
modern church is situated, and which was once occupied
by the ancient temples of the Itzaes. The sky was clear,
the waters of the lake of the loveliest azure, and the islands
and blufl* shores, indented with little bays, hemmed in by
silvery belts of sand, were green a^d refreshing to the
sight. The island of Peten itself is oval in shape, rising
by a gentle slope from the water, and terminating in a
platform of calcareous rocks. It is not large ; one may
make the circuit of it in a quarter of an hour. Its surface
is covered with small stones, which are doubtless the re-
mains of ancient edifices,"
The necessaries of life, both as to food and clothing,
being very few in number, the inhabitants of Flores have
little inducement to labour, and pass their days in
luxurious idleness or nocturnal festivities, and their
character is what might be expected from their habits of
voluptuous ease, though without any strongly developed
vices. As to the natural history of the district, the author
describes as the most abundant mammalia three species
of deer, the tapir, the peccary, a species of rabbit, an
armadillo, the agouti, which commits great ravages on the
crops, and several rodents. Among the birds he mentions
particularly a small heron {Ardea exilis\ two swallows,
and a humming bird. Among the reptiles are a number
of species hitherto undescribed, including a new turtle
{Emys areolata) and the Crocodilus Moreleti, the capture
of which nearly cost him his life. There are fifteen
different kinds of fish in the Lake of Itza, which are
almost without exception peculiar to it. Considering the
isolation of the lake from all other water systems, this
fact is of great interest to the student of the geographical
distribution of animals, and of the origin of species.
The flora is not described in detail, indeed throughout the
book few plants are specifically named, unless of striking
beauty or producing edible fruits. A suspicion of the
accuracy of the author's knowledge of natural history is
excited by the occurrence of such phrases, imless they be
due to incorrect translation, as •* invertebrae (sic) and
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NATURE
{Dec. 28,1871
insects," speaking of a gasteropod as a ** shell-fish," and
describing the Tillandsia as "a variety of moss."
Another serious defect in the book is that the map which
accompanies it does not correspond with the text in the
spelling of the names, nor always even in the natural
features of the country.
From Flores M. Morelet proceeded in a southerly direc-
tion to the City of Guatemala, passing along the water-
shed which separates the streams flowing into Honduras
Bay on the east from those which find their outlet in
the Gulf of Mexico to the west A halting-place on the
route is the station of.Campamac,laid down on the maps
as a place of some importance, but which he found to
consist of "half-a-dozen worm-eaten posts stuck in the
ground in the midst of the forest, and supporting a
thatched roof ; a small clearing in front, and faint traces
of a path leading to it in one direction, and from it in
another." A little farther south, on approaching the In-
dian town of Cahabon or Cajabon, the traveller emerges
from the dense virgin .forests >yhich have clothed the
country since he left Flores, and enters on the wide open
savannahs which characterise the southern portion of
Guatemala. The Indians of this district belong to a
different race from the Mayas of Peten; they are of a
darker colour, with less regular features and less sym-
metry of form ; with low foreheads,* high cheek bones,
and the top of the head rising 'to a point in a manner
apparently artificial. The civilisation introduced by the
Dominicans appears to be gradtiilly ■decaying; and Euro-
pean vices, added to their own national indolence, are
rapidly reducing their numbers, and deteriorating their
character.
The reader will find in M. Morelet's narrative much
valuable information as to the manners and customs of the
inhabitants of an almost unknown territory, and with re-
gard to the physical features and natural history of a
country extremely rich . in natural productions ; inter-
spersed with those personal incidents and tales of ro-
mantic adventure which add so much to the charm of a
book of travel.
OUR BOOK SHELF
The Ornithology of Shakespeare, Critically examined,
explained, and illustrated. By James Edmund Harting,
F.L S., &c. (London ; Van Voorst, 1871.)
The man who wrote the line, " One touch of Nature makes
the whole world kin," demands that some notice should be
taken in these colunans of any one of his numerous com-
mentators who may attempt to set forth that side of our
versatile poet which turns towards natural history. Mr.
Harting's attempt is eminently successful We last met
with him (not long since) " on the lone sea-shore," we now
find he is equally at home in the library, and if he does
not convince us that Shakespeare was a greater ornitholo-
gist than has lived since, proof at least is adduced that he
was, in his knowledge of birds and their ways, inferior to
no one of his time. Books have been written to show
that our immortal bard was a soldier, a lawyer, and what
not — his reputation as a keen and accurate observer of
the feathered race is now fully established. How, indeed,
could it be doubted? Did not the "swan of Avon"
appreciate " the temple-haunting martlet " and the delicate
air which it loved ? Did he not " tune his merry note
unto the wild bird's throat " while celebrating equally " the
clamorous owl that nightly hoots," and '* the plain-sung
cuckoo grey ? " But here we must stop. It is always the
reviewer's business ( " 'tis true, 'tis pity, and pity 'tis, 'us
true " ) to point out defects. We may mention one. Mr.
Harting has forgotten to notice the correct interpretation
of the expression "russet-pated choughs," and urges the
claim of the jackdaw to be the bird so distinguished.
Now, as he truly says, the daw has a grey head, and to
make Shakespeare term grey " russet " is, in our eyes, a
crime. Without doubt the poet had in his mind the real
Cornish chough, and the expression is quite accurate.
" Russet pated " is having red pattes or feet {cf, the heraldic
croix paUe)\ not a x^^pate or head — a feature equally in-
applicable to chough or daw, while the red feet of the former
are as diagnostic as can be. We arc bound to say, however,
that such a slip as this stands alone. Mr. Hart lug's book
in general is not only readable, but exact and instructive,
while its illustrative woodcuts ' are well chosen, well drawn,
and well engraved.
Thoughts on U/e-Science, By Edward Thring, M.A;
(Benjamin Place), Head-Master of Uppingham School.
Second edition ; enlarged and revised. (London and
New York : Macmillan and Co.)
The first edition of this book by the accomplished and
efficient head-master of Uppingham School appeared with
the pseudonym "Benjamm Place" on its title-page ; this
second and much-enlarged edition bears the author's own
name. The title may be apt to mislead some as to the
nature of the contents ; it is not a work on Biology. The
author apparently means by " Life-Science " the science
of those phenomena which are the manifestations of the
higher kinds of life, a^ opposed to those sciences which
deal with " matter animate and inanimate." " The world
open to man's intelligence," he divides into two parts :
" On the one side there is matter animate and inanimate,
which as matter is capable of material investigation, and
which is below man. On the other side there is Ufe as
displayed in feeling and thought, and belief founded on
the facts of life. The science of this is Life-Science."
Mr. Thring believes that man cannot live by science
alone ; that there is a kind of knowledge, a circle of
belief, a region of activity, quite outside and independent
of science strictly so-called, and which is of far more
importance to the great bulk of humanity than any amount
of scientific knowledge. To Mr. Thring, in the present
" displacement of traditional ideas, it has seemed no use-
less task to look steadily at what has happened, to take
stock, as it were, of man's gains, and to endeavour, amidst
new circumstances, to arrive at some rational estimate of
the bearing of things, to examine the instruments and
means at our disposd, to examine our strength ; so that
the limits of what is possible, at all events, may be clearly
marked out for ordinary persons." '* This book is an en-
deavour to bring out some of the main facts of the world.^
Mr. Thring puts forward many statements regarding the
inadequacy of language as a vehicle for thought, and on
the imperfection of human intelligence itself at the present
stage of man's process, which claim the consideration of
all those who are mclined to deny them ; and much of
what he says, as to the sphere and power of scientific re-
search, deserves to be pondered by all earnest seekers
after truth, and, indeed, has almost always been ad-
mitted by the highest intellects, who have tried to explore
" the great ocean of undiscovered truth." Mr. Thring's
style IS characterised by a rugged force, and a certain
novelty of expression and even of construction, which
will render his book interesting to many readers, and
which are frequently the outcome of his intense earnest-
ness and the thoroughness of his convictions, as well as
of impatience with those intolerant scientific speciaUsts
who imagine the little group of phenomena that comes
within the ken of their limited vision to be the universe.
We heartily commend the book to the attention of our
readers.
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NATURE
161
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold hintsHf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications. ]
Dr. Carpenter and Dr. Mayer
With reference to Dr. TyndalVs communication of last week,
in which I most unexpectedly found a private note of my own
placed before your readers, I should be obliged by your allowing
inc to state :—
I. That the idea of " Correlation," as originally entertamed
by Mr. Grove, and applied by myself to physiology more than
twenty years ago, most imquestionably included that of the
quantitative equivalence of the convertible forces, as will appear
Iromthe following passage in my memoir of 1850 (Phil. Trans.
P- 73 0 • — **The idea of correlation also involves that of a cer-
tain definite ratio between the two forces thus mutually inter-
^langeable, so that the measure of force B, which is excited by
a certain exertion of force A, shall, in its turn, give rise to the
same measure of force A as that originally in operation. " And
farther I urged the precise relation o^rvable between the vital
activity of plants and cold-blooded animals, and the amount of
heat they receive from external sources, as a ground for the
belief that heat ha^ the same relation to the organising force as it
hasto electricity (pp. 747-7SO)'
a. In crediting Dr. Mayer therefore with the independent
(and in my own case the previous) enunciation of the '* Correla-
tion " doctrine, I most certainly meant to include the notion of
quantitative equivalence. Whether the quantities be or be not
expressed in number seems to me a matter of secondary im-
portance. William B. Carpenter
University of London, Dec. 26
The "North British Review" and the
Origin of Species
The writer of the article on the "Origin of Species," which
was published in the North British Review for June 1867, has
corrected in your periodical for November 30 an unimportant error
which occurs in a certain paragraph of that article. There 1%
however, it appears to me, a much more serious error in the
same paragraph, which vitiates his arithmetical calculations
throughout, and leads him to an erroneous conclusion.
The paragraph in which this error occurs is quoted at length in
Mr. Mivart's work on "The Genesis of Species." It may there-
fore be worth while to point out the oversight alluded to.
The error arises from the writer's assuming that in a race
which remains constant in numbers, only one individual out of
each family, i.e.y out of the offspring of one female, will on an
average survive to produce young. This assumption is not true ;
for since only one half of the race, namely the females, bring
forth young, it follows that two out of each family must, on
the average, survive to have offspring, namely, one male and one,
female. Each of these will transmit its peculiarities to its
descendants.
I will now quote the writer*s words, putting within brackets
the necessary corrections.
He says, ** A million creatures are bom ; 10,000 survive to
produce offspring. One of the million has twice as good a
chance as any other of surviving ; but the chances are 50 to I
against the gifted individual being one of the 10,000 survivors."
Further on he says, ** Let us consider what will be its influence
on the main stock if preserved. It will breed and have a
progeny of^ say 100 ; now this progeny will, on the whole, be
intermediate between the average individual and the sport The
odds in favour of one of this generation of the new breed will
be, say, i^ to I, as compared with the average individual ; the
odds in their favour will therefore be less than that of the
parent, but owing to their greater number the chances are that
about \\ of them would survive \about 3 ofthem^ for without any
advantage two would on an average survive.] Unless these breed
together, a most improbable event, their progeny would again
approach the average individual; there would be 1 50 [300] of them,
and their superionty would be, say in the ratio of i^ to i ; the
probability would now be that nearly two [6 x |, or nearly 8] of
them would survive, and have 200 [750] children with an eighth
superiority. Rather more than 2 [15] of these would survive ; but
the superiority would again dwindle, until after a few generations
it wotud no loitger be observed, and would count for no more in
the struggle for life than any of the hundred trifling advantages
which occur in the ordinary organs."
The writer thus concludes that the advantage derived by in-
heritance from the sport will ultimately die out. The true con-
clusion is, that the advantage never dies out, but only becomes
distributed through the whole race ; and, moreover, that the
sum of the advantages of all the favoured individuals, when
added together, is greater than the original advantage, and
becomes greater and greater every successive generation, though
it tends to a limit at which it never actually arrives. Thus,
representing the original advantage by imity, the advantage in
the next generation is 1^, in the next i(, and so on.
If now the same kind of sport arise independently, [i.e, not
by inheritance from some previous sport) say once in every genera-
tion, and is preserved, say once in every fifty generations, the
advantages derived by inheritance from these sports will accumu-
late and become distributed throughout the whole race. Hence
in the course of an immense number of generations they must
produce a decided effect upon the character of the race.
Thus though any favourable sport occurring once, and never
again, except by inheritance, will effect scarcely any change in a
race, yet that sport, arising independently in difierent generations,
though never more than once in any one generation, may effect
a very considerable chan^ These conclusions are opposed to
those which the writer of the article is endeavouring to establish.
Leeds Grammar School A. S. Davis
Prof. Tait on Geological Time
As I have lately found, under the signature of Prof. Tait, in
the well-known Rhjue Scientifque, several statements that
would doubtless have been challenged had they appeared in
any English scientific journal, and of wh'ch the following are
specimens : — " Sir W. Thomson has already demonstrated, b^
three complete and independent physical proofs, the impossi-
bility of admitting the existence of such periods " — *' Each one
(of Sir W. Thomson's arguments) would suffice to upset at once
the pretensions of Lyell and Darwin" — ** Professor Huxle/s
attempt has completely failed ; " and as in the new edition of
Juke's Geology Sir W. Thomson's demonstration is stated at
some length, while an adverse argument used by Jukes U omitted,
I venture to ask that you will allow me a few words on the
subject, since I treated the matter at length two years ago in
Scientific Opinion^ and, so far as I am aware, my arguments re-
mained unanswered.
1. Does not the conclusiveness of all Sir W. Thomson's argu-
ments depend upon the assumption of the universality of the
principle of dissipation of energy? But to assume this is to
assume that uniformitarianism is false. Y he whole question is
therefore begged in the premisses, as must be the case in mathe-
matical arguments.
2. As Mayer categorically denies the universality of the said
principle, by what right does Sir W. Thomson entitle it a ** prin-
ciple of natural philosophy," and therefore state that uniformi-
tarians are "directly opposed to the principles of natural
philosophy " ? As in the opinion of the French Academy, and
of many eminent English and German savants, Mayer is one of
the first physicists in Europe, I think it cannot be assumed with
Prof. Tait that, "as regards method, Mayer and his supporters
are little in advance of the Middle Ages," though undoubtedly
Mayer is very different from Sir W. Thomson.
3. By what process does Sir W. Thomson discover ** univer-
sal principles? His universal principle regarding the origin of
life "true through all space and all time," affords an opportune
answer to this question. I would simply refer to Mr. Ray Lan-
kester's article on that principle (Nature, No. 97, p. 368), and ask
if any one can discover a more satisfactory foundation for the uni"
versal principle of dissipation. From long study of Sir W.
Thomson's reasonings, I conclude that he will reject any evidence
for spontaneous generation, in consequence 01 the "universal
principle " he has assumed on that Question.
4. In Section A of the last British Association, Sir W. Thom-
son supported his argument regarding the form of the earth (con-
troverted in your pages by Mr. Croll) by referring to existing
mountains five miles high (see Athenaum report). His audience
must have understood that these mountains are priimeval, as
otherwise the argument would have had no meaning. But as this is
the reverse of the truth, I carmothelp saying that Sir W. Thom-
son appears to consider himself entitled, not merely to invent
principles, but also to invent facts. I know no conclusions of
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NATURE
[Dec. 28, 1 87 1
science that might not be " briefly refuted " by such a method '
but I think it would be fair to employ the words, "particular
W. Thomson's axguments are conclusive demonstrations ; granted
the premisses, the conclusions certainly follow. But geologists have
simply to assume the contrary premisses, and they may mathe-
matically demoastrate the reverse. Agree to beg all the diffi-
culties of a question, and a certain conclusion may easily be
obtained. This fact was recognised in the Middle Ages, and
Mayer has not got rid of it
P. W. Stuart Menteath
42, Rankeillor Street, Edinburgh
[The remarks of Prof. Tait are contained in his opening
led lire for Session 1869-70, which was sent to us with pemnission
to make what use of it we chose. As the matter of Geological
Time had been very fully discussed in this country, we did not
insert the portions bearing on it. We believe that the portion
which we did insert induced the editor of the Rgvue to apply to
the author for the whole MS. As to the queries in the above
letter we may note,
1. The Dissipation of Energy is a necessary consequence of
the second law of Thermodynamics.
2. If " Mayer categorically denies its universality," so much
the worse for his own credit, and for that of "the French
Academy and the eminent English and German savants " who
support him.
^ 3. It is not for us to say what Sir W. Thomson would, or
could not, do.
4. So, after all, Mayer seems to be no better than Sir W.
Thomson. — Ed.]
In Re Fungi .
It may allay the alarm of your correspondent " W. G. S."
as to the decay of fungology in England, as far, at least, as one
of the cases which he quotes is concerned, to be informed that
so careful and critical a student of fungi as Mr. W. G. Smith con-
firmed the determination referred to, and on the faith of the
abnormal specimen, included this rare and very critical species
without any hesitation among the Middlcsex*fungi in the " Middle-
sex Flora," p. 408. Your correspondent ** W. G. S." has missed
the point of the paragraph from the Journal of Botany which he
criticises. The specimens of this fungus collected by Mr.
Wooster at WhitehaJl Gardens have a regiuar and normally deve-
loped pileuF, and were in striking contrast to the "abnormal
specimens " ( W. G. Smith, /. c. ) from the Goswell Road.
F, L. S.
A Shadow on the Sky
I po not know how common is the phenomenon desaibed by
Mrs. Charlotte Hall in Nature of Nov. 9 (p. 25), but her com-
munication leads me to report a much less striking appearance
of the same kind, which I witnessed Feb. 20, 1870, in this
neighbourhood. I was taking an early walk, and had mounted
to tde top of a ridge commanding an eastern view, about fifteen
minutes af^er sunrise. The sky was veiled in a dark white.
Above me, a little to the south and east, hung a ball of vapour
in mid- air, warmed into smoke-colour by the rays of the sun,
and yet so dense as to cut off* these rays, and cast a rectilinear
shadow of dark blue against the white coat of the sky. The
shadow was sharply denned, and the whole effect was not unlike
the nucleus and tail of a comet In a few moments the shadow
faded out, and, shortly after, the ball itself was dispersed. The
moon, in its third quarter, was visible somewhat past the zenith,
and surrounded with vapour. Twelve hours later we had a
violent rainstorm. N. J.
New York
Coal Measures of Ireland
In the new edition of Jukes*s " Manual of Geology," by Prof.
Geikie, at page 592, it is stated, on the authority of Mr. E. Hull,
that **in Leitrim, Fermanagh, and Tyrone, there are true repre-
sentatives of the Yoredale series of England." I, however (as
also the late Mr. Jukes), contend that no comparison can be
drawn between the coal bearing rocks of Ireland and those of
England. Furthermore, as Mr. Hull is unacquainted with these
Irish rocks, having only seen a few isolated patches of them, I
protest against his being quoted as an authority on the question,
more espiedally as in the paper to which Mr. Geikie referred,
•*0n the Geology of the Ballycastle Coal Fields, &c," Mr. HuU
states that while in the counties above mentioned there are true
coal measures, in the provinces of Lehister and Munster there
are none — a statement quite contrary to fact«, as all the sections
of these rocks in Leinster, Munster, and Connaught are identical,
and probably, as st^ggested by the late Mr. Jukes, were once con-
nected, as the lowest bed of coal occurs everywhere at a nearly
equal height above the limestone Furthermore, the intervening
strata are nearly identical, there being a certain thidcness of
argillaceous beds below, next the limestone, and a mixture of
arenaceous and argillaceous beds above
Naturallv it may be expected in all places where a sea
gradually became shallow, that limestone would be succeeded
by fine argillaceous beds, the latter by shore beds, more or less
coarse and arenaceous, and eventually by land beds, such as
cool, fire-day, clunch, and the like.
Similar sequences are not uncommon, both on a large and
small scale On the large scale in the passage rocks from the
limestone to the coal-bearing rocks of most countries, and on a
small scale in the north of Ireland and in Scotland, where a bed
of limestone will be succeeded by a shale, the shale by a sand-
stone, and the latter by a clay or coaL
If we examine into the thickness of the English and Irish
rocks, the difficulty of a comparison is apparent. In the latter
country the greatest thickness of the rocks called coal measures
never exceeds 3,500 feet, this series of strata including all the
rocks above the limestone ; whilst in Lancashire, according to
Mr. Hull's sections, the Yoredale beds alone exceed 5,000 feet in
thickness.
Moreover, if any value is to be attached to palaeontological
evidence, we find that from the base upwards in the Irish
rocks there are fossils which in England are considered to be
characteristic of the true coal measures. The latter fact would
seem to suggest that while in Ireland the upper part of the
limestone was being deposited, in England the millstone grits
and Yoredale rocks were accumulating, whilst subsequently, in
both countries, true coal measures were deposited ; those in
Ireland being unfortunately very poor in coal, although con-
taining very similar fossils.
In the northern extremity of Ireland, and in Scotland, the
measures are very similar, and in certain places apparently
identical, as pointed out years since by Sir R. Griffith. This,
therefore, is no new fact, as Messrs. Hull and Geikie would sug-
gest to their readers. G. Henry Kinahan •
Recent Changes in Circumpolar Lands
Some years ago I wrote a paper for the Ethnological Society
on some changes of surface affecting Ancient Ethnography.
Since this was printed many facts have accumulated, l^ese
have led me to a tentative generalisation on the subject, which I
should like to have discussed in your pages.
The question of the upheaval and subsidence of different areas
of the earth's surface, as it is going on at the present moment, is
of very great importance in geology, and yet few subjects have
been more neglected. A few facts have been here and there
collected ; but even the best authorities treat the matter in a
jejune fashion. According to them the areas of upheaval and
subsidence are scattered over the earth's surface in an irregular
marmer, without any definite law or rule. I believe that with
very slight local exceptions there is a very distinct law which
governs the subject
Potting aside altogether the southern hemisphere for the
present, I wish to prove that the area of upheaval b confined to
the land bordering the Polar Sea, and to the Polar Sea itself ;
that it is perfectly continuous all round the earth, and that it is
greatest near the Pole, and gradually diminishes until it disap-
pears about the 57th parallel, leading to the conclusion that tne
focus of upheaval is the Pole itself.
Of course, my observations are entirely confined to what is
taking place mw, and are not to be confused with the fkcts of
any other period, historical or g;eological.
Commencing with Scandinavia, we have the remarkable testi-
mony of Pliny, Mela, Solinus, and others, to the fact that Scan-
dinavia was considered by the Roman geographers, whose
authorities were bold and expert seamen, to be an archipelago.
! Ptolemy speaks of the Scandian Islands. The very name Scan*
, dinavia is ^vid^nce that thos^ who used it looked upon it as an
L/iyiLi^cju kjy
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D^. 28, 1871]
NATURE
163
island. This implies that a great deal of dry land must then
have been under water. In 1834 Sir Charles Lyell wrote his
Bokerian lecture, in which he brought forward overwhelming
evidence to prove that Scandinavia was then being mdually up-
heaved. Celsius, who wrote in the 17th century, had affirmed
it, and calculated die rise at forty inches in a century. In 1807
Von Bttch wrote that all the country from Frederickstadt, in
Sweden, to Abo, in Finland, and perhaps as far as St Peters-
btug, was slowly rising. Other authorities concurred, and
lastly Sir Charles Lyell, who had approached the subject as a
sceptic, was fully convinced after an exploration of the ground.
At Stockholm he found striking proofs of change since the
Baltic acquired its present tenants, Testacea found there seventy
feet above the sea level being identical with those found in the
adjacent sea. At Soderleige, a little fiuther south, and in a bed
ninety feet above the sea level, besides the shells were found
several buried vessels, made of wood, and joined with wooden
p^;s. In another place an iron anchor and nails were found. At
Upsala brackish water plants were found in meadows where
there are no salt springs ; a proof that the sea had only recently
retnned. At Or^rund, fortv miles to the north, the land had
risen five inches and a haU since 1820, and at GeHe were low
pastures, where the inhabitants* fathers remembered boats and
even ships floating. Experienced pilots in the Gulf of Bothnia
estimated the fkll of the waters at two feet in thirty years. Since
Sir Charles Lyell*s lecture both the Russians and the Swedes
have made experiments all proving the same fact
To the east of Scandinavia we have Fmland, exhibiting all the
characteristics of a recently-emerged land. It is a mere congeries
of lakes and swamps, separated by moss and sand. The level of
the lakes is constantly falling. In 18 18 lake Sovando was sud-
denly lowered ; its waters escaped into Lake Ladoga, and much
of its bottom was exposed. Similar traditions about low
meadows but recently crossed by boats and ships to those existing
in Sweden prevail here also, and there seems good ground for
believing that in the days of the Norsemen the White Sea and
the Gulf of Finland were joined by a considerable strait Farther
east, again, we have the experience of Murchison and his com-
panions, who found on the bsmks of the Dwina and Vaga recent
sheUs still retsdning their colour, and of the same species as those
found in the Arctic Sea. In Spitzbergen, Mr. Lamont reports
(see voL xviii. of the •* Quarterly Journal of the Geographical
Society '0 that he discovered recent bones and drift wood several
miles inland and high above high-water mark, skeletons of
whales thirty to forty feet above the sea level. The seal fishers
told him the land was rising, and that the seas thereabouts were
now too shallow for the right whale, which had forsaken the
Spitzbcigen coast This is confirmed by Malmgren (see Peter-
mann's Mittheiiungen, i, 1863). Farther east we have the
Tundras between the Karen Sea and the Gulf of the Obi pre-
senting bare desolate flats that look as if they had only recently
emerged. Middendorf describes the surface of the great
Siberian Tundra as coated with fine sand like that now beui£
deposited by the Polar Sea. Von Wrangel has many usefiU
remarks to prove my position. He tells us that Diomed Island,
mentioned by Laptev and Schalaurov, is now joined to the main-
land ; the coast of the Swatoi Ness, which they describe as very
indented and ruinous, is now straight The Bear Islands are
mere heaps of ice and stones, evidenUy but recently covered
with water ; and shoals and banks now occupy what was toler-
ably deep water in 1787 when Captain Sarypchew was there.
Herdenstrom, in 18 10, found large birches scattered about the
Tundra, 3" to the north of any known Siberian forest ; probably
drift wood such as Wrangelhimself found drifting in the Polar Sea.
Whales luive now almost deserted the Siberian shores, where in
Uie eighteenth centtiry thgr were common. This is, no doubt,
due to the shallowing of the water, as is the case in the Spitz-
bergen Sea. The shores of the Polar Sea, from the Lena to
Behring's Straits, are for the most part low and flat In winter
it is hvd to say where land ends and sea begins. A few versts
inland, however, a line of high ground runs parallel with the
present coast, and formerly, no doubt, constituted the boundary
of the ocean. This beliet is strengthened by the quantity of
drift wood found in the Upper Level, and also by the shoals
that run out, and will, no doubt, become dry land {VttU Wran-
gel's Introduction). " At several places along the coast we found
old weathered drift wood at the height of two fiathoms above
the present level of the sea, whilst the lower drift wood lay at a
level, indicating a change of level" Moving farther east again
across Behring's Straits, we find Captain Beechey describing the
coast as a high clifiT, now separated nom the sea by low flats with
bones, &c., on theuL I cannot speak with the same confidence
of the vast archipelago that boimos America on the north, nor
about the northern shores of America, my researches having
been confined to Asia, but evidence must abound in the Arctic
voyages. Drift wood and bones of whales are mentioned on
high ground by several of them. If it be p>ermitted to quote
the works of M. Redus as an authority, and I believe it to t>e a
most sound book, he says, page 628^ numerous indications of the
phenomenon (/>. of the upheaval of the circumpolar land of
North America) have been recognised in the Arctic islands,
scattered off the coasts of the Continent At Port Kennedy
Mr. Walker found shells of the present period at a height of
557 feet above the sea ; a bone of a whale lay at a height of 164
feet Again, page 651, after saying that Southern Greenland is
being depressed, he continues, '*On the north of Greenland,
from lat. 76"*, and in Grennell's land, &c, the directlv contrary
phenomenon is taking place." Hayes discovered on all the coasts
the existence of ancient sea-beaches which had gradually risen to
the height of loo feet
I have thus shown good ground for entertaining the notion
that the land at present rising about the Pole is a continuous
area, and is not rising merely in detached masses as M. Recluses
and Mr. Murrajr's maps (Geographical Distribution of Mammal;:)
would lead us to suppose. I believe, further, that this area,
bounded on the south by about the 57th parallel of latitude, is
the only area in the Northern Hemisphere which is at present under-
going upheaval, I should feel grateful to any of your corre-
spondents who would point out where there is another area (of
course excepting local disturbance immediately round a volcanoe) ;
or would direct me to any authorities throwing light on the
question I have advanced, which for anything I know may be
an old theory, or even an exploded heresy.
Not only is the land around the Pole rising, but there is evi-
dence to show that the nearer we get to the Pole the more rapid
the rise is. This has been shown most clearly in the case of
Scandinavia by Sur Charles Lyell, who most carefully guaged
the rise at different latitudes from Scania, where the land is
almost stationary, to the northern parts of Norway, where the
rise is four feet in a century. While in Spitzbergen and the
Polar Sea of Siberia, if in the memory of seal fishers and others
the water has shallowed so fast as to have excluded the right
whale, we may presume that the rate of emergence continues to
increase, until it reaches its focus at the Pole, as it certainly
diminishes until it disappears towards the south between the
56th and 58th parallels of latitude. The subject is one of pint-
mount importance to those who are trying to work out the history
of the earth, and I once suggested at the British Association that
it should be made the work of a special report, but I was
snubbed. I appeal with more confidence to you, sir, to help
me to ventilate it The question of the subsidence of other
areas, and of the correlated climatic change, I will reserve for
another letter. Henry H. Howorth
Derby House, Ecdes
THE ENGUSH GOVERNMENT ECLIPSE
EXPEDITION
W
ANY of the readers of Nature are no doubt in-
terested in the fate of the Eclipse Expedition of
1 87 1. I will therefore give a sketch of their doings to the
present time.
The P. and O. steamer Mitzapore^ having the party on
board, left Southampton on Oct 26, and, after a rather
rough voyage, reached Malta on Nov. 4 ; left again the
same evening, and arrived at Port Said on the 8th ;
entered the Canal at once, and anchored at Suez on the
loth. Here she remained tiU the 12th, awaiting the
arrival of the Brindisi mails ; then left for Galle, where
she arrived the 27th. On leaving the Channel a strong
S.W. breeze was encountered, which soon increased to
half a gale. The ship, though a roller, is a good sea boat,
and made good progress ; but the bad weather continued
with little abatement untU the Mirzapore was well in the
Mediterranean, and nearing Malta. The sea then became
cabncr, the sun 9hon^ out, and the passengers, many of
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<f)^'
164
NATURE
[Dec. 28,1871
whom bad not before emerged from their cabins, now
came out as gay as possible, ready to make an impression
at Maha. Our astronomers, who had not been exempt
from the common fate of those who try the sea without a
special education, now quickly roused themselves to make
use of the opportunities for overhauling their instruments,
and practising themselves for the work before them. The
officers of the ship kindly gave every assistance, and those
instruments that could be used on so unsteady a platform
as a ship's deck were brought up from the hold, in which
they had lain safely during the gale in the Bay, mounted
on temporary stands, and used most diligently to investi-
gate the changing phenomena with which we were sur-
rounded. Classes also for mutual instruction were formed,
so that each observer, on being detached in India, might
—no matter what his special forte, whether spectroscope
or polariscope— be able to impart instruction to the volun-
teers that we hope to obtain in India to aid in the good
woik. Our parly numbered ten, viz. : Mr. Lockyer, chief,
Messrs. Abbay, Moseley, Friswell, Capt. Tupman, R.M.A.,
and Commander Maclear, R.N., spectroscope observers ;
Dr. Thomson and Mr. Lewis, polarisers ; Mr. HoUiday,
artist ; and Mr. Davis, photographer. At Suez we were
strengthened by the addition of Signor Respighi, from
Rome, who has so distinguished himself by his observa-
tions of the solar atmosphere. The other passengers took
great interest in the doings of the "Wise Men of the
East," as they called us, and at their request, the day
before arrival at Malta Mr. Lockyer gave a lecture on the
advances that had been made of late years in solar
physics, and on the object of this expedition.
Observations were made, as opportunities were given by
clear sunrise and sunset at sea, on the alteratioMS that take
place in the absorption bands as the sun rises from the
horizon ; and here may be mentioned the interesting
result, that whilst in the open sea the bands at sunrise
and sunset were, with slight variations, the same as
observed by Lieut Hennesey (paper read before the
Royal Society May 21, 1870) whilst passing through the
Suez Canal and down the Red Sea, the lines attributed
to aqueous vapour near C and D were weaker, and
although the colour of the hills about Suez was of a
delicate purple, especially at sunset, the violet end of the
spectrum could hardly be seen.
In the Indian Ocean, when the air was close and filled
with moisture, and the N.£. monsoon blowing, the absorp-
tion bands near the horizon became very strong, and it was
very interesting during the afternoon to fix a telescope
with spectroscope attached, so that the horizon bisected
the field ; the spectrum of the air above the horizon then
gave the absorption bands, but they were very faint in
the light reflected on the water from the upper part of
the sicy, and they could be seen lengthening and shorten-
ing as the ship rolled towards or from that side. On pointing
the spectroscope at the sky above, only the ordinsiry solar
spectrum could be seen.
The Canal was entered on the 8th of November about
3 P.M., and the ship anchored at Suez at noon on the 10th.
The Mirzapore is one of the largest vessels that has passed
through the Canal, and though she got through salely, it
must not be supposed that she did not touch at all ; in
fact, the Canal is so narrow that too Httle room is left to
allow for the time that so long a ship (400 feet) requires to
answer her helm, especiaUy at slow speed ; and though the
helm was shifted, and in some cases the engines reversed,
as soon as the bow deviated from the straight line be-
tween the piles marking mid-channel, she could not be
prevented touching several times. The narrowness also
occasions delay when two vessels have to pass, one having
to haul close in to the bank, and make herself as small as
possible while the other goes by. But it is a grand work,
and we have fully experienced the advantage of it, in
avoiding the trans- shipment of our instruments, and the
rough handling they would have experienced crossing the
desert. We anchored in the Bitter Lakes on the evening
of the 9th. The cause of the name they bear was shown
by the fact, attested by our engineer, that the water was
much Salter than in the canal on either side.
On arrival at Galle we were delighted to find that
Admiral Cockburn had brought his flag-ship the Glasgow
to meet us, and convey our Indian party to Beypoor and
Baikul. He has kindly placed all his acconmiodation at
our disposal whilst he visits Ceylon. All our instruments
were embarked yesterday, and we leave this morning for
Beypoor, where we hope to arrive on the 2nd. The colo-
nial steamer Serendib left yesterday with the parties for
Jaffna and Trincomalee.
I can now give you the last dispositions of our party.
In consequence of M. Janssen taking his station on the
Neilgherries, we shall occupy two stations in Ceylon :
Jaffna, where will be Captain Fyers, R.E., Captain Hogg,
Captain Tupman, R.M.A, and Mr. Lewis ; and Trin-
comalee, Mr. Moseley and Mr. Ferguson.
In India, Baikul or Ootacamund will be our head
quarters, occupied by Messrs. Lockyer, Davis, Maclear,
and Dr. Thomson ; at Manantawhaddy, Messrs. Abbay
and Friswell ; at Poodacottah, Mr. Holliday and M.
Respighi.
I hope I shall be able to tell you of the success of our
efforts. J. P. Maclear
Galle, Ceylon, Nov. 28
The following provisional arrangements have been made
in order to save time after arrival at Galle. Observers
are warned that they are liable to alteration on receipt
of information from the Indian and Ceylon authorities : —
1. The expedition will be divided into six parties as
follows: (i) Lockyer, Thomson, Maclear; (2) Respighi,
Holliday ; ^3) Tupman, Lewis, Ferguson ; (4) Abbay,
Friswell ; (5) Moseley ; (6) Davis.
2. Each party will be under the charge of the observer
just named in each party, who will be held responsible for
the instruments, &c, detailed for the use of. observers.
He will also be the channel of communication with the
local authorities, and will make arrangements for the
observations to be made by local volunteers.
3. Special instructions will subsequently be issued for
the observations, and stations wDl be named. Each
observer will be responsible to the chief of the expedition
alone for these observations.
4. The observers in charge of each party will hand in
to the treasurer a receipt for the instruments, &c, de-
tailed for each party.
5. The observer in charge of each party will make a
list of the cases containing the instruments, &c., ard will
arrange for their transfer from the Mirzaporc^ and for
their future transit
6. He will be held responsible for the repacking of the
instruments after the eclipse, and for their transmission to
Galle or Bombay.
To this we are able to append the following official m-
structions : —
The Ceylon party to be as follows : — Captains Fyers,
Hogg, and Tupman ; Messrs. Moseley, Lewis, Ferguson,
jun., and Foenandez.
Observing Stations to be as follows :— i. Jaffna and
station south ; 2. A position as far north of Trincomalee
as possible, and a station south.
Instruments to be detailed as follows :— recording
Dublin spectroscope, Capt. Fyers ; tube Dublin spectro-
scope, Mr. Ferguson ; analysing spectroscope, Mr. Mose-
ley ; camera, Capt. Hogg ; polariscope, Mr. Lewis.
Mr. Fcenandez should observe on the central line. He
should instruct two observers to make drawings of the
Corona on a plan similar to his own near the southern
limit of totali^.
The recording spectroscope to be used to determine
coronal lines in the red end of the spectrum to, and in-
Digitized by
Google.
Dec. 28, 1871]
NATURE
165
dudtng, F. A high power should be used, and the prism
should be adjusted for the minimum deviation of the
central ray of this portion.
The tube spectroscope should be used in a similar
manner for the other part^ including F. Intensities referred
to F to be most carefully noted.
Care to be taken that observers are not interrupted for
two hours after totality.
Instruments to be returned to Galle, and shipped in
P. and O. steamer, consigned to J. Browning, in, Mino-
ries, London, B.C. All observations^ photographic plates,
drawings, &c, to be sent to Mr. Lockyer within a week
of the eclipse. Observers to keep exact duplicates in
case of loss.
The following resolutions were passed by the Government
of India in the Home Department— under date 27th July
and 2 1st October : —
" Colonel Tennant has already been authorised demi-
officially to provide the astronomical instruments and
photographic apparatus that he will require for his obser-
vations, and the Governor-General in Council understands
that he is now in communication with Prof. Airy and Mr.
Huggins on the subject. The cost of these appliances
has been included in the estimate appended to Colonel
Tennant's memorandum.
''In addition to these instruments, Colonel Tennant will
require the aid of qualified observers, and it has been
ascertained that the Superintendent of the Great Trigono-
metrical Survey is prepared to place the services o? Mr.
Hennessey and Captain Hers chel, belonging to his depart-
ment, temporarily at the disposal of Cc^onel Tennant for
this purpose without prejudice to their proper duties. The
Governor-General in Council approves of this arrange-
ment, and is pleased to direct that the Survey officers
above-named shall suffer no loss of their allowances while
so employed, and that they shall have their travelling ex-
penses'paid out of the allotment of Rs. 15,000 sanctioned
on account of the Eclipse observations. Colonel Tennant
will arrange with Major Montgomerie beforehand when
the officers in question should join them.
"The Governor- General in Council is further pleased
to direct that Colonel Tennant shall receive from the
Surveyor General's Department all the aid that he may
reauire as regards photographic assistants^ chemicals, &c.
^ Lastly, the Governor General in Council is pleased to
direct that the report of the result of Colonel Tennant's
observations, and his accounts, shall be submitted by him
to this department."
"From the correspondence received with the above
despatch, the Governor t>eneral in Council has learnt
that an expedition is being sent out from England under
instructions from the Eclipse Committee of the British
Association, and he is desirous that the Government of
Madras will afford the expedition such assistance as it
may require in the furtherance of its operations. Such
assistance will probably consist in the provision, on a
moderate scale^ for three or four persons^ at each place
selected, of tents, means of subsistence, and locomotion,
and in the erection of temporary observatories of a simple
form. It may also be desirable to depute one or two
persons to each party from the Public Works Department
to assist the observers.
" Information has also been received that the French
Government has deputed M. Janssen to visit India with
the same object, and the Governor General in Council
desires that the Government of Madras will afford every
facility and assistance to that gentleman also.
" The Financial Department will be moved to sanction
any reasonable expenditure that may be necessary to en*
able the Government of Madras to give effect to these
instructions."
ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS
A SHORT paper of mine on the above subject ap«
-^"^ peared in Nature of the 7th December, in which
I stated some reasons for my belief that Smith Sound
possesses no apparent advantages over Spitzbergen as a
route by which to reach a very high northern latitude or
the Pole itself. In fact I think the advantages are all the
other way ; and I shall endeavour to show one or two more
reasons than I have already given for this belief.
Kane's and Hayes' ships were stopped by ice in Smith
Sound before they reached lat 79°, and this, I think, can
readily be accounted for by the peculiar contour of the
coast-line, as may be seen by the accompanying rough out-
line, taken from a copy of Dr. Hayes' chart in the Royal
Geographical Society's Map-room.
The width of Kennedy Channel (a continuation of
Smith Sound) is at 80° north lat. about 40 miles, but be-
tween latitudes 79° and 80'', Smith Sound expands to a
width of something like 100 miles, this expansion being
chiefly formed by a large bay on the east side. The south
point of this bay, which I have marked A in the accom-
panying chart, runs far to the west in lat. 78** 30' (thus
changing the direction of the Sound from nearly true
north and south to N.E. and S.W.), and approaching
within 30 miles of the west shore at the point B.
If there is, as I believe, a set or drift of current south-
ward, the ice will first be pressed with great force — ^as
Kane found to his cost— against that side of the bay^ of
which A is the south point, and then it will be dnven
across to the west shore somewhere ntar B at the
narrowest part of the Sound in a closely-packed and
continuous stream of heavy floes hitherto found impene-
trable.
Should this idea be correct, and there is something
more than theory to support it, this obstruction will be a
constant and not an occasional one as long as there is a
supply of ice to the north.
If there is a large opening extending far to the west at
the place marked C, we have another probable opposing
element ; for if the set of current runs eastward through
it, wc shall have an important addition to the Smith Sotmd
supply of ice, in making the barrier of the ^^pack " more
formidable. The opinion I express as to the direction of the
currents is not wholly hypothetical, for we have proofs of
an almost constant current (it is sometimes reversed by
strong winds) setting southward down Baffin's Bay ana
Davis Strait ; and this current can only be fed by Lan-
caster and Smith Sounds and other openings to the west
and north.
The only hope of an " easy ' passage up Smith Sound
to a higher latitude than 78° 40' is the existence of Kane's
" great open Polar Sea," for if such sea does exist, there
would be no ice to the northward to keep up the supply of
this commodity in Smith Sound, which would m the
summer months be cleared of its winter covering by the
southerly drift I have already mentioned, and the Sound
would, and probably will be, consequently free from ice in
August. But this is opposed to both Kane's and Hayes'
experience, whatever their expressed opinions about the
large open sea may have been.
That Kane's man Morton saw a very considerable
extent of open water is not to be doubted, also that it
may be quite true that he saw no ice to the northward,
although he put down a point of land (whether correctly
or not it is difficult to say) seventy miles distant in that
direction. Every one, however, must be aware— for it is
not necessary to have been in the Arctic seas to acquire such
knowledge— that when the temperature of the air is lower
than that of the water, a vapour or haze is formed by con-
densation, which, although by no means dense when look-
ing through a small extent of it, becomes so much so when
the observer has to look through eight or ten miles of it,
that any low object, such as floe ice, would be quite in-
Digitized ^y ^^^oqIc
i66
NATURE
[Dec. 28,1871
visible at either of these distances, and the haze itself
would give the appearance of a distant water horizon.*
The opinion that this open sea was of limited extent is,
I think, further confirmed by what Mr. Morton states as a
proof (as he thought) of its being " boundless ** or very
large. Morton says "that he remained for three
days watching the open sea rolling in waves at his feet,
and, although there was a strong breeze or gale blowing
from the north all the time, not a single piece of ice "
floated past to the southward.t
My interpretation of the above fact is quite the opposite
to that of Morton, for I believe there was a bamer of
fixed ice at no great distance to the north, hid from his
view by the cause I have named, which prevented any ice
driving south at the season of the year when Morton was
there, I think in June.
LQ«ia Tii'wcsi
fiOIvioT
M^
I offer these opinions with much diffidence, for we have
been recently told that all great Arctic authorities now
agree as to the Smith Sound route being the best When
the subject was brought prominently to notice in 1865, the
** great authorities " did not agree, there being about as
many opinions on one side as on the other.
At that time, without the slightest pretence to being an
" authority '* in the matter, I looked rather closely into
the fifties on which the facts favourable to the Smith
Sound route were founded, and finding these figures in
several important instances erroneous, the facts them-
selves lost much of their value. Johm Ras
• I use the term " water horixon " in opposition to **ice horizon,** which
exhibits a bright line easily recognisable by those who have once seen it.
t As I quote from memory, I give to the best of my belief Morton's
ing, if not his words.
THE TYPHOON OF 2nd SEPTEMBER, 1871
THE Typhoon in China of the 2nd September last, de-
tailed accounts of which reached England by the
last mail, and which included in its area of most active
violence the island and vicinity of Hong Kong, affords to
those interested in such natural phenomena an opportunity
of observing their varied characteristics, that may possibly
never occur again. The great centre of its efforts having
been in a situation where elaborate observations could be
taken regarding it both at sea and land, a vast amount of
information has been collected on the subject, which throws
more light upon these singular " freaks of nature " than
has ever before been arrived at.
In treating on the subject, I shall in the first place
point out the course which — after careful investigation
—I believe the typhoon to have followed, and after-
wards I shall state the evidences that I adduce in
support of the theory which 1 have adopted. Before
commencing, however, it may be as well briefly to illus-
trate the plan engraved. The names Formosa, Siam,
Onward, Mikado, Woodbine, and Anna Henderson are
those of six vessels which were on their way to and within
a short distance of Hong Kong during the typhoon, and
extracts from whose shipping rei)orts are now before me.
A portion of the continent of China is to the north of the
plan. The town of Macao and the islands of Hong Kong,
Lantao, and Lema are in their respective positions.
The course which was taken by the typhoon was nearly
allied to a parabolic curve. I have not attempted to trace
its source farther eastward than the position indicated
by 22° 30' N. lat and 116® 10' E. long., where it
overtook the Formosa (see a in map), or to follow
it beyond the point indicated by 21** 15" N. lat. and
115° 45' E. long., where it struck the Onward (see /
in map) on its return from the West This portion of
its course is marked in the plan by a succession of dotted
lines. Consequently my observations are confined to the
proceedings of the typhoon within these limits. After
passing the Formosa, it swept over Hongj Kong, crossed
the mouth of the Canton River, and contmued its head-
long career to the town of Macao. Approaching this
point, however, it was met by a strong northerly gale, and
turned towards the south, but again encountering oppo-
sition in the shape of a south-west gale, it returned towards
the east, upsetting the Mikado and driving the Onward
before it Throughout its entire course it consisted of a
comparatively narrow belt of wind.
So much for the statement of my theorem. Now for
its proofs.
I assume that only three conditions are necessary to
substantiate my argument :—
1. 1 must prove that the typhoon reached the various
positions which I have indicated in the order actually laid
down.
2. That it reached them at successive intervals of time.
3. That its greatest observed eflbrts were exerted on
or in the vicinity of the Une adopted by me, and not at
any appreciable distance to the right or left of it
4. That the two opposing gales, which I have described
as occasioning the alteration in the course of the typhoon,
did actually exist.
The first and second of these four conditions appear to
be so intimately connected, that I think I cannot do better
than consider them together. The earliest observations
of the typhoon were made by the Formosa, which experi-
enced its full force in the situation indicated in the plan
between a and b. Both positions are accurately deter-
mined. The following is an extract from the shipping
report : " On September 2, the barometer 29*30, experi-
enced very heavy typhoon ; during the typhoon the ship
suffered some damage. At 4 A.M. on 2nd inst, barometer
29-25, blowing venr heavy from east ; at 12 noon, the same
day, the wind moderated ; at 2 p.m. 01^ same made some
Digitized by VJiOOQ..^
Dec. 28, 1871J
NATURE
167
II3!E
I14!e
iisTe
iiefe
117^6
22?M.
2i:n.
^*Sgft^!SSSlf«"
saiL'' The second series of observations was taken at
Hong Kong [c in plan). Here I may quote from the
register kept at Junk Island, near Hong Kong, during
Saturday, September 2, and Sunday, September 3 :—
September 2
Hour
Wind Force
Barometer
I
N.N.W. 6
2958
2
>t >i
2954
3
It
II
2952
4
tt
If
2950
5
If
>f
2948
6
II
II
2946
7
II )
1
2945
8
!•
I
2944
9
N.N.E.
f
29-42
10
7
2940
II
N. by W. 7
29*39
29-38
Noon
8
I
9
29-35
2
N. 9
29-30
3
If 9
2929
4
N. by E. 10
2928
5
10
2927
6
N.N.E. 10
2922
\
10
2919
N.E.byN. II
2916
9
EN.E. 12
2916*
10
12
2915*
II
E. 12
2917 •
idnight
E. byS. iS. 12
September 3
29*18
I
E. by S. iS. 12
2918
2
E.S.E. II
29-25
3
i<
[)
2930
— and so on, the barometer rising, as the gale decreased.
It will, of course, be remarked that the east wind was
the veriuble typhoon. This is clear from the fact of the
barometer reaching its lowest point, and the force of wind
* At this time, between 9 and xi, the typhoon stmck the island.
being the highest registered, at or about the hour when
the vane pointed to the east. Now, to proceed in the same
direction that the typhoon is following as far as the town
of Macao (</ in plan). No register, unfortunately, was
preserved^at least, that has transpired — of the direction
of the winds at Macao during September 2 and 3, but the
barometrical readings were as follows : —
Date
Hour
Reading
September 2 .
12
Noon
. 29705
»» •
.. 3
P.M.
29605
»»
»»
:: \
29-555
. 29-485
»»
- I
• 29475
If
8
. 29425
»»
.. 9
II
. 29405
>»
.. 10
II
. 29285
»i
II
. 29185
»i
.. II -30
II
. 29135
»»
.. 12 Midnight ..
. 29o->5
September 3 .
I
A.M.
. 28785
»»
.. 130
II
. 28485
»»
»i
2
.. 330
II
II
. 28885
»i
.. 4
II
29^35
Still, although no record has been preserved of the di-
rection from which the wind came on this occasion, it is
evident, from the nature of the injuries inflicted upon
Macao, that it was the turning point or apex of: he
typhoon. The effects bore a strong analogy to those of
a cyclone or whirlwind, as will be seen from the following
extract from the Overland China Mail of September 15 :
" No less than three vessels, the Vistula^ French Ed-
ouardet Marie ^ and a Dutch baraue, have been wrecked
in the roads Baron de Cereal's house on the
goint has been unroofed ; the clock tower top has been
lown down; and the fa9ade of the San de Lorenzo
Church has been torn off by the force of the wind."
Continuing still farther round the course indicated by the
* At this time the typhoon stnidYCfi^isl^d. T
Digitized by VjOOQIC
<68
NATURE
[Dec. 28, 1871
dotted lines in the map, and omitting to take notice of
the Woodbine and Anna Henderson^ v^e arrive at the
Mikado f whose situation (marked e on the plan), although
not so clearly specified in the report as might be desir-
able, must, nevertheless, have approximated to that laid
down, if we take into consideration the direction from
which it was sailing (from Saigon to Hong Kong) and the
time at which it arrived in harbour, viz., about four and
twenty hours after the typhoon had passed over it The
shipping report is as follows: — "On midnight the ist
inst (September) the barometer falling, wind increasing
from the northerly, barometer falling rapidly. On mid-
night of the 2nd instant, the weather indicating 2i typhoon,
began to take in sail ; the wind continued increasing, the
barometer still falling ; at 8 A.M. on the (3rd)* instant took
in the main topsail ; at 1 1 A.M. till 2 p.m. blowing a very
heavy typhoon, the ship lying on her beam end, the baro-
meter 29*34. At 3 P.M. weather began to
moderate, and the ship began to ri^hten At
8 P.M. on same day the weather again moderated, and we
then commenced to make sail to Hong Kong ; the wind
rounded to E.S.E." (showing that it had been westerly or
north-westerly during the gale). But the fullest and most
minute account of the typhoon appears in the narrative
of the Onward*s adventures during its occurrence ; and
here, fortunately, I am able to repose the utmost confi-
dence in the statements adduced, owing to a personal
acquaintance of several years with the Captain and
officers of that vessel. There is not the remotest diffi-
culty in determining the position of Captain Whyte's
vessel during the 2nd and 3rd September, the bearings
and distances being quoted on all important occasions.
The report runs thus :— " Current setting to S.W. \ W.,
34 miles daily. September 2, at 6 p.m. (barometer 29*83),
N.E., head of Lema Islands, bore N. by W. ^W., 15
miles distant ; tacked ship and stood to eastward, wind
at N. with a heavy easterly sea coming away, with all
appearances of bad weather ; midnight (barometer 29*70)
wind N. increasing to a gale ; reduced the ship to two
topsails ; 4 A.M. (barometer 29*59), ^'^^ still at N., gale
still increasing with heav)* sea from the eastward ; 8 A.M.
(barometer 29*39), strong and increasing gale, furled all
sails, and securad them with double gaskets, and made
every preparation for a harcf gale. September 3, at noon
(barometer 29*15, still falling), wind N.W., blowing most
terrifically with a fearful cross sea, ship pitching heavily,
putting bowspit and jibboom under water at tunes, and
filling the decks vdth water ; 4 P.M. (barometer 29*3), wind
W., blowing harder than ever with thick rain ; at 6 p.m.
2 barometer 29*10), wind W.S.W. blowing still most terri-
cally with a most fearful cross sea running ; at 8 P.M.
(barometer 29*20), wind S.W. inclined to moderate, sea
still very heayv ; midnight (barometer 29*39), ^Q<1 ^^ S.,
both wind and sea greatly down with all appearance of
belter weather ; 6 a.m. (barometer 29*60), wind S.S.E.,
moderate breeze, made sail and squared away for port.*'
The run of the ship from 6 p.m. September 2 till 4 p.m.
September 3, I have represented by the line //as
although the course taken was supposed to be easterly,
the strong current setting in a S.W. direction would cer-
tainly bring it down to the point /. Thus the ship in
endeavouring to escape the typhoon ran right into it !
Now what may be gathered from all these facts ? That a
terrific gale from the east struck the Formosa in the posi-
tion indicated by a on the 2nd September at 4 a.m. ; Uiat
it passed over Hong Kong (at c in map) between 10 and
II the following night; that it reached Macao (// in
map) at 2 a.m. on the morning of the 3rd, exhibiting such
peculiar phases of character as would lead one to believe
that it was revolving on its axis ; that (after changing its
direction) it overtook the Mikado in the position indicated
* I have alured this from and to 3rd as the typhoon could not have been
*' indicated" after it had actually occurred I The figure 3 wai evidently
a misprint
by ^, at 2 P.M. on the 3rd September ; and that finally it
swept over the Onward in the position indicated by /,
still coming from the west, at 4 p.m. the same day.
Hence 1 conceive that my first two conditions are
proven.
The third is as easily disposed of. That the typhoon
did not^spread itself out to any great extent in a northerly
direction is clear from the fact of Canton not having
experienced its fury. There was a smart gale blowing on
Saturday and Sunday ; but the barometer did not descend
below 2^*40, and the typhoon was described there as being
"insignificant." That it was not felt so far south as 21^
N. lat. is evident from the shipping reports of the Wood-
bine and Anna Henderson^ which make no mention of it.
They spesJc of gales blowing hard from the N. and S.W.,
and culminating upon the evening of the 2nd of Sep-
tember ; but it is apparent, from the tone of their descrip-
tions, that they did not encounter the veritable typhoon.
The Woodbinds report is as follows : — " 2nd of September,
about thirty miles from Lema Island, when encountered a
heavy typhoon from N. to S.W., with heavy sea.** The
Anna Henderson says :— " Wind veerine to N. ; on the
2nd increased to a gale, splitting several sails ; at 7 a.m.
on same day blew away the main topsail, the gale con-
tinued up to 6 P.M., than began to moderate.^' Their
courses after receiving the shock of the northerly gale
are represented by h i a.nd j k, and these cannot be
far from the actual ones taken, as the positions h stndj are
determined from observations quoted in the shipping re-
ports, and the ships having been small, with wind and
current both dead against them, must have been driven
in the directions indicated. Fortunate for them that it
was so, for by this accident they escai)ed the typhoon
altogether. With regard to the interior edge of the
typhoon, it would be impossible to ascertain how far it
extended ; but that there was a region of comparative
cakn within its circumference is easily proved. The
Siam^ from Newchwang, a port in the north of China,
when in 21° 30' N. lat. and 115° 15' £. long., experi-
enced a grale, which, during the 2nd of September,
went right round the compass, clearly showing that the
ship was in the centre of the typhoon. But that the Siam
did not feel the full force of the gale or anything like it is
equally clear from the trifling notice taken of its effects.
Tne date of this vessel's arrival in port leads us to be-
lieve that it scarcely altered its position during the gale ;
probably as the wind veered round it drifted northwards,
as indicated at ^ ^ in the map.* The shipping
report states :— " ist of September, in lat. 21® 30' N.,
long. 115° 15' E., when experienced another heavy
typhoon* from N.£. veering to N.N.W., and round to
S.S.E., with very heavy cross sea, and much rain ; on the
3rd inst it began to moderate, wind from S. to S.S.E." I
Uiink therefore we may fairly gather that the typhoon's
influence did not extend in any great degree to the right
or left of the course laid down for it in my map.
Hence condition three is proven.
The fourth condition scarcely requires demonstration.
The truth of it is apparent from the report of the wind at
Hong Kong up to 3 p.m. on the 2nd of September, and
that of the ship Woodbine^ which occupied the most
westerly position of any of the vessels, from whose
accounts I have gathered my information.
It seems therefore reasonable to assume that the typhoon
of the 2nd of September did take the course indicated by
me, which is nearly that of a parabolic curve. Should
such be the case, it goes far to prove that these eccentric
phenomena have not a circular form, as has hitherto been
imagined.
One of the most interesting facts that has been elicited
from these investigations is, however, the indication that
a space of comparative calm does exist within the circuit
* This shows in how qnalified a sense the word "typhoon " must be tak^n
in reading the Sinm's report, /"^ T
Digitized by VjiOOQlC
Dec. 28, 1871J
NATURE
169
of a typhoon, a theory which has always been advanced,
but, so far as I know, has never hitherto been substan-
tiated by any actual observations. The case of the Siam
is a strong argument in favour of the truth of such a
theory, for in point of fact it may be said to have scarcely
felt the effects of the typhoon at all.
Should any of your readers be disposed to sift the various
evidences which I have adduced, the papers are in my
possession, and access can be had to them at any time.
Frank Armstrong
NOTES
We have received fall intelligence of the English Eclipse
Expedition from Mr. Lockyer, under date Galle, November 29.
At that date the expedition had been detailed into various
parties for service at different stations in Ceylon and the main-
land ; the instructions to these several parties are reprinted in
another column. Mr. Lockyer, Dr. Thomson, and Captain
Maclear were to observe at Ootacamund, Mr. Davis being
detached to photograph at Gunote ; Messrs. Abbay and Friswell
were to go to Manantawaddy, Signor Respighi and Mr. HoUiday
to Poodacottah ; while Captains Tupman and Fyers and Messrs.
Moseley and Lewis were to proceed to Trincomalee. The Indian
and Cingalese authorities and the officers of the Minapore and
Glasgow had exerted themselves to the utmost to assist the expe-
dition, and the Ceylon party acknowledge great obligation to
Captain Fyers, the Surveyor-General. In another column will
be found an account of the voyage out.
Wb hear with great satisfaction that Mr. Edgar Leopold
Layard, C.M.Z.S., has received the appointment of H.B.M.
Consul at Para. Mr. Layard has already done good service to
science in Crylon and South Africa, and will now have the
pleasure of investigating the fauna and flora of a third and not
less interesting region. Before leaving England we understand
that Mr. Layard will publish a new and revised edition of his
work on " The Birds of the Cape Colony," which is now nearly
ready for the press.
We are informed that Mr. Leighton is preparing for publication
a conspectus of all the Lichens hitherto discovered throughout
the world, with diagnoses, &c, and also a second edition of the
Lichen Flora of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Channel
Islands, which will combine an Introduction, Glossary, and
Index, and which, it is hoped, will be ready for the press early
in 1872. The Glossary, &c., will be printed separately, 10 as to
enable possessors of the first edition to purchase separately.
Mr. T. K. Salmon, of Guildford, is making preparations to
start on a collecting expedition to the highlands of the Columbian
republic. Mr. Salmon's head-quarters will be at Medellin, in
the State of Antroquia, whence he will explore the Cordillera of
Quindin, and upper valley of the Cauca. Mr. Edwin Gerrard,
jun , of College Street, Camden Town, acts as his agent, and
will be happy to receive subscriptions in aid of the expedition.
We are glad to hear that the well-known naturalist, Mr. W.
T. Blanford, of the Indian Geological Survey, is appointed a
meml)er of the British expedition for the survey of the boundary
between Persia and Beloochistan. Commencing on the coast of
Mekran the party will pass northward to Seistan and Herat.
In Sebtan they will enter a most interesting region, of which the
geology and zoology are quite unknown. The river Helmund,
and Lake of Seistan, in which it loses itself, will certainly present
many features eminently worthy of scientific investigation, of
which no one is more qualified to take advantage of than the ex-
geologist of the Abyssinian Expedition.
The recent death of Dr. Seemann, who for nine years has
conducted the Journal of Botany ^ has caused a change of editor-
ship. A new (2nd) series will be commenced in 1872, under
the management of Dr. Trimen, of the British Museum, for the
last two years a sub-editor, with Mr. Baker, of Kew, who will
continue to be associated with Dr. Trimen in the conduct of the
new series. We are also requested to state that unavoidable
circumstances will delay for a few days the publication of the
January number.
Thi: Edinburgh papers record the death of Mr. J. B. Davies,
assistant-keeper of the natural his'.ory section of the Museum of
Science and Art in that city. Mr. Davies was appointed to his
position in the museum, while it was in its old place in the Col-
lege, by Edward Forbes during the brief period that gifted natu-
ralist occupied the Chair of Natural History ; and in the discharge
of his duties he was as much distinguished by the extent and
accuracy of his knowledge as by his readiness to assist all students
of his science, and by his courteous bearing. In addition to his
appointment in the museum, Mr. Davies held the lectureship on
zoology in the Royal High School, was assistant-secretary to the
Royal Physical Society, and an Associate of the Botanical Society.
He was the au hor of a little manual of practical natural
history termed **The Naturalist's Guide."
The following have been elected office-bearers of the Edin-
burgh Botanical Society for the ensuing year : —President, Prof.
Wyville Thomson, LL.D. ; Vice-Presidents, Dr. M'Bain, R.N.,
Prof. Dickson, Mr. Buchanan, Dr. T. A. G. Balfour ; Secretary,
ProC Balfour ; Foreign Secretary, Prof. Douglas Madagan ;
Treasurer, Mr. P. N. Eraser ; Auditor, Mr. Tod ; Artist, Mr.
Neil Stewart ; Assist. Sec and Curator, Mr. John Sadler.
In connection with the Gilchrist Education Trust, arrange-
ments have, we understand, been made for the delivery at the
Lambeth Baths of a series of lectures, chiefly of a scientific
character. The names of Prof. Huxley and Dr. Carpenter are
mentioned among the probable lecturers.
MM. Delaunay and Ch. St Claire-Dcville have presented to
the French Academy of Sciences some further interesting notes
of the cold of November and the early part of December. M.
Delaunay remarks that the cold advanced, as is usually the case,
from north-east to south-west The minimum temperatures were
recorded at Groningen, in Holland, on Dec. 7 ( - 10" C. «
U** F.) ; at Brussels (- 12" 6 C. = 9-5" F.) on Uie 8th ; and at
Paris ( - 2i''-3 = - 6° F.) on the 9th. This extremely low tem-
perature appears to have been limited to a very small tract of
country between Paris and Charleville. On the same day the
temperature was above the freezing-point in Scotland as far north
as Nairn, and in the greater part of England, falling only at
Greenwich as low as - 2" -3 C. («28" F.). The severity of the
frost was considerably mitigated at Paris on the loth and nth ;
but on the latter diate it was again as low as - 22^*6 C.
(= - 8" 5 F.) at Haparanda, on the Gulf of Bothnia, - is** C.
(= 5" F.) at Stockholm, and - I4°i C. (= 6"-5 F.) at St
Petersburg.
Some of our readers will recollect the controversy which took
place in the " Proceedings of the Zoological Society" and the
Athftttcum^ some six months ago,. respecting a tortoise's skull in
the British Museum, upon which Dr. Gray had established a new
genus and species, Scapia falconcri, Mr. Theobald maintained
that this skull (received by the British Museum from the
executors of the late Dr. Falconer) had originally belonged to
one of the two typical specimens of Mr. Blyth's Testudo Phayrei^
in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and that consequentfy iicapia
falconeri. Gray = Testudo phayrd^ Blyth. Dr. Blyth nutintained
the contraxy. We understand that the du'ector of the Indian
Museum has recently claimed the skull in question, and that it
is now on its way back to Calcutta, so that the authorities of the
British Museum must have given up their view of the question.
170
NATURE
{Dec. 28, 1 87 1
At a recent meeting of the Manchester Literary and Philoso-
phical Society, Mr. John Hopkinson, B.A., D.Sc, detailed
some experiments on the subject of the rapture of iron wire
by a blow, the results of which are — I. That if any phy-
sical cause increase the tenacity of wire, but increase the pro-
duct of its elasticity and linear density in a more than duplicate
ratio, it will render it more liable to break under a blow. 2.
That the breaking of wire under a blow depends intimately on
the length of the wire, its support, and the method of applying
the blow. 3. That in cases such as surges on chains, &c, the
effect depends more on the velocity than on the momentum or
vis vwa of the surge. 4. That it is very rash to generalise from
observations on the breaking of structures by a blow in one case
to others even nearly allied, without carefully considering all the
details.
We learn from the Lancet that all the English universities have
now accepted the draft scheme for a Conjoint Examination
Board, as proposed by the College of Ph3rsicians and the College
of Surgeons of England, and that it only now remains to submit
the matter to the standing counsel of the two latter bodies for
their opinion as to the practicability of carrying out the scheme
without in any way violating the provisions of their respective
charters. It is pretty well known that in the case of the Royal
College of Physicians no difficulty at all is apprehended. It is
probably so with the College of Surgeons, but of this we have
never had positive assurance.
Attention has been called to the present disgraceful state
of the fine mausoleum erected to the memory of Sir John Soane,
in the cemetery of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, King's Cross. The
tomb of the founder of the first art museum and architectural
library in England is surely deserving of preservation. At
present, however, its balustrades are broken, its marble capitals
chipped, the inscription wilfully defaced, and the entrance filled
with brick rubbish. We commend this state of things to all art
students.
In the current number of Zm Philosophic Positive^ Nov. — Dec,
1S71, M. Littr^ calls attention to the reorganisation of public
education in France. "If we are ever," he says, "to have a
public system guided by a sound general method, we must begin
tentatively and experimentally with private effort ; '' he then adds,
'* As for ourselves, it b intended amvng the writers in this review
to compose six treatises, one for each of the fundamental
sciences, mathematics, astronomy, phjrsics, chemistry, biology and
sociology. They shotdd be so subordinated one to another that
each science should form an introduction to the next above it in
the scale ; they should also be so far restricted to what is of es-
sential importance that the entire course might be mastered in a
time compatible with the necessities of life ; and complete
enough to raise the student to the main level of positive know-
ledge." There has been a good deal of discussion, especially in
this country, about the scientific value of Comte^s classification
of the sciences. Perhaps a practical experiment like the above
is the best criterion of the question, and the wonder is that it has
not been applied before.
After unexpected delays, the new Coast-Survey exploring
vessel, the Hassler^ left Boston on December 4, bound for Cali-
fornia vid the Straits of Magellan. Hhit personnel^ which is under
the scientific direction of Pro€ Agassiz, and the plans of this
expedition, have already been given.
Harper's Weekly gives the following account of the labours of
Prof. £. P. Cope, of Philadelphia, mainly in the valley of the
Smoky Hill Fork of the Republican River in Kansas, where,
under the protection of an escort of seventy-five infantry, com-
manded by Captain Butler, and detailed by order of General
Pope, he spent seventeen days in the diligent prosecution of his
labours. As is well known to American palaeontologists, this
region is one of the richest of the world in fossil remains of
reptiles and fishes. Of these a large number of specimens were
obtained by Prof. Cope, many of extraordinary magnitude, and
some of them entirely new to science. More or less complete
series were obtained of the bones' of animals previously known
only by a few fragments, thus supplying much better information
as to their affinities and position in the system. Nearly the
entire skeleton of a large fish, provided with teeth of immense
power, was exhumed. This animal is to bear the name of Por-
thms molossus ; and its remains occurred in such abundance as
to demonstrate that it must have been a characteristic and very
formidable inhabitant of the cretaceous seas. Another dis-
covery was that of a reptilian form related to or intermediate
between the tortoises and serpents. The ribs of this
animal were long and attenuated ; but instead of being
united in the carapace, as in the tortoise, remained sepa-
rate possibly united by membrane. If built at all on the
chelonian pattern the expanse would have been at least twenty
feet. This is to be called Protostega gigas. During his explora-
tions in 1870 Prof. Marsh ascertained the existence of a species
of pterodactyl, or flying lizard, in the cretaceous strata of the
West, and additional specimens of the same or another species
were found by Profl Cope during the expedition just referred to.
The most gigantic reptiles met with by him this year were species
of Liodon, Polycotylus^ and Eiasnwsaurus, Of the-e Liodon
was found most abundantly, and one specimen will probably
prove to be the largest of all known reptiles. Elasmosau^is had
the most massive body, and must have presented an extraordi-
nary appearance, in consequence of the great length of its neck.
We have already referred occasionally to investigations prose-
cuted during the past summer on the great lakes of North America,
into the fauna and physical condition of the deeper waters ; and we
find in the last number of Silliman^s JourmU a more detailed ac-
count of that portion of the work carried on in Lake Superior upon
the U.S. steamer Search^ under the direction of Gen. Comstock,
of the Lake Survey, as reported by Mr. Sydney J. Smith, the
zoologbt of the expedition. The deepest water met with was
169 fathoms, the bottom being there covered, as in all the deeper
portions of the lake, with a uniform deposit of clay or clay mtid ;
and not the slightest trace of saline matter was detected in the
water in any part of the lake. The temperature, everywhere
below thirty or forty fathoms, varied very little from 39** F,
although in August it varied at the surface from 50" to 55°. The
fauna at the bottom was found to correspond to these physical
conditions. In the shallow waters the species vary down to
thirty or forty fathoms, after which the deep-water fauna begins,
and the species appear to be uniformly distributed. The list of
species is meagre, and the deep-water region is characterised
rather by the absence of many of the shore species than by the
presence of any peculiar class. The same crustaceans and
marine forms met with in 1870 in Lake Michigan were also found
here abimdantly, together with the same species of Pisidium ;
and some of the crustaceans have so far been imdistinguishable
from those found in Lake Wetter, in Sweden. The detailed
account, of which that in the Journal of Science is an abstract,
appears in the report of the Chief Engineer of the army to the
Secretary of War just presented to Congress (Report of American
Secretary of War, voL il p. 1020). *
M. Raoult states, in a paper read before the French Academy
of Sciences, that cane sugar becomes transformed into grape
sugar under the prolonged influence of light Having dissolved
lOgrammes of white sugar in 50 grammes of pure water, and
boiled the solution for a few minutes, he placed equal portions
in two white glass tubes, which were then hermetically closed.
One was deposited in a dark place, while the other w^s exposed
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Dec. 28, 1 87 1 J
NATURE
171
to light. Five months aftenrards the tabes were opened, and
the contents of that which had been exposed to light gave the
reaction of glucose.
A CORRESPONDBNT of the Madras Times states that on tbe
night of the 21st of October a remarkable meteor was seen at
Trevandnim. It first became visible in the northern part of the
sky, proceeding at a rapid rate and in a straight line, at an
elevatiDn of from JS** to 4o\ It was visible for about four
seconds.
A Brahmin astronomer at Surat has "predicted" that a
terrible earthquake will be felt in some parts of the Bombay
Presidency either in December or January next
Indian papers state that during the first sut months of this
year as many as 183 tigers and cubs, 393 panthers and leopards,
203 bears, 281 wolves, and 188 hyenas, were destroyed in the
Central Provinces at a cost to the Government of about 9,000
rupees (900/.). What a chance for any enterprising Zoological
Museum !
Wk do not look for zoological statistics in the annals of trading
companies ; but there is one report that does afford material, that
of the Hudson's Bay Company. There we see year by year the
varying number of fur-bearing animals, given in a kind of
Registrar- General's return of deaths. This year we do not see
the details, but we learn there has been a great dearth of mar-
tens. A more serious ethnological fact is the great looses by
small-pox among the Indians of the Saskachewan district, being
no less than 3,000. Throughout the Hudson's Bay district the
Canadian Government is employed in regulating the Indians, but
this no less forebodes their extinction ; the more particularly as a
railway is advancing to the Pacific, and steamers are to be placed
on the Saskachewan river and Lake Manitoba. Martens that are
not killed and Indians that die mean reduced dividends to the
Hudaon's Bay shareholders and traders.
On the Coilian map is to be placed Augol, just made a city.
It is situated in lat 37' 42' S., long. 72** 17' W., about three
miles south of the head waters of the river Verzaro, and twenty-
eight miles from Nacimiento. It was founded Dec. 6, 1862,
and is a fortified place on the river Pecoiquen.
At Santiago, in Chile, a zoological garden is to be formed in
the Quinta Normal, or Normal Garden.
From recent accounts in the Panama Star and Herald^ it ap-
pears the Panama pearl fisheries are now carried on by negroes,
whose villages remind the traveller of Western Africa. The
value of the fishery is about 30,000/. a year, but signs of ex-
haustion are now showing themselves. This is greatly attribut-
able to the use of diving machines. A gentleman who owns one
of the islands, having regulated his fisheries in the Ceylon man*
ner, found that after two years' repose he got a larger crop. It
is therefore suggested to regulate the Panama fisheries by law.
Coal has been discovered at Neblinto in Chile. That
country is already largely engaged in the shipment of coal.
Muscat is now to be divided on the maps, into two states,
Muscat and Sohar, a once famous name.
The diamond capital of Adamanta, at the Cape, is likely to
become a permanent town. Its present settled and floating
population is 20,00a
The collector of Tinnevelly, in Madras, reports that he has
come to the conclusion, after his inspection of the Government
Pearl FUheries, that the oysters migrate every year when young.
The miners of Copiapa in Chile have undertaken an explora-
tion by subscription of Uie rich mineral resources of their Cor-
dillera.
NUMERIC RELATIONS OF THE VERTEBRATE
SYSTEM*
HTHERE are five (not four only) complete neural rib arches to
-^ to the cranium of all vertebrate animals, to wit : (i) The
condvlar or sensitive belt with the condyle plates for side ribs, and
the lower arch of the transversely bipartite occiput for its vault
piece ; (2) the petrosal or acoustic, containing the auditory nerves
in its side beams (easily detected by removing the ear drum of
Felines, &c.), and overarched by the interior l^t of the occipital
squama ; (3) the parietal belt originally containing the true gusta-
tive of fixed tastes (sour, sweet, salt and bitter, the glosso-pha-
ryngeal), in an incision ; from which it is, however, soon crowded
out by the internal carotid artery and the overlapping ** acoustic
rib blade. " The next (4) is the optic or frontal, visibly succeeded,
in fishes, by (5) the ethmoidal or olfactory vertebra. The rest of
the cranium is formed by its "extremities" or prehensile appen-
dages.
The same numeric law which pervades the entire vegetable
kingdom reoccurs in the human fabric in a very marked manner.
The number of " radiating elements " in a coil or whorl, or of
whorls in a cycle, or in cycles generally speaking, as in pine cones
and flower buds, &c., are the following : —
h 2, 3. 5. 8, 13. 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, &c, progressing by the
summation of the last two numbers.
The bands or parallel coils of flowers or scales in pine cones,
sunflower discs, &c, embody these numbers successively, as they
grow steeper and steeper, alternately on the right and left. The
vertical bands, or columns, give the number of parts of the cycles
involved.
The explanation heretofore given by me is this, that one element
generates the other.
The elements are radial ; they are bilateral rays, with a rift, so
to speak, on the opposite side. It is there where, in a like manner
as the seed-leaves of flowering plants produce prolific ** ovules,"
new radial organs are developed from the preceding ones —
laterally at alternate heights and towards the wider spaces.
This process, referred to the radial organs of plants in an early
stage, will yield: —
1. The numbers of parts in question, successively.
2. The peculiar law of interpolations or of '* divergence," viz. :
by a number of interstices represented by the second preceding
one of each cyclar number.
3. It will conclude the cycles, if it be supposed that the activity
of each junior member depends on that of its progenital one ; as
in all cases of simple branch developments.
These numbers occur in like manner in the human frame, as
follows :
Inclusive of the terminal (ossified or gristly) coccygeal element,
we have exactly thirty-four spinal vertebrae.
Classifying nerves by their work, or " function," we find —
3 pairs of cervical nerves (neck).
5 pairs of brachial nerves (arms).
8 pairs of pedal nerves, composed of 3 crural (lumbar) and 5
ischiadic (sacral) ones.
13 pairs of nerves to the rump.
5 specific ones of the cranium.
34 in all ; whereas the number of the spinal vertebne, which
inclose the spinal cord is exactly 21 «
There are five pairs of '* extremities," organised after a common
plan: (i) the lower, (2) the upper, (3) the temporal (bearing
the lower jaw for a *' member"), (4) the palate-facial, with the
upper jaw for its "member," (5) the opercular or hyo-tympanic
one, forming the gill-lid in fishes or the tympanic ossicles in
man ; and the digital extremity of which is gradually converted
into the (hand-like) crimped (external and internal) cartilages of
the ear.
The five pair of haemal arches of the cranium, i>. the gill arches
of fishes, are gradually transformed into the gristles of the gullet,
&c
The main variation consists in the varying, but "cyclar"
number of "rays," fingers, &c.; the varying cyclar number of
their joints ( I, 2, 5,8, 13 respectively in a dolphin, with five
carpels instead of eight, as in a man) and the varying cyclar
number of "loose" ossicles, such as carpals^ tarsals^ teeth, &c.
The number of spinal vertebrae is also variable, but not that of
the cranial ones.
* Abstract of a Paper read at the IndianopoUs MeetixuF of the American
Aiaodation for the Amncement of Science, by Dr. T. C. Hilgard. Reprinted
froa^^ Amnietm Naturalist,
L/iyiLiiLcu uy
<3''
172
NATURE
[Dec. 2S, 1871
The vertebral blocks, as well as the ribs, are the ])roduct of
the primitive axial series of (in vertebral) discs, which, when
completely arrayed, each bear five branches, viz., two pair of
hcemal arches, two pair of neural arches, and a fascicle of parallel
elect?, so to speak, which being cemented together, both in the
front and rear, by the superficial ossification of the discs at either
end, are fused into the block pieces as found, ^..f. in the young
hog ; the cementing slab covering the big neural rib head like-
wise, and not only the pentagonal prismatic block. The first
disciform ossification we find in the corals, forming cribrose
ethmoidal discs, such as the closely set '* sigillate impressions "
of the Astmei, and afterwards left behind as the coccyx, e.g , of
Byathophyllum.
SIEAfENS' DYNAMO-ELECTRIC LIGHT*
A SERIES of experiments was made last week at Sheemess,
''^ with a view ot ascertaining the applicability of Siemens*
dynamo -electric light to torpedo services in time of war. This
scientific combination is produced, as its name signifies, by the
application of excessively rapid motion generated from the fly-
wheel of a steam-engine to a very powerful set of ordinary gd-
vanic ** coils " in connection with soft-iron magnets. The leaUier
strap from a four-horse power engine, encircling a small gun-
metal pinion, causes it to revolve with the extreme velocity of
1,600 revolutions per minute, inducing motion in an electric
"bobbin " at the side of an apparatus consbting of several sets
of strong insulated coils. A stream of electricity conseouently
passes through them. This stream b conducted to a second series
of coils, larger and more powerful than the first, which are also
in combination with a pinion revolving Soo times per minute,
thus intensifying the stream as it passes through them to a very
considerable degree. Both negative and positive currents are
now alternately given off from another "bobbin " at the side of
the second series of magnetic coils, to the train of insulated wires,
which conveys them to the position from which the dynamo-
electric light b to be exhibited. Here there b a delicately con-
trived apparatus for containing the carl)on points, between which
the li^ht 13 to be generated, adjusted at the top of a tripod some-
what similar in construction to that of a surveying instrument
At the back of the two carbon points, and ** si Jtteid " vertically
to admit of their holders passing through it, b a concave reflector
of white polished metal, which collects the rays of light into a
f KU5, and transmits them in any required direction by means of
an adjusting hand wheel below. A minute aperture in the centre
of the leflector, precisely behind the junction of the two carbon
]>oints, throws a representation of the flame upon a piece of opal
gla<is in a frame fixed at the back of the reflector ; ana through the
agency of another small hand wheel which causes the carbon
points to approach or recede from each other, the flame can
lie reduced or intensified at pleasure, by simply turning the
wheel, care being taken at the same time to keep a watchful
eye upon the picture produced, as the withdrawing of the
p Jin's to too great a dbtance from each other will extingubh the
light. It should have been remarked before that ample means
are taken by lubricating the electrical apparatus to counteract
the evil eflects which might otherwise arise from the excessive
friciioa consequent on the rapidity of motion in the several parts.
Tnc object of institutmg the series of experiments which were
made on Monday was to ascertain if it was possible to throw
such a stream of light upon an enemy's working parties engaged
in interrupting communications with a line of torpedoes at night,
as would render them sufliciently conspicuous to be fired at and
consequently driven off". The ^ace selected was the new fort at
Garrbon Point, Sheemess. The engine and **coib" were
erected in the enclosure of the fort, while the instrument itself
was placed in one of the massive embrasures piercing its sides.
No sooner was steam got up and the order given to turn ahead,
than the burring noise of the machine indicated that electricity
was being rapidly generated, sparks and stars of vivid blue light
being given off at the various joints. Another instant, and a
vivid stream of light shot across the sea to a number of ships
lying in the ofling at a dbtance of about two miles, lighting them
up with the brilliancy and distinctness of broad moonlight. The
effect was magnificent Cbudf of mbts, rendered visible by the
intensity of the ravs shooting through them, rolled across the
broad field of bright light from time to time, not, however, in-
terrupting the view in their progress. By shifting the direction
of the rays laterally, each object in turn came witMn the compass
• Reprinted from the Ti$>us.
of the portion of horizon rendered dear. In fact, it was
sufficiently apparent that no objects of any appreciable size,
such for instance as an enemy*s boats, could come within a mile
or more of one of Siemen's dynamo-electric instruments in opera-
tion without being rendered conspicuous to any battery in ihe
vicinity, and consequently involving to themselves the most
imminent danjjer. Hence the result of the experiments may be
pronounced a success ; whether, however, a corresponding effect
might not be obtained by a succession of parachute lights thrown
from a rocket or mortar is quite an open question.
PHYSICS
Note on the Spectrum of the Aurora
On the evening of November 9 there appeared one of the
most magnificent crimson auroras ever seen at this place.
When first observed, at about a q^uarter before six P.M., it con-
sisted of a brilliant streamer shooting up from the north western
horizon ; this was continued in a brilliant red, but rather nebu-
lous mass of light, passing upward and to the north. Its highest
points were from 30* to 40** in altitude. A white aurora, con-
sbting of bright streamers, appeared simultaneously, and extended
round to the north-east*
The crimson aurora was examined with the spectroscope at
six o'clock. The instrument used was a single glass-prism spec-
troscope, made by Duboscq, of Paris. On directmg the slit
toward the brilliant streamer above mentioned, a bright spe^ctnim
was observed consbting of five well-marked lines. A millimetre
scale attached to the instrument was then illuminated with a gas
flame, the auroral lines being readily measured, even when the
numbers on the scale were bright enough to be read disrinctly.
The sodium line was used to adjust the scale, being equally
divided by the division 100 ; the width of the slit was about one
millimetre. As thus arranged, the five auroral lines, beginning
at the red end, had the following positions: — Scale-Nos. 90,
110*5, 130, 138, 149. The brightness of the lines was, following
the above order, 3, i, 5, 2, 4, the second line from the red end
of the spectrum being the brightest The line marked 90 and
the one marked 1 10 '5 were sharp and well defined ; the others
were all nebulous on the edges. Before the measurements were
completely verified by a second comparbon, the crimson aurora
entirely vanished, having endur<:d less than half an hour. In the
white aurora which remained, the spcc'roscop : showed four of
the five lines given ; the crimson line alone was absent The
measurements are exact to half a divbion of the scale.
To determine the approximate wave-lengths of these lines,
comparison was made both with certain metallic lines and with
the lines of the solar spectrum. On the scale of thb instrument
the metallic lines employed read as follows : —
Ka 63. Lia 79, Sr^So, H(r) 82, Caa 91, Sra 96, CtjS 1 13, H(/)
146*5, Sr8 163, CsiS 165, Csa 167, Rba, & j8 200, KjS 218.
The Fraunhofer lines measured as follows : —
a 705, B 76, C 82, D 100, E 124-5. b 130, F 146*5, G 189.
Direct interpolation wai used in comparing the wave-lengths of
the auroral lines with those given above, the wave- lengths of the
Fraunhofer and elemental lines being taken from Gibbs's tables
(Amer. Jour, of Science and Arts, IL xliiLi ; xlvil 194). Thb
method was believed capable of giving results as clo«e as the
instrumental measurements. In this way the wave-lengths of the
five auroral lines were obtained, as given in the following table :
Scale Wave- Auroral
Line. number. lenf^th. lines. Other measurements.
B 76 687
C 82 656
(1) 90 623 623 627 Zdllner.
D 100 589
(2) 110-5 562 562 557 Ang>trom.
E 1245 527
(3) 130 517 517 520 Winlock.
b 130 517
(4) 138 502 502
F 1465 486
(5) 149 482 4^2 485 Alvan Clark, Jr.
G 189 431
• Professor Newton informs ms that he olwsrveJ an eqoally bril iait red
1>atchof auro-al light in the north-east, five or ten m'nut^ earlier. Siice th%
owcr end of the red streamers was much lower than that of the white, it
wotild seem as if the r^d were seen through th^ white, the red being most
remote.
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Dec. 28, 1871]
NATURE
^11
In this table, column i gives the auroral and the Fraunhofer
Hoes ; column 2, the number of these as measured upon the scale
of the spectroscope used ; column 3, the wave-lergths of these
lines ob;ained as above stated ; column 4, the wave-lengths of
the auroral lines, given by themselves ; and column 5, the wave-
lengths of what I assume to be the same lines, with their wave-
lengths as measured by the observers mentioned.
The point of particular interest in this observation is the fact
that the line (4) of wave-length 502 is not laid down in any
authority accessible to me a« having been observed in the auroral
spectrum. Indeed, no previous observer, so far as I know, has
seen any auroral line between the Fraunhofer lines b and F.
Professor C. A. Young [Jcumal of Science and Ari^ III. ii.
332, Nov., 1 87 1) gives two lines — Nos. $6 and 57, or 1 866*8 and
1870 "3 of Kirchhoff — observed by him in the sun's chromo-
sphere and also by Rayet in the eclipse of x868, one of which
may coincide with this fourth auroral line.
New Haven, Nov. 13 George F. Barker
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Thk Geological Magasine^ Nos. 86—89, August to November
1 87 1. This valuable magazine continues to furnish us every
month with important and interesting articles upon subjects be-
longing to the various departments of geology. In the first
number now before us we hnd an interesting paper on volcanoes
by the editor, Mr. H. Woodward, and a particularly valuable
anide by Mr. J. W. Judd on the anooialous mode of grrowth of
certain fossil oysters. In the latter, which is illustrated with a
plate, the author notices those oysters from various secondary
deposits, in which the shell has acquired throughout the peculiar
sculpture of some ammonite, TrigoniOt or other shell, to which
iu lower valve has adhered during growth. ~ In the September
number the most interesting paper is Mr. Woodward's descrip-
tion of a new Arachnide from the Dudley coal-measures. This
animal, to which the author gives the name of Eophrynm
PrestvicHf is most nearly allied to the existing genus Phrynus^
and the specimen is remarkable for the beautiful preservation of
the casts of both surfaces. — Among the contents of the October
number we must call particular attention to Dr. Muriels article
on Sivalheriumf in which the author discusses the characters of
that most remarkable animal, which he regards as most nearly
allied to the Saiga antelope, the latter being placed by him at
the centra] point of ramincation of the hoUow-homed ruminants,
and leading from the ruminants towards the Pachyderms through
the Tapir. This valuable memoir is illustrated with two plates,
one representing the skeleton of the animal, the other giving an
ideal restoration of the living aspect of the male, female, and
young of this gigantic ruminant — The November number opens
with a biographical notice (with a portrait) of Sir Roderick
Mnrchison, loliowed by a shorter one of Mr. Charles Babbage.
The other articles contained in it are on relics of the Carboni-
ferous and other old land-surfaces, by Mr. Woodward ; on the
prospects of coal south of the Mendips, by Messrs. Bristow
and H. B. Woodward; on the futile search for coal near
Northampton, by Mr. S. Sharp ; and on the Foraminifera of the
Cretaceous rocks, by Messrs. T. Rupert Jones and W. K.
Parker.
The Journal of Botany for November commences with an in-
teresting contribution to hbtorical botany ; in a paper read by
the late Robert Brown before the Edinburgh Natural History
Society in 1792 on **The Botanical History of Angus" never
before printed. It was probably his first cont ribution to botanical
science, having been written when he was about eighteen years
old. Prof. Thiselton-Dyer contributes some observations on
** Fungi parasitic upon Vaccinit^m Vitis-Idcea,** and Mr. A. W.
Bennett Further olMenrations on Protandry and Protogyny," in
continuation of his previous researches on this subject Mr. T.
A. Biiggs has a note on an undescribed species of Kubus^ and
the remainder of the number is filled up with short notes,
abstracts, extracts, and reviews.
The number for December opens with the commencement of
a paper by Mr. J. G. Baker " On the Botany of the Lizard Penin-
sula." Although this district is well known to botanists as the
habitat of many very rare and local plants, vet no detailed
account has yet been published of the flora of this portion of
Cornwall. From the idea that many plants very common in
other parts of England would find their limit short of this aouth-
western extremity of the island, a list is here given of every
flowering plant observed during a three davs' visit, accompanied
by general remarks on the peculiarities of the flora, both in what
it includes and in what is absent from it. The only other
original paper of importance in the number is a new arrangement
by the Rev. J. C. Leefe of the English species of the extremely
difficult genus Salix,
Journal of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland, Part I, voL
iii. new series (vol xiiu), has just been published. It contains
besides the Report of Council for 1870-71, J. Emerson Reynolds
on two remarkable Crystals of Galena; G. H. Kinahan, addi-
tional notes on Foliation, and supplementary notes on some of
the Drift in Ireland ; R. G. Symes, on the Geology and extinct
Volcanoes of Clermont, Auvergne — plates L ii. iii. ; W. H.
Baily, on the genus Pleurorhynchus^ and a new species — plate
iv. ; M. H. Ormsby, Analyses of some Granite Rocks fix>m India,
and of their constituent minerals (1668) ; Edwd. T. Hardman,
Analysts of Trachyte Porphyry from Tardree near Antrim, and
on the Anal^is of a Limestone compared with that of the same
rock where it is in close proximity to a Doloritic Dyke ; R. C
Tichbome, note on the Geological Formation of some of the
Tiroxides.
Journal of the Chemical Society^ October. —This number does
not contain any papers originally communicated to the Society.
The abstracts ot foreign papers, however, occupy nearly 100
pages, and comprise many subjects of interest The importance
of the work done this way by the Chemical Society can scarcely
be estimated ; the journal must now be of great value not only
to the chemist, but also to the physicist, physiologist, and to the
chemical manufacturer, for many papers in these subjects are
abstracted fully. An abstract of M. Berthelot's paper on the
heat evolved in the formation of organic derivatives of nitric acid
is very interesting. It is shown that in the formation of nitro-
glycerine, a very small amount of heat is evolved, as compared
with that evolved in the formation of gun-cotton or nitrobenzine.
This will account for the ready decomposition of the former, and
the formidable effects produced by its decomposition. Amagat
has experimented on the compressibility and dilatation of sul-
phurous and carbonic anhydrides ; he finds that they first b^in to
act as perfect gases at a temperature of 250* C. Several of the
abstracts contained in this number have already been noticed in
these pages. One of them deserves especial notice, by Friedel
and Ladenburg, on silioopropionic add ; this body is the first in
which the group CO,H contained in organic adds has been re-
placed by the corresponding group SiO, H. Amato has obtained
a curious compound, glucosophosphoric add, the sodium salt of
which has the composition CeHjj05Na,P04. Waage has pub-
lished a paper on the use of bromine in diemical analysis, in
which he points out that this reagent can be substituted with
advantage for chlorine in many instances ; it is very useful in de-
composing pyrites, the whole of the sulphur being easily oxi-
dised. We find an abstract of Bischof 's paper on Fire Clays,
which appears to deal very practically with this most important
subject
The part just issued of the Transections oftheUnnean Society^
completmg vol. xxvii, contains three papers, of two of these,
*• Revision of the Genus Cassia,^ by Mr. G. Bentham, the pre-
sident, and "Contributions to the Natural History of the Passi*
florecBf** by Dr. M. T. Masters, abstracts have already appeared
in our columns. The remaining paper, *• Notes on the Reptiles,
Amphibia, Fishes, Mollusca, and Cretacea, obtained during the
Voyage of H.M.S. Nassau in the years 1866 69," by Dr. Cun-
ningham, contains descriptions of several new spedes collected
and named by the naturalist to the expedition, and notes on the
habits, localities, and characters of many other spedes. All these
papers are illustrated by plates.
The first part of Volume xxviiL is also published, consisting
of only a single paper, Dr. Triana's monograph of the Meta-
stomacect. After some general remarks on the order, and on
each of the genera comprised within it in French, follows an
enumeration of the species, with the synonymy, references to
t3rpe specimens in the prindpal herbaria, and fresh descriptions
of new or badly-descnbed spedes. It is illustrated by seven
plates.
The Bulletin of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Bdgium for
September and October, 1871 (Tom. xxxii, Nos. 9 and 10),
contains but little sdentific matter. — M. J. C. Houzeau com-
municates a description of a method of measuring directly the
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174
NATURE
[Dec. 28, 1871
distance of the centres of the Sun and of Venus during the
transits of that planet — M. P. J. Van Beneden dewribes a new
Sirenian from the Rupelian stage. The remains of this animal
were obtained at Elsioo, near Maestricht, ami consbt of a por-
tion of the cranium, one dorsal vertebra, and a series of seven
caudal vertebrae. These are described and figured by M. Van
Beneden under the name of Crassithauum robustum ; he regards
it as more nearly allied to the SUllera than to the Manatees and
Dugongs. M. Van Beneden also notices the occurrence at Basel
near Rupelmonde of a nearly complete skeleton of a Sirenian
in brick- clay, and remarks upon the constant association of re-
mains of Saualodon with those of Sirenians wherever the latter
have been found in Europe. He also notices some points in the
osteology of living Sirenia. — M. E. Van Beneden gives us a
note oft the preservation of the lower animals, in which he^ re-
commends the employment of solutions of osmic acid and picric
acid for the preservation of the more delicate forms of animal
life, such as the Medusae, Ctenophora, &c. According to him
these processes are most successfoL
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, December 21. — ** Contributions to the His-
tory of Orcin.— No II. Chlorine and Bromine- substitution Com-
pounds of the Orcins." By John Stenhouse, F.R.S.
" Note on Fucosol." By John Stenhouse, F. R. S.
Mathematical Society, December 14. — Dr. Spottiswoode,
president, F.R.S., in the chair. Mr. K. Freeman, of St. John's
College, Cambridge, was elected an ordinary member, and the
following gentlemen foreign members of the Society:— Dr.
Clebsch, M. Hermite, Prof. Cremona, Dr. Hesse, and Prof.
Betti. Dr. Sylvester explained the methods he had employed in
his paper, "On the theorem that an arithmetical progression
which contains more than one contams an infinite number of
prime numbers." The communication was limited to the case of
arithmetical progressions proceeding according to the common
difference, 4 or 6. The method employed appears to differ fun-
damentally from Dirichlet's method (Berlin Iransactions, 1837).
[In the account of Dr. Sylvester's previous communication to the
Mathematical Society, given in Nature, Nov. 23, p. 75, at
line 18 from the commencement of the paragraph, for intention
read induction^ and at line 20 from the foot of the page, for the
words M<f magnitude read the order of the magnittidej] Profs.
Cay ley and H. J. S. Smith took part in a discussion on the sub-
ject— Prof. Clifford next spoke with reference to a paper, he is
preparing for the society. — Pfof. Cay ley then drew attention to
the question of the determination of the surfaces capable of
division into infinitesimal squares by means of their curves of
curvature. It was shown by M. Bertrand that in a triple system of
orthotomic isothermal surfaces each surface possesses the property
in question, of divisibility into squares by means of its curves of
curvature. But in such a triple system each surface of the system
is necessarily a quadric There is nothing to show that the property
is confined to quadric surfaces, and the question of the determina-
tion of the surfaces possessing the property appears to be one of
considerable difficulty, and which has not hitherto been examined.
— Mr. S. Roberts exhibited a thread model of a homographic trans-
formation of the developable surface which circumscribes a system
of compound quadrics. The surface is generated by planes touching
an ellipse at a constant inclination, and its equation is obtained
by writing /^ «* for r' in ^ (4f*, >*f r*) — o repreienting the plane
parallel of an ellipse.
Anthropological Institute, December 18.— Dr. Chamock,
president, in the chair. Lord Dunraven, Dr. John Best,
and Mr. J. Kempe were elected members, A paper was
read by Mr. Joseph Kaines on the *' Anthropology of Auguste
Comte." The sources of the paper were to be found in
chapters on "Biology" and "Fetishism" of M. Comte's
PhUosophie Positive and in the Politique Positive, The paper itself
aimed to show that the differences between man and the rest of
the aiymal kingdom were not so great as they were usually re-
presented, nor in fact were they so numerous in their resem-
blances. Treating man as the nead of the zoological series, it
argued that his dominion over animals was from primitive times
(and is now) a moral dominion rather than intellectual, and it
concluded, that in so far as external nature was used by man for
moral ends, it was rightly used, and that the intellect found its
true work in directing his affecave nature to moral purposes and
relationships.
Linnean Society, December 21.— Mr. G. Bentham, F.R.S.,
president, in the chair. **0n the Anatomy of the American
King-Crab {Limuius poiyphemus, Latr.)," by Prof. Owen, F.R.S.
The author, referring to anatomies of existing species of animals
elucidating the type of structure of large extinct groups — as that
of Apteryx in reference to the Dinomithida ; of Protopterus in
relation to the notochordal, protocercal Cycloganoids of palaeozoic
beds ; of Nautilus as th6 representative of the constructors of
extinct chambered and siphonated shelb ; of Orbicula^ Discina^
and TerebrattUaya like relation to extinct Brachicpoda — stated that,
in reference to the Trilobite Crustacea, he had once doubted
whether Serolis or Umulus would reflect most light on the
internal structure of those ancient forms of the class. But, in
the 14th lecture of the Hunterian Course of 1843, published in
April of that year, appreciating the importance of the character
by which the Xiphosures and Trilobitcs agreed in differing from
Maiaeostraea, viz., in the numerical formula of segments, he
decided to take Umulus in hand. Isopodal tendencies in
Trilobites indicated, however, their more generalised character,
and continued palaeontological research led to the postponement
of the original purpose, until the subsequent discoveries of a
palaeozoic group of Crustacea, due mainly to the labours of
Salter, Huxley, and Woodward, decided the author no longer
to delay the present communication, in view of its more speoal
bearings upon the Merostomata of the last-named carcinologist.
Of the external characteri of Limulus but little was left to de-
scribe. The author accepted the evidence of the homologies ci
the three divisions of the body adduced by Dana, Spence Bate,
and Woodward as outweighing that which influences V. der
Hoeven. The ** cephalothorax " of the latter author was the
** cephalon," the second division was, not the "abdomen," bat
the "thorax," of the later carcinologists. The determination
by the latter of the articulated appendages of the foremost divi-
sion of the body of Limulus was also adopted. But as that
division includes not only the bndn, organs of sense, mouth, and
manducatory instruments, but also the stomach, liver, major
part of the heart, and genital organs, together with a long tract
of the ventral ganglionic neurad chords or centres, the author
proposed to speak of it as the '* cephaletron," the succeeding
division as the " thoracetron," for the spine* shaped part he
adopted Spence Bate's term of *' pleon." In the description of
the cephaletron, its modifications enabling it to act effectively as a
burrowing digger or spade were dwelt upon, and the modifica-
tions of the Find border which articulates with the thoracetron
were pointed out, showing that whilst by coalescence it was part
of the foremost division in all its formal characters, more espe-
cially its upper pair of entapophysial pits and under pair of
coalesced lamelUform appendages, it belonged to the series of
lamelligerous segments constituting the thoracetron. The author
then proceeded to give a detailed account of the muscular system
of Limulus, and concluded this third section of the paper, by
condensing notes made by Mr. Lloyd, of the Crystal Palace
Aquarium, on the movements of living Limuli in captivity, and
those made by Mr. Lockyer in New Jersey on the Limulus poly*
pitemus in its native seas. The reading of this memoir will be
continued at a subsequent meeting of the Linnean Society.
Manchester
Literary and Philosophical Society, November 28. —
Dr. J. P. Joule, F.R.S., vice-president, in ,the chair. <<£ncke's
Comet and the Supposed Resisting Medium," by Professor
W. Stanlejr Tevons. The observed r^ular diminution of
period of Encke's comet b still, I beheve, an unexplained pheno-
menon for which it is necessary to invent a special hypothesis^ a
Deus ex machina, in the shape of an imaginary resisting medium.
I cannot be sure that the suggestion I am about to make has not
already been made, but I l^ve never happened to meet with it ;
and therefore I venture to point out how it seems likely that the
retardation of the comet may be reconciled wiih knovm physical
laws. It is asserted by Mr. R. A. Proctor, Prof. Osborne Rey-
nolds, and possibly others, that comets owe many of their peculiar
phenomena to electric action. I need not enter upon any con-
jectures as to the exact nature of the electric disturbance, and I
do not adopt any one theory of cometary constitution more than
another. 1 merely point out that if the approach of a comet to
the sun causes the development of electricity arising from the
comef s motion, a certain resistance is at once accounted for.
L/iyiLi^c7u kjy
e>^^
Dec. 28, 1871]
NATURE
175
Wherever there is an electric current, some heat will be produced
and sooner or later radiated into space, so that the comet in each
reyolotion will lose a small portion of its total energy. In the
experiments of Arago, Joule, and Foucault, the conversion of
mechanical energy into heat by the motion of a metallic body in
the netghbonrhcMKl of a magnet was made perfectly manifest If
then there is any magnetic relation whatever between the sun and
the comet, the latter will certainly experience resistance. -.: The
question is thus resolved into one concerning the probability that
a|comet would experience electric disturbance in approaching the*
sun. On this point we have the evidence now existing that 3iere
is a close magnetic relation between the sun and planets. If, as
is generally believed, the sun-spot periods depend on the motion
of the planets, a small fraction of the planetary energy must be
expended. I find, indeed, that a very brief remark to this effect
was given in the memoir of the original discoverers of the relation,
namdy, Messrs. Warren De La Rue, Balfour Stewart, and B.
Loewy . At p. 45 of their Researches on Solar Pbjrsics they add
a small note to the following effect : '* It is, however, a possible
inquiry whether these phenomena do not imply a certain loss of
motion in the influencing planets.*' As I conceive, no doubt can
exist that periodic disturbances depending upon Uie motions of
bodies must cause a certain dissipation of tneir energy ; for if
stationary the constant radiation of the sun cbuld not produce any
periodic changes^ unless the sun were itself variable. Is there
not then a reasonable probability that the light of the aurora
represents an almost infinitesimal fraction of Uie earth's energy,
and that in like manner the light of Encke's comet represents a
far larger fraction of its energy ? It is also worth v of notice that
the tail of a comet is usually developed most largely at those parts
of its orbit where the rate of approach or recess is most rapid,
and where the electric disturbance would be correspondingly in-
tense. I do not, of course, deny that the resisting medium may
nevertheless exist, or may by other observations or experiments
be made manifesL But I hold that so long as other physical
causes can be pointed out which might produce the same effect, it
is quite unphilosophical to resort to a special hjrpothesis. £ncke*s
comet ought not to be quoted as evidence of the existence of such
a medium until electric disturbance is shown by calculation to be
insufficient to account for the observed diminution of period.
Liverpool
Geological Society, November 14.— Dr. Ricketts, president,
in the chair. Mr. T. MeUard Reade, C.E., on the "Geology and
Physics of the Post-Glacial Period, as shown in the Deposits
and Organic Remains in Lancashire and Cheshire." The paper
was largely illustrated by maps and sections. The author's views
are summarised in the followmg conclusions : — i. That since the
glacial period there are distinct evidences in Lancashire and
Cheshire of three periods of depression or downward movement,
and two periods of elevation or upward movement. There may
also have been a period of elevation and a land surface previous
to any of these movements, but posterior to the true glacial
times. 2. That the first period of depression, which was the
greatest, submerged the land to a minimum of 1,500 feet below
Its present level — in Wales at least— and was doubtless general
The post-glacial shells of Moel Tryfaneand those by the Ribble,
indicating ancient beaches, belong to this period. During this
time, and the re-emergence of the land, what the author termed
the "washed drift sand" was eliminated from, sorted, and
reformed out of, the boulder drift, and scattered over the
country, but has since been much denuded by atmospheric and
aqueous or sub-aerial influences above the 25 feet contour, and by
sub aerial and submarine denudation below that line. 3. A re-
emergence of the land took place, and a land-pause favourable
to growth occurred, during wnich time the "inferior peat and
forest beds," or sub-terrene land surfaces, were formed. At the
period of pause the land would be higher than now, but the
vertical extent of this movement the au&or purposed investigat-
ing hereafter. 4. A second period of subsidence again folloi^,
and a pause occurred at or about the 25 feet contour line. * ' The
Formby and Leasowe marine beds " were now laid down. 5.
A second or latest vertical upward movement followed, elevating
the Formby and Leasowe marine beds, upon which now grew
the forest trees, the remains of which assist to form the " superior
peat bed " extending along the coast margin from the river
Douglas to Bootle in Lancashire, and from the Mersey to the
Dee in Cheshire, and remains of which are found as high up the
river Mersey as Garston and Warrington. 6. The third or latest
downward movement now took place, and during this time the
river bed at Crossens was silted up, as also the Garston Creek.
The drainage was obstructed, and the beds of marine silt inter-
calated in the peat The tidal silt overljring the superior peat
bed by the Douglas, the Alt, and the Birket, the silt which over-
lay the peat bed of Old Wallasey Pool, and that in which the
vertebra of a whale, now in Brown's Museum, were discovered at
the North Docks, and all the de]>osits to which the author con-
fined the term recent, belong to this period, in a pause of which
we are now living. 7.- That the whole of these movements were
uniform over a far more extensive area than the author has in-
vestigated, he has not the shadow of a doubt That post-glacial
movements were slow is almost universally admitted, and from
these the inference is obvious that the time which they measure
compared with the historical period is so vast that it is difficult
to form an adequate conception of it
Norwich
Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, October 31.
— Mr. J. E. Taylor read a paper on **The Origin of the Norfolk
Broads and Meres." With regard to the former, Mr. Taylor
propounded the theory that the depressions, so-called, were
owing to the influence of ice in remote ages, and that the basins
thus scooped out had been since filled up by the growth of peat
and the soil brought down by floods. His views were supported
by an elal>orate essay upon the probable condition of the Euro-
pean continent at the close of the glacial epoch, and the altera-
tions effected by "the last geological change in its physical
scenoy and geographv," as illustrated by the deep kkes of
" Switzerland, Scotland, Cumberland, &c, hollowed out of the
solid rocks by glacier action." He specially referred also to the
great similarity in the physical aspect of the Dutch coast as com-
pared with the Broad district of our eastern counties. Broads,
he remarked, were distinguished from meres by being always in
connection with rivers, and having a chalky bottom, more or less
filled in with deposits of mud. Meres, on the contrary, in their
ph3rslcal characters, presented an almost entire separation from
rivers and streams, "and the fact that they usually lie in the
upper boulder clay, and therefore at a considerably higher level
than the broads. The water supply of meres was simply the
storage of wet seasons. " The nutnber of broads on the Bure and
its tnbutaries, amounting in all to twenty-two, as compared with
but four on the Yare, he attributed to the former stream having
an average breadth of 150 feet, and the latter of only 100 feet
The formation of Diss Mere he considered due to glacial action,
" as the neighbourhood abounded in evidences of such pheno-
mena,"— Mr. J. H. Gumey, jun., exhibited a male specimen of
White's Thrush ( Oreocincla aurea), killed on the loth October
last, by Mr< F. Barrett, in a marsh at Hickling, and exhibited by
permission of the Rev. J. Micklethwaite, for whose collection it
is being preserved by Mr. T. E. Gunn. Mr. Gumey pointed out
the distinctions between the closely allied genera of Oreocincla^
TUrduSy and Merula, and made some remarks on 0. aurea as a
British species. It is, he said, the Turdus Whitei of Egton, and
of Yarrell's "British Birds," so called after the well-known
naturalist of Selboume, and has been killed in six or seven
instances in this country, the specimen exhibited being the first
recc^ised as occurring in this country. It is found in China,
and is said to have been met with in Siberia. — Mr. Barrett
exhibited specimens of Zygana extilans, a Swedish moth recently
taken in Scotland.
Dublin
Royal Irish Academy, December 11. — Prof. Henry
Hennessy, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. Prof. Robert
S. Ball read two notes on applied mechanics. In the first
note it was demonstrated that in whatever manner a figure
moves in a plane, a number of points, lying on the circumference
of a circle, are any instant in points of inflexion of the curves
which they describe, and that the points of the circle are at
points the tangent to which meets the curve in four consecutive
points. These theorems embrace what are known in mechanics
as the parallel motions. The second note contained an elegant
geometrical construction by which the consecutive points of con-
tact of two curves are determined. — The Secretary then read a
paper by Mr. Hodder M. Westropp, in which the writer stated
that he had absmdoned his former theory that the Ogham in-
scriptions had a Danish origin, and now suggested that after all
the learned interpretations tnat had been attempted of their
meaning, ^ey were nothing more than notches made to mark
the number <k cattle possessed by the owner of a plot of land at
the annual division which took place under the ancient Brehon
L/iyiLiiLcu kjy
<3^'
176
NATURE
[Dec. 28,1871
laws of Ireland. It was simply a rudimentary scoring of num-
bers, such as had taken place amongst all nations in the earliest
stages of civilisation. There was no substantial reason for at-
tributing to the Irish, who, even at the time of Giraldus Cam-
briensis, had scarcely emerged from barbarism, the formation of an
alphabet, and the attempts to decipher the inscriptions by at-
tributing to them an alphabetic diaracter were si japly absurd.
Dr. Ferguson, Q.C., said he was sure that if Mr. Westropp
knew anything of the circumstances in which these inscriptions
were found he would not have put forward such a theory. One
of the very examples to which he referred in his paper proved
the inaccuracy of^hls statement that these stones had not been
found in coimection with gravel. It was quite evident that in
his illustrations he had worked from very imperfect copies, for
his illustrations misrepresented the inscriptions. This was a
case of a wild theory started without a fact being adduced in
support of it
Royal Oeological and Zoological Societies of
Ireland. — A joint meeting of these societies was held on Wed-
nesday, the 13th of December, 1871, William Ogilby, M.A.,
F.G.S., in the chair. W. H. Baily, F.L S., read some addi-
tional notes on the .Fossil Flora of Ireland. The author first
described a new fossil plant from shale in the carboniferous
limestone of Whitestone Quarry, near Wexford, under the name
of Filuita plumiformis. He then gave the results of his exami-
nation of the collections made from upper Old Red sandstone
strata at Kiltorcan, Co. Kilkenny, which collections had
excited considerable attention among the Continental and Ame-
rican botanists, and brought forward some strong facts to prove
that the Irish palaeontologists had not misled Prof. Heer, as stated
by Mr. Camithers at a recent meeting of the London Geological
Society. — Prof. Traquair read some notes on the genus Phancro-
pleuron,
Vienna
I. R. Oeological Institution, November 21. — The Director,
Fr. Ritt V. Hauer, read the anniversary report on the progress
made by the Institute. The surveyors were occupied in the
course of the last year on two different regions ; the military
firontier, where the geological maps of the country between Brod
in Slavonia, and the shore of the Adriatic were finished, and
Tjrrol, where parts of the crystalline central mountain region
and of the northern limestone ranges were surveyed. At the
request of private proprietors, the members of the Institute were
occupied besides with particul&r inquiries as to the nature and
extent of coal-seams, strata and veins of ores and other
useful minerals in almost all parts of the empire, and a very
accurate examination of the rocks which are to be perforated
by the Arlberg Tuimel, between Tyrol and Varalberg, was made
by M. H. Wolf. In the museum of the Institute the larger
collections of minerals from the different mining districts of the
empire were completely re-arranged, and a magnificent collection
of fossil Mammalia, from the tertiary brown coal of Etbiswald in
Styria, was exposed under glass. More than forty different persons
have contributed by donations to the increase of the various col-
lections. In the Chemical Laboratory more than 100 analyses and
assays have been performed for about fifly parties. A new arrange-
ment of the library was finished in the course of the year ; with
the end of 1870 it numbered 6,500 different works, with about
16,500 volumes; in the first ten months of 1 871 the increase
amounted to more than 12,000 volumes. The collection of Maps
(besides those which were made by the Institute itself) consbted,
at the end of 1870, of 2,850 sheets, and has since increased by
nearly 300 sheets. The publications of the Institute were en-
larged by anew periodical, the " Mineralogischen Mittheilungen,"
which is edited by Dr. G. Tschermak, the director of the Im-
perial Mineralogical Museum ; they appear separately as well as
m the form of a supplement to the " jahrbucb." The publica-
tion of the memoirs (" Abhandlungen") of the Institute, which
had been interrupted, was also recommenced this year by the
publication of two memoirs : one by Dr. Neumayer, ** On the
Cephalopoda of the Jurassic Beds of Balin, near Krakaw ;" the
other bpr Dr. Bunzel, "On the Vertebrata of the Cretaceous
Formation of Griinbach in Austria." Of the general geological
map of Austria, edited by Fr. v. Hauer, appeared sheet No 3
(the northern Carpathians), and the printing m colours of sheet
No. 7 (the Hungarian plain) was finished. Dr. Neumayer noticed
the discovery of the salt formation in the valley of Hall in Tyrol,
at a point far below the salt mines now being worked. Here
the mining work would meet with considerably less difficulty,
arising from the great height of the [old mine (5,000 feet above
the level of the sea) the access to which in winter time is
always dangerous, often even impossible. — M. CharL v. Hauer
read a note on a very successftil borin^j for coal in the tertiary-
basin near Fohnsdoif in Styria. On the northern edge of this
basin, many years since, a large scam of coal had been worked.
The bore-hole had been opened in the midst of the basin, 300
fathoms from the nearest point of the mine. At the depth of 155
fathoms the coal was reached in two seams, having together a
thickness of ^\ fathoms. This discovery is of great im|>or-
tance for the industry of Upper Styria. — Dr. E. Tietze * On the
Eocene Formation south of Glina, in Croatia.'' It consists of
three members ; the lowest a fresh- water deposit, w.th Planorbis,
and traces of coal ; the middle, green sandstones alternating with
marly beds, probably identical with the so*called Albarese or
Galestro of the Appennine mountains ; and the upper, formed of
slaty sandstones with fucoids.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Dbckmbkr aS.
RovAL Institution, at 3.— On Ice, Water, Vapour, and Air. Na I. Prof.
John Tyndall, F.R.S.
London Institution, at 4.— The Philosophy of Magic. 2. The Magic of
the Theatre : J. C Brough, F.C.S.
SATURDAY^ Decbmber 30.
Royal Institution, at 3— On Ice, Water, Vapour, ani Air. No. II.
Prof. John Tyndall, F.R.S.
MONDAY, January x.
Anthropological Institute, at 8. — On the Hereditary Tiansmissioa of
Endowments : George Harris. — The Adamites : C Stamland Wake.
TUESDAY, January 2.
Zoological Society, at 9.
Society of Biblical Arch>«ology, at 8.30 — Hebraeo vEgyptiaca ; or,
Hebrew and Egyptian Analc»ies : M. Francois Chabas. — Some Obsenra-
tions upon the Inscription of Daly (Idalion) : S. Birch, F.S. A.
WEDNESDAY, January 3.
Microscopical Society, at 8.— Fossils of the Coal Measures; W. Cami-
thers, F.R.S. — Fermentation and its results : Jame« BelL
THURSDAY, January 4.
London Institution, at 4.— The Philosophy of I^gic. 3. The Magic of
the Mediums : J. C Brough, F.C.S.
CONTENTS Pagb
Technical Education in House Construction 157
Sutton's Volumetric Analysis 158
Morelst's Travels in Central America 159
Our Book Shelf 160
Letters to the Editor: —
Dr. Carpenter and Dr. Mayer.— Dr. W. B Carpenter, F.R.S. . x€i
The "North British Review** and the Origin of Species— .\.
S. Davis , x6i
Prof. Tait on Geological Time.— P. W. Stuart Mbnteath . . i6a
In Re Fimgi 162
A Shadow on the Sky t6a
Coal Measures of Ireland.— G. Henry Kinahan, F.G.S. ... 162
Recent Changes in Circumpolar Lands. — Henry H. Howorth . 162
The English Government Eclipse Expedition. By Commander
J. P. Maclear, R N 163
Arctic Explorations. {With Chart ) By Dr. J. Rae, F.R.G.S. . . 165
The Typhoon of 2ND September, 1871. {With Chart,) By
Frank Armstrong x66
Notes 169
Numeric Rel.\tioks op the Vertebrate System. By Dr. T. C.
HiLGARD x-JX
Siemens' Dynamo-Electric Light » . . 172
Physics : Note on the Spectrum of the Aurora. By G. F. Barker. . 172
Scientific Serials 173
Societies and Academies 174
Diary 176
NOTICE
We brg Uave to staU that we decline to return refected communka*
tions^ and to this rule we can make no exception. Communica-
ttons respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers^ NOT to the Editor, r^ T
NATURE
177
THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1872
BRITISH PREPARATIONS FOR THE AP-
PRO ACHING TRANSIT OF VENUS
IN nearly all those countries of Europe in which Astro,
nomy is nationally cultivated, preparations are being
made for thorough observation of the first of the coming
Transits of Venus, which will occur on December 8, 1874.
In Russia, whose territory presents many favourable
points for observation of the phenomenon, a committee^
organised by Professor Struve, has had under considera-
tion during the past two years the establishment of a
chain of observers at positions 100 miles apart along the
region comprised between Kamschatka and the Black
Sea. The principal astronomers of Germany have held
two conferences, each of several days' duration, which
have resulted in a decision to furnish four stations for
hcliometric observation of the planet during its transit :
one of these will be in Japan or China, and the others
probably at Mauritius, Kerguelen's and Auckland Islands ;
and three of these, with the addition of a fourth station
in Persia, between Mascate and Teheran, will be equipped
for photographic observations also. A French commis-
sion on the subject sat before the war, and reported to the
Bureau des Longitudes that it was desirable for their
government to provide for observing stations at Saint
PauPs Islands, and Amsterdam, Yokohama, Tahiti, Nou-
mea, Mascate, and Suez. Since the close of the war the
subject has been reverted to, and lately the Academy of
Sciences applied to the Government for the requisite
funds ; but these could not be granted till next year, the
budget for 1872 having been disposed of.
The British preparations, to which we shall chiefly
confine our remarks, are, we believe, in a more advanced
state than those of any other country. This forwardness
may probably be ascribed to the circumstance that they
have from the first been directed by a single mind, and
have thus been freed from the inevitable delays of a
committee. The Astronomer Royal first called attention
to the Transits in 1857 and again in 1864. In 1868 he
commenced to shape definite plans, selected the observing
stations which were in all respects most suitable for
British occupation, and opened communications with the
Government upon the financial requirements of the under-
taking.
Presuming a general acquaintance with the pheno-
menon under notice, and its availability for determina-
tion of the parallax of Venus, and that of the Sun (a
subject that has been well popularised), we merely remark
that there are several methods by which observers at
opposite points on the earth may measure the parallactic
displacement of Venus upon the Sun*s disc : (i) by dura-
lions of Transit (Halley*s method) ; (2) by absolute local
times of ingress and egress (Delisle's method) ; (3) by
heliometric measures of the planet referred to the limbs of
the sun ; (4) by similar measures obtained from photo-
graphs of the sun with the planet on his disc. The first
of these has been considered disadvantageous for the 1874
Transit, which is the one that immediately concerns us.
The third and fourth arc of recent suggestion, and have
vou y.
been regarded as of doubtful accuracy, esp<»cially the fourth,
whose reliability is still the subject of experimental inquiry.
The second was the one which demanded foremost atten-
tion. The Astronomer Royal, therefore, as a first step,
set down the stations best available for its application.
These had to be selected in order to combine a sufficient
altitude of the sun with the maximum attainable accele-
ration of ingress and retardation of egress on one side of
the earth, and retardation of ingress and acceleration of
egress on the other side of the earth. And after weeding
the lists for each phase of such stations as were ex-
pected to be provided for by foreign governments, and of
those already occupied by established colonial observa*
tories, it was found that there were five stations which it
was desirable that England should prepare to equip.
These were Woahoo (for obser%'ation of accelerated in-
gress), Kerguelen's and Rodriguez Islands (for the retarded
ingress), Auckland in New Zealand (for the accelerated
egress), and Alexandria (for the retarded egress).
Now, as at all these places the absolute locsd time of
the phenomenon is required, it is indispensable that the
longitude of each be very exactly known. In no one
case does a sufficiently accurate determination of this
element exist, and provision must therefore be made in
each case for obtaining it. This vastly increases the ex-
tent of preparations for the instrumental equipment of
the stations, and renders necessary a three or four months'
sojourn of the observers at each. Of the methods for
determining longitude which were open to choice, the
Astronomer Royal decided to employ that by vertical
transits of the moon, and for observing these he resolved
upon supplying altitude instruments with fourteen-inch
circles and telescopes of twenty inches focus. For time
determinations he proposed three-inch transits, of thirty-
six inches focus, with clocks of moderately high class
For observing the phenomenon he elected to employ at
each station one six- inch equatorial and one four- inch
portable telescope. For these an observatory of three
rooms was required. With the exception of one altazi-
muth, two clocks, and two or three four-inch telescopes,
which the Greenwich Observatory could furnish, all the
specified instruments and the observing rooms had to be
specially provided. An estimate for their purchase and
construction, amounting to 2, 154/., was therefore submitted
to the Admiralty. Some needful chronometers and
meteorological instruments were available from home
stores. To the above estimate for material requirements
were added others, prepared by Admiral Richards, for the
personal expenses, the conveyance, residence, pay, and
contingencies, of the observing parties. These amounted,
for the Woahoo detachment, to 2 J 00/., for the Rodri-
guez and Kerguelen's parties to 2,000/. each, for the Auck-
land party to 1,000/., and for Alexandria to 750/., making
a total of 8,250/. The grand total of 10,500/. was asked
of the Treasury in May 1869, and immediately granted.
The construction of the requisite instruments and clocks
was forthwith commenced, by Messrs. Troughton and
Simms and Messrs. Dent. Three six-inch equatorials hap-
pening, however, at the time to come into the market, they
were at once purchased ; one of the three being that which
is known to fame as the " Lee Equatorial," and is the
instrument used by Admiral Smyth in the preparation of
his " Celestial Cycle." The observatories were put in
L^iyiiiiLcvj uy
b-
178
NATURE
[yan.4, 1872
hand also. They are somewhat substantial structures,
formed of a stout wooden framework, covered with
weather-boarding and roofed with zinc and roofing-felt
Each instrument has a separate hut. The transit huts
are ten feet square, with walls six feet high, and with the
shutter openings a little on one side of the centre, so as
to leave good room for mounting the clock, &c. The
altazimuth huts are planned on a nine-feet hexagon.
Their domes are hexagonal pyramids erected on circular
frames, which are grooved to nm on six-inch rollers. These
rollers, six for each dome, are mounted on the wall-curbs.
One flap-back shutter gives sky view from the horizon to
the zenith. Each hut is made portable by being constructed
in sections which are connected together by bolts and nuts.
For the transit instruments massive Portland stone piers
and foundation slabs have been provided ; for the alt-
azimuths stone pier-caps only will be sent out, leaving
the piers to be provided on the spot. Every part of each
observatory and every packing case has been numbered
and marked by stencilling, with a letter to denote the
station for which it is destined.
These transit and altazimuth observatories, with their
instruments and the primary clocks, are, with trifling ex-
ceptions, in perfect readiness for use. The equatorials are
generally ready, though their final completion has been
interrupted by the loan of portions of them to the observ-
ers of the recent solar eclipse. The telescopes will be
supplied with the Astronomer Royal's prismatic eye-piece
for correction of atmospheric dispersion, which will neces-
sarily be considerable at the low altitudes at which some
of the contact observations must be made. The equatorial
observatories are not yet constructed ; the plans for them
are under consideration as we write. The four-inch tele-
scopes, some second-class clocks for use with the alt-
azimuths and equatorials, and the small accessories, have
also to be provided.
It is early to speak of the personnel of the various
observing expeditions. Officers of the army and navy,
will probably compose a large proportion of the observing
corps. Several gentlemen of the Royal Artillery have
already commenced practice at Greenwich with the time
and position instruments ; but, with the object of forming
a more accessible school of observation for them, a tem-
porary observatory has been fitted up near to their head-
quarters at Woolwich.
Photography was not included in the Astronomer
Royal's original plans. But from the time that his prepara-
tions were first mooted, the probable advantages ofphoto-
heliometry of the planet during transit were strongly
insisted upon. The plans for photography were advanced
from photographic quarters j astronomers of the exact
class who were not photog^raphers were somewhat scep-
tical at the outset concerning its accuracy. They anti-
cipated that uncertainties would attach to the photographic
measurements : in the first place from optical distortion
of the image formed by the camera-telescope ; in the second
place, from mechanical distortion produced by unequal
shrinkage of the collodion film, which must receive its
impression in the wet state, whereas the measurements
must be taken when it is dry ; and in the third place, it
appeared doubtful whether sufficiently accurate scale
measurements could be secured to make the results
equally reliable with those to be obtained from eye obser-
vation of the contacts. No method of secondary accu-
racy could be tolerated, since the received value of the
solar parallax (8"'9s) is probably much less than i per
cent, in error. It is considered that an eye- observation of
contact, i.e. of formation or rupture of the " black drop,*'
can well be made with no greater error than 4 seconds
of time. As Venus moves over the sun at the rate
of about 1" in a minute of time, the 4 seconds corre-
spond to a displacement of o''*i2 of arc in the direction
of motion, or about ti Jou of the sun's diameter. Can the
measurements from a photograph, with all the above
noted chances of error, be relied upon for such small
quantities.^ It is argued that they can. The probable
error of a single micrometric measurement of the photo-
graphic distance of th^ images of a double star is cited
by Mr. Asaph Hall* to be o''*i2, and Mr. De La Rue, who
is naturally the English referee in such matters, has no
hesitation in saying that the measurements from a solar
photograph may be depended upon, with all due precau-
tions, to the YffJrru of the sun's diameter. He is of opinion
that the shrinkage of the collodion film takes place only
in the direction of its thickness, and he considers that if
any optical distortion exists, it may be determined, and
the correction for it found, by photographing a scale of
equal divisions upon different parts of a plate, and com-
paring micrometric measurements of the various images.
Upon this point he is about to make some crucial experi-
ments with a large scale erected upon the Pagoda at
Kew, and photographed from the Kew Observatory with
the image in all positions on the sensitive plate. Herr
Paschen is also investigating the matter on the part of the
German Commission, using for his test-scale a glass plate
divided into squares by diamond-ruled lines. Some pre-
liminary trials have convinced him that should it be im-
possible to get rid of distortion, it will yet be easy to
correct for it as accurately as may be desired.
Although the thorough reliability of the photographic
method has not yet been satisfactorily estabhshed, the
doubts concerning it have been in part removed, and it
has appeared undesirable to neglect photography in the
face of the circumstance that it might be the means of
obtaining some useful record of the transit at stations where
from atmospheric causes the observations of contact may
be lost or vitiated. Moreover, as other nations had de-
cided to employ the photographic method, it seemed in-
cumbent upon Britain to work in harmony if not in actual
concert with them ; for although there has as yet been no
formal proposal for international co-operation, there have
been communications between the astronomical authoriiies
of the various countries concerned, which have prevented
the formation of very divergent plans. The Astronomer
Royal therefore laid the subject before theBoard of Visitors
of the Greenwich Observatory, at their meeting in June
last, and it was fully discussed by them. They resolved
that it was desirable to furnish all the English stations
chosen for eye observations with the necessary photogra-
phic appliances, and an application was shortly afterwards
addressed to the Treasury for a grant of 5,000/. to defray
the expenses of the additional equipment. The money
was granted, and the construction of the photo-helio-
graphs—five in number — ^was forthwith placed in Mr.
DaUmeyer's hands. These instruments will be of generally
* SiUimaH*s yoHmal, vol oL^ p. a?$. * i. ^
o
Jail. 4, 1872 J
NATURE
1^9
similar design to one made by the same artist for the
^ViIna Observatory, which has produced sun-pictures that,
so far as the eye can judge, leave nothing to be desired
in point of sharpness of definition and freedom from
such distortion as the photographed cross- wires can ex-
hibit. The object-glasses will be of about 4in. diameter,
giving focal images of the sun about half an inch in.
diameter. The focal image will be amplified to about 4in
diameter on the photographic plate, and, in applying the
enlarging lens, Mr. Dallmeyer is confident that he can
entirely destroy the spherical aberration. The camera-
telescopes will be mounted on equatorial stands, with
latitude adjustment of 80* range ; and they will be fur-
nished with driving clocks.*
For the general photographic organisation, the Astro-
nomer Royal has secured the co-operation of Mr. De La
Rue, under whose able supervision the instruments above
mentioned will be constructed, and by whom the various
details of the photographic scheme will doubtless be
arranged. Of the five stations already selected for eye
observation of contacts, three are well suited for photogra-
phic record. These are Rodriguez, Kerguelen's, and Auck-
land, at all of which the whole transit will be visible. The
Hawaiian station and Alexandria, though they are avail-
able, are less advantageous than the rest, because only a
portion (about halQ of the transit will be visible from
each, and the photographs, besides bemg thus limited*
must be obtained at low altitudes of the sun. It may
become a question whether the heliographs provided with
a view to furnishing these two stations cannot be more
advantageously located. But before the positions are
finally decided upon, it appears desirable that the inten-
tions of other nations should be fully known, or, as would
be preferable, that the ultimate distribution of observers
of all kinds — ^telescopic, heliometric, and photographic —
should be made the subject of an International Con-
ference. J. Carpenter
JUKES' S MANUAL OF GEOLOGY
The Students Manual of Geology, By J. Becte Jukes
F.R.S. Third edition, re-cast, and in great part re-
written. Edited by Archibald Geikie, F.R.S. (Edin-
burgh : A. and C. Black, 1872.)
IF there be any one feature more strongly marked in
the present age than another indicative of progress
and intellectual advancement, it is the superiority of most
(we will not say of all) of the books intended to promote
education. School books and class books of all kinds,
instead of being merely reprints, as in the days of yore,
now really undergo revision every five years or so, or are
superseded by new ones ; whilst the introduction of
natural science teaching into our Universities and public
schools lias created a demand for text-books to an extent
greater even than the supply.
Among the various writers of the day on the science of
Geology, Sir Charles Lyell must undoubtedly be placed in
the front rank, as having done more than any other man
* There are grounds Tor hoping that the same artist will construct some
preci-iely similar photo-heliograDhs for other countries^ for use on the Venus
Transit. There would mamfrstly be great advantage in the employment by
«f photographing observers of inscrum«nu whose optical portions at least are
<n identical material and manufiicture.
to promote its study, and his " Principles'* and " Elements**
of Geology still hold the highest places in our estimation ;
but we must not forget that Phillips, Dana, and Jukes
have also furnished us with geological manuals, more
elementary in their style and arrangement, and therefore
more serviceable for beginners than are Lyell's works. In
order, however, to remedy this. Sir Charles Lyell has
lately brought out a " Student's Elements of Geology,"
8vo. pp. 624 (Murray), being an abridged edition of his
larger work. This will no doubt prove a very useful
book to beginners as an introduction to the higher class
books.
Jukes's "Student's Manual of Geology" was born in
1857, and has already gone through two previous editions,
each time, as is the sad fate of such books, growing more
corpulent, till the poor student turns pale before the vast
array of facts, neatly arranged for him to " cram," in the
smallest possible type.
The original design contemplated in 1854 was an
article on Geology for the " Encyclopaedia Britannica," to
have been carried out by the late Prof. Edward Forbes
and Mr. J. Beete Jukes conjointly ; but the death of •
Forbes for a time deferred the task. It was afterwards
inserted in the Encyclopaedia under "M," as "Minera-
logical Science," and finally appeared as a separate work
in 1857. The first edition is comprised in 610 pp., and
is illustrated by 74 woodcuts, chiefly diagrams and sec-
tions of rocks, &c.
The second edition appeared in 1862, having grown an
inch in the size of its page, and added 154 pages to its
bulk, partly owing to the addition of 100 more illustrations,
50 of which are of fossils, or rather groups of fossils.
The idea of these figures of " Fossil groups," as they
are termed, seems to have been taken from the admirable
series of little woodcuts which illustrate the invertebrate
portion of Owen's " Palaeontology," * prepared by the late
Dr. S. P. Woodward. They are, however, arranged
stratigraphically in Jukes's ** Manual," not zoologically, as
in Owen's " Palaeontology."
The third edition, now before us, is only fourteen pages
thicker than the second edition, and contains thirty-one
more illustrations ; but the bulk of matter is vastly in-
creased by the use of smaller type than in the former edi-
tions.
The illness which seized Mr. Jukes, and by which
he was removed from among us, had already impaired his
health so much as to render it desirable he should be
relieved of the labour of completing this edition, and the
task was accordingly, by the author's own wish, undertaken
by Professor Geikie, Director of the Geological Survey of
Scotland.
The eighty pages on mineralogy (forming chapters II.
and III.) have been entirely re- written by Dr. Sullivan;
Chapter XIII., on trap-rocks, has been re- written by Prof.
Geikie, as well as many other parts. Mr. Hull has revised
the description of the English Coal-measures. Messrs.
Bristow, Whitaker, and Judd have looked over the Meso-
zoic and Cainozoic chapters, and Prof. Huxley has con-
tributed a new synopsis of the animal kingdom.
By a modification of the former edition, a new part is
introduced (Part II.) called "Geological Agencies, or
Dynamical Geology," a part of which also is from the pen
* Second Edition, x86i (Edmbargh : A. and C. Black).
L^iyiLiiLcu kjy
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NATURE
\7an, 4, 1872
of Prof. Geikie, and now appears for the first time. It
treats of the origin of hills, lakes, valleys, caverns, passes,
fjords, glaciers, river-deposits, sea-action, coral-reefs, and
all the many phenomena which either are themselves the
cause, or the effect, of geological agents.
We have such a strong feeling against making a refer-
ence-book, especially one intended for the use of students,
too bulky to be conveniently handled, and even carried
about with one, as is frequently needful, that we have
looked most closely into the present edftion to see in what
way it may be reduced without injury, bearing in mind
that it only purports to be "a Student's Manual of Geo-
logy.''
Candidly, then (without the least disrespect to Dr. Sul-
livan), we think the two chapters on chemistry and mine*
ralogy (chapters II. and III., occupying eighty-one pages)
should have been omitted. For these sciences, although
so intimately related to, and constantly extending their
aid to geology, are equals in rank and importance as
sciences, and the student, if intending properly to master
them, must possess such text-books as Williamson's Stu-
dent's Chemistry and Dana's System of Mineralogy,
books of equal importance in these sciences to Lyell's
or Jukes's geological works.
As might naturally be expected in a text-book framed
by a Geological Surveyor deeply versed in all the intri-
cacies of rock structures in the field, and constantly deal-
ing with stratigraphical questions, the book treats most
largely of physical geology, not, however, to the exclusion
of paljeontology ; yet exalting pctrological science — at
present in its infancy— into a far higher place than it has
hitherto occupied in any other similar work. We do not
wish it to be understood that we desire to undervalue
lithological characters, especially in rocks devoid of
organic remains ; but we find such conflicting opinions
prevalent among petrologists, that we are led to doubt
the possibility of teaching much of such a branch of
geological science to the student until the nomenclature
of the principal rocks is settled by a congress of geologists,
mineralogists, and chemists, or by some other authori-
tative body.
If in a new edition the mineralogy is omitted, we
would suggest the introduction of a glossary of geological
and zoological terms, which the beginner would, we feel
sure, be very grateful to find added to the index, as an
addition to the valuable tables of classification contributed
by Prof. Huxley.
We heartily recommend the book to both intending
teachers and students, who will find it a most complete
compendium of geological science, and still one of the
best Manuals in our language, as it has now been brought
by its editor. Prof. Geikie, fairly " abreast of the onward
march of science." H. W.
BREHM'S BIRD-LIFE
Bird-Life, By Dr. A. E. Brehm. Translated from the
German by H. M. Labouchere, F.Z.S , and W. Jesse,
CM.ZS. Parts!.— III. (London : Van Voorst, 1871.)
MR. WILLIAM JESSE, at the instigation of his
colleague, is doing his best to make a silk purse
out of— well, we do not wish to be rude, so let us say.
out of materials of which silk purses are not commonly
made ; for Dr. Alfred Edmund Brehm has the fatal
facility of being able to write endless nonsense on a sub-
ject which, in better hands, might be made truly instruc-
tive. He is so far from being a true naturalist that he is
constantly being misled, confounding analogies with
homologies. Take his second paragraph, as Mr. Jesse
translates it, and translates it very well too : —
" Birds have much in common with mammals ; and
it is certain that some striking resemblances between in-
dividuals of both classes cannot be denied. Every im-
partial observer must recognise in the eagle the image of
the lion, or rather its true representative in the bird- world;
in the owl we see the cat ; the raven resembles the dog ;
the vulture, the hyaena ; the hawk, the fox ; the parrot, the
monkey ; the crossbill, the squirrel ; the wren, the mouse ;
the butcher-bird, the weasel ; the bustard, the stag or ante-
lope ; the ostrich, the camel ; the cassowary, the llama ;
the dipper, the water-rat ; the duck, the duck-billed platy-
pus ; the diver, the otter ; the auk, the seal ; and so on.
In spite of all these resemblances, which, after all, only
apply to the external aspect, the bird is always and essen-
tially distinct from mammals " (p. 2).
What, then, is the use of all this ? Even the trans-
lator has to append a note stating that the author has
not truly explained what he is writing about, and, in-
deed, it is plain that the writer to whom such ideas as the
foregoing occurred has no pretension to be accounted a
scientific man. Their association jars upon the feelings
and contravenes the knowledge of any student of morpho-
logy. We have no wish to shock our readers even with
the commonest terms of German philosophy, but is it not
clear that to draw a parallel between a raven and a dog,
and between a butcher-bird and a weasel, while a fox is
likened to a hawk and a water-rat to a dipper, is simply a
subjective process, depending entirely on the fancy of the
beholder? Of what use then are any speculations on
" Bird Life " by such an one 1 To most men the observa-
tion of the aspects of nature, as exhibited under divers
conditions of country and climate, afford a most instruc-
tive education. To Dr. A. E. Brehm it seems to be other-
wise. He has wandered in many lands, and has seen in
their homes the faunas of both north and south. The
only effect this seems to have had upon him is to teach
him that he lives. '* Movement is life " we read (p. 19),
" and life is the power of self-motion." Motion is there-
fore the chief characteristic of birds. '* The bird is, of
all creatures, the most versatile in its movements ; it
runs, climbs, swims, dives, and flies " (p. 20). He is care-
ful to add that all these qualities are not to be found in a
single species ; but may not just as much be said for the
insect or the mammal ; or even if the dreams of some
geologists be well-founded, might they not all have been
found *' combined in one creature " ? A contemporary of
the pterodactyls might, with some appearance of truth,
have applied to one of them the description of Milton's
fiend, who
O'er bog, or steep, throug h strait, rough, dense, or rue.
With hand, head, wings, or feet, pursues his way,
And swims, or sinks, or evades, or creeps, or flies.
So far as powers of locomotion go, and by '* movement "
Dr. Brehm plainly means locomotion, the bird is hardly
superior to the insect or the mammaL But to return to
the extraordinary hypothesis that '' movement is life," and
the converse. The most miserable >savage that ever
yan. 4, 1872J
NATURE
lai
plucked a mussel from the rock knows better in this
respect than Dr. Brehm ; and when the latter tells us,
d profios of the songs of birds (p. 37), that the *^ voice is
still motion," and we connect the statement with a pre-
vious assertion (p. 19), that "worlds roll on through
boundless space — and live," we feel certain that we ought
to hear the music of the spheres, or some other mystical
sweet sounds, if we could only elevate ourselves to his
exalted ecstasy.
But we think we need not trespass further on the time
of our readers. We will conclude by expressing the
hope that when Mr. Jesse and Mr. Labouchere next set
about translating a German author they will have better
luck in pitching upon a subject — and they will easily iind
one — for their labours than the rhapsodies of Dr. Alfred
Edmund Brehm.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, Vol.
iii, Nos. 21—40.
The papers read before this Society still preserve the high
character attributed to them in the notice of vol ii., which
appeared in this joumaL That such should be the case is
not matter for surprise, when we run our eyes over the list
of contributors. The principal authors are Prof. Cayley
and Mr. Samuel Roberts. The former furnishes three
memoirs on quartic surfaces (pp. 59—69 ; 198—202 ; 234 —
266) ; sketch of recent researches upon quartic and quintic
surfaces ; rational transformation between two spaces
ipp. 127 — 180) ; on Pliicker's models of certain quartic sur-
aces. The latter communicates papers on the order of
the discriminants of a ternary form ; pedals of conic sjec-
tions ^p. 88—98) ; on the ovals of Des Cartes (pp. 106—
126} ; on the order and singularities of the parallel of an
algebraical curve Tpp. 209—259) ; on the motion of a plane
undercertain conditions. Prof. Clerk Maxwell contributes
a paper on the mathematical classification of physical
quantities. Besides the foregoing communications, the
above-named gentlemen have laid other papers before the
Society. Memoirs have also been presented by Mr. J.
Griffiths, Mr. J. J. Walker, Prof. Clifford, Hon. J. W.
Strutt, and other members. Some other highly valuable
communications, we learn from the " Proceedings,** were
made to Uie Society, but no record has as yet been made
of them, their authors not having yet sent their completed
papers for publication. The Society, from the number
and high character of its memoirs, seems to have met a
want, and is, perhaps, the only Society before which many
of the communications could have been brought As
generally the papers are worked out in some detail at the
meetings, members have an interesting opportunity of
seeing no w some of our foremost mathematicians employ
their divers instruments. The Society has lost by death
during the past session, its first president, and one of its
earliest warm supporters. A slight sketch of Prof. De
Morgan and his works appeared in Nature close upon
his death in March last. The eighth session of the
Society's existence has just commenced, and we trust its
future work may be as good as that it has already
achieved. Floreat,
Treatise on Terrestrial Magnetism. (Blackwood and
Sons.)
The first half of this book contains a good deal of in-
formation, and some inquiries connected with the question
of the secular variations in the magnetic elements. The
author, on the supposition that the secular changes in the
declination are caused by the action of a single, slowly
rotating pole on a needle which at each place ii locally
influenced in a definite and determinable manner, com-
putes the declination at several places, and shows that it
agrees tolerably well with actual observation. The ro-
tating pole he places at a constant distance of 23° jo' from
the pole of the earth's axis, and gives to its ro&tion a
period of 640 years. The latter part of the book, how-
ever, is taken up with " an hypothesis," The writer of
this book, and many other such writers, would do well
to remember the words of Newton, ^''Hypotheses non
Jingo" The hypothesis referred to is simply this : — that
the sun attracts the electric matter in the earth and carries
it round in a sort of tidal wave, this causes an electric
current from east to west, which causes the magnet to
point to the north, and from which the writer also attempts
to deduce some of the other phenomena of magnetism.
There seems to us to be some ambiguity in the writer's
method of expression, so that we do not clearly gather
whether he intends this current to account for the whole
magnetic action of the world, or only for the variations of
it. A consideration of the character of the variations
of the needle is sufficient to overthrow the hypo-
thesis announced by our author. The solar diurnal
variation is thus explained by him : — The pole of the
ecliptic revolves once a day round the pole or the earth's
axis, the needle tends to follow this, and hence the solar
diurnal variation. Now, we may point out a circumstance
which, apparently, entirely overthrows, not only this
hypothesis, but any which attempts to account for that
variation by anything of the nature of the movement of
a magnetic pole. At Point Barrow the needle points N.E.,
at Port Kennedy it points S.W., yet at each place the
solar diurnal variation follows local time and exhibits pre-
cisely the same features. Standing, then, at the centre of
the needle, and looking towards its marked end, that end
would at both places t>e observed to be moving towards
the left hand of the observer between the hours of 8 A M.
and I P.M. But since the needles are pointing in opposite
directions, this constitutes a movement of the marked end
of the one towards the geographical west, and of the
marked end of the other towards the geographical east,
and this at times when the needles are under precisely
the same circumstances with respect to the sun's influence.
Now, no movement of the magnetic pole can account for
this, it would necessarily entail a movement of the marked
end of both these needles in the same geographical di-
rection. The consideration of this phenomenon shows us
that if the solar diurnal variation of the declination is to
be attributed to a current, it must be one not round the
magnetic pole or the geographical pole, but along the mag-
netic meridian. But this is not the place for us to discuss
this question further at present. It would seem to be,
however, rather from the consideration of such phenomena
as this in a careful and accurate way, and the attempt
therefrom, by induction, to arrive at laws, that we may
hope to form a theory of terrestrial magnetism, than from
*' making an hypothesis," and then attempting to apply it
to facts. J. S.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The EdUor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Mayer and De Saussure
In Prof. Tyndall's account of the laboars ot Mayer, a para-
graph is devoted to the bearing of his principles upon the pheno-
mena of vegetable life. It suggests two points of difficulty to
me : —
I. It is said that '* Mayer's utterances are far from beiog
anticipated by vague statements regarding the * stimulus' of
light, or regardioK coal as 'bottled sunlight.'" Nevertheless
the paragraph reads almost like a paraphrase of the following
passage from Sir John Herschel's "Outlines of Astronomy
L.,yitized by VjOOv Itr
l82
NATURE
{Jan. 4, 1872
"The son's rays are the ultimate source of almost every
motion which takes place upon the surface of the earth. By
its heat are produced all winds and those disturbances in the
electric equilibrium of the atmosphere, which give rise to the
phenomena of terrestrial magnetism. By their vivifying action
vegetables are elaborated from inorganic matter, and be-
come in their turn the support of animals and men, and
the sources of those great deposits of dynamical efficiency
which are laid up for human use in our coal strata. By them
the waters of the sea are made to circulate in vapour through
the air and irrigate the land, prodndng springs and rivers. By
them are produced all disturbances of the chemical equilibrium
of Nature, which by a series of compositions and decompositions
give rise to new products and originate a transfer of materials."
In a note in Mr. Herbert Spencer's "First Principles" (2nd
Ed., p. 496), which first led me to look at this passage, it is re-
marked that Herschel " expressly includes all geologic, meteoro-
logic, and vital action?, as also those which we produce by the
combustion of coal," in the effects of the solar rays. When,
therefore, Prof. Tyndall states that Mayer revealed the source
of the energies of the vegetable world, it appears to me
that Herschel anticipated the revelation twelve years previously.
Of course. I apprehend that Mayer's merit consisted in seizing at
once a physical principle of immense generality, and in applying
it to very different phenomena. Herschel began at the other
end ; but appears equally to have seen the solar energy under-
lying these phenomena, though in a general way, and without
demonstrating numerical relations.
2 De Saussure is credited unreservedly with the observation
of the reducing power of the solar rays in the vegetable economy.
Bat he seems to me, as, indeed, he seemed to himself, to have
only crowned a theory which other workers had elaborated.
Priestley began by ascertaining that air depurated by animals
was purified by plants. Ingenhousz showed, what Priestley can-
didly confesses he missed, that this effect is due " chiefly, if not
only, to the light " of the sun. Senebier found that " fixed air "
was the ingredient which plants removed from a vitiated at-
mosphere, and that this underwent elaboration in the tissues,
oxygen being set free as the result.* Lavoisier having
previously shown that fixed air was a compound of carbon
and oxygen, Senebier's results implied the fixation of carbon by
plants. This fixation De Saussure actually demonstrated by
Ceding a plant with carbon dioxide and water alone, and show-
ing that the carbon in the tissues increased. He further found
the unexpected fact (and this is what he added to the matter)
that the oxygen evolved by plants does not correspond to that
contained in the carbon dioxide absorbed, but that it is smaller
in quantity.
De Saussure*s researches are a beautiful example of quantita-
tive work, but they would have, I imagine, merit of a different
order if Priestley, Ingenhousz, Senebier, and Lavoisier had not
broken ground before them.
W. T. Thisklton Dyer
Phenomena of Contact
In Nature of Augu<>t 24 I objected to, as misleading, the
statement by Mr. Newcomb that "we find ligaments, black
drops, and distortions sometimes seen in interior contacts of the
limbs of Mercury or Venus with that of the sun, described as if
they were regular phenomena of a transit, without any mention
of the facts and experiments which indicated that these pheno-
mena are simple products of insufficient optical power and bad
definition which disappear in a fair atmosphere with a good
telescope well adjusted to focus." 1 asked for references to the
facts and experiments by which the statements are justified.
In Nature of September 28 I find Mr. Newcomb's reply, but
without the references which I desired. Mr. Newcomb considers
that I controvert the two following propositions : —
1. That the irregular phenomena of internal contact of a
planet with the sun, variously described as distortions, black
drops, ligaments, &&, are not always present, but are only seen
sometimes.
2. That when seen they are due to insufficient optical power
or bad definition.
If the word "irregular " is cut out, and the word "seen " sub-
stituted for "present" in proposition (i) there can be no doubt
about its truth. It will be found that all the arguments adduced
* Recherches sur llnflueaoe de la lumiire solaire pour metaraorphoser
i'lur fixe en idr pur par la v^ikatioo, 1783.
hj Mr. Newcomb to prove this proposition have no bearing
either upon the word ** irregular " or " present " in contradistinc-
tion to " seen."
It appears to me, therefore, quite unnecessary to allude
further to this proposition.
With reference to proposition (2), I believe it to be utterly
erroneous. I believe that the phenomena of the fine connecting
ligament can only be seen in a fair atmosphere, with a good
telescope well adjusted to focus, and with considerable magnifying
power. When it is remembered that the fine connecting liga-
ment is confined to within about a second of arc of the sun's
limb, I think my statement will at least commend itself to prac-
tical observers. Mr. Newcomb appears to regard it as a great
difficulty in my view of these phenomena, that some of the
observers should see the ligament and some not. I am rather
surprised at the persistence with which this point is again and
again brought forward in his letter. I thought that it had been
answered by anticipation in my letter which appeared in your
number of August 24. In all my writings upon the subject I
have maintain»i that the phenomena coodd only be seen under
favourable circumstances and with sufficient power ; and in my
letter of August 24 will be found this statement, which appears
to have been entirely overlooked, at least unanswered, by Mr.
Newcomb : — " The optical enlargement by irradiation is a func-
tion of the brightness, and can be made insensible by sufficiently
diminishing that brightness. Unfortunately, however, when this
diminution of brightness is carried to a very great extent, errors
in an exactly opposite direction to those of irradiation will come
into play, similar, in fact, to the results of Wolf's experiments.
The observations of Mercury on the sun's disc in 1868 were
made with very different optical means, and some very different
methods were adopted for diminishing the sun*s glare." In my
view those observers who did not see the connecting ligaments
failed to see it, either from want of attention to the point as
not a contact such as they expected to see, or from the observa-
tions having been made under such circumstances that some of
the necessary conditions which I have indicated were not satisfied.
The fine connecting ligament is only seen by contrast against
the illumination of the sun*s disc near the point of contact,
and it may well be that some of the observers have pushed the
diminution of brightness of the smi's image to such an extent that
the contrast was too feeble to attract attention before the appa-
rent contact To me, and I think to others who will give the
matter some consideration, it is clear enough " that an observer
with the naked eye, a telescope of low power, would not, in the
case of a transit of Venus, see the connecting ligament at all."
It is as clear "that without seeing any ligament, the planet, at
egress, would appear to touch the limb without distortion, neces-
sarily, earlier than the contact would appear to be established to
observers who were watching the transit with good telescopes and
with high powers." It appears to me equally clear that, if the
brightness of the sun's image be reduced to exce^ then the ever-
diminishing small portion of the illuminated disc between the
sun*s edge and the advancing planet, at egress, may be made to
disappear, from sheer inability to appreciate so faint a light, before
the contact would appear to be established to observers who had
not so reduced the brightness of the image. Disturbing causes
such as these do exist, and their effects must be recognised. I
must apologise for brinnng forward such aiiguments ; but, since
one obseiver has published his opinion that the "ligaments,
&c.," do not exist in contacts, because he looked at the transit
of Mercury with an opera glass and saw nothing of the kind, it
would appear necessary to recall attention to a common-sense
view of the points at issue.
But whatever may be the opinion of Mr. Newcomb respecting
the explanation which I have given of the probable reason why
some of the observers have not seen the connecting ligamen% he
must feel that it will at least be difficult for him to explain away
the positive evidence of the numerous observers who profess to
have seen the ligament with first-rate telescopes. Some of them,
at least, were gentlemen not likely to have forgotten to adjust
their eye-pieoes to focus, even if such a neglect would have pro-
duced the phenomena observed. In cases where the ligament
has been seen, it will be found that the earlier lines uf contact
at egress have been given by observers with the best telescopes
and high powers. This b strikingly shown by the Greenwich
observations of the transit of Mercury. 1868. It is a result in
perfect accord with my views. Very large and systematic dis-
cordances will be found to exist between the times of internal
contact at the transit ot Mercury, 1868^ in cases where no con-
necting ligament was seen at all. This has been passed over in
L/iyiLiiLcu \jy
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yan. 4, 1872]
NATURE
183
sileDce by Mr. Newoomb ; but it b important It would be
difficult to select fix>m such groups of observers — the French, for
example, who saw no connecting ligament— those who saw ''the
ghenomena exactly as we know they are ;" and unless this can
e done, I am afraid that Mr. Newcomb^s somewhat unique ar-
gument upon this point might be made as easily to prove the
converse as the r^ult he deduces from it. All these observa-
tions, in my view, are good ; but they are not strictly observa-
tions of the same phenomena.
Mr. Newcomb rejects at once the force of the evidence of the
observers of the transits of Venus, 1 761 and 1769, upon the
question of the connecting ligament "till we have better
evidence than now exists that their object-glasses were such as
Clarke or Foucault would call good." The phenomena con-
nected with the ligament must be far more marked in the case of
Venus than in that of Mercury, on account of the large diameter
of Venus. To reject therefore by an impossible condition all the
evidence in our possession respecting transits of Venus is cer-
tainly a bold step ; but Mr. Newcomb appears to me to attach
far too much importance, so far as irradiation phenomena are
concerned, to the improvements effected in modem telescopes.
The image of a point of light on the most perfect object-glass
which can be conceived is not a point, but a disc, of which the
illumination degrades rapidly from the centre, and which is sur-
rounded by concentric rmgs of light The law of degradation of
the illumination of the central disc has been given bv me in the
Monthly Notices, November 1865. The result of theory upon
these points has been most completely tested by experiment
The existence and regularity of these concentric circular rings is
one of the most delicate tests of the perfection of a telescope.
Since we have a disc of light corresponding to a point in the
most perfect object-glass whidi can be made, the visible image
of the sun formed by such a glass will not terminate with the
geometrical image. This resmt of theory is confirmed by experi-
ment The optical enlargement found under degrees of illumi-
nation similar to those very commonly adopted in observations of
the sun is amply sufficient to produce by its destruction near the
point of contact the phenomena which so many observers of
experience have declared that they have seen. That the optical
enlargement is sufHcient for the purpose can be seen from the
experiments of Dr. Robinson, of Armagh, and from the Greenwich
discussions of eclipse observations. This was pointed out in my
letter in your number of August 24. With respect to Mr.
Newcomb^s remark as to the application of this theory of irra-
diation to a transit of a planet, viz., " we require to know
whether the irradiation of an extremely minute thread of light
darkened so as to be barely visible is the same with that of a
large disc, I am decidedly of opinion that it is not, and if not,
the fact that the sun's disc is optically enlarged by the telescope
or the eye of the observer cannot be directly applied to the
phenomena of transit" I have merely to remark that Mr. New-
comb is undoubtedly right when he asserts that the irradiation
from the minute thread of light darkened so as to be barely
visible is not the same as that of the large disc. // is simply be-
cause such is the case thai the phenomena of the connecting liga-
vtent appear. When the planet is well on the disc, the irradiation
around the disc will not be disturbed, but as the planet
approaches the edge, the irradiation near the point of contact
roust eventually be disturbed, and this disturbance, or change,
gives rise to the phenomena observed — a black drop, connectmg
ligament, or whatever name you prefer to give to that apparent
cutting out of a piece of the sun s edge near the point of contact
which must take place. After the disturbance of tlie irradiation
has once commenced, the connecting ligament must at egress in-
crease in breadth ; but I do not profess to be able to give the law
of the changing form with any degree of exactness.
The experiments of Wolf and Andr^ were, as I stated in my
letter of August 24, made upon a disc presenting no sensible
traces of optical enlargement. The results can therefore have no
bearing upon the question of irradiation. These results are un-
doubtedly valuable in themselves, as showing experimentally the
tendency of errors of observations of contacts under feeble illu-
mination. They may throw light upon those observations at
which no connecting ligament was seen, but they are useless to
disprove or prove irradiation effects.
My authority for stating that the observations of Wolf and
Andre were nuade upon a disc showing no sensible traces of opti-
cal enlargement, is contained in the memoir itself. If Mr. New-
comb is pleased to call the phenomena of ** telescopic irradiation "
a species of bad definition, there can be no objecdon on my part
to his doing so ; but it is not a species of bad definition " which
I disappears in a fair atmosphere, with a good telescope well ad-
justed to focus."
With respect to the ligament not being a celestial reality.
The contact is not a celestial reality. My views of the reality
of the phenomena are that the reality is neither more nor less
than the reality of the phenomena presented at the focus of
an object-glass when turned upon a star. The irradiation can
in my view be got rid of to the same extent and in the
same nuumer that the central disc corresponding to the star's
image can be got rid of. Vou can reduce its dimensions by
cutting down the illumination, and the disc will become a point,
but only as it vanishes.
If I may be allowed to give one word of warning respecting
the preparations for the transit of Venus 1874, it is uniformity.
Make such arrangements as you think best, but once made
stick to them even if not absolutely the best The observations
which are to be compared must be made as early as npossible
under the same optical conditions. The whole success or failure
of the work will, in my opinion, turn upon the extent to which
this necessary condition is approximated ta
E. J. Stone
Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, Nov. 18, 1871
The Origin of Insects
With your kind permission I will answer Dr. Beale's ques-
tions, published in his letter in your issue of December 21, 1871.
Dr. Beale ask? me what part of the nervous system of the
maggot is present in the fly ? My answer is that I have traced
the changes of the one directly into the other ; and that Weismann
has done the same. There is no time in the pupa state when
the nervous system is absent ; but it is difficult to demonstrate
this, as amongst so much molecular matter it is not easily found,
and is very easily crushed and destroyed.
Again, Dr. Beale asks me if I have seen any vestige of the
mouth organs of the imago in the larva? I reply that the man-
dibles and maxillae exist in the egg twelve hours before the young
maggot emerges, together with the fore and hind-head segments ;
that these have all disappeared when the egg hatches ; but that
the imaginal discs are already formed at that time. Now, I
would ask if it bears the slightest aspect of probability that the
larval head segments and mandibles, maxillae, &c., are formed
for nothing, and that the imaginal discs are new formations
arising contemporaneously with the disappearance of the larval
head segments ? Dr. Weismann has shown unmistakably that
the abdominal segments of the pupa skin are formed firom the
abdominal segments of the larval skin. Does it appear in the
slightest degree probable that the thoracic and head segments
have a totally dissimilar origin? I admit that I have not been
able to see the imaginal discs in contact with the head segments
of the embryo ; but I have found the imaginal discs immediately
after the ^g is hatched, and they are then too much Uke the
embryonic structures alluded to, to have had any other probable
origin. The proboscis is formed from cells laid down within
these discs ; of^ that there is not the smallest doubt Dr. Weis-
mann makes the same assertion, and, although I did not know it
to be 10 at tlie time I wrote my work on the fly, I acknowledge
it is so now, and that in my description of the origin of the pro-
boscis I was wrong. In the Lepidoptera, and in some beetles,
imaginal discs may be seen to have their origin in the inner layer
of the larval skin.
Again, Dr. Beale says : — ^** Does Mr. Lowne mean to say, for
instance, that he or anyone else can adduce any reliable observa-
tions to prove that the sexual organs are gradually developed,
even from the time when the embryo is enclosed within the egg ? *
I answer, yes. My own observations confirm those of Weismann
on this hold, and Dr. Beale will find, on looking again at page
1 12 of my book on the blow-fly, that he has not correctly quoted
my statement. I will also refer Dr. Beale to Dr. E. BesseFs
paper, '* Studien iiber die Entwicklungder sexual-Driisen bei den
Lepidopteren," in the "Zeitschrifl ftir wissenschafUiche Zoolo-
gie," vol xviu I believe future observers will find the sexual
organs are always so formed, even as they are in the vertebrata.
There is another paper, by Siebold I think, on the same subject
in the above- quoted periodical.
Lastly, Dr. Beale asks me to explain what I mean by the sen-
tence occurring at page 116 of my book : — "All the tissues of
the larva undeigo degeneration, and the imaginal tissues are re-
developed," &c I apprehend that the redevelopment of all the
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NATURE
IJan.d^, 1872
tissues docs not imply also the redevelopment of the insect
That the tissues are all so redeveloped is undoubted, but they
are not all redeveloped at once. I have stated in my book again
and again that certain organs are redeveloped in a particular
manner, and was never under the impression that the whole was
a case of alternate generation. I did not know the origin of the
imaginal discs in those days.
With your permission I will add a few words in support of the
assertion *' that the pupa change is analogous to ordinary ecdysls,
of which it is a modification." In ordinary ecdysis the muscles
undergo degeneration at their points of attachment to the cast
skin; in metamorphosis this change is far more marked. In
ecdysis in Chloeon, for instance, Sir J. Lubbock (Linn. Soc
Trans. , vol. xxiv. ) has shown that the wings and thorax are gradu-
ally developed through nine successive sheddings of the skin.
In the more remarkable metamorphosis of Lepidoptera they are
developed in two ecdyses, these two being called metamorphosis.
Prof. Owen believed, and the assertion is now widely known,
that the larvae of such insects as the Orthoptera, Neuroptera, &c.,
exist in the maggot form in the egg; but the observations of
Mr. Newport on Meloe, and of Fritz Miiller, of Weismann, and
many others, go far to prove that this is not so— that the maggot
form is intermediate, tne half-developed embryo and the pupa
or perfect insect, being most alike.
The subject is one of great interest, and therefore I trust
you will excuse this long trespass on your pages.
99, GuiUord Street Benjamin T. Lowne
In Re Fungi
Your sarcastic correspondent "F. I^ S." is quite incompe-
tent to reply to my former letter. I did not call in question the
correctness of the determination of Agaricus cartilagineusy but
merely drew attention to the absurdity of the statement that the
said determination was made from a mere *' mass of mycelium,"
and that such a statement should come from a journal specially
devoted to Botany.
In the original report of the occurrence of Agaricus cartila^
gineus [Journal of Botany^ vol. iii. p. 28) special reference is there
made to the '* many-headed pileus ; " now some of these
"pilei" (not the «* mycelium,'* **F. L. S.,") were forwarded
to the Rev. M. J. Berkeley for examination, and from these
materials he (and not the writer of these lines) made out the
plant to be A, cartUagineus. Certainly I included the species
"without hesitation" in the list of Middlesex Fungi, because I
knew the plant referred to had not been determined from a mere
•• mass of mycelium," but that Mr. Berkeley had examined the
perfected parts.
I fail to see why "F. L. S." is so anxious to "allay my
alarm as to the decay of Furgology in England," especially as I
have never expressed any "alarm" on that head. I do not
look upon the Journal as such an infallible weathercock as to
connect its wrong statement \vith a national breakdown in
Botany ; neither do I see how I have "missed the point " of its
paragraph. I am more inclined to think that I have hit ^ in a
friendly way, and rather hard too. W. G. S.
Mr. Baily on Kiltorkan Fossils
In your last number Mr. Baily is said to have brought forward
at a meeting of the Geological Society of Dublin "some strong
facts to prove that the Irish palaeontologists had not misled Prof.
Heer, as stated by Mr. Carrulhers at a recent meeting of the
London Geological Society."
At the meeting referred to. Prof. Heer placed the Irish beds at
the base of the Carboniferous series, 'mainly because .S/Tgrw/znV?
J "eltheimiana, a coal measure plant, was found in them.
Into this error I said " Prof Heer had been led chiefly by the
erroneous determination of the Kiltorkan Lepidodendron by the
Irish palaeontologists." I will not burthen your columns with
the strange history of the nomenclature of this plant, as I shall
have an opportunity of doing this elsewhere ere long. The point
before us is this, that Mr. Buly alone has the credit of erroneously
determining the Kiltorkan plant to be the same t s an already
described Carboniferous species. And the proof of this is easily
adduced. In 1864, Mr. Bailv, in hb " Explanation of Sheets
187, &c, of the Irisii Survey," figures the fossil, and describes it
unhesitatingly as " Sagmaria Vdthdmiana^ Stemb. sp." This
he repeated in a paper by the lamented Prof. Jukes in 1866
{Journ, Ceol. Soc. Ireland ^ L pp. 123, 124), as well as in a paper
by himself read to the Natural History Society of Dublin in the
same year (p. 2). Prof. Heer acknowledged his obligations to
Mr. Baily for the Irish specimens he had examined. I have
examined specimens so distributed by Mr. Baily, and they were
named Sagenaria Vcltheimiana.
In the volume of the British Association Reports, published in
1869, Mr. Baily says (p. 59) that the Sagenaria is named by
Schim]>er S. Bailyana, More recently (Nov. 1 871), in his
"Figures of British Fossils" (p, 84), he names it Knorria
Bailyana. It is not much to the purpose to say that it is
neither a Knorria nor a Sagenaria^ or further that the specific
designation Bailyana must give place, with some dozen other
synonyms, to the original name given by Dr. Haughton in 1855.
But it is to the purpose to notice that Sagenaria Veltheimiana is
not a Kiltorkan fossil, though said to be so by Mr. Baily, and
that this error, now acknowledged by Mr. Baily himself, was the
main foundation of Prof. Heer's argument.
I am not a little curious to know what are the " strong &cts "
which will overthrow a plain narrative that fully justiBes my
statement, but at the same time compels me to make it more
personal than the truth seemed to me to demand when I made it
some months ago. William Carruthers
ZOOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE ECLIPSE
EXPEDITION
A STEAMER is eminently unqualified for observations
-^^ on marine zoology. Owing to the high rate of
speed, it is impossible to use a towing net with any
success, and to a zoologist it is perfectly tantalising to see
swarms of Medusas, &c., sail past the ship without being
able to obtain a single specimen. In Peninsular and
Oriental ships the only practicable method is to keep the
tap of the baths constantly running through a fine gauze
net. In this way quantities of Entomostraca may be
obtained. Since we have been in the Red Sea, the water
has been splendidly phosphorescent every night, the light
being most brilliant where the hot water from the con-
densers is shed out into the sea, the animals being pro-
bably killed by the heat, and emitting in the act one last
brilliant flash. If the water be turned on into one of the
baths at night, most gorgeous flashes of light are obtained,
and the animals causing them may be caught in small
vessels and kept for examination. They are at present
ahnost exclusively Entomostraca of the genera Cypris^
Cyclops^ and Daphnis, When the light is examined
spectroscopically, it gives a spectrum in which only the
green and yellow are present, the red and blue being
sharply cut off. Several species of the Entomostraca
obtained contain a brilliant red pigment, which gives
unfortunately no absorption bands when examined with
the micro- spectroscope. At Suez I obtained a number
of Echinodermata of the usual dark purple tint, a
splendid Comatula in abundance, two species of Echinus^
and one or two star-fishes. The colouring matter of these
animals is readily soluble in fresh water or alcohol, as is
that of the common British feather-star. Though its
colour is extremely intense, it gives no absorption bands,
but when a strong solution is used, the spectrum is re-
duced to a red band, all the rest of the light being ab-
sorbed. Apparently parasitic on a large ^aXSpatangus^
vftre obtained a number of r/'i/Planarians, about one-eighth
inch long, which gave the characteristic absorption bands
of haemoglobin with great intensity. The existence of
haemoglobin in Planarians is a fact of considerable interest,
and I believe quite new. On taking a boat excursion
round the shores, where I obtained abundance of large
Gasteropods and the Echinodermata mentioned above,
I was remarkably struck by the absence of Acti*
nias. Though I was out nearly the whole day, I did
not see a single specimen, nor indeed did 1 observe
any large Medusae. This absence of these latter may
perhaps, however, have, been due to the set of the
wind or tide. /^^ T
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NATURE
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Of the Suez Canal fauna we were able to observe
very little, except that the canal perfectly swarms with
fish from one end to the other. A good many were
taken with hand-lines in two spots, one close to Port
Said, the other in the middle of the Great Bitter Lake.
They were all of one species, a sort of mullet, but there
are no books at hand to determine the species. The mud
brought up from the bottom of the Great Bitter Lake by
the chain cable was absolutely devoid of any traces of life.
The Mirsapcre has been visited on her voyage by various
land birds. One hen chaffinch accompanied us from Cape
Finisterre to Port Said, not leaving the ship when she was
anchored at Malta, and was to be seen every day hopping
about the deck and feeding. At present the ship is sur-
rounded by vast flights of flying fish. They fly generally
up wind, and sometimes go as far as one hundred yards.
It is hoped that this short note may be found of some
interest, and that it will be borne in mind that it is im-
possible to travel about with a library sufficient to deter-
mine species on the spot
H. N. MOSELEV
MELTING AND REGELATION OF ICE
AN observation made yesterday caused me to present to
my class, in a lecture on Heat this morning, the follow-
ing experiment. A piece of wire gauze was laid on a con-
venient horizontal ring, and on this a lump of ice. A
flat board was placed on the ice, and pressure was applied
by means of weights put upon the board. 1 put 12 lbs.
upon a piece of ice as large as an apple. This was done
at the conunencement of the lecture, and before the con-
clusion I found a considerable quantity of ice on the lower
side of the gauze, apparently squeezed through the meshes.
The temperature of the class-room was about 15* C.
(S9'Fah.). The experiment was continued for eight or
ten hours, fresh ice being supplied when necessary to the
upper side of the gauze, and, in spite of the continual
sur£u:e melting and dripping away of water, a very
lai^e quantity of ice was formed below the gauze. The
ice below the gauze was firmly united to that above. I
tried with my hands to breauc away the upper from the
lower, and to break either of them off at the place where
the wire gauze separated them ; but I was not able to do
so. The ice that has passed through the meshes has a
kind of texture corresponding to that of the network, and
the small air bubbles appeared to be arranged in columns.
The phenomenon is a consequence of the properties,
announced from theory by Prof. James Thomson, smd
then exemplified by an experiment ; and the explanation
depends on the theories put forward by him— the first
(1857) founded on the lowering of the freezing point of
water by pressure, and the second (1861) founded on the
tendency to melt given by the application to the solid
ice offerees whose nature is to produce change of form
as distinguished from forces applied alike to the liquid
and solid. The stress upon the ice, due to its pressure
on the network, gives it a tendency to melt at the point
in contact with the wire, and the ice, in the form of water
intermixed with fragments and new crystals, moves so as to
relieve itself of pressure. As soon as any portion of the
mass is thus relieved, freezing takes place throughout it,
because its temperature is reduced below that of the
freezing point of water at ordinary pressures, by melting
of contiguous parts. The obvious tendency of the ice
under the pressure from above is thus, by a series of
meltings and refreezings, to force itself through the
meshes.
The next experiment that I tried I was led to by
that just described I supported a block of ice on
two parallel boards, placed near to each other, and
passed a loop of wire over the ice. The loop hung
down between the boards, and weights were attached
to it. The first wire tried was a fine one (0*007 inches
diameter) and a two-pound weight was hung on the loop.
The wire immediately entered uie ice, and it passed ri^nt
through it and dropped down with the weight after havme
done so, but it left the ice undivided, and on trying it with
a knife and chisel in the plane in which the cuttmg had
taken place, I did not fina that it was weaker there than
elsewhere. The track of the wire was marked by opacity
of the ice along the plane of passage. This opacitv
seemed to be due to the scattering of air from the small
bubbles cut across by the wire. 1 have not, however,
been able to try a piece of ice free from bubbles ; and,
from the nature of the experiment, air may very possibly
pass in along the wire from the outside. I next ex-
perimented with a wire 0*024 inches diameter, weight-
ing the loop with 8 lbs., and obtained a similar result ;
and, finally, I took a wire 01 inch diameter, and, puttin£^
a 561b. weight on a loop of it, I caused it to pass througn
the ice, and the block remained undivided. This, though
it follows from theory, has a most startling effect ; and
during the passage of the thick wire through the ice,
I was able to see the bubbles of air across which it cut
rising up round its sides. I made careful trials to cut the
ice with a knife in the lamina through which the wire
had passed, but found no weakness there.
A string was next tried, but, as might be expected, it
did not pass through ihe ice. I considered ihat the string
was not a good enough conductor to relieve itself of the
cold in front and pass it back to the water behind. The
capillary action of the string also doubtless takes part in
the production of the result It simply indented the ice
and froze into it.
On this point of the necessity for a good conductor,
and for a way of relieving itself of the cold, a curious
observation was made. In one case a thick wire appeared
to have stopped (this requires confirmation) as if it were
frozen into the ice. On examination it turned out that the
ice was so placed that the water formed by the pressure of
the wire had flowed away at the first, and a hole was left
behind the wire. On supplying a few drops of water to
the place from a small point^ bit of melting ice, the
water froze instantly on coming in contact with the wire,
and the wire moved forward as usual By this 1 was
also led to try putting a thick wire over a piece of ice
having a hollow at the top, so that the wire catting into
the shoulders bridged across the hollow between them.
Looking at the wire, which was in front of a window, I
dropped some ice-cold water on it, and saw it freeze
instantly into crystals on the parts of the wire near to the
shoulders on which it was pressing. This is notable as
the first e3n>erimental confirmation of Prof. Thomson's
theory on the production of cold by the application of
stress.
I have not yet had an opportunity of trying these ex-
periments at a temperature lower than freezing. The
amount of pressure necessary to make the wire pass
through the ice would of course be very much increased
as the temperature is lowered, and it would finally be
impossible to cut the ice without breaking it up like any
other hard solid. Indeed I saw in one case in which I
had a very great weight {8olb. or so) on a thick wire, the
ice crackmg in front of the wire ; apparently the wire
was forced too fast through the ice.
These experiments seem to me to have considerable
importance in relation to the sliding motion of glaciers.
The smallness of the cause has been raised as an ob-
jection to the theory of Prof. Thomson. But no one can
see the experiments I have described, particularly the
first, where a large quantity of ice is squeezed through
the meshes of fine wu-e gauze under small pressure and
in a short time, without feeling almost surprised at the
slowness of the glacier motion.
James Thomson Bottomley
Glasgow University, Dec. 20, 1871
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NATURE
\yan. 4, 1872
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICA :
BEING AS ATFEMPr TO SHOW HOW ELECrRICITY MAY DO
MUCH OF WHAT IS COMMONLY BELIEVED TO BE THE
SPECIAL WORK OF A VITAL PRINXIPLE
I.
ON a white marble slab let into the front of a house
in the Strada Felice at Bologna is an inscription
showing that, in this house, then his temporary dwelling-
place, at the beginning of September 1786, GaWani dis-
covered animal electricity in the dead frog, and hailing
this event as the well-spring of wonders for all ages (Luigi
Galvani in questa casa di sua temporaria dimora al primi di
Septembie deir anno 1786, scoperse dalle morte rane La
EUettricita Animale — Fonte di maraviglie a tutti secoli).
Animal electricity, well spring of wonders for all ages !
Yes, said I, as I copied these words a few weeks ago, and
as I went into the house repeating them to myself. Yes,
still said I, after seeing what was to be seen within the
house. Within the house, indeed, there was much to
excite the imagination, and to make me more ready to
accept these words as the sober utterance of simple
truth. Still the same were the common stairs leading
from the open outer door to the landing on the first floor,
with its two main doors, one on each side, each one
opening to a distinct set of apartments, in one of which
had lived the discoverer of animal electricity ; and the
only change of moment was one which served to call
back more vividly the memorable past— a portrait in
lithograph of Galvani himself hanging upon the wall
facing the stair-head. Still the same was \ third and
smaller door, at which the portrait seemed to be looking,
and beyond which were the stairs leading to the belvedere
on the roof so common in Italian houses hereabouts. Still
the same were these stairs, the lower flights of uneven
bricks, the upper of ricketty woodwork, unmended, scarcely
swept, since the time when Galvani went up and down
them afire with the discovery made in the belvedere to
which they led. Still the same was the belvedere itself—
the same walls, blank on one side, pierced on the three
others with arched openings, two at each end, three at the
front, each opening being built up breast-hi^^h so as to
form the parapet— the same roof overhead with its bare
rafters and tiles — and, running across each opening a little
below its arched top and parallel with the parapet, the
very same iron bar upon which the frogs' limbs had been
susi>ended by copper hooks in the experiment to which
the inscription on the slab outside the house refers, and
about which Galvani wrote : — *'Ranasitaque consueto more
paratas uncino ferreo earum spinali medulla perforata
atque appensa, septembris initio (1786) die vesperascente
supra parapetto horizontaliter collocavimus. Uncinus
ferream lammam tangebat ; en motus in rana spontanei,
varii, baud infrequentes ! Si digito uncinulum adversus
ferream superficiem premeretur, quiescentes excitabantur,
et toties ferme quoties hujusmodi pressio adhiberetur.''
So little change was there, indeed, that, forgetting the
present altogeSier, I could only think of this experiment
in which the existence of animal electricity was divmed, and
of those myriad other experiments to which it had led, and
by which in the end the truth had been made manifest. So
absorbed was I in these thoughts that I even forgot to look
through the open arches of the belvedere at the blue Itadiaa
sky and the other beauties of the prospect And when at
length I came down, I was more than ever in the mind to
assent unhesitatingly to the words, *' la ellettricita animale,
fonte di maraviglie a tutti secoli''— more than ever convinced
that animal electricity would prove to be the key by which
to unlock not a few of the secrets which are supposed to
be exclusively in the keeping of life— more than ever re-
solved still to go on seeking for truth in the path along
which I was urged to go by this conviction. I
Nor was I long at a lois ho^ to be^in lo carry out this
resolution. I wanted to reiterate bricll/ and more clearly ,
some of the things which I had said before respecting -
animal electricity, and the way in which this force may do
a work ascribed to life in muscular action and nervous
action ; and at the same time to make use of certain new
facts which were not a little calculated to confirm former
conclusions. I wanted to show that the same workings
of animal electricity may be detected in the condition
called tone, and even in growth, and that these
processes, no less than muscular action and nervous
action, may have to b3 looked upon as electrical
rather than as vital manifestations. A natural way
of carrying out the resolution I had formed was, in-
deed, to do the work ready for me ; and therefore the task
I have now set myself is to do this work, beginning with
an attempt to set forth a new theory of animal electricity,
and then proceeding to say something in turn on the way
in which this theory sheds light upon muscular action,
nervous action, the maintenance of the state called tone,
and the process of growth in cells and certain fibres —
something calculated to show that in each of these cases
animal electricity may have to do much of what is
commonly believed to be the work of a vital principle.
\, On a theory of animal eledriciiy which seetns to arise
naturally out 0/ the facts,
A current, to which the name of muscle-current is given,
may easily be detected in living muscle. It may be de-
tected by applying the electrodes of the galvanometer, the
one to the surface made up of the sides of Uie fibres, the other
to that made up of either one of the two ends of the fibres,
and also, though much less clearly, by examining either
of these two surfaces singly, provided only the two points
to which the electrodes are applied are at unequal
distances from the central point of the surface. It may
not be detected, if, instead of applying them in this man-
ner, the electrodes are applied so as to connect either the
two surfaces made up of the ends of the fibres, or two
points equidistant from the central point of the surface
made up of the sides, or of that formed by either one of the
ends of these fibres. A current may or may not be detected
under such circumstances, and when it is detected its
direction is such as to show that the surface made up of
the sides of the fibre is positive in relation to that made
up of either one of the two ends, and that the former sur-
face is more positive and the latter more negative as the
distance increases from the line of junction between these
two surfaces. In this way the galvanometer makes known
the existence of points of similar and dissimilar electric
tension in living muscle ; and the only inference from the
facts would seem to be that tliere is a current when
the electrodes are applied so as to bring together
points of dissimilar tension, but not otherwise. The facts
are not to be questioned. The inferences arising from
them can scarcely be mistaken.
This current is to be detected in living muscle, but not
in muscle which has passed into the state of rigor mortis.
As muscle loses its " irritability," indeed, it ceases to act
upon the galvanometer, and no trace of the current is to
be met with after the establishment of rigor mortis. As
a rule, too, nothing is to be noticed except a gradual failure
of current ; but now and then (though not in the frog)
there may be a reversal in direction in the last moments
preceding the final disappearance.
When muscle passes from the state of rest into that of
action, there is also a change in the muscle current to
which the name of " negative variation " is given by its
discoverer Du Bois-Reymond. Thus, when a gal-
vanometer is connected with the gastrocnemius of a frog
so as to respond to its muscle-current during the two states
of rest and action in the muscle, the needle, which
may have stood at 90°, or thereabouts, during the state
of rest, is seen to fall back, and take up a position at s"*
or nearer still to zero, during action. This change it is
wliich is spoken of as "negative variation." It is a
change indicating, not reversal of th* current, bat simple
weakening ; for the idea of reversal, which is readily
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Jan. 4, 1872]
NATURE
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suggested to the mind by the way in which the needle
swings back past zero when the state of action is first
set up, is at once corrected by the position which the
needle takes up a moment or two later, and also by the
fact that when the muscle-current of the contracted
muscle is admitted into the coil of the galvanometer while
the needle is resting at zero — ^when, that is, the experiment
is not complicated by the muscle-current of the relaxed
muscle being in the coil when the state of contraction is
set up in the muscle— the needle is found to move in the
same direction as that in which it moved under the current
of the relaxed muscle, but not to the same distance from
zero by a very great deal So that, in fact, this " negative
variation " of the muscle-current is nothing more than a
sudden disappearance or failure of this current, and no
good is gained by retaining a name which only serves to
confuse and perplex.
Substituting the new quadrant electrometer of Sir
William Thomson for the galvanometer, tensional changes
are detected which are in every way parallel with the cur-
rent changes which have been mentioned.
With this instrument, it is found that the surface made
up of the sides of the fibres in living muscle, and that
made up of either one of the two ends of these fibres, are
in opposite electrical conditions, the ray of light marking
the movement of the aluminium needle passing in the
direction indicating positive electricity under the charge
supplied by the former surface, and in the direction indi-
cating negative electricity under the charge supplied by
the latter surface — passing, that is to say, not in one
direction only, as it would do if the needle were acted
upon by charges differing, not in kind, but in degree only,
but to the right in the one case and to the left in the other.
It is found, indeed, not only that the surface made up
of the sides of the fibres of living muscle is positive, and
that made up of either end of these fibres negative ; but also
that the former surface is more positive and the latter
more negative as the distance increases from the line of
junction between these surfaces. With this instruinent,
too, it is found that these indications of free electricity
fail pari passu with this failure of the " irritability " of
the muscle, that they have disappeared altogether before
the advent of rigor mortis, and also that there is a change
which serves to point to discharge, more or less com-
plete, when muscle passes from the state of rest into that
of action. Thus — in illustration of this latter fact — if the
ray of light on the scale stand at 30" under the charge
supplied to the electrometer by either one of the two
surfaces of living muscle during the state of rest, it will
stand at 5° only, or still nearer to zero, under the charge
supplied by the same surface during the state of action.
The difference is always marked, and always of the same
character ; and, being so, the proof of discharge during
action would seem to be as complete as may be, seeing
that the instrument only takes cognizance of electrical
changes of the nature of charge and discharge.
These, then, are the facts which may be looked upon
as fundamental. There are the facts brought to light by
Du Bois-Reymond through the instrumentality of the gal-
vanometer—the muscle-current, present in living muscle
during the state of rest, suddenly disappearing when the
state of rest changes for that of action, gradually disap-
pearing as muscle loses its "irritability," and absent
altogether in rigor mortis ; there are the facts which I
myself have been able to make out for the first time by
means of the wonderfully sensitive new quadrant electro-
meter of Sir WiUiam Thomson — the two opposite
charges of electricity, one positive, the other negative,
present in living muscle dunng the state of rest, disap-
pearing suddenly when this state changes for that of
action, gradually disappearing before, and altogether
absent in, rigor mortis. And this is all that need be said
upon this subject at present.
And as in muscular so in nerve tissue, there is the
current, in this case called the nerve-current, and there
are the two opposite charges, positive and n^ative, this
current and these charges being present during life, dis-
appearing suddenly when the state of rest changes for
that of action, disappearing \snAxaXiy pari passu with the
'' irritability,* and absent altogether at the time when rigor
mortis has seized upon the muscles ; and in truth every
particular in the electrical history of the muscle is re-
peated with strict exactness in the electrical history of
the nerve.
In these two tissues, muscle and nerve, there is no
difficulty in arriving at a knowledge of these facts ; in
other tissues the case is different In other tissues,
indeed, all that can be said is that faint indications of
electricity are to be detected during life only, and that in
some of the fibrous structures there are differences between
the surface made lip of the sides of the fibres and that
made up by either one of the two ends, which correspond
to those met with in muscle and nerve.
These then being the fundamental points in the history
of animal electricity, the question is as to their meaning.
To what theory do they point ?
In order to account for this muscle-current and nerve-
current. Dr. Du Bois-Reymond supposes that the muscle-
fibre and nervre-fibre (the same law applies absolutely to
both) are made up of what he calls penpolar molecules —
of molecules, that is to say, which are (with the exception
of certain moments in which these electric relations may
be reversed) negative at the two poles and positive in the
equatorial belt between those poles. He supposes that
the sides of the fibres are positive because the positive
equatorial belts are turned in this direction, and that the
two ends are negative because the negative poles of the
molecules face towards the ends. He supposes also that
the muscle-current and nerve-current are merely the out-
flo wings of infinitely stronger currents ever circtilating in
closed circuits around the peripolar molecules of the
muscle and nerve respectively. And this view no doubt
has much to recommend it
But another view may be taken of this matter — ^a view
according to which this electrical condition of living
muscle and nerve during rest is, not current, but static ;
and this view is that which recommends itself to my
mind as in every way more simple, more comprehensive,
and more to the point practically.
In taking this view the great resistance of the animal
tissues to electrical conduction serves as the starting point.
I assume that parts of these tissues may be bad enough
conductors to allow them to act as dielectrics, I assume
that the parts which are thus capable of acting as dielec-
trics are the sheaths of the fibres in muscle and nerve,
or the cell-membrane of the contractile cells of those fibres
in muscle which have no proper sheath. I assume that
a charge, usually the negative, may originate in the mole*
cular reactions of the contents of the sheath or cell-mem*
brane, and that this charge, acting upon the inner surface
of the sheath or cell- membrane, may induce the opposite
charge upon the outer surface of the sheath or cell-
membrane, and that in this way the sheath or cell- mem-
brane during rest is virtually a charged Leyden-jar. I
assume that this charge is discharged when the state of
rest changes for that of action. I assume that the sur-
face made up of the sides of the fibres in muscle and
nerve is positive because positive electricity has been
induced upon this surface, and that the surface made up
of either cut-end of the fibre is negative, because the
negative electricity, developed upon the inner surface of
the sheath or cell-membrane, is conducted to these ends
by the contents of the sheath or celL
All that I assume, indeed, may be readily illustrated
upon a small cylinder of wood, left bare at its two ends,
and having its sides covered with a coating which may be
charged as a Leyden-jar is charged— -a threefold coating,
formed of an inner and outer layer of tinfoil, with an in-
'lyitized by
Google
i88
NATURE
\yan. 4, 1872
termediate layer of gutta-percha sheeting, the latter layer
projecting a little towards the two ends of the cylinder,
so as to secure the necessary insulation of the inner and
outer metallic surfaces ; for by charging the inner layer
of foil with negative electricity, this cylinder, which
may be regarded as a model of a muscular fibre, is found
to be, not only positive at the sides and negative at the
two ends, but more positive at the sides and more nega-
tive at each end as the distance increases from the Ime
of junction between the sides and ends. With this model
thus charged, indeed, it is easy to imitate all the pheno-
mena of the nerve- current and muscle- current, provided
the electrodes of the galvanometer be applied in a suitable
manner, and the charge kept up. With this model thus
charged, it is also easy to imitate all the tensional pheno-
mena of nerve and muscle which are made known by the
electrometer. And thus the nerve-current and muscle-
current, instead of being out-flowings of infinitely stronger
currents ever circulating around peripolarj molecules,
may be secondary phenomena only, the accidental result
of certain points of dissimilar electric tension upon the
surface of the fibres of muscle and nerve being brought
into relation by means of the galvanometer or the electro-
meter, as the case may be.
In this view, I have assumed that certain parts of nerve
and muscle were sufficiently bad conductors to enable
them to act as dielectrics, but I had not, it is easy to see,
the firmest ground for this assumption. It was certain
that these tissues were bad conductors ; it was not certain
that they were bad enough conductors for my purpose.
Here, then, was occasion for new work — for work which
must be done before I could hope' to gain a secure foot-
ing for my theory ; and this, therefore, was the task 1 set
myself a few months ago, and about which I have now
to say something.
In this work I have made use of a Wheatstone's Bridge
having on each side resistance coils of the value respec-
tively of 10, 100, and 1,000 B. A. units, of a set of re-
sistance coils capable of measuring up to i,oco,ooo of the
same units, and of a battery consisting of six medium-
sized Bunsen*s cells. With this apparatus I have
measured the resistance of muscle, tendon, yellow elastic
ligament, brain, and spinal cord, the portion measured
in each case being a parallelogram an inch in length by
-}q of an inch in breadth, formed by making a slice
with a Valentin's knife, of which the blades were ^ of
an inch apart, and then cutting a strip from the slice by
moving the knife, with its blades still separated to the
same degree, at right angles to its surface. In order to
eliminate the resistance due to secondary polarity, I
measured each of these bodies at '25, '50, and 75 of the
inch, as well as at the full inch, the fact being, as
was pointed out by Sir Charles Wheatstone in his first
great paper on the means of measuring electrical resist-
ance, that while the resistance of a conductor increases
with its length, the resistance due to secondary polarity
remains the same everywhere. Thus, at '25 it is im-
possible to say how much of the resistance met with
belongs to the body itself, and how much to secondary
polarity ; but not so after '25, at '50, or 75, or I'o ; for
the resistance belonging to secondary polarity being the
same at -50, 75, and r, as at '25, it follows that by de-
ducting the resistance at '25 from the resistance at '50,
75, and I'o the difference at each of these points will re-
present the resistance of the body itself between '25 and
that particular point
Of these measurements those which I made last of all
will serve as well as any others for the text of what I have
now to say, and these are as follows : —
Muscle (ox)
Inch. B. A. units
at '25 = 17,000
•50 = 27,000
75 = 36,000
I'o «= 46,000
Tendon (ox)
Yellow elastic ligament (ox) .
Brain (ox) . .
Spinal cord (ox)
Inch.
B. A. Qiiks.
at '25
•50
75
vo
=
19,000
43.000
69/x)o
99,000
at '25
=
160,000
•50
75
1*0
=
300,000
820,000
1,000,000
and more.
at -25
•50
75
vo
=
11,500
16,100
23,000
32,000
at '25
•50
75
i«o
\
8,300
14,200
17,500
22,500
I had made several measurements before these, corre-
sponding more or less closely with them in results, and I
was proceeding to make others, with a view to arrive at
some common mean of numbers, when I found that the
resistance went on continually altering, every moment be-
coming higher and higher, until in the end it was beyond
the reach of my means of measurement.
Thus, in the strip of spinal cord, the resistance at '25
inch, which at first was 8,300, was 180,000 in five hours,
and more than 1,000,000 twelve hours later.
Thus, the resistance of the strip of brain, which at first
was 1 1,500 at "25 inch, was 25,000 five hours later, and up-
wards of 1,000,000 after the still further lapse of a dozen
hours.
And so, likewise, with muscle, and tendon, and yellow
elastic ligament, there was a corresponding increase of
resistance when the measurement was repeated at these
different times after the first trial.
Nor was this the only proof of a change of this sort ; for
on repeating these measurements on the same specimens
some days later, after they had become thoroughly dried
up, I found that the very shortest length which could be
got for measurement — ^a length ,so short, that the two
electrodes conveying the measuring current were all but
touching— gave a higher resistance than that which could
be gauged by the means at my disposal.
These, then, being the facts, it was evidently useless to
go on searching for any numbers which could express
anything like a conmion mean of resistance. It was
evident, indeed, that the soft tissues, one and all, apart
from moisture, were to be looked upon as insulators,
rather than as conductors. Nay, it was possible that they
might be insulators rather than conductors even in the
fresh state ; for it is quite supposable that in this fresh
state the walls of the fibres and cells forming these tissues
may be virtually dry, with moisture on each side, not with
moisture percolating from side to side, and that the degree
of resistance presented by these tissues, when fresh, is
not that which would be encountered if the current passed
across these walls, but that which is encountered by the
cun-ent in passing along their outer moistened surface.
It is quite supposable that the measuring current may
not pass across the walls of the cells and fibres at all,
but may glide over and between them only. All this is
supposable ; and therefore, the facts being as they are, I
am, as I conceive, at liberty to assume that the walls of
fibres and cells are sufificiently non-conducting to justify
me in adopting the theory which I have ventured to pro-
pose—a theory, according to which, the electrical condition
of muscle and nerve during rest is, not current, but static
— the sheath of the fibre, or membrane, taking its place,
being always charged as a Leyden-jar is charged, except
during the time of action, when there is a discharge of
this charge— a theory which, to sa^the least, has a less
i^iyitized by v^-^- ^^ -^ ^w.^
yan, 4, 1872
NATURE
189
visionary foundation than that which rests on peripolar
molecules seeing that it rests upon structural facts which
cannot be called in question — a theory also which, as
will be seen in due time, has this in its favour, — that it
will simplify not a little several important problems in
physiology.
C. B. Radcliffe
ICE^MAKING IN THE TROPICS
THE most marked example of the influence of radia-
tion of heat on temperature is its influence on the
production of artificial ice by the natives of India.
The fields in which the ice is made are low, flat, and
open ; and the ice is produced in large quantities when
the temperature of the air is 16'* or 20** F. above the freezing
point ; and the plan followed is an interesting example of
accurate observation applied to practical purposes by a
people now ignorant of science. The same process has
been employed from time immemorial in India with
scientific accuracy ; and while the theory was explained by
Dr. Wells,* the practical application was not so well
understood ; and this first led me to investigate the sub-
ject in India, t
The following miethod is employed by the natives of
Bengal for m^dng ice at the town of Hooghly near
Calcutta, in fields freely exposed to the sky, and formed
of a black loam soil upon a substratum of sand.
The natives commence their preparations by marking
out a rectangular piece of ground 120 feet long by 20
broad, in an easterly and westerly direction, from which
the soil is removed to the depth of two feet. This exca-
vation is smoothed, and is allowed to remain exposed to
the sun to dry, when rice straw in small sheaves is laid
in an oblique direction in the hollow, with loose straw upon
the top, to the depth of a foot and a half, leaving its surface
half a foot below that of the ground. Numerous beds of
this kind are formed, with narrow pathways between them,
in which large earthen water-jars are sunk in the ground
for the convenience of having water near, to fill the shallow
unglazed earthen vessels in which it is to be frozen. These
dishes are 9 inches in diameter at the top, diminishing
to 4A inches at the bottom, i ^ deep, and ^ of an inch
in thickness ; and are so porous as to become moist
throughout when water is put into them.
During the day the loose straw in the beds above the
sheaves is occasionally turned up, so that the whole may
be kept dry, and the water-jars between the beds are
filled with soft pure water from the neighbouring pools.
Towards evening the shallow earthen dishes are ar-
ranged in rows upon the straw, and by means of small
earthen pots, tied to the extremities of long bamboo rods,
each is filled about a third with water. The quantity,
however, varies according to the expectation of ice—which
is known by the clearness of the sky, and the steadiness
with which the wind blows from the N.N.W. When favour-
able, about eight ounces of water is put into each dish, and
when less is expected, from two to four ounces is the
usual quantity ; but, in all cases, more water is put into
the dishes nearest the western end of the beds, as the sun
first falls on that part, and the ice is thus more easily re-
moved,' from its solution being quicker.
There are about 4,590 plates in each of the beds last
made, and if we allow five ounces for each dish, which
presents a surface of about 4 inches square, there will
be an aggregate of 239 gallons, and a surface of 1,530
square feet of water in each bed.
In the cold season, when the temperature of the air at
the ice-fields is under 50*" F., and there are gentle airs
from the northern and western direction, ice forms in the
course of the night in each of the shallow dishes. Persons
* EMay on Dew, 18x4.
t Experimental Essay ; Jour. As. Society, CalcutU, vol. ii, p. 80.
are stationed to observe when a small film appears upon
the water in the dishes, when the contents of several are
mixed together, and thrown over the other dishes. This
operation increases the congealing process ; as a state of
calmness has been discovered by the natives to diminish
the quantity of ice produced. When the sky is quite clear,
with gentle steady airs from the N.N.W., which proceed
from the hills of considerable elevation near Bheerboom,
about 100 miles from Hooghly, the freezing conunences
before or about midnight, and continues to advance until
morning, when the thickest ice is formed. I have seen it
seven-tenths of an inch in thickness, and in a few very
favourable nights the whole of the water is frozen, when
it is called by the natives solid ice. When it commences to
congeal between two and three o'clock in the morning,
thinner ice is expected, called paper-ice ; and when about
four or five o'clock in the mommg the thinnest is obtained,
called flower-ice.
Upwards of two hundred and fifty persons, of all ages,
are actively employed in securing the ice for some hours
every morning that ice is procured, and this forms one of
the most animated scenes to be witnessed in Bengal In a
favourable night upwards of 10 cwt. of ice will be obtained
from one bed, and from twenty beds upwards of lo tons.
When the wind attains a southerly or easterly direction,
no ice is formed, from its not being sufficiently dry ; not
even though the temperature of the air be lower than
when it is made with the wind more from a northern or
western point. The N.N.W. is the most favourable di-
rection of wind for making ice, and this diminishes in
power as it approaches the due north, or west In the
latter case more latitude is allowed than from the N.N.W.
to the north. So great is the influence of the direction of
wind on the ice, that when it changes in the course of a
night from the N.N.W. to a less favourable direction, the
change not only prevents the formation of more ice, but
dissolves what may have been formed. On such oc-
casions a mist is seen hovering over the ice-beds, from
the moisture over them, and the quantity condensed by
the cold wind. A mist in like manner forms over deep
tanks during favourable nights for making ice.
Another important circumstance in the production of
ice is the amount of wind. When it approaches a breeze
no ice is formed. This is explained by such rapid cur-
rents of air removing the cold air, before any accumulation
of ice has taken place in the ice -beds. It is for these
reasons that the thickest ice is expected when during the
day a breeze has blown from the N. W., which thoroughly
dries the ground.
The ice-dishes present a large moist external surface to
the dry northerly evening air, which cools the water in
them, so that, when at 6i°, it will in a few minutes fall to
56°, or even lower. But the moisture which exudes
through the dish is quickly frozen, when the evaporation
from the external surface no longer continues radiative ; a
more powerful agent then produces the ice in the dishes.
The quantity of dry straw in the ice -beds forms a large
mass of^ a bad conductor of heat, which penetrates but a
short way into it during the day ; and as soon as the sun
descends below the horizon, this large and powerfully-
radiating surface is brought into action, and affects the
water in the thin porous vessels, themselves powerful
radiators. The cold thus produced is further increased by
the damp night air descending to the earth's surface, and by
the removal of the heating cause, which deposits a portion
of its moisture upon the now powerfully radiating, and
therefore cold surface of the straw, the water, and the
large moist siuface of the dishes. When better radiators of
heat were substituted, as glazed, white, or metallic dishes,
the cold was greater, and the ice was thicker, and the
dishes were heavier in the morning than the common
dishes. Any accumulation of heat on their surface
from the deposit of moisture is prevented by the
cold dry north-west airs which slowly pass over the
Digitized ^
ogle
I90
NATURE
{Jan. 4,1872
dishes. The wind auickly dries the ground, and declines
towards night to moaerate airs. The influence of these
causes is so powerful that I have seen the mercury in
the thermometer placed upon the straw between the
dishes descend to 27^, when three feet above the ice-pits
it was 48^
So powerful is the cooling effect of radiation on clear
nights in tropical climates, that in veiy favourable morn-
ings, during the cold season, drops of aew may sometimes
be found congealed in Bengal upon the thatched roofs of
houses, and upon the exposed leaves of plants. In the
evening the cooling process advances more rapidly than
could be supposed by one who has, not experienced it
himself, and proves the justness of his feelings, by the aid
of the Uiermometer. In the open plain on which the ice is
made, I have seen the temperature of the air, four feet
above the ground, fall from 70*5*' to 57*", in the time the sun
took to descend tne two last degrees before his setting.
The tropical rains are succeeded by the cold season, when
the night is cold, the sky (juite clear, and the air becomes a
bad conductor of electricity, from the dry northern winds
which then prevail. This is proved by the rapidity with
which evaporation proceeds, by the dispersion of clouds,
and by the more evident proofs which the hygrometer
exhibits. During the cold season vegetation proceeds,
and electricity continues to be evolved by living bodies,
and during their decomposition.
These remarks will enable us to explain the process by
which the ice is prepared in Bengal
1st. The large quantity of dry straw and moist dishes
rapidly become cold, by their powerfully radiating surfaces,
at. the same time that the large body of dry straw strongly
attracts positive electricity, and the descending currents of
air deposit moistiure in the dishes of water. Hence,
during a cold and clear night, with airs from the N.N.W.,
the cooling process will advance more rapidly in propor-
tion to the non-electric or attractive nature of the body,
which, with the radiating power of the surface, regulates
the cold and the quantity of dew deposited upon the body.
2nd. The high and dry situation and free exposure of
the ice-fields to the sky, and the absence of all causes
which could interrupt the influence of the large body of
non-electrics, and the extensive surface of powerful
radiating substances, sufficiently accounts for the degree of
cold produced in the ice plates ; and
3rd. The cool, dry north-west airs slowly pass over
the ice-beds, absorbing the accumulation of moisture
and of heaL which is given off by the liquefying of a large
quantity of^ water that would otherwise accumulate over
the beds ; and, thus retaining the air clear and dry, allows
the full operation of the other causes, particularly radia-
tion. T. A. Wise
NOTES
' The Academy of Sciences in Paris publishes the following
telegrams received from M. Jaassen. One dated Ootacamund,
18th December, i*» 6™ p.m., says : "Great hydrogenous atmo-
sphere very rare beyond chromosphere." The other, received
on the 19th December by the Minister of Public Instraction, but
not dated, simplyjsays : "^Eclipse observed ; important results." —
The Royal Academy of Sciences at Amsterdam has received the
following telegram from one of its members, Dr. Oademans, of
Batavia : — " Pretiminary results : Corona distinctly seen, pure
white rays, dark rifts as far as the moon's limb ; no outline of
chromosphere ; radial polarisation of Corona ; no magnetic dis-
turbances ; moving shadows positively observed."
At the meeting of the French Academy, held on Saturday
last, to fill up the four vacant chairs, M. Thiers, M. de Remusat,
Minister for Foreign Aflhirs, and M. Dufaure, Minister of Jus-
tice were present and voted. The first election was for a suc-
cessor to Montalembert, and the Due d'Aumale received 28
votes, one blank vote being recorded. For M. Villemaine's
chair there were three candidates, M. Littre, who obtained 17
votes ; M. Taillandier, 9 ; and M. de Viel Castel, 3. There
were six candidates for M. Pr^vost-Paradors chair. M. Camille
Rousset had 17 votes ;;M. de Viel Castel, 7 ; M. de Mazade^ 3 ;
M. de Lomenie, i ; M. Taillandier, i ; and M. Mary-Lafon, a
The choice of a successor to Prosper Merim6e was only made
after two ballotings. At the first essay M. Edmond About ob-
tained 13 votes; M. de Lomenie, 13; M. de Viel Castel, 2; M.
de Mazade, i ; and M. Mary-Lafon, a At the second ballot M.
de Lomenie received 15 votes, and M. Edmond About 14. Pre-
vious to the election a protest in the form of a lengthy pamphlet
was distributed among the Academicians by the Bishop of
Orleans, who, while professing the utmost respect for the per-
sonal character of M. Littre, declared that now, as in 1863, he
opposed the admission into the Academy of one who in his
Avritings was the defender of Materialism, Atheism, and Social-
ism. We learn that in consequence of M. Littre^s election,
Monseignenr Dapanloup has resigned his seat in the Academy.
?J We greatly regret to hear of the death, announced by telegram,
from choleraic diarrhcea, of the Venerable John; Henry Pratt,
M.A., Archdeacon of Calcutta. He was educated at Caius
College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. d^ree in 1S33,
when he was third wrangler, the Masters of Christ's and Sidney
Sussex Colleges being also wranglers, with Dr. Boustead, after-
' wards Bishop of Lichfield. In 1838 he was appointed to a
chaplaincy in connection with the East Indian Company, and
in 1850 was nominated to the Archdeaconry of Calcutta, which
he held up to the time of his death. He was well-known for
his researches of the interior structiure of the earth, and had been
a frequent contributor to our columns.
Dr. Gustav Raddb, Director of the Natural History Museum
at Tifiis, has just returned to that town from an interesting journey
to the head waters of the Euphrates. Mr. H. £. Dresser has
received a letter from him, dated Tiflis, Dec 14, from which we
translate the following extract, viz. : — ** Early in August I as-
cended, in company with Dr. Siewers, a young geologist, the
Great Ararat, and we reached an altitude of 14,233 feet above the
sea leveL Our journey extended over three months, and we
have brought back a splendid botanical collection, many good
insects, and geological specimens. You will read full particulars
ere long in Petermann's ' M ittheilangen. ' As regards ornithology,
I have not, I am sorry to say, time now to write further respect-
ing the good materials we gathered together, and am just leaving
home for another month."
The Professors to the Newcastle-on-Tyne College of Physical
Science have determined to institute evening classes, to com-
mence immediately after the winter vacation, for the purpose of
I giving instruction in their respective subjects to persons who are
unable to attend their day classes. The Professors wish it to
be understood that the instruction given in these classes will be
such as to require a certain amount of real study on the part of
those who attend them.
The Curator of the Clifton College Museum, Mr. Barrlngton
Ward, has issued a circular asking for donations, to which wc
are glad to call attention. The following extract will show the
very wise limitation placed on the acceptance of specimen; :—
" It has been decided, with the approval of the Head Master,
that the museum shall be essentially a British one, and shall
illustrate the natural history and antiquities of our land by goad
specimens, systematically arranged, under the departments of
zoology, botany, geology, mineralogy, and ardueology. In
addition to this there will be a collection of rare and curious
objects, derived from all sources, which may be considered use-
ful for the purposes of scientific teaching, and a lasge typical
oqTc
yan. 4, 1872]
NATURE
191
series to be used at the lectures and demonstrations given in the
College on Comparative Anatomy and other branches of Natural
History. The committee of management will only accept of
sudi specimens as can be classed under some one of these heads."
In the Botanic Garden attached to the College nearly a thousand
species of hardy herbaceous plants are now grown.
We have received the Preliminary Report by Mr. Sidney I.
Smith, on the dredging in Lake Superior ; and a reprint from the
Anurkan youmal of ScUnce and Art for December, of Mr. S.
I. Smith and Mr. A. S. Verrill's notice of the Invertebrata
dredged in the same expedition. The main facts of these reports
are already before our readers.
A Society of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, has just been
started at Winona, Minnesota, in connection with the first State
Normal School in that place, having for its (object the collection
of facts and materials looking toward the determination of the
natural history, archaeol(^, and general literature of the United
States.
Dr. Hoy, in a paper read before the Wisconsin Academy of
Sciences, Arts, and Letters, remarks, in reference to the
mammab of Wisconsin, that the elk existed in that State as late
as 1863, but is now probably extinct. The moose is still found in
considerable numbers. The last buffalo was killed in 1832.
Antelopes were also found in Wisconsin in the time of Father
Hennepin, although now, of course, driven far to the west.
Most of the wild animals are diminishing very rapidly in number,
the panther and deer being almost exterminated. The otter and
beaver, however, are very persistent. The last wild turkey was
killed in 1846 near Racine.
A SCIENTIFIC commission in the interest of the Government
of Peru has lately been investigating the guano deposits of the
Lobos Islands ; and it is reported that the result of their inquiries
has been very satisfactory, and that immense quantities of very
rich guano, equal, if not superior, to that of the Chincha Islands,
have been observed. The analyses of samples are said to have
yielded over 13 per cent of ammonia. Should this be the fact,
Payta, as being the nearest port, will probably become a place
of considerable importance.
The Report presented to, and read before, the Board of Visitors
appointed by Government for the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh,
after summarising the work done at the Observatory during the
year, calls attention to the very inefficient manner in which the
establishment is provided with funds for its necessary work, and
to the scanty salary of its director and assistants. The Board of
Visitors estimates the increased annual expenditu re necessary to
ensure the efficient working of the establishment at 1,050/., in-
cluding 300/. increase in the salary of the Astronomer Royal.
The report is accompanied by a coloured plan of the Observa-
tory, showing the position of the various instruments, and diagrams
of the quarterly means of the earth thermometers from 1837
to 1869 ; annual mean temperatures, for four several sub*annual
epochs, of the rock at the Observatory in the same years;
annual means of Schwabe's sun-spots, the earth thermometers,
and others at Edinburgh ; and eleven-year means for every suc-
cessive year, from 1842 to 1864, of Schwabe's sun-spots and
Edinburgh earth temperatures.
The seventh Report of the Board of Visitors of the Observa-
tory at Victoria, with the Annual Report of the Government
Astronomer, is printed. The report of the buildings and instru-
ments is in every respect satisfactory.
Mr. W. H. Archer has brought down his records of patents
and patentees for the colony of Victoria to the end of 1869 ; and
the Reports of the Mining Surveyors and Registrars for the same
colony axe printed for the qnarter ending June 30, 1871.
The Report of the New Zealand Institute for its fourth session,
1 87 1, contains the Annual Address, delivered by Sir G. F. Bowen,
and a list of donations and deposits in the Museum, and the
Laboratory Report for 1870-71. Captain Hutton has prepared
a complete catalogue, with a diagnosis, of eacli species of bird in
New Zealand ; and arrangements have been made for the pub-
lication of similar catalogues of the insects, fishes, and other
branches of zoology in the island.
We have received the last two Annual Reports of the Plymouth
Institution and Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society,
forming together vol. iv. of its Transactions. Though many
of the papers and lectures reported refer to subjects which do
not come within our scope, the volumes bear evidence of the zeal
and success with which the natural and physical sciences are pur-
sued in the Western counties. Among the papers specially
deserving of mention, we may notice, " D^eneration of our
Deep-sea Fisheries," by Mr. J. N. Hearder ; " The Fulgarator,"
a new electrical apparatus for producing electric sparks of very
great length, by the same; "Rab," by W. Pengelly, F.R.S.;
•'Mistletoe on the Oak," by T. R. Archer Briggs ; "The
principles on which ships' sail-carrying power and steadiness
in a sea-way depend," by W. Froude, F.R.S.
A Prospectus is issued of a third enlarged and improved
edition of Von Cotta*s "Geology of the Present." Special re-
ference will be made in this edition to the bearing on geological
questions of the recent discoveries of Darwin, Mayer, and
Helmholtz.
The first number lies on our table of *' The Mining Magazine
and Review ; a Monthly Record of Mining, Smdting, Quarry-
ing, and Engineering," edited by Mr. Nelson Boyd. The prin-
cipal articles in this number are — '* The Coal Commission," by
the editor; " Boiler Explosions," by E. B. Marten; "The Im-
portance of Nitro-glycerine Ejcplosives for Underground Quarry-
ing Purposes," by S. J. Mackie ; and " The Progress of Mine-
ralogy," by F. W. Rudler. It contains also reviews, records of
scientific progress, and miscellanea.
A LITTLE pamphlet by Mr. J. G. Fitch, entiUcd "Methods of
Teaching Arithmetic," a lecture addressed to the London Asso-
ciation of Schoolmistresses, and published at the requtet of the
Association, deserves a far wider circulation than among school-
mistresses only. We venture to say that if the admirable plan
suggested in the lecture were generally adopted by teachers, of
explaining in a rational manner the principles of the simple rules
of arithmetic, which are generally learned by rote without the
least exercise of intelligence on the part of either teacher or pupil,
the teaching of arithmetic would soon cease to be the drudgery
which it now is in both boys* and girls* schools, and the results,
as exemplified by the reports of the Cambridge examiners and
elsewhere, would be very different
The " Proceedmgs of the South Wales Institute of Engineers,'*
Vol vii.. No. 4, contains an important paper by Mr. Thomas
Joseph, "On Colliery Explosions in the South Wales Coal
Field," which is al«o reprinted in a separate form. We find in
it also many other papers and discussions of value to the en-
gineering and coal interests.
Mr. E. Parfitt reprints from the "Transactions of the
Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Litera-
ture, and Art** two interesting papers— "The Fauna of Devon,
Part vil: Cirri pedia," and " On the Boring of Molluscs, Aime-
lids, and Sponges into Rock, Wood, and Shells.**
We have received from Messrs. Nelson and Sons some speci-
mens of Pictorial Natural History, consisting of packets of cards
with coloured pictures of birds yd some short account of each
appended; .they are as a series unusually~good~and~el^ant,
L/iy!LI,iH3V-l kjy
<3^'
192
NATURE
{jfan 4, 1872
though of unequal ^merit Any of them ?rould make a charming
present for an intelligent child.
On November 10 there was an earthquake in Salvador in
Central America, and on the 1 2 th a stronger one. At Simla there
was an earthquake on November 25. Two sharp shocks were
felt at Bfacedonia on November 26 at 11 p.m.
What is called the Iquique earthquake took place on Oct 8,
at I A.M. Although alarming and lasting two minutes, with a
terrible shaking of the earth, first vertical and afterwards oscilla-
tory, it did no damage at Iquique. It wa% however, simulta-
neously felt elsewhere, and has destroyed or damaged the towns
of Tarapaca, Usmagama, Guasquina, Pica, Matilla, and the
village of Pachica. Some persons were injured, but only two
lost their lives.
At a recent meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Horti-
cultural Society, a letter was read firom Mr. Anderson-Henry
(pnnted in the Gardeturs' Chronicle for Dec 9), in which he gave
some curious results of his observations on climbing plants.
Mr. Henry stated that certain climbers evince a partiality for
some other species, stretching out their tendrils or branches so
as to come in contact with them, while to other species they have
as strong an aversion, avoiding them and never touching them,
though they may run up the same wall side by side. The subject
is a curious one, and deserves further investigation.
*<The Fortunate Isles," translated from the French of Ogier,
is an account of the Canaries. A chapter on the celebrated
dragon tree contains the two passages here transcribed. Written
apparently in sober earnest, Uiey are, perhaps, not the least re-
markable contribution to the scientific literature of the 3rear now
ended. " It is an undoubted htit that before the great Mediter-
ranean deluge, and to a certain point even after it, strange crea-
tures brought forth in transitional periods inhabited the marshy
grounds or those shallow seas which still remained warm. This
epoch, called by modern geologists the Reptile Period, produced
creatures belonging at once to the animal, vegetable, and mineral
kingdoms, or to two only ; monstrous products of creative
forces ; birds, quadrupeds, fish, plants, rep.iles, all at once,
either united or distinct ; the greater number of these have
been restored for us by geologists The dragon
has existed. The first men saw the last survivors of these
prodigious creatures, and the memory of them has been pre-
served. The struggles of mankind with the mighty creatures
which overran the earth must have been terrible. The excessive
alarm of men possessing no weapons in the first ages, gave rise
to the traditions of formidable beings attacking mankind and
destroyed by the demi-gods, strong and brave men."
From the Eliuibeth Doily Journal of New Jersey of Nov.
28 we have a marvellous story of a carrier pigeon, which we
commend to the notice of Mr. Tegetmeier. It performed the
journey from Sopus Farm, Warren Co., N.J., to Sai dusky
Ohio, a distance of 400 mile?, in exactly an hour, and its condi
tion on its arrival at the latter place isthu^ described : — 'I found
the greatest excitement had followed the arrival of the pigeon.
Mr. Smythe told me that at precisely two o'clock the bud came
like an arrow into his house. His movement was more like a
blue streak than a well-defined bird. He stemed but little ex
hausted, although nearly all the feathers were off his body, except
the small patch held on his back by the gutta-percha which
fastened the note. A few miles more would have worn every
feather from his wings, and then he would have to depend upon
the momentum already acquired to carry him on his journey,
and to steer by a tailless rump, and perhaps be killed in attempt-
ing to alight." No wonder the owner ofiers to match this
pigeon "when he has grown a new suit of feathers" for 1,000
dollars against any carrier pigeo^ that has not done this distance
in an equal time.
PERIODICITY OF SUN-SPOTS*
TN the short account of some recent investigations by Prof.
-^ Wolf and M. Fritz on Sun-spot phenomena, whidi has
been published lately in the *' Proceedings of the Royal Society "
(No. 127, 1 871), it was pointed out that some of Wolfs condu*
sions were not quite borne out by the results which we have
given in our last paper on Solar Physics in the Philosophical
Transactions for 1870, pp. 389-496. A closer inquiry into the
cause of this discrepancy has led us to what app«u« a definite
law, connecting numerically the two branches of the periodic
sun- spot curve, viz., the time during which there is a regular
diminution of spot-production, and the time during which there is
a consrant increase.
It will be well, for the sake of clearness, to allude here a£ain,
as briefly as possible, to Prof^ Wolfs results before stating £ose
at which we have arrived.
Prof. Wolf hii previously devoted the greater part of his
laborious researches to a precise determination of the mean
length of the whole sun-spot period, but latterly he has justly
recognised the importance of obtaining some knowledge of the
average character of the periodic increase and decrease. Hence
he has, as far as he has been able to do so by existing series of
observations, and his peculiar and ingenious method of rendering
observations made at dilTerent times and by difierent observers
comparable with each other, endeavoured to investigate more
closely the nature of the periodic sun-spot curve^ by tabulating
and graphically representing the monthly means taken during
two and a hau years before and afcer the minimum, and applying
this method to five distinct minimum epochs, which he has fixed
by the following years :—
18232
18338
18440
18562
1867-2
In a table he gives their mean numbers, expressing the
solar activity, arranged in various columns ; ani arrives at the
following results : —
(1) It is shown now with greater precision than was previously
possible, that the curve of sun-spots ascends with greater
rapidity than it descends. The fact is shown in the subjoined
diagram, which it may be of interest to compare with the curves
given previously by ourselves in the above-mentioned place.
The zero-pomt in this diagram corresponds to the minimum crif
each. period ; the abscissae give the time bdbre and after it, viz.,
two and a half years, or thirty months ; the ordinates express
ths amount of spot-production in numbers of an arbitrary scale.
The two finely dotted curves are intended to show the actual
character of a portion of two periods only, viz., those which
had their minima in 1823*2 and 18672; the strongly dotted
curve, however, gives the mean of all periods (five) over which
the investigation extends.
(2) Denoting by x the number of years during which the curve
ascends, and presuming that the behaviour is approximately the
same througnout the whole period of 1 1* i years as during the five
years investigated, we have the proportion
x\ li'l - or :: I : 2,
whence x ■= 37,
or the average duration of an ascent is 37 years, that of a descent
7 4 years.
(3) The character of a single period may essentially differ
from the mean, but on the whole it appears that a {a<2f"*ted^
descent corresponds to a {a^^^niied} ascent Thus the mini-
mum of 1844*0 behaved very normally ; but that of 1856*2, and
still more that of 1823*2, shown in the following diagram, presents
a retarded ascent and descent ; on the other hand, the minimum
of 1833*8, and still more in that of 1867*2, also ^hown in the
diagram, both ascent and descent are accelerated.
Finally Prof. Wolf arranged in the manner shown in the
following table the successive minima and maxima, in oider to
arrive at some generalisation which might enable him to foretell
the general character and length of a future period. Taking the
absolute difierences in time of every two successive maxima, and
• Abstract of V^^r read before the Royal Society December 91, 1871.
" On some recent Researches in Solar Physics, and a I^w r^^lating the
time of duration of the Sun-spot Period." By Warren De Im Rue, F. R.S.,
Balfottf Stowvt, F.H.S., «ad Benjamin Loeiry, F.R.A.S.
L/iyiiiiLcvj uy
d>^'
Jan. 4, 1872]
NATURE
193
tbe mean difierences of every two alternating minima, he shows
that the greatest acceleration of both maximum and minimum
happens together. This result strengthens our own conclusions,
to be imm^iately stated, by new evidence, as it is derived from
obcervations antecedent to the time over which our researches
extend.
Differences of
Minima.
1810-5^
alternating
Minima.
Means.
18232
23-3
11-65
1833-8
20-8
104
1844*0
22-4
11*2
1856*2
232
1 1 '6
18672
Maxima
i8i68j
1829-5!
18372
1 846-6*
I
1860-2'
Differences
of successive
Maxima.
127
77
11-4
11-6
From this Prof. Wolf predicts for the present period a very
accelerated maximum — a prediction which seems likely to be
fulfilled.
Comparing now M. Wolfs results with our own, it must
not be overlooked, in judging of the agreement or discrepancy of
these two independently obtained sets, that our facts have been
derived from the actual measurement and subsequent calculation
of the spotted area from day to day since 1833, recorded by
Schwabe, Carrington, and the Kew solar photograms, which
measurements are expressed as millionths of the sun's visible
hemisphere, while the conclusions of M. Wolf are founded on
certain ** relative numbers," which give the amount of observed
spots on an arbitrary scale, chiefly designed to make observations
made at different times and by various observers comparable widi
each other. This will obviously, in addition to the somnoes of
error to which our own method is liable, introduce an amount of
nncertaintv arising from errors of estimation, and the possibility
of using for a whole series an erroneous factor of reduction.
Nevertheless we shall find a very close agreement in various im-
portant results, and this seems a sufficient proof of the great value
and reliability of M. Wolf *s " relative numbers," especially for
times previous to the commencement of regular sun observations.
The following is a comparison of the data of periodic epochs,
as fixed by ourselves and M. Wolf :—
Minima «K)chs. I. II. HI- IV.
^lid^L^^ ."^ i '^33-92 184375 1856-31 1867-12
Rudolf Wotf. .'..*'.' .*.'.." 18338 1844-0 1856-2 1867-2
Maxima epochs. I. II. HI.
^^t^^T^"^,. I ^»3^-^ ^»47-87 185969
Rudolf Wolf 18372 18466 1860-2
It will be seen from this comparison that only one appreciable
difference occurs, viz., in the maximum of 1847, which M. Wolf
fixes nearly one and a quarter years before our date.
The mean length of a period is found by us to be 11 07 years,
which agrees very well with M. Wolf's value, viz., 11 -i years.
We found the following times for the duration of increase of
spots during the three peri<xls, and for the corresponding decrease,
or for ascent and descent of the graphic curve, beginning with
the minimum of 1833 : —
Time of asxnt. Time of descent.
I. 3-06 years. 6*77 years.
II. 4-12 „ 8'44 „
in. 3'37 f» r43 n
Mean 3-52 „ 7*55 .»
Prof. Wolf gives 3-7 years and 7-4 years for the ascent and
descent respectively ; and considering that he derived these
numbers only from an investigation of a portion of each period,
the agreement is indeed surprising, and would by itself suggest
that the times of ascent and descent are connected by a definite
law.
M. Wolf has expressed in general terms the following law
with reference to this relation of increase and decrease of
spots : —
" The character of a single period may essentially differ firom
the mean behaviour, but on the whole it appears that a
la^lSdl <i-«tco„e.pa»d.toa j .^^ j «c«t"
We, on the other hand, have, by an inspection of our curves
{pid( Phil. Trans. 1870, p. 393), been inauced to make the fol-
lowing remark on the same question : —
** We see that the second curve, which was no longer in period
as a whole than either of the other two, manifests this excess in
each of its branches, that is to say, its left or ascending branch is
larger as a whole than the same branch of the two other curves,
and the same takes place for the second or descending branch.
On the other hand, the maximum of this curve is not so high as
that of either of the other two — in fact, the airve has the appear-
ance as if it were pressed down from above and pressed out
laterally so as to lose in elevation what it gains in time.*'
Although both statements appear to lead up to the same conclu-
sion— viz., that ascent and descent are connected by law— still
they differ essentially in this respect, that if A, B, C represent
the three following consecutive events, descent, asoent, descent,
L/iyiLiiLcu kjy
<3^'
194
NATURE
\_yan. 4, 1872
Prof. Wolf's law refers to the connection between A and B,
while our remark refers to B and C. We consider two successive
minima as the beginning and end of a single period, while M.
Wolf, at least in this particular research, places the minimum
within the period, and compares the descent from the preceding
maximum with the ascent to the next one.
We have considered the connection thus indicated of suffi-
cient importance to apply to it the following test. If, using the
previous notation, a definite relation exists between A and ^ the
ratio of the times which the events occupy in every epoch ought
to be approximately constant ; similarly with respect to B and C ;
and this ratio should not be influenced by tne absolute duration
of the two successive events. It is clear that the greater unifor-
mity of these ratios will be a test of their interdependence.
The following is the result of the comparison : —
a, ProC Wolf's law : comparison of A and B.
i>^.4a^. Duratbn of t>^^«j„ Duration of
Pcnods. descent (A). P*="^- ascent (B).
I. 1829-5 to 1833-8 4*5 years 1833*8 to 1837*2 3*4 years.
II. 1837*21018440 6-8 „ 18440 to 1846-6 2-6 „
III. 1846-6 to 1856*2 9*6 „ 1856*2 to i86o-2 4*o „
Ratio -~ . DifTerence from mean.
I. 1*265 1 ( -0*728
II. 2*615 > Mean 2*093 ] +0*522
IIL 2*400) ( +0*307
These differences from the mean are so considerable that in
the present state of the inquiry a connection between any descent
and the immediately succeeding VkSCtDt appears highly improbable.
A very new and apparently important relation seems, however,
to result from a similar comparison of any ascent and the imme-
diately succeeding descent, or between B and C.
b. Comparison of B and C.
u— :«j„ Duration of x>..^,^^ Durat:on of
P*"*^^ ascent (B). ^'^'*^' descent (C).
I. 1833*92101836*98 306 years 1836-98101843*75 677 years
11.1843-75101847*874*12 „ 1847-87 to 1856*31 8*44 „
III. 1856*31 to 1859*69 3-38 „ 1859*69 to 1867*12 7*43 „
Ratio ^.
L 2*212
II. 2*044 > Mean 2*151
III. 2*198 ;
DiflTerence from mean .
( +0*061
] —0107
( +0*047
PROF, AGASSIZ'S EXPLORING EXPEDITION*
\UE have already announced the departure of the United
•' States Coast Survey exploring steamer, I/ass/er, upon
that scientific mission which, under the direction of Prof. Agassiz,
will doubtless be productive of very important results. Just
before starting on the expedition, ProC Agassiz addressed a com-
munication to the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, in which
he ventured to assume the character of a prophet by stating in
advance what it was probable would crown their efforts in the
way of discovery.
The Professor makes this communication in the hope of show-
ing within what limits natural history has advanced toward that
point of maturity when science may anticipate the discovery of
facts. Basing his expectations upon the ascertained principles of
science, and toking into consideration the relationsfaips between
different forms of animal life, and the succession of geolodcal
epochs, and in view of the very interesting results of later deep-
sea dredging expeditions in the North Atlantic, he anticipates
the discovery, '*from the greater depth of the ocean, of repre-
sentatives resembling those types of animals which were promi-
nent in earlier geological periods, or bear a closer resemblance to
younger stages of the higher members of the same types, or to
the lower forms which take their place nowadays."
Making no suggestion in regard to mammals, he remarks that
if reptiles exist in the deep waters, they must be only such as are
related to the extinct types of the Jurassic periods, such as the
ichthyosauri, plesiosauri, and pterodactyles ; but even of these
he thinks there is very little probability that any represenUtives
are still alive.
Among the fishes he expects to discover some marine repre-
sentatives of the order of ganoids of the principal types known
from the secondary zoological period. Among the sharks he
thinks he shall find new forms allied to CestracioHf or Hybodon^
* Reprinted fix)m advance ^«*^ot Har^er^s Weekly ^ by permission of the
Editor.
or Odontaspis, as also new genera of chima^roids ; and among
ordinary fishes the allies of Beryx^ Elops, &.c It is among the
molluscs and radiates that objects of the greatest interest will
probably be met with : and chief among these will be nautiloid
cephalopods — perhaps even ammonites — and forms only known
hitherto in the fossil state. Among Acephala he anticipates the
discovery of a variety of forms resembling those from the Jurassic
and Cretaceous deposits ; while Rudistes will take the place of
oysters, and brachiopods be found very abundant
Among Crustacea it is not at all impossible that forms may be
foimd resembling trilobites ; while among echmoderms he con-
fidently expects to meet with spatangoids approactiing Holast^,
and others akin to Dysaster^ &c.
A careful comparison of the members of the deep-sea fauoic of
the northern and southern hemispheres will probably prove of
the greatest interest, and, judging from the peculiarities of the
land and shore fauna of Australia, it is likely that the adjacent
deep-sea animals will be equally divergent, and will represent
remarkable forms, and especially of an extremely antique type.
The Professor also hopes that much light will be thrown upon
the subject of the geology of the southern hemisphere, and upon
the general features of the drift, since all the phenomena related
to the glacial period must be found in the southern hemisphere
with the same essential characteristics as in the northern, yet with
this difference, that everything must be reversed ; that is, the
trend of the glacial abrasion must be from the south northward ;
the lee side of the abraded rocks must be on the north side of
hills and mountain ranges, and the boulders must have been
derived from rocky exposures lying to the south of their present
position. This point, however, must be established by obser-
vation. The Professor thinks this will be found to be the case,
with the exception, perhaps, of the present glaciers of Tierra del
Fuego and Patagonia.
In reply to the possible inquiry as to what the question of
drift has to do with deep-sea dredging, he remarks that the con-
nection is closer than may at fi^t appear. If drift is not of
glacial origin, but the product of marine currents, its formation
at once becomes a matter for the Coast Survey to investigate ;
but he expresses the belief that it will be found that, so far from
being accumulated by the sea, the drift of the lowlands of Pata-
gonia has been worn away to its present extent by the continued
encroachment of the ocean, in the same manner as the northern
shores of South America and of Brazil have been.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
A ttnahn d^r ChcmU uttd PharfHoci^, clix. , August 1 87 1 . Fittig
and Remsen communicate a second paper '* On the Constitution
of Piperine and its decomposition products, Piperic Acid, and
Pipendine ;" in the former paper two oxidation products were
described, piperonal and piperonylic acid, which stand to each
other in the relation of aldehyde and acetic acid. In the present
communication several new reactions of these substances are
described. — The second note, **A Reaction of free Phenol-
hydroxyls," shows that the benzene derivatives, conttining
hydroxyl associated with this nucleus, give colours with a
neutral solution of ferric chloride ; the intensity of the colour
produced seems to bear some proportion to the number of free
hydroxyl atoms, the more intense colours being produced by
bodies containing more than one hydroxyl — A paper **On the
relations between the Glycerin and AUyl compounds," by
Huebner and Mueller follows. They show that the dichlor-
hydrin prepared by Berthelot's method is a mixture of two
isomeric bodies, one of which boils at 174*" and can be obuiiiiied
in a pure state by the action of hydrochloric acid on epichlor-
hydrin, the other boils at 182** and is identical with dichlorallyl
alcohol Both of these compounds yield allyl alcohol when
acted on by sodium in the presence of ether. Kraut and Popp
have found that if sodium amalgam containing 3 per cent
sodium is placed in potassic hydrate solution, hard cubes are
formed, which, however, po^ess no definite composition ; by the
action of sodic hydrate solution long needles are obtained, having
the compontion Na, Hgj,. — A le^thy paper by Hoffmeister fol-
lows "On* Phenyl Ether and Diphenyloxide." The former is
prepared by the action of nitrous add on aniline sulphate, the
product from which is mixed with phenol when nitrogen is evolved
and phenyl ether formed. Ic can abo be produced by the dry
distillation of cupric benzoate. Diphenyl oxide is produced by
acting on phenol with phosphoric chloriae, and agam acting on
L^iyiLiiLcu uy
e>^'
Jan. 4, 1872J
NATURE
195
the product with potassic hydrate. A number of substitution pro-
ducts of the two bodies have been prepared, and are here described.
—The next paper is "On the Conversion of Acetone into
Lactic Add,'' by Linneman and Zotta. This is accomplished
by heating dichloracetone with water to 200", when a considerable
proportion of lactic acid is obtained. Ladcnburg has prepared
stannic triethyl phenyl by the action of sodium on bromobenzol,
and stannic triethyl iodide, mixed with ether. It is a colourless
liquid, boiling at 254**, which is easily oxidised in the air ; it re-
duces an alcoholic solution of silver nitrate, diphenyl being pro-
duced in the reaction. Hydrochloric acid forms with it, benzole
and stannic triethyl chloride. — An interesting paper by Friedd
and Ladenburg, " On Silico- propionic Add,^' follows. Bv the
action of absolute alcohol on silidc chloride, the chloride of
triethylsilidc acid is obtained ; sodium added to this compound,
mixed with zinc ethyl, yields, on heating, ethyl orthosilico-pro-
pionate, Si C^\^ (OCaHs)^. Silico-propionic ether, on treatment
with aqueous potassic hydrate, yields silico-propionic acid. It
is a white powder resembling silica, from which it is easily distin-
guished by being combustible. It is soluble in hot potassic hy-
drate solution, but insoluble in boiling sodic hydrate. This add is
the first representative of a new series of acids, containing the
group Si 0,H in the place of CO all. — Translations of two papers
by C. E. Monroe follow, the originals of which have already
appeared in the American Journals.— The number concludes
■with a short note "On the Preparation of Creatinine hydrochlo-
ride from urine," by R. Maly. It is purified by combining it with
mercuric chloride and decomposing the compound with sulphu-
rettMl hydrogen.
\
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Anthropological Institute, January i.— Sir John Lubbock,
Bart, F.R.S., President, in the chair.— Messrs. J. Thallon and
. Jeremiah, jun., were elected members. — Mr. C. Staniland
kVake read a paper entitled "The Adamites." The object of
this paper is to show, by reference to evidence extraneous to the
Hebrew Scriptures, what peoples are entitled to be classed as
Adamites. The name of the primitive race from which the
Chaldeans sprung — the Akkad — ^proves that they must be thus
classed. Akkad would seem to mean " sons of Ad ; '' the first
syllable of the word being the same as the Gaelic Mach or Ach,
The first Babylonian dynasty of Berosus was Median ; and Sir
Henry Rawlinson says that the name by which the Mcdes are
first noticed on the Ass3rrian monuments b Mad, This people,
the initial letter of whose name may be treated as a prenx, was
doubtless the primitive stock firom which the Akk-Ad were
derived. The Medeshad also the distinctive title Mdr ; and
many of the Aryan peoples &PP^ to have retained a remem*
brance of the traditional Ad, The first part of the Parsee work
known as The Desatir is called "the Book of the Great Abad^''
i,e, , Father Ad, The Puranas of the Hindus refer to the l^nd-
ary king, // or Ait^ who is supposed to be the same as the Greek
Atius, The primitive Celtic race of Western Europe was called
Gaidal^ /.A, tne progeny of Gaid or Aid, who may be identified
with Dis, the mythical ancestor, according to Cn^sar, of the
Gauls. Dis (the Greek Hades) was also " Lord of the Dead "
among the Chaldeans, and may well, therefore, have been the
same as the legendary ancestor Ad. Among Hamitic peoples,
the original Arab stock trace their first orign to Father Ad, who
is probably referred to also in the name of the Egyptian ddty,
At-um, The paper also mentions certain (acts showmg that the
name of the l^endary ancestor of the Adamites may be traced
in the names of the ddties of Turanian and American peoples,
and also among the Polynesian Islanders, whose word for
" spirit " is atua, or akua, and whose Great Ancestor is called
Ta-ata, Dividing aU the races of mankind, according to the
simple dassification of Retzius, into brachycephali and dolicho-
cepnali, the condusion arrived at by the paper is, that Ad was
the legendary ancestor of the former, the Adamites, therefore,
embracing sdl the actually brachyceplialic peoples, and those
whose bradiycephalism has been lost by intermixture with
the long-headed stock. The Adamites extend through the
whole of the northern hemisphere, and are found in various
parts of the souUiem hemispheae, on both the old and the new
continents. The names "Adam" and "Eve" were, how-
ever, merely expressions of the philosophical notion of the
ancients that the male and female principles pervade all^ nature,
and originated all things and personifications of the ancestral
idea in relation to the human race.
Chemical Society.Dec. 21, 1871.— Prof. WiUianiion, F.R.S.,
vice-president, in the chair. — After the usual business of the
society had been transacted, the chairman announced that the
cdebrated Italian chemist, Prof. Canizzaro, had consented to
ddiver the Faraday lecture. A paper was then read by Mr. H,
Bassett, " On Eulyte and Dyslyte," two beautifully crystalline
compounds obtained by the action of nitric acid on dtraconic
acid, a product of the dry distillation of dtric add. Both these
substances contain nitrogen, but owing to the comparatively small
quantity obtained, namely, less than two ounces from thirty
pounds of dtric add, the author has, as yet, been unable
thoroughly to investigate their nature. — ProC H. E. Armstrong
also read a paper " On the Nitration of the Dlchloro-Sulphonic
Adds," being a continuation of his researches on the isomeric
nitrochloro-phenols and their derivatives ; after which the meeting
adjourned until January 18, 1872.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, Dec 18, 1871.— M. Chasles read
a continuation of his theorems relating to the harmonic axes
of geometrical curves, and presented a note by M. Halphen on
right lines which fulfil given conditions. — M. H, Resal pre-
sented a memoir on the conditions of resistance of a fiy-wheel,
and M. Combes a note by M. Haton de la Goupilli^re on the
transformation of the potential by redprocal radii vectores. —
Tdegrams received from M. Janssen, with regard to his solar
observations at Ootacamund, were communicated to the Academy.
— Several members referred to the prevalence of cold during the
first half of the month of December 1871. — M. Ddaunay <^ed
attention to the remarkable concurrence of a change of baro-
metric pressure with an alteration in the temperature of different
parts of Europe between the 6th and 9th of December, the
latter date sho^^ing the maximum of cold at Paris. The great
cold of the 9th of December was also the subject of a note by
M. £. Becquerel, who gives a minimum temperature of - 25*''5 C.
(= - i3-*9F.)atMontargis,andof-27-^5C.(=» - i7-''5F^near
Courtenay in the department of the Ix>iret. M. C. Sainte-CIaire
DeviUe remarked upon the concordance of this statement of M. E.
Bccquerd's with the minimum of ~ 26' C (= - 14" "8 F.) re-
corded at Nemours. He also presented a table of minima
obtained at various places in France from 7th to 15th December.
— MM. Becquerel presented a memoir on the infiuence of snow
on the temperature of the soil at \'arious depths, according as it
is covered with turf or denuded, founded chiefly on observations
made from the 5th to the 15th December. The authors found
that the temperature under the turfed soil, within two or three
centimetres of the surface, was always above o"C. (= 32** F.),
and as constantly below that point in the naked soiL — M.
Pasteur presented a note on a memoir by M. Liebig, relating
to fermentation, in which he defended his views as to the nature
of the phenomena of fermentation from certain criticisms upon
them published by Prof. Liebig. Upon this subject M. Fremy also
spoke at considerable length in opposition to M. Pasteur, who re-
plied.— M. Bnssy communicated a note by M. E. Bouigoin on the
complex nature of cathartine, in which the auUior states
that this substance, regarded as the active prindple of senna, is
in reality composed of three distinct substances, namely, chrv^-
phanic add, a dextrogyrous glucose, and a new prindple to whidi
he gives the name of chrysophanine. — M. Daubr^ communicated
a note by M. F. Gonnard, on the dolerites of the Chaux dc
Bergonne and the zeolites which they contain. In this paper
the author ascribes very peculiar magnetic properties to the solid
dolerite of this locality, and^tates that the cavities of its lower
amygdaloidal parts contain tnree zeolites (christianite, phacolite,
and mesole). — M. Trecul presented a note on the remarkable
arrangement of the stomata in various plants, and especially in
the petiole of ferns, in which he mentioned the occurrence of
stomata upon the piliform appendages of the petiole in Philoden*
dron Litidettianum, and noticed their existence in unusual posi-
tions in many ferns. — A note by M. P. Bert, on the influence of
difierent colours on vegetation, %vas communicated by M. Milne-
Edwardf. His gener^ results are as follows :— green is nearly
as fatal to plants as total darkness, red is very injurious, and
yellow less so than red, but more so than blue, but any colour
taken isolatedly is injurious to plants.
December 26, 1871. — ^A note by M. Brioschi, on the equation
of the fifth degree, was read. — A note was read on the tenaon
of the vapour of mercury at Iq^if Jj^jRfr^ui:^^ ^ ^ Reg^aiult,
196
NATURE
\yan. 4. 1872
in which he claims to have proved long ago that mercury gives
off vapours even below the freezing point of water. Upon this
paper M. Boussingault made some remarks. — M. P. A. Favre
presented a paper ** On the Electrical Conductibility of Liquids
without Electrolysis," in which he gives the details of certain ex-
periments which seem to show that liquids have a conductibility
of their own. — M. S. Meunier read a note on the co-existence
of two lithological types in the same fall of meteorites. The
author stated that the specimens in the Museum at Paris, from the
falls of Sigena in Spain, on November 17, 1773, and of Trenzano
in Italy on November 12, 1856, each includes two forms of rock,
one, the Indian meteoric stone, described by Maskelyne under
the name of busHU^ the other identical with pamallite. He re-
marked upon the singularity of this phenomenon, which, he thinks,
indicates that the stones which fell at Trenzano and Sigena were
derived from the same deposits, and that bustite and pamallite
have been stratigraphically related. — M. W. de Fonvielle pre-
sented an explanation by means of the theory of fringes of the
appearance of luminous halos observed during balloon ascents.
— M. Berthelot communicated a further series of thermo-chemical
investigations upon the state of bodies in solutions, in which he
discussed his researches upon the double decomposition of cer-
tain metallic salts. — A note was read on an apparatus for measur-
hig the temperature of alterations and detonations of explosive
compounds by MM. L. Lejrgue and Champion. This apparatus
consists of a bar of metal to be heated at one end, upon various
parts of which the explosive compounds maybe placed. — M. F.
Pisani communicated an analysis of the amblygonite (montebra-
site) of Montebras, showing that the only difference between
this mineral and the amblygonite of Amsdorf consists in its con-
taining a little less soda. — M. A. Tr^cul read an important
memoir on the origin of the lactic and alcoholic yeasts, upon
which M. Pasteur made some remarks.— M. H. Sainte-Claire
Deville presented a note by M. F. Cailletet on the origin of the
carbon fixed by plants containing chlorophyll, which he regards
as wholly derived from the carbonic acid of the atmosphere ;
and M. B^clard referred to memoirs presented by him in 1858
oa the influence of violet light upon vital phenomena.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English .•^Researches of the Calculus of Variations : I. Todhunter (Mac-
millan and Co.). — ^Volcanoes, the Characters of their Phenomena : J. P.
Scrope (Longmans). — A Vision of Creation, a Poem : C Collingwood (Long-
mans).— Hymns for Modem Man : H. Noyes (Longmans).
FoRBiGN.-^>Princtpesde Biologic appliqu6s it IaM6decine ; Dr. Ch. Girard
(BaiUiire et fils).
PAMPHLETS RECEIVED
BNGLiSH.^Joumal of the Iron and Steel Institute, Vol IL, No. 4.— Quar-
terly Journal of Amateur Mechanical Science, No. 4. — Science Directory of
the Department of Science and Art. — Meteorological Notes for use in Science
(Masses : J. H. Collins. — Remarks on certain Oceanic Explorations : W. L.
Jordan.— On Ocean Currents, Part 3 : Jas. Croll. — The Quarterly (German
Magazine for November. — Inaugural Address before the Scottish Arboricul-
tural Society: R. Hutchison.— Public School Reforms: M. A. B.— The
Fauna of Devon, Part 7 : E. Parfitt.— On the Boring of Molluscs, &c : E.
Parfitt. — ^Transactions of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. — Eight
Days with the Spiritualists : Jas. Gillingham. — Report of the Board of Visitors
to the Royal Oosetvatonr, Edinburgh. — Figures of Characteristic British
Fossils, Part 3 : W. H. Baily.— Method of Teaching Arithmetic: J. G.
Fitch.— On the Relation of Therapeutics to Modem Physiology : R. Madden.
—On the Method of Measuring the Lateral Difl^sion of a Current : J. G. H.
Gordon.- The Power above Matter : D. de B. Hovell. — Annual Report of
the (Council of the Institution of Gvil Engineers. — Mining Magazine and
Review, No. i.— Ordinary Meetings of the Newcastle-on-Tyne Chemical
Society, xSyi-ya. — Annual Report and Transactions of the Plymouth Insti-
tute, Vol. 11., Part 2 : VoL III., Parts 1, 2 ; Vol. IV., Parts i, 2.— Denuda-
tion in relation to Sedementary Stratification : G. Race. — List of Members of
the Royal Microscopical Society, 1871.
Amekican AMD 0)LONiAL.— Notes of somo Cretaceous Vertebrates : E.
D. C^pe. — Preliminary Catalogue of the Bright Lines in the Spectrum of the
Chromosphere : C A. Young. — Monthly Notices of Papers and Proceedings
of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 1870. — A Catalogue of the Birds of New
Zealand : F. W. Hutton. — Remarks on the Adaptive Colouration of Mollusca :
E. S. Morse.— Transactions of the Entomological Society of New South
Wales. VoL II., Parts.
Foreign. — Ofversi^t af kongL Vetenskaps Akad. Fdrhandliogar, Nos. ^,
4, 8, 9, la — Zeitschnft fur Ethnologie, No. 5. — Zeitschrift fiir Meteorologie
No. 23. — Giomale di Sicilia, No. 26)8. — Nova plantanim species : A. Kemer.
— Konnen aus Bastarten Aiten werden : A. Kemcr.— Ueber Iris Ccngialti
Ambrosi ; A. Keroer.— Ueber den Einfluss der Winde auf die Verbreitung
der Samen : A. Kerner. — Association Saentifique di France, No. 2x3. -
Gazzetta Chimica Italiana, No. o. — Sul bromuro di etilidene : £. Patemo.—
Sintesi due nuovi dorobromuri di carbonio : E. Patemo.— Arione del bromo-
cloruro di fpsfprp al clorales : £. Patemo.
DIARY
THURSDAY, January 4.
London Ih«titi;tion, at 4.— The Philosophy of Magic. 3. llie M»gic of
the Mediums : J. C Brough, F.C.S.
FRIDAY^ January 5.
Gkologi.«jts' Association, at 8.— On the Overlapping of .*»cveral Geological
Formations on the North Wales Border : D. C. Daviei.
SATURDAY, January 6.
Royal Institution at «.— On Ice, Water, Vapour, and Air: Dr.Tyrdall.
(Juvenile Course.)
SUNDAY, January 7.
Sunday Lecture Socikty, at 4.— On Atoms ; bein^an explanation of what
is definitely known about them : Prof. W. K. Clifford, MA.
MONDAY, January 8.
Royal Gbographical Society, at 8.30.— On Bunder Murayah, Somal
Land : Capt. S. B. Mile«. — On a Journey to the Murut (Country in
Northern Borneo : Lieut. De Crespigny — On a Description of Fernando
Noronha : Dr. A. Rattray.
Victoria Institute, at 8. — CHiance Impossible : Dr. J. H. Wheailey.
TUESDAY, January 9.
Photographic Society, at 8.— On Photography in the Print'ng Press:
J. R. Sawyer.
WEDNESDAY, January la
Geological Society, at 8.— On the Foraminifera ol the family Rou'inae
((Carpenter) found in the Cretaceous fomiations, with Notes on their Ter-
tiary and Rexnt RepresenUtives : Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.G.S., aad
W. K. Parker, P.R.S.— Notes on the Geology of the Plain of Morocco and
the Great Atlas : CJco. Maw, F.G S.— Further Notes on the Geology of
the Neighbourhood of Malaga : M. D. M. d'Ometa.
THURSDAY, January xi.
Royal Society, at 8 30.
Society op Antiquaries, at 8.30.
Mathematical Society, at 8.— On the Surfaces the loci of the vertices of
cones which satisfy six conditions: Prof. Cayley. — On the Constants that
occur in certain summations by Bernouillt's series : J. W. L. Giaisher. —
On the (instruction of large tables of divisors and of the factors of the
first differences of prime powers: W. B. Davis.— On the Parallel Surfaces
of C^nicoids and Conies : S. Roberts.
London Institution, at 4.— The Philosophy of Magic: 4. The Magic of
the Laboratory : J. C. Brough, F.C.S.
CONTENTS Pag.
British Preparations for the Approaching Transit op Venus.
By J. Carpenter, F.R.A.S 177
JuKEs's Manual of Geology 179
Brehm's Bird-Life »8o
Our Book Shelf i8i
Letters to the Editor: —
Mayer and De Saussure.— Prof. W. T. Tbiselton Dyer ... 181
PhenomenaofContact.— E. J. Stone, F.RA.S i8a
The Origin of Insects. — Benjamin T. Lownb 183
In Re Fungi 184
Mr. Baily on Kiltorkan Fossils.— William Carruthbrs, F.R.S. . 184
Zoological Results of the Eclipse Expedition. By H. N.
MOSELEY 184
Melting and Recelation of Ice. By James Thomson Bottomlrv 185
Electrophysiologica.— I. By Dr. C B. Radcliffe x86
Ice-Making in the Tropics. By Dr. T. A. Wise 189
Notes 190
Periodicity of Sun-Spots. By W. De La Rue, F.R.S., Prof.
Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., and B. Loewt, F.R.A.S. (*fV/>i
diagram.) i^
Prof Agassiz's Exploring Expedition 194
Scientific Serials 194
Societies and Academies 195
Books and Pamphlets Received 196
Diary 195
NOTICE
We beg leave to state that we decline to return rejected communUa*
tions^ and to this rule we can make no exception. Communica-
tions respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers. NOT to the Editor, r^ T
.y,u...byCjOOgle
NATURE
197
THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 1872
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE*
THE absence of a Department of Agriculture from the
complicated scheme of British Government offices
leads us to inquire whether it is possible for such a
Department in the United States to publish annually
eleven or twelve hundred pages of matter useful to the
agricultural community, and whether those publications
have any considerable circulation in the country.
The question of circulation is abundantly answered by
a resolution of the House of Representatives passed on
July 14, 1870 (the Senate concurring), which enacted,
" That there be printed of the Annual Report of the Com-
missioner of Agriculture for 1869 two hundred and twenty ^
five thousand extra copies^ one hundred and eighty
thousand of which shall be for the use of the House,
twenty thousand for the use of the Senate, and twenty-
five thousand for distribution by the Commissioner of
Agriculture.* These figures are so startling in their
magnitude that they seem to prove too much, until we
recollect that the United States of America extend over
an area proportionately enormous, including every grada-
tion of climate, from the sub-tropical to the sub- arctic, and
every variety of culture, from the cotton and rice of the
south to the com and roots of the north.
That these publications contain matter useful to the
agricultural conmiunity will be readily admitted after even
a cursory examination of either of the volumes ; and a
careful study of the official reports will lead many
people to ask why we in England are not similarly
favoured. The United States' Department of Agriculture
fulfils two functions. It is primarily a Department of
Administration, but it is also charged to acquire in-
formation concerning agriculture by means of books
and correspondence, by practical and scientific ex-
periments, by the collection of statistics, and by any
other appropriate means. The papers in its annual
volume include well-considered reports by all the
chief officers of the Department, including, besides the
Commissioner himself, the statistician, the chemist, the
entomologist, the superintendent of the garden and
grounds, the botanist, the editor, and others. The papers
beyond these official documents consist, for instance, of
Reports on Agricultural Education in Europe, on the
Beet-Sugar Industry in Europe, on the Agricultural
Resources of Alaska,' on Agricultural Meteorology, &c.
There are also papers on special subjects, many of them of
the highest scientific value, such as are published in the
journals of agricultural and other societies, and which
may be regarded as supplementary to the strictly official
work of the Department
With such a sketch of the United States Department
of Agriculture before us, it seems worth while, even in the
pages of a scientific journal, to compare it with our Eng-
lish institutions. We have no representative of it as a
* Report of the Commissioner ot Agriculture for the year 1868, 8vo, pp.
671, Washington, x86o. Ditto for X869, 8vo, pp. 70a, Washington, 1870.
Monthly Reports of tne Department of Agriculture for the year x868, 8vo,
1. 48^ WashbgtoD, 1868. Ditto for 1869, 8vo, pp. 4t<), Washington, 1869.
' for X870, 8vo, pp. 496, Washington, 187 x.
pp.483p^
Ditto for
department of administration ; but we have a series of
unconnected departments and commissions, which are as
fancifully associated and divided as the stars of heaven in
the time-honoured system of constellations. The Privy
Council, for instance, takes cognizance of science and art,
the education of children, and the diseases of animals.
But why it should be the duty of the same high official to
protect our flocks and herds from scab, cattle-plague, and
other contagious diseases, and at the same time to edu-
cate our children, we cannot understand. Is the Vice-
President of the Privy Council an ex officio Admirable
Crichton, or is there some mysterious connection between
the three R's and pleuro-pneumonia? Another of our
agrricultural anachronisms is the Copyhold, Tithe, and
Enclosure Commission, which is the State authority on
drainage and cottages, as well as the national land sur-
veyor, valuer, and actuary. The Statistical Department
of the Board of Trade is entitled to great praise for the
manner in which it performs its varied work, including,
besides a statistical report on the imports and exports of
the United Kingdom, a fair statement of the agricultural
condition of the country from year to year. Leaving out of
the question the new Local Government Board, the Local
Government Act Department, the Poor Law Board, and
other departments which are more or less connected with
the ag^cultural interest at home, we come to the Board
of Customs, on which agriculturists are dependent for the
enumeration of our agricultural imports and exports,
while the nation looks to it for the collection of the revenue
on our claret and cigars.
Neither as a means of disseminating information have
we any representative of the United States Department of
Agriculture, with its Annual Report, printed at the expense
of the State in editions of nearly a quarter of a million.
It is true that the Royal Agricultural Society of England,
with less than 6,000 members, does more, probably, in its
special walk than any other private society in the world ;
but it is still nothing more than a private society, and
it cannot possibly, therefore, cover the whole ground re-
quired by the progressive agriculture of the present day.
Indeed, it is, by its charter, expressly prohibited from in-
terfering in matters which are questions of either law
or politics. Its efforts are therefore confined to "prac-
tice" and "science," and it supports a large staff of
scientific officers, including a chemist, botanist, veterinary
inspector, engineer, and others, absolutely without State
aid ; it also expends at least 2,000/. per annum in testing
machinery ; gives away 3,000/. per annum in prizes for
the best animals ; promotes experimental investigations ;
and incurs very serious risk in exposing adulterations ot
manures and feeding stuffs.
It may, doubtless, be urged that if English farmers can
do so much for themselves they require no help. But
practically our Government has found out that there are
things to be done which only a Government can do.
Thus, after the nation had suffered fearful losses by the
ravages of cattle-plague, it ordered an investigation of
the subject, and— published a blue-book. After the con-
dition of the agricultural labourer, and especially of
women and children employed in agriculture, had been
stigmatised as a blot on our civilisation, it issued a Royal
Commission, and the result of this excessive effort for
the advancement of agriculture was — ^a series of blue
▼OU V.
L/iyiLiiLcvj uy
1^^'
I9B
NATURE
\yan. II, 1872
books. But who reads blue-books? Fanners cannot
perform successfully a feat which almost baffles the best-
trained member of Parliament. What they want is a
Department of Agriculture which shall improve the laws
of the land, as well as investigate obscure subjects,
and circulate the official reports in the manner of
the United States department, in editions of a quarter of
a million. The United States Commissioner not only
expounds the laws of the federation on roads, fences,
&c. ; but he learns, for instance, that the beet sugar industry
of Europe, and the system of agricultural education in Ger-
many and other countries, present instructive features to
the intelligent agriculturist, and he therefore sends a quali-
fied commissioner to report on each of these subjects.
American farmers are thus enlightened on European
agriculture sooner and more authoritatively than we, who
are separated from the Continent by nothing more than a
" streak of silver sea." There are our Colonies also ;
and we would on their behalf inquire whether an intend-
ing emigrant to Canada, New Zealand, Australia, or the
Cape, can obtain as much reliable information on their
agriculture as the American farmer now possesses about
his country's recent purchase, Alaska? It thus seems
clear that the United States Department of Agriculture
presents features which may be profitably copied by our
Executive Government, and oUiers which are equally
instructive both to our agriculturists and to our men of
science.
ACASSIZ'S SEASIDE STUDIES
Seaside Studies in Natural History. By Elizabeth and
Alexander Agassiz. Marine Animals of Massachusetts
Bay: Radiates. 2nded. (London: Triibner& Co., 1871.)
THIS is a reprint, with a few additions, of the charming
work which became so popular in America and in
England some five years since on account of its intrinsic
merits and the beauty of the illustrations. The book
includes descriptions and more or less truthful illustrations
of the Actiniae, Madreporaria, Alcyoninae, Acalephae,
Hydroids, Holothurians, Echinoidea, and Asteroidea which
may be found in the neighbourhood of Massachusetts Bay.
The history of the development of many of the forms is
carefully written, and is obviously the result of patient
original observation.
In noticing the reproduction of the Actiniae the authors
remark that the eggs which hang on to the inner edge of
the partitions of the visceral cavity drop off into it during
different stages of development. Oridinarily they are
passed out through the mouth as Planula-shaped ciliated
creatures, which soon become attached to a foreign sub-
stance. The base enlarges, and the free extremity falls in
to form a concavity, the future gastric and visceral cavity.
But sometimes the embryo is provided with tentacles and
with its stomachal cavity before it escapes. Lacaze-
Duthiers has described a similar state of things in the
reproduction of CoreUlium rubrutn^ and probably the
embryonic condition of all the stony corals is that of a free
swimming sac which undergoes metamorphosis. These
usually sedentary Actinise are not without nomadic species,
and Arachnactis brachiola A. Ag. is described as a small
floating anemone, very nocturnal in its habits, which swims
with its tentacles and mouth downwards, using the body as
a float This form is not quite symmetrical, and has an
evident tendency towards establishing a longitudinal axis.
The mouth is out of the centre. Bicidium is noticed as
selecting the mouth-folds of the common large red Cyanea
as its home. It undergoes retrograde development, and
its tentacles are short and stout on account of its parasitic
existence.
The only stony coral described is the littoral Astrangia,
which is probably a descendant of the miocene forms
which once flourished on the same area. The tentacles of
this coral are covered with wart-shaped masses, crowded
with nematocyst lasso cells. Such forms as Caryophyllia
and Balanophyllia, which are so well represented on our
coasts and in thirty fathom water, do not appear to have
been found by the authors in Massachusetts Bay.
Amongst the Acalephae, Cyanea, of course, is well
described, and it is observed that so large a portion of its
bulk consists of water that one of no less than thirty-four
pounds weight being left to dry in the sun for some days,
was found to have lost 99 per cent, of its original weight.
Writing of the not very attractive appearance of these
huge jelly fish, Agassiz observes that '' to form an idea of
his true appearance, one must meet him as he swims along
at midday, rather lazily withal, his huge semi-transparent
disc with its flexible lobed margin glittering in the sun and
his tentacles floating to a distance of many yards behind
him. Encountering one of these huge jelly fishes when
out in a rowing boat, we attempted to make a rough
measurement of his dimensions upon the spot. He v. as
lying quietly near the surface, and did not seem in the
least disturbed by the proceeding, but allowed the oar,
eight feet in length, to be laid across the disc, which proved
to be seven feet in diameter. Backing the boat slowly
along the line of the tentacles, which were floating at their
utmost extension behind him, we measured these in the
same manner, and found them to be rather more than
fourteen times the length of the oar, thus covering a space
of some hundred and twelve feet." This huge mass is
produced by a hydroid measuring not more than half an
inch in length when full grown.
The parasitic early life of Campanella packyderma
A. Ag. appears to throw a doubt whether this acaleph passes
through the hydroid state or not. Should the eggs de-
velop at once into the medusa in this instance, there is no
small significance to be attached to the fact An anomaly
of an opposite character is noticed in the case of Laomeda
amphora Ag. This campanularian develops medusae
which never separate from the parent hydroid, but wither
on its stem after having laid their eggs. The development
of these abortive medusae is not far advanced. This
species flourishes in the sewage of Boston. There is a very
admirable drawing of Tubularia Couthouyi Ag., a tubu-
larian whose medusae buds are never freed from the stem,
and do not develop into full-grown jelly fish, but always
remain abortive. These buds cluster like a bunch of
grapes under the expanded umbrella-shaped tentacles of
the hydroid, which are gracefully supported by a curved
stem.
The process of the budding of the medusae of Hybocodon,
where small jelly fish similar to the original grow by gem-
mation from a large tentacle, is well described, and the
hydroid stage and general want of symmetiv in the
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yan. 11,1872]
NATURE
199
medusa also. Then the budding from the proboscis of
Dysmorphosa fulgurans A. Ag. is noticed, and the
nomadic or free-floating hydroid Nanomia also. Synapta,
amongst the Holothurians, is noticed on account of its
curious sand-ring clothing. "They live in very coarse
mud, but they surround themselves with a thin envelope
of fine sand, which they form by selecting the smaller
particles with their tentacles, and making a ring around
their anterior extremity. This ring they then push down
along the length of the body, and continue the process,
adding ring after ring, till they have entirely encircled
themselves with a sand tube. They move the rings down
partly by means of contractions of the body, but also by
the aid of innumerable appendages over the whole surface.
To the naked eye these appendages appear like little
specks on the skin ; but under the microscope they are
seen to be little warts projecting from the surface, each
one containing a little anchor with the arms turned up-
ward. Around the mouth the warts are larger, but do
not contain any anchors." '' By means of these appen-
dages, though aided also by the contractions of the body,
the Synaptae move through the mud, and collect around
themselves the sand tube in which they are encased."
They gorge themselves with mud and sand for the sake
of the nutritious substances they may contain. The office
of the pedicellariae of the Sea Urchin is well described, as
follows : — ^*^ If we watch the Sea Urchin after he has been
feeding, we shall learn at least one of the offices which
this singular organ performs in the general economy of
the animal That part of his food which he ejects passes
out at an opening on the summit of the body, in the small
area where all the zones converge. The rejected particle
is received on one of these little forics, which closes upon
it like a forceps, and it is passed on from one to the other
down the side of the body till it is dropped off into the
water. Nothing is more curious and entertaining than to
watch the neatness and accuracy with which this process
is performed. One may see the rejected bits of food
passing rapidly along the lines upon which these pedi-
cellariae occur in greatest number, as if they were so many
little roads for the canying away of the refuse matters ;
nor do the forks cease from their labour till the surface of
the animal is completely clean and free from any foreign
substance." Some higher animals might take a profitable
lesson from the Urchin. The Crinoids are passed by
rather briefly. The existence of Comatuke from Green-
land to South Carolina is mentioned, but the authors do
not appear to have devoted special attention to them. A
very excellent notice of the embryology of the Echino-
dermata precedes the last chapter, which consists of a brief
risumi of the distribution of life in the ocean. The book
might be taken as a model by many European naturalists
who write popular works, for there is a vast amount of
philosophy in it The authors have not contented them-
selves with serving up a number of ** wonders " for the
public bewilderment ; nor have they simply given us a
series of descriptions of forms, as is the practice especially
amongst those who trade upon butterflies and beetles ;
but they have taken a vast amount of trouble in explain-
ing the development and embryology of the Invertebrata
which have come under their notice. In fact, they have
given a reasonable amount of bread with their " sack."
P. M. D.
EARNSHAW'S DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
Partial Differential Equations, An Essay towards an
entirely new Method of Integrating them. By S.
Eamshaw, M.A (MacmiUan and Co., 1871,)
THE present work, as its title indicates, conUins a
detailed explanation of a new method of integrating
Partial Differential Equations ; it is in no sense a text-
book or introduction to the subject The author's object
is not to collect and describe the known methods, but to
develop a new one. The principle of the method is easily
explained and understood. The independent variables
in the given differential equation being /, ^, j', j? . . ., we
can transform it so that the new independent variables
are ^, f , J?* f > • . •» by equations of the form D^u = d^u
+ d^ . D^ + . . . ; but the practical application of
the method consists in comparing the original equation
with the equation last written, and thus determining rela-
tions from which, by the elimination of f , 17, f . . ., the in-
tegral of the original differential equation is found. The
quantities /, f, 17, f, . . ., with the exception of the one with
regard to which the differentiation is being performed,
are treated as constants, and are here called quasi-constants
(semi-constants we should have preferred). Mr. Eamshaw,
as is apparent from the equation of transformation quoted
above, adopts ^/when the differentiation is with regard to
the old variables, and D when with regard to the new ;
the suffix notation for differential coefficients is also made
use of. For this latter departure firom custom the author
in the preface offers an apology, and states that he has
been warned that it " will form a serious hindrance to the
acceptableness of the present work." This fear we think
is groundless ; the notation is not inconvenient in such in-
vestigations as the present, as it somewhat simplifies the
appearance of the equations without rendering the ana-
lysis more difficult to follow.
In the first few chapters the method is applied to the
integration of numerous equations of the first and second
orders, and throughout the book the applications to par-
ticular cases are so numerous that whole chapters con-
sist entirely of *« examples worked out" This excessive
number of examples is a drawback, as many of them (for
instance, all in Chapter V., which treats of linear equa-
tions of the second order with constant coefficients) can
be more simply and perfectly discussed by Boole's symbolic
and other methods. The reader is also left in doubt
as to how far the examples have been chosen so as to
suit the method of solution here adopted. In the deve-
lopment of a new principle it is always a matter of great
importance to point out the cases in which it enables us
to obtain results previously beyond our reach, and also the
cases in which the previous methods are preferable. This
Mr. Eamshaw does not appear to have done ; he has
integrated a great number of equations, many of which,
however, are capable of solution by well-known methods
in as straightforward a way as ordinary quadratics in
algebra. It is, for such reasons as these, generally desirable
that original nuithematical investigations should appear
first in the memoirs of a Society or other recognised organ
where the new matter is distinctly stated, rather than in the
form of a book where there is nothing to check the temp-
tation to overburden the explanation with examples. Mr.
Eamshaw claims to have for the first time integrated in
Digitized uy ^^^^^^ *^m.^
200
NATURE
\yan, II, 1872
finite terms several most important partial differential
equations of the second order, including the equation of
continuity in a homogeneous incompressible fluid ; and
the chapters in which these equations are discussed are by
far the most important and interesting in the work. Mr.
Eamshaw is already known for his able treatment of the
equation for the motion of 4 sound wave in the Philoso-
phical Transactions for i860, and no one can doubt the
importance of the subjects suggested for consideration by
this and other equations. The question is discussed
whether there must necessarily exist an integral of every
partial differential equation that can be proposed, and on
this part of the subject we wish the author had extended
his remarks. The real question considered seems how-
ever rather to be the possibility of the existence of
a continuous function expressible in finite terms as an
integral. With regard to the considerations having
reference to certain physical problems, we should not
expect to learn very much from the discussion of such
questions, as the differential equation might admit of
a solution incapable of satisfying the physical conditions.
We must notice one singular error made by Mr.
Eamshaw. He concludes that the well-known partial
differential equation of the second order of surfaces having
their principal radii of curvature equal and of opposite
signs at all points, admits of no integpral, because the
form of a surjface possessing this property would be such
as could not exist ; but it is well known that the surface
formed by the revolution of a catenary round its directrix
does possess the property in question, and it is easy to see
that this arises simply from the fact that the normal and
radius of curvature in the catenary are equal and of
opposite signs ; the form of the surface is quite easy
to conceive. A particular integral of the equation ob-
tained by Poisson's method is also given in Boole's
Differential Equations, chapter xv. Even admitting Mr.
EamshaVs reasoning, it would only establish the non-
existence of a real surface possessing the required property.
The integrals of the equation of continuity in three
dimensions, and of one or two other equally important
equations, we do not remember to have seen before, and
they are perhaps the most general finite solutions the
equations admit of. Of the value and power of the
method it is impossible to speak at present ; but we
heartily commend Mr. Eamshaw's book to the reader as
one containing much matter of great interest systemati-
cally and clearly developed and treated by a novel method.
It is remarkable that the subject of partial differential
equations has not attracted more attention than it has in
recent years, as an advance in this quarter is more imme-
diately felt in physics than an advance in any other pure
mathematical subject. The present work will help to
bring the matter prominently forward ; and as the analysis
is nowhere of a very difficult nature, it will probably come
under the notice of many readers not accustomed to study
mathematical memoirs on their appearance.
If the work had been intended to be a Treatise on the
subject, we should have had good reason to object to the
totsd omission of all reference to the usual methods, but
the title and preface explain that this was not contem-
plated ; it is one of the few English books containing
original mathematics.
J. W. L. G.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Three and Four Place Tables of Logarithmic and Trigo-
nonutric Functions, By James Mills Peirce. 16 pp.
(Boston : Ginn Brothers, 1871.)
Perhaps the best way of treating this work, which
does not contain a single word of explanation, will be to
give a summary of the tables contained in it. First we
have proportional parts of all numbers up to 100 ; then
on one page three -place logarithms of numbers and of the
six trigonometric functions, natural and logarithmic. On
pages 4 and 5 we find four- place logarithms of numbers,
then logarithms of sums and differences (Gaussian loga-
rithms) also to four places, then follow tables of logarith-
mic trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric functions
(a new table, to which attention is specially invited, for
finding angles from the logarithms of their trigonometric
functions), traverse table, the correction of the middle
latitude (in an improved form), and meridional parts.
In a prospectus issued by the publishers, it is stated as a
result of experiment that it has been found that the times
occupied, in regular computation, in doing one piece of
work by tables of 4, 5, 6, and 7 places, are proportional to
the numbers i, 2, 3, and 4 ; hence it is that the author has
drawn up the majority of the tables under review to 4
places as sufficient for ensuring the degree of accuracy
usually required in computations of common surveying,
engineering, &c.
The type employed is very clear, the arrangement of
the work is good, and the printer's part has been well
done ; the book requires only a few words of elucidatory
matter. There is on the last page a useful Table of Con-
stants with their logarithms, here we observe a few symbols
which are new to us, and which are presented to our
notice on the Title-page.
After all the value of such a work consists in its accu-
racy, and that can only be tested by practice, "the
greatest pains have been taken both in preparing and
printing to secure perfect accuracy." We commend the
work to the notice of such as agree with old Burton
(Anatomy of Melancholy, pt il., sec. 2), "What so pleasing
can there be ... if a man be more mathematically
given (as) to calculate or peruse Napier's logarithms, or
those tables of artificial sines and tangents, not long since
set out by .... Edmund Gunter, which will perform
that by addition and subtraction onlyj which heretofore
Regiomontanus' tables did by multiplication and division."
But then the same quaint writer advises those who are
melancholy to square a circle ; does it follow that all circle-
squarers are melancholy ? R. T.
The Laws of the Winds prevailing in Western Europe.
By W. Qement Ley. Part I. (Stanford, 1872.)
Even when we differ from an author's conclusions, the
work of one who shows himself an honest and capable
inquirer has a just claim to our attention. Mr. Ley
evidently writes from practical knowledge of his subject,
and his assiduity in collecting and charting observations
must have entailed on him an amount of labour which
only those who have been engaged in similar work can
thoroughly understand. Unfortunately, as it appears to
us, he has confined his investigations almost entirely to
the limits set forth on his title-page ; and the winds of
Western Europe, though highly suggestive and subject to
more exact observation than any others except those of
the United States, are by no means to be taken as repre-
sentative. Mr. Ley has taken them as such, and has thus
laid down a series of general propositions, which may be
briefly summed up in one — that revolving storms are
caused by the barometric depression consequent on heavy
rain over a large area. He brings forward some curious
home instances in illustration of this ; but looking farther
afield, on the slopes of the Himalayas — to mention only
one locality— a much heavier and longer continued pre-
L^iyitized by VJiOOQ..^
yan. II, 1872 J
NATURE
201
cipitation than any he has instanced takes place every
summer, and does probably cause a very great depression
of the barometer, but certainly does not give rise to any
winds such as he has described. On the hills of Khasia,
again, where the unparalleled rainfall is as much as from
30 to 40 inches a day for days together, and puts the
paltry ^ or J of an inch a day of Mr. Ley's examples
almost Myond the pale of comparison, no such storms are
generated. In the same way, the explanation of the
eastward direction which these barometric depressions
take in our latitudes, which differs only in its greater
detail from that given by Prof. Mohn in the " Storm
Atlas," is applicable only to temperate latitudes ; the
westward advance of tropical cyclones cannot be referred
to it ; and it seems to us improbable in the extreme that
the course of a storm is regulated by one law in one part
of the world, and by a totally distinct law in another. Be-
sides this, in the detailed application of the law which he
deduces for Western Europe, the author appears to fall
into the mistake of attributing the rainfall of mountain
districts to the mere contact of the moist air with the cold
mountain slope ; that this is not the case — that it is due
rather to the hoist into the upper regions which the air
receives on impinging against the slope — is curiously
shown by the fact that, when the hills are not high, most
rain falls on the lee side. One familiar instance of this
will illustrate our meaning. The gauge which in all Eng-
land shows the greatest rainfsdl is at Stockley Bridge,
just above Seathwaite ; it is distinctly under the lee of the
ridge which joins Great Gable to Great End, and separates
Wastdale from Borrowdale. The mist, blown in from
seaward, fills Wastdale, and is lifted up the slope of this
ridge (Stye Head Pass). Crossing over out of Wastdale,
the mist curling up the hill is frequently so thick that the
path cannot be seen 10 feet in advance ; but immediately
on reaching Stye Head Tarn the mist vanishes, to fall as
rain over Seathwaite. But altogether, though we admit
neither the author's premises nor his conclusions, his
work is none the less highly interesting. It does not con-
tain much that is new, but it discusses and illustrates the
theories of Mohn and Buchan in greater detail than has
yet been attempted. We would, however, decidedly object
to the €x cathedrd tone which is occasionally adopted. In
empirical science very little is "obvious," and perhaps
nothing is a ** truism ; ** certainly the influence attributed
to the earth's rotation is neither one nor the other, for it
is denied, disputed, and doubted by very many capable
meteorologists. J. K. L.
The Young Collector's Handy-book of Botany, By the
Rev. H. P. Dunster. (London : L. Reeve and Co., 1871,)
We opened this little book with pleasure, hoping to And
in it an addition to the too few popular manuals of botany,
and the pleasure was increased by recognising at the end
some familiar and excellent illustrations. Great there-
fore was our disappointment when we found that instead
of *^ assisting the student in the beginning of his work by
setting him forward on a right road," as is stated in the
Preface to be its object, it would be far more likely to
mislead him. Botanv seems to be peculiarly unfortunate,
in that every one who is fond of flowers thinks himself
capable of writing a handbook, without himself possess-
ing any accurate scientific knowledge of his subject.
Some of the definitions given in this book are so bad that
we should have been surprised to find them in the answers
to the examination papers of the botanical classes in any
of the great schools where natural science is now taught.
Take four examples : — ** Albumen : a gummy substance
surrounding certain seeds ; " " Embryo : the leaf in an
immature state ; " " Matrix : that upon which any other
thing g^ows ; " " Petals : leaves while m the corolla." After
this we are somewhat prepared to hear that the corolla
'* is made up of petals which, when expanded, are the
flower-leaves, a^ of the seamen and pistils;" and that
''county collections (of ferns) are valuable as illustrations
of the fauna of particular parts." We are utterly un-
able to see the object gained by the publication of this
book, when beginners already have such admirable
manuals as Oliver's '' Lessons in Elementary Botany,'*
Lindle/s "School Botany," and Cooke's ** Manual of
Structural Botany," neither of which, by the way, is
mentioned by Mr. Dunster in the list of books recom-
mended to the learner. Especially are we unable to
understand how the names of respectable publishers,
who have issued many admirable works -on natural his-
tory, come to be appended to a book of this character.
As we see that it is intended to be the first of a series of
Handy-books upon "the popular and recreative sciences,"
we would recommend the publishers to submit the manu-
script of the remainder of the series to a competent
judge before publication. A. W. B.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressea
by his correspondetits. No notice is tttken of anonymous
communications, ]
Ocean Currents
Leaving out of account a few small inland seas, the globe
may be laid to have but one sea, as well as but one atmosphere.
We have, however, accustomed ourselves to speak of parts, or
geographical divisions, of the one great ocean, such as the At-
umtic and the Pacific, as if they were so many separate oceans.
We have become accustomed, also, to regard the currents of the
ocean as separate, and independent of one another ; and this
idea has, no doubt, to a considerable extent, militated against
the acceptance of the theory, that the currents are caused by the
winds, and not by difference of specific gravity, for it leads to the
conclusion that currents in a sea must flow in the direction of
the prevailing winds blowing over that sea.
The true way of viewing Sie matter, as I hope to be able to
show in my next letter on the cause of Ocean Currents, is to re-
gard the various currents merely as members of one grand system
of circulation, produced, not by the trade winds alone^ as some
suppose, but by the combined action of all the prevailing windi
of the globe, regarded also as one system of circulation.
If the winds be the impelling cause of currents, the direction of
the currents will depend upon two circumstances, viz. (i) the
direction of the prevailing winds of the globe ; and (2) the con*
formation of sea and land. It follows, therefore, that as a cur-
rent in any piven sea is but a member of a general system of
circulation, its direction is determined, not alone by the prevailing
winds blowing over the sea in question, but by the genenu
system of prevailing winds. It may, consequently, sometimes
happen that the general system of winds may produce a current
directly opposite to the prevailing wind blowing over the
current
Taking into account the effects resulting from the conformation
of sea and land, the system of ocean currents is found to agree
exactlv with the system of the winds. I trust to be able to bhow
that all the principal currents of the globe, the Gibraltar current
not excepted, are moving in the exact direction in which they
ought to move — assuming the winds to be the sole impelUng
cause. Given the system of winds and the conformation of sea
and land, the direction of all the currents of the ocean, or more
properly the system of oceanic circulation, can be determined
a priori. Or given the system of the ocean currents, together
with the conformation of sea and land, and the direction of the
prevailing winds can aUo be determined /7/rk^. Or, thirdly,
given the system of winds and the svstem of currents, and the
conformation of sea and land may be, at least, roughly deter-
mined. For example, it can be shown by this means that the
Antarctic regions are probably occupied by a continent, and not
by a number of separate islands, nor by a sea.
The influence of^the rotation of the earth on ocean currents has
certainly been greatly over-estimated. Rotation, as is well
known, exercises no influence in generating motion in any body
placed on the earth's surface ; but if this body be already in
motion, no matter in what direction the motion may l)e, rotation
Mrill deflect it to the right on the northern hemisphere, and
to the left on the southern hemisphere, as has been shown
by Mr. Ferrel. But it must be borne in mind that the
deflecting power of rotation depends wholly on the rate a*^
. by
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202
NATURE
\yan. 11,1872
which th6 body is moving. If difference of specific gravity be
regaided as the impeUiog cause of any current, the deflecting
power of rotation will certainly be infinitesimaL
Difference of specific gravity, resulting from difference of tem-
perature between the ocean in equatorial and polar regions,
might, if sufficiently great, produce some such interchange of
equatorial and polar water as Dr. Carpenter supposes; but
surely the difference of temperature between the equator and
the poles could not produce currents like the equatorial cur-
rent and Gulf Stream in a wide expanse of water. Such a
general difference of temperature might tend to produce a
general motion of the ocean ; but it is inconceivable that it
should produce motion in particular parts of the ocean, as
Maury, Colding, and others, conclude.
But I think it is by no means difficult to prove that the cir-
culaticm of the waters of the ocean cannot be due to the
difference of temperature between the equatorial and polar
regions. And Dr. Carpenter must be mistaken in supposing
that it requires gieat mathematical skill to determine the value of
the forces to which he attributes the circulation of the ocean. The
whole subject, when properly viewed, resolves itself into a me-
dianical problem of such extreme simplicity as not to require for
its solution the aid of any mathematics whatever in the ordinary
sense of the term. Taking Dr. Carpenter's own data as to the
difference of temperature between the waters at the equator and
the poles, and also his estimate of the rate at which the tempera-
ture of the equatorial waters decreases from the surface down-
wards, I have, in my paper in the Philosophical Magazine for
October last, proved that the amount of force which gravity
exerts on, say, a pound of water, tending to make it move from
the equator to the poles supposing the pound of water to be
placed under the most favourable circumstances possible, is
only T^ of a grain.
I have shown also that the greatest amount of work that
gravity can perform in impelling the waters from the equator
to the poles as a surface current, and back from the poles
to the equator as an under current (assuming that the waters
would actually move under an impulse so infinitesimal) is
only nine foot-pounds per pound of water. And in reg^uxl
to the Gibraltar current, the amount of work which gravity
can perform does not exceed one foot-pound per pound.
If these results be anything like correct, and it be ad-
mitted diat a force so small is insufficient to produce the ne-
cessary motion, then it is needless to expect that any future
observations in reference to currents of the ocean will in the least
degree aid Dr. Carpenter's theory ; for, supposing it were found
that the waters of the ocean do circulate in some such manner
as he concludes — a supposition very improbable — still we should
be obliged to refer the motion of the water to some other cause
than to that of differences of temperature. James Croll
Edinburgh, Dec. 22, 1871
"Nature Worship"
In a spirited article under this title in the last number cf the
Moiical Times and Gazette, we are accused of "the most dismal
want of appreciation of the true scope of the medical art and
science." This is hard ! The ground for it is to be found in
the following sentences in the short notice of the Brown Institu-
tion in Naturk of Dec. 21 : —
"The true physician fears to meddle with the processes of
which he is the attentive and anxious spectator. Although the
more ignorant members of the medical craft — ^the so-called
* practical ' men — may sometimes, with the best intentions, ex-
periment on their patients with harmful drugs, such experimen-
tation i; repudiated by the man of Science."
If objecdon had been taken by our guarded suggestion that it
may happen that practitioners may sometimes use powerful agents
by way of remedies without any adequate knowledge of their
property, we should not have been surprised, and would have
Deen very willing to apologise had we been assured that the in-
sinuaUon was unfounded. What our critic finds fault with, how-
ever, is the second part of the sentence, viz., our assertion
that such experimentation on human beings with harmful drugs
is objectionable. If experiments had never been made on himian
beings, he argues, we snould not have learnt to know some of
our most usefiil and valuable drugs. This may be so ; but even
if it is, it perhaps scarcely affords a sufficient justification for a
continuance of the practice.
In another part of the article we are accused of "imcon-
sciously reproducing the tupentitioos and fidie philofophy of
2,000 years back," and we are distinguished by the epithet
" Nature worshippers." Let us quote the superstitious sentence
which has laid us open to so unexpected an imputation:
" The pathologist at the bedside is not in the position of an
experimenter, but only in that of a student, who stands by at a
greater or less distance ; while another over which he has no
control performs experiments in his presence without deigning to
explain to him their nature or purpose."
Ely these words we are supposed to imply that while nature
works we worship. Does the student who stands by while the
professor performs an experiment in his presence, the nature of
which he very imperfectly understands, ready to help if need be^
but fearing to meddle or even ask a question least he spoil the
wished-for result, worship his teacher ? Or is it the mere speaking
of Nature as a teacher at all that is superstitious and imphiloso-
phical?
The truth is, that our contemporary has obviously fotmd the
sentences quoted from our article a convenient text for a telling
homily on a subject with which our remarks had nothing what-
ever to do. Our object was to point out that for the purposes of
pathological investigation, and for trying the action of unknown
remedies, a fellow mortal stretched on a sick bed is not a fit sub-
ject ; that it is better to use dogs, cats, and rabbits. His aim,
on the other hand, is to impress upon his readers the important
practical lesson, that the doctor when called to see a patient
must not stand by inactive, but use every means at his disposal
for the relief of suffering and the prolongation of life. If he had
found that he could add force to tne admonition by clothing it in
figurative language, and had said that the physician should
grapple with the disease as with a fiend, it would not have
occurred to us to call him a "devil worshipper."
Ths Writkr of the Noticb
Prol Helmholtz and Prof. Jevons
Jealous of any and every restriction to that fuU liberty of
scientific thought which caimot be over-advocated, we have re-
cently gone so fiur as to deny the necessary and universal validity
of the old axioms or "self-evident principles," not only in
geometry, but in logic Now I woula submit that, if without
some elementary or initial certainties all scientific thought is im-
poffiible, we must either retract these denials altogether, or so far
limit them as to leave the logical certainties intact But can we
do the latter while geometrical axioms are in dispute ? Towards
answering this question, I propose to consider the hypothesis ad-
vanced by Prof. Helmholtz, to be found in Nature, No. 103,
October 19, and ably commented on by Prof. Jevons.
In order to show how geometrical axioms, with conclusions
based thereon, may not be necessarily or universally true^ Prof.
Helmholtz telJs us " to imagine the existence of creatures whose
bodies should have no thicknen, and who should live in the mer«
superficies of an empty globe," and then, as a consequence, to
admit that, "while^ with us, the three angles of a rectilineal
triangle are exactlv equal to two right angles, with them, the
angles of a triangle would always, more or less, exceed two
right angles." I propose to show that this position, so far as it
affects the question, contains a lo^cal uncertainty and unsound-
ness, which, if admitted, would vitiate all reasonings whatsoever.
We should premise that the " imagined creatures*' are sup-
posed to be "in possession of human powers of intellect,"
however their extenial conditions differ from ours. This assumed
(and conceded). Prof. Helmholtz has to prove that the assumed
difference of the external conditions will necessitate the in-
tellectual difference assigned in his hypothesis ; but he cannot
assume this also without begging the whole question.
Let us first a^k, what here is the import of the expression,
" with them, the angles of a triangle would always, more or
less, exceed two right angles"? To take the term "exceed,"
do the supposed bongs detect the excess, or not ? If they do,
they find these three angles exceed two of our right angles, and
they are acquainted with our right angles, and are consequently
capable of conceiving four such rectimiear angles^ and, thence,
a rectilinear triangle with all its angles together equal to two
right angles ; and thus the entire supposition is unproductive.
If we assert now that they do not detect the excess because they
cannot, under their new conditions, conceive a rectilinear figure,
we are simply begging the question we proipMed to institute, viz.,
whether we derive our geometrical notions through our con-
ditions, or whether these notions are intuitive 7 And, lastly, if
we saT that the beings in question take the spherical angles thqr
have tor rectilinear aoglefi and tiidr four equal aaglM mbont a
Digitized by VJiO'^^ *^i^
yan. n, 1872J
NATURE
203
point for four right angles, s.^., that they have our notion, but
misapply it ; then it follows that they have our conclusion,
that the angles of a triangle together equal two right angles ;
and their misapplying does not avail anything, seeing that
the geometrical conclusion (the universality of which is here
disputed) does not propose to deal with facts, but with sup-
positions only. The supposed rectilinear figures of these beings
are (though wanting all physical counterparts) the very figures
of Euclid.
Now, first, the fallacy lies in what the late Professor John
Grote called the "pseudo-psychology," the confusion of thought
and thing, of the psychical and the physical. For the question
is here of geometry, the science which regards (say) all the sup-
posed or postulated rectilinear angles alwut a point as equal to
four right angles : the question is not of the physical science which
discovers "more or less " exactly what angular or other qualities
may belong to any physical object ; and so true is this, that
geometry is not conversant with right and left hand, nor with
above and below. And, secondly, the fallacy is concealed by an
ambiguous use of terms in the statement, " with them, the angles
of a triangle would always, more or less, exceed two right angles."
The "with them " may mean with them in imagination, or with
them in fact ; and, but for this ambiguity, the fallacy must have
exposed itself ; for, first, it is obvious that two angles which they
imagined right ones would, in their imagination, equal, and not
be "exceeded by," the angles of a triangle thejr imap[ined recti-
linear; we could not have said otherwise than this, with the case
clearly stated. And, secondly, we could never have said (dis-
tinctly) that the physical fact being one way or another, could
affect the universality of a geomeScal position which does not
affirm anything of physical utcts ; but we should have perceived
that we were only combating a statement that the angles of a
physical triangle supposed to be, though not really, rectilinear,
are together really equal to two right angles ; a statement ob-
viously not true, and as obviously not geometrical.
In mathematical argument, anything I should bring in aid of
Prof. Jevons's able comments would be equally presumptuous
and useless ; and it is only because I feel that his reasonings are
not quite so unassailable on the psychological side that I venture
any additional evidence. Prof. Jevons asks (I think needlessly),
" Could the dwellers in a spherical world appreciate the truth of
the 32nd proposition of Euclid's first book ? I feel sure that, if
in possession of human powers of intellect, they could. In large
angles the proposition would altogether fail to be verified; but they
could hardly help perceiving that, as smaller and smaller angles
were examined, the spheriod excess of the angles decreased, so
that the nature of a rectilineal triangle would present itself to them
under the form of a limit" Now the terms " spherical excess "
here mean the quantum by which all the angles of their triangle
would, to tJie knowledge of these beings, exceed two bond fide
right angles. They therefore know already (by Prof. Jevons*s
supposition) what a rectilinear angle is, and, thence, what a
rectilinear triangle is with all its geometrical properties (as above
shown), for it is admitted that we require no objective experience
beyond that of a rectilinear angle in order to deduce said pro-
perties, and these beings, having our intellectual powers and our
data, can deduce the same. I would only suggest here that, after
this, to suppose any experimental evidence necessary to " verify "
the proposition is very much like conceding the hypothesb that
geometrical conclusions are not independent of experience.
Another point not directly met by Profl Jevons is ingenious,
but amounts to the assertion that, if we could not actually
Jrmu a straight line, we should not be able to define it as " the
shortest distance between two points ;" for these imagined beings,
who cannot possess a physical straight line, will have "an infi-
nite number of shortest lines between any two diametrically
opposite points in their sphere." An argument, interesting only
so far as it illustrates to what lengths of ingenuity a sophism
may be carried ; for have we not to prove that our geometrical
conception or definition depends upon our physical experience,
and are we not here advancing for proof, that beings witnout this
experience cannot have the geometrical conception, and that they
cannot have it because — we cannot have it ? If anything could
convince us of the inherent impotence of these experimental
hypotheses^ it should be this Inevitable appearance of the "circle "
just when proof is called for. And again, "shortest distance "
here has two senses. First it means the shortest path available
to the imagined beings, and then (in order to mvalidate the
definition of a straight line) it means the shortest path con-
ceivable.
In this case it appears then (as I propoied to show) that, while
the geometrical certainties have been questioned, the logical code
has been violated, and all logical certainty confounded by an
ambiguous use of terms. I have here attempted no demonstra-
tion of the opposite theory ; but I think u the eminent sup-
porters of the hypothesis just examined would be content to affirm
roundly that all our notions, conclusions, and beliefs are mere
resultants of intellectual action plus given experience, and to for-
bear any hypothetic deductions till this thesis is made good, they
would find that the essence of the question is distinctly psycho-
logical, and that any experiments with hypothetical physics are so
man^ attempts to get out of a complex thing that which is simply
not m it J. L, Tjppkr
Meteorological Phenomena
On the loth of November, a little after 4 p.m., the sun
was behind a bank of thick stratus clouds, on the upper
edge of which, attached to it, about lo"* above the sun's
position, and 15** to 20* to the north of it, I, with two other
persons, observed a small irregularly-shaped doud, about 2° in
apparent diameter, which exhibited the colours of the least
refrangible portion of the spectrum, commencing with the red
on the south end nearest the sun, succeeded by orange, yellow,
and pale greenish yellow, fading into white on the north edge,
the rays being perpendicular. This appearance continued for
about five minutes or upwards while we viewed it, and then faded
away. Though the phenomenon appears simple, the light cloud
merely refracting the sun's rays, it is not evident why the com*
plementary colours of the more refrangible portion of the spec-
trum should not have been visible ; and, as far as I am aware,
a similar appearance has not been recorded before. G. F. D.
In Nature of August 31 there is a note headed, " A Rare
Phenomenon," from Magdeburg. Your correspondent, I think,
evidently refers to what in India, or at any rate in Ceylon, is
called " Buddhu's Rays," an appearance in the sky very com-
monljT observed here, and for which I have never heud any
scientific explanation attempted. I regret to say that hitherto I
have never taken any exact notes of the position of these rays.
They generally occur, I think, when the sun is low, sometimes in
the west at sunset, but also occasionally in the east The ap-
pearance presented is that of alternate broad streaks of rose
colour and blue radiating from one point on the horizon, and
extending, I should sa^, for about thirty or forty degrees. I will,
whenever I see them m future, take exact notes of their position,
&c At present I can only say that I certainly think that dust in
the atmosphere can take no part in their production.
Colombo, October 1871 BoYD Moss
Crannogs in the South of Scotland
It may interest some readers of Naturk to learn that a con-
siderable number of crannogs, various articles of the New Stone
Period, and some "kitchen-middens" have been discovered in
connection with the small lochs which stud the surface of Wig-
tonshire and Dumfriesshire. Dowalton Ix>ch, Machermore Loch,
and the lochs which surround Castle Kennedy in Wigtonshire,
have been examined within the last few years, and have disclosed
ancient lake-dwellings. The Black Loch of Sanquhar and Loch-
maben Loch in Dumfriesshire contain platforms of wood and
stone. In some cases canoes and causeways connecting the arti-
ficial islands with the adjacent shores have been traced. Sir
William Tardine, in his presidential address to the Dumfries
Natural History Society, 1864-5, gives an interesting account of
the crannog discovered at Sanquliar Black Loch ; and recently
the Rev. Geo. Wilson, Glenluce, read a detailed description ot
the crannogs in his vicinity to the Scottish Antiquarian Society.
J. Shaw
Freshwater Lakes without Outlet
In your notice of Morelet's "Central America" (Nature,
December 28, 1871) you speak of the water of the lake of Peten
as fresh, though without an outlet This is uncommon, but not
unexampled. The lake of Araqua in Venezuela, described by
Humboldt, is of this kind, and so are the Idces near Damascus,
into which the Abana and Pharpha respectively discharge. The
best account of these latter is, I believe, in Mr. Macgregor's
work, "The Rob Roy on the Joidan."
Joseph John Murphy
Old Foige, Dunmnrry, Co. Antrim, Jan. 1. j
204
NATURE
\yan. II, 1872
Pupa of Papilio Machaon
Whilst working at the colour patterns of Insects in Novem-
ber 1867, I veiy carefully dissected off a portion, about one-
eighth of an inch square, of the hard integument from the side
of a pupa of P. AfachaoH, near the anterior extremity. The por-
tion of the interior thus displayed was filled with a dear colour-
less fluid, in which was floating a delicate membrane, to which
were attached several tubes, trachea, formed by a spiral fibre. In
the fluid were floating many roundish grains. Another pupa of
the same brood was examined January 15, 1868, and another on
April 15. The floating grains were now evidently made up of
ganglia of the spiral fibre of the trachea, and were connected with
the tube by long pedicels of the same kind of fibre. On May 20
the tubes had enlarged to such an extent that they were almost
contiguous, and were covered with minute granules, apparently
incipient scales ; in fact, a few small but well-formed scales
appeared on one portion. The specimen examined in November
was laid in cotton ; a perfect cicatrice was formed, and the butter-
fly in excellent condiuon appeared at the usual time.
Rainhill, December 23, 1871 Henry H. Higgins
Lunar Calendars
In reply to "Myops" in Nature, No. 1 ii, p. 123, the English
New Moon of the Jews is really the Month- Head {Caput mntsis),
formed from an artificial system. The true mean conjunction
derived from the 19- year cycle is called the Molad or Moon-
Birth, and generally difliers from the festival-day.
Said artificial system consists in combining AZ, BV, CX, &c.,
as follows : —
zst Day of Passover has Black Fast (91 h Ab) on same week day.
and „ „ .» ist of Pentecost. do.
3rd », „ „ ist of New Year (Tishri). do.
4ih ti »$ ** I'^' of Tabernacles— Rejoicing of Law. da
5Ch », „ ,« White Fast (Atonement Day). do.
6tb „ „ If Preceding Purim (Esther's Feast da
This actual Jewish Calendar depends on the Moveable Feasts,
1st Passover never falling on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.*
39, Howland Street, W., Dec. 15, 1871 S. M. Drach
Hints to Dredgers
Appealed to by name — spirits from the vasty deep — I have
waited for my elders, also named, to answer Mr. Heimah's
queries about dredging, and, failing to see anything more, I
venture to trouble you with a few lines, the more so as I felt the
want of advice when I was fitting out the Noma in 1870.
Details would be out of place here ; I will only at present give a
few hints. And first — ^to repeat Punch's advice to those about to
marry — if about to buy a yacht. Don't I Begin by hiring one of
the tonnage you require, the proper price being i/. $s, per ton
per month, including the wages of .skipper and crew, but rarely
of cook or steward. After your first season buy by all means if
you like.
If bound on a long cruise your craft should not be under 80 to
100 tons. But for dredging in the Channel or round our coasts
25 tons and upwards are sufficient ; but not on any account under
that. A little boat of 25 tons makes up two good berths and
two more possible ones, exclusive of the crew's sleeping quarters,
and being decked stands a good chance in a gale of wind
Beware the discomfort of a half-deck and a small boat, remem-
bering that you may unavoidably have to face some nasty breezes
which an ordinary yachtsman would run away from. You may,
for instance, be caught in a bay offering rich results, and have to
thrash out of it
Hire a man knowing the locality in which you desire to try
your fortune.
Take a particular line, say the comparative life on the borders
of fresh and salt water junctions, or at spots where the depth
suddenly increases. No better locality, with a good pilot, could
be picked out to begin with than the Channel Islands.
Especially note the submarine geology. Exactly fix the spots
you dredge in by cross bearings. A small prismatic compass is
invaluable, both afloat and ashore. Take carefully temperature,
current, tidal observations, a multitude of soundings, and keep
specimens of all Fill a private log-book with the most trivial
and infantile details. You wiW afterwards laugh at much you
have noted ; but it is a great gain, and, unlike partridges, im-
pressions are best firesh.
* For Mahommedaa Calendar inouire of a Moslem, or such an Authority
as Cxpt R. J. Burton, the famous Hajji El-Inki, and Coosol to ^SAam.
This is not the occasion to go into matters of outfit One
thing I must name, on no account let any man on board be with-
out a life-belt for his own use.
Any intending dredger writing to me at this dub will be
cordially answered. A small sc^uadron of yachts working
together under a commodore of their own election would parti-
tion the labour, and produce a little emulation among the crews.
Make a rendezvous every few days, and talk results over.
Marshall Hall
New University Club, St James's Street, S. W., Jan. 6
Anacharis Canadensis (A. Alsinastrum)
I SHOULD esteem it as a favour if you would allow me to
ask, through the medium of Nature, if there be any published
account of observations, confirmatory or otherwise, of Mr.
Wenham's notes on the free-cell formation which he has described
as being carried on at the terminal growing point of Anacharis^
quoted by Dr. Carpenter in " The Microscope and its Revela-
tions," p. 405, et seq, (3rd ed.) H. POCKLINGTON
FIGHT BETWEEN A COBRA AND A
MONGOOSE *
THE stiake was a large cobra 4ft. 10^ in. in length, the
most formidable cobra I have seen. He was turned
into an enclosed outer room, or verandah, about 20ft by
12 ft, and at once coiled himself up, with head erect, about
ten or twelve inches from the ground, and began to hiss
loudly. The mongoose was a small one of its kind, very
tame and quiet, but exceedingly active.
When the mongoose was put into the rectangle, it
seemed scarcely to notice the cobra ; but the latter, on
the contrary, appeared at once to recognise its enemy. It
became excited, and no longer seemed to pay any atten-
tion to the bystanders, but kept constantly looking at the
mongoose. The mongoose began to go roimd and round
the enclosure, occasionally venturing up to the cobra, ap-
parently quite unconcerned.
Some eggs being laid on the ground, it rolled them near
the cobra, and began to suck them. Occasionally it left
the eggs, and went up to the cobra, within an inch of its
neck, as the latter reared up ; but when the cobra struck
out, the mongoose was away with extraordinary activity.
At leng^ the mongoose began to bite the cobra's tail,
and it looked as if the fight would commence in earnest
Neither, however, seemed anxious for close quarters, so
the enclosure was narrowed.
The mongoose then began to give the cobra some very
severe bites ; but the cobra after some fencing forced the
mongoose into a comer, ard struck it with full strength
on the upper part of the hind leg. We were sorry for the
mongoose, as but for the enclosure it would have escaped.
It was clear that on open ground the cobra could not have
bitten it at all ; while it was the policy of the mongoose
to exhaust the cobra before makmg a close attack. The
bite of the cobra evidently caused the mongoose great
pain, for it repeatedly stretched out its leg, and shook it,
as if painful, for some minutes. The cobra seemied ex-
hausted by its efforts, and putting down its head, tried
hard to escape, and kept itself in a comer. The mongoose
then went up to it and drew it out, by snapping at its tail,
and when it was out, began to bite its body, while the
cobra kept turning round and round, striking desperately
at the mongoose, but in vain.
When this had continued for some time, the mongoose
came at length right in front of the cobra, and after some
dodging and fencing, when the cobra was in the act of
striking, or rather, ready to strike out, the mongoose, to
the surprise of all, made a sudden spring at the cobra, and
bit it in the inside of the upper jaw, about the fang, and
instantly jumped back again. Blood flowed in large
drops from the mouth of the cobra, and it seemed much
* The following interesting nnnative has been obligingly fonrarded to us
by Prof. Andrews, of Queen's College, BeUast.
Digitized by
Google
yan. II, 1872]
NATURE
205
weakened. It was easy now to see how the fight would
end, as the mongoose became more eager for the struggle.
It continued to bite the body of the cobra, going round it
as before, and soon came again in front, and bit it a second
time in the upper jaw, when more blood flowed. This
continued for some time, until at last, the cobra being
very weak, the mongoose caught its upper jaw firmly, and
holding down its head, began to crunch it. The cobra,
however, being a very strong one, often got up again, and
tried feebly to strike the mongoose ; but the latter now
bit its head and body as it pleased ; and when the cobra
became motionless and dead, the mongoose left it, and
ran to the jungle.
The natives said that the mongoose went to the jungle
to eat some leaves to cure itsdOf. We did not wish to
prevent it, and we expected it would die, as it was severely
bitten.
In the evening, some hours after the fight, it returned,
apparently quite well, and is now as well as ever. It fol-
lows either that the bite of a cobra is not fatal to a mon-
goose, or that a mongoose manages somehow to cure
Itself. I am not disposed to put aside altogether what so
many intelligent natives positively assert
This fight shows at any rate how these active little
animals manage to kill poisonous snakes. On open ground
a snake cannot strike them, whereas they can bite the
bodv and tail of a snake, and wear it out before coming
to close quarters. This mongoose did not seem to fear
the cobra at all ; whereas the cobra was evidently in great
fear from the moment it saw the mongoose.
Ratnapura, Ceylon, April 11, 187 1 R. Reid
AUSTRALIAN PREPARATiaNS FOR OBSERV-
ING THE SOLAR ECLIPSE
THE following letter has been received at the office of
the English Government Eclipse Expedition, from
the Government Astronomer at Melbourne :—
"Melbourne Observatory, Nov. 4, 1871.
"My dear Sir,— The Eclipse instruments, copies of
instructions, and your letter, reached me safely. Some of
the instruments slightly damaged however, though not
serious. About half the collodion bottles broken.
•* The organisation of the Expedition is not yet ouite
complete ; but a start, I think, is now certain. About
1,000/. has been contributed by various Australian
colonies :— Victoria, 450/. ; New South Wales, 300/. ;
South Australia, 100/. ; Queensland, 100/. ; and we ex-
pect to get 50/. from Tasmania. The cost of steamer,
&c., will be from 1,400/. to 1,500/. Twelve or fourteen
amateurs have joined, paying 30/. each for passage. The
voyage will occupy about four weeks, including a week
or ten days at Cape Sidmouth. The country at
Sidmouth is quite unknown, and inhabited only by
Aboriginals, who, although not very warlike, are often
exceedingly troublesome. Little is known of facili-
ties for landing, &c., but as there are several coral islands
in the vicinity, it is possible we may select some of them
for observing stations, as they can easily be reached by
laden boats. The whole of the coral sea inside the barrier
reef is nearly always smooth water, so there cannot be
much surf to contend with. The Expedition wiD have to
start from here about the 20th instant.
" Now, about our equipment : — First, we have Grubb's
integrating spectroscope, which, by-the-bye, was con-
siderably damaged ; it had got adrift from its packing,
and had evidently made sundry excursions of its own
inside its case. Our instrument maker has set this right,
and it is now in good working order, and I tried it with
the hydrogen spectrum yesterday, and it performs satis-
factorily.
" Second, the large field analysing spectroscope came
out all rignt. only one reflector of the kind mdicated
availabley ana that altazimuth mounting. Browning 8-inch.
We can hear of no others. We are busy making equa-
torial mounting for this, but I am afraid we sh^ have
no time to apply clock-work. One five-inch equatorial
with its clock-work will be devoted to photographs, for
this purpose the telescope will be dismounted and camera
substituted, as no good can be done with both.
" Third, Photography. We shall have to confine our-
selves to the operations with the camera as indicated in
QStructions, and we are doing all we can to ensure good
ssults.
"Fourth. Polariscope work. — The two polarimeters
ime all right. Prof. Wilson, of our University, has offered
to take charge of polariscope observations ; his experience
in experimenting on polarised light will ensure this part
being thoroughly done if clouds permit
" I think we thoroughly understand all the instruments
and the instructions, and intend to take up such observa-
tions which appear from the latter to be most desirable,
and for which we have instrumental means.
" We have sets of KirchhofTs and Angstrom's maps here,
we shall have several hand spectroscopes, opera-glasses,
&c., provided for general observations.
" The little tube with the compound spectra of Mg, Ba,
&c., appears to require Leyden jar and coil and a strong
current, even then I am doubtful if it can be used.
" We take up one or two field instruments to determine
position, &c.
" The observing party of Melbourne will number about
nine, that from Sydney about six. We can at best only form
two observing stations, and those not many miles removed
from one another. Sydney observers, under Mr. Russell,
will be engaged principally in photographs with refractor
and spectrum work (analysing), and possibly we shall be
able to arrange some polariscopes for them.
" I shall send you the earliest possible information of
our success or otherwise on our return, which will be
about Christmas.
" Our chances of fine weather are somewhat doubtful,
as the cloudy N.W. monsoon generally sets in about the
middle of December; it appears, however, that this sel*
dom fairly sets in till after Christmas, and as the eclipse
takes place on the 12th, we have some reason to hope for
success.
" We are trying to get a recording spectroscope ready,
but I am afraid there is scarcely time to finish it. The small
telescope has a loose tube around it, covered with paper.
The eye-piece and pointer slip across the field, and are
made to do so by a long lever, moved by a pricking frame.
/// is a loose tube forming recording barrel, 3^ is attached
to eye- piece by flat spring, // long lever pointed at a,
h slide bar parallel to telescope, / pricker frame which
slides along bb crossing eye-piece and pointer to tra-
verse field (the lever and slide bar are drawn too parallel,
they should be more inclined to one another). By moving
p up and down the. slide bar the pointer is made to coin-
cide with a line, sind the pricker p is pressed— after prick-
ing one set the loose tube is slightly revolved, and a second
set obtained. It is nearly complete, but has not been tried
yet. I hope you will have good success in India.
" At Cape Sidmouth we shall have 3m. 34s. totality, the
sun at an altitude of about 45^^ a more convenient position
than I thought before the data were computed. Like you, we
are working almost night and day to get ready, for it was
only a fortnight ago I had authority from Government to
organise a party and prepare instruments. Again wishing
you the best success,
(Signed) ^ ROB. L. J. Exxcry
**;. Norman Lockyer, Esq." ^<^ t
2o6
NATURE
\yan. II, 1872
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICA :
SHOWING HOW ELECTRICITY MAY DO MUCH OF WHAT IS
COMMONLY BELIEVED TO BE THE SPECIAL WORK OF A
VITAL PRINCIPLE
II.
2. How Electricity may do much of what is commonly
believed to be the work of a vital principle in muscular
action,
1H AVE long held that a vital property of " irriubility,"
or "tonicity," was unnecessary in muscular action.
As it seemed to me, the state of relaxation in living muscle
¥ras to be accounted for by the mutual repulsion of mole-
cules arising from the presence in the muscle at the time
of a charge of electricity, sometimes positive, sometimes
negative; as it seemed to me, muscular contraction,
whether in ordinary muscular action or in rigor mortis,
was nothing more than the result of the operation of the
elasticity of the muscle upon the discharge, sudden or
gradual, of the chaige which had previously kept up the
state of relaxation. And I still hold that the state of re-
laxation is caused by the presence in the muscle of a
charge of electricity, and that muscular contraction is
brought about by the elasticity of the muscle coming into
play upon the discharge of this charge ; but, since I began
to work with the new Quadrant Electrometer of Sir Wm.
Thomson, I have been obliged to take a different view
of the way in which the charge operates in causing relaxa-
tion. The fact, discovered by means of this instrument,
that there are two charges of electricity in muscle, positive
and negative, was fatal to the idea that the state ot relaxa-
tion was due to the mutual repulsion of molecules conse-
quent upon the presence in muscle of a single ch2U|^e,
positive or negative. With either charge singly the idea
might be entertained, though it was not easy to understand
how, wanting effectual insulation, the electricity could be
kept to its work ; with two opposite charges, on the con-
trary, the attraction of each charge for the other must
neutralise the repulsion arising from the presence of either
singly. Nor did I find a way of escape from this difficulty
until I began to seek it in a totally different direction, even
in the theory according to which the sheath of muscular
fibre during rest is charged as a leyden-jar is charged.
Is it possible, I asked myself, that the two opposite
charges, disposed leyden-jar-wise upon the two surfaces of
the sheath, may cause elongation of the fibre by com-
pressing between them the elastic sheath? Opposite
charges of electricity must attract each other ; that was
plain enough. Opposite charges attracting each other
across an elastic sheath may compress that sheath in
such a way as to cause elongation of the fibre ; that was
not impossible. Upon this view, too, there was no difficulty
in understanding how each charge was prevented from
escaping, and made to work in this manner, by the mutual
attraction of each for the other. In a word, the idea that
the two charges might act in this way in causing muscular
relaxation was far more easy to resdise than that which
regarded the state of relaxation as the result of the mus-
cular molecules being kept in a state of mutual repulsion
by the presence of one charge in the muscle. And so it
was that it became necessary to look into this matter a
little more closely— to put it to the test of experiment, as
best I could.
In order to this, I began by inquiring whether the
idea in question was possible or not I wanted to be
certain that the mutual attraction of two charges of
electricity, dispersed leyden-jar- wise upon the two siuf aces
of the sheath of the fibre, would cause elongation, and
that the discharge of this charge would be followed by
contraction ; and, after several abortive attempts, I found
what I wanted, and more than I expected at fu^t, by the
means which are represented in the accompanying
figure.
Vulcanised india-rubber sheeting being at once elastic
and dielectric, it occurred to me that this material was
the very thing for putting to the test of experiment what I
believed might happen in the elastic and dielectric sheath
of muscular fibre. I therefore took a band of this sheet-
ing, provided it with the conducting surfaces necessary
for charging and discharging it as a Leyden-jar is charged
and discharged, and had constructed an apparatus for
showing whether or not the anticipated changes in length
were produced by this charging and discharging. The
band (which is to be regarded as the counterpart of a strijp
of the actual sheath of the muscular fibre) is 14 in. m
len^ by 2 in. in breadth, the commercial number of the
india-rubber sheeting being 30. The necessary conducting
surfaces to allow of the charging and discharging are made
by painting the band on each side with fiuid dutch-metal,
care being taken to leave at the edges a sufficient tm-
painted margin to secure the necessary insulation of the
two painted surfaces. The frame-work of the apparatus con-
sists of two strong brass pillars, 18 in. in height, and 4 in.
apart, rising from a fiat brass stand. Across these pillars
work two axles, horizontal in direction and parallel to
each other — the one at the top, the other near the base,
immediately above the stand. At the middle of the upper
axle, midway between the pillars, is a wheel with a
grooved edge, 2 in. in diameter, which may be called the
driving-wheel ; at one end, which projects beyond the
pillar on that side, is another and larger wheel, 6 in. in
diameter, also with a g^rooved edge, which may be called
the multiplying-wheel. At one end of the lower axle,
beyond the pillar on that side and immediately under the
multiplying-wheel is a collar with a grooved edge ; at
the other end, also beyond the pillar on that side, is a
socket for cairying a long index, of which the free end
moves backwards or forwards before a graduated arc
fixed immediately over the socket upon the same pillar
near its top. The two axles move together, the upper
telliag upon the lower by means of an endless band
which at one and the same time bites in the grooved ed|;e
of the multiplying-wheel at the end of the one, and m
that of the collar at the end of the other ; and thus the
movements of the index before the graduated arc are
made to represent a very considerable exaggeration of the
movements of the upper axle. The india-rubber band is
clipped at each end in a clamp, acting by screws, and
having a hook on its free edge ; and, being so clipped, it
is fixed in a a vertical position by passing the hook on
the clamp at its lower end into a socket provided for it
on the stand, and by attaching the hook on the clamp at
its upper end to a string which passes over the grooved
edge of the driving-wheel to a short hanging rod with a
button at its lower end, upon which rod are to be slipped
coin-like weights, notched in the centre for this purpose,
which weights have to be so adjusted as to put the band
gently upon the stretch. In this way the band is so fixed
that it cannot lengthen or shorten without these changes
being made to tell upon the index, for as it lengthens
or shortens, the driving-wheel which moves the index
must be made to turn this way or that by the string
which bites into its grooved rim in passing from the
band to the weights. For charging and discharging, two
short pillars are fixed to the stand in front of and at a
short distance from the bottom of the band, that for the
former purpose having an ebonite shaft, that for the latter
being sdtogether met^ ; and through holes in the caps of
these pillars the rods which are intended to serve as
the actual channels for the charge and discharge are
made to slide horizontally backwards or forwards in a
suitable direction. In charging, the electricity is supplied
to the metallic surface on the front of the band by push-
ing forwards Uie charging rod so as to touch this surface,
and at the same timetakmg care that the discharging rod
is drawn back so as to leave the necessary break in the cir-
cuit. In discharging, the discharging rod is pushed home
so as to complete the circuit between the two opposite
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Jan. 1 1, 1872J
NATURE
207
metal coatings of the band by touching the centre of the
charging rod. And for the rest, all that need no«r be said
of the apparatus (this is not all that has to be said, but
what remains has to do with a totally different set of ex-
periments, and had better be reserved until the time
comes for dealing with these experiments) is, that in order
to allow of this charging and discharging, the metal sur-
face at the back, instead of being insulated all round like
the metal surface at the front of the band, is put in com-
munication with the earth by bringing it down a little so
as to allow it to be clipped by the metal clamp which
fixes the band to the stand.
In the actual experiment with the band, all that has to
be done is first to charge and then to discharge, watching
the index the while. It was anticipated that the band
would elongate with the charge, and shorten with the dis-
charge, and this is what happens in fact ; for on charging,
the index at once moves before the graduated arc in the
way which shows that the band elongates in proportion
to the charge, and on discharging it suddenly jumps back
again to the position it occupied before the charging, these
forward and backward movements being through 40° or
60°, or even over a still wider range, and not merely through
one or two degrees. The band plainly elongates in pro-
portion to the charge. The band as plainly shortens in
proportion to the discharge, suddenly or gradually, as the
case may be, suddenly if the charge be augmented until
it overleaps the barriers of insulation, or if the discharge be
brought about by pushing home the discharging-rod, gradu-
ally if the band be charged and then left to discharge itself
slowly by keeping back the discharging-rod. And these
results are constant, provided only before charging and
discharging the weights attached to the band are so ad-
justed as to balance without overbalancing the elasticity
of the band— a matter which is easily managed with
but little patience and practice.
All, in fact, that was anticipated is fully borne out by
the experiment. And thus it may be taken for granted
that elongation of the muscular fibre may be caused by
the attraction of two opposite charges of electricity
disposed leyden-jar-wise upon the two surfaces of the
sheath of this fibre, and that contraction of this fibre may
follow the discharge of these charges ; for what is assumed
to happen in this case is nothing more than what does
actually happen with the band of india-rubber sheeting
imder perfectly analogous circumstances.
But if this be the way in which muscular fibre may be
affected by its natural charge and discharge, how will it be
affected by an artificial charge of the same kind ? Will
this artificial charge — the sheath being still a dielectrics-
act like the natural charge, the charge imparted to one
side of the sheath inducing an equivalent amount of the
oppositecharge on the other side ? Will theartificial charge,
presuming it to be larger in amount than the natural
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208
NATURE
\yan, II, 1872
charge, overrule the natural charge ? Will the artificial
charge, thus larger in amount than the natural, produce a
greater degree of elongation in the muscular hbre than
that which is natural to the fibre ? WiU the contraction
following the discharge of this artificial charge be greater
in amount than that which is natural to the fibre, because
the elasticity of the muscle has freer play under these
circumstances ? These questions, and others also of a
like nature, are suggested by the experiment upon the
elastic band; for not only does the band elongate
with the charge and shorten with the discharge, but the
elongation and shortening are manifestly in proportion
to the amount of the charge and discharge. N or are these
questions unanswerable. On the contrary, answers may
be foimd in more ways than one — in the examination of the
phenomena of electrotonus more particularly ; and these
answers are in no way ambiguous in their meaning.
In electrotonus are strange modifications of mus-
cular action. In electrotonus, too, as I have shown
elsewhere,* are strange modifications of the electric con-
dition of the parts, there being everywhere in the region
of anelectrotonus a positive charge overflowing from the
positive pole of the battery employed in the production of
electrotonus, there being everywhere in the region of
cathelectrotonus a negative chsirge overflowing from the
negative pole of the same battery. In anelectrotonus
there is a positive charge, not only present, but at work ;
in cathelectrotonus there is a negative charge, not only
present, but at work. At work certainly, for as I have
shown, the movements of the needle of the galvanometer
characteristic of electrotonus are caused by the movement,
not of a voltaic current, but of these charges through the
coil of the instrument, the movement of cathelectrotonus
by the flow of the negative charge, that of anelectrotonus
by the flow of the positive charge. At work also, as I have
also shown, in modifying muscular action. At all events,
the presence of a positive charge in anelectrotonus and
of a negative charge in cathelectrotonus are facts, and
therefore I am justified in looking to the phenomena of
muscular action in the two electrotonic states with a view
to find answers to the questions now under consideration.
At the onset of the inquiry, however, a grave difficulty
has to be coped with — a difficulty as to facts, for the
actusd facts are not what they are believed to be. In a
word, it is not true that the action of anelectrotonus upon
muscular action is essentially different from that of cath-
electrotonus. Diflerences there are no doubt, but not any
that will prove to be of moment in the present place. It
is a fact Uiat muscular action is suspended, not m anelec-
trotonus only, but in cathelectrotonus as well as in
anelectrotonus. It is a fact that muscular elongation is a
phenomenon common to both electrotonic states. Nor are
these the only points in the history of electrotonus which
require to be looked into carefully. So that, before pro-
ceeding further in this matter, it is necessary to ascertain
what are the facts which have here to be dealt with.
The true history of muscular action during electro-
tonus vaxj be weU seen in the gastrocnemius of a frog by
means of*^ certain experiments for the exhibition of which
the apparatus already used in the experiment with the
elastic oand is furnished with certain parts which have yet
to be described. These parts consist of a pillar and a
platform resting upon it horizontally, the pillar rising from
the side of the stand opposite to that occupied by the
charging and dischai^ging rods. The pillar has a telescope
arrangement, by which its length may be altered, and a
screw-collar, by which it may be fixed at any length. The
platform consists of a four-sided metal floor, five inches
m length by three in breadth, with a narrow and rather
thick border of ebonite in which are two binding screws
for holding electrodes upon each of its sides, with a long
roller at one of its ends, and with a moveable gutta-percha
cover of such a shape and size as to allow it to be slipped on
• ** Dyiiamict of Ntnre muI Mnadc." Maanlllan, x^Ta ','
and of! between the ebonite borders, and fixed when on
by having its edges made to play under the hollowed-out
inner margins o7 the borders. In the actual experiment
what has to be done is — ^to remove the elastic band and
the weights attached to it— to fix the platform, so that it is
a little behind and abave the level of the driving-wheel,
with the end to which the roller is attached turned towards
this wheel— to fix the wires from the battery and induction
apparatus to the binding-screws on the platform, the
wires from the battery being carried to the side on which
the screws are farthest from the. roller (the battery, I
should have said, consists of four medium-sized Bunsen- cells,
and the induction-apparatus is one in which the secondary
coil mav be slipped altogether away from the primary — a
Du Bois-Reymond's inductorium, in fact), — to prepare a
frog's limb by stripping off the skin and dissecting away
all parts of the thigh except the sciatic nerve,— to remove
the gutta-percha cover from the platform, and pin upon it
the prepared limb with its heel close to one end, care
being tsucen not to injure the nerve or muscle in doing this, —
to tie to the tendo-achillis the string which belong to the
weights, — ^to put back the gutta-percha cover into its place
with the limb thus pinned and arranged upon it, the string
attached to the tendo-achillis being brought out over the
end which comes next to the roller, — to carry this string
over the driving-wheel to the rod carrying the weights, —
and to adjust these weights so as to put the gastro-
enemius gently on the stretch, — and lastly, to draw out the
nerve, and carry it first across the electrodes belonging to
the induction-apparatus and then across those belonging
to the battery, these electrodes, to allow of this, being
made to point inwardly to a sufficient distance across the
platform, two from one side, two from the other. In this
way, when the circuits are closed (they are open at first)
the nerve may be acted upon by voltaic and faradaic elec-
tricity as in an ordinary experiment in electrotonus. In
this way, any change in the length of the gastrocnemius
must tell upon the index, just as the changes in the length
of the elastic band were made to tell, only in the con-
trary direction.
These arrangements being made, two experiments have
to be tried, the one for exhibiting the action of anelectro-
tonus upon the gastrocnemius, the other for exhibiting
that of cathelectrotonus, and each differing from the
other only in the relative position of the voltaic poles, the
positive pole being next to the insertion of the nerve into
the muscle in analectrotonus, the negative pole being in
this position in cathelectrotonus.
In the experiment for exhibiting the action of anelectro-
tonus upon the muscle— that with the positive pole in the
position next to the insertion of the nerve into tne muscle
— there are three distinct steps, the first taken before
setting up Uie state of anelectrotonus, the two others after
this time.
The first step, or that which is taken before the esta^
blishment of anelectrotonus, is to tetanise the muscle with
faradaic currents only just strong enough to act upon Ae
muscle at all in this way. In this case the circuit of the
induction-apparatus is closed, but not that of the voltaic
battery, and therefore the nerve is acted upon by faradaic
currents before the establishment of anelectrotonus. At
first, the faradaic currents used are strong enough to
tetanise the muscle effectually ; then these currents are
weakened b^ drawing away the secondary coil from the
primary tmtil the tetanus comes to an end ; last of sdl, the
tetanus is brought back again to the very slightest dq^e
by moving the secondary coil back again towards the
primary coil^ and leaving it at the point where the currents
produced in it just begin to have a tetanising action. This
is the first step in the experiment
The second step consists in the establishment of an-
electronus while the nerve is still being acted upon by
these feeble faradaic currents. Hitherto the circuit of the
induction appantot was doiedi while that of the voltaic
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yan. II, 1872]
NATURE
209
battery was left open. Now the latter circuit is also
closed, and with this result — that the index g^ves a sudden
^reat jump in the direction showing contraction, and then,
immediately moving in the opposite direction to that
signifying contraction, takes up a position on the other
side of zero— at 15° or 20°, it may be— a movement show-
ing, not contraction, therefore, but elongation. Eliminating,
as non-essential, the strong contraction which happens at
the closing of the circuit— for this has to do, not with an-
electrotonus, but with the extrorcurrent whic^ traverses
the nerve between the poles at the closing of the voltaic
circuit— what happens, therefore, on the establishment of
anelectrotonus is, first, suspension of the tetanus caused by
the feeble faradaic currents ; and, secondly, elongation of
muscle. This is the second step of the experiment, and
these the results.
The third step follows upon the second. Its object is
to ascertain whether the tetanus may be^made to re-
turn during anelectrotonus by slightly increasing the
strength of the faradaic currents acting upon the nerve ;
and the way of arriving at this is to leave the voltaic
circuit still closed, to go on moving the secondary coil
of the induction apparatus nearer to the primary, and
to stop the moment the faradaic currents acquire strength
enough to call back any tetanus. And this is what
happens — that after moving the secondary coil but a
short distance towards the primary, the index shows, not
only that the tetanus has reappeared, but that it has re-
appeared in greater force. Before the establishment of
anelectrotonus, the tetanus caused by faradaic currents
only just strong enough to tetanise the muscle carried the
index to 20*^ or thereabouts ; after the establishment, the
tetanus caused by faradaic currents only just strong enough
to exert a tetanising action moved the index to 43* or
60". In a word, contraction may happen in anelectrotonus,
and when it happens it is considerably increased in
amount. This is the third step of the experiment, and this
the result.
In the experiment for exhibiting the phenomena of
cathelectrotonus — that in which the negative voltaic pole
is placed next to the insertion of the nerve into the muscle
— aU the steps are the same, and so are the results. The
setting up of cathelectrotonus suspends the tetanus caused
by feeble faradaic currents, and causes elongation in the
muscle. The tetanus brought back during the cathelec-
trotonus by currents only just strong enough to have a
tetanising action is in increased force. The degree of
elongation is the same as in anelectrotonus. The increase
of contraction is the same as in anelectrotonus. The only
difference, indeed, between the two experiments is this,
that somewhat feebler faradaic currents serve to recall
the tetanus in cathelectrotonus than those which were re-
quired to do this in anelectrotonus.
Nor are these facts at variance with those which are
brought to light when the state of electrotonus is pro-
duced by a smaller amount of battery power— by a
single element, for example. In this case it often happens
(not always) that the tetanus caused by salt or very feeble
faradaic currents is suspended by anelectrotonus, and
intensified by cathelectrotonus. It seems as if there was
an essential difference between this action of the two
dectrotonic states upon nerve and muscle, but after what
has just been seen this is by no means a necessary conclu-
sion. It has been seen that anelectrotonus has a greater
power of suspending tetanus than cathelectrotonus, there-
fore tetanus may be suspended by anelectrotonus when it
is not suspended by cathelectrotonus. It has been seen
that during both anelectrotonus and cathelectrotonus
contraction when it happens is greater than that which
happens in the non-eiectrotonised state ; and there-
fore, during cathelectrotonus, if tetanus be not suspended,
it is likely to be intensified. This is alL The facts are
in keeping with those which have gone before when they
are properly looked into, and there is no ground in them
for supjMsing that there is an essential difference between
the action of anelectrotonus and cathelectrotonus — ^no
eround for supposing that the effects of using a smaU
battery power in the production of electrotonus arc in any
way different from those which attend the use of a larger
power of this kind C. B. Radcliffe
CONJOINT MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS •
XITE are able to open the new year with the satisfactory
^^ announcement that the last difficulty has been
removed which impeded the action of the p;reat medical
examining incorporations of England in uniting to frame
a conjoint scheme for a minimum examination, which will
constitute, in fact, a single and uniform portal to the pro-
fession. All the committees of the bodies concerned have
signified their approval of the following scheme : —
In view of the legal difficulties which have been stated
by the Society of Apothecaries to prevent that society
taking part in the formation of an examining board in this
division of the United Kingdom, it was resolved :
I. That a board of examiners be appointed in this divi-
sion of the United Kingdom by the cooperation of the
Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College
of Surgeons of England, and of such other of the medical
authorities in Engbind, mentioned in Schedule (A) to the
Medical Act, as may take part in its formation ; it being
understood that, liberty being left to such co-operating
medical authorities to confer, as they think proper, their
honorary distinctions and deig;rees, each of them will ab-
stain from the exercise of its independent privilege of
giving admission to the " Medical Register."
II. That the Board be constituted of examiners, or of
examiners and assessors appointed by the several co-
operating medical authorities.
III. That examiners be appointed on the following sub-
jects : Anatomy and physiology; chemistry; materia
medica, medical botany, and pharmacy ; forensic medi-
cine ; surgery ; medicine ; midwifery ; or on such subjects
as may be hereafter required.
IV. That no examiner hold office more than five suc-
cessive years, and that no examiner who has continued in
office for that period be eligible for re-election until after
the expiration of one year.
V. That the examiners be appointed annually by the
several co-operating medical autnorities on the nomina-
tion of a committee, called herein '* The Committee of
Reference ; '' but no member of the Committee of Refer-
ence shall be eligible for nomination as an examiner,
VI. That a Committee of Reference, to consist of an
equal number of representatives of medicine and sui^^ery,
be appointed as follows : One representative of medicine
and one representative of surgery to be appointed by each
of the Umversities in Engird ; four representatives of
medicine to be appointed by the Royal College of Physi-
cians of London ; four representatives of surgery to be
appointed by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
VII. That one-fourth of the Committee of Reference go
out of office annually, and that, after the first four years,
no retiring member be re-eligible until after the expira-
tion of one year.
VIII. That the duties of the Committee of Reference
be generally as follows : i. To determine the number of
examiners to be assigned to each subject of examination.
2. To nominate the examiners for appointment by tiie
several co-operating medical authorities. 3. To arrange
and superintend all matters relating to the examinations,
in accordance with regulations approved by the co-ope-
rating medical authorities. 4. To consider such questions
in rebition to the examinations as they may think fit, or
such as shall be referred to them by any of the co-ope-
* 'Rtpnuitdftixaiih^ British Medical yaumal.
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NATURE
{Jan, II, 1872
rating medical authorities, and to report their proceedings
to all the said authorities.
IX. That there be two or more examinations on profes-
sional subjects, and that the fees of candidates be not less
than thirty guineas to be paid in two or more payments.
X. That every matrictilated student of an English uni-
versity who shall have completed the curriculum of study
required by his university, and shall have passed such an
examination, or examinations, at his university as shall
comprise the subjects of the primary examination, or
examinations, conducted by the Board, be eligible for ad-
mission to the final exanunation ; and that every candi-
date so admissible to examination be required to pay a fee
of five guineas, but he shall not be thereby entitled to the
license of the Royal College of Physicians of London, nor
to the diploma of member of the Royal College of Sur-
geons of England, without the payment of an additional
fee of not less than twenty-five guineas.
XI. That every candidate who shall have passed the
final examination conducted by the Board shall, subject
to the by-laws of each licensing body, be entitled to receive
the license of the Royal College of Physician of London,
and the diploma of member of the Royal College of Sur-
geons of England.
This is signed by George Burrows, President of the
Royal College of Physicians, and George Busk, President
of the Royal College of Surgeons.
Sir Roundell Palmer, Mr. Denman, and Mr. Bevis have
^ven their opinion that this scheme can be legally carried
mto effect by means of by-laws to be adopted by the re-
spective Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons. This
opinion was presented at the meeting of the Joint Com-
mittee on the 3rd inst The examiners in surgery will be
chosen from among the examiners who have been appointed
under the charters of the College of Surgeons, and the
Court of Examiners will adopt the certificate of the new
examining body.
Meetings are bein^ held in Dublin with a view to the
formation of a conjomt examining board for Ireland. So
far, no insurmountable difficulty has arisen in the several
matters which have come under the notice of the deputed
representatives of the Universities and of the other licens-
ing bodies, and it is hoped that the board, as proposed,
will become an accomplished fact. A claim was put for-
ward by the Universities that the first part of the profes-
sional examination conducted by the conjoint board
should not be required of university students who had
passed their exammation on the same subjects ; and that
m their case the examination should be confined to the
final one. To this, however, the other licensing bodies
properly objected ; but an offer has been made by the
other corporations that the preliminary examination
should be wholly conducted by examiners appointed by
the Universities.
NOTES
The celebrated ethnological collection of the late Dr. Gustavns
Klemm, of Dresden, which had obtained a world-wide celebrity
from its richness in illastrations of dress and ornaments, house-
liold utensils, furniture, warlike, fishing, and hunting implements,
&c., extending from the earliest times down to the immediate
present, has been purchased by subscription, and transferred to
Leipsic, where it forms the nucleus of the new German Central
Museum of Ethnology, and around which is to be grouped what-
ever additional material can 1m procured in iUostration of the
general plan. An earnest appeal is made by the officers and
others interested in this enterprise to tlieir countrymen and
others in the United States for contributions. It will occupy the
place in Germany of the great Archaeological Museum of
Copenhagen : of that of Mr. Blackmore at Salisbury, in England ;
of the Museum of St. Germain, near Paris, under direction of
M. Mortillet ; and of the Smithsonian and Peabody Museums in
the United States.
THfi Exhibition of Neolithic Instruments by the Society of
Antiquaries at Somerset House will be re-opened to-morrow,
and will finally close on Thursday, January 18. For tickets apply
at the Society's apartments.
On Saturday last, at an early hour in the morning, the female
hippopotamus in the Zoological Society's gaxdens gave birth to a
young one — ^being the second occasion on which this interesting
occurrence has taken place. As in the former case, it has been
found necessary to close the building in which the female is
placed entirely, 'not even the keepers entering into it except
when absolutely necessary, in consequence of the extreme savage-
ness and jealousy exhibited by the fond mother. Some days
must therefore'elapse before the " little stranger " can be prepared
to undexgo the ordeal of public exhibition.
Another interesting addition just made to the Zoological
Society's collection is a young specimen of the King Penguin
{Apterodyt4s pennanti) from the Falkland Islands. For this re-
markable bird, which is still in the down-plumage, the Society
are indebted to the kind exertions of F. £. Cobb, Manager of
the Falkland Islands Company, who has been for some time en-
deavouring to obtain living examples of this species for the
Society. The King Penguin is placed in the great eastern aviary,
along with a specimen of the Cape Penguin {Spheniscus demcrsus)
which has been for some time under the Society's care.
Wb have just received the fourth report of the RadclifTe
Trustees from the Radcliffe Librarian, Dr. Henry W. Acland,
including also a catalogue of the transactions of societies, periodi-
cals, and memoirs, available for the use of professors and of students
in the Library ; a catalogue of books recommended to students
in physical science by the museum professors ; and the Regula-
tions of the Library. The additions to the Library are made, as
far as the annual grant of 500/. will allow, either on the judgment
of the librarian as to the intrinsic value of a work, or on the
advice of a professor, or upon the knowledge that students re-
quire it.
It is stated that the average yearly number of visitors at the
South Kensington Museum during the last five years has been
905,084.
Thb University Court of the University of Edinbuigh, at a
meeting held on Tuesday, Jan. 2, declined to give effect to the
recommendation of the Senatus, that the regulations in reference
to the medical education of women should be rescinded. The
Court guarded itself against being understood to indicate any
opinion as to the daim of women to proceed to graduation, or as
to the powers of the University to confer on women degrees in
the faculty of medicine.
The Second Course of Cantor Lectures of the Society of Arts
for the session will be delivered by the Rev. Arthur Rigg, M. A.,
on ** MechanisuL" The first lecture will be given on Monday
evening, Feb. 5, at eight o'clock, and the remainder of the course
will follow on the five succeeding Monday evenings.
At the annual meeting of the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific
Institution, Sir John Pakington, M.P., in the chair, it was stated
that, during the past year, the following new subjects have been
introduced into the curriculum of the Institution .-—Acoustics,
Light and Heat, Practical Chemistry, Mineralogy, Metallurgy,
and the Theory of Music
Thb authorities of the American Museum of Natural History,
at the Central Park in New York, have set apart Monday and
Tuesday especially for the use of Uiote persons who may desii«
L/iyiiiiLcu \jy
<3^'
yan. II, 1872]
NATURE
2X1
to examine the specimens in the Mnseom for the purpose of
special stady. NotiiicatioDS of this anrangement have been dis-
tributed to die principal learned societies throughout the countiy,
inviting them to attend on these days.
Dx La Ruk's indelible diaries for 1872 are as usual beautifully
printed and bonnd, with ample room for memoranda. We miss
the astronomical article, but still the letter-press being curtmled
is an advantage^ the book being less weighty for the pocket
The desk diary is a most useful appendage to the writing table,
containing, besides the almanack, tables, &&, extra pages for
memoranda and accounts.
The eighth Annual Report is issued of the Belfast Naturalists'
Field Club for 1870-71. The papers of which abstracts are
printed in the Report are of varied interest, the subjects comprised
including^" The Geographical Distribution of Cyclones," *' The
Latest Fluctuations of the Sea Level on our own Coasts," " Ocean
Currents and their Effect on Climate," *' Report of a Committee
appointed to examine some Ancient Remains in the neighbour-
hood of Aroioy, county Antrim," and numerous others. A
number of prizes are offered to be competed for during the session
ending March 31, for the best herbarium, collections of fossils,
recent Crustacea and Echinodermata, shells, insects, sponges,
&C., and others.
Prof. Halford has received from Simla the thanks of the
Government of India for his paper on " The Treatment of Snake-
bite by the Injection of Liquor Ammonise into the Veins." The
Governor-General in Council has determined to have Dr. Hal-
ford's pamphlet reprinted for general distribution to medical
officers in different parts of India. It appears to be placed
beyond doubt that this treatment is by far the most efHcacious
yet discovered in cases of poisonous suake-bite.
CoNDURANGO root, the reputed specific for cancer, is becoming
a subject of tpecnlation in Ecuador and the United States. In
Ecuador it has reached 17/. a ton, but in New York it has been
selling for fabulous prices, though its virtues are contested. The
Government of Ecuador has imposed an export duty. The
Condurango root is now reported to have been discovered
by Mr. Simmons in the neighbourhood of Santa Marta in
Colombia or New Granada, and a small shipment has been
made to the United States. It is not stated whether it has been
tried for cancer in that country.
The Chilian Government has sent the war steamer Chacabuco
to snrvey the islands of Guaiatecas.
Thk U.S. Government has directed a survey of the Bay of
Limon, the Atlantic terminus of the new Costa Rica Railway,
where a city is being laid out with a pier.
Anthracite coal has been discovered in the district of San
Miguel, five miles from the capital of Costa Rica in Central
America. There are several seams of about 40 miles wide, and
the coal has been proved to be of good quality. A railway is in
progress in the neighbourhood. It may be remembered that
coal is also found in the State of Panama.
It is noted as remarkiMe that a spring of fresh water has
been discovered near Moliendo in Pern.
The pearl oysters are said to have disappeared this season
from the Madras coast, as well as from that of Ceylon.
M. Bertillon lately read before the Academy of Medicine in
Paris a paper on the relative influence of marriage and celibacy,
based on sUtistical returns derived from France, Belgium, and Hol-
land. In France, taking the ten years 1857-66^ he found that, in
1,000 persons aged from 25 to 30, 4 deaths occurred in the married,
10 '4 in the unmarried, and 22 in widowers ; in females at the
same age, the mortality among the married and nnmarried was
the HUBt— 9 par 1,000^ while in widowa it waa 17. In penont
aged from 30 to 35, the mortality among men was, for the mar-
ried, II per 1,000^ for the unmarried, 5, and for widowers, 19
per 1,000 ; among women, for the married, 5, for the unmarried,
10, and for widows, 15 per 1,000. There appears to be a general
agreement of these results of marriage in Belgium and Holland,
as well as in France.
We are so accustomed to associate tattooing almost entirely
with the natives of New Zealand and the Indians of North
Vmerica, that it comes to us almost as a new fact to learn from
a correspondent of the Fidd what a high standard the art of
tattooing has reached among the Japanese. There we find men
who make it their business to tattoo others, and these " pro-
fessors of tattooing '* are artists of no mean power, '* for no india-
rubber or ink-eraser can possibly take ont a false line once im-
printed ; and they most invariably in the ' printing in ' improve
upon the drawings previously made." The bettoes or Japanese
grooms will frequently have depicted on their skini, not only
perfectly-drawn pictures of birds, reptiles, beasts and fishes, but
also representations of whole scenes, often from some old legend
or history. A very common device is the red-headed crane, the
lacred bird of Japan, depicted standing on the back of a tortoise,
and this is emblematic of woman's beauty treading down man's
ftrength. These designs are pricked in by needles, and two or
three colours are used.
Prof. Kengott, of Zurich, states that a hail-storm lasting
five minutes occurred at eleven o'clock in the morning of
August 20, 1 87 1, the stones from which were found to possess
a salty taste. Some of them weighed twelve grains. They
were found to consist essentially of true salt, such as occurs
in Northern Africa on the surface of the plains, mainly in
hexahedric crystals or their fragments of a white colour, with
partly sharp and partly rounded gmins and edges. None of
the crystals were entirely perfect, but appeared as if they had
been roughly developed on some surface. They had probably
been taken up and brought over the Mediterranean from some
part of Africa, just as sand is occasionally transported thence
CO the European continent and the Canaries by means of
Hurricanes. A still more remarkable phenomenon has been
recently recorded by Prof. Eversmann, of Kasan — namely, the
ixrcurrence of hailstones, each containing a small crystal of sul*
phuret of iron. These crystals were probably weathered from
some rocks in large quantity, and were then taken up from the
surface of the ground by a storm, and when carried into the hail-
forming clouds served as a nucleus for the formation of hail-
stones.
A PRACTICAL extension of the metalliferous region of Chile to
the south is announced in the discovery of rich silver deposits in
the southern province of Nuble. The place is called Cuesta del
Caracol, and is between the Rivers Lota and Nuble, about fifty
miles from San Carlos towards the east The standard on assay is
estimated at loolb. of silver to the ton. Operations are already
prepared on a large scale. The Lota district has hitherto only
been known for its large trade in coal and fire-bricks.
Thi Indian Government has taken measures for a survey of
the Tenasserim tin mines and their present sute of production,
for which purpose it has despatched Mr. Mark Fryar, mining
engineer, to that province.
In the native Sute of Kolapore in the Bombay Presidency
sheep suffered from a strange form of animal plague. This con-
sists of a swarm of unusually voracious leeches. Besides this
the wolves were out, carrying off children, invalids, and the aged
in the exposed villages.
A VTHITE elephant having been discovered in our possessions
in Tavoy, on the Malay Coast, the Buddhist sovereigns are ex-
tremely anxious to obtain luch an^portant minister of religion.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
212
NATURE
{Jan. II, 1872
The King of Bormah has made special application to be favoured
with the holy beast.
An earthquake took place at Valparaiso in the early part of
November (date not given) at 10.5 P.M. The shock was smart,
and apparently from £. to W. There was another slighter
shock shortly after midnight
On Oct 10 an earthquake was felt at Salvador, also in Cen-
tral America, at 8.27 A.M. It was slight Another was felt on
the 1 2th, at 11.36 p.m., lasting nineteen seconds, with a strong
shock. After the 12th were two slight shocks, it is to be sup-
posed conforming with those of Nicaragua.
On Sept 25 an earthquake was felt at Carrizal Bajo, in
North CUIe, at 4.3 p.m., preceded by aloud noise.
Three islands have lately been surveyed by the United
States Government in the North Pacific Ocean. They are
Ocean Island, in latitude 28" 25' N., longitude 178" 25' W.
Midway Island, or Brooks Island, in latitude 28* 15'N., longitude
178* 20' W.; Pearl and Hermes Islands, latitude 27' 50' N., and
longitude 175° 50' N. They are all three coral islands, and
abound in turtle, and birds were found in great numbers. There
is but little guano and not much vegetation.
In connection with the bad weather in November in the Bay
of Bengal, the telegraph lines were on the loth affected by earth-
lines on the east coast of India. At Madras these currents were
first noticed at 6 a.m., they abated at 4 p.m., and were strongest
in the lines forming a considerable angle with the magnetic me-
ridian. They were also observed in the Madras cable. In Cal-
cutta the currents were noticed at about 3 A.M. and ceased at
2 P.M.
ANCIENT ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN OHIO*
SEVERAL diagrams were presented to the section representing
rock sculptures in Ohio, that are presumed to be ancient and
to have some significance. The largest is a tracing made by Dr.
T. H. Salisbury, of Cleveland, with the assistance of Mrs. Salis-
bury, from a mural face of conglomerate, near the famous " Black
Hand *' in Licking County, Ohio. Once there was a space of ten
or twelve feet in height, by fifty or sixty feet in length, covered by
these inscriptions. Most of them have been obhterated by the
recent white settlers.
In 1 86 1, Dr. Salisbury took copies from a space about eight by
fifteen feet, by laying a piece of coarse muslin over them, and
tracing such as remain uninjured, life size, on the cloth. In this
space there are found to be twenty-three characters, most of which
are the arrow-head or bird-track character. These are all cut on
the edge of the strata, presenting a face nearly vertical, but a
little delving outward, so as to b« sheltered from the weather.
Another copy of the remnants of similar inscriptions was taken
by Colonel Whittlesey and Mr. J. B. Comstock, in 1869, from
the " Turkey Foot Rock," at the rapids of the Maumee, near
Perrysburg. These are on a block of limestone, and in the course
of the twenty-five past years have been nearly destroyed by the
hand of man. What is left was taken by a tracing of the size of
nature.
On the surdgice oi a (juarry of grindstone grit at Independence,
Cuyidioga County, Ohio, a large inscribed surface was uncovered
in 1854. Mr. B. Woo'l, Deacon Bicknell, and other citizens of
Independence, secured a block about six feet by four, and built it
into the north wall of a stone church they were then building.
Colonel Whittlesey presented a reduced sketch, one- fourth size of
nature, taken by Dr. Salisbury and Dr. J. M. Lewis, in 1869,
which was made perfect by the assistance of a photographer.
Some of the figures sculptured on this slab are cut an inch to ah
inch-and-a-half in the rock, and they were covered by soil a foot
to eighteen inches in thickness, on which large trees were grow-
ing. Like all of the others, they were made by a sharp-pointed
tool like a pidc, but as yet no such tool has been found among
the relics of the mound<builders or of the Indians. The figures
* Pftper read before the American A^sociadon for the Advancement of
Science, Section of Archaology, by C. Whittlesey. Reprinted from the
American Naiuralut,
are very curious. Among them is something like a trident, or
fish-spear, a serpent, a human hand, and a number of track-like
figures, which the people call buffalo-tracks, but which Dr.
Salisbury regards as a closer representation of a human foot
covered by a shoe-pack or moccasin. Another figure somewhat
resembles the section of a bell with its clapper.
Near the west line of Belmont County, Ohio, Mr. James 'W.
Ward, then of Cincinnati, now of New York, in 1859 took a
dcetch of two large isolated sandstone rocks, on which are groups
of figures similar to those already noticed. Here are the biid-
track diaracters, the serpent, the moccasin or buffalo-tracks, and
some anomalous figures. These are plainly cut, with a pick, into
the surface of the rock, which, like the Independence stone, is
substantially imperishable. Here we have also the representation
of the human foot, and the foot of a bear. Another figure, which
appears to be the foot of some animal with four clumpy toes,
Pro£ Cope thinks may be the foretrack of a Menopome. One
peculiarity of these sculptured human feet is a monstrously en-
larged great-toe joint, even greater than is produced by the modem
process of shoe-pinching. This has been observed in other ancient
carvings of the human foot upon the rocks near St. Louis, Mis-
souri. These feet range in size from seven to fifteen inches in
length. Of all these representations, the bear's foot is closest to
nature. The bird-track, so called, presents six varieties, some of
which are anatomically correct The human hand is more perfect
than the foot
Dr. Salisbury finds, on comparison of these sjrmboUcal figures
with the Oriental sign-writing, or hieroglyphical alphabets, that
there are many characters in common. Some 800 years before
Christ, the Chinese had a bird- track character in their syllable
alphatiet The serpent is a symbol so common among the early
nations, and has a significance so various, that very little use can
be made of it in the comparison.
These inscriptions differ materially from those made by the
modem red man. He is unable to read that class of them which
appears to be ancient
Lieut Whipple has mentioned in the ** Government Report ot
the Pacific Railroad Surveys," an instance of the bird-track
character inscribed upon the rocks of Arizona. Prof. Kerr, of
North Carolina, states that he has noticed similar characters cut
in the rocks of one of the passes of the Black Mountains, at the
head of the Tennessee river.
These facts indicate wide-spread universality in the use of this
style of inscription, and they indicate something higher than the
present symbolical or picture writing of the North American
Indians.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Monthly Microscopical Journal, J Arma.Tj, — " The markmgs on
the Battledore scales of some of the Lepidoptera." By John
Anthony, M. D., &c In this paper the author contributes the
result of his observations on the plumules oi Polyommatus Alexis ^
from which he Lb led to the conclusion that the markmgs on the
ribs of the scales are elevations, very much resembUng in shape
the vegetable glands on the petal of Anagallis, that is, the eleva-
tions have a base, a column, and a rounded head, or capital ; the
form being very much like that of an ordinary colhir-stu*^. The
methods employed during observation are detailed in the paper,
which is illustrated bv two plates. — '* The Nerves of Capillary
Vessels and their pxooable action in health and disease By
Dr. Lionel S. Brale, F.R.S., This paper is divided into two
parts, the anatomical investigation, and probable mode of action.
The fir.-t part, containing the results of anatomical investigation
alone, is published in the current number of the journal. The
sections of this paper are, ** Structure of Capillaries," " Nuclei
or Masses of Bioplasm of Capillaries," ** Nerve Fibres," •* Ar-
rangement of the Nerve Fibres distributed to the Capillaries,"
*' Central Origin and Peripheral Connections of Nerve Fibres
distributed to the Capillaries," and the " Method of Demonstra-
tion." Such an important contribution to microscopic anatomy
could not be abstracted within the limits of this notice witn
justice to the author and his subject. We therefore commend it
tu the notice of all interested therein, vrith the assurance that they
will find much matter for reflection. — On a New Micrometric
Goniometer Eye-piece for the Microscope. By J. P. South worth.
The eye-piece micrometer here described is obtained by photo*
graphic reduction from heavy India-ink lines drawn on a white
Bristol board. In the micrometer the lines are ^\^ of an indi
apart, and jet black, whilst the spaces between them are trans-
Digitized by
Google
yan. II, 1872]
NATURE
213
lucent enough to admit of the accurate measurement of the detaib
of minute a%ae and fungi to the ttW of an inch. The goniome-
ter is also described. Both are said to posses advantages not
secured before by any instrument The remaining papers are —
Note on Dr. Barnard's Remarks on the Examination of Nobert's
Nineteenth Band, by J. J. Woodward, Assist. Suig. U.S. Army ;
a New Erecting Arrangement, especially designed for use with
binocular microscopes, by R. H. Ward, M.D., ; and On the
Action of Hydrofluoric Acid on Glass, viewed Microscopically,
by H. F. Smith.
Of the Mhnoires de la SocUU de Physique tt cCHistoire NatU"
rdU de Gen^e the first part of the twenty-first volume has re-
cently been published. It is chiefly occupied by an admirable
memoir on the Orthopterous family Mantidse bv M. Henri de
Saussure, forming the third fascicule of his *' Melanges Orthop-
terologiqaes.'' In this paper the author not only describes a
treat number of new species, but also discusses the internal classi-
cation of the family, and gives tables of the subordinate groups
and genera, and the synonymy of nearly all the species, so that his
work (including its supplement) is very nearly a monograph of
the curious and interesting group of insects which constitutes its
subject A great number of the ipecies described by the author
are figured on four beautifully executed plates which accompany
the memoir, and these will astonish the non-entomological reader
by the variety of curious forms produced by modincations of
the same plan of structure. — The other papers in this part con-
sist of descriptions of new or little- known exotic Cryptogamia
(Mosses), bv M. J. £. Duby, illustrated with four plates ; a
Eaper on gdatiniform matter by M. Morin, and a report on the
ibours of the society by its President, M. Henri de Saussure.
Part II. of the Bnlletin of the Royal Swedish Academy 0/
Sciences (Ofversigt af Kongl. Vetenskaps Akademiens Forhand-
lingar) for the present year commences with a paper (in Latin),
by Dr. £. Fries, containing a description of Qudetia^ a new genus
of Lycoperdaceous Fungi, and of a new species of the genus
Gyromitia. The characters of the former are illustrated in a plate.
— Another botanical paper is a notice of some Algae from the
inland ice of Greenland, by M. S. Berggren. The author
describes and figures a peculiar form, which he regards as
most approaching the Zygnemacese, but as having an unmis-
takable resemblance to some Desmidiaceae. — Passing by a
rather wide step from Greenland to South Africa, we hive
Latin descriptions of 226 Caffrarian Curculionidae, collected by
Wahlbeig, from the pen of M. O. J. Fahreus. These all
belong to Lacordaire's second division of the family. — M. B.
Lundgren publishes a notice of the occurrence of amber at
Fyllinge, in Halland. — The remaining papers are upon chemical
subjects, and include a paper by M. F. T. Cleve on some re-
markable isomerisms in organic chemistry ; a paper by the same
author on the nitrites of some platinum-bases ; and one by M.
L. F. Wilson on the sulphides ot arsenic
Jourttal of the Chemical Society^ September 1 87 1. Bolas
and Groves have continued their researches on carbon tetra-
bromide, and have obtained some interesting results. In their
former paper they mentioned that antimony terbromide could be
substituted for iodine in the preparation of the tetrabromide.
They now find that bromine will act on carbonic disulphide in
the presence of the bromides of the following metals :— bismuth,
arsenic, gold, platinum, cadmium, zinc, and nickel; the bromides
of iron, tin, phosphorus, and sulphur, however gave very
onsatia&ctory results. The authors still think the mixture
of bromine and iodine the most convenient reagent for the
preparation of the tetrabromide. The authors recommend
for the recovery of bromine from residues the action of dipo-
taasic dichromate and sulphuric acid.— R. C. Woodcock has
examined the action of anmionic chloride on normal and acid
salts ; he has experimented on the following bodies : — ^potassic
chromate, microsmic salt, trisodic phosphate, dipotassic tartrate,
succinate, &c. By the action of ammonic chloride on sodic
metaborate the whole of the anmionia is evolved, sodic chloride
and metaboric being formed. Borax also yields the whole of the
ammonia, sodic chloride and tetrametaborate remaining behind.
Both soluble and insoluble chromates yield ammonia when dis-
tilled with ammonia salts, an acid chromate being formed ; the
whole of the ammonia, however, is not evolved, the acid chro-
mate formed at a certain point stopping the evolution of am*
monia ; if the add salt be removed by crystallisation, a copious
evolution of ammonia again takes place on boiling. — W. Mattieu
Williams communicates a short at>stract of a paper " On Burnt
Iron and SteeL" Iron which hai been damaged by re-heating
is designated " burnt iron ;" it is brittle, its fractore being short,
displaying the so-called crystalline structure. In all the samples
which the author has examined, he has found particles of black
oxide of iron difiiised in the mass. The oxidation must of course
take place after that of the carbon present in the iron. It is found
that iron attains its maximum toughness when the carbon is re-
duced to the lowest possible proportion without the oxidation of
the iron commencing. When steel is raised to a yellow or white
heat, and is suddenly cooled, it turns brittle. Burnt steel has a
coarse, granular fracture, and contains small cavities, technically
called *• toads' eyes." These are probably due to the sudden
cooling of the iron imprisoning the carbonic oxide, which is
evolv^ by the oxidation of the carbon ; this oxidation not only
takes place at the surface of the mass, but also in the interior,
fi-om tne fact that certain gases can pass readily through heated
iron. Thb explanation is strengthened by "burnt steel " being
cured b^ welding up these cavities. The remainder of the
number is occupi^ with the abstracts of chemical papers, which
extend over .seventy-five pages, and are quite up to the usual
standard, both in scientific interest and as regards literary merit
Journal of the Chemical Society^ November 1871.- -This num-
ber does not contain any papers originally communicated to the
Society. It is not certainly to the CTedit of English chemists that
this should be the case for two months in succession ; the number
of English chemists who devote their time to original research
seems every year to become smaller ; on the Continent, however,
the reverse is the case, as is shown by the very large number of
abstracts, which are published monthly by the Society. This
month about 130 papers are abstracted, which fill 127 pages.
Amongst them we notice a remarkable communication by Ang-
strom " On the Spectra of Simple Gases." Angstrom took a
tube filled with atmospheric air and gradually exhausted it by a
mercurial pump, the spectra being obtained by the use of an
induction coil. He states that he observed successively the
following spectra : 1st, that of atmospheric air ; 2nd, the band
spectrum of nitrogen ; 3rcl, that of carbonic oxide ; and 4th,
when the rarefaction had reached its limit, the lines of sodium
and chlorine. He has also experimented on hydrogen, and con-
cludes that it possesses only one spectrum, that of four lines, which
is observed in the spectra of the sun and stars. He believes that
the various spectra of hydrogen obtained by Plucker, Fnmkland
and Lockyer, WoUner, and others, are entirely due to impurities,
such as acetylene and sulphur. — An abstract of a paper bv
Andrews contains a curious fact. A fine tube is half mled with
bromine and hermetically sealed ; on heating, the bromine be-
comes opaque, so that the tube appears to be filled with a dark
red resin. — Lieben and Rossi continue their researches on the
normal alcohols and adds of the methyl series ; a review of their
results has already appeared in these pages. — Ladenburg contri-
butes another most mteresting paper, ' - On the reduction pro-
ducts of silica, ether, and some of their derivatives ; " tnese
researches are very important, and have opened out quite a new
branch of chemtod inquiry. He has obtained such bodies as
silidum, diethylketonic ether (SiCaHs,OC,HB,), silicoheptyl
ether (SiC.HBgOCiHg), and so on. — ^Another paper of some
interest is by Heinrich, " On the Influence of Heat and Light
on the Evolution of Oxygen by Water Plants." He experi-
mented on the leaves of the Hottonia palustris^ which were placed
in common water. At a temperature of 27"* C. in full sunlight no
evolution of gas took place, but at 5*6** a regular evolution com-
menced. The most active formation was at 31*, and at 50** to 56*
gas ceased to be formed, but the leaf resumed its activity in cooler
water. If the leaves were exposed to a temperature of 6o' for
ten minutes, their power of decomposing carbonic add was
destroyed.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Geological Society, December 20^ 1871. — Mr. Joseph Prest-
wich, F. R.S. , president, in the chair. Mr. Frederick H. Bowman,
F.R.A.S., F.C.S., of Halifax, Yorkshire, and Mr. Thomas
Charles Sorby, B.A., F.R.S., of 27, Brunswick Square, W.C,
were elected Fellows of the Sodety. The following communica-
tions were read : — i. A Letter from Mr. G. Mimer Stephen,
F.G.S., to the hite Sir Roderick Murchison, dated Sydney,
5th October, 1871, announcing the discovery of a rich auriferous
deposit on the basics of the River Bond^, on the N.E. coast of
L^iyiHiLcvj uy
<3^^
214
NATURE
\yan. 11,1872
New Caledonia, and of a great deposit of tin-ore in the district
of New England, New South Wales. The gold in New Cale-
donia is found in drift, and there are indications of the near
proximity of a qnartz-reef. The tin-ore in New South Wales
IS said to be in " pepitas, crystals, and beds of conglomerate,
especially in micaceous gnmite, more or less decomposed."
Mr. D. Forbes stated that in 1859 he had placed in his hands
some specimens of granite from the district the discorery of tin in
which was announced by Mr. Stephen, and that he found them
to be perfectly identical with the stanniferous granites of Corn-
wall, Spain, Portugal, Bolivia^ Peru, and Malacca, which he had
also examined. These granites were all composed of white
orthoclase, felspar, colourless oi^black Muscovite mica and quartz.
He was not aware that tinstone (cassiterite or oxide of tin)
occurred anywhere in rock of a different character. It was
always accompanied by more or less native gold« Mr. Pattison
remarked that in many places where tin occurred it was not
present in sufficient quantity to be remunemtively worked. Mr.
D. Forbes, in answer to a question from Prof Ramsay, stated that,
as fiir as could be ascertained, the age of the stanniferous
granites mentioned by him must be between the end of the
Silurian and the early part of the Carboniferous period. Prof.
Ramsay would carry them down to the close ot the Carboni-
ferous period, and would be contented to term them pre-Per-
mian. — "Remarks on the Greenland Meteorites." By Prof.
A. £. Nordenskjold, For. Corr. G.S. The author stated that
the masses of meteoric iron brought from Greenland by the
recent Swedish expedition seem to have formed the principal
masses of an enormous meteoric fall of miocene date, extendmg
over an area of some 200 miles. The iron appears to be free
from silicates. Against its eruptive origin the author urges that
when heated it evolves a great amount of gaseous matter, and
that it contains imbedded particles of sulphide of iron, the mass
itself being nearly free from sulphur. The masses are composed
of meteoric nickeliferous cast and wrought iron, or of mixtures
of the two ; in the last case the Widmannstaetten's figures are
best developed. The author further noticed the various modes
in which the iron occurs, viz., i, as meteorites ; 2, filling cracks ;
3, as brecdseform stones cemented with oxide and silicate of iron ;
and 4, in fpnains disseminated in the basalt Mr. Roberts pro-
tested against the evolution of ^seous matter being considered
as a proof of meteoric origin. Frof. Ramsay reiterated his pre-
viously-expressed opinion, that the masses of iron might be of
telluric origin.— "Further Remarks on the Relationship of
the LimuhcUt {Xiphosura') to the Eurypterida and to the
Trihbiia,'* By Mr. Henry Woodward, F.G.S. In this paper
the author described the recent investigations made by Dr. A. S.
Packard, Dr. Anton Dohm, and the Rev. Samuel Lockwood
upon tlie developmental history of the North American King-
crab {Limtilus Polyphemus)^ and discussed the conclusions as to
the alliances of the Xiphosura Smd Eurypterida^ and to the
general classification of the Arthropoda^ to which the results of
these investigations have led Dr. Dohrn and some other Conti-
nental naturalists. According to thb view, the Xiphosura and
Eurypteridtit are more nearly related to certain Arachnida (the
Scorpions, &c.) than to the Crustacea; and this opinion is
further supported by the assertion of Dr. Dohm, that in Limulus
only one pair of organs (antennnles) receives its nerves from the
snpratesophageal ganelion, and that the nature of the nnderlipin
Limulus differs from mat prevailing am<»ig the Crustacea. Dr.
Dohm also recognises the relationship of the Merostomata to
theTrilobites, as uiown especially by the development o^ Limulus,
and considers that the three forms {Limulida, Eurypierida, and
Trilobita) should be combined in one group under the name of
Gigantostraca, proposed by Haeckel, and }>laced besides the
Crustacea. The author stated, on the authority of Prof. Owen,
that Limulus really possesses two pairs of appoidages which re-
ceive their nervesfromthesupraoesophageal ganglion; that, accord-
ing to Dr. Packard, the young Limulus passes through a Nauplius-
stage while in the egg ; that no ax]g^ent couUl be founded
upon the lower lip, the condition of which varied extremely
in the three groups proposed to be removed from the Crustacea ;
and be mainteined that even from the ultra-Darwinian point of
view taken by Dr. Dohm, the adoption of his proposal would be
&tal to the application of the hypothesis of evolution to the
class Crustacea. Vtot T. Rup^ Jones remarked upon the
interest attaching to the study of the Crustacea, and called atten-
tion to the absence of any indications of convergence in our pre-
sent knowledge of the class. He thought that, in the present
day, we most nevertheless look back to some point of converg-
ence from which the varied forms laiown to us may have pro-
ceeded by evolution. Prof. Macdonald remarked that dlfiicuhies
must be expected to occur in classification. He believed that
all Invertebrate animals were to be regarded as turned upon
their backs, as compared with Vertebrata. The cephalic plate
in Limulus he regarded as the equivalent of the indate-bone.
The incisive palate was very distinct in the Crabs. The absoice
of one pair of antennae did not appear to be any reason for re-
moving Limulus from the Crustacea. Dr. Murie considered
that the contemplation of the multitude of young forms referred
to hj Mr. Woodward should serve as a warning to describers of
species, and also as a check to generalisations as to the number
of species occurring in various formations. He remarked that if
we were at a point when the presence or absence of a single pair
of nerves could be taken as distinguishing class from class, these
classes mui^t be regarded as very nearly allied. He thought that
the doctrine of evolution was being pushed further than the
known facts would warrant. Mr. Woodward, in replying, drew
attention to the diagrams of the embryo and larva of the recent
Limulus, comparing them with Limulus of the Coal-measures,
Neolimulus of the Silurian, and also with the larval stages of the
Trilobites. discovered by Barrande. He pointed out me strong
resemblance which the fossil forms offer to the early stages of die
modem King-crab, and expressed his assent to Uie proposal of
Dr. Dohm to bring the Trilobita, if possible, nearer to the Mero-
stomata. If, however, the Trilobites have tme walking-legs in-
stead of mouth-feet (gnathopodites) only, they woi^d be more
closely related to the Isopoda. He showed by a tabular view of
the Arthropodathat the known nmge in time of the great dasses
is nearly the same, and therefore affords no argument for combin-
ing the Merostomata with the Arachnida ; but on the contrary,
he considered that the Trilobita were, with the Entomostraca,
the earliest representatives of the class Crustacea, and could not
therefore be removed from that class. — ^The following specimens
were exhibited: — Specimens of Auriferous Quartz from New
Caledonia, and of Tm Ore from New South Wales, exhibited by
Mr. G. Milner Stephen ; specimen of gold from the Thames
Goldfield, New Zealand, exhibited by Prof. Tennant ; specimens
of Eurypterus ScouUri and of Bdinurus and Prestwichia, exhi-
bited by the President ; specimens of recent and fossil Crustacea,
exhibited by Mr. H. Woodward, in illustration of his paper.
Zoological Society, January 2.— Mr. John Gould, F.R.S.,
in the chair. An abstract was read from a letter received from
Mr. T. G. F. Riedel, of Gorontalo, Celebes, in reference to the trae
locality of a rare Kingfisher, Tanysiptera Riedeli, which he stated
to be from Kordo— an island in the Bay of Geelvink, and not
from Celebes.— Prof. Newton exhibited and made remarks on a
specimen of Ross* Gull (Larus Rossi), from the collection of the
late Sir William Milner, which was said to have been obtain^l
in Yorkshire. — Mr. Gould exhibited an adult specimen of the
same bird, from the Derby Museum, Liverpool— Mr. P. L.
Sdater read a paper on the species of monkeys found in America
north of Panama, being supplementary to a former paper on Uie
northern limit of the Quadrumana in the New World. The
species of monkeys now ascertained to occur in Central America
from Panama to Mexico were stated to be eleven in number —
namely, ten belonging to the family Cebidae, and one to the
Hapalidae. Full particulars were given concerning the range of
eacn of these speaes. — Mr. Henry Adams communicated some
further description of new species of shells, collected by Mr. R.
Mc Andrew, in the Red Sea. A second paper by Mr. H. Adams
contained descriptions of fourteen new speaes of'^hmd and marine
shells from Mauritius, Mexico, Formosa, Bomeo, and the New
Hebrides. — Mr. George Gulliver conminnicated a paper on the
oesophagus of a hombill {Toccus mdanoleucus), being an ap-
pendix to a former paper by him on the taxonomic character
of the muscular sheath of the oesophagus of the Sauropsida,
read at a previous meeting of the Society. — Mr. J. Brazier com-
municated some observations on the distributiott of certain
species of volutes found in the Australian seas. In a second
paper Mr. Brazier gave descriptions of six new spedes of land
and marine shells from the Solomon Islands, Western Polynesia,
and Australia.— Dr. J. C. Cox communicated descriptions of
some new land shells from Australia and the South Sea Islands.
Entomological Society, January i. — Mr. Alfred R.
Wallace, presideiit, in the chair.— The secretary read an extract
frt>m a letter received from Mr. Gould respecting the question of
the liability of dragon-flies to the attacks of birds. Mr. Gould
had no doubt that the hobby and kestrel attacked the larger
kinds, and he had seen sparrows, &&, preying upon the smaUer
Agriomda.—VLr, Miiller called attention to a statement by
L/iyiLiiLcv,! uy
<3''
yan. II, 1872]
NATURE
215
M. Emile Joly to the effect that Latreille's supposed crastaceous
genii«, Prosopostoma^ is probably founded upon the immature
condition of certain Ephenurida. — Mr. Butler read a paper **0n
certain species oi PericopicUs " — Mr. F. Smith read a letter from
Mr. J. T. Moggridge with reference to the habits of some species
of ants belonging to the genus Aphenogaster, as observed at
Men tone in the wmter. Mr. Moggridge affirmed that those ants
harvested the seeds of various plants in chambers, sometimes ex-
cavated in solid rock. He had seen them busily engaged in
conveying the seeds into these chambers, and found that, in most
cases, the radicle was bitten off, so as to prevent germination ;
but he had also observed sprouted seeds being brought out again
as apparently unfitted for store purposes. Many of the seeds
had their contents extracted through a hole in one side, and
though he had not actually seen tne ants feeding upon them,
he was inclined to believe that the stores were maide for the
purpose of providing food in the winter months.
Society of Biblical Archeology, January 2. — Mr. S.
Birch, president, in the chair. — A paper entitled "Hebrseo-
i^gyptian in Hebrew-Egyptian Analogues,'* contributed by M.
Fran9ois Chabas, Membre de Tlnstitut, and translated for the
society by Mr. E. R. Hodges, was read by the translator. In
this the learned Egyptologist, having enumerated the various
sources and original texts from which his materials were taken,
proceeded to consider the various moral and relip^ious parallelisms
of the Egyptians and Hebrews under three distinct sections : (i)
Laws respecting charity and special duties ; (2) Commands and
proverbs enforcing the obligation of filial obedience ; (3) Legal
formulae and reports, refemng to the prohibition of blasphemous
and irregular oaths. Under each of the divisions several trans-
lations of hieroglyphic texts were given, together with an ex^esis
justifying the renderings adopted by M. Chabas. The last sec-
tion, in which the adjuration " by the life of God, and by the
life of Pharaoh " was explained, possessed, in the opinion of the
learned author, special interest from its exact attestation of the
minute accuracy of certain portions of the Pentateuch, and as
Growing much light upon a passage hitherto obscure or unknown
to the bulk of English students. — ^The president read a paper
" On the Cypriote Inscription on the Bronze Tablet of Idalium "
(Dali). Having referred to the felicitous discovery, by Messrs.
Lang and Smim, of the Cypriote alphabet, as announced to the
society at its last meeting, he entered into the consideration of
the Cypriote parts of the bi-lingual inscription of Dali, and the
Hellemc element of the Cypriote language. He then proceeded
to give some account of tne Cypriote inscription on tne bronze
tablet of Dali, which records donations to the Temple of
Idalium by the monarch, Pythagoras, and Indostes. It also
referred to various writings in connection with a temple of Isis.
Its date of inscription appears to be about B.C 256. Examples
were c:iven of the Hellenic structure of the language, and the
identification of many Cypriote with Greek words. An in-
teresting discussion took place, in which Sir C Nicholson,
Emanuel Deutsch, Rev. J. M. Rodwell, S. M. Drach, W. R. A.
Boyle, the president, and the secretary, took part
Edinburgh
Royal Physical Society, Dec 20, 1871.— Mr. C. W. Peach,
president, in the chair. — " Zoological Notes," by Prof. Duns.
(I.) On a dog-fish {ScyUmm marmoratum) from Java (2.) On
the Porbeagle, or Beaumaris shark {Lamna c(n-nubua). The
specimen exhibited was a beautiful young one captured last year
near Elie, Fifediire. The difference between the dentition of the
adult and the young was well illustrated in this case. The lanceo-
late teedi of the former have a small basal cusp on each side. The
cusps are absent in the latter. (3 ) On Rondelet's little Sepia
{Sepiola Rondeletti), A specimen taken in the Firth of Forth
was exhibited. (4.) On tne Redwing (Turdus iliacus). — On the
Extirpation of Venomous Serpents from Islands, by Robert
Brown. Thb consisted of correspondence addressed to the author
and Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier rehitii^ to the subject It was
shown that the common domestic pig had exterminated rattle-
snakes in the vicinitv of the Dalles and other settlements in Ore-
gon, and tibat in India the same antipathy is shown by the same
animal to the deadly cobra di capello. The subiect was import-
ant economically to the inhabitants of some of the West Indian
Islands infested by these reptiles, and physiologically in so far as
facts went to show that the pig enjoyed an immunity from the
poison of both the rattlesnake and the cobra. In Ireland it was
well known few or no snakes of any kind are found, and nowhere
is " the pig " more abundant, showing a probable relation be-
tween these two fiicts, without calling in the supposed aid of St
Patrick.— Exhibition of Glacial Shells of the Clyde Beds, from
a recent Excavation near Greenock, by David Grieve. Also of
Specimens of various Polyzoa and Foraminifera from the same
locality, with remarks by C. W. Peach.— ** On Shells, Foramini-
fera, &c., from the recent post-tertiary beds between the Bridge
of Allan and Stirling" (specimens exhibited), by C. W. Peach.
Glasgow
Geological Society, December 14, 1 871.— Mr. James
Thomson. F.G.S., read a paper on "The Stratified Rocks of
Islay." He described in detail the sedimentary deposits on the
south side of the island, and then gave a transverse section of
them from Port-na- Haven on the west to Port Askaig on the
east Although the rocks in the central valley of the island had
not yet jrielded identifiable organic remains, he did not despair,
if properly investigated, of forms being found that would place
them beyond doubt in the Lower Silurian series. In mineral
character they ouite coincided with those described by the late
Sir Roderick Murchison as occurring in Ross and Sutherland-
shires. On the east side of the bland, at Port Askaig, these
deposits repose upon a series of stratified rodcs of much higher
antiquity, which correspond to the Cambrian rocks of the North-
West Highlands, described by the same distinguished author.
At the base of these latter sedimentary rocks there is a mass ot
conglomerate, made up of fragments and boulders of granite, im-
bedded in an arenaceous talcose schist ; and as no granite occurs
in situ in the island, he was disposed to account for its presence
in this conglomerate by the agency of ice. Specimens of the
granite and a striated block of quartzite were laid upon the table.
He then described the rocks of the western extremity of the
island, which consist of highly metamorphosed stratified rocks,
as gneiss, serpentine, dolomite, quartzite, and schists, extending
frorn Port-na-Haven, on the west, to Brouch-Ladach, a distance
of nine miles. At the latter point the superior deposits are seen
resting on the metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, nearly at right
angles to the planes of stratification. In lithological aspect and
mineral character these rocks agreed so entirely with the " fun-
damental or Laurentian gneiss '* of Sir R. Murchison, as occurring
in the North- Western Highlands and other parts of the world,
that he had not the slightest hesitation in placing them as be-
longing to this, the oldest division of known sedimentary rocks.
It thus appeared that both Cambrian and Laurentian rtx:ks
occurred farther south in Scotland than had hitherto been re-
corded. Taking a g^eneral view of the group of deposits to which
he had called attention, there were — i. The calcareous deposits
hi the central valley of the island, of Lower Silurian age ; 2. The
deposits from Ardnahuamh on the north to Balleochreoch on the
south, of Cambrian age ; 3. The metamorphic rocks in the west
of the island, of Laurentian age. He was not prepared to speak
with any degree of certaintv regarding the source of the materials
constituting the basic conglomerate mass. These differ so widely
from the granites found in situ in other parts of the Highlands,
that he felt the necessity for tracing them to another source, and
hoped he would not be thought to overstep the bounds of prudent
■peculation in suggesting that these erratics are the reassorted
materials of some great northern continent that has yielded to the
gnawing tooth of time, leaving only these scattered fragments to
attest ite former existence. The portion of striated rock which
he had laid before the meetiiig pomted to an agency adequate to
the transport of such materials, and indicated that we should
have to contemplate a glacial period deeper in time than had
hitherto been suspected, when glaciers and icebergs planed down
the hardest rocks and dispersed their fragmenU, obedient to the
same great laws which still regulate the economy of Nature.
New Zbaland
Wellington Philosophical Society, August 26, 1871.— Capt
Hutton described the two species of bats found in New Zealand,
and proposed that the name Mystacina tuberculata be changed to
M, velutina, to avoid confusion with Scot<fphUus tubercuiatus. Dr.
Hector mentioned that large numbers of the former species
lodged in the topiails of H.M.S. C/wwhen in Milford Sound
last summer. — Mr. Skey proposed as a convenient method of
generating H- S for laboratory use, to employ galena, zinc, and
dilute hydrochloric acid. — Captain Hutton described the micro-
scopic structure of the egg-shell of the moa, and showed that it
was altogether different Irom the kiwi egg.
3eptember 16.— Mr. W. T. L. Travers described the tradi-
tions of the Maories, showing reasons why they were not reliable as
histonr, and thtft the usual date assigned for the first landing of
the ^laories is much too recent — Captain Hutton i^ad a paper
on the lizards of New Zealand, and described a new species from
L/iyiLiiLcvj uy
<3^'
2l6
NATURE
\yan. II, 1872
White Island, belonging to the genus Norbea^ hitherto only
found in Borneo, and al^ a new species, Macou laxa,
September 3a — Mr. Travers described the habits of the birds
that frequent die lake in the interior of Nelson, mentioning that
the blue duck {Hymendttimus) does not exhibit solicitude for the
safety of its young like other ducks. Captain Hutton showed
that this support^ the Darwinian theory, as the blue duck be-
longs to a genus peculiar to New Zealand when there were no
destructive animals previous to the arrival of man, and in which
genus, therefore, instinctive fear has not been developed. Dr.
Hector showed that absence of fear is characteristic of most of
the birds peculiar to New Zealand, but that the weka of the
North Island is much more shy than the species in the South. — Dr.
Hector described a portion of a wreck discovered on the west
coast of the Middle Island, and pointed out that the coast line
had advanced 300 yards since it was cast up.
October 14. — A commimication by Dr. Wojeikof, of St. Peters-
burg on the change of climate effected by clearing forests, led to
much discussion, from which it appeared that thb colony is now
suffering in many districts from the sudden and severe floods that
are due to this cause. — Captain Hutton read critical notes of the
birds of New Zealand that accompany a descriptive catalogue he
has published.
October 28.— Dr. Hector reported the result of Dr. Thom-
son's exploration of the cave in Otago in which the Moa's
nest was found (see Naturb, vol. iv. pp. 184, 228). It is an
irrqgular fissure in mica schist rock, about fifty feet deep, and
with thin flat ledges or floors on which the bones rest. There
are entrances, one from rocks on the mountain side, and Uie
other by a funnel-shaped hollow in an alluvial flat On the first
floor Dr. Thomson found traces of a fire and charred bones.
On the second floor, by scraping away the loose dust to the
depth of two feet, 1^ bones, nbs, vertebrae, a pelvis, toe bones,
tracheal rines, and pieces of skin and muscle were found. On
the third floor were found firagments of e^-shell, and the
bones of a bird with a keeled sternum. In Dr. Thomson's col-
lection there are sixteen tibiae, so that he obtained remains of at
least eight birds. A perfect skull with lower jaw and trachea
attached, and a femur with well preserved muscular tissues
attached, were found on the spot where the nest was obtained.
From another locality in the same district Dr. Thomson sends
twenty feathers. These were found by a gold digger eighteen
feet below the surface. A report on these feathers by Capt.
Hutton showed that they were of the form peculiar to struthious
birds, but quite different from any known species. They are eight
inches long, with soft yellow down on the lower half^ and black
above except the tip, which is white. The form of the feather is
very peculiar, as it expands in width to the tip. He considers
that the structure of these feathers shows that the bird to which
they belonged was allied more to the American robin than to
any of the struthious birds of the old world.
Vienna
I. R. Geological Institution, Dec. 5, 1871.—M. 'Ernest Favre
exhibited a geological map of the central part of the Caucasus
Mountain chain, which he had surveyed last summer. The
region which formed the object of his inquiries is limited to the
east by the military road which leads to Georgia, to the west it
ends with the Elbrus Mountain, to the north it is limited by the
Steppe, and to the south by the Koura Valley, the mountains of
Sooram and the plain of Mingrella. In this region the Caucasus
rises to its greatest height ; summits of 12,000 to 18,000 feet
above the the sea 'level being not rare. Granite and crystalline
slates form large masses in the central part, further to the east
and west they disappear beneath the younger sedimentary rocks.
The lowest iossiliferous strata belong to the Liassic formatioiL
The gigantic peaks of the Elbrus and the Kayhek on the north
flank of the chain are formed by trachite.— Mr. F. Schrokenstein
'* On the Cyipka Balkan." The author has crossed the Balkan
mountains in two lines, nnvisited before by any geologist, once
firom Drawna by Selce to Kysanlik, and than back over the
Cyipka to Grabowa. The series of rocks found there he
enumerates as follows : — i. Crystalline schists ; 2. Coal forma-
tion, the base of which is formed by quartzite, higher up follows
calcareous sl^te, and finally sandstone and slate with coal
measures ; 3. Dyas ; 4. Magnesian limestone ; and 5. The
Neocomum series covering the older rocks unconformably. The
discovery of large coal seams in the coal formation near Radienoe
is very important German capitalists have got permission to
work them, and have already traced a railway ^m the mine to
the Danube.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English.— Schellen's Spectrum Aualysis : Translated by Jane and Caro-
line Lassell : Edited, with Notes, by W. HugKin'(L<ongnians).— Deschanel's
Natural Philosophy ; Part iii., electricity and Magnetism : Translated by
Prof. Everett (Blackie and Sons).— Zoological Record, Vol. vii.— Rudimen-
tary Magnetism: Sir W. S. Hams and H. M. Noad (Lockwood).—
SpuituaUsm Answered by Science : Serjt. Cox (Longmans).
American.— Reports on Observations of the Total Solar Eclipse of Dec
33, 1870, conducteci under the direction of Rear-Admiral Sands, C.S.N.
DIARY
THURSDAY, January ir.
Royal Society, at 8 m.— Experiments made to determine Surface Conduc-
tivity in Absolute >leasure: D. McFarlane.— On the Myology of the
Cheiroptera : Prof. Macalister.
Society or Antiquaries, at 8.30.— Ballot for the Election of Fellows.
Mathematical Society, at 8.— On Surfaces: die loci of the vertices of
cones which satisfy six condidons : Prof. Cayley.— On the Constanu that
occur in certain summations by BemouiUi's series : J. W. L. Glaisher. —
On the Construction of large tables of divisors and of the factors of the
fiR«t differences of inime powers: W. B. Davis.— On Parallel Surfaces of
Conicoids and Conies : S. Roberts.
FRIDAY, }KtiVKR.s I a.
Astronomical Society, at 8.
Qubkbtt Microscopical Club, at 8.
MONDAY, January 15.
Anthropological Institute, at 8.
London Institution, at 4.— Elementary Chemistry : Prof. Odliog.
TUESDAY, JAVUAW x6.
Zoological Society, at o.— On a fourth collection of Birds from the Pelew
and Mackenrie group of Islands : Dr. G. Hartlaub and Dr. O. Finsch.—
Notes on the Myology of LeioUpis Mlii : Alfred Sanders.
Statistical Society, at 7.4^— On Licensing and Capital Invested in
Alcoholic Drinks ; Prof. Levi.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Circulatory and Nervous Systems : Dr.
W. Rutherford.
WEDNESDAY, January 17.
Society op Ats, at 8.— On the Oral Education of the Deaf and Dumb :
G. W, Dasent.
Meteorological Society, at 7.
THURSDAY, January x8.
Royal Society, at 8.30.
Society op Antiquaries, 8.3a
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali
Manufacture ; Prof. Odlmg, F.R.S.
Linnban Society, at 8. — On the Anatomy of the American King-Crab
{Limulus Polyphemus, Lat.) : Prof. Owen, F.R.S. {f^ontintud.)
Chemical Society, at 8.
CONTENTS Pagb
The United States Department op Agriculture 197
AcASSiz's Seaside Studies 198
Earnshaw's Difpbrbntial Equations 199
Our Book Shelf 200
Letters to the Editor:—
Ocean Currents.— Jambs Croll, F.G.S. aox
" Nature Worship " aoa
ProC Helmholtz and Prof. Jevons.— J. L. Tuppbr aoa
Meteorological Phenomena.— Boyd Moss 203
Crannogs in the South of Scotland.— J. Shaw 303
Freshwater Lakes without Outlet.— Joseph John Murphy, F.G.S. ao3
PupaofPapilioMachaon.—RBY. Henry H. HiGGiNS .... 304
Lunar Calendars.— S. M. Drach 904
Hints to Dredgers.— Marshall Hall 204
Anacharis Canadensis.— H. Pociclington 204
Fight between a Cobra and a Mongoose. ByR. Reio . . . 304
Australian Preparations for Observing the Solar Eclipse. By
R. L. J. Ellery, F.RS. {lYitk lUtutratum) 905
Elbctrophysiologica.— II. By Dr. C B. Radcliffb. {With Illns'
irati0H) 206
Conjoint Medical Examinations 909
Notes •.•*••.•....•••..• azo
Ancient Rock Inscriptions in Ohio. By C. Whittlesey ... 31a
Scientific Serials aza
SoasTiBS AND Academies 3x3
Books Rbcbivbo 3x6
Diary az6
NOTICE
We beg leave to state that we decline to return rejected communua*
tions^ and to this rule we can make no exception, Communica"
turns respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers^ NOT to tht Editor. •^ t
NA TURE
217
THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1872
THE SOLAR ECLIPSE
SURELY if eclipse expeditions had their mottoes, that
of the expedition of this year should be/<rr mare per
terram; for it has been/^r mare per terram in our case
with a vengeance ! Probably when we return, the curious
individuals who total up in the Times the aggregate
number of years those people have lived whose deaths
are there recorded, will, in asking us for our autographs,
beg also a detailed statement of the number of miles
each of us has travelled in the performance of cur duty.
I fear it will be very difficult to give the information ; and
if the temperature in the shade be wanted too, the thing
will be perfectly hopeless ; for, thank goodness, we took the
precaution to bring no thermometers ; had we done so and
looked at them, it might have been all over with us. Let
me point my remarks. A week ago I was at Bekul,
having travelled I know not how many thousand miles by
sea, and having scarcely set foot on land for a month.
We were in the jungle, the heat was burning, some of us
had fever, and it was opium which enabled me at all
events to get through the eclipse, for it was that memorable
day just a week ago. Since then, by night and by day.
Dr. Thomson, Captain Maclear, and myself, have been —
I seek a word, wafted is too weak, jolted is too strong, for
some parts of our journey, though ridiculously lacking in
expression for others— well, conveyed from Bekul, now in
men-carried conveyances, the cunning bearers with their
plaintive moaning, by no means unmelodious, keeping step,
giving us an idea of the tremendous labour they were
undergoing, and reminding us of a certain journey which
we must all make once ; now on men's shoulders, now
in bullock bandy, speed about two miles an hour, thanks
to a brutal breach of contract, which has upset my plans
terribly, now in Indian railway carriages, average speed
ten miles an hour, temperature of carriage at noon un-
known, and lastly in the horse transit of the Madras
Carrying Company. Oh ! that their carriages were as
good as their arrangements and the speed of their horses ;
and, now, here I am shivering, surrounded by hoar frost,
with a soup^on of a difficulty of breathing in this higher
air after the dense atmosphere of the jungles, but all the
same in an earthly paradise with hedges of roses although
it is mid- winter, the whole place a perfect garden. I am at
Ootacamund, at an elevation of some 7,000 feet with an
Australian fauna ; and within a few hours I hope to see
Janssen, who is still here; Tennant, Herschel, and
Hennessy I have unfortunately missed, owing to the
breach of contract already referred to.
We can all of us, or nearly all of us, afford to laugh now
9X any inconveniences we have suffered; for of the eleven
who landed at Galle nine have seen the eclipse, some of
us perhaps as an eclipse has never been seen before.
Unfortunately, to the regret of all, Mr. Abbay and Mr.
Friswell, who were among the best prepared for doing
good work, and were at a station at which everybody said
cloudless weather was certain, found themselves on the
1 2th in a storm of cloud and mist, which obscured the
sun for, I believe, the whole day. With this exception
vou V.
the telegrams from all the English parties have been sent
regularly, while we have all been thankful to learn from
the telegrams which Dr. Janssen and Colonel Tennant
have had the great courtesy to send me, that they too saw
the eclipse well, as also did Mr. Pogson, as I gather from
the newspapers, but of course the details of their observa-
tions are still unknown to me. Hence, I can only give
the facts observed by the party at Bekul and Poodocottah ;
Prof. Respighi, who observed at that station, having
joined me at Pothanore, the station on the Madras
Railw^ay, at the foot of the hills which we ascended
yesterday from 4.30 a.m. till i p.m.
But before I say a word about the observations them-
selves, it is incumbent upon me to express our deep
obligations to the supreme Madras and Ceylon Govern-
ments for the magnificent manner in which they have
aided us. Nothing could be more complete than the
arrangements at Bekul made by the collector, Mr.
Webster, and his assistant, Mr. Mclvor, both for the
work to be done and the comfort of those who had to do
it. The same must be said for the Poodocottah party,
where not only the collector, Mr. Whiteside, but the
Rajah did everything in their power, the latter loading the
observers with presents when they left We have at
present heard only of the discomforts of the Manantoddy
party, and it is clear that here the local arrangements
were in strong contrast to those elsewhere. The Ceylon
parties, who parted from the main body at Galle, have
doubtless been well looked after ; as Captain Fyers, the
Surveyor-General of the island, accompanied and aided
them in their observations.
This brings us to another part of the arrangements.
The Ceylon party had the unreserved use of the Govern-
ment steamer the Serendiby to take them from Galle to
their places of observation, Jaffna and Trincomalee, both
on the coast, and the accommodation on board was
perfect. The Indian parties proceeded to their various
destinations, or the ports on the coast nearest to them, in
the Admiral's flag-ship the Glasgow, which, however,
could not remain to bring them back, a circumstance
which has given rise to very considerable inconvenience
and great risk for the instruments, which are now scattered
all along the line, to be sent to the coast and from the
coast to Bombay or Galle, as circumstances may deter-
mine. This of course was not to be helped, and we must
hope for the best, especially as aU the parties have done
their utmost in superintending their repacking, and hand-
ing them over in perfect condition to the different Govern-
ment officers who accompanied each party. Still, although
it was not to be avoided, the withdrawal of the ship has
been the unfortunate circumstance in the arrangements.
Nothing could exceed the kindness of the Admiral, who
vacated his own quarters to give us room, of Captain
Jones, who took the warmest interest in our proceedings,
and helped the arrangements greatly, and by the officers
of the ship generally. Without the equal kindness
of Mr. Webster at Bekul, the step from the Admiral's
cabin into the jungle hut would have been a seven-
league one.
As the mail, the first available one after the eclipse,
leaves this place to-day, I must lose no more time in
recording preliminaries. I will therefore at once state
the general arrangements of the parties^ and what I at
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NATURE
\yan. i8, 1872
present know of the observations. The stations and
observers as finally arranged were as follows : —
Bekul— Analysing Spectroscope, Capt. Madear and Mr.
Pringle.
Polariscope, Dr. Thomson.
Photography, Mr. Davis.
Manantoddy — Analysing Spectroscope, Mr. Friswell.
Integrating Spectroscope, Mr. Abbay.
Poodocottah — Spectroscope, Professor Respighi.
Sketches of Corona, Mr. Holiday.
Jaffna — Integrating Spectroscope, Capt Fyers and Mr.
Ferguson.
Polariscope, Capt. Tupman and Mr. Lewis.
Photography, Captain Hogg.
Trincomalee— Spectroscope, Mr. Moseley.
Besides these observers, we had at Bekul the valuable
assistance of General Selby, commanding the troops in
Canara and Malabar (for whose help in supplying guards'
tents, &c., the friends of Science cannot be too thankful),
Colonel Farewell, Judge Walhouse, and others, in sketch-
ing the Corona. At all stations, of course, most precious
help in various ways was given by aU present who volun-
teered for the various duties, though some of them lost a
sight of the eclipse in consequence. Among those who
helped in this way at Bekul were Mr. Mclvor, Mr. Pringle,
Captain Bailey who timed the eclipse, Mr. Cherry, and
Captain Christie, the Inspector of Police, whose pre-
sence there turned out to be of the most serious value, for
the natives seeing in the eclipse the great Monster Rahoo
devouring one of their most sacred divinities, not only
howled and moaned in the most tremendous manner, but
set fire to the grass between our telescopes and the sun
to propitiate the representative of the infernal gods.
Captain Christie with his posse of police stopped this
sacrifice at the right moment, and no harm was done.
Now for the observations. Perhaps I may be per-
mitted to begin with my own, as at the present moment I
know most about them. I determined to limit my spec-
troscopic observations to the spectrum of a streamer, and
to Young's stratum, thereby liberating a number of seconds
which would enable me to determine the structure of the
undoubted corona with a large refractor, to observe the
whole phenomena with the naked eye, and through a train
of prisms with neither telescope nor collimator, and
finally with a Savart and biquartz. I found the 120
seconds gave me ample time for all this, but owing to a
defect in the counterpoising of my large reflector, which
disturbed the rate of my clock, I missed the observation
of the bright line stratum (assuming its existence) at the
first contact. At the last contact Mr. Pringle watched for
it and saw no lines.
Having missed this, I next took my look at the corona.
It was as beautiful as it is possible to imagine anything to
be. Strangely weird and unearthly did it look— that
strange sign in the heavens ! What impressed me most
about it, in my momentary glance, was its serenity. I
don't know why I should have got such an idea, but get it
I did. There was nothing awful about it, or the landscape
generally, for the air was dry and there was not a cloud.
Hence there were no ghastly effects, due generally to the
monochromatic lights which chase each other over the
gloomy earth, no yellow clouds, no seas of blood— the
great Indian Ocean almost bathed our feet-^no death-
shadow cast on the faces of men. The whole eclipse was
centred in the corona, and there it was, of the purest
silvery whiteness. I did not want to see the prominences
then, and I did not see them. I saw nothing but the
star-like decoration, with its rays arranged almost sym-
metrically, three above and three below two dark spaces
or rifts at the extremities of a horizontal diameter. The
rays were built up of inniunerable bright lines of different
lengths, with more or less dark spaces between. Near
the sun this structure was lost in the brightness of the
central ring.
But from this exquisite sight I was compelled to tear
myself after a second's gazing. I next tried the spectrum
of a streamer above the point at which the sun had dis-
appeared. I got a vivid hydrogen spectrum, with 1474
(I assume the point of this line from observation)
slightly extended beyond it, but very faint throughout its
length compared with what I had anticipated, and thicken-
ing downwards, like F. I was, however, astonished at
the vividness of the C line, and of the continuous spectnun,
for there was no prominence on the slit. I was above
their habitat. The spectrum was undoubtedly the spec-
trum of glowing gas.
1 next went to the polariscope, for which instrument I
had got Mr. Becker to make me a very time-saving con-
trivance— a double eye-piece to a small telescope, one
containing a Savart and the other a biquartz. In the
Savart I saw lines vertical over everything— corona pro-
minences, dark moon, and unoccupied sky. There v as
no mistake whatever about this observation, for I s>\ept
three times across and was astonished at their unbroken-
ness. I next tried the biquartz. In this I saw wedges,
faintly coloured here and there ; a yellowish one here, a
brownish one there, with one of green on each side the
junction, are all the colours 1 recollect Then to the new
attack— the simple train of prisms which, the readers of
Nature know, Professor Young had thought of as well as
myself ; its principle being that, in the case of particular
rays given out by such a thing as the chromosphere, or the
sodium vapour of a candle, we shall get images of the
thing itself painted in that part of the spectrum which the
ray inhabits, so to speak, we shall see an image for each
ray, as if the prisms were not there. What I saw was four
exquisite rings, with projections where the prominences
were. In brightness, C came first, then F, then G, and
last of all 1474 ! Further, the rings were nearly all the
same thickness, certainly not more than 2! high, and they
were all enveloped in a line of impure continuous
spectrum.
I then returned to the finder of my telescope, a 32 inch,
and studied the structure of the corona and prominences.
One of the five prominences was admirably placed in the
middle of the field, and I inspected it well. I was not
only charmed with what I saw, but delighted to find that
the open-slit method is quite competent to show us promi-
nences well without any eclipse. I felt as if I knew the
thing before me well, had hundreds of times seen its exact
equivalent as well in London, and went on to the structure
of the corona. Scarcely had I done so, however, when
the signal was given at which it had been arranged that I
was to do this in the 6-inch Greenwich refractor. In this
instrument, to which I rushed, for Captain Bailey had
just told us that we had " still 30 seconds more "—which I
L/iyiiiiLcu kjy
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Jan. i8, 1872]
NATURE
2ig
heard mentally, though not with my ears, as *' onfy 30
seconds more " — the structure of the corona was simply
exquisite and strongly developed. I at once exclaimed,
" like Orion ! " Thousands of interlacing filaments vary-
ing in intensity were visible, in fact I saw an extension
of the prominence-structure in cooler material. This
died out somewhat suddenly some $' or 6' from the sun,
I could not determine the height precisely, and then
there was nothing ; the rays so definite to the eye had,
I supposed, been drawn into nothingness by the power
of the telescope ; but the great fact was this, that close
to the sun, and even for 5' or 6' away from the sun, there
was nothing like a ray, or any trace of any radial structurt
whatever to be seen. While these observations were
going on, the eclipse terminated for the others, but not for
me. For nearly three minutes did the coronal structure
impress itself on my retina, until at last it faded away in
the rapidly increasing sunlight. I then returned to the
Savart, and saw exactly what I had seen during the eclipse,
the vertical lines were still visible !
Captain Maclear has promised to forward to you him-
self an account of his observations. I need only here
therefore refer to their extreme value, adding what I should
have stated before, that I saw the bright lines at the cusps,
as he was so good as to draw my attention to them. I
am however not prepared to say that they were visible
through a large arc of retreating cusp.
Dr. Thomson confined his observations to the polari-
scope, using the Savart. He states that his observations
were identical with my own.
Mr. Davis's photographic tent was below the cavalier in
which our telescopes had been erected ; and immediately
after the observations I have recorded were over, I went
down to see what success had attended his efforts. I was
hailed when half-way there with the cheering intelligence
*' five fine photographs/' and so they are, those taken at the
beginning and end of the eclipse being wonderfully similar,
with, I fancy, slight changes here and there ; but on this
point I speajc with all reserve until they have been ex-
amined more carefully than the time at our disposal has
permitted, and until they have been compared with those
taken at Ootacamund, Avenashi, and, I hope, at Jaffna and
Cape Sidmouth.
This exhausts the principal work done by the Bekul
party, with the exception of the sketchers with General
Selby at their head, who have recorded most marked
changes in the form of the outer corona, and Mr. Webster,
who was so good as to photograph the eclipse from a fort
some eight miles away, with an ordinary camera, and
obtained capital results.
Next a word about the Poodocottah, the other fortunate
Indian party. Prof. Respighi has promised to send his
results to you with this. About Mr. Holiday's labours I
know nothing, except that he has obtained three sketches.
Concerning the Ceylon parties I give you a verbatim
extract from the telegrams. From Jaffna : " Exceedingly
strong radial polarisation, 35' above the prominences;
corona undoubtedly solar to that height, and very
probably to height of 50'." From Trincomalee Mr.
Moseley informs me that he carefully watched for
Young*s bright line stratum, and did not see it, and that
1474 was observed higher than the other line.
This is the sum total of the information which has at
present reached me. It is clear there are discordances
as well as agp'eements, the former being undoubtedly as
valuable as the latter. It remains now to obtain par-
ticulars of all the observations of all the parties, before a
final account can be rendered of the eclipsed sun of 187 1.
This, of course, will be a work of months ; but if all goes
well, I trust to obtain information shortly of the outlines
of the work done by the Indian observers and M. Janssen,
as I am now remaining in India for that purpose, and this
I will communicate to Nature by the earliest opportunity.
In the meantime I hope the good people at home will
think we have done our duty, and that all the members of
the Government Eclipse Expedition of 1871 will soon be
safely with them to give an account of their work.
J. Norman Lockvkr
Ootacamund, Dec. 19, 1871
CAPTAIN MACLEAR' S OBSERVATIONS
LONG before this, no doubt, you have heard of the
success of the expedition, but you must be anxious
to hear more of the details, and what the observations
really were. When I last wrote to you from Point de
Galle,^ the expedition had arrived there on November
27th in the Mirzaporey and was about to proceed to the
different stations selected. The Ceylon sections left on
the 28th in the Colonial steamer Serendib^ placed at our
disposal by the Government. She was to leave Messrs.
Moseley and Ferguson at Trincomalee, and then proceed
to Jaffna, with Captain Fyers, R.E., Captain Tupman,
R.M.A. and Mr. Moseley. We have since heard of the
safe arrival of these gentlemen at their stations, and, by
telegraph, of their successful observations on December
1 2th.
The Indian parties left GaUe on the 28th in H.M.S.
Glasgow^ flag-ship of Admiral Cockbum, who kindly
gave us his cabin accommodation. With a fair wind we
made sail, and arrived at Beypore on the night of the
1st December. The next morning we landed Signor
Respighi and Mr. Holiday to go by train to Poodocottah,
and then we left for Cannanore where Messrs. Abbay
and Friswell were disembarked to make their way across
country to their station at Manantoddy. They had a
troublesome and fatiguing journey to perform, with heavy
instruments, which however they safely accomplished in
three days, and we can only heartily regret that their
labours were not recompensed by fine weather on the
morning of the eclipse. At Cannanore we were fortunate
enough to enlist the services of General Selby, com-
manding the troops; he came across to Bekul, and
rendered good aid in making some valuable sketches of
the corona during the eclipse.
We left Cannanore on the 3rd, and with the strong tide
that sometimes runs up that coast, were only six hours in
reaching Bekul. We found that Mr. Mclvor, assistant
collector, and Mr. Pringle, engineer, had arrived that
morning from Mangalore, on the part of the Indian
Government, had prepared the travellers^ bungalow for
our reception, and had cleared the keep of an old
fort erected by Tippoo which would make a capital
observatory. The bay is open and shelving, but there
• See Naturb, yoI. v, p. i6ar^ T
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
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NATURE
\yan. 1 8, 1872
was little surf, and on the morning of the 4th, instru-
ments and all were safely landed and carried up to the
fort.
Our voyage in the Glasgow had been uneventful ; but I
cannot take leave of her without speaking of the kind-
ness and assistance we received from Captain Jones and
all on board, and we were truly sorry that the duties of
the station did not allow them to remain and give us that
aid, which, with the interest that all took in the work,
would have been so invaluable.
Bekul is an out-of-the-way place, twenty-five miles from
Mangalore, from which place all our supplies had to be
carried on .the backs of coolies ; this did not, however,
prevent several gentlemen, interested in our proceedings,
coming out to join us.
Our party consisted of four who came out from
England, viz., Mr. Lockyer, Dr. Thomson, Mr. Davis,
and Commander Maclear, besides Messrs. Mclvor and
Pringle, to whose foresight and care we are very much
indebted for our success. It was further strengthened by
Mr. Webster, collector at Mangalore, who took some
valuable photographs during the eclipse, by General
Selby from Cannanore, and several others, making our
numbers up altogether to eighteen. Our bungalow was
about a mile from the fort, of which the highest bastion
in the inner rampart had been selected to mount the
equatorials ; it was in a most commanding position about
eighty feet above the sea, and overlooking a vast extent
of country. Just below us, in a well-sheltered spot, Mr.
Davis fixed his camera and dark chamber.
The day of our landing the heat of the sun was ter-
rible, and we had to wait till the cool of the afternoon
before we could proceed to work. That night, however,
a great advance was made, the bases of the equatorials
were up, and all ready for the tubes, and a " chuppa," or
awning of palm leaves erected to protect them from the
night dews and midday sun. The next seven days were
employed in getting our instruments perfectly adjusted
and in practising with them. The weather left nothing to
be desired, except that the sun would take his revenge
out beforehand and strike down with such force as to
render it impossible to work in the middle of the day.
Only one morning was cloudy, and then not to an extent
that would have interfered with observations. At night
the stars shone with great brilliancy, and we had great
delight in observing the clusters and nebulas, pity we
could not have remained longer to make spectroscopic
observations of the latter in such a dear atmosphere.
The morning of the 12th dawned bright and clear^
only a few small clouds to be seen near the western
horizon, a light breeze from the N.£. All were early at
their stations watching anxiously the appearance of the
sun, which rose over the distant hills about half-an-hour
before the commencement of the eclipse. But now I
shall speak only of my own observations ; Mr. Lockyer
has already given the account of those made by himself.
The instrument I used was a double equatorial of two
6-inch refractors mounted on the same base, one at
either end of the declination axis. To one was attached
a 6-prism spectroscope from Kew, lent by Mr. Spottis-
woode, of great dispersive power. To the other was
fixed a spindle bar, carrying an erecting eye-piece,
and a 7-prisin 4irect vision spectroscope, either of
which could be swung at pleasure into the focus of
the object glass ; the two tubes had been carefully
made parallel, so that the same object was viewed in both
telescopes. The 6-prism was worked nearly the whole of
the time by myself, and the direct vision by Mr. Pringle,
who had practised with it constantly during the last few
days. I add the observations made by him. At the com-
mencement of the eclipse the slit of the 6-prism was
placed tangential to the point of contact, that of the direct
vision radial, width such that the absorption lines were
very distinct, but not too fine. No change was observed
from the ordinary solar spectrum. Keeping the slit for
the next quarter of an hour tangential to the northern
cusp, C was very bright the whole length ; F bright, but
thin. The slit was then placed radial to the cusp, and
four bright lines near C (besides C itself) became visible,
one on the direct side within 10 units Kirchhoff, and three
on the red side within 20 units, the length of all five vary-
ing, but not together the average being about \ the height
the visible spectrum.
At 6h. 51m. M.T., twenty-five minutes after contact, on a
large prominence, C lengthened to half height of spec-
trum ; nine minutes afterwards cusp was at another
prominence, the positions of these must have been about
N. 13% and nearly north.
At 7h. 8m. M.T. I watched with the direct vision radial
and, besides the Hyd. and "near D" lines, observed
another bright line a little more refrangible than the air
band between b and F. At 1830 Kirchhoff it was very faint,
and soon disappeared ; soon after this I saw F line double
about the same height as usual, \ spectrum.
At /h. 23m. M.T., having returned to the 6-prism radial
to the cusp, I observed the Hyd. D, £ and b very plain ;
several lines then began to come into view, as near as I
could judge all the iron lines from halfway bet ween D and £
to beyond b. These kept on brightening and more lines
coming in. I called Mr. Lockyer to look at the phenomenon,
and we watched it together for two or three minutes until
it became time to take position to observe totality. During
these two or three minutes the cusp must have passed from
about N. 38** £. to N. 70° £. or further, and the lines were
not lost sight of till I moved the telescope and placed the
sUt tangential to the point where the light would dis-
appear, keeping it there with R.A. movement On looking
through the spectroscope the field was full of bright lines,
the light just enough to let me distinguish the positions
from the well-known solar lines.
As totality came on the light decreased, and the lines
increased exceedingly, rapidly in number and brightness,
until it seemed as if every line in the solar spectrum was
reversed ; then they vanished, not instantly, but so quickly
that I could not make out the order of their going, except
that the Hyd. D, ^, and some others between D and ^, re-
mained last Then they vanished, and all was darkness.
I then undamped, and swept out right and left, but saw
nothing ; then went to the direct vision, but saw nothing ;
placed the telescope on the moon's limb by the eye-piece,
then put in the spectroscope, but the light was not suffi-
cient to show any spectrum ; pointed the telescope care-
fully, first on the dark moon, and then on a bright part of
the corona, but no spectrum. I then looked at the
corona with the naked eye, saw a bright glory around the
moon, stellar form, six-pointed, something like the nimbus
L/iyiLiiLcvj uy
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Jan. i8, 1872]
NATURE
221
painted round a saint's head, extending to a diameter
and a half. Looked through the finder, and saw the same
farm, but very much reduced in size and brilliancy ; then
examined with the 6in. and eye-piece, and saw nothing
but a bright glow round the moon, not much more than
the height of the big prominence plainly visible in the
S.E. quarter. The last thirty seconds had now arrived,
and, as previously arranged, Mr. Lockyer took my place at
the 6in., while I again looked through the 6.prism spectro-
scope to record anything that might be visible, but I saw
nothing. As the spectroscope was not on the sun's limb
at the re- appearance of the light, I cannot state what took
place.
During the remainder of the partial eclipse I watched
the northern cusp as the moon uncovered the sun, and
several times I saw distinctly the four bright lines near C ;
but saw nothing else worth recording.
The colour of the corona appeared to me a light pinkish
white, very brilliant. I saw no streamers. The rest of the
sky and everything around had a bluish tinge.
I will now give an extract from Mr. Pringle's report.
He was observing with the direct-vision spectroscope
attached to the other 6-inch telescope, and with myself
watching the northern cusp, slit radial :
^ Until 6h. 47m. (mean time) bright lines C, near D, and
F, of uniform brightness, and varying but slightly from
normal height At that time F brightened, C remained
bright, line near D very faint. At 6h. 54m. all the lines
lengthened to some four or five times their normal height,
showing a prominence at the cusp. For the next ten
minutes lines varying but litde. At /h. 4m. a large
prominence at cusp ; bright lines lengthening some
eight or nine times their normal height. At 7h. 4m. 30s.
a bright line appeared on the more refrangible side of F,
and close to it, F lengthening considerably, and bending
towards the red. All the before- mentioned lines were
now bright, F longer than the rest, and remaining bent,
the line near it being one-third its length. At /h. 1 3m.
observed three bright lines at ^, visible only at the extreme
point of the cusp. Half a minute before totality, turned
the slit tangential ; but the slit not being exactly at the
same place as that of Commander Maclear's, both re-
fractors working by the same slow-motion screw [this
was owing to the sway of the bars carrying the spec-
troscope when it was being turned. — J. P. M.J I failed
to obtain any results at the moment of totality. I
then observed at the 6-prism just quitted by Com-
mander Maclear, whilst that gentleman, observing at
the direct-vision spectroscope, swept out from the sun
on one side, then brought the finder on the dark moon,
and thence swept out from the sun on the opposite side.
During this time nothing whatever was visible in the
spectroscope. I next observed with the naked eye :
corona appeared radial, of a ptuplish white colour,
brightest near the body of the moon ; no very long rays
perceptible. On holding the head sideways, rays of
corona remained permanent, showing none, to be due to
defect of vision. Next observed corona through 2^" finder
of refractor. Structure well-defined, wavy, nebulous,
permanent. Remarked a curiously-curved portion of
corona, divided by a partial rife from an oblique ray.
I should imagine the corona to extend about / beyond
the sun^ but did not accurately estimate the distance
whilst observing. When thirty seconds of totality re-
mained, I went to finder of equatorial reflector ; struc-
ture of corona not so apparent with higher power.
Several prominences visible ; one of large size, structure
similar to that of corona. At about twelve seconds
before end of totality, a perceptible brightening along
the edge of the moon on the side of appearance ; a
few seconds before end of totality, I went to one prism
corona spectroscope attached to ^\' reflector. At the
end of totality a considerable number of bright lines
flashed in (what proportion of the whole I cannot say,
perhaps a third). The line near D noticeably bright ;
continuous spectrum faintly visible a moment before
the sun's limb showed. After totality observed at finder,
the summit of a large prominence opposite the point
of sun's re- appearance visible for several seconds after
totality."
During the afternoon I tried to make an accurate
sketch of the prominences on the sun's disc, but clouds
came on, and I was prevented. It was not worth while
keeping the instruments up another day for the purpose,
so we commenced, lyid in two days they were safely
packed for Bombay.
The rumours that our presence gave rise to among the
natives were very amusing. First we heard that part of
the sun was about to fall, and the wise men had come to
the East to prevent it. Then when the formidable-look-
ing instruments were seen mounted on the fort, they
thought there was a war, and we were engineers going to
put the fort in order to prevent a landing. This was
strengthened by the fact that the Glasgow practised at a
target before returning to Ceylon. This gave place to a
flood about to descend, and all the Europeans were
coming to the high ground to escape it.
When the eclipse conmienced the usual shouting and
beating of tom-toms went on, but a cordon of police pre-
vented an invasion of the Observatory, and only a con-
fused noise from below reached us.
J. P. Maclear
S.S. InduSy January 6, 1872
MORSE ON TEREBRATUUNA
The Early Stages of Terebratulina septentrionalis. By
Edward S. Morse, Ph. D. (Boston Society of Natural
History, voL ii.)
MR. MORSE is one of the band of New England
naturalists who have lately been making them-
selves known to us through that excellent periodical the
American Naturalist^ and who have shown themselves
determined to take advantage of the opportunities offered
to them by the presence on their sea-board of such
zoological treasures as Limulus and Lingula. Mr. Morse
obtained Terebratulina in abundance in the harbour of
Eastport, Maine, and gives in this paper an account of
the change in the form of the Shell and the "arms"
during development of this Brachiopod from a scarcely
visible speck onwards. The changes are illustrated in
two plates containing outline figures, and as far as Mr.
Morse has observed consist firstly in the passage of the
shell from a flat and shorter form to the elongated and
convex shape with which we are familiar. Further, the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
222
NATURE
\yan. i8, 1872
arms were found to commence as a series of ciliated
tentacles placed around the mouth, and as nearly as
possible identical with the lophophor of such a Polyzoon
as Pcdicellina, At 'first but six of these tentacles arc seen ;
these increase in number, whilst the lophophor takes on
its horse-shoe shape ; and finally by the development of
the free ends of the two sides of the horse-shoe the great
Brachiopodian arms are produced. This is very interest-
ing, and confirms a priori notions. At the same time we
must dissent from the stress which Mr. Morse lays on the
affinities of structure of Brachiopoda and Polyzoa, in
so far as he wishes to separate these two widely from
the Mollusca, and join them to a group which he calls
Vermes. The Vermes have never been accurately defined,
and are in fact at present, as Carl Gegenbaur (whom Mr.
Morse cites) fully admits, one of those classficatory
lumber-rooms, which are so convenient from time to time
in the progress of zoological science. Whilst we fully
admit the close affinities of the Polyzoa and the Brachio-
poda— now long recognised by all zoologists— we cannot
overlook the very strong affinities of these to the true
MoUusca. Even a hasty study of the embryology of the
Mollusca is sufficient to bring under one's eyes larval
forms of various classes bearing many of the charac-
teristics of the Polyzoa on the one hand, and of certain
Vermes on the other. The early condition of the gill-
plates in some Lamellibranchs is only to be compared to
the tentacula of the Molluscoidan lophophor, though pre-
senting so laige a shifting in some relations. Rather
than detach the Molluscoida (with regard to the Tunicata
there are a variety of new facts and considerations which
require long discussion) from the Mollusca to place them
in the lumber-room Vermes — we should prefer to put the
whole of the Mollusca along with them there — a proceed-
ing at present useless, but which would express a truth
which Mr. Morse does not seem to admit, though it is
indicated by Gegenbaur, and accepted also by Huxley,
namely, that there are close genetic ties between the group
MoUusca (including Molluscoida), and certain so-called
Vermes, such as the Turbellaria, Archi-annelida, &c.
In a paper published prior to this, Mr. Morse has
spoken of the Brachiopoda as a division of Annelida, on
the ground of certain resemblances between Lingula and
Annelids. We are not sure whether Mr. Morse adheres
to this startling proposition, or whether it was due to the
intensity of the impressions produced by his study of
living Lingulae, which must have been exceedingly in-
teresting. By the way, we may mention that Semper has
also studied living Lingula. That there is a fundamental
community of organisation between Lingula and Anne-
lids we are, as stated above, not indisposed to believe, but
that this can be expressed advantageously by making the
Brachiopoda a division of Annelida, or that such a classi-
fication would be anything more than reactionary exagge-
ration, we cannot for a moment suppose. Mr. Morse
attaches importance in this regard to the seta? of Lingula,
and equal or perhaps more importance to the red colour
of the blood. The discovery of red-coloured blood in
Lingula is interesting, because in all probability it is due,
as in vertebrates and all other causes where it is really red,
to the presence of haemoglobin, and is another instance
of the exceptional appearance of this chemical principle
in the blood of an animal whose nearest congeners do not
possess it We should be very glad of confirmation with
the spectroscope of the supposed existence of haemoglobin
in the blood oi Lingula. But how can Mr. Morse sup-
pose that this red blood, or haemoglobin-bearing blood, is
a character of the slightest classificatory importance ? A
great number of Annelids do not possess the vascular
system at all, which in others carries this red blood ; in
some the fiuid in that vascular system is coloured green
by chlorocruorin, in others the haemoglobin is present
in the perivisceral fiuid, which is in most Annelida colour-
less. Certain Mollusca have blood coloured red by
haemoglobin (Planorbis) as deeply and brightly as that of
any lob-worm, so again have some Crustacea and Insect
larvae. The presence or absence therefore of haemo-
globin in the blood of Lingula is a matter of complete in-
difference as far as the relations of that animal to the
Annelida are concerned.
We are much interested by a reference in Mr. Morse's
paper on Terebratulina to some observations which he
has made on the development of Lingula, observations
which we hope before long to see published. From these
he states that he is led to believe that the supposed
Discina larva figured by Fritz Mtiiler might equally as
well be that of a Lingula. Some further information about
this remarkable larval form will be very welcome.
Mr. Morse apologises for the undetailed character of
his drawings, and for the absence of information in his
paper upon the development of Terebratulina ab ova—
a great desideratum— by the fact that when he went to
Eastport to study the development of Terebratulina he
had a microscope with him which he found to be utterly
inadequate to the purpose. Since this is an error which
is easily remedied, we trust that Mr. Morse will soon
return to the attack, if he has not yet already done so,
duly armed.
£. Ray Lankester
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold hitnsdf responsible far opinums expressed
by his eorrespondents. No notiee is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
The Solar Eclipse
It does not happen more than once in a lifetime to see such
a glorious and magnificent sight as that from which I have just
returned ; that is, die total eclipse of the sun. I have seen many
eclipses before, but never anything to equal this. I was engaged
to go with the Morgans to the top of the hill to see it Got up
at six, and found it a lovely morning ; rode up to Morgan's,
about half a mile, carrying with me glasses, smoked glass, and
sun bat. Got there before seven, and found eclipse already
begun. Got our two mirrors and watched the hole in the sua
grow bigger and bigger. It becan from the top, and we all went
off to the highest point on the hill, from whence we could see
all Ooly and the mountains round. When the eclipse got so far,
the cold on the mountain grew much greater, the grass was so
wet that no one's boots kept it out, the feet and hands grew cold,
and with your back to the sun the light over the country was
like twilight, or the earliest dawn. Gradually the lower streak
got tliinner and thinner, until at last there riione a light like the
nimous lime-light, and in a moment or two that went out and the
sun was totally concealed ; many stars were visible, the whole
country looked dark— that is, half dark, like moonlight— ths
crows scopped cawing, and for two minutes and a half the total
eclipse lasted, a sight I shall neyer forget, and then the hme-light
again appeared at the bottom rim of ue sun, and gradually more
and more of hfan appeared, the crows began again at oncc^ and the
Digitized v
<3^^
yan. i8, 1872]
NATURE
223
cocks began to crow, the shadow now was inverted, and by
d^rees got smaller, until at nine o'clock the eclipse was over.
I cannot but suppose that the scientific men must have had grand
opportunities ot observation, and that to«day's pencil will carry
home many a description. Anjrthing more beautiful, more sub-
lime, or more perfect, it would be impossible to conceive.
Upway Hoase, Mercara, Coorg, R. N. Taylor
Ooly, Dec 12, 187 1
The Rigidity of the Earth
I HAV£ been un^ from several quarters to defend my argu-
ment for the rigidity of the earth against attacks which are sup-
posed to have been made upon it. It has, in fact, never been
attacked to my knowle^tge, and I feel under no obligation to
defend iL There is, I believe, a general impression that grave
objections to it have been raised by M Delaunay, and it seems
that even in this country some geological writers and teachers,
in their reluctance to abandon the h]rpothesis of a thin solid
crust, enclosing a wholly liquid 'mass, hastily concluded that all
dynamical arguments against it had been utterly overthrown by
Delaunaj.
In pomt of fact Delaunay made no reference at all to the tidal
argument, and clearly was unaware that I had brought it for-
ward when he made his communication on the " Hypothesis of
the interior fluidity of the terrestrial globe,"* to the French
Academy, three years and a half ago, objecting to Hopkins's
argument founded on precession and nutation, and merely quotmg
me as having expressed acquiescence. On this subject I say
nothing at present, except that ten years ago, before I expressed
An my first communication of the tidal argument to the Royal
Society) my assent to Hopkins's argument from precession and
nutation, I had thought of the objection to this argument since
brought forward by Delaunay, and bad convinced myself of its
invalidity. But I hope to be able on some future occasion to re-
turn to the subject, and to prove that any degree of viscosity,
acting in the manner and to the effect descril^ by Delaunay,
must in an extremely short time abolish the distinction between
summer and winter. My reason for writing to you at present is
that I see in Mr. Scrope's beautiful book on Volcanoes (iust
published as a second edition) a sentence ('* Prefatory Remarks,"
page 24), written on the supposition that the tidal argument had
been brought forward for the first time at the recent meeting of
the rtritish Association in Edinburgh. I therefore take the liberty
of suggesting to you that a reprint of the short abstract of my
tidal argument, which appeared in the Proceedings of the
Royal Society, for May 16, 1862, might not be inappropriate to
your columns. I oaght, however, to inform you that the tidal
argument was carefully re-stated in the first volume of the treatise
on Natural Philosophy, by Prof. Tait and myself, published in
1867, but as the volume is at present out of print, you may not
consider this objection fatal to my proposal
Glasgow University, Jan. 9 William Thomson
Abstract 0/ Paper on the Rigidity of the Earthy by Prof, Sir
William Thomson^ F.R.S.^ received April 14, 1862
The author proves that unless the solid substance of the
earth be on the whole of extremely rigid material, more rigid for
instance than steel, it must yield under the tide-generating influ-
ence of sun and moon to such an extent as to very sensibly dimi-
nish the actual phenomena of the tides, and of precession and
nutation. Results of a mathematical theory of the deformation
of elastic spheroids, to be communicated to the Royal Society t
on an early occasion, are used to illustrate this subject For in-
stance, it is shown that a homogeneous incompressible elastic
K>heroid of the same mass and volume as the earth, would, if of
the same rigidity as glass, yield about {, or if of the same rigidity
as steel about } of the extent that a perfectly fluid globe of the
same density would yield to the Itmar and solar tide-generating in-
fluence. Theactuil phenomena of tides (that is, the rektive motions
of a comparatively light liquid flowing over the outer surface of the
soUd substance of the earth), and the amounts of precession and
nutation, would in one case be only | and in the other | of the
amounts which a perfectly rigid spheroid of the same dimensions,
of the same figure, the same homogeneous density, would exhibit
in the same circumstances. The close agreement with the re-
raits of ol^ervation presented by the theory of precession and
nutation, always hitherto worked out on the supposition that
* Com/Us Rendus for July 13. 1868.
f Communicated August a«, 186a, and read November 37, of »me year
*' Dynamictl Prut>lems regarding Elastic Spheroidal Sheila and Spheroids.
of incoaprcsatbla liquida?*
the solid parts of the earth are perfectly rigid, renders it scarcely
possible to admit that there can be any such discrepancy between
them as 3 to 5, and therefore almost necessary to coadade that
the earth is on the whole much more rigid than steel. But to
make an accurate comparison between theory and observation,
as to precession, it is necessary to know the absolute amount of
the moment of inertia about some diameter ; and from this we
are prevented by the ignorance in which we must always be as
to the actual law of density in the interior. Hence the author
anticipates that the actual defonn|ition of the solid earth by the
lunar and solar influence may be more decisively tested by ob-
serving the lunar fortnightly and the solar half-yearly tides.*
These tides, it may be supposed, wdl follow very closely the
'* equilibrium theory " of Daniel BemouilU for all oceanic sta-
tions, and the author suggests Icdand and Teneriffe as two sta-
tions well adapted for the diflerential observations that would be
required.
The earth's upper crust is possibly on the whole as rigid as
glass, more prubably less than more. But even the imperfect
data forjudging referred to above render it certain that themrM
its a whole must be far more rigid than gl ass ^ and probablyeven more
rigid than steel Hence the interior must be on the whole more
rigid, probably many times more rigid, than the upper crust
This is just what, if the whole interior of the earth is solid,
might be expected when the enormous pressure in the interior is
considered, but it is utterly inconsistent with the hypothesis held
by so many geologists that the earth is a mass of melted matter
enclosed in a solid shell of only from 30 .to 100 miles' thick-
ness. Hence the investigations now brought forward conflrm
the conclusions arrived at by Mr. Hopkins, that the solid crust
of the earth cannot be less than 800 miles thick. The author
indeed believes it to be extremely improbable that any crust
thinner than 2,000 or 2,500 could maintain its figure with suffi-
cient rigidity against the tide-generating forces of the sun and
moon, to allow the phenomena of the ocean tides and of preces-
sion and nutation to be as they are.
Extract from Thomson and Tail's *' Natural Philosophy "
"§832. .... All dynamical investigations (whether
'' static or kinetic) of tidal phenomena, and of precession and
" nutation, hitherto published, with the exception referred to
" below, have assumed that the outer surface of the solid earth
" is absolutely unyielding. A few years ago, for the first time,
" the question was raised :' Does the earth retain its figure with
" practically perfect rigidity, or does it yield sensibly to the de-
" forming tendency of the moon's and sun's attractions on its
'* upper strata and interior mass ? It must yield to some extent,
" as no substance is infinitely rigid. But whether these solid
" tides are sufficient to be discoverable by any kind of observa-
" tion, direct or indirect, has not yet been ascertained. The
" negative result of attempts to trace their influence on ocean
'< and lake tides, as hitherto observed, and on precession and
" nutation, suffices, as we shall see, to disprove the hypothesis
" hitherto so prevalent, that we live on a mere thin shell of solid
" substance enclosing a fluid mass of mdt^ rocks or metals,
" and proves, on the contrary, that the earth is much more rigid
" than any of the rocks that constitute its upper crust"
" § 833. The character of the deforming influence will be
'' understood readily by considering that if the whole earth were
'* perfectly fluid, its bounding surface would coincide widi an
" equipotential surface relatively to the attraction of its own
" mass, the centrifugal force of its rotation and the tide generat-
" ing resultant of the moon's and sun's forces, and their kinetic
" reactions. Thus there would be the full equilibrium lunar and
" solar tides ; o( 2| times the amount of the disturbing deviation
" of level if the fluid were homogeneous, or of nearly twice
" this amount if it were heterogeneous with Laplace's hypotheti-
" cal law of increasing density. If now a very thin layer of
" lighter liquid were added, this layer would rest covering the
" previous bounding surface to very nearly equal depth all round,
" and would simply rise and fall with that surface, showing only
" infinitesimal variations In its own depth, under tidal influences.
" Hence had the solid part of the earth so little rigidity as to
" allow it to yield in its own figure very nearly as much as if it wei«
" fluid, there would be very nearly nothing of what we call tides
" — that is to say, rise and fall of^ the sea relatvely to the land ;
" but sea and Umd together would rise and fall a few feet every
* High tide, as &r as the influence of either body is concerned, is pro-
duced at the poles, and low average water ac the equator, when its decUna-
tion, whether north or south, is greatest, and low wattf at the poles and high
water at tha equator, when the disturbing body croties the plane of £M
L/iyiLiiLCJU kjy
d^'
224
NATURE
{Jan. i8, 1872
" twelve lunar hours. This would, as we shall see, be the case
" if the geologiod hjrpothesis of a thin crust were true. The
" actual phenomena of tides, therefore, give a secure contradiction
" to that hypothesis. We shall see, indeed, presently, that even
" a continuous solid globe of the same mass and diameter as the
" earth, would, if homogeneous and of the same rigidity as glass
" or as steel, yield in its shape to the tidal influences three-nfths
" as much or one-third as much as a perfectly fluid globe ; and
" further, it will be proved that the effect of such yielding in the
" solid, accordmg as its supposed rigidity is that of glass or that
" of steel, would be to reduce the tides to about | or | of what
** they would be if the rigidity were infinite."
" § S34. To prove this, and to illustrate this question of elastic
" tides in the solid earth, we shall work out explicitly the solu-
" tion of the general problem of § 696 for the case of a homo-
" geneous elastic solid sphere exposed to no surface traction;
" but deformed inBnitesimally by an equilibrating system offerees
" acting bodily through the interior, which we shall ultimately
" make to agree with the tide generating influence of the moon
** and sun. . . . . "
" § 847. We intend in our second volume to give a dynamical
" investigation of precession and nutation, in which it will be
" proved that the earth's elastic yielding influences these pheno-
*' mena in the same proportionate degree as it influences the
" tides. We have seen already that the only datum wanted for a
" comparison between their observed amounts and their theoreti-
" cal amounts on the h3^thesis of perfect rigidity, to an accuracy
" of within one per cent., is a knowledge of the earth's moment
" of inertia about any diameter within one per cent We have
<' seen that Ae best dieoretical estimates of precession hitherto
" made, are in remarkable acordance with the observed amount
" But it is not at all improbable that better founded estimates of
" the earth's moment of inertia, and more accurate knowledge than
" we yet have from observation, of the harmonic of the second
" degree in the expression of external gravity, may show that
" the true amount of precession (which is known at presait with
" extreme accuracy) is somewhat smaller than it would be if
" the rigidity were infinite. Such a discrepancy, if genuine,
" could only be explained by some small amount of deformation
" experienced by the solid parts of the earth under lunar and
" solar influence. The agreement between theory on the hypo-
" thesis of perfect xjgidity, and observation as to precession and
" nutation, are, however, on the whole so close as to allow us to
" infer that the earth's elastic yielding to the dbturbing influence
" of the sun and moon is very small— much smaller, for in-
'' stance, than it would be if its efiective rigidity were no more
" than the ri^dity of steeL"
" § S48. It is interesting to remai k that the popular geological
'' hypothesis, that the earth is a thin shell of solid material,
" having a hollow space within it filled with licjuid, involves
'* two effects of deviation from perfect rigidity, which could in-
" fluence in opposite ways the amoimt of precession. The com-
" paratively easy yielding of the shell must, as we shall see in
" our second volume, render the effective moving couple, due
" to sun and moon, much smaller than it would be if the whole
" interior were solid, and on this account must tend to diminish
*< the amount of precession and nutation. But the effective
" moment of inertia of a thin solid shell containing fluid,
" whether homogeneous or heterogeneous, in its interior, would
" be much less than that of the whole mass if solid throughout ;
" and the tendency would be to much greater amounts of pre-
" cession and nutation on this account It seems excessively
" improbable that the defect of moment of inertia due to fluid in
" the earth's interior, should bear at all approximately the same
*' ratio to the whole moment of inertia, that the actual elastic
" 3rie]ding bears to the perfectly easy yielding which would take
•* place if the earth were quite fluid. But we must cither admit
'* this supposition, improlxsible as it seem?, or conclude (from
" the close agreement of precession and nutation with what
•* they would be if the earth were perfectly rigid) that the defect
" of moment of inertia, owing to fluid in the interior, is small in
" comparison with the whole amount of inertia of the earth
" about any diameter ; and that the deformation experienced by
" the earth from lunar and solar influence is small in compari-
" son with what it would be if the earth were perfectly fluid.
" It is, however, certain that there is some fluid matter in the
" interior of the earth ; witness eruptions of lava from vol-
" canoes. But this is probably quite local, as has been urged
*' by Mr. Hopkins, who first adduced the phenomena of pre-
" cession and nutation to disprove the hypothesis that the solid
*< part of the earth's mass is merely a thin shell."
The Kiltorcan Fossils
I HAVE just seen Mr. Camithers' letter in your number of
January 4th, to which I beg leave to reply.
In this communication it now appears that Mr. Carrathers'
former remarks in the discussion upon Prof. Heer's paper were
intended as a personal attack upon me ; as he now states that on
me alone rests the credit of misleading Prof. Heer by my erro-
neous determination of the Kiltorcan plant
I have no hesitation in acknowledging to having referred the
Kiltorcan plant in question to Sagenaria vdttuimiaf%a^ and I think
it very possible I may even now be correct I will however now
state the reason for my afterwards adopting Professor Schimper's
name in preference. When that gentleman was in Ireland he
spent some time in the examination of the Kiltorcan fossils, and
did not then object to my determination of the species ; it was
afterwards, on my sending him a collection, that his further study
of these fossils and comparison with the original species (of which
I had only seen figures) enabled him to announce to me what he
believed to be the d'lstinctive characters in relation to the fruit
which accompanied it, of those I had named Sagenaria veUhn-
miana ; these fossils in his letter to me he referred to Sagettaria,
and afterwards in hb work ** Trait^ Pal^ontologie V^^tale," to
Knorria under the name of K. bailyana. In the meantime I had
read my report on these fossils at the British Association, and
naturally adopted the generic name first applied to it by Prof.
Schimper, wluch I afterwards corrected to Knorria^ on his autho-
rity, in my " Figures of British Fossils," as Mr. Camithers
states.
In my letter to Professor Heer (June 1870) accompanying the
specimens which I was requested to send him for his comparison
with the Bear Island flora, I named those from Kiltorcan Sagt"
naria bailyana in accordance with Prof Schimper's determina-
tion, whilst others fix>m Tallow Bridge, co. Waterford, which
he specially wished to see, I still referred to S, vdthamiana, I
made him aware of Prof. Schimper's views on these plants,
stating distinctly that they were originally referred by me to .S".
vdtheimiana^ but that Prof. Schimper, in consequence of his
being enabled to compare the fruit accompanying it with that of
the true S, veltheinnana^ had arrived at the conclusion that it
could not be that species, and therefore he had named it as a
distinct one. Under these circumstances I cannot see how Mr.
Carruthers can charge me with misleading Prof Heer, who had
the whole facts, with examples of the specimens from both
localities, to draw his own conclusions from ; with his acknow-
ledged powers of discrimination, surely he was fully competent
to judge for himself as to their correct identity.
The amount of Mr. Carruthers' knowledge on the subject
about which he writes, is evidenced from his intimation that the
fossil figured by me in the explanation to Sheet 187, &c., of the
Iri&h Survey maps, is from Kiltorcan (co. Kilkenny), whereas it
was sketched by me, on the spot, at Tallow Bridge (co. Water-
ford), where the section exposed exhibited a profusion of these
plants in various conditions and stages of growth. The character
of the rock in which they occur is totally different from that at
Kiltorcan, the former being a grey shale, corresponding with the
Lower Carboniferous shales, the latter a fine-grained greenish
sandstone ; neither has any of the associated Kiltorcan fossils,
including the fish which are of typical Devonian or Old Red
sandstone genera, ever been found at Tallow Bridge. I did how-
ever state m this memoir my belief that the S. vdthdmiana^ as
identified by me at Tallow Bridge, was similar to the Kiltorcan
plant in question, and also that it corresponded with the so-called
Knorria of the Marwood beds, N. Devon.
With reference to Mr. Carruthers' announcement that Sagena-
ria velUuimiana is a *' coal measure plant," I may remark that
it is a particularly abundant fossil, occurring in various conditions,
but seldom, if ever, met with in the typiaJ coal series of Great
Britain; I have identified it from the sandstones of the lower
coal measures in the North of Ireland, as well as at various
localities in the Lower Carboniferous shales of the Counties ol
Cork and Kerry. On the Continent, especially in Germany, it
appears to .be still more universal, and has been recoided under
various names by fossil botanists, as Dr. H. R. Goeppert, in his
** Foisile Flora der Silurischen der Devonischen," &c, mentions
more than twenty synonyms for this species ; moreover the same
author states its occurrence to be "In der Kulmgrauwacke, dem
Kohlenkalke und in Atx jungsUn Crauwacke,^* Dr. F. linger
and Dr. H. B. Geiniti^ the latter of whom personally inspected
the collections from Kiltorcan and Tallow Bridge, also mentions
similar lower geological horizons at which it occurs; and Dr.
L/iyiiiiLCAj uy
d)''
yan. 1 8, 1872]
NATURE
225
W. p. Schimper in the work before cited places it in Lepidoden-
dron as a characteristic plant "des formations houUi^res inf^rienres
(muwacke culm) correspondant an calcaire carbonif^re." It is
therefore evidently more characteristic of the Lowest Carbcnu-
ferous than of the coal measures ; the older of these formations
being considered by Sir Charles Lyell "as equivalents of the
Lower Carboniferous, and were even formerly referred to the
Devonian group."
I beUeve enough has now been said to show the part I took in
misleading thb eminent Professor, and I will leave those interested
to judge between the merits of Mr. Carruthers' or Prof.
Heers' classification, but in conclusion I must request to be al-
lowed to sute that prior to this gentleman's accusation against
me, he made me a proposal to help him out of his controversy
with Prof. I leer, and to "join him in a memoir to describe
and figure the valuable materials I had collected ; " this I had
to decline, because it would not only have interfered with my
official duties, but might also have drawn me into a discussion in
which I had no interest, besides the probability of its committing
me to what may prove to be erroneous opinions.
Dublin, Jan. 10 Wm. Hbllier Baily
Circumpolar Lands
In Nature of December 28 there is an interesting letter
endeavouring to show that the land everywhere about the North
Pole down to lat 57^ is rbing. We know less about the South
Polar regions, but there are active volcanoes in the Antarctic
Continent, and Darwin has shown in his work on volcanic is-
lands that the land and sea-bottom are rising. This appears to
be at least a remarkable coincidence.
The earth must be cooling by the escape of the central heat in
volcanic eruptions and hot springs, and by slow upward conduc-
tion through the strata. As it cools it must contract. Can any
mathematical reason be assigned why the contraction should be
least in the direction of the polar diameter ? This would account
for the rising of the land at the poles. J. J. Murphy
1871
May I
English Rainfall
In Nature of the nth inst. your reviewer, "J. K. L. "
(p. 201), makes a mistake in stating that the greatest English
rainfall takes place at Cockley Bridge, Seathwaite. The greatest
fall takes place at the Stye and on the north side of Stye Head,
Seathwaite, Borrowdale ; whereas the Cockley Bridge named by
your reviewer is Seathwaite, Valley of the Duddon, and many
miles from the place of greatest fall. He has evidently confounded
the two Seathwaites. A reference to Mr. J. G. Symons' annual
rainfall returns willl show that the Seathwaite named b the one in
Borrowdale. G. V. Vernon
Wanted, a Government Analyst
I AM a grocer in a small way in a country place, so that I
retail almost all that comes under the name of food ; and I am
very desirous that all should be unadulterated and worth its
price, as far a« a fair profit will allow. But how am I to ensure
this, even supposing I possessed the requisite knowledge and ap-
pliances ? Time would be wanting to carry out a systematic
analysis, and the ordinary " rule of thumb " tests are not a match
for the increasing cleverness of "manufacturing chembts." It
only remains to send samples to some known food analyst ; but
here the expense becomes a barrier, when the dealings dependent
on it are on a small scale. Is there (or, if not, ought there not
to be ?) some Government functionary to whom samples could be
sent for testing, at a charge to just cover necessary expenses ?
After reading a very sad article on " Artificial Milk," m your
paper of Dec. 15, I leel emboldened to ask whether, either of
yourself or through any of your readers, you could assist me to
render practical a feeling I am sure you must S3rmpathise with.
For obvious reasons, I ask you to receive in strict confidence the
name and address I have given to show the genuine nature of my
application. Grocer
Earthquakes in Celebes
I WISH to contribute to the list of evthauakes and eruptions
in your journal the following^ all of which 1 have witnessed :—
June 13
July 15
a" '^
August 7.
19.
25.
31.
Eruption of a volcano on the Island Camiguin, south
of the Philippine Islands.
Earthquake in Kakas, at the Lake of Tondano in
Minahassa, North Celebes, 7| p.m. Thb shock
was at the same time felt throughout Minahassa.
£arth(j|uake at Gorontalo, North Celebes, Bay of
Tommi, 12^ p.m. and lo^ p.m.
Earthquake at Gorontalo, 12^ A. M., heavy.
Eruption of the volcano of Temate. Thb eruption
had not ended August 23. Most of the inhabitants
of Temate ran away. Stones and ashes were
thrown as far as Halmaheira.
Earthquake at Gorontalo, 5 A.M.
Seaquake at Gorontalo, 3 P.M.
Earthquake at Gorontalo, i p.m., very strong, ver*
tically.
In the month of August there were at Gorontalo a series of
earthquakes, all of which I did not notice in my diary, some of
them very severe, shocks so severe and numerous have not been
experienced for years at that place. I do not doubt that they
were in connection with the long'Continued eruption of the
volcano of Ternate in the same month.
Some years ago there was communicated to the Paris Academy,
from South America, the fact that permanent magnets lose their
magnetbm during earthauakes. I will not dbcuss here the theo-
retical point of view of tne question. During my whole stay in
the northern part of Celebes I have always hung up a magnet,
with a maximum weight attached to it, but never, not even during
the severe earthquakes of Gorontalo, has the weight fallen down.
I therefore doubt the fact.
Eaithquakes are felt Uiroughout the northern part of Celebes,
on the coasts of the Bay of Tomini, at the Togian Islands in
the Bay of Tomini ; whereas in the southern part of Celebes,
for instance at Macassar, earthquakes are scarcely ever felt or
only very slight ones. The geological structure of the southern
part of Celebes differs entirely from that of the northern.
I enclose a list of earthquakes observed at Gorontalo from
1866-70 by Mr. Riedel.
Lbt of"^ earthquakes at Gorontalo (N. Ut. 0° 29' 42",
W. long. 23* 2' 50") between the year 1866 and 1870 :—
Year.
Month.
Day.
Hour.
Direction.
Direction of
the Wind.
1866
February
^ 18
I p.m.
1 E.— W.
N.W.
April
5
7i p.m.
1
E.S.E.
April
6
' lo^ a.m.
E.— W.
—
June
20
6^ a.in.
E.— W.
E.S.E.
1 September
5
8» a.m.
—
S.E.
December
2
Z\ p.m.
. E.-W.
W.
1867
February
26
Hi p.m.
E.--W.
W.
March
22
4i p.m.
1 —
N.W.
March
30
9 p.m.
1 —
April
May
22
10 a.m.
1 E.— W.
N.W.
17
3 p.m.
E.--W.
S.E.
June
26
Si p.m.
E.— W.
S.E.
July
26
8 a.m.
—
S.E.
August
27
2 a.m.
E.— W.
S.E.
September
H
io| p.m.
E.— W.
S.E.
December
23
10 p.m.
E.— W.
W.
1868
April
May
7
9i p.m.
E.— W.
W.N.W.
27
6i p.m.
E.— W.
S.S.E.
June
13
9} p.m.
E.— W.
S.S.E.
July
27
Ill a.m.
E.— \V.
S.E.
September
4
9\ p.m
—
S.E.
November
18
6ia.m.
E.-W.
S.E.
1869
March
3
loi a.m.
E.— W.
S.E.
May
3
7 p.m.
E.— W.
N.W.
August
22
9i p.m.
E.— W.
S.E.
November
17
4i p.m.
E.— W.
W.N.W.
1870
April
7
I2i a.m.
E.— W.
W.S.W.
July
12
si am.
E.— W.
W.S.W.
August
28
3i a.m.
E.— W.
W.S.W.
I am now eoin^ to the southern ^urts of the Philippine Islands,
and in the following vear to New Uuinea. A short communica-
tion about my travds in Celebes will be found in PeUrmantCs
Geozraphische Mitthalungm,
Celebes, Nor.
'•%fcbyGMg^
226
NATURE
{Jan. i8, 1872
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICA :
SHOWING HOW ELECTRICITY MAY DO MUCH OF WHAT IS
COMMONLY BELIEVED TO BE THE SPECIAL WORK OP A
VITAL PRINCIPLE
III.
2. In conttniiation of the question — How in muscular
action electricity may do much of what is commonly be-
lieved to be the work of a vital principle,
CONNECTED with the history of clectrotonus as
exhibited in these experiments* are also other
facts which must not be overlooked in this attempt
to trace out the workings of electricity in muscular
action — facts which show that the departure of con-
tractility and the arrival of rigor mortis are con-
siderably retarded by both forms of elcctrotonus. Left
to itself, the gastrocnemius of the frog loses its con-
tractility and passes into the state of rigor mortis in a
time varying with the season and from other causes
from 6 to 12 hours ; but not so when left to the action of
electrotonus. In this latter case, indeed, the con-
tractility may remain for 18, 24, or 36 hours — for a
longertime inanelectrotonus than incathelectrotonus — and
even then there may still be no signs of rigor mortis.
Once, where anelectrotonus was kept up steadily all the
time, and where contractility lingered for 36 hours, the
muscles were still limber at the end of 48 hours. No
doubt, before exact conclusions can be drawn in these
matters more experiments are wanted, many more ; but
it is not necessary to wait for these in order to be certain
that the departure of contractility, and the arrival of
rigor mortis, are considerably retarded by the action of
both forms of electrotonus. And it is simply to the bare
fact that attention is now directed.
What then ? Do these facts bear upon what has gone
before, and, if so, how ?
The facts are obvious. In anelectrotonus and cathe-
lectrotonus alike there are— suspension of the tetanus
caused by feeble faradaic currents, elongation of muscle,
exalted contractility, together with considerable retarda-
tion in the time at which contractility passes oiT and
rigor mortis comes on. In anelectrotonus and cathelec-
trotonus the parts, muscle and neive alike, are charged
with a charge larger in amount than that which is
natural to them — a positive charge in anelectrotonus, a
negative in cathelectrotonus. The facts, indeed, are
strangely in keeping with the premises. Only let it be
supposed that the artificial charge acts upon the dielectric
sheaths of the fibres as the natural charge has been sup-
posed to act, but in the contrary direction, that is from
without to within instead of from within to without, the
charge imparted to the outside inducing the opposite
charge on the inside, and all the rest follows. The
artificial charge is larger in amount than the mutual
charge, and hence the increased elongation of the
muscular fibres, the compression arising from the natural
attraction of the two opposite elements of the charge
keeping up a state of elongation proportionate to the
amount of the charge. Hence, also, the suspension of
the tetanus by electrotonus, for if the charge elongates the
fibres it is easy to see that another of its actions may be that
of suspending or antagonising muscular action. And hence
again the increased contractUity, for, according to the pre-
mises, contraction, happening under these circumstances,
will be greater because the elasticity of the muscle has
freer play at the discharge. In these matters the artificial
charge plays the same part as the natural charge, only
more energetically, nothing more. And not less so, as it
would seem, in the action exercised upon the pass-
ing off of contractility and coming on of rigor mortis.
Contractility passes off and rigor mortis comes on in the
ordinary coarse of things, because the muscle loses its
natural electricity. Contractility passes off and rigor mortis
See Natuks, Jaa. zi, 187s.
comes on more slowly in electrotonus because the artificial
charge associated with this state can take the place and
do the work of the natural charge. This is alL Indeed,
so far, the whole electrical history of muscle would seem
to point to the view which led to the experiment with the
elastic band, and to show that living muscle is kept in a
state of elongation by the presence of an electrical charge,
and that contraction is nothing more than the action of
the fibres, by virtue of their elasticity, when liberated by
discharge from the charge which kept them elongated
previously — ordinary muscular contraction differing from
rigor mortis in this only, that the charge which prevents
contraction is suddenly withdrawn, and immediately re-
placed, in the former case, and gradually withdrawn, and
not replaced, in the latter case.
Upon this view, also, it is possible to get a glimpse of
the reason why contraction is more antagonised by an-
electrotonus than by cathelectrotonus ; and why contrac-
tility is slower in passing off, and rigor mortis slower in
coming on, under the former state than under the latter.
In anelectrotonus the artificial charge of the parts, muscle
and nerve alike, is positive, and, being so, the sheaths
are positive externally, and (by induction) negative inter-
nally, the manner of charging, which, there is reason to
believe, is natural to the muscle. In cathelectrotonus, on
the other hand, the opposite state of things obtains. Here
the artificial change is negative, not positive. Here, con-
sequently, the charging of the sheaths is negative on the
outside and positive on the inside— a state of things which
is not natural to the fibres, or which is only met with
exceptionally, when these fibres are upon the point of
passing into the state of rigor mortis. In anelctrotonus,
therefore, the natural charge may co-operate with the
artificial charge in a way in which it cannot do in cath-
electrotonus ; and which, without further comment, it is
easy to see may explain in some degree why contraction
is more antagonised by anelectrotonus than by cathelec-
trotonus ; and why contractility passes off and rigor mortis
comes on more slowly under the former condition than
under the latter.
As I have shown elsewhere,* the whole electrical history
of muscle is in keeping with this view. The charges ob-
tained from the common friction machine act in the same
way as those associated with electrotonus. Everywhere, the
question is not of polarisation and of changes in direction
of a continuous current, but simply of charge and dis-
charge. Everywhere it is charge preventing, and dis-
charge permitting, action. In a word, the whole electrical
history of muscle would seem to show that electricity may
have much to do in what is coiftmonly believed to be the
work of contractility and tonicity, and that the way in
which this work is done is that which is here pointed out.
Against this view, however, sundry objections may be
urged. It may be said that the phenomena of muscular
action in muscles with sheathed fibres cannot be ex-
plained after this fashion. It may be said that the proof
of charge during rest and discharge during action is little
more than a matter of imagination. It may be said that
the force of the natural electricity of muscle is inadequate
as force. But, in reality, these objections, when iairly
looked into, prove to be of little value.
No doubt the fibres of involuntary muscles differ from
those of voluntary muscles in havin? no proper sheath5.
Instead of having those sheaths, indeed, they are made
up of cells, mostly fusiform in shape, imbedded in a sort
of homogeneous plasm or matrix ; and these cells, there is
reason to believe, are the contractile elements of the fibres.
Still it is not easy to allow the force of any objection aris-
ing in this fact, for may it not be that the walls of these con-
tractile cells, which, like the sheaths of the fibres of voluntary
muscle, in the main consist of the material of elastic tissue,
behave in the way the sheath is supposed to behave under
the charge and dischai;ge, that a charge developed on the
• "DjnuuBica of Nerve ud Miude.** Maaninan.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Jan. 1 8, 1 872 J
NATURE
227
inside of these walls induces the opposite charge on the
outside, that the walls elongate under the compression
arising from the mutual attraction of these charges, and
shorten when this charge is discharged, because their
elasticity is then left free to come into play ? Nay, may
it not be that this action of the cell membrane is not ex-
. eluded in those long voluntary muscles in which the fibres
seem to be made up of several cells or fibres over-wrapping
at their ends, rather than of a single sheathed fibre ? And,
certainly, this idea is not contradicted by facts remaining
in the background ; for, as will be seen in due time, these
go to show that the walls of all cells and fibres are affected
electrically in the same way as that in which the sheath of
the fibre of voluntary muscle is supposed to be affected.
So that, after all, the phenomena of rest and action in
sheathless muscular fibres may supply no valid objection
to the view which has been taken of these phenomena as
presented in muscular fibres with proper sheaths.
And surely the evidence supplied by the new quadrant
electrometer is a sufficient contradiction to the objection
that the charge during muscular rest and the discharge
during muscular action are mere matters of imagrination,
for this evidence shows unequivocally that there is a
charge during this state of rest and a discharge during
this state of action. It is not a question of inference
merely, such as it might be if the evidence supplied by
the galvanometer were alone available ; for here, as has
been pointed out, the current during rest, and the com-
parative disappearance of this current during action, may
m reality point to charge and discharge when traced to
their causes : it is a question of simple fact. Moreover,
the anatomical and physiological analogies existing be-
tween the muscular apparatus and the electrical apparatus
in the torpedo and the phenomena of secondary con-
traction, make it more than probable that muscular
action is accompanied by a discharge analogous to that
of the torpedo. Like the nerves of me muscle, the nerves
of the electric organs originate in the same track of the
spinal cord, and terminate in the same manner. Like the
muscles, the electric organs are paralysed by dividing
their nerves. Like the muscles, the electric organs, after
being thus paralysed, may be made to act by pinching the
nerve below the line of section. Like the muscles, the
electric organs are thrown into a state of involuntary
action by strychnia. Like the muscles, the electric
organs cannot go on acting without intervals of rest
And lastly, the nerves of the electric organs, like the
nerves of the muscles, when somewhat exhausted, respond
in the same curiously alternating way to the action of the
" inverse " and " direct " current, if only discharge be taken
as the equivalent of contraction. In a word, these analo-
gies may be said almost to necessitate the conclusion to
which Matheucci was led in regarding them, namely this
— that muscular action is accompanied by a discharge of
electricity analogous to that of the torpedo. And cer-
tainly this conclusion is borne out rather than contradicted
by the phenomenon of secondary contraction which is
exhibited in a prepared frog's leg, when, after laying its
nerve upon the muscle of another such limb, contraction
is produced in the latter limb ; for here the only sufficient
explanation would seem to be that offered by Becquerel,
namely this — that contraction happens in the first limb
because its nerve is acted upon by an electrical discharge
developed in and around the muscles of the second limb
during action -a discharge which may not indirectly show
that there was a charge to be discharged during[ the pre-
vious state of rest. In a word, the evidence, direct and
indirect, must surely suffice to show that the idea of charge
during rest and discharge during action is something more
than a mere matter of imagination.
Nor can it be fairly urged that the force of the natural
electricity of the muscle is too feeble to produce the results
attributed to it On the contrary, after what has been said
respecting the analogies between muscular action*and the
action of the electrical organs of the torpedo, it is quite
fair to suppose that the force of the discharge in muscular
action, instead of being feeble, may be equivalent to that
of the torpedo ; and that the reason why it cannot be
detected in the same way may be that it is short-circuited^
and so mainly out of reach^ within the body.
3. How in nervous action electricity may do much of
what is commonly believed to be the work of a vital
principle.
There is good reason to believe-* that the electrical law
of nerve-fibre differs in no wise from that of muscular fibre.
There are also similarities between the principal struc-
tural elements of the nervous system from which it would
appear that what holds good of one part of this system
electrically may hold good of the other parts also. Nay
more, there is in these facts reason for believing that what
holds good of nerve- tissue generally may hold good of
muscle also, for the typal element of nerve and muscle is
evidently one and the same.
Looking at the different parts of the nervous system —
ganglionic cells, and the peripheral nerve-organs — and at
muscle cells and fibres, it is easy to trace the same struc-
tural plan.
Central ganglionic cells, as seen in the ganglia of the
sympathetic system, and in other small ganglia of the
land, consist of a round, oval, or pyriform mass of soft
translucent, granular substance, with which two or more
nerve-fibrej communicate, and of an enclosing capsule
formed of a transparent membrane with attached or em-
bedded nuclei. The central granular substance, with
which the nerve-fibres communicate, and the investing
capsule, are unmistakeable in the ganglionic cells of
the minute ganglia, but not so in the brain and spinal
cord. In the brain and spinal cord there is the same
central substance, but the proper cell wall is doubtful.
Moreover, the central substance, instead of being a
round, oval, or pyriform mass, with which the nerve-
fibres are connected at one point only, branches out
into several processes, which seem to be continuous
with the nerve-fibres. At the same time, these cells and
fibres are surrounded and supported by connective
tissue, called reticulum by Kolliker, and neurologia by
Virchow — a tissue which^ as Dr. Sharpey points out,
'* is not merely an open mesh-work, but consists of fine
laminae formed of a close investment of finest fibrils,
disposed as membranous partitions and tubular com-
gartmcnts for supporting and enclosing the nervous
undies ; " so that, in the brain and spinal cord, as in
the smaller ganglia, there is good reason for believing
that the structure of the ganglionic cell is virtually the
same, namely, a central granular mass, with which
nerve-fibres are connected, and a membrane, with nuclei,
investing this mass.
The peripheral nerve organs, of which ths principal
forms are three in number — the end-bulbs, the touch-
corpuscles, and the Pacinian bodies —agree in having (i)
an inward part or core of so't, translucent, finely granular
matter, in which one or more nerve- fibres end by bulbous,
or knobbed extremities ; and (2) an outer investing cip-
sule of ordinary connective tissue, with nuclei, in the
end-bulbs and touch corpuscles this capsule is simple ; in
the Pacinian body it is made up of many concentric
layers, from forty to sixty in number, with nuclei, these
layers, " encasing each other, like the coats of an onion,
with a small quantity of pellucid fiuid included between
them," being strung together where the nerve passes
through. The structural plan is still that of the ganglionic
cell— a central mass of granular matter, with whicn nerve
fibres are intimately connected, and an investing capsule,
simple or complex, as the case may be ; and this would
seem to be the plan of all the peripheral parts of the
nervous system without exception, for it is a question
* See Nature, Jan. 4, zSja.
Digitized by
Google
228
NATURE
{Jan, i8, 1872
whether nerves do ever terminate in plexuses or meshes
of any kind.
The fibre of voluntary muscle is said to consist of a
large number of extremely fine filaments enclosed in a
transparent, homogeneous, elastic (the composition agrees
with that of elastic tissue), tubular sheath, called the
sarcolemma or myolemma, in which are nuclei, called
muscle-corpuscles. It might, however, be more correct to
say that this fibre consists of a mass of soft granular
matter (the granules being the sarcous elements of Bow-
man), agreeing in the main with the granular core of the
ganglionic cells and peripheral nerve-organs, enclosed in
the sheath which has been described ; for the contents of
the fibre, instead of splitting up longitudinally into fila-
ments, may split up horizontally into discs — ^may split either
way or any way, m fact, as they would do if they were
made up, neither of fibrils nor discs, but of granules which
may, as it happens, aggregate into fibrils or discs. The
fibre of involuntary muscle, on the other hand, is made
up of elongated fibre-cells, connected together by a homo-
geneous, transparent uniting medium, without any sarco-
lemma. Each of these fibre- cells has a core of finely
granular matter, sometimes arranged so as to form ipaper-
fect fibrils, and of a distinct cell-membrane, with nuclei,
the shape of the cell being fiisiform, with ends sometimes
pointed, sometimes truncated, sometimes simple, some-
times branched. The cell- membrane in reality takes the
place of the sarcolemma, for each cell is nothing more or
less than a rudimentary fibre. Indeed, in long voluntary
muscles there are fibres which seem to partake somewhat
of the character of voluntary and somewhat of the charac-
ter of involuntary fibres— fibres which, instead of running
continuously from one end of the muscle to the other, are
made up of several elongated fusiform cells, overlapping
each other at the ends, and which therefore may con-
sist of cell-membrane and sarcolemma both. Nor is the
connection of the nerves with the muscular fibres or cells
peculiar. Beale and Kolliker think that the nerves be-
longing to voluntary muscle end in meshes of pale fibres
outside the sarcolenmia. Rouget, Kiihne, and others are
of opinion that this ending is in peculiar organs— motorial
end- plates continuous with the axis-cylinder of the nerve,
oval or irregular in shape, within the sarcolemma and
between it and the proper muscular substance, the primi-
tive nerve- sheath fusing with the sarcolemma, and one end-
plate being devoted to each muscular fibre. And thus it
may be that the muscular fibre or cell may agree in structure
with the ganglionic cell, and the peripheral nerve organ, in
having a soft granular core, with which one or more nerve-
fibres are connected, and an investing membrane of con-
nective tissue with one or more nuclei. It may be, indeed,
that the muscular fibre and cell are only varieties of the
peripheral nerve-organ.
Tne nerve-fibres by which these several bodies — gan-
glionic cells, peripheral nerve organs of various kmds,
and muscular nbres and ceUs— are connected together, are
of two kinds, the tubular, which are white with dark
borders, and those which are grey, pale, non-medullated
or gelatinous. The white or tubular fibres, when quite
fresh, appear perfectly homogeneous like threads of glass,
but afterwards, when coagulation has taken place, they
are found to consist of an axis, or primitive band, as it is
called, a white medullary coating strongly refractive of
light, and giving them the appearance of having dark
borders, and an outer membranous sheath or tube, with
nuclei in it, agreeing in composition with elastic tissue,
and being analogous to the sarcolemma. The gpry, pale,
gelatinous fibres would seem to consist of the axis or primi-
tive band of the others, with obscure sheaths in which
are nuclei, but without medullary coating. They be-
long chiefly to the ganglionic system, but not exclusively ;
at sdl events the finer subdivisions of the white dark-bor-
dered nerves of the other systems are found to have lost
their dark borders, and to have become undistinguishable
from those which have no dark borders naturallv. In
nerve-fibres, therefore, as in nerve^ells, there would seem
to be a central core, and a membranous investment con-
taining nuclei ; and, all thing:s considered, the connection
of these fibres with ganglionic cells, with peripheral
nerve-organs, and with muscular fibres and cells, would
appear to be by one and the same method, the axis or
pnmitive band being continuous with the central soft
granular core of the central and peripheral elements of
the nervous system, and of the muscular fibres and cells
(for with so many points of analogy it is difidcult not to
believe with Rouget, Kiihne, and others who agree with
them in this matter), the primitive sheath, when there is
one, being continuous with the membranous investment
of this core, neurilemma, sarcolemma, or other, as the
case may be.
Instead of being peculiar, therefore, the voluntary mus-
cular fibre may be no more than a modified form not only
of the contractile cell of the involuntary muscular fibre,
but also of the nerve-fibre, and of the central and peri-
pheral cell-elements of the nervous system. The same
type of structures is to be traced out in each case. There
is in each case the same central, granular, soft, substance,
but slightly changed protoplasm probably, in the mole-
cular change of which an electrical change may origi-
nate. There is in each case outside this central sub-
stance a membrane which may become charged leyden-
jar-wise as the neurilenuna and sarcolemma are supposed
to be charged. And, therefore, it is not altogether beg-
ging the question to conclude that in each case one and
the same electrical law may bear rule.
And certainly the adoption of this idea is calculated to
elucidate much that is obscure in the structure and action
of the nervous and muscular systems.
Upon this view a use is found for the contents and
walls of the fibres and cells of which the nervous and
muscular systems are made up. The contents are wanted
for the generation of the charge ; the walls are wanted
for receiving and holding this charge. Their leyden-jar
office, indeed, explains why it is that the nervous and
muscular systems should be made up of cells and fibres.
Upon this view one use is found for the nucleus in the
walls or sheath of cell or fibre. The nucleus may repre-
sent the spot at which the development of this wall or
sheath is arrested — the spot at which the original, moist,
conducting protoplasmic matter is not transformed by-
drying, or in some other way, into non-conducting wall or
sheath, and, therefore, as I think, the nucleus may have
a very definite function to fulfil As I think, indeed, the
case may be this : that the molecular changes in which
the charge of the cell or fibre originates (those in the con-
tents of Qie cell or fibre) depend upon the continual ingress
of fresh and egress of used-up aerated matter ; that this
ingress and egpress is, not through the wall or sheath any-
where or everywhere, but only through the nucleus ; that
the one charge not wanted for charging the inner surface
of the wall or sheath may escape to earth through the
nucleus ; and that the channel of the discharge which
happens when the cell or fibre passes from the state of
rest into that of action may also be through the nucleus.
Without such opening as may be supposed to exist in the
nucleus, indeed, it Is difficult to understand how the cell
or fibre should be charged and discharged; and thus,
upon the view in question, a use is found (not the only
use, of course), for the nuclei present in the walls of the
cells and in the sheaths of the fibres of the nervous and
muscular systems.
Upon this view, too, the infinite number of these cells
and fibres may in some degree be accounted for. For
may it not be that each cell and fibre acts as a condenser to
every other cell or fibre, so that a charge or discharge
which is feeble without being multiplied becomes any thing
but feeble when multiplied ? And may not this function of
a condenser be the one function of the Pacinian bodies ?
. by
Google
Jan. i8, 1872J
NATURE
229
Other cells and fibres have other functions as well ; these
bod ies may have this one function only. They may, in fact,
be rudiments of the electric organs of the torpedo, with a
sphere of action, not without the body, but within it. And
this may be the reason why these bodies are placed on
the trunks of nerves at points where it may be supposed
that special means are wanted for keeping up the requisite
degree of elastic tension, their use in this case being
analogous to that of an ordinary leyden condenser in con*
nection with a telegraph wire conveying a minimum
amount of electricity.
Nor does this view fail to elucidate in some degree the
way in which nerves tell upon muscle and react upon each
other. Let' the contents of the muscular fibre or cell be
connected with the contents of the corresponding gan-
glionic cell by the axis cylinder of the nerve, and a charge
or discharge in the nerve centre must tell upon the mus-
cular tissue, just as in the case of two leyden jars with
their inner coatings connected by a conductor, the
charge or discharge of the one involves corresponding
changes in the other. Let the case be that of a sensory
peripheral cell and a central ganglionic ceU, similarly
connected, and a charge or discharge in the former will
involve a charge or discharge in the latter, the discharge
producing sensation. The case is simply that of a
leyden battery, with all possible space economised by
making the conductors, where they may, do the work of
the jars. The case is plain as regards the charge, for the
molecular charges are ever at work by which it is kept
up and renewed ; and the case is not altogether obscure
even as regards the discharge, for it may well be that
discharge happens when the charge increases until it
overleaps the barrier of insulation presented in the
dielectric walls of the fibres and cells— a result which,
for want possibly of a sufficiently insulating barrier some-
where, happens more easily than it ought to do in the case
of involimtary nervous action, such as is seen in convulsion,
neuralgia, and the rest.
Viewed in this way, too, it is easy to see that the ner-
vous system may do its work, not by discharge only, but
by charge also. It is easy to see that the discharge may
be all that is wanted to cause contraction ; indeed, ac
cording to the premises, all that is wanted for this pur-
pose is that the charge which kept the muscular nbre
elongated should be discharged, and the fibre so left to
the play of its own natural elasticity. It is easy to see,
also, that discharge may be the mechanical agent which
may call the various nerve-centres into action— by shaking
the veil which separates the visible from the invisible in
the higher mental processes, perhaps. And for charge no
less than discharge it is also easy to see that there may
be a definite work to do — a work of which the end is, not
to cause action in the muscles and in the various nerve-
centres, but to prevent it. Indeed, after what has been
said, it is to be supposed that all nerves, through their
electricity, have during rest an action which Pfiiiger sup-
goses to be peculiar to certain nerves only, and to which
e gives the name of inhibitory.
And here opens out a question of paramount in-
terest.
It has been seen that the electric law of nerve and
muscle is one and the same. It has been seen that the
state of contraction in muscle is antagonised by the pre-
sence of a charge of electricity in muscle — that a state of
actual elongation is produced by the action of this charge.
It has been seen, not only that the state of contraction is
antagonised and a state of elongation set up by the
presence of the natural charge of electricity in muscle, but
that more matked changes of the same kind are produced
by the action of an artificial charge of electricity, provided
this charge be greater in amount than the natural charge.
The facts, indeed, are calculated to justify the notion that
the degree of elongation produced by the conjoint action
of the charge belonging to the muscle itself and the charge
imparted to the muscle from its nervous system is greater
than that produced by the action ' of the former charge
singly ; or, in other words, that the charge imparted to
the muscle by its nervous system may cause a degree of
elongation in the muscle which is over and above that
caused by the charge belonging to the muscle itself —
which surplus may have much to do in explaining rhyth-
mical action in hollow muscles.
Take the case of a hollow muscle — a capillary vessel,
for example. This vessel has its special nervous system,
vasomotor nerves, efferent and afferent, vasomotor centre ;
and the question is as to how this system acts upon the
vessel. May it be that a charge of electricity is continu-
ally being developed upon the cell-A-alls and fibre- sheaths of
this system by the action of the oxygen of the blood and
other causes upon the contents of the cells or fibres ; and
that this development goes on until, the bounds of insula-
tion being overpassed, discharge happens? May it be
that the muscular fibres forming the walls of the vessel
elongate, and in so doing cause the vessel to dilate as long
as this charge is imparted to them ? May it be that the
vessel passes from the state of dilatation into that of con*
traction when the discharge of this charge happens, in
consequence of the muscular fibres being then liberated
from the condition of extra- elongation caused by the
charge imparted to them from the nerves, and so left to
the play of their natural elasticity ? May it be that thus
there are diastolic and systolic changes in the vessel by
which the blood is alternately drawn into and driven out of
the vessel, changes which may supply the key to the mys-
tery of " capillary force " ? Nay, more ; may it not be
that the diastolic and systolic movements of the heart
itself may have to be explained in the same way ? To all
these questions I answer, unhesitatingly, yes, it may be so.
Indeed, after what has been said, the only explanation
which seems to be called for concerns the movements of
the auricles of the heart, and this is easily given : for, as
it seems to me, the auricles must be looked upon chiefly
as cisterns formed of dilated veins, and their movements
chiefiy as passive consequences of the movements of the
ventricles, the systole of the auricles being little more
than the passive falling- in of the auricular walls upon
the blood being suddenly sucked away by the ven-
tricular diastole, the diastole of the auricles being little
more than the passive bulging-out of the auricular walls,
caused at one and the same time by the stream of
blood which is ever flowing in from the valveless
openings of the great veins, and by a forcing back of
this stream, consequent upon the sudden closure and recoil
of the auriculo-ventricular valves at the moment of the
ventricular systole. In this way the seemingly diastolic
and systolic movements of the auricles must alternate
with the true diastole and systole of the ventricles, and,
at the' same time, the absence of valves at the opening of
the great veins into the auricles is accounted for — an
absence altogether inexplicable if the auricular systole had
to play the active part m the circulation which is played
by the ventricular systole. And much to the same effect
may be said of rhythmical movements in other hollow
muscles, the chief difference between one such movement
and another being perhaps this — that contraction follows
upon ddatation more slowly in. consequence of the cell-
walls and fibre-sheaths of the specisd nervous systems
being constructed differently as regards the capacity for
quick charging and discharging ; but these hints must
suffice for what might be said upon this subject.
Nor can it be urged as an objection to this view of
nervous action — the only objection which may be urged, so
far as I know — that the state of action in nerve-fibre is
unattended by the contraction which attends upon action
in muscular fibre. The electrical law of nerve and
muscle being one and the same, it might be expected,
perhaps, that this particular difference should not exist ;
but this difficulty, it it be one, is soon disposed of. Thus,
L/iyiii^cu \j^
ogle
230
NATURE
\yan. 18,1872
the success of the experiment with the elastic band de-
pends upon the band being of a certain thickness, and
upon the weights being so adjusted as to balance without
overbalancing its elasticity. Failing these conditions
charge and discharge may not tell in causing elongation and
contraction. And, therefore, the absence of perceptible
elongation and contraction in the nerve-fibre under the
charge and discharge may be simply owing to the fact
that the thickness and stretching of the neurilemma have
not been adjusted for the production of these results.
Besides, it is by no means certain that there are not in
some nerve- fibres slight changes which are stricdy parallel
to the elongation and contraction witnessed in muscular
fibres.
In a word, there seems to be good reason for believing
that in nerve as in muscle electricity may have to do
much of what is commonly regarded as the special work
of an inherent vital principle.
4. How in maintaining the " tone of the system " elec-
tricity may have to do much of wJiat is commonly re-
garded as the special work of a vital principle.
After what has been said little remains to be added un-
der this head. The conclusion arrived at is that each
perfect fibre and cell of living muscle and nerve (and, by
implication, every living fibre and cell), is a charged
leyden-jar while at rest. It is that the membranous
portion of the fibre or cell is at this time compressed
by the mutual attraction of the two opposite charges
disposed leyden-jar-wise upon its two surfaces. It is
that the effect of this compression is to elongate the fibre
or cell by squeezing out this membrane lengthwise. What
then ? May it be that this compression, this squeezing
out, is sufficient to account for what is called the " tone of
the system " } This state, no doubt, is indefinite enough,
but it becomes more definite when viewed in this way —
so definite, in fact, that here also, in the maintenance of
the " tone of the system " that is to say, electricity may
have to do much of what is commonly believed to be the
work of a vital principle.
5. How in certain processes of growth electricity may
do much of what is commonly regarded as the special
work of a vital principle^
A cell or fibre is at first a mass of protoplasm without
any investing membrane. Later, this membrane makes
its appearance, and how is this ? Is it that the surface of
the protoplasmic mass, except at the part or parts where
the nucleus is afterwards met with, hardens by desiccat-
ing, or dying, or changing in some other way, and, so
hardening, acquires dielectric properties? Is it that
the molecular changes ever going on in the protoplasmic
matter beneath this crust, develope a charge on the inside
of this crust, which, acting inductively, leads to the de-
velopment of the opposite charge on the outside ? Is it
that the compression arising from the mutual attraction
of these opposite charges, causes the crust to stretch out
every way, and so separate from the underlying proto-
plasmic mass, leaving thereby in some instances a vacuole,
which may be filled with a thin liquid or even air ? Is
this the way in which the sarcolemma and neurilemma,
the cell- walls, and all membranes more or less analogous
to them, may be formed ? After what has been said such
an idea is by no means improbable. Nay, such an idea
may be looked upon as the natural consequence of the
premises. And if so, then electricity may have to do
much of what is commonly believed to be the work of a
vital principle in these phenomena of growth, as well as
in the various processes which have been already passed
in review, and upon which so much has been said as to
leave only room now for these bare hints of what might be
said upon the subject.
C. B Radci.iffe
MERCURY PHOTOGRAPHS
AN entirely novel method of photographic printing has
just been discovered by M. Merget of Lyons,
Although akin in some respects to the daguerreotype pro-
cess, it differs essentially therefrom in the fact that expo-
sure to light is not necessary to the formation of every
separate image. It is difficult indeed just now to apply
any distinguishing name to M. Merget's invention, for the
methods hitherto discovered— and the number of these
has, we all know, increased of late beyond all calculation
—are all of them divisible into two very distinct classes.
Thus we have those processes broadly termed chemical,
in which every print is secured by the aid of light, as for
instance, the nitrate of silver and carbon methods ; and
those again where a matrix, or printing block, having
been prepared, the copies are struck off in the ordinary
lithographic or printing press ; photographs prepared in
this latter manner are usually termed i>hoto mechanical
prints. M. Merget's invention partakes singularly enough
of the nature of both classes ; for while the prints are un-
doubtedly formed by chemical action^ the question of
light is of no moment at all, and the manipulations in-
volved are to some extent of a mechanical nature.
The experiments of Faraday upon the diffusion of
gases will be remembered by many, and it was the re-
sults arrived at by that distinguished philosopher that
incited M. Merget, the Professor of Physics at the Facultd
des Sciences of Lyons, to take up the investigation he
has so successfully carried through. Faraday had already
found out that the vapour of mercury acted very sensibly
upon gold-leaf, and the first task undertaken by M. Mer-
get was to discover whether this same action also took
place upon other metals or their compounds. The in-
vestigation, it should be stated, was designed to be of a
purely theoretical nature, and was not undertaken, in the
first instance at any rate, with a view of working out any
practical processes such as may eventually result from
the research. The principal points discovered by M.
Merget may be thus summarised :—
1. The vaporisation of mercury is a continuous pheno-
menon ; that is to%ay, the metal emits vapour at all times,
even at a very low temperature, and when in a solidified
form.
2. Mercury vapour may be condensed upon certain
substances, such as carbon, platinum, &c., without these
latter being chemically affected.
3. Mercury vapour will pass with exceeding facility
through porous bodies, such as wood, porcelain, &c.
4. The salts of all precious metals when in solution are
very sensitive to the action of mercury vapour, which has
the efiect of rapidly reducing them.
The most sensitive to mercury of the precious metal
salts are nitrate of silver and the soluble chlorides of
gold, palladium, and iridium, and paper prepared with
any of these forms at once a most delicate test for the
volatile metal ; but the solutions must contain some
hygrometric body to prevent complete desiccation, so that
the surface coated with them will always remain in a moist
condition. To demonstrate how exceedingly sensitive this
test-paper is to mercury, we may state that its contact with
any body containing but a slight trace of amalgam suffices
to darken the surface, while it is affirmed that any workman
who has been employed for some time in a looking-glass
or other similar factory, may produce an impression of
his hand by simply laying the same upon a sensitive sur-
face of this kind, the mmute traces of mercury in the
pores of the skin being amply sufficient to bring about
a reduction of the salt, and to produce consequently aa
imprint of the fingers. In the same way a section of
wood exposed to mercury vapours, and afterwards pressed
in contact with a sheet of sensitive paper, prints off
upon the surface all the rings and markings it possesses,
the mercury being deposited in the pores of the wood in
a more or less condensed form. /^-^ t
yan. 1 8, 1872]
NATURE
231
In the event of nitrate of silver being used for preparing
the paper, it is necessary, obviously, to exclude the light,
as otherwise a reducing action will be already set up by
solar means alone, but with the salts of palladium or
platinum no such action need be feared. According to
the kind of metallic salt employed, so the tint of the
impression varies, but in most cases an intense black may
be obtained where the action has proceeded far enough.
Having described M. Merget's discoveries thus far, it is
easy to guess how that genUeman employs them in the
carrying out of a photographic process. An ordinary
glass negative, possessing an image which has been formed
by the deposition of silver particles, is prepared in a suit-
able manner to protect it from injury by contact with the
mercury (such, for instance, as coating it in some way
with platinum or carbon particles), and the picture is then
exposed to the action of mercury vapour. The vapour
condenses, in a more or less concentrated form, upon the
image — in the same way, pretty well, as it becomes de-
posited upon, and develops, the latent 'mage in the
daguerreotype process— and subsequently the plate thus
treated is brought into contact with the sensitive paper.
The consequence is that the minute particles of mercury
deposited all over the imac^e exercise a reducing action
upon the salts on the surface c f the paper, and a print
results of the original photograph, poss ssing the same
gradation of tint as the original Indeed, when nitrate
of silver is employed for sensitising the paper, the photo-
graph secured is m every respect similar to that produced
y fight in the ordinary silver printing process, and the
picture is forthwith toned and fixed in the same way,
m fact, as one of these ; in the one case, however, the
reduction of the silver salts has been brought about by
mercury vapour, while in the other light alone has
been the reducing agent Impressions obtained by means
of platinum and palladium salts need simply to be washed
in water in order that they may be permanently fixed.
These latter, in truth, are so indestructible and inalterable
that they cannot be destro)ed except by a chemical
agent which would at the same time radically injure the
paper, or other basis, upon which they rest.
This process of photography is not yet in such an ad-
vanced state as to be of any practical importance ; but,
nevertheless, it is certainly one of the most ingenious and
interesting discoveries made of late in this branch of
Science. The great advantage it possesses is that of
printing without the aid of light, and yet producing prints
with detail and half-tone dependent upon delicate chemical
reaction— such rare gradation being secured as our pre-
sent light- printed pictures (silver and carbon prints) alone
possess. A mechanical printmg process could, of course,
easily be worked out from these data, if considered desir-
able ; and, indeed, ic is by no means improbable that this
will be the most successful way of applying the discoveries
in a practical form. But even in the event of no practical
use at all being made of the process — tor this is indeed
questionable — the research, regarded from a purely scien-
tific point of view, is deserving of the highest eulogium.
H. Badkn Pritchard
NOTES
In another column will be found full detaiU of the observa-
tions of the Total Eclipse of December 12, made at Bekol, by
Mr. Norman Lockyer and Captain Maclear. In future numbers
we hope to give similar reports from the observers at the other
stations. The weather was very favourable at all the stations,
with only one exception.
M. Janssin writes as followi to the French Academy of
Sciences, under date Sholoor, Neelgherry, 1 2th of December,
1871, 10 A.M. : — "I have just observed the eclipse, only a few
moments since, with an admirable sky, and whilst still wider the
emodon caused by the splendid phenomenon of which I have
just been a witness, I address a few lines to you by the Bombay
courier, who is to start instantly. The result of my observations
at Sholoor indicates without any doubt the solar origin of the
corona, and the existence of matter beyond the chromosphere.''
And in a letter to M. Faye, written half an hour later, he siys : —
" I h4ve ju^t seen the corona, as it was impossible for me to do
in 1868, when I was entirely occupied with the spectrum of the
protuberances. Nothing can be finer, nothing more luminou%
with peculiar forms which exclude all possibility of a terrestrial
atmospheric origin. The spectrum contains a very remarkable
brilliant green line already indicated ; it is not continuous as has
been asserted, and I have found in it indicatioos of the obscure
lines of the solar spectrum (especially D). I believe the question
whether the corona is due to the terrestrial atmosphere is
settled, and we have before us the prospect of the study of the
extra-solar regions, which will be very interesting and fertile. "
Prof. Huxl£v's friends, and the scientific world generally,
Mrill learn with great regret that he has been compelled to re-
linquish all work for the present, his medical advisers having
ordered him complete rest for two months, for which purpose he
has just started for Egypt. There is every prospect that at the end
of the time he will return to his old work with renewed vigour.
The Regius Professorship of Physic in the University of Cam-
bridge has become vacant by the reiignation of He, Bond, who
has held the office since 1851 .
The Council of the College of Preceptors has arranged for
the delivery of a series of three lectures to the members of the
college and their friends, on the teachi.ig of science in secondary
schools. The first lecture of the series " Oa Teaching Phy-
sics," was delivered at the rooms of the College, 42, Queen
Square, on Satuiday evening, the 13th instant, by Professor
G. C. Foster, F.R.S. ; the second, "On Teaching Me-
chanics," was delivered yesterday (Wednesday) evening by Prof.
W. G. Adams; and the third, "On Teaching Botany and
Geology," is to be delivered on Monday evening, 22nd inst.,
by Mr. J. M. Wilson, of Rugby. The point mainly insisted on
by Prof. Foster in his lecture, was the necessity, in order to
make the study of Physics of much use as a training for the
mind, that the pupils should not only see, but actually make ex-
periments for themselves, so that the principal facts and pheno-
mena discussed may be known to them as matters within their
own experience.
A SERIES of lectures will be delivered in Gresham Col-
lege, Basinghall Street, by Mr. £. Symes Thompson, M.D.,
F.R.C.P., as follows :— -Thursday, January 18, 1872, On the
Digestive Organs in Health and Disease (continued from last
course) ; Friday, January 19, 1872, On the Blood Vessels ; Satur-
day, January 20, 1872, On the Pulse.
At the first Anniversary Meeting of the Anthropological Insti-
tute, held January 15, Sir John Lubbock, Bart, M.P., F.R.S.,
president, in the chair, the president delivered an address, and
the officers and councils to serve for 1872 were eleaed as
follows '.—President— Sir John Lubbock, Bart, M.P., F.R.S. ;
Vice-Presidents— Mr. W. Blackmore, Prof. Busk, F.R.S., Dr.
Chamock, Mr. John Evans, F.R.S., Mr. George Harris, Prof.
Huxley, F.R.S. ; Director— Mr. E. W. Brabrook ; Treasurer-
Mr. J. W. Flower ; Council— Mr. H. C. Bohn, Captain R. F.
Burton, Mr. James Butler, Mr. A. Campbell, M.D., F.R.S.,
Mr. Hyde Clarke, Mr. J. Barnard Davis, M.D., Mr. Robert
Dunn, Mr. David Forbes, F.R.S., Colonel A. Lane Fox,
Mr. A. W. Franks, Sir Duncan Gibb, Bart, M.D., Mr. Joseph
Kaines, Mr. Richard King, M.D., Mr. A. L. Lewis, Mr.
Clements R. Markham, Captain Bedford Pim, R.N., Mr. F. G.
Price, Mr. C Rol>ert des Ruffi^ies, Mr. Spottiswoode, V.P.R.S.,
Mr. C. Staniland Wake. ^ t
Digitized by VjOOQIC
232
NATURE
\yan. 1 8, 1872
Mr. Samuel Sharpe has presented the sum of ^^oooL to
University College towards the building fund, and Mr. J. Pern*
berton Heywood has given a donation of 1,000/. towards the
same object The executors of the late Mr. Felix Slade have
given 1,600/. towards the cost of the fine-art buildings and to
provide casts and other appliances for the students.
At a recent session of the Council of University College, it
was decided to admit ladies attending the class of political
economy to compete for the prizes and also for the Hume and
Ricardo Scholarships awarded for proficiency in that science.
Thf young Hippopotamus, which we announced as having been
bom on Tuesday last week at the Garden of the Zoological
Society, died the following day. The body has been sent for
dissection to Prof. Humphry at Cambridge. We may hope
therefore to hear more of him in the pages of the Journal of
Anatomy and Physiology^ which is edited by the professor.
We are informed that the next number of the Quarterly
Journal of Science will contain a detailed account by the editor
of the scientific principles involved in the A B C Sewage
Company's process, of which, according to the Times, Mr.
Crookes, F.R.S., has accepted the scientific direction.
The first part is just published at Leipzig of a new edition of
Pritzel's "Thesaurus Litteratune Botanicse," or index of works
on the various branches of botany, published in all languages,
from the earliest times. As it is more than twenty years
since the publication of the last edition, the additions are very
numerous.
The President of the Medical Society of the county of New
York, Dr. Abraham Jacobi, has placed in the hands of \Xs
treasurer 400dols., to be awarded for the best es<ay on "A
History of the Diseases of Infancy and Childhood in the United
States, and of their Pathology and Therapeutics." Competitors
will send their essays in English, with motto attached, and
address of the writer, with the same motto, in a sraled envelope,
to the present Secretary of the Society, Dr. Alfred E. M. Purdy.
123, East Thirty-eighth Street, on or before January I, 1873
The committee are authorised by the society to withhold the prize
if the essays submitted should not merit it.
Dr. J. W. Foster, President, and Mr. William Stimpson^
Secretary of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, have issued a
circular informing the scientific world of the extent of the losses
suffered by the Institution through the calamitous fire in that city.
These comprise, besides a very large number of other collections of
great value, the Audubon Club collection, consisting of very
finely mounted specimens of the game birds and mammals, both
of America and of Europe and Asia, about 400 in number ; the
State collecti m of Injects, recently purchased by the State of the
heirs of the late State Entomologist, Mr. B. D. Walsh, for 2,000
doU, but of great scientific value from the number of types it
contained ; the splendid series of specimens iilu tr-itive of the
natural history of Alaska, collect tsl in 1865-69 by Bischoff and
the naturalists of the W. U. Telegraph Expedition ; the Smith-
sonian collection of Crustacea, undoubtedly the lirgest alcoholic
collection in the world, which filled over 10 000 jar?, and con-
tained the types of the species describ;:d by Prof. Dana and other
American author^, besides hundreds of new species, many of
which were describe! in manuscripts lost by the same fire ; the
Invertebrates of the U.S. North Pacific Exploring Expedition,
collected in great pare in Japanese seas by the secretary in
1853-56, which besides Crustacea, included in the last item, em-
braced great numbers of Annelides, Mollusca, and Radiata, most
of which remain as yet undescdb^d, except in manus: ripts al«o
]o>t ; the collection of the marine shells of the coast of the
United Sutes, made by the secretary and his correspond ems
daring twenty years of dredgings and general research on every
part of the coast firom Maine to Texas ; nearly every species was
illustrated by specimens from every locality in which it oc-
curs, not only on our own shores, but on those of Europe and
fbe Arctic Sea, and in the Tertiary and Quaternary formations,
•ihowing the effect of climatic influences, geological age, &c. ;
this collection embraced about 8,000 separate lots of specimens ;
the deep-sea Crustacea and Mollusca, dredged in the Gulf Stream
by M. Pourtales of the U. S. Coast Survey, in the years 1867,
'68, and '69, which had been placed in the hands of the secretary
f )r description ; the results of the deep-sea dredgings in Lake
Michigan, by the Academy in 1870 and 1871, the work of the latter
year having been performed by Mr. J. W. Milner ; the Arctic col-
lections of the late Director of the Academy, Robert Kenicott,
made during the years 1859 61. The general collection contained
about 2, 000 mammals, 30 mountel skeletons, including two masto-
dons, an African elephant, sea otter, elephant-seal, &c, io,oco
birds, 1,000 nests of eggs, and a great quantity of eggs without
nests, 1,000 reptiles, 5,000 fishes, including many large sharks and
rays, 1 5,000 species of insects and other articulates, 5,000 species of
^ht'lls, with immense numbers of duplicates, 1,000 jars of
molluscs in alcohol, 3,000 jars or " lots " of radiates, including
several hundred corals, 8.000 species of plants, 15,000 specimens
uf fossils and 4,000 minerals. In Archaeology there were about
1,000 specimens, all American ; and the Ethnological collection
embraced a very fine series of the clothing and implements of
the Esquimaux of Anderson River, collected by Robert Keni-
cott and his Arctic friends, and presented by the Smithsonian
Institution. The Academy desires to announce that although
now laid prostrate by the terrible disaster it has suffered,
it will soon rise to refill its place among its sister institutions.
The trus ees have determined to baild up again the material
interests of the Institution, notwithstanding the terrible losses
which they, in common with all of its patrons, have suffered,
fhe publication of its Transactions will soon be resumed. The
Academy would therefore take this opportunity to appeal to its
correspondents for the donation of their own publications of the
past few years, to replace those lost, for which it was also in-
debted to their generosity.
Prof. Nathan Sheppard, of the University of Chicago,
has written to the papers to state the present position of the
University of Chicago, and of the Observatory, which is well
known in the astronomical circles of Europe. The buildings
fortunately escaped, but the fire has left the University in very
serious financial difficulties. Many of the gentlemen upon whom
the University, and especially the Observatory, was dependent
are so reduced in circumstances as to be unable to meet their
engagements. The consequence is that the resources of the
University are suddenly and greatly abridged. In fact, its in-
come, aside from its tuition fees, b entirely cut offl The Obser-
vatory is the first department to fed this loss. A letter just
received from Chicago says it is feared that the eminent director.
Prof. Truman H. Safford, would be obliged to leave his post for
want of support. This will be sad news to the professional cor-
respondents of Prof. Safford in Europe. When the University
was founded, about fifteen years ago» a few public-spirited gentle-
men rallied around it, and under their self-sacrificing care it has
been housed in a commodious and elegant (alihough unfinished)
buUding, at a cost, including Observatory, telescope, &c., of
about forty thousand pounds ; and now has, in all departments
of study (preparatory, classical, scientific, and law), twelve pro-
fessors and about 250 students. In conclusion, the Professor,
dating from 77, Upper Thames Street, London, asks any reader
who would care to Irnd a helping hand to do so, and to follow
in the wake of a Scotch gentleman who has generously offered
to head the subscription list with 50/.
Inoculation has by the Indian Legislature been forbidden
in the districts of the twenty- four Pergonnahi^ Nuddwa,
Burdwau, Hooghly, and Howrah in Bengal ^
Jan. i8, 1872]
NATURE
233
THE FOUNDATION OF A TECHNOLOGICAL
EDUCATION*
'pECHNOLOGIC AL education is taken up by many writers on
^ the subject at the time when a youth is supposed to enter
the School of Technology ; and scientific men, as a rule, do not
seem to set sufficient stress upon the necessity of laying the founda-
tion for it at a much earlier age. It is not indeed scienlific men
alone who are interested in this question, but they are the autho-
rities who should speak out upon it, for they alone are competent
to pronounce an opinion upon the value of scientific education.
It cannot be expected that men who themselves know nothing of
science, care nothing for its progress, and recognise none
of the obligations under which they lie to it, should favour
its introduction into our schools, and thus depart from the
stereotyped and antiquated system of education, that brings up
our youth but partially fitted or altogether unprepared for a
majority of the occupations they are destined to pursue, and ex-
posed at every point to suffer from their own ignorance and the
impositions of others. Every one now-a-days should have such
a knowledge of scientific principles and methods as will enable
him to form a just idea of thr: value of science, and to distin-
guish between knowledge and pretence — ^between science and
quackery. The political economist, who has to legislate regard-
ing the natural re^urces of the country ; the capitalist, who
invests in their development and manufacture ; the lawyer, who
has to conduct the numberless suits into which scientific ques-
tions enter ; the journalist, who claims to enlighten and direct
the masses ; every one who uses manufactured products liable to
adulteration ; every one who values his health, or has to consult
a medical man or other scientific expert ; every father, and, what
is still more important, every mother of a family ; every youth
that is making choice of an occupation for life ; or, in other
words|, every member of a civilised community, ought to be
acquainted with the elementary facts and principles upon which
all the applications of science are based.
This knowledge, which should thus form an essential feature
of general education, is also that which will form the very best
foundation for technolo^cal purposes. In the first place, it
will bring into technological schools a vast amount of excellent
material that is now wasted elsewhere ; for numbers of youths,
with minds well adapted to such pursuits, would take to the
practical applications of science, il they knew anything at all
of science itself. Nor need there be any fear that the field will
thereby be overcrowded ; for so long as ouacks and pretenders
abound there is room for good men, and the difficulty at pre-
sent is to obtain students who have a natural aptitude, or
rather, we should say, an aptitude developed by early education
for scientific work.
Secondly, and this is the really important aspect of the case,
educators will have to deal with material prepared for their pur-
poses, instead of, as now, receiving it not merely unprepared, bat
actually warped out of proper condition. For it is not too much
to say that a youth who Iuls had a purely academic education, on
entering a techaolo|;ical institute has to devote a large portion of
his time to mastermg elementary ideas and principles, that he
should have learned as a child ; whilst the erroneous methods
of instilling knowledge to which he has been subjected, will be
a hindrance to him for yean, if not for life. It is but a few days
since that a freshman in such an institute mvely asked the writer
"if a fish was not an animal,'' thus displaying, at the age of
seventeen, a doubt of the meaning of a term that he should nave
accurately understood at the age of seven. Of a term, did we
write? We mean of a fact ; of one of the broadest generalisa-
tions of science. Now, what has not sudi a youth to learn of first
principles ? How utterly unprepared in the simplest rudiments
of knowledge is he for a technological course ! But when we
come to the system of thought induced by the vicious methods of
preparatory study, the case is still worse Here we have the
labour of driving practical instruction into the brain of a young
man who, after having passed perhaps brilliantly through college,
is now laboriously pushing his way through a tewnological
course ; he is now nominally near its close, yet three years of
steady application have not divested him of the habit of learning
by rote on the authority of others. He has no reliance on his
own experiences, seeks no explanations by questioning his own
reasoning powers, but prefers always to take another's opinion,
instead of elaborating a judgment of hb own. He is still in fact
* By Mr. E. C. H. Day, raprintcd fix>m th« AVw Yvrh TichnologUi.
utteriy devoid of the first essentials of self-help in education, so
completely have his natural abilities been misdirected in that first
course, in which the amount of evil accomplished may be judged
by the very brilliancy of his success in it Such a student will
never make a reliable scientific expert We should not like to
trust him even as a druggist's clerk ; he should never have entered
a technological institute, because he has never had any founda-
tion laid for a technological education.
But in what is such a foundation to consist ? and when is it to
be commenced ? What alterations are to be made in our recog-
nised systems of instruction ? Already there are more subjects
to be taught than the child has time to learn. We reply, let
this education commence in the very infant school; let the methods
of instruction be rational, because natural ones ; let the subjects
be taught in their natural order ; and we may very easily teach,
or rather ** educate," vastly more than we do now. At present
beyond mere reading, writing, some mathematics, and something
of languages, Uiis child learns absolutely little, and that little
superficUny. It wastes its time larp;ely in learning the the:)re-
tical use of these tools without bemg made to apply them in
building up an education. This is not the way m which the
carpenter instructs his new apprentice ; if he did, neither would
ever reap much benefit from his instruction.
Let the elements of the natural and physical sciences form a
part of general education ; let physical geography go before
political ; let the child learn that a history of the world precedes
that of man ; and at every point let him be familiarised with
the intimate dependence between the truths of science and the
fact of his own existence. Let these things be taught by a
rational method of object teaching, not used to convey desultory
information, but as a system of training, whereby the reasoning
faculties may be rightly educated, at the same time that the
memory is taxed with a stock of useful, because elementary and
connected ideas. Let reading and writing sink to their proper
rank, as means of education and not as objects of it ; and let
them, whilst being taught, be used to aid in the acquirement of
real knowledge.
This may seem to demand a radical change in our system of
preparatory education public and private ; but if the technologist
wisnes to make the most of young minds, he must bend them to
his purpose from their earliest years ; nor will the community at
large, when it understands that its interests in the matter are
identical with its own, be averse to the change proposed, which
is in accordance with its needs and the pron^essive spirit of the
age. If the advocates of a liberal and emigfatened system of
popular education in England can succeed in tidmg over the
shortsighted opposition o7 sectarianism, as above sketched out,
inaugurated there by the aid of its scientific men ; the result
will b^ that the technological schools of Great Britain will be
supplied with materials trained from their very infancy in science.
Are there no scientific men in the country who will take up the
subject here in the same wide-awake spirit ?
MECHANISM OF FLEXION AND EXTENSION
IN BIRDS' WINGS'"
*r\R. COUES' proposition is, that flexion of the forearm upon
^^ the humerus produces flexion (adduction) of the hand upon
the forearm, by osseous mechanism alone, and conversely : ex-
tension of the forearm causes extension (abduction) of the hand.
The point of the article consists in a demonstration of the fact
that, in spreading and folding the wing, the radius slides length-
wise along the ulna to a certain extent Recapitulating certain
points in the anatomy of the elbow and wrist the author shows
that this sliding is produced by the relative size, shape, and
position of the humeral surfaces with which the radius and ulna
respectively articulate ; these being such, that in flexion of the
forearm the radial surface is nearest the wrist- joint, and in exten-
sion the ulnar one ; and consequently the two bones of the fore-
arm occupy different relative positions in flexion and extension.
In flexion, the radius is pushed forward, and projects somewhat
beyond the end of the ulna, impinging upon the radio-carpal
bone (scapholunar), and pushing tne pimon around the centre of
motion ot the wrist-joint so that it is more or less flexed. In
extension, the reverse morion takes place, from the pulling back
of the radius. The proposition is carefully demonstrated, illus-
* Abstract of a Paper read at the iDdianapolis Meeting of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science, August zS/x. By Dr. Elliott
Coues. From the American Naturalut,
'lyitjzed by
Google
234
NATURE
{Jan. 18,1872
strated with three figures, and likewise shown to be susceptible of
ocular proof by direct experiment Several interesting corolla-
ries are abo drawn. Some such mechanism is shown to be an
anatomical necessity, from the structure of the wrist-joint, to pro-
vide for the extremes of adduction aud abduction that take place
in the wrist, without strainmg the joint. Another obvious pur-
pose subserved is equalisation of muscular power, by rel^ating a
part of the work, that the hand muscles would otherwise have to
perform, to the laig^ flexors and extensor of the uoper arm ; and
an actual saving of a certain amount of muscular effort, this being
replaced by automatic movements of the bones themselves,
Having seen no account of this mechanism, the author is inclined
to think it may be unnoticed.* It is is at any rate a new expla-
nation of the design of the peculiar shape and position of the
radial articulating surface of a bird's humerus, far more important
than that hitherto assi^ed— viz., its causing simply the weil-
known obliquity of flexion of the forearm.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
The number of the Geological Magatine for Dec. 1871 (No. 90)
contains an unusual abundance of important interesting papers.
The first is an article by Prof. Tracjuair on the genus of fossil
fishes to which Prof. Huxley has given the name of Phaturo-
pleuron, with the description of new »pecies {P, elegans) from the
Lower Carboniferous limestone of Burdiehouse. The author
describes some new points in the structure of the type-spedes of
this genus (/*. Andersoni) from the Devonian yellow sandstone of
Dura Den), the most important being that the dorsal fin was in
that fish continued as a ** dorso-caudal" to extremity of the body
as in Lepidosiren and Ctratodm Forsieri, Prof. Traquair gives a
restored outline of P* Andersoni in accordance with hb views,
and also figures of two specimens of his new species. — Mr. T. G.
Bonney contiibutes an interesting paper on a double "cirque"
in the syenite hilb of Skye, with remarks upon the formation of
cirques, in continuation of his paper read before the Geological
Sooety some time since.— From Mr. Carruthers we have de-
scriptions of two previously unknown coniferous fruits from the
Gault of Folkestone ; one of them a magnificent cone, described
and figured under the name of Pinites hexagonus ; tbe other a
smaller form called SequoiUs ozfolis. To this paper the author
has appended a note on the structure of the scales of his Arau-
carites spkarocarpus, with some judiciotis remarks on the caution
which ought to be exercised by the student of fossil plants in de-
termining the affinities of the often fragmentary remains with
which he has to deal.— Mr. James Gcikie publishes a first paper
connected with that apparently inexhaustible subject, the dimate
of the glacial epoch. In this the author discusses the evidence
furnished by the glacial deposits of Scotland with regard to the
occurrence of warm interglacial periods, during whidi all or
nearly all the snow and ice may have disappeared from the face of
the country.— Mr. A. H. Green's notes on the geology of part
of the county of Donegal contain an interesting accotmt of the
structure of the county, especially with regard t« the relations of
the granites and stratified rocks and to the gladaUon of the
surfiice.— And lastly, Mr. A. J. Browne, from an examinarion of
the valley of the Yar in the Isle of Wight, throws out the sug-
gestion tnat that valley and the other river-valleys of the island
were originidly occupied by continuations of the Hampshire
rivers before the excavation of the Solent — Among the miscel-
laneous notices we nay call attention to an artide by Profl T.
Rupext Tones and Mr. W. K. Parker on the Foraminifera from
the chalk of Mcudon, figured by Ehrenberg in his "Mikrogeo-
logie."
Quarterly yournal of Muroseopieal Science, January.—** Notes
of a Course of Practical Histology for Medical Students." given
at King's College. London, by Dr. Wm. Rutheribid, F.R S.E.,
&c This paper illustrates the author's method of teaching, the stu-
denU preparing forthemsdvcs the series of spedmens of the various
tissues. After an enumeration of the tissues so prepared follow
some general observations on Examination of Tissues, How to
Harden Tissues, How to Soften Tissues, How to make Sections
of Tissues, How to render Tissues Transparent, How to Stain
Tissues, How to Inject, and How to Preserve Tissues, with
notes on cdls and cements.— "On the Peripheral Distribution
• It b indeed not men'ioned in the work* of Cuvicr, Meckel. Tiedemann,
Wagner, and other distinguished authors : but Dr. Bcrgmann, of GOttingen
lArckrv./urAnat., 1839. *^), spealuofessoitiaUy the Mme thing, although
the i«iulu of the cMchanism are not so fully shown. ^Bd$, Am. Nat,
of Non-medullated Nerve-fibres," by Dr. E. Klein. Part IL
This is the continuation of the paper commenced in the last
number of this journal, and to be conduded in the next It
deals with the Nerves of the Nictitating Membrane and
Nerves of the Peritoneum. — "Remarks on Prof. Schulze^s
Memoir on Cordylophora lacustris,* *by Profl Allman,
F.R.S. ; "Size of the Red Corpuscles of the Blood of the
Porbeagle, or Beaumaris Shark, JLamna comubica,^* by Geoi)ge
Gulliver, F.R.S. The mean long diameter of the corpuscles
measured 3^ of an inch, and the short diameter tiW* nearly
alike in magnitude to those of the small dog-fish and other Sela-
chii. — "A Note on some Circumstances affecting the Value of
Glycerine in Microscopy,** by Mr. W. M. Ord. This note
suggests that from the action of glycerine on murexide and
oxdaie of lime, mounted for the microscope, it is impossible not
to have some misgivings as to the results of its use in the prepa-
ration of tissues for the microscope. — " On Remak*s Ciliated
Vesicles and Corneous Filaments of the Peritoneum of the Frog,**
by Dr. E. Klein,— "On the Structure of the Stem of the Screw
Pine,*' by Prof. W. T. Thiseltott Dyer. Scalariform ducts
were detected by the author in the branches of a Pandanus, and
crystalline forms of two kinds in the tissues. — "On Students'
Microscopes,'* by Mr. J, F. Payne, with a table of English
and foreign microscopes, their features, powers, accessory appa-
ratus, and prices.
Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club, January. — ** Notes
on Podisoma,** by Mr. M. C. Cooke. After describing the
minute structure and mode of germination in these fungi, the
author proceeds to detail the experiments of Prof. Oersted,
from which it has been supposed that the identity of Podisoma
with Routelia has been established. The paper concludes with
a critical examination of all the known species, one of which it
referred to a new genus, and a different order, under the name of
Sarcostroma Ber^eyi. — " On the so-called Baring or Burrow,
ing Sponge (Cliona),'* by Mr. J. G. Waller. The object of this
paper b to call in question the burrowing proclivities of the
sponges belonging to the genus Cliona of which /fymeniacidom
celata, Bowerb^k, is the type. This number completes the
second volume of the journal.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Qeologists* Association, January 5. — ^The Rev. T. Wilt-
shire, president, in the chair. "On the overlapping of several
Geological formations on the North Wales border," by Mr.
D. C. Davies, of Oswestry. The author stated that the Geo-
logical formations of the district ranged upwards from the Llan-
deilo to the New Red Sandstone. Attention was directed to the
way in which nrjirly every one of these overlapped the one
below, hiding in its course many of the beds, amounting in some
cases to 1,000 feet of strata, which at other points were exposed.
The overlaps increase as a role from north to south, except in
that of the Bala and Caradoc beds bv the Llandovery, whicn in-
crease in an opptisite direction. The author inferred tha( the
conformability of strata at a given point did not necessarily prove
the unbroken sequence or complete series of the beds at that
point, and also that conformability between either two consecu-
tive beds of the same formation, or between those of two dis-
tinct formations, was not to be expected to extend over a large
area. Amongst other facts stated in this paper was the impor-
tant one that coal seams occur in Permian strata in the neigh-
bourhood of Ifton. The President remarked upon the enormous
time required for the production of the phenomena described by
Mr. Davies. Profl Morris explained the geological and phy-
sical features of the district, and spoke of the high value of the
paper. — " Report of the Proceedings of the Geological Section
of the British Association at Edinburgh, 1871,** by Mr. John
Hopkinson, one of the deputation from the Geologists' Asso-
ciation. In this communication the author succinctly stated the
more important features of the opening ddress by the president,
Prof. Geikie, and of the many papers read before Section C at
the meeting at Edinburgh last year, and gave interesting accounts
of the two geological excursions under the direction of Prof.
Geikie. — Mr. J. T. B. Ives communicated the interesting fact of
an extensive bed of peat occurring under gravel between Finchley
and Whetstone. — Fossils from Uie glacial deposits of Islington
cemetery were exhibited by Mr. OdehJ^vans. ^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Jan. 18, 1872J
Mature
235
Photographic Society, Jannaiy 9. — Mr. J. R. Sawyer, in a
paper entitled " Photography in the Pnnting Pres5," gave an
accoont of the history of mechanical photographic printing. He
ascribed to Mungo Fonton the discovery of the action of h'ght
apon the bichromates when mixed with certain organic bodies,
and to Becquerel the first suggestion of employing gelatine and
bichromate in conjunction for photographic printing ; but to
Ppitevin is due the honour of having invented photo-mechanical
printing. Mr. Sawyer proceeded to describe the improvements
which have since been made, referring to the processes of Tessi^
de Motay, Lichtdruck, Heliotype, &c He concluded with a
description of photo* oollographic printing as now practised. — Mr.
J. W. Stillman exhibited and described some new Photographic
apparatus. — Mr. Henry Whitfield and Mr. R. Phipps were
elected members.
Glasgow
Geological Society, Dec. 14, 187 1. — ^Mr. John Young, vice-
president, exhibited specimens of coal from a thin seam, inter-
calated amidst beds of trappean ash at Glenarbuck, near Bowling,
He referred to the discovery, by the late Mr. Currie of Bowling,
of thin beds of coal amongst the traps of the Kilpatrick hills at
Auchintorlie Glen, which clearly established the carboniferous
age of these igneous rocks. He also alluded to his own sub-
sequent observation of thin beds of indurated shale, containing
fish remains of carboniferous genera, associated wiUi and over-
lying one of the seams of coal in the same glen. Since then he
had found another thin seam of coal cropping out at a high
level in beds of trappean ash on the hillside above Glenarbu(£,
in the same neighbourhood. In the specimens of the coal ex-
hibited, the woody fibre of the plants in a carbonised condition is
clearly distinguishable ; and although of a very foul quality, and
considerably altered by the heat of the traps amongst which it is
imbedded, yet it still gives off a little flame in the burning. From
the same ash-bed he had also extracted a portion of the stem of
a species of SigUlaria^ and he believed the greater part of the
woody structure observed in this Glenarbuck coal was derived
from plants allied to Sigillarim and Lepidodendra, — Mr. D. Bell
submitted portions of the larp[e pitchstone vein at Corri^[ills,
Arran, and of the sandstone m which it occurs, showing that
bodi rocks are much altered along the lines of contact.
Haufax, Nova Scotia
Institute of Natural Science, November 13, 187 1. —
•*On a Lophioid Fish caught off Halifax Harbour," bjr Mr.
J. M. Jones, F.L.S., president The little Lophioid fish in the
Provindal Museum collection was at first sight regarded by the
writer as a Gurnard, but on closer exanunation it was found to
be a Lophioid. The description in the paper, with a figure, were
submitted to Dr. Theodore Gill, of Washmgton, who considered
that in the description and figure he recognised the young of the
Lophius americanus or Sea Devil. It was supposed, however,
that the description was slightly defective, and that some charac-
teristic features had been unobserved. The writer did not find
the desiderated features in the specimen, and was assured that it
never possessed them, as the specimen had been brought to the
museum while living and unhurt, and was in the finest state of
preservation when examined and described. It was very different
from any of the young Lophioids described in GUnther's Cata-
logue, and was, therefore, probably a new Lophioid. The writer
relerred to two fine specimens of Lofhius piscatorius lately caught
in the Halifax Harbour, one of which had a cod fish in its sto-
mach. He could see no reason for the application of the term
amcricanus by American naturalists, as the European and Ame-
rican forms are identical. — On Sir W. Logan and Hartley's
Geology of the Precarboniferous Rocks underlying the Picton
Coal Field, by Rev. D. Honeyman. Sir W. Logan, in his
Report on the Picton Coal Field [^ide Report of Progress from
1S66 to 1869, page 7), says : "No evidence was observed by me
on McLellan's mountain to show to what epoch these old rocks
belong, but masses somewhat similar are nouced by Mr. Hartley
on the west side of East River in a position where they have been
mentioned in his Acadian Geology by Dr. J. W. Dawson, who
considers them to be of Devonian age, and on his authority they
will be so distinguished.'* By the Devonian colouring of Logan
and Hartley's map, which accompanies the Report and illustrates
it, it wouki appear that Sir W. Logan intends that the language
should apply to a part of pre-carboniferous rocks in the di:itrict of
Sutherland River as well as the northern part of McLellan's
mountain. Now the rocks of the part of McLellan's mountain
range indJCTtfd belong to the northern part of one of the great
anticlinal Silurian series which extends to the south about nine
miles is generally metamorphic and non-fossiliferous. The author
was, however, fortunate enough to discover the fossiliferous loca-
lities in the series, viz., at Eraser's mountain, the southern extre-
mity of McLellan's mountain, and Blanchard, celebrated in
Danzer's Eulogy and elsewhere for its iron deposit. In the
former he found Middle Silurian fossils in the western side of the
anticlinal, and in the other Middle Silurian fossils on the eastern
side of the same anticlinal, of one or both of these Sir W.
Logan's Devonian Rocks must be the extension and northern
terminus. In this series the author found Lower Heldesberg or
Upper Ludlow fossiliferous strata overlying the Clinton and
Redina fossiliferous of Eraser's mountain, and this is the most
recent of the pre-carboniferous rocks of McLellan's mountain.
The other part of Sir W. Logan's Devonian area, the Sutherland
river containing the Middle Silurian bend which changes the direc-
tion of the Silurians, or connects the N. and S. anliclinals of
McLellan and Irish mountains with the Silurians to the east,
viz., French River, Barney's River, Antigonish, Arisaig, and
Lochaber. In this band there are two monodinal Middle
Silurian series : the one commencing in McLellan's mountain,
its greenstone forming Blackwood's mounUin, the northern ex-
tremity of McLellan^s mountain range ; overlying this to the
south is a metamorphic Medina band. Overlying the
greenstone of the second monoclinal on the south is a partially
metamorphosed band of Medina age, containing abundance of
fossils. The lower part overlying the greenstone at St. Mary's
Road contains abundance — beds of OrSiids and Athyrus. At
Sutherland's River Bridge I found indifferently preserved Lingular;
in the same stnts.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, January 2.— After the election of
officers and the readmg of the report for 187 1, M. Delaunay
communicated a note on the movements of the perigee and node
of the moon. — M, E. Vicaire read a note on the temperature of
the solar suriace, in which he arrives at the conclusion that this
temperature is below 3000" C. ( = 5432' F.). M. Faye, M.
H. Sainte-Claire Deville, M. £. Becquerel, and M. Fizeau, spoke
upon this subject, all of them agreeing in opinion with M.
Vicaire. Fiuher Secchi, however, in a third note on the solar
temperature, maintained his previous estunate of 10,000,000° C.
— M. Chasles read a continuation of his theorems relating to the
harmonic axes of geometrical curves ; General Morin presented
a note by General Didion on the expression of the rdation of the
circumference to the diameter, and on a new fimction ; and M.
Chasles communicated a further note by M. Halphen, on the
straight lines which fulfil given conditions. — A note on the elec-
trical currents obtained by the flexion of metals, by M. P. VolpiceUi,
was read, in which the author enlarged and corrected the resiilts ob-
tained by Peltier and De la Rive. — M. W. Fonvielle read an ex-
planation of the appearance, during balloon ascents, of rings which
do not exhibit chromatic decomposition. — A letter was read
from M. de Bizeau, of Entre-Monts, near Binche, in Belgium, giving
the extreme cold at that place on the 8th Deceml^r, 1871, at
-2i'5' C.(= -67*F.) at half-past 7 A. M.—M. Pasteurpresentctl
a note upon a previous communication of M. Tr^cul on the
origin of^ lactic and alcoholic ferments, in which he stated that he
saw nothing in M. Tr^cul's results to impugn the exactitude of
former experiments or the conclusions which he had drawn from
them. — M. A. Tr^ul read a paper, in which he described the
cells of beer-yeast becoming mobile like monads. — M. Berthelot
commimicated a further paper on the state of bodies in solutions,
in whidi he treated of certain salts of peroxide of iron (sul-
phate, nitrate, and acetate)^ — M. Balard presented a third note
by M. C. Saint-Pierre on the spontaneous decomposition
of certain bisulphites (of lead and baryta). — M. Robm com-
municated a note by MM. Rabuteau and Massul, on the
physiological properties and metamorphoses of thecyanates in the
organism, in which the authors state as the result of their re-
searches that the cyanates of potassa and soda are not poisonous,
and that in the animal economy they give origin to carbonates.—
A note by M. S. Jourdain, containing materials towards the
history of Gymnetrus gladius^ was presented by M. Blanchard.
The author describes the anatomy of a specimen of this rare fish,
which was stranded near Palavas (in Herault.)— A note on the
heat absorbed during incubation by M. A. Moitessier was com-
mimicated by M. Balard. The author finds that the specific
heat of fecundated is less than that of unfecundated eggs when
treated in the same manner, and infers that a portion of the heat
absorbed by the former during incubation is transformed.— M,
L/iyilLliLCJV,! kjy
e>^'
236
NATURE
\7an. 18, 1872
Decaisne presented a note by M. A. F. Marion on the fossil
plants of Ronzon in the department of the Haute Loire. The
flora of the marly limestones of Ronzon includes only fifteen
species belonging to the same number of genera ; eleven of the
species are said to be new. These belong to the genera
Equisetunty Podostachys^ Myrica^ Celtis, IMsaa, Bumelia^
Myrsine^ Pistacia, Mimosa^ EchiUnium, and Ronwcarpum.
The facies of the flora is African or Asiatic. — A note by M.
Bleichen on the discovery of Posidonia minuta in the Trias of the
department of the Gard, and on a deposit of schists containing
Walchia in the Permian formation of Aveyron, was presented by
M. de Vemeuil ; and a note by M. Sanson on an equine skuU
from the turbaries of the Somme by M. de Quartrefages. The
author of the last -mentioned paper refers the skull obtained by
Boucher de Perthes from the ancient turbaries of the Somme to
the African variety of the common ass.
January 8. — M. Martin de Brettes presented a memoir on the
motion of oblong projectiles in resisting media, and on the expla-
nation of the wounds produced in living creatures by the oblong
balls of rifled guns. — M. E. Rolland read a memoir on the effects
of variations of work transmitted by machines^ and on the means
of regulating them. — Three letters from M. Janssen were read,
giving an account of the position selected by him at Sholoor, in
Neilgherry Hills, for the observation of the solar eclipse of Dec.
12, and a brief statement of his results, the latter will be found
in another column. — M. S. Meunier read a note on the transi-
tion types in meteorites. In this paper the author indicated cer-
tain transitions between the constituents of meteorites analogous
to those occurring in terrestrial lithology — namely, between luceite
and montrejite, mesniinite and canellite, montrejite and lime-
rickite, montrejite and stawoopolite, and between aumalite and
tadjerite. — A memoir was presented by M. C. A. Valson on a
relation between capillary actions and densities in saline solu-
tions, in which he showed by a table of results that in nearly
all cases the amount of capillary action is dependent on the
density of the fluid. — M. H. Sainte-Claire Deville presented a
note by MM. Troost and P. Hautefeuille on the action of heat
upon the oxy- chlorides of siliciunL — M. Berthelot read the con-
clusion of his memoir on the state of bodies in solutions, which
related to persalts of iron. — M. S. de Luca communicated some
investi(;ations of a complex alum, obtained from the thermo-
roineral water of the Solfatara of Puzzuoli ; it consists of sul-
phuric acid combined with alumina, ammonia, protoxide and
sesquioxide of iron, lime, magnesia, and potass, with traces of
soda and manganese. — A note by M. D. Tommasi on the action
of iodide of lead upon some metallic acetates was read. — M.
Dubrunfaut pre^ent''d a note on the combustion of carbon in
carbonic acid in presence of water, in which he indicated the im-
portance of the presence of aqueous vapour in many phenomena
of combustion. M. Dumas spoke in opposition to to the views
of Dubrunfaut — M. Pasteur communicated a note by M. J.
C. de Seynes on the asserted transformations of Bact(»ria and
Mucedineae into alcoholic ferments ; and M. F. B^champ
a paper on the development of alcoholic and other ferments
in termentescible media, without the direct intervention of
albuminoid substances. — M. Boussingault presented a note on
saccharine matter which appeared in the leaves of a lime
tree. — The author stated uat the saccharine fluid observed
by him was not, as is generally supposed, the production
of Aphides^ but apparency a morbia secretion of the tree ;
it was found to be identical in saccharine constitution with the
manna from Sinai analysed by Berthelot — M. C. Dareste read a
note in which he described the presence of bodies presenting the
characters of starch -grains in the testes of birds, before the ap-
pearance of the spermatozoids.— M. Decaisne presented a note
by M. J. E. Pianchon, on the charactrrs and systematic position
of the Chinese spiny elm {Hcmiptelta Dai^idii) ; and M. Daubr^
some observations by M. H. Magnan, on two recent notes by M.
Cayrol, on "The Lower Cretaceous formation of La Clape and
Lcs Corbier€S, *
BOOKS RECEIVED
tNCLi&H.— Text Books of Scieace ; Arithmet'c and Mensuration: C W.
Merrifield (Longmans).— The Elements of Plane Geometry, and edition :
R. P. Wright (Longmms). — Concerning Spirittialism : Gerald Massey
(Bums).— Oualogue of Transactions. &c , Radclifle Library, Oxford.
American. — Approved Plans and Specifications for Ports, Hospitals, &c..
—Reports on Barracks and Hospitals, ftc— -Elements of Chemistry and
Mineralogy', Vol. ii. : J. Himichs.
DIARY
THURSDAY, January 18.
Royal Socibty. at 8 30.— Investigations of the Currents in the Strait of
Gibraltar, made in August 1871, by Capt. Nares, o^ H M S. Shearwateri
Admiral Richards, F.R.S.— On the Absolute Direction and Intensity of
the Earth's Magnetic Force at Bombay, and its Secular and Annual
Variations: C. Chambers, F.R.S.
Socibty of Antiquahibs, at 8.30. — On Neolithic and Savige Implements :
A. W. Franks, M. A., and Col. A. H. Lane Fox.
Chbmical Soobty, at 8.
Royal iNsrirUTiow, at 3- —On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali
Manufacture : Prof OdUnc, F.R.S.
LiNNBAN Socibty. at 8.— On the Anatomy of the Americui King-Crah
{Limuiw poiy/k€mus, Lat.) : Prof. Owen. F.R.S. (CMtinued.)
FRIDAYy January 19.
Royal Institution, at 9.— On the neir metal Indium : Prof.Odliag, F.R.S.
SATURDAY, January ao.
Royal Institution, at a.— On the Theatre in Shakespeare's Time : Wm.
B. Doone.
SUNDAY, January ar.
Sunday Lbcturb Socibty, at ^— On King Arthur; the l^end and iu
significance in relation to En^isn life, past and present : Sebastian Evans.
MONDAY, January 33.
Royal Gbographical Society, at 8.30.
Victoria Institutf. at 8.— On the Influence of Colloid Matters upon Crys-
Ulline Form : Dr W. M. Ord.
Entomological Socibty, at 7.— Anniversary Meeting.
London Institution, at 4. Elementary Chemistry : Prof. Odling, F.R.S.
TUESDAY, January 33.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Circulatory and Nervous Systems : Dr.
W. Rutherfoid, F.R.S.E.
WEDNESDAY, January 34.
Geological Society, at 8. — On the Forambifiua of the family Rola'tnse
(Carpenter) found in the Cretaceous formations, with Notes on their Ter-
tiary and Recent Repref entatives : Prof. T. Rupert Jones, P.G.S., and
W. k. Parker, F.R.S —On the Infia-Lias in Yorkshire : Rev. J. F. Blake,
F.G S.— Further Notes on the Geology of the Neighbourhood of Malaga :
M. D. M. d'Orueta.
Society of Arts, at 8.— On Improvements in the Process of Coining :
Ernest Seyd.
Royal Society of Literature, at 8.30.— On Excavations at the Site of
the Homeric Pergamus : Dr. J. G. Von Hahn.
THURSDAY, January 35.
Royal Society, at 8.30.
Society of Antiquaries, 8.3a
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali Manu-
facture : Prof. Odling. F.R.S.
CONTENTS Page
The Solar Eclipse. By J. Norman Lockybr, F.R.S 317
Captain Maclear's Observations. By J. P. Maclbar, Com.R.N. 319
Morse on Terbbratulina. By E. Ray Lankester 331
Letters to the Editor: —
TheSolarEclipse.—R. N.Taylor 333
The Rijndity of the Earth. Prof. Sir William Thomson, F.R.S. zsi
The Kutorcan Fossils.~WM. Hellibr Baily, F.G.S 334
Circumpolar Lands.— I. T. Murphy, F.G.S 325
EngUsh RainfalL— G. V. Vbrnon 325
Wanted, a Government Analyst 22s
Earthquake in Celebes. —Dr. A. B. Mbybr 335
Electrophysiologica.— III. By Dr. C B. Radcliffe 336
Mercury Photographs. By H. Baden Pritchard ^^t
Notes 231
The Foundation of a Technological Education. By E. C H. Day 333
Mrchanism of Flexion and Extension in Birds* Wings. By Dk.
Elliott Coubs 333
Scientific Serials 234
Societies and Academies 334
Books Received 33$
Diary 336
NOTICE
We big Uave to state thai we decline to return rejected comntunica*
tions, and to this rule we can make no exception. Communica*
ttons respecting Subset iptums or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers, NOT to tht EdUor,
.,.,., ..u by Google
NA TURE
237
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1872
THE SOLAR ECUPSE
ACCOUNT OF OBSERVATIONS MADE AT POODOCOTTAH
THE spectral observations of recent total eclipses of
the sun had plainly demonstrated the existence of an
incandescent gaseous stratum or atmosphere, surmounting
the chromosphere or stratum of hydrogen which envelops
the bqdy of the sun, but they had not sufficed to deter-
mine its true conformation and extent. This question,
therefore, constituted one of the principal problems re-
maining to be solved by observations of the eclipse of
the 1 2th of December, 1871.
The slit-spectroscope applied to large telescopes doubt-
less affords the best means of verifying the existence, in
the circumsolar regions, of this gaseous stratum, which may
be termed the superior chromosphere, and of determining
the materials of which it is composed ; but from the
shortness of the time available in an eclipse, the spectro-
scope can furnish only partial and local results, insufficient,
therefore, to reveal the true structure, form, and dimen-
sions of this upper chromosphere.
Preceding observations having shown that the light of
the solar corona is composed for the most part of a small
number of elementary rays differing considerably in re-
frangibility, it appeared to me that the form and dimen-
sions of the higher chromosphere might be much more
conveniently studied by means of a large prism fixed in
front of the object-glass of the telescope, whereby the
several chromatic images of the corona would be distinctly
formed in the focal plane. If the prism has but little dis-
persive power, and the eye-piece does not magnify too
much, all the chromatic images of the corona may in
this manner be observed simultaneously in the same field,
and their form and dimensions directly investigated.
Towards the end of the year 1868, a small ffint-glass
prism was made for me by Signor Merz, of Monaco, to
be fitted to the object-glass of the equatorial belonging to
the Observatory of Campodoglio, for observations on the
spectra of the stars; and this apparatus, in consequence
of the dispersion of the prism, and the goodness of
this prism and of the object-glass, was fotmd to be ad-
mirably adapted for observing the eclipse in the manner
just described.
The dispersion of the prism from the lines C to H of
Fraunhofer is about 32' ; the free aperture of the object-
glass is 4} French inches ; the field of the telescope is
about I®, with a magnifying power of 40.
My conviction of the great advantages which would be
afforded by this instrument in the observation of the ap-
proaching eclipse, induced me to carry it to India for that
purpose ; and I was glad to learn that Mr. Lockyer, the
chief of the expedition, had in like manner resolved to
observe the corona by means of a spectroscope without a
slit, being persuaded that this would be the most con-
venient method of solving the questions relating to the
corona itself. With this instrument, then, I prepared to
observe the eclipse, proposing to myself the following
problems : —
vou V.
1. To ascertain whether, just before the beginning, and
at the end of totality, the solar spectral lines are reversed
— ^a phenomenon observed by Prof. Young in the eclipse
of 1870.
2. Amidst the several chromatic images of the promi-
nences, to observe especially whether the image given by
the yellow line D* coincides with that of the lines of
hydrogen gas.
3. To define the form and dimensions of the chromatic
images of the corona.
The day before the eclipse, I delineated, by means of
the direct-vision spectroscope applied to the telescope,
the profile of the solar disc, in order to ascertain the state
of the chromosphere at the several parts of the limb, and
the protuberances existing there. But the picture did
not come out with sufficient exactness, in consequence of
the cloudy state of the sky, and the strong wind which
prevailed throughout the day. This picture, however,
clearly showed that both on the eastern and on the
western Umb, at the point where contact would take place
between the lunar and solar discs in the total eclipse, the
chromosphere was in that abnormal condition which
is generally observed in the neighbourhood of solar
spots.
The number of the prominences was, however, rather
small, and their dimensions moderate ; conditions which
appeared to me to be favourable for the examination of
the corona.
From the 5th to the i ith of December, the state of the
sky at Poodocottah was somewhat variable ; and gene-
rally, in the early hours of the day, great masses of mist
and cloud predominated in the east, leaving but little hope
in favour of our station for observing the eclipse. On
the morning of the 12th, indeed, the sky was almost
wholly covered with dense masses of mist and cloud,
completely obscuring the sun till 7h. 53m., at which time
the eclipse had already begun. Soon after this the sun
was again covered with thick clouds, but fortunately they
began to break a few minutes before totality, when the
bright disc of the sun was already sufficiently reduced,
and when consequently the time for observation was
rapidly approaching.
To verify the phenomenon of the reversal of the
spectral lines at the extreme edge of the sun, I had
arranged the plane of dispersion at right angles to the
edge at the point of second contact
At thirty seconds before totality, the spectral image of
the luminous crescent was already sufficiently weakened
to allow of its observation by the naked eye without a dark
glass ; and it was then that the principal dark lines of the
solar spectrum came out distinct, and even more strongly
marked than before, and curved parallel to the bright edge
of the sun ; but a few seconds before totality these lines dis-
appeared completely, and the spectrum became continuous,
without however ejdiibiting, just before totality, the re-
versal of the lines, although I was watching most intently
for this phenomenon. I would not, however, be under-
stood as denying altogether the reversal of the lines, for
it is not impossible that a thin film of mist, or the bright
atmospheric light at that time diffused over the spectrum
of the solar limb, may have concealed the bright lines.
At the very instant of totality, the field of the telescope
exhibited a most astonishing spectacle. The chromo-
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238
NATURE
\yan. 25, 1872
sphere at the edge which was the last to be eclipsed —
surmounted for a space of about 50° by two groups of
prominences^ one on the right the other on the left, of the
point of contact — was reproduced in the four spectral
lines, C, D>, F and G, with extraordinary intensity of light
and the most surprising contrast of the brightest colours,
so that the four spectral images could be directly com-
pared and their minutest differences easily made out
In consequence of the achromatism of the object-
glass, all these images were well defined, and projected in
certain coloured zones, with the tints of the chromatic
images of the corona. My attention was mainly directed
to the comparison of the forms of the prominences on the
four spectral lines, and I was able to determine that the
fundamental form, the skeleton or trunk, and the principal
branches, were faithfully reproduced or indicated in the
images, their extent being, however, greatest in the red, and
diminishing successively in the other colours down to the
line G, on which the trunk alone was reproduced. In
none of the prominences thus compared was I able to
distinguish, in the yellow image D', parts or branches not
contained in the red image C.
Meanwhile the coloured zones of the corona became
continually more strongly marked, one in the red corre
sponding with the line C, another in the green, probably
coinciding with the line 1474 of Kirchhoff 's scale, and a
third in the blue perhaps coinciding with F.
The green zone surrounding the disc of the moon was
the brightest, the most uniform, and the best defined.
The red zone was also very distinct and weU defined,
while the blue zone was faint and indistinct. The green
zone was well defined at the summit, though less bright
than at the base ; its form was sensibly circular and its
height about 6' or /. The red zone exhibited the same
form and approximately the same height as the green, but
its light was weaker and less uniform. The height of the
green zone was estimated by comparison with the moon's
diameter, and from the observed distance of the spectral
lines of the prominences.
These coloured zones shone out upon a faintly illumi-
nated ground, without any marked trace of colour. If
the corona contained rays of any other kind, their inten-
sity must have been so feeble that they were merged in
the general illumination of the field.
Soon after the middle of the total eclipse, there ap-
peared on the eastern limb, at about 1 10* from the north
point, a fine group of prominences formed of jets rather
low but very bright, some rectilinear, others curved round
the sun's limb, and exhibiting the intricate deviations and
all the characters of prominences in the neighbourhood
of solar spots. The brightness and colour of these jtts
were so vivid as to give them the appearance of fire-
works.
The spaces between some of these jets were perfectly
dark, so that the red zone of the corona appeared to be
entirely wanting there. Perhaps, however, this was only
an effect of contrast due to the extraordinary brightness
of the neighbouring jets. I have thought it right to refer
to this peculiarity, because the appearance of interstices,
or dark spaces, between prominences of considerable
brightness, is often observed by means of the spectro-
scope, independently of total echpses.
The want of an assistant to note the time, and to write
down the observations as they were made, occasioned me
some loss of time, and the end of the total eclipse was
already at hand before I was aware of it.
The green and red zones were well developed at the
western as at the eastern limb, while the blue remained
faint and ill-defined. Soon after the appearance of the
chromosphere at the western edge, there was suddenly
projected on the spectrum of the sun's limb, which then
appeared beyond that of the moon, a stratum of bright
lines, separated by dark spaces ; but I could not deter-
mine whether they were due to a general or partial
reversal of the spectral solar lines, or to a simple dis-
continuity in the spectrum, since they were too soon
inmiersed in a flood of light, which put an end to the
totality of the eclipse.
About half an hour after the total eclipse, the sun ^ as
obscured by clouds, so that I was unable to observe the
end of the partial eclipse.
Later in the day, when the sky had become sufficiently
clear, I observed with the spectroscope the state of the
chromosphere, and of the protuberances existing upon it ;
but in consequence of the cloudy state of the sky, the
violent wind which prevailed, and the shortness of the
time at my command, the picture was not sufficiently
distinct and detailed. L. Respigui
THE ZOOLOGICAL RECORD FOR 1870
The Zoological Record for iSjoy being Vol, VILof the
^^ Record of Zoological Literature!* Edited by Alfred
Newton, F.R.S. (London : published by John Van
Voorst, for the Zoological Record Association, 1871.}
Pp. 523.
THE " Record of Zoological Literature" is already so
well known to, and so well appreciated by, all
students of zoology, that we need only remind our readers
of the fact that, after five volumes had been published by
Mr. Van Voorst, under the editorship of Dr. Giinther,
the publisher found it impossible to continue its publica-
tion, the actual yearly loss being something very con-
siderable. It is true that the British Association for
several years contributed 100/. towards this loss, and that
three of the Recorders contributed, during the years that
the British Association was so liberal, an equal sum out
of their own pockets. Still, the expenses of such a work
are so great, and the number of copies sold so small, that
we were not surprised at Mr. Van Voorst's decision, nor
to find that the present editor was compelled to look to
the co-operation of zoologists generally to attain its con-
tinued publication ; and it speaks much, not only for his
energy, but al»o for the personal esteem with which he is
regarded, that he could obtain in so short a time upwards
of eighty friends who should guarantee 400/. between them
towards any loss that might accrue on this, the seventh
volume. While we do not pretend to be in the councils
of the committee of the Zoological Record Association,
nor have we received even so much as a hint on the sub-
ject from the secretary, yet we may venture to express
our belief that the members, while they will have the con-
sciousness of having furthered the publication of this work,
will not have to pay very much more for the seventh
volume than they had for each of the previous six.
Digitized by
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^an. 25, 1872]
tfATUkE
239
Dr. Gunther and M. £. von Martens are the only two of
the original Recorders who take part in the production o'
this volume. Prof. Newton's section is taken by Messrs.
Sharpe and Dresser ; the Insecta are recorded by Messrs
Rye, Kirby, Verrall, M'Lachlan, and Scott ; the Arachnid.*
and Myriapoda are noticed by Mr. Cambridge ; and the
Worms and concluding orders by Mr. E. R. Lankesterand
Prof. Traquair. The editor stands up bravely in his
preface for his staff, and we think he has a very good
right to be proud of the work done by his assistants ;
though we somewhat fail to perceive '* the new and per-
haps improved modes of treatment ** that he refers to.
In proceeding to offer a few friendly criticisms on this
work, we would in the first place remark that both editor
and Recorders deserve not only the thanks of the Associa-
tion, but of all zoologrists, for the excellent way in which
they have accomplished their very difficult tasks, and that
we trust that one and all of them will consider our com-
ments as meant for suggestions, and not for fault-finding.
The two most novel features in the volume are '* The
List of Abbreviated Titles of Journals quoted," and " An
Index to the Genera and Sub-genera Recorded as New.''
As to the List, until we looked over it, we confess that we
had an idea that there was some law that guided one in
abbreviating the title of a journal The reader may, per-
chance, have looked over that comer of the journals of
some of the Continental societies in which are recorded
the various works sent to them in exchange ; and if so he
must have smiled to have seen the oftentimes funny at-
tempts made to abbreviate the titles of the British socie-
ties. We promise him that, if ever he smiled on such
occasions, he will smile still more when he just reads
through the ''concise forms of citation" given in the
" Record," pp. 7— 11 ; and he will, we think, exhaust his
patience before he finds out on what principle these
concise forms have been chosen. " Ibis " stands for " The
Ibis;" while '*J.F.O." stands for *» Journal fur Omitho-
logie." " P.LS." stands, not for " Philip Lutley Sclater,"
as for a moment, in our innocence, we thought, but for
''Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society."
While the "Journal of the Linnean Society" is very
likely to be quoted in the future pages of the " Record,"
we fancy the " Proceedings " of the society— at least since
1867— will never more be refewed to. Of course, any
symbol Inight serve to indicate the journal of a society ;
but it is rather hard to compel a reader or a consulter of
the " Record " to learn off some five pages of such before
he can get along. The other novelty supplies a very
great need, and one that we believe was often urged on
the editor of the first series. The list of names of Genera
and Subgenera occupies in all but five pages, and we
would suggest that a little additional space would, in future
years, be well spent in indicating where, when, and by
whom any of these names had been used before. In the
present instance a symbol is affixed to some of the names,
indicating that the name to which it is affixed has been
used before. But the list has not been properly, or even
very carefully, scrutinised for this purpose. On just
reading it over, and without referring to such valuable
indices as those published each year by the Zoological
Society of London, or without pausing at names as
familiar as household words to a botanist, we quote the
following :~Argyritis, Hein. ; Brachyleptus, Mots. ; Cad-
mus, Theob. ; Ceratophora, Hein. ; Chelaria, Hein. ; Dor-
villia, Kent ; Eucharia, Boisd. ; Eurypus, Semp. ; Euteles,
Hein ; Gonia, Hein. ; Helleria, Czem. ; Lamprotes, Hein. ;
Lucina, Wlk. ; Pephricus, Pasc. ; Perideris, Fieb. ; Plica-
t^lla, Sdt. ; Pcecilia, Hein. ; Psammobates, Giinth. ; Rhi-
nosia, Hein. ; Thysanodes, Ramb. ; Trichocycliis, Giinth. ;
Trinella, Gray ; Zetobora, Wlk. ; as names all in previous
use, not to say that a query might well be affixed to such
as Cephalobares, Camb., as being too near to Cephalo-
bams, Schonk ; and if Ceratonia, Rond , is pronounced to
resemble too closely Ceratomia, Harr., which, however,
we do not quite see, then is there not greater danger of
Euplecta, Semp., being confounded with Euplectus, Kirby?
It is quite possible that some of these names may, though
once used, have since fallen into disuse ; and it is very
probable that others in the list, unnoticed by us, may
have been in use before. To be certain about this would
take more time than is at our disposal ; but we feel quite
sure enough has been said to induce the editor to extend
this valuable portion of the " Record," and to make it
more exact in the next volume.
May we venture also to say that to certain zoologists
who are in some measure ignorant of the mysteries of
the Bird Regions, however important from an educa-
tional point of view the present arrangement of this part
of the Record may be, it would be more generally useful
if the titles of papers were all thrown into one series. This
would at all events avoid the trouble of cross references,
which savour too much of a library catalogue. When we
come to the Mollusca, we find a novel practice which, as
far as we can find, is not attempted among the Birds, and
which we could not fancy being adopted by the Recorder
of the other Vertebrates— viz., of not giving the pages on
which the descriptions of new species are to be found.
This is certainly a most mistaken economy of space, and
very materially detracts from the value of these portions
of the Record, for one great use of the Record is to enable
one to quote an exact reference to a species the history of
which one may be quite familiar with, and yet not have
the volume containing that history at hand. There
is, however, no uniformity in the matter in the present
Record, and the Recorders that sin most in this result
are those of the Mollusca, Crustacea, Arachnida, and
among the Insecta, the Recorders of the Lepidoptera and
of the Diptera.
We have been very much struck by the excellent way in
which the Records of the Arachnida and Insecta have
been executed, save that they too often quote from re*
prints. Mr. Cambridge and Mr. Rye's portions are
quite models of such work. While we acknowledge the
thoroughness of the work to be found in the Record
of the Neuroptera and Orthoptera, we regret to see the
criticisms on Mr. Walker's Catalogues, on p. 451. It is,
we take it, not the province of a Recorder to indulge in
such criticism, however well deserved it might be ; and
there are many who wiil remember how damaging such
kind of remarks, made by a certain gentle entomologist,
were to the Insect portion of Leuckart's " Bericht"
In his Record of the Vermes, Mr. Ray Lankester has
neither done himself nor his subject justice. His mode
of arrangement is novel and without precedent ; but he
has forgotten to give the number of pages to which each
memoir extends, and, stranger still, he overlooks quoting
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{Jan. 25, 1872
the new genera or species described, and this notably in
the case of the last work of the illustrious Clapar^de, and
again in the case of Van Beneden's memoir, where we are
told, simply enough, that "a number of new and little-
known cestoid and other parasitic worms are described
and figured/' A whole page is taken up with a list of the
Annelids referred to in a paper by Prof. Grube, but the
list is quite useless, as it wants the remarks as to their
synonymy.
Prof. Traquair's portion of the Record appears to have
been very well executed. We wish he had given us the
list of the Echinoderms from the Dutch East Indies, as
described by Herklots. It would have been much more
valuable than the list given of very common species from
the East Frisian coast ; and although we notice an omis-
sion of a paper or two among a group (the Coelenterates)
somewhat familiar to us, yet this portion of the volume
leaves very little to be desired.
No one individual could write an exhaustive criticism
on such a work as this Zoological Record. We have not
even attempted it The moment the volume reached us
we cut its pages, and in noting its contents the re-
marks that we have now made recurred to us; but
in addition to these there was also present to us the
thought of how much we owed for the successful publica-
tion of this work to its accomplished editor and his well-
qualified and trusty staff of friends. £. P. W.
OUR BOOK SHELF
I. Earthquakes^ Volcanoes^ and Mountain-buildings three
articles pubhshed in the ''North American Review,"
1869— 1871. By J. D. Whitney. 8 vo, pp. 107. (Univer-
sity Press, Cambridge, United States, 1871.)
II. Historical Notes on the Earthquakes of New England,
1638— 1869. By William T. Brigham, A.M., A.A.S.
4to, pp. 28. (Boston, 187 1.)
The first of these works is a small volume containing
three reviews, or essays, as they might be more correctly
termed, reprinted from the '' North American Review," and
written by the well-known geologist Mr. Whitney, formerly
director of the Geological Survey of California. They are
well worthy of perusal, not only from the easy, somewhat
popular style in which they are written, but more especisdly
from their containing a tolerably fair summary of the
opinions held by most of the later scientific writers who
have treated of the phenomena of earthquakes, volcanoes,
and mountain-buildmg, as it is here termed, drawn up by
one who is evidently well-read in the literature of tnese
subjects.
To give in its turn a summary of the author's opinions
as far as we are able to understand them from a perused
of these three essays, we might state, in the first place,
that he lays considerable stress on the geographical data,
which show that the area within which the greater earth-
quakes have been mainly confined is also to a great ex-
tent coincident with that of the greatest displays of active
volcanic forces ; and on the observations showing the ac-
tion which the moon, or rather of the sun and moon com-
bined, exert on the number and intensity of earthquakes,
which, if accepted, indicate an internal condition of fluidity
in our globe ; he believes both in the chronological suc-
cession of volcanic rocks, and in their having pro-
ceeded from some common or connected source within
the earthy but does not agree with those who leganl the
access of^ water as the great agent in volcanic cataclysms ;
disbelieving (in opposition to some elaborate calculations
to the contrary) tnat the force capable of being developed
by steam at such immensely high temperatures, could be
sufficient to account for the phenomena of ejection ; and
although admitting the proximity of volcanoes in general
to the sea, points out that some of those in South and
North America are situated inland, several hundred miles
distant from the ocean.
Regarding the differences in texture between the granitic
rocks and those of recent volcanic orif;in as due mainly
to the different conditions of our globe in the early periods
in which they were erupted, Mr. Whitney protests against
the hypothesis, so mucn brought forward of late, that the
former are merely sedimentary deposits, brought within
the action of, and softened or liquefied in, some unaccount-
able way by internal heat, and with respect to the origin
of mountains, regards the external action of rain and
rivers, now so all-absorbing in the minds of most English
geologists, as altogether secondary to more powerful inter-
nal forces, believing, whilst mountain-buildmg is to a great
extent the result of an antagonism between subnding and
stationary masses of the earth's crust, that in all the great
chains of mountains we have ample proof that this is at
the same time accompanied by the intrusion of eruptive
rocks from below, as a necessary consequence.
The second brochure by Mr. Brigham is reprinted from
the memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History ;
it appears to be the first part of a more lengthy communi-
cation to the Societv, and is entitled ^ Volcanic Manifesta-
tions in New England ;" it is an apparently exhaustive
catalogue of all the principal earthquakes which have taken
place, or rather been recorded, since the discovery and
settlement of the country until the conmiencement of last
year, bearing evidence of much industry, and appearing to
be a valuable contribution to the records of American
Seismology. D. F.
Astronomische Tafeln und Formeln, Herausgegeben
von Dr. C. F. W. Peters, Assistant der Sternwarte in
Altona. (Hamburg : W. Mauke, 1871 ; London :
Williams and Norgate.)
A USEFUL collection of auxiliary astronomical tables com-
piled by the son of the well-known editor of the Astrono-
mische Nachrichten* It brings under one cover many
tables for which the computer has ordinarily to resort to
different books ; and in some cases the tables are exhibited
in a more expanded form than that in which they are
usually printed. It contains copious tables for converting
time mto arc, sidereal into solar time, hour and minute
intervals into decimals of the day, refraction and hypso-
metric tables, tabular data referring to the figure of the
earth, tables of squares and trigonometrical functions,
and many others for facilitating the reduction of astro-
nomical observations. It has also a collection of fonnulae
in common remiest, goniometrical, trigonometrical, and
astronomical The collection is based upon, and is in
many respects closely similar to that made by Schumacher
in 1822, and which was re- edited and enlarged by Wam-
storff in 1845. Dr. Peters has, however, added many new
tables, and modernised others where necessary. We could
wish that a little more care had been bestowed upon the
printing ; the figures on some of the pages are very in-
distinct, and would tease a computer sorely. The defect
is not accidental to a single impression of the work, for
two copies have come before us, and in both the same
pages are faulty. J. C.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondefUs. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Zoological Statistics and the Hudson's Bay Company
Among the ** Notes" in Nature of December 28. there is
one in which mention is made of the great dearth of martens
imported into London this last season ftom Hudson's Bay, also
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241
of the deith of 3«ooo Indians from small-pox in the Saskachewan
di&trict It is then added " that martens that are not killed, and
Indians that die, mean reduced dividends to the Hudson's Bay
shareholders and traders."
Hiving lived a good many years in the Hudson's Bay Territory,
perhaps you will permit me to mention a curious circumstance
which I noticed, in illustration that martens may abound yet
comparatively very few be killed.
In all parte of the fur country east of the Rocky Mountains,
where there is timber, hares {Lepus amtruanus\ or "rabbits,"
OS they are commonly, but wrongly, called, are found in greater
or less numbers,aind they congregate in certain favourite looilities.
The Indian pitches his tent near one of these places, and by
setting snares (which his wife and children attend to), easily
supplies himself and family with food, whilst the skins of the
hares are worked up into most comfortable blankets.
The hunter all the while is trapping the marten and other fur-
bearing animals that assemble to prey upon the poor rabbits, and
is thus enabled to secure without much labour a large and valu-
able stock of furs, chiefly martens.
The hares are, however, liable to a verjr fatal epidemic,*
which usually attacks them when they have become very
numerous, and they gradually die off, so that in two or three
years there is scarcely one to be seen. This scarcity continues
for a couple of winters or so, after which the hares again begin
to increase, so that at periods of eight or ten years they are at
their maximum.
During this dearth of haref, the Indian has to go to a fishery,
or is obliged to travel about in search of buflfalo, deer, or other
game as a means of support, and has little time for trapping the
marten ; and if he had the time, he would still be under great
disadvantage, for the marten, lynx, and fisher have also to scatter
themselves all over the country to pick up a precarious living on
lemmings, partridges, and other odds and ends, instead of feasting
in luxury and ease, as they do, on the hares when abundant
Thus, when hares are numerous, many marten skins are obtained,
when hares are few marten skins are also few, not necessarily
because martens are scarce, but that they are difficult to get.
The dea'h of even 3,000 prairie Indians in one season, how-
ever injurious it might be to the trade of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany in other kinds of furs, would not particularly affect the
numbsr of marten skins obtained.
I may here record a striking instance of the efficacy of vaccina-
tion as a preventative of smaU-pox. Nearly forty years ago this
dreadful disease spread like a scourge from the Missouri river
all over the prairies, being carried by bands of horsC'Stealers
from one tribe to another ; for these amiable " children of nature "
no sooner heard of any of their neighbours being attacked by
the terrible disorder, than parties went immediately to rob the
sufferers of their most valuable property. They got the horses,
but they also caught the disease, and many hundr&s died. The
Crees, a tribe of many thousands, having nearlv all been vacci-
nated by the Hudson's Bay Company's officer m charge of the
dtstricti escaped with the loss of only two of their number.
John Rae
Ripples and Waves
Thi article by Sir William Thomson upon Ripples and Waves
in the November part of Nature, which hss just reached
me, reminds me or a little capillary wave, the examination of
which used to be a source of amusement to me some years ago ;
and as I have never seen any description of it, my observations
may not be without interest to some of your readers.
I had long noticed this little wave, winding about, like a
hair upon the surface, amongst the eddies which formed in a deep
river below a considerable Sl\, which I used to frequent ; but I
first got an insight into its nature in a very different situation. I
was m a canoe m a sheltered bay, with just enough wind over-
head, without any ripple on the water, to make my canoe drift
broadside on at the rate of, perhaps, hidf-a-mile an hour, when I
saw my little wave formed about three feet in advance of the
canoe. Being in the neighbourhood of a manh the water was
very impure, and the belwviour of the little particles floating in
it attracted my attention. Any objects reaching to the depth of
from an etg'ith to a quarter of an mch below the surface passed
on to the canoe unaffected by it ; but smaller particles were sud-
* It U quite u fatal in its effects as the grouse disease, and the causek are
little known The. hares are found sitting in their forms dead. The Indians
say they can tell when th« disease is about to commence by a peculiar gro%rth
found ia the abdomen.
dcnly agitated on passing the wave, and after getting a few
inches within it, they were arrested at distances varjring with their
size, the larger ones penetrating farther than the sinaller ones.
If the wind died away the wave was maintained at a greater
distance from the canoe, and it was still perceptible at a distance
of fully eight or nine feet from it, after whicn it became fng-
mentary and disappeared. If the pace of the canoe increased,
the wave came nearer to it, and the particles, which had b^n
brought to rest at various intervals according to their sizes, were
driven up together, forming at last a sort of scum in advance of
the canoe. If the wind increased suddenly, the wave disappeared,
and the slightest ripple on the surhce obliterated it at once ; but
if the wind freshened very gradually, the wave approached
nearer and nearer, becoming at the same time more strongly de-
fined, until it came to within about nine inches firom the canoe,
and was maintained there tmder its lee, even after there wjm
breeze enough to make a considerable ripple outside. If pressed
beyond that, ripples of quite another character would form just
in advance of the wave, and it would break up, and the canoe
would pass over tiie scum which had collected within it
With this clue as to its nature, I frequently examined the wave
in the situations where I had first seen it. Wherever there was
any impediment to the stream, as a tree stretching out into it
from the bank, there was the little wave ahead of it, at distances
from the impediment varying with the force of the current. In
the spring, when the water was high, a good deal of foam would
be brought down from the falls above, and would collect against
these o&tructions, but always leaving an inch or two of cleir
water within the wave. Upon clearing away the foam the wave
would soon again be formeo, and the next patch of foam which
came down would experience a little jerk, as it passed the wave,
and penetrate a few inches within it, when it would be arrested,
and there would start out from underneath it little particles of
sawdust, or other substances, which had been entangled in it,
and would range themselves beyond it, in the order of their sizes.
Presently more foam would come down, pushing on what had
arrived before, till soon there would be an accumulation of it, as
at first.
Where the wave was found winding about amongst the
eddies there was no solid obstacle, but only one stream meeting
another, and it was not at first sight easy to distinguish whici
was the front and which the back of the wave. The accumulation
of scum, however, on one side showed this, and much more so
tile behaviour of the wave itself, according to the side from which
you approached it. If you came down upon it with the stream,
with your canoe broadside on, no effect was produced on the
wave ; but if you passed over it, it was almost immediately re-
formed on the other side. But if you approached it from the
other side, you pushed it on before you ; and by careful handling
I have often succeeded in detaching a portion of the wave, and
carrying it on before me for ten or fifteen yards ; whilst after
awhile another would be formed in the same place. Sometime^
where the water boiled up from below, there would be an irre-
gular circular patch, surrounded by one of these waves, which
you might drive up till the two sides met ; or if you approached
It stern on, you would cut the circular patch into two, in which
case each would run up rapidly to their centre into a little conical
jet, and if your pace was at all rapid there would be a drop pro«
jected up^^tfds from it
The wave is so minute that it was not easy to corns to any
conclusion as to its shape and size ; but from the distorted re-
flection of an object held above it I satisfied myself that under
ordinary circumstances it could not be more than one-twentieth
of an inch high, the distortion not extending beyond half-an-inch
on each side of the sharp cusp, and that it was convex towards
the stream, with a very slight trace of concavity on the side of
the obstacle generating it It seemed as if the wave itself was a
little elevated above the surface, and that it sloped back very
slowly towards the obstacle. This is in accordance with the
description above given of a narrowing drcuUr patch running up
to a jet ; for, although the motion in that case was too rapid to
permit of any precise observation, just before it closed in the
patch had the appearance of a little table land elevated above
the general surface. Upon one occasion, when a boom had been
stretched across the river, running at the time fully five or six
nules an hour, the wave was only about nine inches from the
boom, against which a dense scum was collected, but stdl with
about an mch of clear water between it and the wave. The wave
in this case must hive been fiilly an eighth of an inch high, and
on its farther side were a succession of ripples, very much ex*
ceeding the capiUaiy wsv: in height and amplitude, and differing
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NATURE
\7an, 25, 1872
from it in not being cusped, thougli otherwise imitating its
general form.
It would appear, therefore, as if a wedge-shaped film of water
were pu^ed abead of the canoe, or other obstacle, the lower
surface of which must, from the arrangement of the particles
arrested, have been of rapidly-increasing curvature. Two diflS-
culties, however, present themselves to this explanation— it is
difficult to see how the film could have extended to the wave
itself, as no particles, however smalt, appeared to^ be arrested
within an inch or two of it ; and my recollection is that upon
the occasion of my first examining the wave driven before my
canoe, light objects merely resting up<»n the water, like
thistle down, seemed to be not at all affected by it, but to pass
on towards the canoe unimpeded. Such objects, however,^ are so
easily affected by the wiud, or even the resistance of the air, that
it was not easy to verify the observation.
Some other facts may be mentioned. The depth of the ob-
struction in the water seemed to have no sensible effect on the
wave formed. Whether it was a log a foot through, or an
inch board floating on the water, or whether it was the mid-
dle of the canoe drawing five or six inches, or the bow and
stern barely touching the surface, the effect seemed almost
the same. I have often, indeed generally, failed in my attempts
to generate a wave with a canoe, and although upon the occasion
when I first saw it so formed, I could trace it at fully eight
feet from the canoe, I never found such a wave naturally
formed at anything like that distance. The explanation appears
to be that it requires very even and steady action to generate the
wave ; but that when once established it can be maintained un-
der circumstances in which it would not be otherwise produced.
As I stated before, if you approach it in one direction, you may
take a canoe over it and it emerges on the other side unimpaired ;
the ii regular currents of an eddy have no effect upon it except to
give it an undulatmg motion, and I have seen it maintaining its
place amongst the standmg waves of a rapid when they have
been several inches high. 1 have even raised considerable swells
by rocking a canoe close to it, and it rides over them without
disturbance ; but the slightest ripple caused by the wind makes
it disappear in a moment ; and if spirits of turpentine be dropped
on the water a little above it, the whole wave is instantly oblite-
rated to a distance apparently far beyond that to which the oily
film extends. John Langton
Ottawa, Canada, Dec. 28, 187 1
The Rigidity of the Earth
Although, as he truly says. Sir W. Thomson's arguments
for the rigidity of the earth have never been attacked, yet they
have undoubtedly been too long ignored ; and it is gratifying to
see them aiiserted by their author in Nature. Allow me,
however, to remark on one sentence near the end of his quota-
tion from the '* Natural Pnvlosophy/' where Mr. Hopkins's
observation is givrn, that the distribution of fluid matter within
the earth is " probably quite local." Unless I am mistaken, Mr.
Hopkins's opinion was, that its distribution is, as one might say,
fortuitous. But, as I have elsewhere observed, ttie trains of
volcanoes which accompany many of the great bnes of elevation
for enormous distances re- der the motion of such local distri >u-
tion of fluid matter highly improb'ible, unless it be admitted that
its presence is due to mountain elevations as a cause. I have
su^ested that this fluidity may arise from a diminished pressure
beneath mountain ranges, owmg to their mass being partly sup-
ported by the lateral thrust which has upraised them — a supposi-
tion which Mr. Scrope had already applied to account for an
increased fluidity in the heated ri»ck underlying a volcanic vent,
when from any cause the pres-ure became less.
If any of your correspondents can propose another explanation
of this remarkable coincidence compatible with the supposition
of a rigid globe, it would be interesting to know it^
Harlion, Cambridge
O. Fisher
English Rainfall
In reply to the letter of Mr. Vernon, in Nature of the i8th
inst., permit me to say that the confusion between the two
Seathwaites is hU^ not mine In the article to which he ref rs
there is not a word about either Cockley Bridge or the Valley of
the Duddon. His top graphical knowledge of the districts is,
apparently, as inexact as his manner of leading ; for he does
liot icem aware that "the Stye," of which he speaks, is the
name, not of a plaee^ but of a rain-gauge^ in, as I said before,
the immediate neighbourhood of Stockley Bridge.
J« K« Lk
Circumpolar Lands
In the last number of Nature (Jan. 18), Mr. J. J. Murphy
asks, "Can any mathematical reason be a -signed why the con-
traction of the eanh hhouid be least in the direction of the polar
direction ? This would accotmt for the rising of the land at the
poles."
In the Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical Society
of Liverpool for Nov., 1857, there is a paper on a probable
change in the earth's form, in which the rising of the land at the
poles is inferred as a necessary result of the cooling and contrac-
tion of the earth.
The following is the substance, though not the exact words, of
a pop ion of the paper ; the precise words would not be in-
telligible without a diagram.
If a spheroid of equilibrium, in motion about an axis, contract
imiformly in the direction of lines perpendicular to its surface, a
new spheroid is produced, having a gr^rer degree of eccentricity,
because if equal portions are taken off the two diameters, the
ratio of the equatorial to the polar diameter is increased. This
is equivalent to a heaping up of matter around the equator in
excess of what is due to the velocity of rotation, an mcreased
pressure on the interior, in that region, must be produced, and a
consequent traiL«m'ission of pressure towards tne poles. *'A
change of form is then necessary to restore equilibrium. This
may not take place uniformly per gradum^ lor if there be a
resistance from a rigid external crust, tde force must accumulate
until it exceeds the resistance, and thus frequent adjustments/^
saltum may ensue. It is probable, therefore, that the earth's
form is undergoing a slow progressive change."
G&uRGB Hamilton
Queen's College, Liverpool, Jan. 21
The Kiltorkan Fossils
Mr. Baily's letter needs only a word or two from me.
I must protest against my reference to an error made by
Mr. Baily oeing considered a " personal attack " upon him, or
an "accusation" against him. Has Mr. Baily ever consulted
a sy>tematic work which did not contain corrections of the
real or supposed errori of former workers ? And did he con-
sider such corrections as " personal attacks " ?
On two points Mr. Baily has misunderstood or misread the
plain statements of my letter : — i. I did not say that his draw-
ing in " Explanation of Sheets 187, &c," was made on the spot
at Kiltorkan, but that it was a drawing of the fos<il he had
nam^rd Sagenaria Veliheimiana; 2. The qualifying phrase,
'* coal measure/* was used, as it often is, as the equivalent of
" carboniferous." How Mr. Batly could make it mean anything
else perplexes me ; seeing the Upper Carboniferous beds have
no Connection with the question. To have used it in the limited
sense he suggests, and elaborately argues against, would have
been absurd.
The remainder of Mr. Baily's letter is occupied with reference
to private letters as evidence m the case. That written bv Mr.
B tilv to Prof. Heer confirms the statement I made at the Geolo-
gical Society, and repeated in your pages ; bur, in as far as it
declares that the specimens sent to Prof. Heer from Kiltorkan
were named S. Baifyana^ it differs from the statement made
by Prof. Heer at the Geological Society, who, on the evidence
ot these fossils, included S. VeitAeimiana among the Kiltorkan
fossils, and never mentioned .SI Bailyana !
The reference to the other private letters is equally unhappy ;
for Mr. Baily is quite wrong in supposing my '* accusation was
made because I could not peisuade him to join me in work.
My letter, if he will look at it agam, bears a date some
time after the "accusation" was made. And if at the
same time he will read his reply, he will find that the reason he
S.ve for declining to work with me is somewhat different from
ose he records in your pages. But the fact is, the letters
hive nothing whatever to do with my declaration, now more
than ever omfirmed by Mr. Baily's letter, that his giving to
the Irish Lepidodondroid plant the name of a carboniferous
species misled Prof. Heer. If Mr. Baily's letter indicates the
** facts** containt^ in hl< paper, I can only conctncle that it was
the patriotism of vour reporter that induced him to characterise
them as '* strong/' W. Ca&RUTBULS
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Condurango
I HAVE read in No. 104 (October 26, 187 1) of your scientific
and highly- interesring iuamil, a few words on ** Condurango,"
the new Ecuadorian plant that has lately called so much general
attention in Europe and America to its supposed properties of
curing cancer.
The want of exactitude in the description of the plant will
doubrleis give an erroneous idea of it to your readers, and with
the desire of efTaclng such errors as those pubhshe 1 in the
"Andes" of Guayaquil, and in Bogota by Mr. Buyoo, to
whom you make reference, allow me to present to you and your
readers the botanical description of the Condurango twining
plant, very uwful, indeed, in some rheumatisms and secondary
sjrphilitic disorders, but of very doubtful medicinal properties in
cancer, so far as my own experience goes.
The Condurango belongs to the order AscUpiadacae^ 3rd tribe,
which corresponds X.o AcUpiaiea vera ; 1st division Wx/^^mmj,
whose characters are that the Hub of the corolla is without
scales, and the stamens without appendage or corona.
This division comprehends only five genera, viz., Mitostigma^
AsUphanus^ Haniax^ Hemipogon^ and Nanionia, In none of
these genera can the Condurango be classed.
The genus MUostigma, as a distinguishing character, has two
long filaments at the end of the stigma, and this is not the case
in Condurango. The genus Astephanus has the sepals acute, the
corolla subcampanulate, and the stigma elon^ted ; characters
that do not belong to the Condurango. The genus ffamax has
the divisions of the corolla hood<^ and other characters not
observed in the Condurango. The genus ffemipogon has the
sepals of the odyx acute, hard, and with a curved extremity.
The corolla is campanulate, which is not the case in Con-
durango. The genus Nantonia has the sepals striated and
cnrved, which also is not the case in Condurango.
The flowers of the Condurango have a calyx of five divisions,
obtuse, ovate, and viilo«e in their inferior part, and of (^uin-
cuncial praeflorescence. The corolla is rotat**, of five divisions,
lanceolate, hairy at the base on the inside, and somewhat fleshy,
with a membranous margin. Its aestivation is imbrica'^ed. The
stamen has no appendage or corona ; the anthers are terminat^ed
by a membrane, and the pollen-muses are elongated and sus-
pended. The stigma is pentagonal and conicaL The flowers
are numerous and disposed in umbelliferous inflorescence.
As aforesaid, the Condurango forms a new genus. It is absurd
to speak of Condurango as it it were the same as Mikania huaco.
In the importance of the subject I hope to find ample apology
for asking room in your columns for these few lines.
A. DSSTRUGS
Guayaquil, Ecuador, Dec 13, 187 1
Ocean Currents
It appears to roe that the numerical data adduced by Mr.
Croli in n^ letter (Nature, Jan. 11) disprove his conclusions.
The doing of 9 foot-pounds of work upon a pound of water
should give it a velocity (in feet per second) of
V2 X 32 X 9 = 24;
and the doing of one foot-pound of work upon a pound of water
should give it a velocity of eight feet per second. These are
much gt eater than the observed velocities, so that a margin is
left for fricdon.
The following passage in Mr. Croll*s letter also calls for some
remark : — " But it must be borne in mind that the deflecting
power of rotation depends wholly on the rate at which the body
u moving. If difference of specific gravity be regarded as the
impelling cause of any current, the deflecting power of lotatlon
will certainly be infinitesimal"
The deflecting force does indeed vary directlv as the velocity
of the body act^ on ; but the curvature of path which the de-
flecting force tends to produce, is proportional to the quotient
of the deflecting force by the sc^uare of the velocitv, and there-
fore varies inversely as the velocity. In latitude 4S , a velocity of
a foot per second would give a radius of curvature of less than
two nules. Here, then, again, there is a wide margin left for
resistance. The expression for the radius of curvature in feet,
supposing that there are no resbtances, is
6850V
sin A '
X bemg the latitude, v>d V the Telocity in feet per second.
B^,Jan. 13 J. D. EvakETT
Mock Sun
I THUS name the phenomenon I am about to describe, but
without regard to scientific accuracy. Last evening, a little be-
fore sunset, I ob'ierved a dark bank of clouds couched on the
horizon, just beneadi the sun, and a long miss of cirro-stratus
above him. A band of light, of about half hii width, stretched
up and down to the clouds. This remained visible, with remark-
able changes, till 25min. af'^er the sun's total immersion. On his
disappearance the band gradually wid-med (or seemed to do so),
and assume i the form of a table flower- vase, 1 e. , bulged at the
base and cyl ndrical above. At ten mmutes after sund )wn the
band, which had been about ID** in len^h, stretched to 20**, being
superposed on the cirro-stratus, where it was rose-coloured, the
bulged portion being orange. At twenty minutes after sun-
down a slight codapse occurred, and the band aim 1st dis-
appeared, the bulged portion becoming an orange disc, just tike
a second sun setting in fog. Soon afterwards this became elon-
gated, and the band reappeared, stretching over an arc of 40°.
A few minutes liter all dls ippeared. I witnessed this beautiful
phenomenon from a carriage on the L. and N. W. Railway, on
both side^ of Blisworth. C. M. Inglsby
Edgbaston, Jan. 20
Solar Eruptions and Magnetic Storms
At arecent meeting of the Astronomical Society a paper was
read by Mr. Ranyard, in which som; suggestions were put for-
ward concerning the possibility of accounung for the solar pro-
minences on the suppoiitioa that they may be caused by the
projection of matter from a lower level, and that such an up-
rush into and through the layers above, emerging into the lighter
envelope of the chromosphere, might lift bsfore it a cone of com-
pression of the ga>eoas matter, producing an elevation on the
surface, visible to us as a prominence. And the solid particles
or masses thu< projected mig it form meteorites the shape ot the
prominence t)eing afterwards modified by other causes.
This theoy, offering as it does a possible account of the genesis
of prominences and meteorites, appears to conutn the ^erm of
another hypothesis respecting the ciuse of the connection t)e-
tween solar eruption and terrestrial mignetism.
If it be legitimate to suppose that in ani near the photosphere
we have a circuit of conducting matter (viz. incandescent me-
tallic vapours), according to wetl- known facts any cause tend-
ing to effect an unequal distribution of heat, and at the same
time a want of homogeneity of structure, such as a diflerence of
pressure or density, would establish thermo-electric currents in
such a drcuiL
Now such a difference would arise from an upward burst of
matter from below the photosphere. If, therefore, the promi-
nences have their orig n at great depths below the photosphere,
we may expect currents of considerable intensity to circulate
round the equatorial region of the sun. In the equatorial region
rather than in any other, because it is there that the greatest dis-
turbance is manifested, as sh jwn by observations on the limits
of spo s and prominences ; and, therefore, there that the neces-
sary diffierences of temperature are most lik'-lv to occur, the
effects of such currents being to create secondary or reduced
currents in the adjacent layers, and, if of sufficient intensity, in
the earth itself.
Provided that this be so^ this supposition wUl suffice to recon-
cile some observed facts. Seocht has deduced,* in treating of
the periodical variations of the magnetic elements, the law that
*' The annual disturbances are at a maximum at the equinoxes,
and at a minimum at the solstices."
Knowing then that the plane of the snn*s eauator passes
through the earth on June lith and Dec. 12th, ana that there-
fore the equator as seen from the earth presents its widest ellipse
in March and September, it follows that such thermo-electric
currents, if tney exist, are able to exert their maximum inductive
effect on ihe earth at or near the equinoxes.
The case is analogous to the experiment in which terrestrial
magnetism is made to cause induct currents in a dosed circuit
rotated round an axb at right angles to the magnetic meridian.
In this case the rine is placed successively in positions
variously inclined, but luways keeps its plane perpendicular to
the mendian, and the maximum indujed current then occurs.
Similarly, soUr equatorial currents would produce their maxi-
mum effect when the plane of the sun's equator has its aspect
most nei^ly in the direction of the eatth, and although any
* De I4 Rive's Electricity, torn. iit. p. 7I0,
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NATURE
{Jan. 25, 1872
v&iialiotts in the intensity of these solar cnrrents may be followed
by a disturbance in the terrestrial magnetism at any time, yet
SQch disturbance should be at a maximum at the equinoxes (as is
the case by Secchi's law), because then the son is most favour-
ably situated for causing such effects.
In this hypothesis the source of the earth's permanent mag-
netism is not included, but simply the cause of the close con-
nection between solar eruption and the disturbance of the terres-
trial magnetic elements. F. A. Fleming
Mechanism of Flexion and Extension in Birds'
Wings
Under the above heading in your issue of January 18, 1872,
Dr. Elliot Coues deccribes the peculiar movements made by the
bones of the wing of the bird m flexion and extension. It may
interest f ome of your readers to know that those movements were
minutely described and elaborately illustrated in a paper by Dr.
J. Bell Pettigrew, communicated to the Linnean Society in June
1867, and published in vol xxvi. of the Transactions of that
body. MiLLEN COUGHTREY
Edinburgh University, Jan. 22
Elisee Reclus
A MEMORIAL addressed to the "Commission des graces,"
sitting at Versailles, and most influentially signed by many of the
leading scientific men in London, was presented at Versailles on
the 3rd inst
It is an appeal for commutation of sentence of deportation
passed on Elisee Reclus, the well known French geographer,
author of " La Terre," an admirable popular work on physical
geography (now being introduced as an English work* by
Messrs. Chapman and Hall), and various other books.
A paragraph having appeared in several of the daily papers
announcing that M. Reclus s sentence had been already commuted
to simple banishment, I regret to state that he is stiU a prisoner
at Versailles, aithou|[h it is hoped the appeals made in his favour
may produce the desired result.
The petition to the Commission in favour of Elisee Reclus
was signed by the president of the Geol(»gical Society (Mr.
Prestwich), Sir Charles Lyell, Bart, Mr. G. Poulett Scrope,
Profs. Owen, Ramsay, WUliamson, Duncan, Atkinson, Morris,
Rupert JoneJ«, Tennant, Messrs. Evans, Forbes, Gwyn Jeffreys,
Drs. Carpenter, Richardson, and many others.
A second petition signed by Sir Henry Rawlinson, Sir John
Lubbock, Bart., Mr. I^rwin, and other men of eminence, was
addressed to M. Thiers in favour of Elisee Reclus.
Surely the time for an amnesty has arrived.
British Museum, January 23 H. Woodward
NOTES ON MICROSCOPY
MOUNTING IN Glycerine.— It is often found de-
sirable to mount very thin objects in glycerine,
for which no special cell is requisite, and in which
the thickness of a cell would be a disadvantage. To
accomplish this was often a work of difficulty, since the
presence of the smallest amotmt of glycerine outside the
thin glass cover prevented the adhesion of the luting by
means of which the cover was to be secured to the slide.
Since the introduction of gum dammar dissolved in
benzole to the attention of microscopists, this disadvant-
age has almost wholly vanished. It is now comparatively
easy to mount such objects in the following manner. A
small drop of glycerine, just enough for the purpose, is
let fall in the centre of an ordinary cleaned slide, the ob-
ject is then placed in the glycerine, having been pre-
viously soaked in benzole if any difficult was likely to
be experienced on account of contained air ; a cover (say
three quarters square) of thin glass is pUced over the
object and pressed down, taking care that the object re-
mains in the centre ; a wire clip then applied holds the
cover in its place. If too much glycerine has been used,
blotting-paper or a camel-hair pencil will remove all that
issues beyond the edge of the cover. If too little, the
* Sections I. and II. of this work are already published; Sections III.
and IV. are now ia the prtia.
addition of more at one edge will supply the deficiency,
and the superfluous remainder may be wiped away. Thus
secured by the clip the edges of the cover may be painted
round with gum dammar in benzole, and when dry and
firm (in a day or two) the clip may be removed, and the
surface of the slide carefully washed to remove any trace
of glycerine. The clip may be replaced, and a second
thin coating of dammar laid over the furst, or old gold
size may be used instead. When this is dry "papering"
the slide in the usual way helps to provide against acci-
dent. The advantages derived from the use of this
method are chiefly the facility with which the cover is
attached, notwithstanding the presence of a trace of gly-
cerine on the slide and cover, which it is not easy to
avoid ; and, so far as the experience of two years can
vouch, freedom from leakage afterwards, especially when
covered with paper. This plan succeeds best with objects
as thin as the minute spores of fungi, delicate hairs, &c.,
and a one-eighth objective may b« employed in their
examination.
The Asci in Peziza.— Having left a specimen of
Peziza humosa for a long time in water until it became
quite soft and pulpy, I was curious to examine it in such
condition, and found that the hymenium presented a
singular appearance. All the paraphyses had become
dissolved into a granular mass, retainmg still some of their
original colour. Amongst these the asci were free, and there
were some free sporidia. I n their normal condition the asci
are cylindrical, and the sporidia are arranged in a single
series, but in the present case the asci had become
perfectly spherical, from the absence of all lateral pres-
sure, and the sporidia were clustered in the centre. The
line of the external surface of the asci was very distinct
amongst the orange-tinted granular mass, and the eight
sporidia could be counted within. There could be no
doubt of the presence of an investing membrane, but of
a much more elastic nature than has been supposed.
This fact seems to suggest the probability that more, or
less lateral compression in the hymenium may influence
the character of the asci, and that cylindrical, or clavate
and elliptical asci, indicate more or less of lateral pressure
during development
Sacred Thread.— The sacred thread, or at least one
kind of thread held sacred to religious purposes by the
Brahmins in India, is derived from the stem of a species
of water lily— some say the Nelumbium speciosum, others
Nymphaa edults. At any rate under the microscope it
esdiibits a mass of spirals, unwinding in ribbons of four
or five threads laterally united. There is no trace of cells
mixed up with it, and the spiral threads are as clean as
if they had been removed with special care for micro-
scopical purposes.
Hop Mould. — A new mould has made its appearance
during the past autumn on the spent hops so common
about Burton-on-Trent It formed large dense patches of
a bright salmon colour, sometimes several inches in
length and breadth, upon the sombre hops, and could not
have escaped notice had it appeared in previous years«
The structure of this mould seems to be closely allied to
that of Oidium^ whilst in many respects it reminds one of
Sporendonema caseu The creeping mycelium gives rise
to branched threads, which become divided into strings
of oval conidia or spores. The mould refuses to develop
itself artificially, so that the mode in which the beaded
spores were produced was not absolutely determined.
Directly the threads come in contact with fluid of any
kind they are resolved into a mass of oval cells or
spores. Specimens of this mould have been published and
distributed in Cooke's " Fifth Century of British Fungi •
under the name of Oidiutn aurantium^ a rather unfortu-
nate specific name, since another member of the same
genus which appeared nearly simultaneously on the Con-
tinent has been called Oidiutn aurcmtiacum.
M. C. C
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Jan. 25, 1872]
NATURE
24s
HUXLEY'S MANUAL OF THE ANATOMY
OF VERTEBRATED ANIMALS*
THIS long-expected work will be cordially welcomed
by all students and teachers of Comparative Ana<
tomy, as a compendious, reliable, and, notwithstanding
its small dimensions, most comprehensive guide in the
subject of which it treats.
To praise or to criticise the work of so accomplished a
master of his favourite science would be equally out of
place. It is enough to say that it realises in a remarkable
degree the anticipations which have been formed of it ;
and that it presents an extraordinary combination of wide,
general views, with the clear, accurate, and succinct state-
ment of a prodigous number of individual facts. The
extreme brevity, indeed, takes one in some degree by
surprise ; and it is only on repeated reading that one
feels assured that the facts exposed have been stated with
sufficient fulness.
»- It is a wholesome and encouraging sign of the scientific
literature and teaching of the day, that men of the highest
eminence devote a portion of their time to the com-
position of elementary manuals or short guides in their
respective sciences. The abuses to which such short
manuals are subject are well known, and have been often
conmiented on; and they are no doubt serious when
leading to the formation of imperfect knowledge and the
exclusion of more extended study. The objections, how-
ever, have weight chiefly as applied to the inferior
class of such treatises, which, certainly, have too much
abounded in this country. A thoroughly good manual,
even though strictly elementary, besides forming the first
secure basis of correct knowledge, excites a desire for
fuller reading, and serves at later periods for useful revisal
of more complete information ; while its small size
obviously places it within the reach of many whose means
do not enable them to become possessed of larger treatises,
and has thus considerable influence in extending the
study of the branch of science to which it is related.
Nor is Prof. Huxley's manual so very short as might
at first be supposed from the unpretending form given to
it ; but rather the abundance of facts is surprising which
the author has contrived to compress into the space,
without any loss of that clearness and comprehensive-
ness of statement for which he is so well known.
The amount of printed matter, indeed, is very nearly
the same as that comprised in the portion devoted to ver-
tebrate animals in the second edition of Gegenbaur's
*' Outlines,'' the most approved recent German elementary
treatise on Comparative Anatomy.
It is also deserving of note that there is an entire
absence of speculation and theory, as well as of any vaeue
generalities. The words ** teleology," **design," " type ofor-
ganisation," " descent," ''natural selection," ''genesis of
species," fijid no place in this manual, which deals simply
with ascertained facts and principles. In most instances,
where uncertainty prevails, the grounds of doubt are
stated, or the subject is altogether omitted ; but on the
whole, as is perhaps right in a manual, the author leans
to the side of positive statement of his own views, when he
has made up his mind on any disputed point.
So much for the manner of the book. As regards the
matter, it may be said that, while it presents a masterly
and decided statement of the great principles of Ver-
tebrate Morphology, the most characteristic and im-
portant feature which pervades the whole, is the constant
reference of all anatomical description and zoological
distribution to the facts and laws of organogenesis, as
ascertained from the observation of foetal development
This is well known to be one of the great merits of Prof.
Huxley's researches and writings, and he has made it
• " A Manual of the Anatomy of Vertebrated Ammala." By Thomas H.
Hiixley»LL.D., F.R.S. (London: /.aadA.CbttrchUI. Z87X.J
truly the key-note and whole tenor of the manual, so as
assuredly to prove one of its most valuable qualities in its
future influence on the study of Comparative Anatomy.
The first two chapters of the manual, extending to one
hundred and eleven pages, are devoted to an exposition
of the general organisation of the Vertebrata, as exhibited
in the skeleton (endoskeleton and exoskeleton), the mus-
cular system, the nervous system with the organs of sense,
the alimentary canal including the teeth, the sanguiferous
and lymphatic systems, the respiratory organs, and the
renal and reproductive organs. This is premised by a
statement of the distinctive characters of the vertebrate
organisation, in which the double cavity of the body,
neural and visceral, is taken as the most marked basis of
distinction between vertebrate and invertebrate mor-
phology ; and a clear short sketch is added of the most
prominent phenomena of foetal development
The rema'ming six chapters contain a systematic ex-
position of the classificadon, organisation^ and distribution
of the several classes of vertebrate animals, under the
three provinces of i, Ichthyopsida, 2, bauropsida, and
3, Mammalia ; thus recognising the important approxi-
mations now established between Fishes and Amphibia
under the first, and between Reptiles and Birds under the
second of these provinces. In each class the position
and organisation of extinct and fossil animals is also given.
The third chapter begins with the statement of the ana-
tomical characters of the three p^eat provinces ; after
which the organisation of fishes is described under an
arrangement which is a modification of Johannes M til-
ler's in the following groups, viz.^ i, Pharyngobranchii
(Amphioxus) ; 2, Marsipooranchii (the Myxines and
lanipreys); 3, Elasmobranchii (the sharks and rays);
4, Ganoidei (Lepidosteus, sturgeons, &c.) ; 5, Teleostei
(osseous fishes) ; and 6, Dipnoi (Lepidosiren, transitional).
In Chapter 4 the structure of the class Amphibia is
similarly given, under the following distribution — viz., I.
Saurobatrachia, including, i, Proteida (Siren, Axolotl, &c.),
2, Salamandrida (newts, &c.) ; II. I^abyrinthodonta ; III.
Gynmophiona ^Csecilia, &c.) ; and IV. Batrachia (Anura,
frogs and toads).
In Chapter 5, after giving the distinction between Rep-
tiles and Birds as included under the province of Sauro-
psida, the class Reptilia is distributed under the following
groups—viz., I. Chelonia ; II. Plesiosauria; III. Lacertilia;
IV. Ophidia; V. Ichthyosauria ; VI. Crocodilia; VII.
Dicynodontia ; VIII. Omithoscelida(Megalosaurus, Igua-
nodon, &&, transitional; IX. Pterosauria (Pterodac-
tyles) ; and the comparative osteology of these groups is
described.
In Chapter 6 Birds are distributed, and their Osteology
is described under the following classification — ^viz., I.
Saumrae (Archseopterygidae, the metacarpals not anky-
losed together) ; 11. Ratidae, including birds with more or
less rudimentary wings, and in which the sternum is
without a keel ; III. Carinatae, the large tribe in which
the sternum is keeled, including four groups, viz., i, Tina-
momorphae (Tinamous), 2, Schizognathae, (the Plovers,
Gulls, Penguins, Cranes, Hemipods, Fowls, Sand Grouse,
Pigeons, Hoazin); 3,iEgithognathae, (the Passerines, Swifts,
and Woodpeckers) ; 4, Desmognathae (the Birds of Prey,
Parrots, Cuckoos, Kingfishers, Anserinae, Flamingoes,
Storks, Cormorants).
In Chapter 7 the Muscles and Viscera of the Sauro-
psida are described together.
Chapter 8 (180 pages) is devoted to the Mammalia, dis-
tributed in three great groups, as follows : —
I. Omithodelphia (i, Monotremata).
II. Didelphia (2, Marsupial animals).
III. Monodelphia, divided provisionally into twelve
orders as foUovrs— 3, EdenUta, 4, Ungulata, 5, Toxodontia,
6, Sirenia, 7, Cetacea, 8, Hyracoidea, 9, Proboscidea, 10, Car-
nivora, 11, Rodentia, 12, Insectivora, 13, Cheiroptera, 14,
Primates. The first of these twelve orders is separated
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NATURE
\yan. 25, 1872
from the rest by the absence of middle incisor teeth, the
next four (4, 5, 6, 7) being reputed nondeciduate. the 8th,
9th, and loth presenting a zonary placenta, ana the re-
maining orders a discoidal placenta.
It was not to be expected that Professor Huxley
should have here departed from the placental classifica-
tion for which he has elsewhere shown so much favour.
Fig. X.— The head of a fcctal Lanib dissected so as to show Meckel's carti-
lage, M : the malleus, m ; the incus, t ; the tympanic, Ty ; the hyoid, //^ ;
the squamosal, Sq : pterygoid, Pi ; palatine,// ; lachrymal, L ; preouucilla,
pmx ; nasal sac, N ; Eustachian lube, En.
But however important the distinctions established upon
that basis may be in themselves, it may fairlv be doubted
how far characters derived from parts which do not belong
to the permanent organisation of the adult animal, the
application of which is not yet fully known in one or two
orders, and in which, too, there is much of a transitional
nature, are preferable to signs of a more marked and
easily observable kind deducible from other parts of the
organisation.
In the description of structure all these orders are
referred to ; but in several of them particular familiar ani-
s.fgk
Fig. s.— Diagram of the skeleton of the firet and second visceral arches in a
Lizard (A), a Mammal (B), and an Osseous Fish (C).
The skeleton of the first vi«ceral arch is f haded, that of the second is left
nearly unshaded. /. First visceral arch. 3/c^. Meekel's cartilage. Art.
Articulare. Qu. Quadratum. Mpt. Metapterygoid ; M. Malleus ; p.g.^
Processus gracilis. //. Second visceral arch. Hy. Hyoidean comu.
St. H Stylohyal. 5". Stapedius. Stp. Supes. ^. Stp. Supra stapedial.
HM. Hyoroandibular. llie arrow indicates the first visceral cleft. Pc,
The penotic capsule. Ptg Tne pterygoid.
mals are happily selected for the fuller illustration of the
more important systems ; as for example, the horse, pig,
dog, rabbit, hedgehog, seal, ox, porpoise : thus suggesting
.to the student the means by which a more practical and
thorough knowledge of the organisation may be obtained
by actual observation, than by the mere description of
varieties in a wider series of animals less within his reach.
In regard to the order to be followed in so extensive a
range of description as the comparative anatomy of
any large tribe of animals involves, it may be re-
marked that, however interesting in a physiological point
« A/.
Fig. 3.— Diagrammatic hotixontal section of a Vertebrate Brain. The foHow-
ing letters serve for both this figure and Fig. ^ '.—Mb, Mid-brain. What
lies in front of this is the fore-brain, and what lies behind, the hind-brain.
L.t. the lamina terminalis ; Ol/y the olfactory lobes; /^m/, the hemi-
spheres ; Th.E^ the thalamencephalon ; Pn, the pineal gland ; />, the
pituitary body ; FM, the forunen of Munro : CS, the corpus striatum ;
Tkf the optic thalamus; CQ. the corpora quadrigemina : CC, the
crura cerebri ; C^, the cerebellum : PV^ the pons varolii ; MO^ the
medulla oblongau ; / olfactorii ; //. optid ; ///. point of exit from the
brain of the motores oculorum ; IV. of the pathetid ; VI. of tfie abdu-
centes ; V-XIIy origins ^of the other cerebral nerves, t, olfactory ven-
tricle ; a, lateral ventride ; 3, third ventricle ; 4, fourth ventride ; -h> iter
a tertio <xd quartum vtntriculum.
of view may be the description of the variations of form
and structure in the different organs taken separately in
the whole series of animals, the results of this mode of
teaching and study are inferior to those obtainable from
the method of description of the whole organisation in
successive groups or individual animals, as regards pro-
tH
M.h.
Fig. 4.~A longitudinal and vertical section of a Vertebrate Brain. The
letters as before. The lamina ttrminalis is represented by the stronr
black line betireen FM and 3,
gress in morphological attainments, the determination of
zoological affinities, and their application to the solution of
the great biological problems ci the day.
The latter part of this chapter treats of the Primates,
which are divided into— i, the Lemuridae, 2, the Simiadse,
and 3, the Anthropidae. The Simiadae are thrown into
three groups, viz., i, Arctopithecini, or marmosets ; 2, Pla-
tyrrhini, or American monkeys ; and 3, Catarrhini, or
monkeys of the Old World, including two sub-groups,
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NATURE
247
viz., a, Cynomorpha (with ischial callosities), and b, An-
thropomorpba. In this last the author recognises with
certainty as distinct the genera Hylobates or Gibbons,
Pithecus or Orang, and Troglodytes or Chimpanzee, and
is inclined to separate Gorilla as a fourth genus.
^ Mn. 2N. BrJ Br,^ BrJ Bn* Bk^ Bk^ Br.^
J^^e^
[•]^lp§§§ft^^°
Fig 5. — A diagram intended to show the manner in which the aortic arches
become modified in the series of the Vertebrata.
A. A hypothetically perfect series of aortic arches, correspondinf with the nine
postoral visceral airches, of which evidence is to be found in some Shades
9xA MarnfobroHchii A.C. Cardiac aorta ; A.D. Dorsal or subvertebral
aorta, i.— ix. the aortic arches, correspooding with Jf »., the mandibular ;
f/y., the hyoidean, and Br.x — Br.T, tne seven branchial visceral arches.
I. II. III. IV. v. VI. VII., the seven Mim^Am/ clefts. The first visceral c^ch
is left unnumbered, and one must be added to the number of each branchial
cleft to give its number in the series of visceral clefts.
B. Hypothetical diagram of the aortic arches of the shark He/tanchus,
which has seven toranchial cle£t«. S^. The renuuns of the first visceral
cleft as the spiracle. Branchias are developed on all the arches.
C. Le/i4iatir€H —TYm first arch has disappeared as such, and the first
visceral cleft is obliterated. Internal branchiae are developed in connection
with the second, fifth, sixth, and seventh aortic archen ; external branchiae
in oomiection with the fourth, fifth, and sixth. P. A. the pulmonary artery.
Tlie posterior two visceral clefts are obliterated.
D. A Teleostean Fish.— The first aortic arch and first visceral cleft are
obliterated, as before. The second aortic arch bears the pseudo-branchia
{Ps. B.\ whence issues the ophthahnic arterv, to terminate in the choroid
gland (CA.)l The next four arches bear gills. The seventh and eighth
arches have been observed in the embryo, but not the ninth, and the in-
cluded clefts are absent in the adult.
£. The Axolotl {Sirethn), a perennibranchiate amphibian. The third,
fourth, fifth, and sixth aortic arches, and the anterior four branchial clefts,
persist. The first visceral cleft is ooliterated.
F. The Frog. — The three auiterior aortic arches are obliterated in the adult.
The place of the third, which is connected with the anterior external gill in
the Tadpole, is occupied by the common carotid and the reU mirabiU
(carotid gland, Ca.G} which terminates it. Toe fourth pair of aortic arches
persist The fifth and sixth pair lose their connection with the sub-
vertebral aortic trunk, and become the roots of the cutaneous and puN
, mooary arteries. The first visceral cleft becomes the tympanum, but all
the others are obliterated in the adult.
An interesting synopsis is g^ven of the anatomical pe-
culiarities of these animals, and of the circumstances m
which they most differ from, or resemble, man. Among
these the author has inadvertently overstated the propor-
tion of the volume of the brain of the orang and chimpanzee
to that of man, when he rates it at about half the minimum
size of the normal human brain. Taking thirty-three
ounces as the lowest weight of the latter consistent with a
natural condition in the adult male, the brain of the orang
and chimpanzee may be slated at a third of that weight.
At p. 487 this subject is summed up as follows : — " Of
the four genera of the Anthropomorpha, the gibbons are
obviously most remote from man, and nearest to the
CynopithecinL
"The orangs come nearest to man in the number of
the ribs, the form of the cerebral hemispheres, the dimi-
nution of the occipito-temporal sulcus of the brain, and the
ossified styloid process ; but they differ from him much
more widely in other respects, and especially in the limbs,
than the gorilla and chimpanzee do.
" The chimpanzee approaches man most closely in the
character of its cranium, its dentition, and the proportional
size of the arms.
" The gorilla, on the other hand, is more man-like in
the proportions of the leg to the body, and of the foot to
Fig. 6.— a, the stomach of a Sheep. B, that of a Musk-deer ( Tragului).
<r, oesophagus: i?M., rumen; Rei.^ reticulum; Ps,, psalterium; A,^ Ab
abomasum ; Du., duodenum : Py.^ pylorus.
the hand ; further, in the size of the heel, the curvature
of the spine, the form of the pelvis, and the absolute ca-
pacity of the cranium."
The work is concluded with a brief statement of the
characteristics of the human organisation. Among these
the superior size of the head of the male infant at b rth
might perhaps have received a more prominent place.
The short statement of variations in structure connected
with difference of race is of peculiar interest. The various
races of mankind are placed io two groups according to
the character of the hair, viz., /j, the Ulotrichi (crisp or
woolly-haired), who are almost all dolichocephali, and ^,
Leiotrichi (straight-haired), who are distributed in four
sets, viz., I, Australioid, 2, Mongoloid, 3, Xanthochroic,
or blue-eyed whites, and 4, Melanochroic, or dark whites.
It will now be proper to place before the reader some
illustrations, taken from the " Manual,*' of Prof. Huxley's
mode of treatment of individual topics.
The first of these which is selected (Fig. i) relates to the
intricate but deeply interesting subject of the homology of
the OS quadratum of birds and reptiles, a bone which was
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24S
NATURE
{Jan. 25, 1872
compared by Cuvier to the tympanic bone of mammals,
but which more lately, in consequence of the embryo-
logical researches of Reichert and Rathke, was held to
correspond rather with the incus, — a view in which Prof.
H uxley formerly concurred. Later observations, however,
(detailed in a paper published in the Proceedings of the
Zoological Society lor 1869) have led him to alter his
opinion, and to form the opinion that the os guadratum
may, with the greatest probability, be regarded as repre-
senting the malleus.
In explaining this morphological point. Prof. Huxley
refers as fullows (at p. 27) to the osteogenetic process
connected with the formation of the lower jaw and hyoid
bone, or mandibular and hyoid arches.
** Two ossifications commonly appear near the proximal
end of Meckel's cartilage, and become bones moveably
articulated together. The proximal of these is the quad-
rate bone found in most vertebrates, the malleus of
mammals ; the distal is the os articulare of the lower
jaw in mo&t vertebrates, but does not seem to be repre-
sented in mammals. The remainder of Meckel's carti-
lage usually persists for a longer or shorter time, but does
not .ossify. It becomes surrounded by bone, arising from
one or several centres in the adjacent membrane, and the
ramus of the mandible thus formed articulates with the
squamosal bone in mammals, but in other vertebrata is
immoveably united with the os articulare,
" Hence the complete ramus of the mandible articulates
direcdy with the skull in manmials, but only indirecdy, or
through the intermediation of the quadrate, in other ver-
tebrata. In birds and reptiles, the proximo end of the
quadrate bone articulates directly (with a merely apparent
exception in Ophidia), and independently of the hyoidean
apparatus, with the periotic capsule. In most if not all
fishes, the connection of the mandibular arch with the
skull is effected indirectly, by its attachment to a single
cartilage or bone, the hyomandibular^ which represents
the proximal end of the hyoidean arch."
This last '* is often united, more or less closely, with the
outer extremity of the bone, called columella auris^ or
stapes^ the inner end of which, in the higher vertebrata,
is attached to the membrane of ^t fenestra avails*^
Fig. 7.— Thb Skblkton of the Horsb.
A fuller and most interesting account of the origin and
relations of these bones in connection with the changes
occurring in the development of the first and second '
visceral arches, and with the formation of the external
and middle parts of the ear is given at pp. 83— 85 ; but
there is only space here to reproduce the diagrammatic
figure of the Manual (Fig. 2), which places very clearly in
comparison their probable homology in fishes, reptiles,
and manmials.
The main point on which the question hinges seems to
be the separate connection ascertained to exist between
the periotic capsule and the two rods contained respec-
tively in the first and second visceral arches ; the proxi-
mate part of the first becoming the quadrate bone, or
malleus; that of the second becoming the incus in the
part above the attachment of the stapes to the rod, and
stapedius muscle below; while the stapes itself, or
columella aurts^ is an offset, as it were, from the second
rod proceeding to the fenestra ovalis. The subject, how-
ever, is one o* so great difficulty, especially as connected
with the existence and relations of the tympanic boner in
birds and reptiles, to the proof of which the researches of
Peters have been directed, that it would be hazardous
to attempt any decision of the question at issue without
an opportunity of going very fully and minutely into the
whole investigation.
The third illustration from the earlier part of the Manual
(Figs. 3, 4) gives a clear view of the relations now very
generally recognised between the rudimentary parts of
the foetal brain and those forming the adult encephalon
of the different classes of Vertebrata; and it is enough to
refer to the diagrammatic figures, with their description.
The exposition which follows of the modifications in the
form and organisation of the brain in different animals, to-
gether with the comparative views of the brains of the rab-
bit, pig, and chimpanzee, in figs. 21 and 22 of the Manual,
is most instructive and worthy of attentive study.
The next illustration extracted from the Manual (Fig. 5)
is dia^ammatic, like the preceding ones, being intended to
explam the changes by which, in fishes and amphibia, the
permanent arterial vessels nearest the heart are derived
from the common typical aortic arches, which, in the
foetus of all vertebrate animals, surround the first part of
the alimentary canal.
The illustration might advantageously be extended to
show the parallel changes in reptiles, birds, and mammals;
these, however, may be better given from the ventral than
from the lateral aspect ^ j
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yan. 25, 1872]
NATURE
249
The figure here inserted of the skeleton of the horse
(Fig. 7) is a very good example of the wood engraving,
in which, notwithstanding the small scale, there is re-
markable clearness of detail ; and the succeeding figures,
representing several details of the osteology of the same
animal, are all to be commended for beauty and delicacy
of execution.
The illustration given in Fig. 6 is one in explanation
of the structure of the stomach of the ruminant, in con-
nection with which the following statement of recently-
established points regarding rumination may be quoted
(p. 381) :—
'* I. Rumination is altogether prevented by paralysis of
the abdominal muscles, and it is a good deal impeded by
any interference with the free action of the diaphragm.
" 2. Neither the paunch nor the reticulum ever becomes
completely emptied by the process of regurgitation. The
paunch is found half full of sodden fodder, even in animals
which have perished by starvation.
'' 3. When solid substances are swallowed, they pass
inditterendy into the rumen or reticulum, and are con-
stantly driven backwards and forwards, from the one to
the other, by peristaltic actions of the walls of the stomach.
*' 4. Fluids may pass either into the paunch and the
reticulum, or into the psalterium, and thence at once into
the fourth stomach, according to circumstances.
** 5. Rumination is perfectly well effected after the lips
of the oesophageal groove have been closely united by wire
sutures.
*' It would appear, therefore, that the cropped grass
passes into the reticulum and rumen, and is macerated in
them. But there is no reason to believe that the reticu-
lum takes any special share in modelling the boluses
which have to be returned into the mouth. More pro-
bably, a sudden and simultaneous contraction of the dia-
phragm and of the abdominal muscles compresses the
contents of the rumen and reticulum, and drives the
sodden fodder against the cardiac aperture of the
stomach. This opens, and then the cardiac end of the
oesophagus, becoming passively dilated, receives as much
of the fodder as it will contain. The cardiac aperture
now becoming closed, the bolus thus shut off is propelled
by the reversed peristaltic action of the muscular walls of
the oesophagus mto the mouth, where it undergoes the
thorough mastication which has been described."
In connection with this it may be remarked that fuller
illustration by figures of the organs of digestion, circula-
tion, and respiration in different animals seems desirable
in the Af anuaJ.
Of the no woodcuts contained in the Manual, two-
thu-ds are original, while the remaining third (37) are
borrowed from other authors, whose names are mentioned
in the preface.
For so complex a subject as the osteology of the skull,
as well as perhaps in several other parts, some extended
table of the bones, with the letters of reference employed
throughout the work, would affoid considerable assistance
to the student
It might also be advantageous in an elementary work
of this kind to have added select references to works for
fuller study, and a glossary of (at least unusual) terms.
In concluding this notice we repeat that the Manual is
in every way worthy of its learned author, and calculated
to be extremely useful in promoting the study of Com-
?arative Anatomy and Zoology on sound principles,
'he work cannot fail soon to go to a second edition, when
the author will have considered the expediency of such
additions as we have ventured to suggest, or of others of
which he approves, and which he has doubdess been
deterred from including in the present work from the
desire to bring it within as narrow a compass as possible.
We may also express the hope that thepublishers have made
arrangements for the speedy pubhcation of a similar
Manual of the Anatomy of the Invertebrate Animals.
Allkn Thomson
NOTES
M. Janssen has addressed to the French Academy of Sciences
the following letter, on the principal consequences to be drawn
from his observations on the solar eclipse of 12th December
last; it is dated Sholoor, December 19, 1871 :~"I had the
honoor/' he says, "of sending you on the very day of the eclipse
a few lines to inform the Academy that I had observed the eclipse
under an exceptional sky, and that my observations led me to
assume a solar origin for the Corona (see Nature, voL v. p. 190).
Immediately alter the eclipse I was obliged to busy myself with
the personal and material arrangements for my expedition into
the mountains, and hence I have been unable to complete any
detailed account, but I take advantage of the departure of this
courier to give some indispensable details as to the announced
results. Without entering into a discussion, which wiUfonn part
of my narrative, I shall say, in the first place, that the magnifi-
cent Corona observed at Sholoor showed itself under such an
aspect that it seemed to me impossible to accept for it any cause
of the nature of the phenomena of diffraction or reflection upon
the globe of the moon, or of simple illumination of the terrestrial
atmosphere. But the arguments which militate in favour of an
objective and circumsolar cause, acquire invincible force when
we inquire into the luminous elements of the phenomenon. In
fact, the spectrum of the Corona appeared in my telescope, not
continuous, as it had previously been found, but remarkably
complex. I detected in it, though much weaker, the brilliant
lines of hydrogen gas, which forms the principal element of
the protuberances and chromosphere ; the brilliant line which
has already been indicated during the eclipses of 1869 and
1870, and some other fainter ones ; obscure lines of the or-
dinary solar spectrum, especially that of sodium (D) ; these
lines are much more difficult to perceive. These facts
prove the existence of matter in the vicinity of the sun ;
matter which manifests itself in total eclipses by pheno-
mena of emission, absorption, and polarisation. But the dis-
cussion of the facts leads us still further. Besides the cosmicil
matter independent of the sun which must exist in its neigh-
bourhood, the observations demonstrate the existence of
an excessively rare atmosphere, with a base of hydrogen, ex-
tending far beyond the chromosphere and protuberances, and
deriving its supplies from the very matter of the latter — matter
which is projected with so much violence, as we may ascertain
every day. The rarity of this atmosphere at a certain distance
from the chromosphere must be excessive ; its exbtence, there-
fore, is not in disagreement with the observations of some
passages of comets close to the sun."
Wa earaestiy call the attention of all men of science who may
have influence with the French Government, to the letter on be-
half of Elis^ Redus by Mr. H. Woodward, which will be found
in another column.
We have to record the death of the Rev. Canon Moseley,
F. R. S. , on Saturday last in his 7 ist year. Born in 1 801, he went
to St John's College^ Cambridge, where he graduated seventh
wrangler in 1826. He was for a time Professor of Natural
Philosophy and Astronomy at King's College, London, and was
afterwards appointed one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools,
and was a member of the Ordnance Select Committee. Canon
Moseley was well known for his writings on various physical
subjects, in particular on the phenomena connected with the
freenng of water, and the molecular constitution of glacial ice.
Thk Photographic News notices the death of one of the most
eminent continental photographers, Johannes Grasshoff, of Ber-
lin, at the early age of thirty-six. At the recent exhibition of
the Photographic Society in Conduit Street, his studies were
among those most admired in the whole collection, and not least
his group of thirty different pictures iron&^-qpe and the same
Digitized by VjOOQIC
250
NATURE
\7an. 25. 1872
model. Like some others of the most successful photographers,
his education was that of an art student, and he was known as a
clever painter before he became a skilful photographer.
It will be recollected what a warm discussion was raised in
the French Academy of Sciences before the late war by the
proposal to enrol Mr. Darwin among its corresponding members.
The proposal was at that time postponed, but his name has now
been placed first on the list for the forthcoming election of a
Corresponding Member in Zoology, and he will, therefore, no
doubt receive the honour. His supporters are MM. Milne-
Edwards, Quatrefages, and Lacaze-Duthiers.
At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Monday
evening last, Lieutenant Dawson, R.N., was introduced as the
leader of the party organised to attempt the relief of Dr. Living-
stone. Mr. W. O. Livingstone, a son of the explorer, bom in
the neighbourhood of I^e N'gami, is to accompany the
party. An application to the Treasury for a grant of money to
aid the expedition has been unsuccessful Should this decision
be a final one, the undertaking must therefore depend entirely on
private subscriptions ; but we are happy to see that the subject
is already being warmly taken up in many of the larger towns
in the country, and the sum of 1,700/. was announced as
having been raised by Monday evening last Since then a public
meeting has been held at Glasgow, at which 200/. was subscribed,
and one wUl probably be held in London, under the auspices of
the Lord Mayor.
The subscription raised is a Memorial Fund to the late Mr.
Alder of Newcastle now amounts to about 300/. This is con-
siderably less than the amount it was thought might have been
raised, though sufficient to carry out in a limited form the original
suggestions as to its appropriation. The Committee recommend
that it should be invented in the names of trustees, and should
serve as the foundation of a Scholarship in Zoology, or other
branch of Biology, bearing Mr. Aldex^s name, in the New Col-
lege of Physical Science in Newcastle ; the transfer to be coupled
with such stipulations as to the teaching of Biological Science as
in?>y be agreed upon.
The editor of Les Mondes calls attention to the manner in
which scientific chairs have been disposed of in France, not so
much with the object of " finding men to fill the vacant places
as places for the proUgh or favourites of the moment." On the
death of M. d'Archiac, the chair of pabeontology in the Mu-
seum of Natural History at Paris was given to M. Lartet, a
palaeontologist of world-wide renown, but too advanced in years
and of too feeble health to permit him to give a single lesson.
On the death of M. Lartet, although there are a large number
of good palaeontologis's in France, it was all but decided, from
motives of private convenience and patronage, to abolish the chair,
its maintenance being secured by a majority of two votes only.
The appomtment has now been made to the professorship of M.
Albert Gaudry, late assistant to Prof. d'Ardiiac, and author of
*'La Geologic et la Pal^ntologie de I'Attique," an appointment
which will give general satisfaction.
The Engineer states that the French Government, impressed
by the want of thorough geographical instruction, have under con-
sideration a plan for a Geographical Institute, on a scale which has
never before been attempted. The proposed Institute is to include
all the means and accessoriesof geographical educationin its widest
acceptation — ^books, maps, charts, globes, instruments, collec-
tions of natural objects, &c.— «nd to include a staff of professors
and teachers of the highest grsdes. The naval dep6t of charts
and plans will form one of the departments of the new Institute,
which promiKi to be of eminent service, not only to France^
but to the whole of Europe, for, should it be established on the
scale propoaed, there is little doubt that it will give an impulse
to geognphioa itady throu^boat the civiUsed world.
The Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture will
award on the ist of March next two prizes of 30odols. and
200 dols. respectively to the two best establishments in the State
for the culture of fislies for food, all competitors for which must
send in their names and addresses to the secretary of the
Society, Edward N. Perkins, 42, Court Street, Boston. The
committee of award will consider the number of species of
fishes cultivated, the number of individuals, and their size and
condition, the number of eggs hatched in the establishment, and
of young reared firom them, the neatness and economy of the
establishment, and the excellence of the fixtures.
Dr. Stimpson, the secretary of the Academy of Sciences of
Chicago, left Baltimore in the steamer of the 15th of December
for Key West, for the purpose of making explorations and col-
lections in the Florida waters, partly with the object of replacing
that portion of the collection of the Chicago Academy lost by
the fire. It is expected that he will take charge of the dredging
operations of the United States Coast Survey steamer Bibb^
while she is employed in selecting a line for the submarine cable
which is to be laid for the International Cable Company between
Cape San Antonio, Cuba, and some point on the coast of
Yucatan.
We learn from the Gardeners* Chronicle that among the disas-
trous losses occasioned by the Chicago fire, the very valuable
Entomological Collection of the late Dr. Walsh was totally
destroyed. The Canada Farmer states that after the death of
the eminent entomologist, the collection became by purchase the
property of the State. It was not only very extensive, but the
specimens were arranged and labelled with great care and accu-
racy ; and it will be many years before another can be collected
to replace it
The first number of the Journal of the Anthropological
Institute of New York, an institution newly organised upon the
base of the former Ethnological Society of that city, is published.
In the change the scope of the society has been greatly enlarged,
and many of the difficulties attendant upon the maintenance of
the old organisation have been obviated. Several papers of more
or less interest are to be found in this first number, and there is
little doubt that the new society will occupy a prominent place
in advancing knowledge in the world.
Mr. Stephen T. Olnev, a well-known botanist, resident at
Providence, Rhode Island, has just published a list of the Algae
of Rhode Island, as collected and prepared by himself. In this
he enumerates twenty-four species of melanosperms, or olive-
coloured algae ; forty-four of rhodosperms, or red algae ; and
twenty-five of the chlorosperms, or green algae, making ninety-
three species in all. The remaining forms, principally micro-
scopic, enumerated by him, and including zygnemacese, des-
mideoe, and diatomaceae, bring the number up to 189. Of most
of these Mr. Olney possesses duplicates, which he will be happy
to dispose of in exchange.
The second volume of the *' Annals of the Dudley Observa-
tory," edited by its director, G. W. Hough, has just made its
appearance, and consists of a report of the meteorological ob-
servations made at the observatory from 1862 to 1871. Its
value is enhanced by its embracing the hourly xeoonis of the ba-
rometer (automatically printed) for a continuous period of five
years, made by means of a very efficient apparatus invented by
the director, and now used in numerous places, among others, in
the office of the Signal Service at Washington. An appendix to
the report contains miscellaneous communications upon the gal-
vanic battery, the total eclipse of the sun of August 2, 1869, and
the meteoric showers of 1867, &c. ; and the whole book must be
considered a very valuable contribution to physical science.
Serious apprehensions have been excited at Nantwich in
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yan. 25, 1872]
NATURE
251
Cheshire by the repeated landslips which have occurred there.
For several winters in succession Urge surfaces of ground have
fallen in, it is supposed on account of the withdrawal of the salt
from the salt-mines. The slip which occurred this winter b on
the same spot where similar occurrences happened twelve months,
two, .and four years ago. The pit is about 300 yards in circum-
ference, and about 100 feet deep, and the sides are almost per-
pendicular. It is feared that iif these subsidences contmue the
town itself will be threatened, and the attention of the Govern-
ment has been called to them.
Mr. W. Laird Clowcs, in a letter to a contemporary dated
The Cottage, Pinner, Monday, Jan. 8, writes: — ** To-night,
between 8.15 and 8.30, I noticed three beautifully luminous at-
mospheiical phenomena on the northern horizon. They all took
the form of an arc of fire of between 8** and lo"* in height, the
first two happening within a minute of one another, and the last
about eleven minutes after the second. There were a slight
breeze and light clouds at the time." This was most probably
an aurora borealis, but we have not seen any other account
of it.
Thb Trinity Board have established an electric light at the
South Foreland lighthouse, which is situated between Dover and
DeaL It was formally opened on New Year's Day by Sir
Frederick Arrow, the Deputy-Master of the Trinity Board, in
the place of Prince Arthur, who was prevented from being
present lliis lighthouse establishes a triangle of electric lights,
the other two being at Dungeness and Cape Grisnez
The accounts furnished by the Boston Advertiser from the
captains and crews of the vessels of the whaling fleet lately
destroyed or ice-bound in the Arctic Ocean concur in describing
the presence of peculiar meteorological phenomena during the
past season. The prevailing summer wind on the nonh-wc&t
coast of Alaska is from the north, and this works the ice off
from the land and dUperses it, while the north-westerly winds
close it up on the shore. As the ice moves off, the ships gene-
rally work up by the land, and in that situation find whales in
plenty. By the end of the season, when north-westerly winds are
prevalent, the ice becomes so broken up and melted that it has
ceased to be an element of danger, and the vessels are compelled
to retire to the northward by heavy ice drifting along the coast
from the north, and not from a threatened closing in upon the
laiMi. But this season the easterly winds were nut so strong and
constant as usu J, and the ice that had gone off from ^hore re-
turned in a heavy pack, so that it was impussible to get a ship
through, or even to hold against it at anchor. The heavy ice-fields
are all composed of fresh- water berg-ice, not floe-ice of salt-
water. The bergs are not of the immense proportions seen in
Greenland seas, but are solid enough to be equally dangerous,
many masses t>eing so heavy as to ground in ten laihoms of
water.
On Nov. 15 the town of Oran, the second city in the province
of Salta, was destroyed by a series of earthquakes lasting nme
hours. Very little life was lost, the first shocks being light. The
inhabitants had time to flee to the open camp of Monte Video.
SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE FROM
AMERICA"
Advices firom Lieutenant G. M. Wheeler, United States Engi-
neers, whose movements during the past year we have had
frequent occasion to chromcle, announce his arrival at Tucson
about Dec 4, with the men and animab nearly exhausted.
The trip from Prescott to Camp Apache had been very severe,
on accoimt of ihe snow and high wuids on the Colorado plateau.
During their exploration one party had been sent to ihe San
* Commwaicatcd by th« SdentiSc Editor dHmtfn's fVetkl/.
Francisco mountains, and made the ascent of the principal peak.
These mountains consist of three prominences, groupmg in the
form of a crater, the north-eastern rim being wanting. The
principal peak was occupied as a topographical, barometrical,
and photographic station. It is believed to be nearly 1,000 feet
higher than the peak usually ascended ; and Lieutenant Wheeler
\^as of the opini 'n that his pairy was the fir^t to occupy its sum-
mit. This, however, was a mistake, as Dr. Edward Palmer, of
the Smithsonian Institution, made the ascent in 1870, and ob-
tained a numt>er of new specie^ of plants and insect*. — A docu-
ment which has been for some years in preparation, and toward
which much expectation has been directed by agriculturists, has
just appeared from the Government press, namtly, the Report of
the Commi^ioner of Agriculture upon the Diseases of Cattle in
the United S'ates. About the middle of June, 1868. a disease
broke out at Cairo, Illinois, amone a number of Texas cattle,
known as the Spanbh fever, or the Texas cattle disease. In
consequence of the lapid extendi n of this disease, very serious
alarm was excited, and the services o^ ProC John Gamgee, a
dihtinguished English veterinarian, thm in the Unied States,
were secured by General Capron, Uie Commis^oner of Agricul-
ture, for the purpose of instituting a careful inquiry as to its
cause, course, and m<thods of treatment. The PrufesM>r imme-
diately visited the infected districts in Illinois, and in the spring
of 1869 examined that part of Texas on or near the Gulf coast,
where the transportation of the native cattle begins. In this
last journey he was accompanied by Prof. Ravenel, of South
Carolina, a specialist among the fungi, and whose particular object
was to determine what part such plants played in ttie infection.
Dr. J. S. Billmgs and Dr. Curtis, of the army, were alxo asso-
ciated in the inquiry, having special reference to the microscopic
investigations. A second investigation by Prof. Gamgee, under
the authority of the Commis«>ioncr of Agriculture, bad reference
to the subject of pleuro-pneumonia, in the course of which nu-
merous microscopic obaervations were made by Dr. Woodward,
of the Army Medical MuseuuL Full reports on these various
subjects made by the different gentlemen are embodied in
the volume referred to, which appears in quarto form, with
numerous well-executed plates in chromo-lithography. It
is also accompanied by a report by Mr. Dodge, the statistician
of the Agriciiltural department, upon the history of this Tex«s
cattle disease, also known as splenic fever, in which the devasta-
tions of this pectiliar native malady are traced back into the
eighteenth century. This report was considered by General
Capron as simply preliminary, and fiuther investi^arions are in-
dicated as important Amone those especially mentioned are
inquiries as to the best mode of arresting the contatfion, and the
proper way of tnn^portation of the cattle northwaid. He
thinks that a general law of the United States, in the mterest of
public health, of an enlightened humanity, and of the cattle
trade, shouli rei;ulate this traffic, not only throughout the Gulf
Sates, but on the great routes throughout thecountrv. — A valu-
able diCument lately issued by the Surgeon -General's Office at
Washington, prepared by Dr. G. A. Oti.^ consisu of a repon of
surfc:ical cases treated in the army of the United States from 1865
to 1871, covering almost every possible variety of injury, whether
by gua-stiot wounds, lacerations, fractures, dislocations, ampu-
tations, &C. The report, which is a quarto of nearly 300
pages, b illustrated in the same excellent style as its prede-
cessors, and the woodcuts are especially i»or(hy ot ail praise. —
Bills have been introduced both in the Senate and House of
Representatives providing for the reservation of that portion of
the region al>>ut the Yellow Stone Lake, in which the wundetful
gevsers and hot sjjrirgs occur, to whch we have repeatedly
called the attention of our readers. The thorough exploration
of that country made during the past season by Dr Haydcn has
enabled him todefii^e the bmits ^rithin which t^ese natural features
occur, and the bill is based upon a plan prepared mider his direc-
tion. The area proposed to be preserved is atKMit sixty five miles in
length by fifty-nve in width, and it is suggested that the reserva-
tion be placed under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior,
n^ho ia to be empowered to take such steps as may be required
to protect the natural cunosities from injury or destruction. It
is highly important that this should become a law at the present
session, as tne glowing accounts given by Dr Hayden will cause
a great many persons to vi^ii the country during the coming year,
and with the natural iconoclasm c>f the An^lo- Saxon race, ihere
U great danger that the wonderiul water babius and formations of
sulphur and of calcareoUN a'd siliceous rocks will be knocked to
pieces for the purpose of securing mementoes of a visit
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NATURE
\yan. 25, 1872
THE LAWS OF ORGANIC DEVELOPMENT*
n^HE discussion of this subject divides itself into two parts,
^ viz. : a consideration of the proof that evolution of organic
types, or descent with modification, has taken place ; and,
secondly, the invertiganon of the laws in accordance with which
this development has progressed.
I. — On the Proof for Evolution,
There are two modes of demonstration, both depending on
direct observation. One of these has been successfully presented
by Darwin. He has observed the orif^in of varieties in animals
and plants, either in the domesticated or wild states, and has
shown, what had been known to many, the lack of distinction
in the grades of difference which separate varieties and species.
But he has also pointed out that species (such, so far as distinct-
ness goes) have been derived from other species among domes-
tical^ animals, and he infers by induction that other species,
whose origin has not been observed, have also descended from
common parents. So far I believe his induction to be justified :
but when from this basis evolution of divisions defined by im-
portant structural characters, as genera, orders, classes, &c., is
inferred, I believe that we do not know enough of the uniformity
of nature*! processes in the premises to enable us so regard this
kind of proof as conclusive.
I therefore appeal to another mode of proving it, and one
which covers the case of all the more really structural features of
animals and plants.
It is well known that in both kingdoms, in a general way, the
young stages of the more perfect types are represented or imitated
with more or less exactitude by the adults of inferior ones. But
a true identity of these adults with the various stages of the
higher has, comparatively, rarely been observed. I^t such a
case be supposed.
In A we have four species whose growth attains a given point,
a certain number of stages having been passed prior to its termi-
nation or maturity. In B we have another series of four (the
numbering a matter of no importancf ), which, during the period
of growth, csmnot be distinguished by any common, i.e., generic
character, from the individuals of group A^ but whose growth
has only attained to a point short of that reached by those of
group A at maturity. liere we have a parallelism, but no true
evidence of descent Bat if we now find a set of individuals
belonging to one species, and therefore held to have had a
common origin or parentage (or still better the individuals of a
single brood), which present differences among themselves of the
character in question, we have gained a point. We know in this
case that the individuals a, have attained to the completeness of
character presented by group A^ while others, b^ of the same
parentage, have only attained to the structure of those of group
B, It is perfectly obvious that the individuals of the first jiart
of the family have grown further, and, therefore, in one sense
faster, than those of group b. If the parents were like the
individuals of the more completely grown, the offspring whidi did
not attain that completeness may ^ said to have been retarded
in their development. If, on the other hand, the parents were
like Uiose less fully grown, then the offspring which have added
something have l>een accelerated in their development
I claim that a consideration of the uniformity of nature's pro-
cesses, or inductive reasoning, requires me (however it may affect
the minds of others) to believe that the groups of species whose
individuals I have never found to vary, but which differ in the
same point as those in which I have observed the above varia*
tions, are also derived from comm'^n parents, and the more ad-
vanced have been accelerated or the less advanced retarded, as
the case may have been with regard to the parents.
This is not an imaginary case, but a true representation of many
which have come under my observation. The developmental
resemblances mentioned are universal m the animal and probably
in the vegetable kingdoms, approaching the exactituae above
depicted in proportion to the near structural similarity of the
species consideied.
II. — On the Laws of Evolution.
Wallace and Darwin have propounded as the cause of modifi-
cation in descet t their law of natural selrction. This lavir ha«
been epi om«>ed by Spencer a- the **prcser\at»on of the fittest."
Thik neat expre^ion no di ubt covers the case, but it leaves the
'.Abstract of paper by Prof. E. D. Core, read at the Indianapolis meeting
of the American AM.ociation (or the AdvanoemeDt of Science : reprinted
from the AmtriemM NmtunMtt,
origin of the fittest entirely untouched. Darwin assu.iiesa
" tendency to variation " in nature, and it is plainly necessary to
do this in order that materials for the exercise of a selection
sh uld exist. Dar^-in and Wallace's law is, then, only restrictive,
directive, conservative, ordrstructive of something already created.
Let u.«, then, seek for the originative laws by which these subjects
are famished— in other words, for the causes of the origin of the
fittest
The origin of new structures which distinguish one generation
from those which have preceded it, I have stated to take place
under the law of acceleration. As growth (creation) of parts
usually ceases with maturity, it is entirely plain that the process
of acceleration is limited to the period of infancy and youth in
all animals. It is also plain that the question of growth is one
of nutrition, or of the construction of organs and tissues out of
protoplasm.
The construction of the animal types is restricted to two kinds
of increase— the addition of identiceu segments and the addition
of identical Cf lis. The first is probably to be referred to the last,
but the laws which give rise to it cannot be here explained. Cer-
tain it is that segmentation is not only produced by addition of
identical parts, but also by subdivision of a homogeneous part
In reducing the vertebrate or most complex animal to its simplest
expression, we find that all its specialised parts are but modifica-
tions of the segment, either simply or as sub-segments of com-
pound but identical segments. Gegenbaur has pointed out that
the most complex limb with hand or foot is constructed, first, of
a single longitudinal series of identical segments, from each of
which a similar segment diverges, the whole forming parallel
series, not only in the oblique transverse, but generally in the
longitudinal sense. Thus the limb of the Lepidosiren represents
the simple type, that of the Ichthyosaurus a first modification.
In the latter the first segment only (femur or humerus) is speci-
alised, the other pieces l^ing undistinguishable. In the Plesio-
saurian paddle the separate parts are distinguished ; the ulna and
radius wdl marked, the carpal pieces hexagonal, the phalanges
well marked, &&
As regards the whole skeleton, the- same position may be
safely assumed. Though Huxley may reject Owen's theory of
the vertebrate character of the segments of the cranium, because
they are so very different from the segments in other paits of
the column, the question rests entirely on the definition of a
vettebrau If a vertebra be a segment of the skeleton, of course
the skull is composed of vertebrae ; if not, then the cranium may
be said to ht formed of " sclerotomes," or some other name may
be used. Certain it is, however, that the parts of the segments
of the cranium may be now more or less completely parallelised
or homologised with each other, and that as we descend the
scale of vertebrated animals, the resemblance of these segments
to vertebrae increases, and the constituent segments of each become
more similar. In the t^pes where the greatest resemblance is
seen, segmentation of either is incomplete, for they retain the
original cartilaginous basis. Other animals which present cavi-
ties or parts of a solid support are still more easily reduced to a
simple basis of segments, arranged either longitudinally (worm)
or ccntrifugally (star-fish, &c.).
Each segment — and this term includes not only the parts of a
complex ii^ole, but parts always subdivided, as the jaw of a whale
or the sac-body of a mollusc — is constructed, as is well known, by
cell-division. In the growing foetus the first cell divides its
nucleus and then its whole outline^ and this process repeated
millions of times produces, according to the cell theory, all the
tissues of the animal organism or their bases from first to last
That the ultimata or histological elements of all organs are pro-
duced originally by repetitive growth of sunple, nucleated cells
with various modifications of exactitude of repetition in the more
complex, is taught by the cell theory. The formation of some
of the tissues is as follows : —
First Change — Formation of i^imple nucleated cells from homo-
geneous protoplasm or the cytoblastema.
.Slflf^iya^Formation of new oelb by division of body and nucleus
of the old.
7>(ir</—- Formation of tissues by accumulation of cells with
or without addition of intercellular cytoblastenuL
A, In connective tissue by slight alteration of cells and addi-
tion of cytoblastema.
B, In blix>'4, by addi'ion of fluid cytob]a.<(tema (fibrin) to free
cellM (lymph cor. u>cles), which in higher animals (vertebrates)
develop into blood- corpuscles by loss of membrane, and by cell
development of muscles.
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NATURE
253
C. In muscles by simple confloence of cells, end to end, and
mingling of contents (Kolliker).
D. Of cartilage by formation of celb in cytoblast which break
up, their contents being added to cytoblast ; this occurring
several times, the result being an extensive cytoblast with few
and small celb (Vogt). The process is here an attempt at
development with only partial success, the result being a tissue
of small vitality.
Even in repair-nutrition recourse is had to the nucleated cell
For Cohnheim first shows that if the comer of a frog's eye be
scarified, refMiir is immediately set on foot by the transportation
thither of white or lymph or nucleated corpuscles from the neigh-
bouring lymph heart. This he ascertaineci by introducing anilme
dye into Uie latter. Repeated experiments have shown that this
is the history in great part of the construction of new tissue in
the adult man.
Now, it is well known that the circulating fluid of the foetus
contains for a period only these nucleated celb as corpuscles, and
that the lower vertebrates have a greater proportion of these cor-
puscles than the higher, whence probably the greater facility for
repair or reconstruction of lost limbs or parts enjoyed by them.
' The invertebrates possess onlv nucleated blood corpuscles.
'What is the rdation of cell divbion to the forces of nature, and
to which of them as a cause b it to be referred, if to any ? The
animal organism transfers the chembm of the food (protoplasm)
to correlated amounts of heat, motion, electricity, light (phospho-
rescence), and nerve force. But cell division is an affection of
protoplasm dbtinct from any of these. Addition to homogeneous
lumps or parts of protoplasm (as in that lowest animal, Frotanueha
of Haeckel) may be an exhibition of mere molecular force, or
addition as b seen in the crystal, but cell divbion b certainly
sometUng distinct It looks to me like an exhibition of another
force, and though thb is still an open question, it may be called
for the ^gna/aaX. growth force. It b correlated to the other forces,
for its exhibitions cease unless the protoplasm exhibiting it be
fed. It b potential in the protoplasm of both protoplasmic
animal mass and protoplasmic food, and becomes energetic on
the union of the two. So long as cell'division continues it b
energetic ; when celb burst and discharge the contained cyto-
blastema, as in the formation of cartilage, it becomes again
potentiaL
The size of a part b then dependent on the amount of cell
divbion or growth force, whiui has given it origin, and the
number of segments b due to the same cause. The whole ques-
tion, then, ot the creation of animal and vegetable types is re-
duced to one of the amount and location of growth force.
Before discussing the influences which have increased and
located growth force, it will be necessary to point out the mode
in which these influences must necessarily have affected growth.
Acceleration b only possible during the period of growth in
animals, and during that time most of them are removed from
the influence of physical or biological causes either through their
hidden lives or incapacity for the energetic performance of
life functions. These influences must, then, have operated on
the parents, been rendered potential in their reproductive cells,
and become energetic in the growing foetus of the next genera-
tion. However uttle we may understand thb mysterious process,
it b nevertheless a fact. Says Murphy, *' There b no act which
ma^ not become habitual, and there b no habit which mzy not
be inherited.'' Materialised, thb may be rendered — there is no
act which does not direct growth force, and therefore there b no
determination of growth force which may not become habitual ;
there is, then, no habitual determination of growth force which
may not be inherited ; and of course in a growing foetus becomes
at once energetic in the production of new structure in the direc-
tion inherited, which b acceleration.
Ill,— 7^ Influences Directing Growth Force.
Up to thb point we have followed paths more or less distinctly
traced in the field of nature. The positions taken appear to me
either to have been demonstrated or to have a great balance of
probabilitv in their favour. In the closing part of these remarks
1 shall indulge in more of hypothesb than heretofore.
What are tne influences locating growth force ? First, physical
and chemical causes ; second, use ; third, effort. I leave the first,
as not especially prominent in the economy of type growth
among animals, and confine myself to the two following. The
effects of use are well known. We cannot use a muscle without
increasing its bulk ; we cannot use the teeth in mastication
without inducing a renewed deposit of dentine within the pulp-
cavity to meet the encroachments of attrition. The hands of the
labourer are always larger than those of men of other pursuits.
Pa'hology furnishes us with a host of hypertrophies, exostoses,
&c, produced by excessive use, or necessity for increased means
of performing excessive work. The tendency, then, induced by
use by the parent is to add segments or cells to the organ used.
Use thus determines the locality of new repetitions of parts already
exis ing, and determines an increase of growth force at the same
time, by the increase of food always accompanying increase of
work done, in every animal.
But supposing there be no part or omn to use. Such must
have been the condition of every animal pnor to the appearance of
an additional digit or limb or other u<%ful element It appears
to me that the cause of the determination of growth force is not
merely the irritation of the part or organ used by contact with the
objects of its use. Thb would seem to be the remote Ciuse of
the deposit of dentine used in the tooth, in the thickening
epidermis of the hand of the labourer, in the wandering, of the
lymph -cell to the scarified cornea of the frog in Cohnheim*8 ex-
Seriment You cannot rub the sclerotica of the eye without pro-
ucing an expansion of the capillary arteries and corresponding
increase in the amount of nutntive fluid. But the case may be
different in the muscles and other oigans (as the pigment cells of
reptiles and fishes) which are under Sie control of the volition of
the animal Here, and in many other instances which might be
cited, it cannot be asserted that the nutrition of use b not under
the direct control of the will through the medbtion of nerve
force. Therefore I am dbposed to believe that growth force
may be, by the volition of the animal, as readily determined to
a locality where an executive organ does not exbt, as to the first
segment or cell of such an organ already commenced, and
that therefore effort b in the order of time the first factor in
acceleration.
Effort and use have, however, very various stimuli to their
exertion.
Use of a part by an animal is either compulsory or optional
In either case the use may be followed by an increase of nutri-
tion under the influence of reflex force or of direct volition.
A compulsory use would naturally occur in new situations
which take place apart from the control of the animal, where no
alternatives are presented. Such a case would arise in a sub-
mergence of land where land animab might be imprisoned on an
bland or in swamps surrounded by water, and compelled to as-
sume a more or less aquatic life. Another case which has abo
probably often occurred, wotild be when the enemies of a species
might so increase as to compel a large number of the latter to
combat who would previously have escaped it
In these cases the structure produced would be necessarily
adaptive. But the effect would b« most frequently to destroy or
injure the animals (retard them) thus brought into new situations
and compelled to an additional struggle for exbtence, as has,
no doubt, been the case in geologic hbtorv. Preservation, with
modifications, would only ensue where the changes shovdd be
introduced very gradually. This mode b always a consequence
of the optional use. The cases here included are those where
choice selects from several alternatives, thus exercbing its influ-
ence on structure. Choice will be influenced by the emotions,
the imagination, and by intelligence.
As examples of intelligent selection the modified organisms
of the varieties of bees and ants must be regarded as striking
examples of its exercise. Had all in the hive or hill been modi-
fied alike, as soldiers, queens, &c , the origin of the structures
might have been thought to be compulsory; but varied and
adapted as the different forms are to the wants of a community,
the influence of intelligence is too obvious to be denied. The
structural results are obtained in thb case by a shorter road than
by inheritance.
The selection of food offers an opportunity for the exercbe of
intelligence, and the adoption of^ means for obtaining it still
greater ones. It b here that intelligent selection proves its
supremacy as a guide of use, and consequently of structure, to
all the other a^cies here proposed. The preference for vege-
table or for ammal food determined by the choice of individual
animab among the omnivores, which were, no doubt, according
to the palaeontological record the predecessors of our herbivores,
and perhaps of carnivores also, must have determined their course
of life, and thus of all their parts into those totally dbtinct
directions. The choice of food under ground, on the ground, or
in the trees would necessarily direct the uses of oigans in those
directions respectively.
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NATURE
lyan. 25,1872
Intelligence is a conservative principle, and always will direct
effort and use into lines which wUl be beneficial to its po!«sessor.
Thus we have the source of the fittest—*.^., addition of parts by
increase and location of growth force directed by the will — the
will being under the influence of various kinds of compulsory
choice in the lower, and intelligent option among higher animals.
Thus intelligent choice may be regarded as the originator of the
fittest, while natural selection is the tribunal to which all the re-
sults of accelerated growth are submitted. This preserves or
destroys them, and determines the new points of departure on
which accelerated growth shall build.
Acceleration under the influence of effort accounts for the
existence of rudimental characters. Many other characters will
follow at a distance, the mcidifications proceeding in accordance
with the laws here propostd, and retardation is accounted for by
complementary or absolute loss of growth force.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, January 18. — " Investigations of the Currents
in the Strait of Gibraltar, made in August 187 1," by Captain
G. S. Nares, R.N., of H. M.S. Shearwater^ under instructions from
Admiral Richards, F.R.S., Hydrographer of the Admiralty.
Geological Society, Jan. 10. — Mr. Joseph Prestwich, F. R. S.,
president, in the chair. •* On CyclostJgma, Lepidodendron, and
Knorria from Kiltorkan." By Prof. Oswald Hcer. In this
paper the author indicated the chaiacters of certain fossils from
the yellowy sandstone of the South of Ireland, referred hy him to
the above genera, and mentioned in his paper " On the Carboni-
ferous Flora of Bear Island,*' read before the Society on Novem-
ber 9, 1870 (see Q. J. G. S. vol. xxviL p. i). He distinguished
as species Cyclostigma kiltorkense^ Haught, C. mintUum (Haught),
Kfwrria acicularu^ Gopp. var. Bailyana^ and Lepidodendron Vel^
tkeimianum, Sierub.— Mr. Carruihers was glad that^ he had
made the observations which he did on Prof. Heer's former
paper, as it had caused the Professor to give the reasons on which
his opinions were based. He was doubtful whether the success
whicn bad attended Prof. Heer's determination of species from
leaves jusdfied the application of the same principles to mere
stems. He could not accept the difference in size or distance of
leaf-scars as a cnterion of species, inasmuch as they were merely
the result of the difference in the age arid size of the parts of the
plants on which they were observ^ Even Prof. Hcer himself
had united together specimens presenting greater differences in
this respect than those which be distinguished. He considered
Cyclostigma kiltorkense, C. minuium, and Lepidodendron Vel-
tkeimianum to be founded on different parts of one species. In
^e Kiltorkan fossils the outer surface of the original stems was
often broken up into small fragments, the phyllotaxy on which
proved them to be portions of large stems, and not entire
branches. As to Knorria^ it was certainly the interior cast of
the stem of I^dodendron^ with casts of the channels through
which the vascular bundles passed with some cellular tissue to the
leaves ; and the specimen figured showtd that it belonged to a
branch smiilar to that represented as C minutum, lie con*
sulered that the four supposed species belonging to three genera
were only different forms of the same plane — '* Notes on the
Geology of the Plain of Marocco, and the Great Atlas." By Mr.
George Maw. The author described first the characters pre-
sented by the coast of Marocco, and then the phenomena ob-
served by him in his progress inio the mteiior of the country and
in the Alias Chain. Tne oldest rocks observed were ranges of
metam r^ihic rocks bounding the plain of Marocco, interbcdded
porphyr tes and the porph)ritic tuffs forming the backbone of
the Atlas Chain, and the Mica-schists of Djeb Tezah in the
Atlas. At many points in the lateral valleys of the Atlas almost
vertical grey s^lUcs were crossed ; the age of these was unknowiL
Above these comes a Red Sandstone and Limestone series,
believed to be of Cretaceous age, and beds possibly of Miocene
age, which occupied the valieys of the Atlas and covered the
plam of Marocco, where vestiges of them remain in the form of
tabular hills. The probable age of these beds was determined
on the evidence of fossils. I he author noticed the sequence of
denuding and eruptive phenomena by which the arrangement
and distribution of these rocks has been modified, and described
the more recent changes resultirg in the formation of enormous
boulder beds flanking the northern escarpment of the Atlas
plateau, and of great moraines at the heads of the valleys of the
Atlas, both of which he ascribed to glacial action. An demtion
of the coast line of at least seventy xtfX was inriicated by raided
beaches of concrete sand at Mogador and elsewhere, and the
author considered that a $U(;ht subsidence of the coast was now
taking place. The surface of the plain of Marocco was described
as covered with a tufaceous crust, probably due to the drawing
up of water to the surface from the suHjacent calcareous strata
and the deposition from it of laminated carbonate of lime. Mr.
Ball, as an Alpine traveller who had also visited the Atlas in
company wi(h Dr. Hooker and Mr. Maw, offered a few remarks.
The plain of Marocco was not. in his opinion, a level, but an
inclined plane, rising gradually in height up to the foot of the
mountain, so that the base of the bouldrr ridges was at some
height above the level of the plain near Marocco. He did not
think that the boulder deposits could be safely attributed to
glac ers, but thought rather that they had been carried into and
deposited m a shallow sea. He thought also that Mr. Nf aw had
somewhat over-estimated the thickness of some of the boulder
deposits ; and though there was one instance of an undoubted
moraine in one of the higher valleys of the Atlas, yet he could
not agree in the view that the glaciation of the Atlas was general.
He could not accept such a great thickness of beds as that repre-
sented by the vertical shales in Mr. Maw's section. Prof. Ram-
say was pleased that the author, though giving so many interest-
ing details, bad not assi^ed any definite age to many of the
beds. He agreed with him as to the cause assigned for the great
tufaceous coating of the country. He had already assigned the
same cause for the existence of certain saline beds, and wonld
attribute the existence of the great coating of gypsum at slight
depth below the surface of the Sahara to the same cause. As
to the existence of moraines, he was not surprised to find them
in the Atlas, as they were already known in the mountains of
Granada. As to the escarpments, it was now well known that,
as a rule, they assumed a direction approximately at right angles
to the dip of the strata ; and he felt inclined to consider that the
bulk of the mounds at the foot of the escarpment of the Atlas
were rather the remains of a long series of landslips from the
face of the cMs than to an accumulation of moraine matter.
Mr. D. Forbes commented on the similarity of the rocks to those
of the Andes in South America. In the Andes the porphyritic
tuffs appeared to belong to the Oolitic age ; and the igneous
rocks associated with them were of the same date. He thought
that, so far as the author's observations had gone, the structure
of the Atlas was much the same as that of the Andes. Mr.
W. W. Smyth mentioned that in the district to the east of the
Sierra Nevada, in the south part of Spain, where there was great
summer heat, and also heavy occasional xminfidl, the same tufa-
ceous coatine as that observed in Marocco was to be found. He
had been led to much the same conclusion as to its origin as that
arrived at by Mr. Maw. The upper part was frequently brcc-
dated, and the fragments re-cemented by carbonate of lime.
Mr. Seeley, though accepting Mr. Etheridge's determination as
to the Cretaceous age of the fossils if found in England, could
not accept it as conclusive in the case of fossils from Marocco.
The genius Exogyra^ for instance, which ranges through the
Secondary to existing seas, might well belong to some other age ;
and even the fossils presumably Miocene might, after all, date
from some other period. Mr. Maw, in reply, stated that he
agreed with Mr. Ball as to the rise in the Marocco plain as it
approached the AtUs, having taken it in one direction at 400 feet
in 25 miles. He pointed out the resembUnce between the
moraines in the valley of the Rhone and those which he re-
garded as such on the nanks of the Atlas. As a proof of their
consisting of transported blocks, he mentioned the fact that the
Red Sandstone rock of which they were composed did not occur
in the adjacent escarpments, but was not to be found within
seven or eight miles There was, moreover, a mixture of different
materials in the mounds.
Linnean Society, January 18.— Mr. Bentham, president,
in the chair. •• On the Anatomv of Limuius pdypkemusy*' by
Prof, Owen (continued). The author resumed and concluded the
reading of this memoir. The nervous system of Limuius ap-
peared to have occupied most attention, and was described in
detaiL From the fore part of the oesophageal ring, answering
to the brain, were Sent off the "ocellar,"** ocular/^ *'antennu-
lar," and ''anteimal" nerves; the latter supplying the second
pair of articulate limbs— the homologues of the ''external an-
tennae " oi higher Crustacea. From the post* or sub-oe«ophageal
part of the ring, proceeded large nerves to the four succeeding
pairs of limbs ; and also smaller nerves, having distinct origins,
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Jan. 25, 1872J
NATURE
255
to the chilaria and to the opercular phtelimbs. The neural axis
then continues, as a pair of coalesced chords, to the middle of
the thoracetron, developing five ganglions supplying the five gill-
limbs. Beyond the fifth ganglion the chords separate; each
forms a loop resembling a ganglion, bejrond which each chord
penetrates the base of the "pleon." To this it supplies five
dorsal and five ventral nerves before being continued and resolved
into a plexus toward the end of the tail and spine. The author
remarked that, as the nervous system preceded the tegumentary
in the order of development, it might thus manifest evidences of
the more generalised segmental type of the pleon, more plainly
than had been noticed in the formation of the chitinous walls of
that division of the body, in the embryo, in which it first budded
forth as a ninth segment of the thoracetron. Details of the
organs of the senses, of the digestive, circulatorv, respi-
ratory, and generative 83rstems were then given, and illustrated,
Uke the nervous system, by minutely- finished drawings. The
heart was elongate, vasiform, included in a pericardial •like
sinus : besides an anterior and posterior aortic trunk, there were
seven pairs of lateral primary branches. The arteries soon lose their
tubular form, and, as they expan^i, loselikewisemuchof their fibrous
wails, and seem reduced to delicate membranous sinuses which
follow the shapes of the parts or interstices along which the blood
meanders as it returns by the venous ?dna<ies to ibe general peri-
cardial one. The most remarkable of the arterial prolongations
are thiise which the author had previously described in his
"Lectures on Invertebrata " (8vo ed., 1855, p. 310) as expand-
ing upon, and seeming to form the neuhlenmia of, the central
axis and branches of the nervous system ; so that injection of the
anterior aorta coats the neurine and demonstrates a great part of
the nervous s^tem by its colour. (A drawing showmg this effect
of fine red injection was exhibited.) Finally the author cited
the chief results of the observations of Lockyer, Packard,
and Dohra on the development of the king-crab. There
was neither a nauplius stage nor a trilobite stage. A super-
ficial resemblance to trilobites is shown by the absence of
the pleon in the embryo king-crab ; but the very fact of the
late appearance of this terminal division was decisive
against any real representative resemblance of the embryo
Limulus to the trilobites ; on the acceptance, at least, of Bar-
rande*s observadons of the successive and later appearance of
the segments of the •* thoracetron" in the space between the
head (*' cephaletron'') and *'pygidicmi" (pleon and tail-spine)
of the embryos of *Sa^, Agnostus, and THnucleus, The author here
recalled attention to Newport's observations of the like develop-
mrnt of successive segments, anterior to the caudal one, m
lulidse, and remarked that with other facts noted in the anato-
mical sections, especially the fubion of the pair of cephalic
ranglia, and the short and thick crura connecting these with
the suboesophageal mass, giving the condition of that part of the
nervous system in Scorfw and lulus, Limulus manifested in an
instructive and interestmg way the more "generalised type" of
articulate structure, in which arachnidan and myriapodal charac-
ters were associated with crustaceous ones. But, in the develop-
ment of Limulus, the pleon, pygidium, or tail-spine was the last
to appear, and, at its first buddmg, looked like a ninth segment
of the thoracetron. Packard speaks of indications, transitory
indeed, of segmentation of the crust ; and such indications, as
the author had shown in the anatomy of Limulus, were more
strongly and lastingly given by the nervous system. The
tail-spine belongs to the series of body-segments, and is
no mere appendage to the dorsal arc of such. After
formifacdon and the attractive and repellent forces have
pitxiaced in the germ-masses the phenomena of segmentation
and vegetative repetition, as manifested in the similar and
parallel heaps of granules, like bricks for the building, the in-
oerited influences overrule the pobuic ones, and operate in
differentiating and adaptive lines, speedily showmg the embryo
Limulus, wh^, like miXoiAstacus^uviatilis, Palamonadspersus,
Crangon maculosus, Eriphia spimfrons, and one may add, all
Cepludopods, takes its own course to the full manifestation of its
specific characters, agreeably with the nature origioalhr impressed
on the germ. There was no divergence to a larval form with a
term of active life as such ; there was no metamorphosis, either
"nauplial" or " trilobiiic." Some objected to the king-crabs
being called Crustacea; there was more ground, the author
thought, for objecting to call them Arachnida or Myriapoda.
Charaaers common to Limulus with their allied extinct gill-
bearing, well-limbed Articulata, have not a class- value. The
author could not, at least, raise the Merostomes to an equivalency
with, and run them parallel to and alongside of, the rest of the
branchiate Condylopods. A class, after all, was an artificial
group, a help to the classifier. One may call lAsnulus a Crus-
tacean and yet discern in its anatomy the evidence of its more
" generalised structure '' than in Malacostraca ; its type preceded
that of either macrourous or brachyurous Crustacea, and mdicates
characters subsequently appropriated by and intensified in the air-
breathing members of the Apterous Insecta of Linnaeus. As com-
pared with its longer-bodied and many-jointed predecessors, Z/-
mulus itself shows a concentrative specialisation ; but vegetative
repetition still reigns in the limb-series. "Inner antennules,"
'outer antennae,""mandibles,"**maxillae,"**maximpeds," "legs,"
all work togetherby their basal joints in subserviency to mastication,
and all end in pincers. Ascompared with modem crabs no structure
was more striking and significant than the resistance, so to speak,
of the heart in Limulus to the concentrative tendencies ; it is
still the "dorsal vessel," though the body-part containing it has
the breadth and shortness of the crab's carapace, in which the
heart is shaped to match. In both the neural axis supplying the
cephaletral limbs b annular, but in modem crabs the suboeso-
phageal part is defined by distance and concomitantly long
and slender from the super-oesophageal or cerebral part. This
differentiation had not taken place in BeUimurus, Neolimulus
Preshvichia, and other palaeozoic predecessors of Brachyura,
whose organisation we have to thank their long-lived, lingering
representative genus for enabling us to peer mto. That such
glimpses, with concomitant tracing of the development of the
individual Limulus, afford us some grount^ and that the like
work, with persevering quest of its palaeozoic fossil allies, may
afford more, for guessing at the ways in which a pre ordained
plan of derivation by congenital departures from parental form
has operated, in originating the various deviations from a com-
mon primitive articulate type, is an encouraging faith. That the
old ocean should have given the chance conditions of origin of
crustaceous sub-classes, orders, genera, species, by natural se-
lection, was not conceivable by the author, who, nevertheless,
held the conviction that all forms and grades of Articulata were
due to "secondary cause or law," as strongly as when he ex-
pressed the same conclusion in regard to the Vertebrata, and
termed it " the deep and pregnant principle " evolved in the re-
seardies on the general homologies and archetype of their skele-
tons.
Mathematical Society, Jantiary 1 1. — Mr. W. Spottiswoode,
F.R.S., president, and subsequently Prof Cayley, V.P., in the
chair. Major £. Close, R. A., was admitted into the society. Prof.
Cayley gave an account of his paper " On the Surfaces the loci
of the Vertices of Cones which satisfy six conditions." — Mr. J.
W. L. Glaisher stated and illustrated the principal points in ms
communicadon "On the Constants which occur in certain
summations by BemouUli*s Series. — Mr. W. B. Davb read a
paper describing the methods he had used in the constmction of
tables of divisors, and exhibited tables of factors of numbers
consisting of nine and twelve figures. A brief discussion ensued
on the subject of this communication — Mr. Roberts explained
some of the results which he submitted to the society in his paper
" On the parallel sur&ce of Conicoids and Conies," and illustrated
the same by means of a model and drawings of sections of one
of the surfaces.
Zoological Society, January 16.— Prof. Newton, F.R.S.,
vice-president, in the chair. — The Secretary read a report on the
additions that had been made to the Society's collection during
the month of December, 1871, amongst which was particularly
mentioned a young Prince Alfred's Deer {Cervus alfredi), bom
in the Gardens — A letter was read from Prof. Owen, F.R.S.,
communicating some particulars received from Dr. Julius Haast,
of Chris>tchurch, New 2>aland, respecting the finding of the
remains of Aptomis in the Glenmark Swamp, New Zealand. —
Mr. H. E. Dresser exhibited and made remarks on specimens of
the eggs of Reguloides superdliosus and Regul<ndes ocapilatis, col-
lected by Mr. W. E. Brooks in Cashmere. — A communication
was read from Dr. G. Hartlaub and Dr. O. Finsch, giving an
account of a collection of birds firom the Pelew and Mackenzie
Islands in the Pacific, to which was added a complete sjmopsis
of the ornithology of this portion of the Caroline group. — A
communication was receivea from Mr. A. Sanders, containing a
complete descripfion of the Myology o{ LioUpis bdlL — Mr. A. G.
Butler comcnumcated a synomic list of the species formerly in-
cluded in the genus Pieris, with references to all others described
since the subdivisions of that genus by recent authors. — A com-
munication was read from Mr. John Brazier, of Sydney, N.S.W.,
giving a list of the Cyprwt met with on the coast of New
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256
NATURE
I7an. 25, 1872
South Wales. — A paper by Mr. A. Anderson was read con-
taining the second portion of his notes on the Raptoxial Birds of
India. •
Chemical Society, January 18.— Dr. Frankland^ F.R.S.,
president, in the chair. —At this meeting Dr. Odling exhibited
some very fine specimens of rare metals and their coxnpounds,
which had been lent to him by Dr. Richter and Dr. Theodor
Schttchardt. Amoi^ these was a bar, weighing about seven
ounces, of metallic indium ; an element discovert a few years
ago by Richter, in conjunction with Reich; also some
metallic rubidium. — Dr. David Howard then read an interesting
paper "On quinicine and cinchonicine and their salts." These
alkaloids are prepared artificially, fi:om quinine and dnchonine
respectively, by the action of heat on their salts, and are isomeric
witn theuL Quinicine occurs along with the two last-mentioned
alkaloids in cinchona bark, being apparently the one which is
first formed during the growth of the cinchona plant
Paris
Academy of Sciences, January 15.— A note by M. M.
Levy on a property of the focals of"^ surfaces, was presented by
M. Beitrand, in wluch the author puts forward the proposition
that any surface and its focal intersect each other at right angles.
— A note from M. Catalan, on General Didion*s communication
concerning the relation of the circumference to the diameter, was
read, in which the authorship of similar formule is ascribed to
Euler. — M. H. Resal conmiunicated a memoir containing equa-
tions of the vibratory movement of a circular plate, and M.
Serret a note by M. £. Ciotti on the employment of vibrating
elastic plates for the realisation of a propeller, in connection
with a recent communication from M. de Tastes. — A memoir on
the measurement of very high temperatures, and on the tempera-
ture of the sun, by M. H. Sainte-Claire Deville, was read.
The author maintained that the temperatures which may be pro-
duced and measured in the laboratory are not greatly exceeded
in nature, and that the temperature of the sun is not far from
2,500—2,800' C (= 4,532—5,072" F).— M. Delaunayread a
note on the secular variations of the mean movements of
the perigee and node of the moon. — M. Faye presented
a note upon the investigations of Dr. Heis on meteors, which are
confinnatory of M. Faye's previous communication as to the
different centres of radiation observed in November last — A
letter was read from M. Janssen on the principal consequences
which may be drawn at present from his otnervations of the
eclipse of December last. (A translation of this letter will be
found in another column.) — M. P. Guyot forwarded a note on a
meteor observed at Nancy on the 20th of December last at
loh. 28m. A.M. This meteor passed from Cassiopeia through
Perseus towards the Pleiades, near which it exploded, with a
bright green light — M. E. Becquerel presented a report on various
memoirs by M. W. de Fonvielle reguding obsovations to be
effected during balloon ascents. M. £. Becquerel also presented
a note by M. T. Sidot on the electrisation by friction of metds in
sulphide of carbon, and on the decomposition of that body by
light. The author finds that certain metals, especially silver,
ainmininm, and iron, become electrised, and produce sparks
when strongly agitated with pure sulphide of carbon, and
that the latter, when exposed to the light of the sun,
is decomposed, producing a gas and a solid flocculent
matter. The same genueman also communicated a joint
note by MM. F. Lucas and A. Cazin containing an account
of some experimental researches upon the duration of the
electric spark. — Notes by M. Lion and M. Diamilla Miiller on
the action of ediptical conjunctions upon the elements of terres-
trial magnetism were read. According to the former consider-
able perturbations were observed at Alen9on during the eclipse of
tiie nth December ]ast — M. Tarry presented a further note on
the movement of recoil of cyclones In equatorial regions. — In a
paper on the combustion of carbon by oxygen, M. Dumas showed,
in opposition to M. Dubrunfaut, that carbon is combustible in
perfectly dry oxygen. — M. Chevxeul made some remarks on
this paper.— A note by MM. L. Duaart and C. Bardy on the
transformation of phenole into alkaloids was presented by M.
Cahours. The authors have obtained phenylamine, chloride
of phenyle, and diphenyUmine by the action of hydrochlorate
of ammonia and fuming hydrochloric acid upon phenole. — M. P.
Barbier announced his having produced cymene Inr treating
hydrate of essence of turpentine with bromine. — ^A fetter was
read from M. V. Meyers on the reaction between solphnr and
aqueous vapour in the synthesis of sulphuric add, and on the
preparation of pure zinc by electrolysis. — An important discus-
sion on the vexed question of spontaneous generation was raised
by the reading of some reflections concemmg heterogenesis by
M. A. Tr^ciu. In the discussion MM. Balard, Fremy, and
Blanchard took part. — A somewhat cognate matter was also
treated by M. A. B^champ in his paper on the cause of alcoholic
fermentation by beer-yeast, and on the formation of leucine and
tyrosine in this fermentation. — HL C. Robin presented a note by
M. S. Chantran on the fecundation of the crayfish, in which the
author describes the impregnation of the ova as taking place
after their expulsion from the oviducts. — A note by MM. £.
Mathieu and V. Urbain on the gases of the blood, was presented
by M. Cahours.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Januakv 95.
Royal Socibty, at 8.3».— On the Abcolute Directioii aad Intensaty of the
Earth's Magnetic Force at Bombay: C. Chamben, F.R.S.— On the
Elimination of Alcohol : Dr. Dupr&— On the Action of Low Temperatures
on Supenaturated Solutions of Glaaber^s Salt: C Tomlinson, F.R.S.
SociBTV OP Antiquasixs^ at 8.30.— Miscellaneous CommunicationB oa
Objects of Medixval Antiquity.
FRIDAY, January a6.
Royal Institution at9.— On the Demon of Socrates: Archbishop of West-
QuBKSTT Microscopical Club, at 8.
SATURDAY, January 97.
Royal Institution, at 3."0n the Theatre in Shakespeare's Time : Wm.
B. Domne.
SUNDAY, January aS.
Sunday Lbcturb Socibty, at 4.— On Ice, as a Geological Agent : A U.
MONDAY, January 29.
London Institution, at 4— Elementary Chemistry : Prof Odling, F.RS.
Royal Unitbo Sbrvicb Insti ruriON, at 8.30. — On Modern Ships of War,
as illustrated by the Models in the Institution : Nathaniel Bainaby.
TUESDAY, January 3a
Royal iNSTrruTiON, at 3.— On the Circulatory aad Nervous Systems : Dr.
W. Rutherfoid, F.R.S.E.
WRDNBSDAY, January 31.
Socibty op Arts, at 8.— On Individual Providence for Old Agt as a
National Question : G. C T. Bartley.
THURSDAY, Fbbruary x.
Royal Institution, at 3-— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali
Manufacture : Prof Odling, F.R.S.
Royal Socibty, at 8.30.
Socibty of Antiquaries, 8.3&
Linnban Socibty. at 8.— -On the Classification and Geographical Distribu-
tions of Compositae : The President.
Chbmical Socibty, at 8.
CONTENTS Pagb
Thb S0LA.R EcupsB. Obsbrvations madb at Poodocottah. By
Prof. L. Rbspicmi 337
Tub Zoological Rbcord for 1870 338
Our Book Smblp 340
Lbttbrs to thb EDrroR:—
Zoological Statistics and the Hudson's Bay Company .^Dr. John
Rab, F.R.G.S «... 340
Ripples and Waves.— J. Langton 341
The Rigidity of the Earth.— Rev. O. Fiskbr, F.G.S 243
English Ramfall 343
Circumpolar Lands.— G Hamilton 343
The Kihorlian Fossils.— W. Carruthbrs, F.RSw 343
Condurango.— Dr A. Dbstrugb 343
Ocean Currents.— Prof. I. D. Evbxbtt 341
Mock Sun.— Dr. C M. Inglbbv 343
Solar Eruptions and Magnetic Storms.— F. A. Flbmi ng 943
Mechanism of Flexion and Eictension in Birds* Wiogs.— Dr. M.
Coughtrby 344
£lis«e Reclus.— H. Woodward, F.G.S 344
Notbs on Microscopy 244
Huxlby's Manual op thb Anatomy of Vbrtbbratbd Animals.
By Prof. Allbn Thomson, F.RS. iWith lUnstratimt ). . . . 345
Notbs 349
SCIBNTIFIC InTBLLIGBNCB FROM AmbRICA 351
Thb Laws op Organic Dbyblopmbnt. By Prof. E. D. Copb . . 953
SoaBTiBS and Acadbmibs 354
DiABY 356
NOTICE
We beg leave to state that we decline to return refected communica*
tions, and to this rule we can make no exception, Commumca-
ttons respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the PublisMirs^ MOT to tAo Editor.
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NATURE
257
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY i, 1872
THE INTERNAL FLUIDITY OF THE EARTH
w
^£ have been favoured with permission to reprint the
following extract from a letter addressed by Sir
Wm. Thomson to Mr. G. Poulett Scrope :—
The University, Glasgow, Jan, 15, 1872
Dear Sir,— I thank you very much for the copy of
your beautiful book on Volcaaoes, which you have been
so kind as to send me through Professor Geikie. It is
full of matter most interesting to me, and I promise
myself great pleasure in reading it
I see with much satisfaction, in your prefatory remarks,
that you '' earnestly protest against the assertion of some
writers, that the theory of the internal fluidity of the globe
is or ought to be generally accepted by geologists on the
evidence of its high internal temperature." Your sentence
upon the ''attractive sensUional idea that a molten in
tenor to the globe underlies a thin superficial crust ; its
surface agitated by tid il waves and flowing freely towards
any issue that may here and there be opened for its out-
ward escape," in which you say that you " do not think it
can be supported by reasoning, based on any ascertained
facts or phenomena," is thoroughly m accordance with
true dynamics. It wiU, I trust, have a great effect in
showing that volcanic phenomena, far from being de-
cisive, as many geologists imagine them to be, in favour of
a thin crust enclosing a wholly liquid interior, tend rather,
the more thoroughly they are investigated, to an opposite
conclusion.
I must, however, take exception to your next sentence,
that in which you say that '* M. Delaunay has disposed of
the well-known astronomical argument of Mr. Hopkins
and Sir W. Thomson, as to the entire or nearly entire
solidity of the earth, derived from the nutation of its
axis.'' Delauna/s deservedly high reputation as one of
the first physical astronomers of the day, has naturally led
many in this country to believe that his objection to the
astronomical argument in favour of the earth's rigidity
cannot but be valid. It has even been hastily assumed
that the objection is founded on mathematical calculation,
an error which the most cursory reading of Delaunay's
paper corrects. His hypothesis of a viscous fluid breaks
down utterly when tested by a simple calculation of the
amount of tangential force required to give to any globular
portion of the interior mass the precessional and nuta-
tional motions, which, with other physical astronomers, he
attributes to the earth as a whole. Thus: taking the
ratio of polar diameter to equatorial diameter as 299 to
300, and the density of the upper crust as half the mean
density of the earth, I find (from the ordinary elementary
formulae) that when the moon's declination is 28**^, the
couple with which she tends to turn the plane of the
earth's equator towards the plane of her own centre and
the equinoctial line has for its moment a force of '285 X
10'* times the gravity of one gramme at the earth's sur-
face, or rather more than a quarter of a million million tons
weight, on an arm equal to the earth's radius. A quadrant
of the earth being ten thousand kilometres, the area is
V ou V.
five hundred and nine million square kilometres, or 5*09
million million million square centimetres. Hence a
force of '285 X 10'^ grammes weight distributed equally
over two-thirds of the earth's area would give '084 of a
gramme weight per square centimetre. This supposition
is allowable (for reasons with which I need not trouble
you) in estimating roughly the greatest amount of tan-
gential force acting between the upper crust and a sphe-
rical interior mass in contact with it, from the preceding
accurate calculation of the whole couple exerted by the
moon on the upper crust It is thus demonstrable that
the earth's crust must, as a whole, down to depths of hun-
dreds of kilometres, be capable of transmitting tangential
stress amounting to nearly ^ o{ ^l, gramme weight per
square centimetre. Under any of such stress as this any
plastic substance which could commonly be called a
viscous fluid would be drawn out of shape with great
rapidit}'. Stokes, who discovered the theory of fluid vis-
cosity, and first made accurate investigations of its amount
in absolute measure, found that a cubic centimetre of water,
if exposed to tangential force of the millionth part of ^ of
a gramme weight on each of four sides, would even under
so small a distorting stress as this, become distorted so
rapidly that at the end of a second of time its four corre-
sponding; right angles would become one pair of them
acute and the other obtuse, by as much as a two-hundredth
part of the angle whose arc is radius, that is to say by
'29 of a degree. Not as much as a ten-million- millionth
part of this distortion could be produced every second of
time by the lunar influence in the material underlying the
earth's crust without very sensibly affecting precession and
nutation ; for the effect of the maximum couple exerted on
the upper crust by the moon is to turn the whole earth in a
second of time through an angle of a one-hundred-roillion-
millionth of *57 of a degree, so as to give to it at the end
of a second the position obtained by geometrically com-
pounding this angular displacement with the angular dis-
placement due simply to rotation. Hence the viscosity
assumed by Delaunay, to produce the effect he attributes
to it, must be more than ten million million million times
the viscosity of water. How much more may be easily
estimated with some degree of precision from Helmholtz's
mathematical solution of the problem of finding the
motion of a viscous fluid contained in a rigid spherical
envelope urged by periodically varying couples.* The
most interesting part of the application of this solution to
the hypothetical problem regarding the earth, is to find
how rapidly the obliquity of the ecliptic would be done
away with by any assumed degree of viscosity in the in-
terior; such an amount of viscosity, for example, as
would render the excesses of precession and nutation above
their values for a perfectly rigid interior, not greater than
observation could admit
The hypothesis of a continuous internal viscous fluid
being disposed of, the question occurs, what rigidity must
the interior mass have, even if enclosed in a perfectly
rigid crust, to produce the actual phenomena of precession
and nutation ? The solutions given by Lamd and myself
of the problem of the vibrations of an elastic solid globe,
may be readily applied to determine the influences on
precession and on the several nutations, which would be
produced by elastic yielding with any assumed rigidity
* Helmholtx and PioCrowtkt, " Uober Rwbuqg tropfbarsr Flfissigkeiten/
Iiii|». Aoul. Vmiiu, 186a
258
NATURE
[Pei. I, 1872
short of infinite rigidity. This application I have no time
at present to make ; but without attempting a rigorous
investigation, it is easy roughly to estimate an inferior
limit to the admissable rigidity. In the first place, sup-
pose, with perfect elasticity, the rigidity be so slight that
distorting stress of ^ of a gramme weight would produce
an angular distortion of a half degree or a degree.
The whole would not rotate as a rigid body round
one '' instantaneous axis " at each instant, but the rotation
would take place internally, round axes deviating from
the axis of external figure, by angles to be measured in
the plane through it and the hne perpendicular to the
ecliptic in the direction towards the latter line. These
angular deviations would be greater and greater the more
near we come to the earth's centre, and the greatest
angular deviation would be comparable with i^ Hence
the moment of momentum round the solsticial line would
be sensibly less than if the whole mass rotated round the
axis of figure. Now suppose for a moment our measure-
ment of force to be founded on a year as the unit of time.
We find the amount of precession in a year by dividing the
mean amount of the whole couple due to the infiuence of
moon and sun by the moment of momentum of the earth's
motion round the solsticial line. Hence the amount of pre-
cession would be sensibly augmented by theelastic yielding ;
for the motive couple is iminfluenced by the elastic yielding,
if we suppose the earth to be of uniform internal density.
An ordinary elastic jelly presents a specimen of the degree
of elasticity here supposed, as is easily seen when we con-
sider that the mass of a cubic centimetre of such material
is a gramme, and therefore that the weight of a cubic
centimetre of the substance is the " gramme weight " un-
derstood in the specification ^ of a gramme weight per
square centimetre. If then, the interior mass of the earth
were no more rigid than an ordinary elastic jelly, and if
the upper crust were rigid enough to resist any change of
figure that could sensibly influence the result, the preces-
sion would be considerably more rapid than if the rigidity
were infinite throughout. The lunar nineteen-yearly nuta-
, tion proves a higher degree of elasticity than this ; the solar
semi-annual nutation still a higher degree ; and still higher
yet the imperceptibility of the lunar fortnightly nutation ;
provided always we suppose the interior mass to be of
uniform density, and the upper crust rigid enough to per-
mit no influential change of figure.
The motive of the nineteen-yearly precession may
be mechanically represented by two circles of matter
pivoted on diameters fixed in the plane of the earth's
equator, bisecting one another perpendicularly at the
earth's centre. These two circles must oscillate round
their pivot-diameters, each through an angle of about
S'' on one side and the other of the plane of the
equator, in a period of about nineteen years, to pro-
duce the lunar nineteen-yearly nutation (more nearly
eighteen years seven months). If the radius of each of
the supposed material circles is equal to the moon's mean
distance from the earth, the mass of each must be a little
less than the moon's mass, and one of them a little less
than the other.* The diameter on which the latter is pivot-
ed is to be the equinoctial line. The latter alone causes
the nutation in right ascension ; the former the nutation
* Th* greater Is equal to the moon's mass multiplied by the cosine of the
obliquity o( the ecliptic ; the less is equal to the moon's mass multiplied by
the oosttt* of twice the obliquity of the ecliptic.
in declination. The phases of maximum and of zero de-
flection, in the oscillations of the two circles, follow aher-
nately at equal intervals of time, so that when either is in
the plane of the earth's equator, the other is at its greatest
inclination of 5** on either side. Taking one of the con-
stituents of the nutational motive alone, we find, on the
principles indicated above, y^ of a g^ranmie weight
per square centimetre as a very rough estimate for the
greatest tangential stress produced by it in the material
underlying the earth's crust. Now it is clear that the
central parts of the earth and the upper crust cannot, in
the course of the nutatory oscillations, experience relative
angular motions to any extent considerable in comparison
with the nutation of the upper crust, without considerably
affecting the whole amount of the nutation. The nutation
in declination amounts to 9 '''25 on each side of the mean
position of the earth's poles, and therefore the tangential
stress of ^^^ of a gramme weight per square centimetre
cannot produce an angular distortion considerable in com-
parison with 9".
An angular distortion of 8^ is produced in a cube of
glass by a distorting stress of about ten grammes weight
per square centimetre. We may, therefore, safely con-
clude that the rigidity of the earth's interior substance
could not be less than a millionth of the rigidity of glass
without very sensibly augmenting the lunar nineteen-
yearly nutation. The lunar fortnightly nutation in decli-
nation amounts theoretically to about 'i^, and it is so small
as to have hitherto escaped observation. It probably
would have been so large as to have been observed were
the interior rigidity of the earth anything less than ^qq^^q
of that of glass, always provided that the upper crust is
rigid enough to prevent any change of form sensibly in-
fluencing the nutational motive couple. To understand
the degree of rigidity meant by *' jo^mj qq ®^ ^^ rigidity of
glass," imagine a sheet of some such substance as gutta-
percha or vulcanised india-rubber of a square metre area
and a centimetre thickness. Let one side of the sheet be
cemented to a perfectly hard plane vertical wall, and let
a slab of lead 8*8 centimetres thick (weighing therefore a
metrical ton) ♦ be cemented to the other side of it. If
the rigidity of the substance be gyoVo^ °^ *^® rigidity of
glass,f and the range of its elasticity sufficient, the side
of the sheet to which the lead is aUached will be dragged
down relatively to the other through a space o( ^ of sl
centimetre.
In the argument from tidal deformations of the solid
part of the earth's material, which I communicated to the
Royal Society ten years ago, and mentioned incidentally
at the recent meeting of the British Association, I
showed that though precession and nutation would be aug-
mented by want of rigidity in the interior, they would be
diminished by want of rigidity in the upper crust, and that
on no probable hypothesis can we escape the conclusion
that the earth as a whole is less yielding than a globe of
glass of the same dimensions and exposed to the same
forces. That argument, therefore, proves about 200,000
times greater rigidity for the earth as a whole than what I
• The metrical ton, or the ma&s of a cubic metre of water at temperature
of maximum density, is '984a of the British ton The thickness of a slab of
lead of a sc^uare metre area, weighing a metrical ton, is, of course, equal to
a metre divided by the q>ecific gravity of lead.
t Everett's mcasuremenU give 244X20^ centimetres weight per square
centimetre for the rigidity of the glass on whidi he experimented. Instead
of this I take 240 x xo^, for simplicity.
. by
Google
Feb. I, 1872]
NATURE
259
have now written to you proves for the interior of the earth
on the supposition of a thin pretematurally rigid crust.
I must apologise to you for having troubled you with so
long a letter. I did not intend to make it so long when I
commenced, but I have been led on by considerations of
details, inevitable when such a subject is once entered
upon. — I remain, yours very truly,
William Thomson
G. Poulett Scrope, Esq., F.R.S.
THE SOLAR ECLIPSE
IN the communication to Nature, written from Oota-
camund, I promised another when I was in possession
of more information as to the work done, not only by the
British Association parties, but by those representing the
Indian and French Governments. Let me now endeavour
to redeem my promise, seeing that since that communi-
cation was penned I have had the happiness of hearing
from M. Janssen's own lips an account of what he did ;
have met Captain Waterhouse, the last representative at
Ootacamund of Colonel Tennant's party; have visited
Mr. Pogson at Madras, who obligingly gave me an ac-
count of the results obtained at Avenashi ; and last, but
not least, have learnt since my return home that the Jaffna
party were successful, not only with the polariscope, but
also with the camera and spectroscope.
Within a few minutes ^of the despatch of my last article
I found that Captain Waterhouse, who assisted Mr.
Hennessy in exposing the photographic plates taken by
Colonel Tennant's party, was still at Ootacamund, and
this welcome intelligence was soon followed by Captain
Waterhouse himself, who was so good as to bring with
him a drawing of one of the photographs ; the plates
themselves having been taken down the ghaut by Colonel
Tennant, with the intention of comparing them at
Pothonore with those taken by Mr. Davis. Unfortu-
nately, as has been already stated, we missed each other,
and so an absolute comparison of photographs did not
take place ; but from the drawing it was evident that in
the two series the main form of the corona was the same.
The photographs I learned were very sharp and good, and
one appreciates their value the more when it is known that
only a very little time before they were taken, any success,
evena partial one, seemed out of the question, so persistently
did cloud and mist hang over Dodabet on the eventful
morning. I gathered that the spectroscopic observations
had also been successful, and that a continuous spectrum
with 1474 had been observed. If more lines than this
were not seen, it is easily to be accounted for by the rela-
tively long focal kngth of the object-glass employed to
throw an image of the eclipsed sun ob the slit
Not until the morning after my interview wtUi Captain
Waterhouse did I learn the whereabouts of Dr. Janssen,
who, from a study of the habits of the clouds and their
prevailing drift, had concluded that the neighbourhood of
Ootacamund was not the best that could be chosen.
He had consequently taken his departure, and it seemed
at first as if his whereabouts was known to no one. At
ast, however. Prof. Respighi and myself came upon his
spoor ; he was at Sholoor, on the N.E. flank of the range^
at the solitary house of a tea-planter, to which there was
no road, but which might be reached on ponies if a guide
to it could be found. This guide Captain Sargeant, of
the Revenue Department, obligingly provided, and in no
very long time we reached the beautiful spot which Dr.
Janssen had chosen.
It will be better that I should state his results in his
own words. In a letter^ to Prof. De La Rive, dated
December 26, he thus writes : —
"J'ai ^t^ favorisd par un ciel d'une puret^ presque
absoiue. Cette circonstance, et surtout les dispositions
optiques toutes nouvelles que j'avais prises, m'ont permis
de faire sur lacouronne des constatations qui d^montrent
son origine solaire (pour la meilleure partie).
" Dans mon tdlcscope,t le spectre de la couronne s'est
montr^ non pas continu, mais remarquablement complexe.
J'y ai constat^ :
'* Les raies brillantes du gaz hydrog^ne qui forme le
principal ^lem^nt des protuberances et de la chromosphere.
'' La raie brillante verte ddjk sig^alde aux Eclipses de
1869 et 1870, et quelques autres plus faibles.
'*Des raies obscures du spectre solaire ordinaire^
notamment D. Ces raies sont beaucoup plus difHciles k
apercevoir.
'* Mes observations prouvent que, ind^pendamment des
mati^res cosmiques qui doivent exister dans le voisinage
du Soleil, il existe autour de cet astre une atmosphere
tres etendue, excessivement rare, k base d'hydrog^ne.
*' Cette atmosphere, qui forme sans doute la demi^re
enveloppe gazeuse du Soieii, s'alimente de la mati^re des
protuberances, lancde avec une si grande violence, des
entrailles de la photosphere. Mais elle se distingue de
la chromosphere et des protuberances, par une densite
enormem^nt plus faible, une temperature moins eievee, et
peut-fitre par la presence de certain gaz differents.
'Ml y a done lieu de distinguer cette nouvelle atmo-
sphere solaire. Je propose de la nommer atmosphere
coronale, designation qui rappelle que c'est elle qui pro-
duit la meilleure partie des phenomenes lumineux (jui ont
ete designes jusqu'icl sous le nom de couronne solau'e.
" £n annongant ce resultat, je n'oublie pas, quant k
moi, tout ce que nous devons aux travaux qui Font pre-
pare, notamment ceux des astronomes americains aux
eclipses de 1869 et 1870."
It will be seen that the importance of the brilliancy of
the image, so strongly insisted upon by the Eclipse Com-
mittee in their Instructions, had been fully recognised by
Dr. Janssen, whose instrument had more light even than
those used by the British parties, who used *' Browning
With " reflectors of 9} inches aperture, and some 6 feet
focus.
Although my account, in this place and at this time
can only be of the most general character, the coincidence
obtained by Janssen, Respighi, and myself on one point
may be briefly referred to, namely, the distinct proof ob-
tained by each of us that above the most vivid chromo-
spheric layer, and even the prominences, we have hydrogen
with its most familiar bright lines, and with much of the
** structure " of its spectrum ; these proofs being derived
not only from the old method of inquiry, but from the
new one employed by Professor Respighi and myself.
We spent the remainder of the day at Sholoor in
mounting the hill at the back of the house to see the
observatory, and to admire the wonderful view of the
plains of Mysore, which was visible between a break in the
hills ; while the immediate neighbourhood, with its water-
* Biblioth^que Universelle, January 15, 1873, p. 103.
t Ce telescope a une ouverture de o"* 37, et i™ 4a seulemeot de distance
focalc. Les images y sont de xa \ 16 fois plus lumineuses que dans une
lunette astronomique orduaaife. Le spectroscope avait M construit poiur
utiliser toute cette lumi^re.
L/iyiii^cvj kjy
<3^'
26o
NATURE
[Feb. 1,1872
falls, massive peaks, rocks here, and patches of wood
there, steep ravines and tea-clad valleys, presented us with
a scene of perfect beauty.
Next morning we were away before sunrise on our
way to Mr. Pogson, whom we found at the Madras Ob-
servatory, preparing to exchange time signals with the
Jaffna party. Three photographs were taken by Mr.
Pogson at Avenashi, but the instrument used was so
different from those used at Bekul and Dodabet (not
to mention Jaffna) that it is difHcult to institute a
comparison in the time at my disposal ; but it is not to
be doubted that they will be of the highest importance
when the general results come to be discussed. Mr.
Pogson was assisted in the observations by his son and
Mr. Chisholm, the Government architect, who was highly
successful in sketching the corona and the eclipse effects
upon the landscape.
Come we last to Jaffna. In my former article I re-
ferred only to the polariscope and spectroscope work done
there. I have since learned that six photographs were
taken with the sister instrument to the one used at Bekul.
The observations, in fact, were a perfect success. The
morning was clear and bright, and could not have been
finer had any one so wished.
At about six o'clock the party and those who were to
assist them began to assemble on the Belfry Bastion in
the Fort. Capt. Tupman observed with a polariscope
and drew during the eclipse, and was assisted by Capt
Varian of the Strendib as his time-keeper ; Mr, Lewis
with his telescope and polariscope was stationed inside
the hut, with the photographic party, and Mr. Thwaites,
Deputy Queen's Advocate, who was assisted by the car-
penter of the Serendib. Capt. Fyers^ R.E., with the
spectroscope, had for his assistant Mr. W. S. Murray,
Deputy Fiscal ; and Capt. Hogg, R.E., who presided over
the photographic department, was assisted by Mr. Twy-
nam. Government agent, and Mr. J. W. Simpson. By
these observers the polariscope results were arrived at, a
telegraphic summary of which I quoted in my last com
munication. Six photographs jvere taken, being one
more than we obtained at Bekul ; and in the clockwork-
driven integrating spectroscope the reversal of the dark
lines was seen at the beginning of totality, and the hy-
drogen bright lines and 1474 during totality. No infor-
mation yet about intensities.
Sketches were made by Mr. Foenander,of the Surveyor-
General's Department, Colombo ; Mr. Pargiter, Assistant
Government Agent ; Mr. Vine, M C£., of the Public
Works Department ; Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Layard
of the O. B.C.
The crowd of natives round the Belfry Bastion was
very great ; they set up a most hideous howl directly
totality commenced, fancying that the end of the world
was at hand. They were under the impression that thv
whole of the Expedition with assistants and all here during
the eclipse were going to get into a balloon and off to the
sun and not return.
It will thus be seen that the hopes of those interested
in the various expeditions of this year have not been dis
appointed. The composition and structure of a part of
the corona have been for ever set at rest, while we hj.ve
seventeen photographs, taken by instruments of the s.ane
power and pattern, to compare with each other—eleven
taken at the ends of a base line some 400 miles long, and
six at an intermediate elevated point, whereby it was hoped
to test the influence of the atmosphere on the observed
phenomena. Whether the slight mist will have prevented
this or not remains to be proved ; but anyhow here is
a wealth of records unequalled before, and we may
hope to learn much of the outer coronal regions from
their comparison, not only inter se, but with Mr. Holi-
day's admirable drawings, showing considerable changes,
which have also come to hand.
J. Norman Lockver
THE ADMIRALTY MANUAL OF SCIENTIFIC
INQUIRY
A Manual 0/ Scientific Inquiry; Prepared for the Use
of Officers in Her Majesty s Navy and Travellers in
General, 4th Edition. Superintended by the Rev.
Robert Main, M..A., F.R.S., Radcliffe Observer at
Oxford. Pp. 392. (John Murray, 1871.)
IN one of the earlier numbers of the Philosophical
Transactions may be found a long list of observa-
tions proposed to be made by travellers who were about
to visit the Peak of Teneriffe. Athanasius Kircher, in
his China Illustrata^ had given an account of such
great marvels, that the less credulous, even of those days,
wondered and almost doubted ; and it was thought to be
of advantage to know whether unicorns and dragons
really did exist in foreign parts, whether diamonds grew,
and what was the precise nature of that '* poyson which
tumeth a man's bloud to gelly." Long afterwards the
Royal Society issued instructions for the Antarctic Ex-
pedition, hints for collecting information in China, and a
book entitled " What to Observe," but there was no
general manual for the use of observant travellers, direct-
ing them specially not only what to observe, but how to
observe. In 1849 the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, conceiving that *' it would be to the honour
and advantage of the Navy, and conduce to the general
interests of Science, if new facilities and encouragement
were given to the collection of information upon scientific
subjects by the officers, and more particularly by the
medical officers, of Her Majesty's Navy when upon
foreign service," gave orders for the compilation of
" The Admiralty Manual" The work was originally
edited by Sir John Herschel, and was divided into
various sections, each the work of some competent
authority.
The work is divided into four parts. The first in-
cludes astronomy, hydrography, and tides ; the second
terrestrial magnetism, meteorology, atmospheric tides ;
the third geography, statistics, medical statistics, ethno-
logy ; and the fourth geology, mineralogy, seismology,
zoology, botany. In this last edition all the articles are
brought en rapport with the progress of science since
1849 ; the article on tides by Dr. Whewell is revised by
the present editor of the book ; the articles on statistics,
medi(^ statistics, ethnology, geology, mineralogy, botany,
have also been revised by other than the original authors.
There are two capital maps, the one to illustrate hydro-
graphic delineation ; the other to show the approximate
limits of the great currents and drifts of the ocean.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Feb. T, T872]
NATURE
261
The Astronomy (by the Astronomer Royal) is the
shortest article in the book, extending over no more than
12 pages. Hydrography, on the other hand, occupies 49
pages, and contains much useful information regarding
soundings, the discovery of land, sailing directions, and
artificial harbours. The directions are essentially practi-
cal and eminently suggestive ; thus, take the following
from Approaching a coast :—" Always bear in mind that
no description can equal a tolerably faithful sketch, ac-
companied by bearings. In all four sketches take angles
roughly with a sextant between objects at the extremities
of four drawings, and two or more intermediate ones, and
affix them to the objects of the moment, and have at
least one angular height in the picture ; let that be of the
highest and most conspicuous or best defined object"
The article on Tides (26 pages) gives minute direc-
tions for tide observations and the construction of curve
tables. The next section, on Terrestrial Magnetism,
by Sir Edward Sabine, is of great importance, and de-
scribes the methods of observation most in vogue ; the
observations of local attraction, of vibration, of deflection,
and so on. We miss, however, any account of the mag-
netism of iron ships, and the elimination of the compass
error caused thereby. Also we feel assured that simple
instructions for travellers as to the use of compasses on
land, in the mid-t of forests, &c., would prove of much
service. Tender the heading Meteorology we find direc-
tions for observing systematically a large number of aerial
phenomena, water-spouts, bull*s-eye signals, showers of
dust and ashes, cyclones, various electrical manifestations,
&c Passing over the articles on atmospheric waves and
barometric curves, we come to that on Statistics, which
is of very general interest, and relates to the state of
education and crime of a people, the manufactures, com-
merce, currency, revenue, municipal regfulations, &c.
This is followed by " Medicine and Medical Statistics,"
regarding the various fevers and other diseases to which
travellers are specially exposed, with hmts for determining
the geographical distribution of diseases.
The chapter on Ethnology by tlie late J. C. Prichard,
revised by Mr. E. B. Tylor, is to be specially commended
to the notice of travellers ; under the term he includes
"all that relates to human beings, whether regarded
as individuals, or as members of families or com-
munities f the physical and social history of man.
This chapter is divided into three parts :— (i) of the
Physical Character of Nations ; (2) Characteristics of the
state of Society, &c. ; (3) Language, Poetry, Literature.
We are lamentably deficient in our knowledge regarding
the earlier history of the physical sciences, and arc glad
to find that Mr. Tylor alludes to the acquirement of know-
ledge of this nature in the following paragraph : — " The
crude notions entertained by uncivilised races on subjects
within the scope of physical science are matters worthy
of inquiry. Science they can hardly be said to possess,
though this was scarcely true with the ancient Mexicans.
All nations observe the changes of the moon, and measure
the lapse of time with a greater or less degree of accuracy
by the movements of some of the heavenly bodies. The
special names given to the months, if any, should be
recordf*d. Inquiry should be made whether the motions
of the planets are observed, and whejther these bodies are
distinguished from fixed stars ; what ideas are current as
to the conformation of earth and sky and the cause of
eclipses ; whether attempts are made to ascertain the
duration of the solar year, whether there are names for
the constellations, and what they are if they exist*'
Of the remaining portions of this work we need only
allude to that devoted to " Seismology, or Earthquake
Phenomena," by Mr. Robert Mallet, which contains many
details as to the observation of effects of rare occurrence
in these latitudes, but to the traveller in South America the
suggestions would be invaluable. Thus we have an account
of instruments for observing the velocity and direction of the
shock of an earthquake, observations to be made in a city
affected by an earthquake, and the preparation of coseismal
and meizoseismal curves. To conclude : the whole work
is wonderfully suggestive, not alone to the traveller, but
to the home observer ; it teaches us to arrange in order
and systematise our observations, and in so doing conveys
a great deal of collateral information.
G. F. Rod WELL
OC/R BOOK SHELF
Gmelin-Kraufs Handbuch dcr C hemic, Anor^anische
Chcmie, In DreiBanden^ Sech ^tc umgenrbeitete A uflage,
Herausgegcben von Dr Karl Kraut, Heidelberg.
Erster Band zwcite Abtheilung, pp. 176. (London:
Williams and Norgate.)
It is now eighteen years since the appearance of the fifih
edition of this work ; this, of course has necessitated the
change from the old atomic weights to the new, but the
arrangement of the elements and sections of the book has
been retained as in former editions. The present volume
has been thoroughly revised, the information having been
brought up to a very recent date ; should the remaining
volumes be equally reliable, it will probably be the most com-
plete work on inorganic chemistry in any langauge. Dr.
Kraut has obtained the assistance of Drs. Naumann,
Ritter, and Jorgensen, in order to expedite the conclusion
of the work. There is no book to our knowledge which
contains so large an amount of information m a sma4
space as Gmelin's Handbook. It is, as expressed in the
preface, a complete, concise, and systematic handbook of
chemistry up to the latest time. The merits of this book
for the purposes of reference are so well known that it
would be quite superfluous to enter into any lengthened
description of it. In the volume now under considera-
tion oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, boron, phosphorus, and
sulphur, Mrith some of their more important compounds,
are treated of; the article on ozone and its properties is
perhaps typical of the book, it occu pies f out teen pages,
and forms a very valuable and complete history of this
body. The completion of the book may be looked for
with interest, although necessarily it will be some time
before this can be accomplished.
Astronomical Phenomena in 1872. By W. F. Denning,
Hon. Sec. of the Observing Astronomical Society.
(London : Wyman and Son.)
This brochure consists of some general remarks on
astroncmical observing, and some forty pages of data
almost entirely taken from the "Nautical Almanack"
for 1872. The former are addressed to the simplest
tyro, and are so meagre as to give the impression
of a want of accurate knowledge. In the section
touching upon instruments we are told that "with
regard to the spectroscope, micrometer, and other
astronomical appliances, it will be better to say but very
Digitized by
Google
262
NATURE
{Feb. I, 1872
little." Accordingly very little is said, and that little is
unimportant Speaking of objects, Mr. Denning startles
us with the announcement that " Comets are not interest-
ing objects in a telescope" (we should like to hear upon
what experience he grounds this assertion) ; and he deals
with the hypotheticsd plant Vulcan by naively telling his
disciples that when a total eclipse of the sun " is in pro-
gress, U)e region of the heavens in the immediate vicinity
of the solar orb should be subjected to very careful
scrutiny." For such untutored gazers as are addressed in
the earlier pages the data in the later sections are insuffi-
cient There are no times of rising and setting of the
moon and planets, no positions of Jupiter's satellites at
times of eclipse, no information upon the points on the
moon's limb at which occulted stars will disappear and
reappear, no warning of the effects which change of geo-
graphical position will produce in some phenomena which
are computed for Greenwich only. Altogether the book
is a very weak production. J. C.
Die Arachniden Australiens nach der Natur heschrieben
und abgebildety von Dr. L. Koch. Erste Lieferung.
Pp. 56. Plates iv. (Numberg, 1871.)
Dr. L. Koch intends in this work to describe the spiders
of Australia, not confining himself apparently to the
large insular tract that generally passes under this name,
but taking in also the Viti Islands, the Friendly, Pelew,
and other groups. In his Preface to this, the first portion
of his work, he says that though he has with much care
and industry for twenty years observed the Arachnida of
a litde circuit of not more than from four to five hours
walk, yet every year there comes to light within this
small compass some new species that had up to then
remained concealed ; indeed it often happened that each
little journey increased the number of forms known in
the district. How true this observation is every investi-
gator will feel ; but knowing and feeling it, what courage
does it not require to set to work to write the history of
the spiders of a district which itself is not even yet half
explored ; and when the spiders are done, we are promised
another work on the Mynapods. Such courage deserves
to succeed, and we wish the enterprise every prosperity.
The work will be published at intervals of two months,
and be completed in two years ; each bi-monthly part will
contain four plates and some five sheets of text.
Following the families and genera as laid down by
Thorell in his *^ European Spiders," L. Koch commences
with the Epeiridae, and describes six new species of the
interesting genus GcLsteracantha, Here, as in the other
genera, the new species are well figured by the author in
quarto plates. It is to be observed that some of the species
described are not to be met with, at least have not at
present been met with, in any part of Australia, but are
introduced into this work by the head and shoulders as
it were thus : — G, violenta comes from New Guinea, and
G, hepatica from Java. Two new genera, Tholia, with
three species, and Anepsia for Epeira rhomboidesy L.K.,
are given. Ten new species of the genus Argiope are
described, and three new species of Cyrtarackfu, The diag-
noses of the new genera are very properly given in Latin,
and the work may be regarded as quite indispensable to
all those engaged in the study of the spiders. W.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Change of Habits in Animals and Plants
SoMB weeks since I sent a few notes on Nestor notabilis,* show-
ing a carious change in the history of thi^ monntaineer. I now
beg to add an extract firom the Ota^go Daily Timet, in oonfirma*
* See Natvbi, t61 {▼., pp. 489^ |o0.i
tion of this strange story of the progressiTe development of change
in the habits of the Kea, from the simple tastes of a honey-eater
to the savageness of a tearer of flesh : —
'* Some time ago we mentioned that Mr. Henry Campbell^ of
Wanaka Station, had noticed that sheep on his run were fre-
quently attacked by birds. We are indebted to Mr. Campbell
for some further information on the subject The birds in ques-
tion are of the kind called by shepherds '' the mountain parrut,"
and the scientific name of which is Nestor notahiiis. The Maories
call it the Kea. The birds come in flocks, single out a sheep at
random, and each alighting on its back in turn, tears oat the
wool and makes the sheep bleed, till the animal runs away from
the rest of the sheep. The birds then pursue it, continue attack-
ing it, and force it to run about till it becomes stupid and
exhausted. If in that state it throws itself down, and lies as
much as possible on its back to keep the birds from picking the
part attacked, they then pick a fresh hole in its side, and the
sheep, when so set upon, in some instances dies. When the
sheep stops bleeding the birds appear to cease to attack it, though
Mr. Campbell is not very clear upon this point, and thinks they
attack it more for sport than hunger. For three winters back
his sheep have been attacked in this way, and it was not till this
winter (diough he previously suspected it) that he found the birds
were the offenders. Where the burds so attack the sheep, the
elevation of the country is from 4,000 to 5,000 feet above the
sea level, and they only do so there in winter time. On a stadon
ovrnsd by Mr. Campbell about thirty, miles distant from the
other, and at the same altitude, in the same distric^ and where
the birds are plentiful, they do not attack the sheep in that way.
For those on whose stations they are an annoyance, it may be
mentioned that their numbers can be kept well thinned by shoot-
ing them. If one is wounded the rest gather round, and can
be shot in fives and sixes at a time."
This note is interesting in the face of the destrucdve influence
commonly exerted by introduced upon ncUive life. Here we have
an indigenous species making use of a recently imported aid for
subsistence, at the cost of a vast change in its natural habits.
In the vegetable world we meet with a change in the habit of
a native species* which is somewhat analogous.
Our Loranthus micranthus sometimes neglects its customary
supports, found often on such trees as Mdicytus or Melicope (re-
presentatives of Violarieee and Rutacete), for the more attractive
exotics, Cytisus, ^Crxtagus, the plum, and the peach. Such
change in its habits this fragrant parasite acquires at the cost of
deserting the interlaced boughs of tangled gully for a more con-
spicuous position in the trim shrubbery or cultivated garden. At
this time I can see a most vigorous specimen of Z. micranthus
growing on Cytisus laburnum^ covered with countless panicles of
perfume-laden blossoms, on which our introduced bee is luxu-
riously regaling. Here we have ihe foreign bee gathering sweets
from native flowers growing on an exotic tree.
In this neighbourhood the laburnum was first planted,
I believe, by myself, in 1859, and the bee introduced about the
same time.
Ohmitahi, Oct. 7, 1871 Thomas H. Potts
A Case of Stationary Wave on a Moving Cord
It is well known to mathematicians that a stretched cord,
moving lengthwise with a velocity bearing a certain relation to
its tension and weight, will retain any curvature which may be
impressed upon it ; and consequently would pass through a
crooked tube without pressure against its sides. That this may
/ T
be the case, the velocity, F, must equal ^/-tv* ^ being the
tension, and M the weight of the cord per unit of length.
Passing from a stationary curve on a moving cord to one
moving uong a fixed cord, it is easy to see that tms velocity, V,
must ht that of the transmission of*^ a transverse vibration ; and
from this immediately follows the formula for the times of vibra-
tion of stretched strings.
The case of the stationary wave, however, though simple in
theory, is rarely practically realised ; and I think a short notice
of a case in which it is constantiy produced may not be without
interest
In Captain Dennet's admirable invention for saving life from
shipwredcs, a rocket is employed having a light line attached to
it. This line is previously *' faked down " on two rows of pins
in a box ; and, the pins being withdrawn, it remains in a leiics
• See Tiraas. New Ztalaad laitftatt, vol Hi., p. 190.
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NATURE
263
of tigzags which vield withont entanglement to the very rapid
motion of the rocket — the strain on the cord being only due to
its inertia. As then the force required to set it in motion is
proportional to the weight of cord moved multiplied by its velo-
city, and this weight is also proportional to its weight per unit of
lei^gth multiplied by the velocity, the strain or tension, T —MV^
or F= ^/^; the relation which we have already seen is
necessary to the production of a stationary wave. Accordingly,
we find that the rope, instead of at once following the flight of
the rocket, rises almost perpendicularly from the box, and only
passes into its low trajectory at a distance of six or eight feet,
with a sharp irregular curve, which remains comparatively steady
during the whole flight of the rocket This curve is no doubt
first produced in the first portion of the rope, which is "faked
down " on the ground outside the box ; but it would be impos-
sible to see its formation, because of the smoke of Uie discharge,
even if the motion were not too rapid.
One rather curious result of the above-mentioned conditions
is, that however erratic the flight of the rocket may be, the rope
will continue to follow through the whole track, as if the air
were a solid which the rocket had pierced.
Another result is, that no lateral vibrations can be propagated
along a rocket line — a fortunate^condition with regard to steadi-
ness of flight. Henry k. Procter
Clementhorpe, North Shields, Jan. 26
Ocean Currents
Prof. Everett has evidently misapprehended what I said
in my letter to Nature, January 1 1. Nine foot-pounds would,
of course, generate in a pound of matter a velocity equal to that
acquired by the pound falling through a space of nine feet. And
in reference to the deflecting power of rotation, what I meant was
not the amount of deflection in a given space passed over, but
the positive amount, say in feet, in a given time.
Edinburgh, Jan. 27 James Croll
ON TEACHING GEOLOGY AND BOTANY AS
PARTS OF A LIBERAL EDUCATION
ON Monday, Jan. 22, one of a series of lectures on
Educational questions was given at the rooms of the
Society of Arts by Mr. J. M. Wilson, of Rugby. The
following may be taken as an abstract of the lecture : —
Two points have to be considered : (i) When, if at all,
these Natural History Sciences ought to be introduced
into schools ; (2) What they should include, and how they
should be arranged for teaching purposes.
The problem before schoolmasters is to adjust the
rival claims of the subjects which press for admission into
the school course, all of which may urge something in
their favour. These subjects have increased in number
and extent so that the question of re-arrangement is press-
ing. For the solution at present is to admit a little of
all, or nearly all ; and the effect of this is to distract. A
wide education levels up/ but also levels down, and
weakens, by eliminating the close study of detail, and the
drudgery that is essential in valuable work. It is that
conflict between the old theory of promise and the new
theory of performance ; and schools are in great danger
of giving less faculty than they did formerly, though they
give increased knowledge.
To meet the requirements some stratification of studies
must be effected, so that not so many shall be followed at
once. Greek and Chemistry and Physics (except Me-
chanics), should be excluded from the elementary course,
which should include Latin, French, Arithmetic, and
Natural History. Then bifurcation should begin ; the one
branch leading to Greek and a mainly literary education,
the other to Science; both continuing Latin and English,
and French and History. The reco^ition of the bifur-
cation, both by the Universities and by the great schools,
is urgently needed. Without it Science must be dwarfed
or excluded, and literature also suffer from the distraction
which is already felt at schools. The programme of the
reformers in education ought to include the abolition of
Greek as a compulsory subject at the Universities.
By Natural History is meant what Huxley has intro-
duced to us under the word " Erdkunde." The earth, its
relation to sun and moon, the phenomena of day and
night, and seasons ; the changes going on, the activities
of the earth, rain, and rivers, and sea, and earthquaJces,
and slow changes of level, and their geological effects,
and something also of geology proper. The teaching
should be based on the familiar knowledge of the boys, and
should extend and systematise it, and without being too
dogmatical, should be practical where possible. A little
botany, enough to teach the objects and the interests of the
science, and the principles of structure and classiflcation,
and something of geographical distribution, may well be
included in the natural history of this elementary stage in
education. The object of the master should be to dis-
cover and train scientific ability, as well as to give scientific
information, and for this purpose these studies have great
advantages. The bearing of the experience gained at
Rugby on these questions was also given.
THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
LAST summer a discussion took place in your pages
on the expression, " Survival of the Fittest," and on
the principle it formulates. Though, as being responsible
for this expression, there seemed occasion for me to say
something to dissipate the errors respecting it, I refrained
from doing so, for the reason that the rcctihcation of mis-
statements and misinterpretations is an endless work,
which it is almost useless to commence.
In your last number, however, the question has cropped
up afresh in a manner which demands from me some
notice. A Professor is tacitly assumed to be an authority
in his own department ; and a statement made by him re-
•specting the views of a writer on a matter coming within
this department, will naturally be accepted as trustworthy.
Hence it becomes needful to correct serious mistakes thus
originating.
In your abstract of Prof. £. D. Cope's paper, read before
the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
I find the following sentences : —
"This law has been epitomised by Spencer as the
' Preservation of the Fittest.' This neat expression, no
doubt, covers the case, but it leaves the origin of the
fittest entirely untouched."
There are here two misstatements, the one direct and
the other indirect, which I must deal with separately.
So far as I can remember, I have nowhere used the
phrase, " Preservation of the Fittest." It is one which I
have studiously avoided ; and it belongs to a class of
phrases for the avoidance of which I have deliberately
given reasons in "First Principles," sec 58. It is there
pointed out that such expressions as " Conservation of
Force," or " Conservation of Energy," are objectionable,
because " conservation " implies a conserver, and an act
of conserving — implies, therefore, that Energy would dis-
appear unless it was taken care of ; and this is an impli-
cation wholly at variance with the doctrine enunciated.
Here I have similarly to point out that the expression
" Preservation of the Fittest " is objectionable, because in
like manner it supposes an act of preserving— a process
beyond, and external to, the physical processes we com-
monly distinguish as natural ; and this is a supposition
quite alien to the idea to be conveyed. One of the chief
reasons I had for venturing to substitute another
formula for the formula of Mr. Darwin, was that
" Natural Selection " carries a decidedly teleological
suggestion, which the hypothesis to be formulated
does not in reality contain ; and a good deal of the ad-
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264
NATURE
\Feb, I, 1872
verse criticism which the hypothesis has met with, espe-
cially in France, has, I think, arisen from the misappre-
hension thus caused. The expression, " Survival of the
Fittest/' seemed to me to have the advantage of suggesting
no thought beyond the bare fact to be expressed ; and
this was in great part, though not wholly, the reason for
using it.
Prof. Cope's indirect statement, that I have said
nothing to explain '* the origin " of the fittest, is equally
erroneous with his direct statement which I have just
corrected. In the " Principles of Biology,'* sec. 147, I
have contended that no " interpretation of biologic evolu-
tion which rests simply on the basis of biologic induction,
is an ultimate interpretation. The biologic induction
must be itself interpreted. Only when the process of
evolution of organisms is affiliated on the process of evolu-
tion in general, can it be truly said to be explained.
. . . We have to reconcile the facts with the universal
laws of re- distribution of matter and motion.'' After two
chapters treating of the " External Factors ** and ** Internal
Factors,** which are dealt with as so many acting and re-
acting forces, there come two chapters on " Direct Equi-
libration" and "Indirect Equilibration"— titles which
of themselves imply an endeavour to interpret the facts in
terms of Matter, Motion, and Force. It is in the second
of these chapters that the phrase "Survival of the Fittest"
is first used ; and it is there used as the most convenient
physiological equivalent for the purely physical statement
which precedes it.
Respecting the adequacy of the explanation, I, of course,
say nothing. But when Prof. Cope implies that no expla-
nation is given, he makes still more manifest that which
is already made manifest by his mis- quotation— either
that he is speaking at second hand, or that he has read
with extreme inattention. Herbert Spencer
Athenaeum Club, Jan. 29
THE CHANCE OF SURVIVAL OF NEW
VARIETIES
AN argument first urged by the writer of an article on
the " Origin of Species *' in the North British
Review for June 1867, regarding the probability of the
preservation of a new modification or variety among the
descendants of a plant or animal, has of late attracted
much attention. It has been discussed at length by Mr.
Mivart, one of the ablest critics of the Darwinian theory,
and Mr. Darwin himself has, with characteristic candour,
ascribed great, and as I believe undue, importance to the
inferences drawn from it.
To some extent I agree with the remarks of Mr. Davis,
published in your journal of the 28th December last, but
I venture to think that the soundness of the argument in
question has not been thoroughly tested, and that it will
not bear close examination. The calculus of probabihties
is a very subtle instrument, and, even in what appear to
be its simpler applications, a very fallacious one, if every
step in the process is not carefully considered.
The reviewer started with a seemingly simple state-
ment of the case — " A million creatures are born ; 10,000
survive to produce offspring. One of the miUion has
twice as good a chance of surviving ; but the chances are
* By way of correcting a further muapprehension r f Prof. Cope, I may
here point out that this concepiion, in its less developed form, goes back to a
much earlier daie than the '' ^f inciplejt of Biology " to which he refers. In the
Westminster Reifirw for April 1853 (pp 498-500), 1 have contended that
*' this inevitable redundancy of number»-~ihis constant increase of people
bevond the means of subsistence/' necessitates the contisuad carrying-off of
"those in vhom the power of »elf-preservaiion is the least:** that all being
subject to the ** increasing difficulty of getting a living which excess of fer-
tility entaiK" there is an average advance under the pressure, since ' only
those who do advance under it eventually survive :" and these "must be the
select of their generation." There is. however, in the c«i*y from which I here
quote, no recognition of what Mr. Darwin calls " spontaneous variati.n," nor
of that d. vergmce c/tyf* which this natural selective process is shown by him
to produce.
50 to I against the gifted individual being one of the ten
thousand (at first erroneously printed 'hundred') sur-
vivors." The fallacy here lies in the assumption that
under the conditions which, according to the Darwinian
theory, enable natural selection to become an efficient
modifying agent, the chance of survival of a favourable
modification can be correctly represented by the ratio of
2 to I.
To avoid complication let us confine the argument to
non-dicecious plants or self- fertilising lower animals. The
preservation of a new variety or modification of structure
depends upon two separate elements reflated respectively
to growth and reproduction. The individual must reach
maturity, and must reproduce offspring, and for each of
these processes it must be able to ovci^Mfc the obstacles
offered by the action of other organic1^|^^, and by ex-
ternal physical conditions. As a g<mjj|p»l rule we may
assume that the same modification does not affect both
growth and reproduction, and as the main stress of the
struggle for existence turns on the dangers that affect the
early period of growth, and the difficulties attendant on
the production of healthy offspring, we shall sufficiently
illustrate the subject in hand by considering these sepa-
rately.
The chance of a modified individual growing to matu-
rity depends upon its power of resistance to, or escape
from, the various hostile agencies that surround the young
animal or plant, whose combined influence is (by hypo-
thesis) such that but one out of every hundred reaches
maturity. Let us assume, for the sake of illustration, that
the most important dangt rs to which the creature is ex-
posed arise from physical conditions— such as excessive
drought or damp— and from other organisms, as when
it is the favourite food of some common animal. Now
let the supposed modification affect the former relation.
Let the modified organism be better fitted to resist
drought ; the rcstilt will be an enormous probability in
favour of its escape from a danger that may destroy nine-
tenths of the unmodified creatures around him, and a
similar argument will apply to such a modification as
would make the individual modified distasteful, or less
than usually attractive, as an article of food. In point of
fact, the dangers arising from external physical conditions
are usually far less constant in their action than those
arising from organic foes, and it is quite conceivable that
even in the extreme case of a modification originating in
one single individual of a species, if it were such as to
give a decided advantage in tnat direction, the balance of
probability would be in favour of survival, and in case of
reappearance among numerous individuals in the next
generation, have a preponderating chance of ultimate
preservation.
The application of figures to measure the advantage
given by a modification relating to the capacity of a species
for reproduction involves no less difficulty, and may lead
to the most various estimates of the probability of sur-
vival. A variation in a plant which should double the
number of seeds produced without lessening their vitality,
would give an advantage of 2 to i in the chance of pro-
ducing offspring, but this, as the reviewer has shown,
would not much increase the probability of the ultimate
prevalence of that variety. But if the numbers of a
plant were chiefly kept down by such a cause as the fruit
bemg a favourite article of food, a modification of its
flavour that would lead to some other fruit being pre*
ferred would almost certainly lead to the perpetuation of
the variety with modified fruit, and not only to the rapid
destruction of the unmodified form, but also to a reduction
in the prevalence of some other plant.
For it must be recollected that the struggle for exist*
ence is not limited to the offspring of a single species.
The rivals of each organism are all around, and the
chance of survival of a new variety may be enormously
increased if it be not only better able to resist hostile
Digitized by
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Feb. I, 1872]
NATURE
265
agencies that the unmodified foim of the same species,
but better than other rival organisms that may be its
competitors in die struggle for existence.
I make these remarks without any desire to press the
conclusion to an extreme length. I am not one of those
more Darwinian than Mr. Darwin himself, who believe
that the theory of Natural Selection explains everything,
and has left no mysteries unsolved. I feel no doubt but
that very many modifications arise that do not perpetuate
themselves by the survival of a sufficient number of simi-
larly modified individuals, even in cases where the varia-
tion may be slightly favourable ; but I cannot admit the
validity of an argument that goes to the very root of the
principle of Natural Selection, and leads, by the appear-
ance of exact reasoning, to a result that every naturalist
feels to be absurd.
In truth, it is impossible to assign any limit to the
amount of probability in favour of the preservation of a
new variety. In the absence of disturbing causes affect-
ing the equilibrium whidi the conditions hitherto existing
in a given region tend to establish between the numbers
of each species, it may be safe to assume that the proba-
bility of any new variety establishing itself is but small.
But let that equilibrium be disturbed — let some hitherto
unknown plants spread widely, as so many European
weeds have done in Australia. This must lead to a cor-
responding diminution in the number of individuals of
the previous vegetable inhabitants of the country, and a
corresponding reduction among the animals that led upon
them. Let one of these animals be modified so as to be
able to derive nourishment from the intrusive species.
Is it not evident that the chance of its survival, and that
of its similarly modified descendants, would be so great
as to approach to certainty, unless the modification hap-
pened to bring with it other counterbalancing disadvan-
tages? . John Ball
THE USE AND ABUSE OF COMPLIMENTARY
NAMES
THOSE whose fortune it is to work in some particular
branch of science which has not been by any means
exhausted, and to encounter daily some new form from an
unexplored region which seems to warrant recognition
as a new species, are often in difficulty to obtain a
suitable name, one which shall distinguish the new species
from its congeners, or give indication of one of its most
prominent characteristics. It would seem that some (I
fear many) are not so fully impressed as they should be
with the importance of giving appropriate specific names
to new species. " Trivial " names is in many cases an accu-
rate designation. When a new name has to be given, it
seems to me that the first effort should be directed towards
applying a name which has at least some connection
with the object to which it is applied, and if possible
indicate one of the features by which its specific distinc-
tion is established. In very large genera this will often be
difficult, but seldom impossible, if sufficient reflection be
permitted. This presupposes, of course, clear notions of
what are the distinctive features of the new species, and
something more than a mere superficial knowledge of its
congeners. The custom of giving complimentary names
has considerably increased of late years, and seems almost
to have culminated in absurdity. It is never a thankful
office to impute blame, or point out the failings of others,
and I should never have ventured to draw attention to
this subject did I not conceive that the application of
complimentary specific names has become an abuse which
needs to be protested against. I am wiUing to concede
Uiat the occasional dedication of a new species to some
acknowledged authority, one who has published a mono-
graph of the genus, or who has identified himself more or
less with the subject, may be a graceful compliment ; but
even this should hardly supersede a name indicative of
some special feature in the new species. My own feelings
are in favour of wholly restricting such compliments to
generic names. But wherefore should a mere collector,
one who has stumbled over a new species by mere acci-
dent, by collecting everything that came in his way of a
particular kind, unable perhaps even to recognise generic
distinctions, be flattered by having his name attached to
the new form by some one who luis had all the scientific
labour in examining, describing, and naming it for him ?
Has science no higher aim thsm that of scattering com-
pliments ? It must cause many a smile to pass across
the countenances of the unscientific if they open a new
cryptogamic flora, a monograph, or even glance through a
volume of some scientific journal, to see on one page how
Mr. Brown ventures to name something new in honour of
his friend Mr. Robinson, and a few pages further on Mr.
Robinson returns the compliment in favour of Mr. Brown ;
or in another case how in five or six genera, extending
over as many pages, the same '* indefatigable col-
lector *' is honoured by having his name as many times
repeated, as if new species were only so many pegs on
which compliments are to be suspended. My own expe-
rience is very much restricted to cryptogamic botany, and
my remarks may be much less pertment to other branches
of natural science. Zoologists may not be addicted to
such forms of flattery. Continental mycologists are cer-
tainly very great sinners in this respect My object in
drawing tne attention of readers of Nature to this sub-
ject is to protest against this '' abuse of complimentary
names,'' and to ascertain if some definite restriction can-
not be placed upon this tendency to encumber our lists
with an array of names which convey only one meaning,
and which I would designate *' flattery names.'' I hardly
think it necessary to cite particular instances, as a ques-
tion of this kind should be decided upon its merits, and
without the introduction of personalities. The sceptical
should make the experiment with some recent volume
containing descriptions of new species. In one contin-
gency, I think diat it is not only admissible but advisable
to use a complimentary name. If an author describes a
species under a name which has already been adopted in
the same genus, it would be very inconvenient to have
the one specific name applied by two authors to different
things. In such a case it is the custom for any one who
may be working up and publishing a synopsis of the genus
to suppress the most recent of uie two specific names,
and apply to it the name of the author who unconsciously
fell into the error. Provided always that he recognises
the species having priority of name as a valid member of
the genus, there cannot be much abuse of this recog-
nised practice, against which I have nothing to urge. It
would be simple folly to make laws which there is no
power but *' common sense ** to enforce ; and no decision
which I may determine upon will be binding upon any
one save myself ; yet I cannot but regret that any who
have laboured year after year in love for their own special
branch of science, often following it for its own sake alone,
through many sacrifices, should be tempted to employ the
knowledge they have so acquired as a means whereby to
compliment their friends or flatter their inferiors, fotgetful
of the practical sarcasms that they are hurling at their
own pursuits. M. C. C.
THE ECUPSE OBSERVATIONS AT BEKUL
THE illustrations which accompany this, for the loan
of which we are indebted to the courtesy of the
Editor of the Illustrated London News^ are from photo-
graphs of the Eclipse party stationed at Bekul, taken by
Mr. McC. Webster, the Collector of South Canara. The
first represents the fort in which Mr. Lockyer and Captain
^ogle
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268
NATURE
{Feb. I, 1872
Maclear had erected their instruments. Mr. Davis's pho-
tographic and Dr. Thomson's polariscopic observations
being carried on at a little distance below. The instru-
ments represented are the 9I reflector constructed by Mr.
Browning, with a mounting by Cooke, and the double
refractor, consisting of two telescopes of six inches ^er-
ture, mounted on one of the universal stands prepared for
the Transit of Venus observations in 1874, and lent by the
Astronomer RoyaL
The second is a representation of the bungalow
which formed the residence of the same party during their
stay in India, erected imder the friendly shelter of a grove
of spreading banyan-trees. The temperature in the middle
of the day at Canara reaching commonly to 90° Fahr.
within doors, it will be seen how necessary was not
only the shelter of the trees for their residence, but
the umbrella which a native attendant is holding over the
head of one of Uie observers during the actual time of
observation.
ON THE INFLUENCE OF VIOLET LIGHT ON
THE GROWTH OF VINES, AND ON THE
DEVELOPMENT OF PIGS AND BULLS
GENERAL A. J. PLEASONTON, from Philadelphia,
U.S., has been engaged since 1861 with some very
interesting experiments on the influence of light, trans-
mitted througn violet glass, in developing animal and
vegetable life. In April 1861, cuttings of vines of some
twenty varieties of grapes, each one year old, of the thick-
ness of a pipe-stem, and cut close to the spots containing
them, were planted in the borders inside and outside of
the grapery, on the roof of which every eighth row of
glass was violet-coloured, alternating the rows on the op-
posite sides. Very soon the vines began to attract great
notice from the rapid growth they were making. Every
day the gardener was kept busy in tying up the new wood
which the day before had not been observed. In a few
weeks after the vines had been planted, the walls and
inside of the roof were closely covered with the most
luxurious and healthy development of foliage and wood.
In September of the same year Mr. Robert Buist, a
noted seedsman and horticulturist, from whom the General
tivating plants and vines ot various kinds tor tne last forty
years ; 1 have seen some of the best vineries and con-
servatories in England and Scotland ; but I have never
seen anything hke this growth." He then measured some
of the vines, and found them forty-five feet in length, and
an inch in diameter at the distance of one foot above the
ground. And these dimensions were the growth of only
five months !
In March 1862 they were started to grow, having
been pruned and cleaned in January of that year. The
growth in this second season was, if anything, more
remarkable than it had been in the previous year . Besides
the formation of the new wood, and the display of the
most luxuriant foliage, there was a wonderful number of
bunches of grapes, which soon assumed the most remark-
able proportions— the bunches being of extraordinary
magnitude, and the grapes of unususd size and develop-
ment
In September, when the grapes were beginning to colour
and to ripen rapidly, Mr. Buist visited the grapery again,
and estimated that there were 1,200 pounds of grapes.
General Pleasonton remarks that in gr^e-growing coun-
tries, where grapes have been grown for centuries, a period
of time of from five to six years will elapse before a single
bunch of grapes can be produced from a young vine ;
while here, only seventeen months after, his grapery bad
yielded the finest and choicest varieties of grapes.
Diuing the next season (1^63) the vines again fruited,
and matured a crop of grapes, estimated, by comparison
with the yield of the previous year, to weigh about two
tons ; the vines were perfectly healthy, and free from the
usual maladies which affect the grape. Many cultivators
said that such excessive crops would exhaust the vines,
and that the following year there would be no fruit ; as it
was well known that all plants required rest after yielding
large crops. Notwithstanding, new wood was formed this
year for the next year's crop, which turned out to be quite
as large as it had been in the season of 1863 ; and so on,
year by year, the vines have continued to bear large crops
of fine fruit without intermission for the last nine years.
They are now healthy and strong, and as yet show no
signs of decrepitude or exhaustion.
The success of the grapery induced General Pleasonton
to make an experiment with animal life. In the autumn
of 1869 he built a piggery, and introduced into the roof
and three sides of it violet- coloured and white glass in
equal proportions — ^half of each kind. Separating a recent
litter of Chester country pigs into two parties, he placed
three sows and one barrow pig in the white pen, and
three other sows and one other barrow pig in the pen
under the violet glass. The pigs were aU about two
months old. It wul be observed that each of the pigs
under the violet glass was lighter in weight than the
lightest pig of those under the sun-light alone in the
white pen. The two sets were treated exactly alike;
fed with the same kinds of food, at equal intervals of
time, and with equal quantities by measure at each
meal, and were attended by the same man. On the 4th
of May, 1870, the six sows, being weighed, the following
conclusion was obtained : -
Under the violet pens. Under the wlute pens.
November 3, 1869 ... 122 lbs. ... 144 lbs.
March 4, 1870 520 lbs. ... 530 lbs.
Increase 398 lbs. ... 386 lbs.
Consequently, although the pigs placed under the violet
pens actually weighed 10 lbs. less than those under the
white pens ; yet, taking into consideration the 22 lbs.
less which the first pigs had previously weighed, there is
an actual gain of 12 lbs. The two other barrow pigs
offered nearly the same result.
The next experiment of General Pleasonton was with
an Aldemey bull calf, born on Jan. 26, 187a At its
birth it was so puny and feeble that the man who attends
upon his stock— a very experienced hand— told him that
it would not live. He directed him to put it in one of
the pens imder the violet glass. In 24 hours a very
sensible change had occurred in the animal. It had
arisen on its feet, walked about the pen, took its food
freely by the finger, and manifested g^eat vivacity. In a
few days his feeble condition had entirely disappeared.
It began to grow,. and its development was marvellous.
On March 31, 1870, two months and five days after its
birth, its rapid growth was so apparent that, as its hind
quarter was then growing, he had it measured. Fifty
days afterwards it had gained six inches in height, carry-
ing its lateral development with it. The calf was turned
into the bam yard, and manifested every symptom of fuU
masculine vigour, though at the time he was only four
months old. He is now one of the best developed animals
that can be found anywhere.
This is only a very short rhumS of the third edition of
a pamphlet published by General Pleasonton, entitled,
" On the Influence of the Blue Colour of the Sky in De-
veloping Animal and Vegetable Life : as Illustrated in
the Experiments of the Author between the years 1861
and 1871" (Philadelphia, 1871). 8vo. 24 pp.
The account of it which I had addressed to the French
Academy was followed by two different notes from
Cailletet and Bert. In my next article I will examine
them, with some references to Uie explanation of General
Pleasonton's experiments.
Paris, Jan. 10 ^^ AndrA Joey
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269
MAGNETIC DISTURBANCES DURING THE
LATE TOTAL ECLIPSE
T N the list of papers read before the Paris Academy of
•■■ Sciences, which was given in last week's Nature, I
noticed one on the magnetic perturbations observed at
Alen^on during the late total eclipse. Now it would at
first sight appear reasonable to expect that any effect pro-
duced on the magnetic needle at Alen^on by a pheno-
menon whose maximum phase was as far removed as
India or Australia, should have nearly equal effect on the
needle in England, and in all countries adjoining France.
It has moreover been established by frequent compari-
sons of carefully measured photographic records, taken at
different magnetic observatories, that any disturbance of
the earth's magnetic force is felt almost simultaneously at
stations differing several hundred miles in both latitude
and longitude. I was, therefore, justified in supposing
that I should find some indications on our photo-magnetic
records of a disturbance corresponding to the perturba-
tions of the needle at Alenqon, alluded to by M. Lion in
his note to the Academy. The result of my examination
of the records is, that there is not the slightest trace of a
disturbance on either the vertical or horizontal curves, and
that the declination magnet has been more than usually
quiet, although on the two previous days it happened to
have been somewhat disturbed about the hour at which
the totality of December 1 1 occurred.
Accidental causes influence too largely the readings of
a declination magnet for much reliance to be placed, on
them, however careful the observer, when they are in open
contradiction to the photo-records of instruments whose
diurnal corrections are sensibly constant.
Stonyhurst Observatory, Jan. 28 S. J. Perry
SCHOLARSHIPS AND EXHIBITIONS FOR
NATURAL SCIENCE IN CAMBRIDGE, 1872
Hj^HE following is a list of the Scholarships and Exhibf-
-■• tions for proficiency in Natural Science to be offered
in Cambridge during the present year : —
Trinitv College.— One or two of the value of about
80/. per annum. The examination will be on April 5,
and will be open to all undergraduates of Cambridge and
Oxford, and to persons under twenty who are not members
of the Universities. Further information may be obtained
from the Rev. E. Blore, Tutor of Trinity College.
St. John's College.— One of the value of 50/. per
annum. The examination (in Chemistry, Physics, and
Physiology, with Geology, Anatomy, and Botany) will be
on the 1 2th of April, and will be open to all persons who
are not entered at the University, as well to all who have
entered and have not completed one term of residence.
Natural Science is made one of the subjects of the annual
College Examination of its students at the end of its
academical year, in May ; and Exhibitions and Founda-
tion Scholarships will be awarded to students who show
an amount of knowledge equivalent to that which in
Classics or Mathematics usually gains an Exhibition or
Scholarship in the College. In short, Natural Science is
on the same footing with Classics and Mathematics, both
as regards teaching and rewards.
Christ's College.— One or more, in value from 30/.
to 70/., according to the number and merits of the candi-
dates, tenable for three-and-a-half years, and for three
years longer by those who reside during that period at
the College. The examination will be on March 19, and
will be open to the undergraduates of this College ; to
non-collegiate imdergraduates of Cambridge; to all
undergraduates of Oxford ; and to any students who are
not members of either University. The candidates may
select their own subjects for examination. There are
other Exhibitions which are distributed annually among
the most deserving students of the College.
Caius College. — One of the value of 60/. per annmn.
The examination will be on March 19 in Chemistry and
Experimental Physics, Zoology with Comparative Ana-
tomy and Physiology, and Botany with Vegetable Anatomy
and Physiology ; it will be open to students who have not
commenced residence in the University. There is no
limitation as to age. — Scholarships of the value of 20/ each,
or more if the candidates arc unusually good, are offered
for Anatomy and Physiology to members of the College.
— Gentlemen elected to the Tancred Medical Studentships
are required to enter at this College ; these Studentships
are four in number, and the annual value of each is 1 13/.
Information respecting these may be obtained from Mr.
B. J. L. Frere, 28, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.
Clare College. — One or more of the value of 50/.
per annum. The examination (in Chemistry, Chemical
Physics, Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, and
Geology) will be on March 19, and will be open to
students intending to begin residence in October.
Downing College.— One or more of the value of
40/. per annunL The examination (in Chemistry, Com-
parative Anatomy, and Physiology) will be early in April,
and will be open to all students not members of the
University, as well as to all undergraduates in their
first term.
Sidney College.— Two of the value of 40/. per
annum. The examination (in Heat, Electricity, Cne-
mistry. Geology, Physiology, Botany) will be in October,
and will be open to all students who may enter on the
College boards before October i.
Emmanuel College.— One or more of the value of
40/. to 60/. per annum. The examination on March
19 will be open to students who have not commenced
residence.
Pembroke College. — One or more of the value of
20/. to 60/., according to merit. The examination in June
(in Chemistry, Physics, and other subjects), will be open
to students under twenty years of age.
St. Peter's College. — One from 50/. to 80/. per an-
num, accord mg to merit The examination, on April 4
(in Chemistrv, Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, and
Botany), will be open to students who will be under
twenty-one years of age on October i, 1872, and who
have not commenced residence.
Although several subjects for examination are in each
instance given, this is rather to afford the option of one or
more to the candidates than to induce them to present a
sup«^cial knowledge of several Indeed, it is expressly
stated by some of the Colleges that good clear knowledge
of one or two subjects will be more esteemed than a
general knowledge of several
Candidates, especially those who are not members of
the University, will in most instances, be required to
show a fair knowleage of Classics and Mathematics, such,
for example, as would enable them to pass the Previous
Examination.
There is no restriction on the ground of religious
denomination in the case of these or of any of the
Scholarships or Exhibitions in the Colleges or in the
University. Further information may be obtained from
the tutors of the respective Colleges.
It may be added that Trinity College will give a Fel-
lowship for Natural Science once, at least, in three
years ; and that most of the Colleges are understood
to be willing to award Fellowships for merit in
Natural Science equivalent to that for which they
are in the habit of giving them for Classics and
Mathematics.
The following lectures in Natural Sciences will be
delivered at Trinity, St. John's, and Sidney Sussex
Colleges during Lent Term, 1873 : —
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NATURE
[Feb. 1, 1^72
On Sound and Light (For the Natural Sciences
Tripos.) By Mr. Trotter, Trinity College, on Mondays,
We^esdays, and Fridays, at 10, commencing Monday,
February 5.
On Electricity and Magnetism. (For the Natural
Sciences Tripos, a short course in continuation of that of
last term.) By Mr. Trotter, Trinity College, on Tuesdays
and Thursdays, at 9, commencing Thursday, February i.
On Electricity and Magnetism, for the special examina-
tion for the ordinary degree. By Mr. Trotter, Trinity
College, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 1 1,
commencing Thursday, February i.
On Chemistry. By Mr. Main, St. John's College, on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 12, in St John's
College laboratory, commencing Wednesday, January 31.
Instruction in Practical Chemistry will also be given.
On Palaeontology. (The Annuloida, &c.) By Mr.
Bonney, St. John's College, on Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays, at 9, commencing Wednesday, January 31.
On Geology. (For the Natural Sciences Tripos. Physical
Geology.) By Mr. Bonney, St. John's College, on Tues-
days and Thtursdays, at 10, commencing Thursday,
February i,
A course on Stratigraphical Geology will be given in
the Easter Term. Papers will be given every Saturday
at II.
Elementary Geology (for the special examination), on
Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 11, commencing Thursday,
February 6.
On Botany. (For the Natural Sciences Tripos.) By Mr.
Hicks, Sidney College, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Saturdays, at 12, beginning on Thursday, February i.
The lectures during this term will be on Structural and
Physiological Botany.
On the Physiology of the Nervous System. By the
Trinity Praelector in Physiology (Dr. M. Foster), at the
New Museums, on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays,
at II, commencing Monday, February 5.
The Physiological Laboratory is also open for practical
instru::tion in Physiology to all those who have gone
through the elementary course.
NATURAL SCIENCE AT OXFORD
THE following regulations have been issued for the
Final Honour Examination in the Natural Science
School ;—
Biology.— I. Candidates who offer themselves in the
Final Honour Examination for examination in Biology
will be expected to show an acquaintance, firstly, with
General and Comparative Anatomy; secondly, with
Human and Comparative Physiology, inclusive of Physio-
logical Chemistry ; and thirdly, with the General Philo-
sophy of the subject
2. In these subjects the candidates will be examined
both by paper work and practically ; and will be required
to give evidence of being competent not merely to verify
and describe specimens already prepared for naked-eye or
microscopic demonstration as the case may be, but also
to prepare such or similar specimens themselves.
3. The following works are provisionally recommended
by the Board of Studies for use in the study of the above-
mentioned Departments of Biology. When the letter F
or G is prefixed to the title of a work, it will be under-
stood to indicate that the work is written in French or
German, and is not as yet translated into English : —
General Anatomy.-^Shajr^y in Quain's Anatomy, ed.
7, 1867 ; The Micrographic Dictionary, by Griffiths and
Henfrey, now in course of re- publication ; The Histo-
logical Catalogue of the College of Surgeons, by Prof.
Quekett; (G) Kolliker's Handbuch der Gewcbe^ehre, ed.
1867 ; atricker's Hmdbook of Human and Comparative
Histology, now in course of translation for the New
Sydenham Society.
Comparative Anatomy. — Huxley's Introduction to the
Classincation of Animals ; HuxleVs Anatomy of Verte-
brated Animals, 1871 ; (F) and (G) Gegenbaur's Grund-
zUge der Vergl. Aiiatomie, 1869; (F) Milne-Edwards,
Lecons sur la Physiologie, 1857-1870 ; The Osteological
ana Physiological Catalogues of the College of Surgeons,
by Prof. Owen ; The Anatomical and Physiological Cata-
logues of the Oxford Museum ; Flower's Osteology of
Mammalia, 1871 ; (F) Cuvier's Ossemens Fossiles, ed. 2,
1 82 1- 1 824; Rolleston's Forms of Animal Life, 1870;
Bronn's Klassen und Ordnungen des Thierreichs, 1860-
1871.
Human Physiology, — Carpenter's Human Physiology,
ed. 7, 1869 ; (G) Eunice's Lehrbuch der Physiologie, now
in course of re-publication ; (G) Hermann's Handbuch
der Biologie, 1870; Dalton's Human Physiology; Draper's
Human Physiology, 2856; (G) Ranke, Grundziige der
Physiologie, 1868; (G) Wundt's Lehrbuch der Physio-
logie, 1865 ; (G) Ludwig's Lehrbuch der Physiologie,
1 85 8- 1 86 1 ; (G) Budge's Lehrbuch der specieUen Physio-
logie des Menschen, 1862.
Comparative Physiology, — Carpenter's Comparative
Phvsiology, 1854 ; Marshall's Outlines of Physiolop^,
1867 ; (F) Milne-Edwards' Lemons sur la Physiol^ie ;
(G) Bergmann and Leuckart, Anatomisch-physiologische
Uebersicht des Thierreichs, 1855.
General Philosophy of Biology, — a, Darwin's Origin of
Species ; Van der lloeven's Philosophia Zoologica, 1864,
Ly ell's Principles of Geology, ed. 1870, chaps, xxxiv—
xxxvii. ; Mivart's Genesis of Species ; Spencer's Principles
of Biology, 1 864- 1 867 ; Principles of Psychology, ed.
1 868- 1 87 1 ; b, Agassiz's Essay on Classification, chap, iii.;
Whewell's History of the Inductive Sciences (For a
Historical Survey of the Progress of Biology) ; c. Van
der Hoeven's Handbook of Zoology, 1857 ; Nicholson's
Manual of Zoology, ed. 2, 1871 (For Zoology) ; Van der
Hoeven's Philosophia Zoiologica, lib. iv. ; LyeU's Prin-
ciples of Geology, chap. xxxviii^xlL (For Geographical
Distribution).
Ethnology and Anthropology, ^-^2i\:£s Anthropology ;
Brace's Races of the Old World, ed. 2, 1870.
4. Candidates may, in addition to the amount of work in-
dicated in the preceding paragraphs, bring up any of the
''Special Subjects" contained in the list appended below.
A candidate who offers himself for examinauon in a special
subject will be expected to show, firstly, a detailed prac-
tical acquaintance with specimens illustrating that subject,
for which purpose the catalogues in the University
Museum can be made available; and, secondly, exact
knowledge of some one or more monogp^phs treating of
it Excellence, however, in a special subject will not
compensate for failure in any essential part of the general
examination. Every candidate must state, at the time of
entering his name for examination, what special subject, if
any, he takes in. List of special subjects and of books
recommended in connection with them : —
Comparative Osteology, — Cuvier's Ossemens Fossiles,
any one of the five volumes ; Flower's Osteology of Mam-
malia ; Prof. Huxley's Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals.
The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the
Organs of Digestion, — The Physiological Catalogue of
the Royal College of Surgeons, voL i. ; (F) Milne-
Edwards's Legons, voL vL ; Articles " Stomach and In-
testine" and "Pancreas" in Todd's "Cyclopaedia of
Anatomy and Physiology ;" (F)| SchifT, Leqons sur la
PhysiolM[ie de la Digestion, 1868.
The Comparative Anatomy and Physioloey oj the
Organs of Circulation and Respiration.--^) Milne-
EdWards's Lemons sur la Physiologie, voL iil ; (F) Marey's
Physiologie M^dicale de la Circulation du Sang, 1863;
(F) Bert, Lemons sur la Physiologie Compar^e de la Re*
spiration, 18701
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NATURE
271
The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the
Nervous System, — (F) Leuret's and Gratiolet's Anatomie
Compart du Syst^me Nerveux, Tom. ii., par M. Pierre
Gratiolet, 1857 ; (F) Vulpian's Legons sur le Syst^me
Nerveux; Brown- S^quard's Lectures, 1865.
The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Re-
productive Systems, — Physiological Catalogue of the
Royal College of Surgeons^ vols. iv. and v. ; (G) Kdlliker's
Entwickelungsgeschichte, 1861 ; (F) Milne-Edwards
Lemons, vol. ix.
Ethnology. — Brace's Races of the Old World, ed, 2,
1870.
5. Candidates who offer themselves for examination
in Geology, Zoology, or Botany will be required to ex-
hibit practical acquaintance with those subjects to at least
the same extent as candidates who offer themselves for
examination in any one of the special subjects above
mentioned are required to do with reference to those sub-
jects. But they will not be required to go through the
same amount of practical work in the departments of
Biology not specially connected with Geology, Zoology,
or Botany as candidates who do not bring up any one of
these three subjects.
NOTES
The Seuior Wrangler for the present year is Mr. Robert
Rumsey Webb, son of the late Mr. Thomas Webb, of Mon-
mouth. He was educated under the Rev. C. M. Roberts, M. A.
(St John's College, Cambridge), at the Monmouth Grammar
School, and entered at St John's College in October 1868,
having previously obtained a Somerset Exhibition by open com-
petition. Mr. Webb's college tutor was Mr. J. E Sandys ; his
private tutor Mr. Routh, of St Peter's. Mr. Horace Lamb, the
Second Wrangler, was bom at Scockport, in November 1849,
was educated at the Stockport Grammar School, and for a short
time studied at Owens College, Manchester. In the year 1868
he gained a minor scholarship at Trinity College, and in 1870
was elected to a Foundation Scholarship. He was placed in the
first class in the First B.A. Mathematical Honour Examination
in the University of London in 1870 ; and in the succeeding year
gained the Sheepshanks Astronomical Exhibition at Trinity
College. His college tutor was Mr. Prior ; private tutor, Mr.
Routh, of St Peter's. Mr. John Bascombe Lock, the Third
Wrangler, son of Mr. Joseph Lock, of Dorchester, was educated
at the Bristol Grammar School. In the Easter Term of 1868 he
obtained an open Mathematical Scholarship at Caius College,
where he obtained a Foundation Scholar^p in May. Mr.
Routh was his private tutor, and Mr. N. M. Ferrers his college
tutor.
The following are the lectucs on Science at the University of
Oxford this term : — ^The Rev. Bartholomew Price, the Sedleian
Professor of Natural Philosophy, on Light ; theSavilian Professor
of Astronomy, Rev. C. Pritchard, on Newton's "Principia" and
the Lunar Theory ; Prof. Clifton, Professor of Experimental
Philosophy, on Experimental Optics ; Prof. Westwood, Professor
of Zoology, on the Classes and Orders of Articulated Animal^ ;
Prof. Phillips, Professor of Geology, on the Geology of the
country round Oxford ; Prof. Rolleston, Professor of Anatomy,
on Digestion. In addition to these lectures Prof. Clifton an-
nounces that the physical laboratory of the University will be
open daily for instruction in Practical Physics from 10 to 4
o'clock each day. Prof. Rolleston proposes to form classes for
practical instruction as in former Terms. The Chemical
Laboratory is open as usual for Quantitative and Qoalitative
analysis. T>r, Ad^nd, the Regius Professor of Medicine, also
announces thati in addition to his course of clinical instruction at
the Infirmary, he **wiU also on days and places to be hereafter
mentioned demonstrate on the spot sanitary defects in a town and
in a village, illustrating thereon principles of general and special
sanitary administration." In the Laboratory of the Medical
Department at the University Museum various methods of exa-
mining water and other subjects connected with sanitary science
will be taught, commencing on February i, by Mr. C. C. Pode,
M.B., Exeter College, with the assistance of Mr. S. J. Sharkey,
B.A., of Jesus College. Those lectures and demonstrations on
sanitary matters are a novel and pscuUarly-interesting feature in-
troduced this Term for the first time.
Dr. Paget has been appointed Regius Professor of Medicine
at the Universuy of Cambridge.
The Professorship of Botany in the Royal College of Science
for Ireland is vacant by the resignation of Prof. W. T. Thiselton-
Dycr.
The King of Italy has conferred upon Mr. Edward Whym-
per, Vice-President of the Alpine Club, the decoration of
Chevalier of the Order of St Maurice et Lazare, '< in recognition
of the value of his recently published magnificent work upon the
Alps."
We have to record the death, on Saturday last, of Dr. W.
Baird, F.R.S., of the Zoological Department of the British
Museum, at the age of 69.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences on the 9th of
January presented the American Rumford Medals to Mr. J.
Harrison, jun., of Philadelphia, for his invention of safety
boilers. The medals are provided for by an endowment fund or
gift of 5,000 doU. in the United States Funds, to the Academy,
made by Count Rumford in 1796. By the conditions of this
endowment the interest of the fund is to be applied " every
second year " to the procuring of two medals, one of gold and
one of silver, in value equal to the amount of two years' interest
of the fund (600 dols.), and these medals (or their equivalent in
money) are to be awarded to the author of the most impor-
tant discovery or useful improvement in the application of
heat or light, which shall, in the opinion of the Academy,
*'tend most to promote the good of mankind." Although
the fund was provided at that early day no discovery or im-
provement of sufficient importance, in the opinion of the
Academy, appeared until 1859, when the first award was
made to Dr. Robert Hare, of Philadelphia, for his compound
oxy-hydrogen blowpipe and improvements in galvanic apparatus.
Since then the awards of the medal have been as follows :— 1863,
John B. Ericsson, for his caloric engine ; 1865, Prof. Daniel Tread-
well (Harvard College), for improvements in the management of
heat ; 1867, Alvan Clark, for improvement in lens of refracting
telescope ; 1870, George H. Corliss, Providence, for improvements
in the steam-engine ; 1871, Joseph Harrison, jun., Philadelphia,
for "the mode of constructing steam boilers invented and perfected
by him," which " secures great safety in the use of high-pressure
steam, and is, therefore an important improvement in the appli-
cation of heat"
A meeting in aid of the Livingstone Exploration Fund was
held in the City of London on Tuesday last, the Lord Mayor in
the chair ; the subscriptions received in the room amounting to
over 250/. Sir H. RawHnson announced at the meeting that he
had that day received from the Foreign Office a despatch which
was to be presented by Lieutenant Llewellyn Dawson to the
Government agent at Zanzibar, in which Dr. Kirk was in-
structed to give to Lieutenant Dawson all the advice and assistance
in his power, and was authorised to advance any sum which
might be required for the purposes of the expedition within the
limit of the balance of the Government grant of 1,000/., which
remained in his hands, and which, according to the last account,
amounted to 650/. He also stated that the subtcriptiont already
received reached SyTooA or SySooA ^ j
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[Fed. I, 1S72
Th« Second Course of Cantor Lectures for the session will
be delivered by the Rev, Arthur Rig?, M. A., on " Mechanism."
The first lecture will be given on Monday evening, Feb. 5, at
eight o'clock, and the remainder on following Mondays tiU
March 1 1.
The Aih^naum states that Mr. E. J. Reed, C.B., late Chief
Constructor of the Navy, is about to establish a new quarterly
magazine of a scientific character, the first number of which will
appear early in March, to be devoted to the improvement of
nwal architecture, marine engineering, steam navigation, and
seamanship generally. It will be called Najfol Science, and will
be under the joint editorship of the Rev. Dr. Woollcy, Director
of Education to the Admiralty, and Mr. Reed.
The following are ths number of entries for the disses at the
Newcastle College of Physical Science for the pre^ient term : —
Evening classes— chemistry, 36 (including one lady) ; physic^ 4^
(including four ladies) ; geilogv, 19 ; advanced mat htmatics, 15 ;
elementary mathematics, 24 ; political economy, 12 (this class
will not be held). Day classes. New entries at Epiphany term-
chemistry, 8 ; physics, 7 ; mathematics, 8 ; geology, 3.
The following are appointed trustees to the Alder Memorial
Fund, of which we spoke last week :— Sir W. G. Armstrong,
Mr. I. L. Bell, Mr. J. Blacklock, Mr. H. B. Brady, Mr. A.
Hancock, Mr. D. P. M orison, Mr. R. S. Newall, and the Rev.
A. M. Norman ; who have received the following suggestion
from the subscribers : — " That it should be suggested to the
trustees that the establishment of a College of Physical Science
in Newcastle appears to offer opportunities for the employment
of the fund in furtherance of zoological science, more likely to
be generally appreciated as a memorial of our late distinguished
naturalist than the scheme oHginally proposed, and that in the
event of the establishment of a chair of biology in the College,
the application of the interest of the fund might properly take
the form of a scholarship or other reward for proficiency in
zoology, to be associated with Mr. Alder's name."
The Natural Histtiry Society of Newcastle-on-Tyne has re-
ceived a gift of 20/. from the Misses Bewick ; which sum is to
be applied in defraying the cost of new cabinets as they might
be required. The Society has also been presented with a most
valuable collection of fossils from Mr. M. R. Pryor, Fellow of
Trinity College, Cambridge, consisting of about 140 species of
Upper GreeuKand fossils from Cambridgeshire ; 130 species from
the Red Crag ; a fine series from the Lower Greensand Copru-
lite Bed of the Eastern Counties ; a fair representative collection
from the Oxford Clay at St Ives, Huntingdon ; and a number
of Chalk fossils ; all admirably mounted and named.
A RESOLUTION has been presented to the Congress of the
United States providing for the printing of a number of copies
of the report of the investigation by Prof. Hay den upon the
gtolo^ of Nebraska and Wyoming territory.
In a letter from ^Government House, Barbadoes, January
6, 1872, to one of our contributors, the Hon. Rawson Raw-
son writfs : — '* Av:assiz, Count Pourtalei, and a party of savans
have just left this. The Uniied States surveying vessel in
which they go to the Pacific had to put in for some slight
repairs. 1 hey were here for two days and I went on board and
spent one day with them. Agassis pronounced my collec-
tion of shells quite unique in series of specimens, from the
youngest stage to adult. He was in ecstacies with the Noiopus,*
V hich he spent hours in examining, and I bad to let him take it
away to describe it in all detaiL He had seen and studied
D'Orbi^y*:t H, rangii, and thinks mine the same rp^cies,
but that it is of the normal form, while the one D'Orbigny
* Vide Note« on Hotepus. By Dr. J. E. Gray. Aimals and Mag Nat.
Hut, vol. viii., 4ih lerict, p. 394.
described was both incomplete and abnormal I had Dr. Gray's
sketch with me, and certainly the resemblance to it was very
great. I think I may fairly regard it as the gem of my oollec*
tion ; but in writing of it I must not forget to tell you of our
day*s dredging. It was successful beyond our expectations — four
live specimens of a fine new crinoid, like Afnocrinus, which
Agassiz was able to watch alive for hours; a HeuroiomaHa
Qttomna, of which the artist was able to draw the animal ; a
new an-^ wonrler'ully beautiful species of Latiaxis, Brachiopods
in aay number, vitreous sponges in m^ss, some new Echini You
can fancy the state Agassiz was in. and time would quite fail me
to tell you of all the interesting things he said about the various
forms as he recognised them. Need I say that all this has
determined me to make an effort to get our shores dredged,
beginning in shallow and going out to the depth they dredged at,
i.e , about forty or fifty fathoms. We shall, doubtless, get lots of
treasures, upon the duplicates of which you shall have first
claim."
Prop. B. A. Gould writes from the Argentine National
Observatory at C«»rdoba, under date December 8, 1 871, that the
new observatory had then been formally inaugurated about six
weeks, afier a series of most unexpeced and vexatious oSstacles
and delays. The climate had, however, proved far less propitious
than had been expected , the cloudy nights being neatly as
numerous as the clear ones, although no rain falls durmg one
half the year. When, however, t^'e sky is clear, it is of a won-
drous transparency, stars of the seventh ma^itude being distinctly
visible on favourable nights to the naked eye, and the planets
magnificent in their brilliancy. The large equatorial was already
in adjustment, and Prof. Gould had had some beautiful views of
Saturn. Owing to 1 he breaking out of the epidemic in Buenos
Aires at the beginning of 187 1, all communication with Europe,
by post or otherwise, had been almost entirely suspended during
the year ; faint rumours of the success of the eclipse observations
in Spain in December 1870 had but just reached Cordoba.
A BLACK marble slab, bearing the following inscription in
brass characters, has just been placed over the grave of the late
Sir Jc»hn Herschel, in the north aisle of the nave of Westminster
Abbey :—
JOHANNES HKRSCHBL
GULIKLMI HBRSCHEL
NATU OPERE FaMA
FILIUS UNfCUS
"CCELIS tXPLORATIS"
HIC PROPS NHWTONUM
RRQUIESCIT
GENERATIO ET GENERATIO
MIRACILIA DEI NARRABUNT
PSALM. CXLV. 4, 5.
VIXIT LXXIX. ANNUS
OBIIT UNDECIMO DtK MAII
AD. MDCCCLXXI.
The following account of the fall of a meteorite is taken from
Gruiethuifen's " Naturgeschichte des Gestimten Himmels : *' — On
July 24, 1790, at 1030 P.M. a fiery globe larger and brighter
than the full moon, as ^een from Morme-s passtd from S. to N.
in 2s., and burst leaving a white cloud. 3 m. after explosion
the two observers heard a heavy thunder-clap that shook the
windows and opened some of them. The 15 leagues distant
chain of the Pyrenees give a continuous echo lasting 4s.
The fragments fell in extraordinary quantity between Juliac and
Barbo^an, 4 hours N. and 5 hours NE. from Mormes ; they fell
fused so as to bake the impression of straw, and make no sound
on the ro.»f of houses, weigh ng 4 "loth" to 20 "pfund."
The bill of fire was seen from Bayonne, Auch. Pau, Tanbes,
Borde 'ux, and Toilouse, from the latter place only as something
larger than a fixed s^ar.
We give a fuller account of the volcaniQ^ eruption at Temate
Digitized by VjOOQIC
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NATURE
273
alluded to by our correspondent Mr. A. B. Meyer in Nature
for January 18. The Batavia Handdshlad of Sept 25 states
that on the afternoon of Aug. 7 a violent earthquake was
felt, of which the exact direction was unknown. The Temate
mountain had from 9 A.M. caused a dull, rumbling sound to be
heard, varied at intervals by loud reports, and began in the course
of the day to cast out streams of lava. The sky looked dark,
and the whole country round about was darkened by the down-
coming clouds of smoke. Luckily a southerly wind sprung up,
which gave another direction to the glowing lava-streams flowing
landwards, and led the Are in seven currents to the ravines. This
frighiful natural phenomenon held on during the night between
the 7th and the Sdi. The inhabitants, thinking their island to
be doomed, could not sleep, and passed the night outside their
houses looking up anxiously at the furious volnmo which seemed
to threaten them all with certain destruction. At day-break the
outburst became still worse, and the population began to fly to
the islands of Tidore and Halmaheira. Tfce eruption of fire
and stones held on for about twelve daj^i after which it became
less. The damage done to houses and plantations is enormous,
but has not as yet been accurately ascertained. This outburst
was the most violent known at Temate within the memory of
man. The whole bland shook from the underground motion.
A moment of rest was followed by another explosion, which
shook the houses to their foundations. There were, luckily, only
some slight earthquake-shocks felt. On Aug. 28 the volcano
was again at rest, at least, only a small cloud was seen coming
out of the crater.
Wb take the following from the Times of India :—" The
Western Star, which is par excellence^ the journal for marvels,
tells the following story of a murder : — The manner in which the
murderers were detected would, our contemporary adds, if true,
go far to prove the Darwinian theory. The story briefly told is
this : A Madrassee had a monkey which he was very fond of.
The man had occasion to go on a journey, and took with him
money and jewels, and his chum the monkey. Some rogues
determined to rob him of everything he had ; accordingly they
lay in wait for. him and murdered him. Having secured the
money and jeweb they threw the murdered roan into a dry well,
and having covered it up with twigs and dry leaves, they went
home. The monkey, who was on the top of a tree, saw the
whole of the proceedings, and when the murderers departed he
came down and made tracks for the Tahsildar's house, and by
hb cries and moans attracted the attention of that functionary.
Inviting the Tahsildar by dumb signs to follow him, the monkey
went to the well and pointed downwards. The Tahsildar there-
upon got men to go down, and of course the body was dis-
covered. The monkey then led the men to the place where the
jewels and money were buried. He then took them to the
bazaars, and as soon as he catight sight of one of the murderers
he ran after him, bit him in the leg, and would nut let him go
till he was secured. In this way all the murderers were caught
The men, it b said, have confessed their crime, and they now
stand committed for trial before the TelUcherry Court at the en-
suing session. That monkey, we think, ought to be made an
inspector of the police."
The Panama papers report an increasing demand for the
Colombbn gaucho, and urge the Government to the enactment
of regulations to prevent the entire destruction of the forests of
these trees in Darien, where they are most abundant Instead
of simply treating the trees for the juice, as the maples are managed
in the United States, the tree is cut down, and, of course, no
further benefit can be derived from it. In illustration of the ex-
tent to which thb vegetable product b now being collected, the
Pattama Star and HercUd informs us that 160 tons had just been
brought to that city as the cugo of a single vessel, mostly from
the vicinity of GuayaquiL
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
The Scottish Naturalist for January. — This number b mainly
occupied by a number of short papers illustrative of various
subjects of interest or novelty in the natural hbtory of Scotland,
among which we may notice especially the Britbh species of
Crambus^ a genus of moths, by the Editor ; on the Cachalot or
Sperm-whale {Physeter tnacrocephalus) of the north-east of Scot-
land, b^ Robt Walker, with plate ; and the commencement of
the Editor's " Insecta Scotica," an essay to catalogue the insects
inhabiting Scotland, with a map to show the natural divisions of
the country into the 12 districts adopted in the list The intro-
ductory remarks to the Editor's catalogue of Lepidoptera are
valuable, and the article, when completed, promises to be an
important contribution to British zoological literature.
The American youmal 0/ Science and Art for November
1 871 opens wuh a continuation of Prof. Le Conte's elaborate
paper on ' ' Some Phenomena of Binocular Vision. " Prof. Dana,
in an article on the position and height of the elevated plateau
in which the glacier of New England in the glacial era, had its
origin, considers that the idea of one central glacier source for
the whole continent b without foundation. The icy plateau he
locates at the watershed between the St. LawrcAoe valley and
Hudson's Bay at an altitude at least 4,500 feet above the present
level. With the exception of a preliminary catalogue of the
bright lines in the spectrum of the chromosph<rre, by Prof. C.
A. Young, which we propose to reprint, the remaining papers in
thb number are chiefly chemical, and of varied interes-, but of
which it would be impossible to give the substance in the form
of a brief abstract
The first article in the December number treats of the geological
hbtory of the Gulf of Mexico, and b accompanied by a map, which
is, unfortunately, not coloured, and is hence somewhat obscure.
The article b divided into three portions, treatmg respectively of the
cretaceous period, the tertiary period, and the quaternary beds.
This b followed by an article by Asaph Hall, on the Astronomi-
cal Proof of a Resisting Medium in Space. It will be remembered
that one of the main pruofs of the exbtence of the interatellar
aether b the retardation of Encke's Comet So long ago as the
year 18x9 Encke calculated that the periodic times of the comet
had dmiinished to the extent of more than half a day during
thirty- three years. Thus the periodic time between 1786 and
1795 was 1,208' 1 12 days, while between 1805 and 1819 it was
1,207*424 ; and in order to account for the diminution, Encke
adopted the hypothesis of a resbtiog medium in space. From
latcK observations of thb and other comets, Mr. Hall b led to
the conclusion that comets fumbh no proof of the existence of
the aether, and that the retardation of Encke's comet is due to
some unknown cause, possibly to the fact of its passing through
streams of meteoric matter, which may influence its motion.
— Mr. Southworth gives an account of a new Micrometric Goni-
ometer eye-piece^ formed b^ means of a micrometer capable of
measuring to the -rrinr of an inch. — Dr. Dawson contributes
an article on the bearing of Devonian Botany on questions
as to the Origin and Extinction of Specie;}, in whtch he
expresses a hope that the fbrther study of fossil plants may
enable us thus to approach to a comprehension of the laws
of the creation, as distingubhed from those of the contmiial
exbtence of spedet. The other articles relate to the American
Spongilla, a Craspelote, Flagellate Infusorian, by Professor
H. James Clark ; description of a Printing Chronograph, by the
use of which it has been proved that " for three observers, twice
as many observations can t>e reduced in the same time as when a
recording chronograph is employed." The next paper was read
before the American Association at ludianopolis, and discusses
the longitude determination across the Continent Thb emb> dies
results obtained by the Coast Survey, in their endeavours to de-
termine the longitude of San Francisco and various intermediate
points by telegraphic exchange of clock signals with the Harvard
Ot>servatory. — The remaining papers treat of the Invertebrata
dredged in Lake Superior in 187 1 ; and of Kilauea and Mauna
In the number for January 1872, the commencement of Vol iii.
of the new series, we find a valuable article on Alpine geology by
Prof. S terry Hunt, in the form of a review of Favre's Reckerches
GMogiques. Mr. John De Laski notices the evidence of glacial
action on Mount Katabdin, the highest land in Maine, and
of the Devonian formation, now 5,000 feet alx>ve the sea,
the top of which^ he believes to bave^been ovemdden
L^iyiLi^cju kjy
.oog..
274
NATURE
[Feb. I, 1872
by the glacier. The total thidmess of the glacier he
estimates at not less than 8,000 feet, and believes that by the
slow grinding motion of this ice-sheet all the surface of New
England became broken up to great depths. We have again a
number of chemical articles, and an interesting contribution to
geology by Mr. C. H. Hitclicock, on the Norian or Upper
Lanrentian Group of New Hampshire. In this number there is
also, as usual, a variety of miscellaneous information on the
various branches of physical and natural science.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, January 25 — ** On the Action of Low Tem-
peratures on Supersaturated Solutions of Glauber's Salt" By
Charles Tomlinson, F. R. S.
" On the Elimination of Alcohol" By A. Dupr^, Lecturer on
Chembtry at Westminster Hospital Communicated by W.
Odlmg, F.R.S. — Obviously three results may follow the inges-
tion of alcohol. All the alcohol may be oxidised and none be
eliminated, or a portion only may be oxidised and the rest be
eliminated imaltered ; or, lastly, all may t>e eliminated again un-
altered. Assuming the last to be the case, it would follow that,
if a certain quantity of alcohol be taken daily, the amount
eliminated would increase from day to day undl, at last, the
amoimt eliminated daily would equid the daily consumption, be
this time five, ten, or more days. If, on the other nand, all
the alcohol consumed is either oxidised or eliminated within
twenty-four hours, no increase in the daily elimination will take
place in consequence of the continuance of the alcohol diet.
Guided by these considerations the author tmdertook two series
of experiments, in which the amount of alcohol eliminated by
both kidneys and lungs was carefully estimated. The analytical
processes employed are described in detail. First series: —
After a total abstinence from alcohol for eleven days, the urine
and brrath were examined, after which, from the 12th to the
24th day, both inclusive, the author took 112 cub. centims. of
brandy daily (equal to 48*68 grms. absolute alcohol). The urine
and breath were examined on the 12th, the i8tb, and the 24th
day. The urine was also examined during the five dajrs follow-
ing the cessation of the alcohol diet. The analytiad results
obtained are given in a table. Second series : — After having
again abstained from the use of alcohol in any shape during ten
days, the author took 56 cub. centims. of brandy (same as above)
at 10 A. M. on March the 29th. The urine was collected from
three to three hours up to the 12th, from the 12th to the 24th,
and during the next succeeding two days. The alcohol eliminated
in the breath was also estimated during the same intervals.
The analytical results are also arrang^ in a tabular form.
The results of both series may be summed up as follows: —
The amount of alcohol eliminated per day does not increase
with the continuance of the alcohol diet; therefore all the
alcohol consumed daily must, of necessity, be disposed of daily ;
and as it certainly is not eliminated within that time, it mtist be
destroyed in the Sjrstem. The elimination of alcohol following
the ingestion of a dose or doses of alcohol ceases in from nine
to twenty-four hours after the last dose has been taken. The
amount of alcohol eliminated, in both breath and urine, is a
minute fraction only of the amount of alcohol taken. In the
course of these experiments, the author fotmd that, after six
weeks of total abstinence, and even in the case of a teetotaller,
a substance is eliminated in the urine, and perhaps also in the
breath, which, though apparently not alcohol, gives all the reac-
tions ordinarily used for the detection of traces of alcohol, viz.,
it passes over with the first portions of the distillate, it yields
acetic ackl on oxidation, gives the emerald-^reen reaction with
bichromate of potassium and strong sulphuric acid, yields iodo-
form, and its aqueous solution has a lower specific gravity and a
higher vapour ten&ion than pore water. The presence of a sub-
ttance in human mine and the urine of various animals, which
vidds iodoform, but is not alcohol, had already been discovered
by M. Lieben. The quantity present in urine is, however, so
small that the precise nature of this substance has not as yet been
determined. Finally, the author points out an apparent connec-
tion beiween this substance and alcohol. It was found that,
after the elimination due to the ingestion of alcohol had ceased,
the amount of this substance eliminated in a given time at first
jremained below the quantity normally excreted, and only
gradually rose again to the normal standard. A caiefnl study of
this connection may perhaps serve to throw some light upon the
physiological action of alcohol
** The Absolute Direction and Intensity of the Earth's Mag-
netic Force at Bombay, and its Secular and Annual Variations."
By Mr. Charles Chambers, F.R.S., Superintendent of th<
Colaba Observatory.— The observations discussed in this paper
were taken at the Colaba Observatory during the years 1867 to
1870, and consist of observations of Dip, Declination, and Hori-
zontal Intensity. The principal results deduced by the author
from these observations are shown in the following statement : —
"2 Ji *• SK-i ^
•^^
■ft ■«
&i "III
+ +
l''
P4
*^
^
^ ^
'■^
•%
^
•«
. c^
0
00
• 0
M
M
^
»= !?
"^
?
\
^ -%
V
00
00
1
•a
I
In column 2 is entered the mean epoch to which the mean
value of each element, entered in column 3, corresponds.
The absolute observations were taken at a height of 38 feet
above the nound, and by comparing them with observations
taken with differential instruments at a height of 6 feet above the
ground, they are shown to indicate distinctly a diminution of
terrestrial magnetic action with increase of height, with respect
both to secular variation of Declination and Horizontal Force,
and to diurnal inequality of Horizontal Force.
Royal Geographical Society, January 22.— Sir H. C.
Rawlinson, president, in the chair. — Mr. C. R. Markhara, secre-
tary, read, at the request of the president, the foUo^ingsUtc-
roent regarding the proposed Exhibition for the Search and
Relief of Dr. Livingstone :—" Letters were received fipom
Livingstone, dated at Lake Bangweolo, on July 8, 1868, and the
last that have come to hand were dated Ujiji, May 30^ 1869.
He announced that the work still before him was to connect the
lakes he had discovered ; and he intended to explore a lake to
the westward of Tanganyika, in the Manyema country, and
thence to complete his uibours, but he was sorely in need of men
and supplies. The Arab tradera interested in the slave-trade
were anxious to thwart him, and no one would take charge of
his letters. He mentioned having written thirty-four letters
which had been lost This is the hist positive news from Dr.
Livingstone. There was one Arab report in November 1870^
that he was at the town of Manakoso, with few followers, waiting
• In £nglish units,
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NATUkB
275
i"
for supplies, and unable to move ; but the last ceitain intelligence
will b« three years old on the 30th of next May. The question
now is, shall this great and noble>hearted man be left to hts fate?
In January 1870 the Treasury sanctioned a grant of i»ooo/. to
send stores by natives from Zanzibar through the political agent ;
but this method of affording relief failed, and neither letters from
Livingstone nor proof that he ever received the stores have
reached the coast Mr. Stanley, an American traveller, has
also attempted to penetrate into the interior, but he was stopped
by disturbances at Unyanyembe. It has thus become clear that,
if Livingstone is to be relieved, a properly equipped expedition,
ably commanded, must be despatched from this country to do
the work. The Lords of the Treasary have declined to grant
any pecuniary aid to the expedition which is destined to bring
succour to Dr. Livingstone, who, it must always be remembered,
is Her Majesty's Consul for the interior of Africa. No adverse
decision from the Treasury will, however, be allowed to check
the necessary preparations, nor to retard them for a single day.
The known facts upon which the Council of the Society &ve had
to base their decision are few, but they all pointed to one obvious
course. According to the latest rumours, which were to some
extent corroborated by the great traveller's expressed intention.
Dr. Livingstone is in the Manyema country, to the westward of
Lake Tanganyika, where he may be prostrated bv sickness, and
where, at all events, according to his last letters, he was urgently
in want of supplies. As experience has proved that it would
not be safe to entrust the chaise of supplies to the Arab traders,
the only alternative is to despatch a relief expedition led by
Europeans, and the Council of the Society had determined on
that course. The fortunate accident that an excellent oppor-
tunity offered itself of reaching 2^zibar in the first steamer that
has ever made the direct voyage by the Suez Canal was a
sufficient reason for the rapidity with which it was necessary to
prepare and despatch the expedition. Nearly 200 persons had
volunteered to take part in the expedition, and the choice of a
leader had fallen upon Lieut. Llewellyn Dawson, R.N., a scien-
tific seaman, who possessed most of the qualifications which were
needed to fill so difficult and trying a post, and in whose ability and
' udgment the Council had perfect confidence. It was intended that
le should be accompanied by a second in command, and the Foreign
Office had applied to the Admiralty that any naval officer who
served on this expedition should be rated on one of Her Majest/s
ships, so as to be allowed time and full pay. Mr. W. Oswell
Livingstone, Livingstone's son, who was lK>m twenty years ago
in the neighbourhood of Lake N'gami, would also accompany
the expeditiort It was hoped that Mr. New, a gentleman con-
nected with the Mombas Mission, would act as interpreter, and
the party would in all consist of an escort of about fifty picked
men, besides porters. It would leave England early in February
in the AbydosfXxzxoKt^ chartered by Messrs. J. Wiseman and Ca,
who had generously undertaken to convey all stores free of charge,
and, if possible, to secure reduced diarpes for passages for the
members of the expedition." A discussion ensued on the read-
ing of this statement, in which Mr. T. R. Andrews, Dr. PurceU,
Mr. Lee, Mr. J. Ball, Admiral Collmsou, Mr. Thorpe, the Rev.
Horace Waller, and others joined. The letter from the Treasury
decl'ming to aid was called for and read, and comments made on
the possible meaning of the chief sentence in the letter — " A
new expedition is not the only means left through which Dr.
Livingstone's safety may with reason be hoped for." The
following communications were read : — I. "Letter to Dr. Kirk
on an Ascent of KUimanjara" By the Rev. Charles New, of
Mombasa. This letter describes the recent visit of the author to
Chagga and his ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro to the snow-line.
Mr. New had made a collection of plants growing in the upper
zones of vegetation on the momitain which ne had forwarded to
Dr. Hooker at Kew. He described the varied zones, from the
tropical country at the base of the mountain up to the mag-
nificent snow-coloured dome which forms the sununit The
lower slopes were covered with dense forests of gigantic trees
clothed with mosses, the upper of heaths and green pastures.
2. "Ascent of the Padass River and Visit to the MuruU
Coimtry in Northern Borneo." By Lieut C« de Crespigny, R.N.
This journey was undertakeni in the search of ourang-otangs or
Mias^ which abound in that part of Borneo. The Padass rises
on the i-lopes of the lofty mountain Kini-balu, and flows through
a plain furrowed by the courses of manv other rivers. Much
information was given concerning the Paluan^ and Muruts^ and
other little-known tribes, and cases of the employment of ourang-
otangs as domestic servants, employed to ooUect fire- wood, &c,
were given. ^
Entomological Society, January 22. — Mr. A. R. Wal-
lace, presidrnt, in the chair. — The Rev. T. A. Marshall, and
Messrs. H. W. Bates, A. Miiller, and F. Smith, were elected
into the council, to replace members retiring therefrom. Prof.
Westwood was elected president ; Mr. S. Stevens treasurer ;
Messrs. McLachlan and Grut, secretaries ; and Mr. Janson,
librarian. The retiring president read an address, and the meet-
ing ended with the uswil votes of thanks to the officers.
Victoria Institute, January 22. — Mr. Charles Brooke,
F.R.S., in the chair.— Dr. W. M, Orti, "On the influence of
colloid matters upon crystalline forms," illustrated by numerous
diagrams and specimens. Having briefly defined the use of the
terms, he proceeded to show that when crystalline substance was
deposited in a colloid, such as gum or albumen, it assumed not a
crystalline, but a globular form. Diagrams showing the various
changes that took place illustrated this part of the lecture. The
action of salt water on the carbonate of soda in the case of the
shell of the lobster, and the changes in the organisms were ex-
plained ; the formation of bone in hawk-man tortoise and the
codfish were alluded to, and Dr. Ord concluded by drawing
attention to the importance of the investigation of the chemistry
of colloids.
Glasgow
Geological Society, January 11. — Mr. John Young, vice-
president, in the chair. Mr. James Thomson, F.G.S., read
a paper on Palaocoryne scoticum and P, radiatum from the
carboniferous shales of the West of Scotland. He stated that
at the first excursion of the society to Corriebum, in 1858, he
had observed in some portions of shale a small, delicate, stellate
body which he could not refer to any genus or species he had
seen described. Since then, at various Saturday aftertnoon ex-
cursions of the society, he had discovered other forms of a
similar kind. He had consulted the collections of the Geologi-
cal Society, the Government Museum of Practical Geology, and
the Britiiii Museum in London, without finding any similar
organisms ; and lacking the necessary facilities for prosecuting
the work himself, he had at length placed them in the hands of
Prof. Duncan, in order that they might be identified and named.
On investigation Prof. Duncan found them to be new and un-
described forms which could only be referred to the Hydrozoa,
The calcareous investments of these Palaocorynida made their
recognition as true Hydrozoa a matter of some difficulty ; but this
had been overcome by the examination of the anomalous genus
Bimeria (Wright), which, as pointed out by Prof. Duncan,
shows a very decided resemblance to the fossil under considera-
tion, the semi-solid investment being continued over the greater
part of the tentacles and upper part of the body. These minute
but interesting forms are found both in our highest and lowest
beds of limestone — at Roughwood, Broadstone, Auchinskeigh,
and Gare — and their discovery may be said to add another link
to the chain that unites the present with the remote past. — Mr.
Thomson also gave notes on a new species oiPalachinus^ from the
limestone shale of Auchinskeigh. It was most nearly allied to
Dr. Scoular*s species spharictis, but differed in the form and
ornamentation of both the ambulacral and interambulacral plates.
He proposed to name it provisionally Palachinus scoticus, Mr.
Thomson exhibited the fossils and some beautiful microscopic
sections in illustration of his paper.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, January 22. — A paper by M. J.
Boussinesq on the geometrical laws of the distribution of pres-
sures in a homogenuous and ductile solid, subjected to plane
deformations, was communicated by M. de Saint- Venant. — M.
Faye read a note on Encke's comet and the phenomena which it
presented at its last appearance.— A sixth letter from Father
Secchi on the solar protuberances was read, containing a tabulated
summary, with explanations of all the observations made upon
the protuberances during the year 1871. — M. Tremaux forwarded
a note on phenomena indicating the condition of the sidereal
medium. — M. Delaunay conmiunicated a note by MM. Prosper
and Paul Henry, on the construction of very detailed celestial
maps, and exhibited a map prepared by them on the principle
indicated. — A note on the Meteorological Annual of the Paris
Observatory for 1872, by M. £. Renon, was read ; the author
criticises some of the numerical results given in that volume. —
M. "E, Dubois presented a note on a marine gyroscope.— M. H.
de Jacobi communicated his researches on the induction currents
produced in the coils of an electro-magnet between the poles
of whidi a metallic disc is set in motion ; this paper contains
L/iyiii/Lcv-i uy
e>^'
276
NATURE
[Fed. I, i87ii
results of great Talue. — A note by M. E. Liais on the spectrum
analysis of the zodiacal light and on the corona of eclipses
was read. The author states that he has found that the spec-
trum of the zodiacal light is continuous, and calls attention to his
previous observations on the solar corona, the nature of which he
claims to have established in 1858. — MM. Becquerel presented a
note on Uie temperature of soil observed at the Jardin aes Plantes,
at the Observatory, and atMontsouris during December 1 871 at 10
centimetres below the surface. — M. I. Pierre read a note on the
simultaneous distillation of water and iodide of butyle, in which
he stated that iodide of butyle boils under water at 204*8'* F.,
rising through the water in drops with a bubble of vapour
attadied to each, and that during this ebullition the two liquids
pass over in the proportion of 21 water to 79 iodide. Iodide of
ethyle behaves similarly. — M. H. Sainte-Cbare Deville presented
a report on a memoir by M. Griiner on the action of oxide of
carbon upon iron and its oxides. — A note by M. A. Rosenstichl,
on a method of separating the two isomeric tolnidines, was read.
— M. P. Thenard presented a note by M. A. Houzeau on the
preparation of ozone in a concentrated state. — The discussion on
the subject of heterogenesis, commenced at the last meeting,
was continued in two notes by MM. Balard and Fremy, and in
a paper by M. Pasteur on the nature and origin of ferments. —
M. J. de Seynes also presented a note in reply to a passage in
M. Tr^cul's memoir. — M. Monnier read a paper on the functions
of the respiratory organs in aquatic larvae. — M. C. Bernard pre-
sented a memoir by MM. A. Estor and C^ Saint-Pierre on the
analysis of the gases of the blood ; and M. Brongniart commu-
nicated a note by M. de Saporta on the fossil plants of the
Jurassic epoch.
VlINNA
I. R. Geological Institution, January 16. — M. von Hauer
presented the third number of the " Memoirs of the Geolc^cal
Institution," containing a monograph of the Echinoderms of the
more recent tertiary deposits ot tne Austro* Hungarian empire,
by Dr. G. Laube. — M. G. Tscbermak explained the contents of
a memoir sent by Dr. C. W. C. Fuchs, from Heidelbeig, for the
" Mineralogische Mittheiluneen." The author details the chemi-
cal processes which take puce in lavas at the moment of the
eruption, and by the observation of broken crystals in the lava,
concludes that the melted masses, some time before the eruption,
must have had a hieher temperature than in the moment of erup-
tion.— M. Th. Fuchs demonstrated some detailed sections of the
upper tertiary strata in the neighbourhood of Vienna. They
seem to prove that the marine sands appear in some localities
below, in others above, the Leitba limestone. — M. Ch. Paul, on
the upper tertiary strata of Sclavonia. They are divided into
three different members, corresponding to the three great divisions
of the strata of the Vienna basin. The lowest division, the
marine beds, consists chiefly of calcareous strata, the Leithakalk.
The middle division, the sarmatic beds, is formed of a large
mass of sandstones which are overlain by white sands of fr^
water origin. The congerian beds, finally, are separated into two
members — the lower containing large layers of lignite, and cha-
racterised by C/nw maximust Palumna Sadteri^ ai^ other species
of this genus with smooth shells ; and the upper, without lignites
and containing an entirely different fauna, also with many species
oiPaittdina with ribbed and ornamented shells. — Fr. von Hauer,
on new geological discoveries in Eastern Transylvania, made by
F. Herbich. Between Barsyek, on the Moldavian frontier, and
the region south of Kronstadt, a laige range of mountains con-
sbting chiefly of calcareous strata is deveu>ped, which had for-
merly been r^arded as belonging almost enurelv to the Jurassic
formation. Tne recent investigations of Mr. Herbich, on the
contrary, show that here are developed almost all the particular
types of Alpine formations of mesozoic ages. The Trias is re-
presented by the Wuifenslater and Guttenstein limestone, which
are overlain by red Hallstatt marbles, with Ammonites AfetUr^
nichiit &c ; the Lias by the Grosten and Adneth strata, &c. It
is very remarkable that some of these strata— for instance, the
Hallstatt marbles— are entirely wanting in the whole range of
the Northern Carpathians, which connect the Transylvanian
mountains with the Eastern Alps.
■ ' . ■ ■ ■ ■ — '
BOOKS RECEIVED
Knclisr.<— Zanabar : City, Island, and Coast : Capt R. F. Burton. 9
Vols. (Tlnsler Brothers) —Queen Charlotte Islands : F. Poole, edited by J.
Lyndon (Hurst and BlackettX—Chemical Notes for the Lecture Room, 3rd
edition: Thos. Wood (LongnuLnsV.— The Differential Calculus : F. Wlson
^onjgmans).~The Pipita: by the Anther of Caw-Caw (Glasgow, J.
FoKBiGH.— {Through WilUams and Norgate.>— Die Rrankheiten da Lin-
tensystems : Dr. Max Salomon. — Lehrbucn der anorganischen Chemie, a^
Abtheiluog : Dr. Ph. Th. BOchner.— Jahresbcricht fiber die Fortschritte der
Chemie f&r 1869. Heft a : Ad. Strieker.— Zoologische Mittheilun^en, Band i :
Dr. L. W. Schaufuss.— Thesaurus Omtthologiae, Band i : Dr. C G. Giebd.
— Botantsche Untersuchungen, z : Dr. N J. C MOUer.— Ceschichte der
Himmelskunde : Dr. J. H. von Midler.— lliesaurus LiterAturae Botanicae.
Fas. I : G. A. PritseL— Die Foraminiferen des schwetz. Jura : Dr. J. KObler.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Febhuahy 1.
RoYAX. SociKTY« at 8.3e.— On the Lunar Variations (^ Magnetic DecHnatiop
at Bombay: C Chambers, F.RS.-On a Possible UUra-SoIar :snectro-
soopic Phenomenon: Prof. Fiasn Smyth, F.R.S.— Ihi the Noroud
Paraffins : C Schorlemmer, F.R.S.
SociBTY OP Amtiquaribs. 8.m^— On a Camp opposite Qifton <m Lei^
Down, with Remarks on ykrified Foeu : Rev. H. M. Scarth. _
Chbmicai. SocfBTV, at 8.~On the Relation between the Atomic Theory and
the Condensed Symbolic Expressions of Facts and Changes (Dissected
Formulae): Dr. C R. A. Wright^
LiNNBAN SociBTY. at 8. — On the Classification and Geographical IKstvibu*
tions of Compositse : The President.
FRIDAY^ Fbbhoary a.
GaoLOGiSTs' AssoaATiON, at 7.— Special General Meeting. — On the
Chloritic Marl Deposits of Cambridge : Rev. T. G. Bonney, F.G.S.
AaCHJKOLOCICAI. iNSTITUTB, at 8.
Royal Institution at 9.— On the Identity of Light and Radiant Hctt :
Prof. TyndaU, F.R.S.
SATURDAY, Fbbkoary 3.
Royal iNsrrruTtoif , at 3.— On the Theatre in Shakespeare's Time : Wm.
B. Donne.
MONDAY, Fbbiuaby 5.
Royal Institution, at a. — General Monthly Meeting.
Entomological Socibty, at 7.
London Institution, at 4 —Elementary Chemistry : Prof Odfing, F.R.S.
Anthbopolocical Institutb, at 8.— AnoiverMur Mectin|[.— On Here*
ditary TransmikS*on : Gea Harris.— Strictures on Darwuusm : H. H.
Howorth.— The Wallons : Dr. Chamock and Dr. Carter Bhike.
TUESDAY, Fbbbuaby 6.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Circulatory and Nervous Systems : Dr.
W. Rutherford. F.R.S.E.
Zoological Socibty, at 9.— Contributions to a General History of the
Spongiadae, Part I : Dr. Bowerbank- — Notes on Rhitucert smmdtrtmm,
with a photograph from life : Dr. John Anderson.
Socibty op Biblical Abch^olocy, at 8.30.— On an Inscription in Hebrew
or Andeni Phoenician Charaaers, discovered at Siloam, of the Age of the
Kings of Juda: Ch. Clermont Ganneau.
WEDNESDAY, Fbbbuaby 7.
Gbological SoaBTY, at 8.— On the Geology ol the Neighbourhood of
Malaga: M. D. M. d'Orueta.— On the River-Courses oT England and
Wales : Prof. A. C Ramsay, F.R.S.— Migrations of the Graptolites: Dr.
H. Alleyne Nicholson, F.R.S.E.
Socibty op Abts, at 8.— On the Foresu of England, their Restoratioo,
and Scientific Management : T. W. Webber.
Micboscopical Socibty, at 8.— Anrnverury Meeting.
Phabuacbutical Socibty, at 8.
THURSDAY, Fbbbuaby 8.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies aad ADcali
Manufacture : Prof OdUng, F.R.S.
Royal Soobty, at 8.30.
Matmbmatical Socibty, at 8.— On the Factors of the Diflcrenoes of
Powers, with especial rdercnce to a theorem of Fermat's : Mr. W. iSarrett
Davis.— On an Algebra cal Form and the Geometry of iu dual connection
connection with a polygon, plane, or spherical : Mr. T. CottcrilL
Socibty op Antiquabibs, at 8.30.
CONTENTS Pag*
Intbbnal Fluidity op thb Earth. By Prof. Sir W.Thomson, F.R.S. as7
Thb Solab Eclipsb. By J. Nobman Lockvbb, F.R.S 359
Thb Aomibalty Manual op Scibntipic Inquiby. By G. F. IU>x>-
WBLL, F.C.S a6o
OuB Book Shblp a6i
Lbttbbs to tmb EnrroB:—
Change of Habits in Animals and Plants.— T. H. Potts . . . . a6a
A Case of Sutionary Wave <mi a Moving Cord. — H. R. Pboctkb. 362
Ocean Currents.— J. Cboll, F.G.S 361
On Tbachinc Geology and Botany as Pabts op a Libbbal
Education. By J. M. Wilson, F.G.S a6j
Thb bubvivAL op thb Fittbst. By Hbrbbbt Spbncbb .... §63
Thb Chancb op Subvival of Nbw Vabibtibs. By J. Ball, F.R.S. 8^4
Thb Usb and Abusb op Complimbntarv Nambs 165
Thb Eclipsb Obsbrvations at Bbkul {With lUustmtioHx) . . 965
On thb Inplubncb op Violbt Light on thb Gbowth op Vinbs.
and on thb Dbvblopmbnt op Pics and Bulls. By ftroC
Andbb Poby 268
Magnbtic Distubbancbs during thb latb Total Eclipsb. By
Rev. S. J. Pbrry, F.R.A.S. 369
SCH01.ARSHIPS AND Exhibitions pob Natural Scibncb in Cam-
BBIOGB, 1873 269
Natubal Scibncb at Oxpord 370
NOTBS •••■•••.....••••.• 971
SaBNTIPIC SbBIALS 973
soobtibs and acadbmibs 974
Books Rbcbivbd 376
Diary 976
Brbata.— P. 943« coL 9, Une 6 finom top^ prefix ** vertical " to *'band ;" lin«
sokfer'*table"read '^'talL" ^ ^^ j
Digitized by VjOOQIC
NATURE
^n
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1872
THE FOUNDATION OF ZOOLOGICAL
STATIONS
WHOEVER contemplates a little closely the state of
Science at the present time, must be struck with
the fact that, whilst in almost every other branch of public
and private life co-operation has been established, and
has worked out great results, its influence on the life of
Science is but small and insignificant
This may sound strange to all those who know the
number of Scientific Societies, Academies, and Unions to
be found in England, Germany, America, Italy, France,
in short, everywhere where Science is cultivated at all.
But if one looks into the life of these societies, there is
not much co-operation to be found in them. They
publish periodicals ; but there are publishers who do quite
as well as societies, and sometimes even better. They
meet and talk science ; but this does does not add much
to the real progress of science. Sometimes they found
museums or cabinets, and this is a better service ; they
establish a library for the use of their members, and this
is perhaps the best they do altogether. A man may be
fellow of twenty different societies, but that will not affect
much the progress of the scientific work he does ; if he is
member of certain academies his reputation may be raised
in the eyes of the outside public, but no essential help is
afforded by that either to him or to his work, except in
the case where such academy has some influence on the
Government, as, for instance, the Royal Society. The Me-
nagerie in the Regent's Park, established by the Zoological
Society, is one of the solitary instances in which, the ini-
tiative being taken by a scientific body, an institution has
been evolved, drawing immense revenue from the public
pocket, which is for the most part spent upon scientific
objects. It is the application of this method of securing
support which will be strongly advocated in the present
paper, as a practicable path for the future progress of
biological research.
There is also another great society in Britain which
does, perhaps, better work for science than any other.
This society is the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science. Not only does its great and well-deserved
reputation make it powerful and influential, but also the
large sum of money it distributes annually for the direct
progress of science. This influence is due principally to
the fact that the best men in British Science participate
with great eagerness in the meetings of the Association
and lend to it all their personal authority and reputation.
The considerable sum of money to be distributed is due
to the great mmiber of scientific and lay people that take
part in its meetings.
The combination of these two elements ought to be
imitated in every special branch of science. The times
are past when great scientific men did not condescend to
speak to a general public, and happily nobody believes
any longer that science must be lowered and lost, because
the general public looks at and hears a little of its inner
life. Great scientific men have an immense influence upon
the public, and that is an immense benefit to the public ;
on the other hand, the general public takes interest in, and
VOL. v.
pays money for the progress of science, and that is a great
benefit for science.
The meetings of the British Association therefore are
an essential step in the right direction for lending science
the great help of co-operation. But a great deal more of it is
needed if that element is to supersede by-and-by the old
lines and ways of mere individual and disorganised action.
Especially is co-operation wanted in the single sciences.
Every one knows how great is the prog^^ess in meteorology
and astronomy brought about by the possession of special
laboratories and observatories. Even if all the universities
were extinct at once, these sciences would go on perfectly
well by the help of the observatories. Chemistry is aided
by innumerable laboratories, erected for practical pur-
poses. Mechanics governs the world and finds itself
at home everywhere, involving by its special character
many elements of co-operation.
Other sciences do not enjoy these privileges, though they
want them perhaps even more than some of those that
are in possession of them. Amongst the number of these
sciences, perhaps the most neglected in the way of co-opera-
tion is Biology, that science which occupies at present such
an eminent place in the public interest, and yet the most
neglected, in so far as no other science feels at present the
necessity of co-operation and organisation so much as
biology. The reason is a very obvious one. Biology has
undergone a complete revolution by Mr. Darwin's great
work. This revolution has augmented the number of
special problems in such enormous proportions that biology
is now completely at a loss to solve all these problems by
the aid of the means placed hitherto at its disposal, and
looks pretty much like a boy who has suddenly grown in
one year out of all his clothes, presenting the ridiculous
aspect of a man in a child's dress. The thing which a
father would do for his boy would be to go and buy
another dress. This obviously was also the idea of Prof.
Carl Vogt, who long since began an agitation for the
establishment of a zoological laboratory at the sea-coast,
of which agitation he wrote me in a letter the following
account : —
" During the years 1844—1847 the plan for the establish-
ment of an expedition was worked out at Paris by Milne-
Edwards, and I participated in it. The object was the in-
vestigation of a coral-island, and the establishment of a
station upon it for at least several years. The ship and the
station should be furnished with all possible things, espe-
cially for dredging-work. The scheme fell to pieces owing
to a question of etiquette. The commander of a man-of-
war of the Royal Navy would not submit to the direction
of a naturalist.
"As you know, I lived from 1850 to 1852 at Nice. The
instruments for observation, which I bought by the money
earned by literary work, consisted of a microscope, a surface
net, and some large sugar-bottles. I tried at the time by
the help of two deputies, my friends Valerio and Dunico,
to bring about the foundation of a zoological station at
Villafranca, asking only for some rooms in the empty
buildings of the Darsena, and the establishment of some
tanks in them. Nevertheless I had not the least success.
" In the year 1863 my friend Matteucci became Minister
of Public Instruction in the kingdom of Italy. With him,
as a physicist who especially dealt with physiological
subjects, and who, understanding the necessities and wants
L/iyiiiiLCJU uy
s-
278
NATURE
[Fei. 8,1872
of physical science, intended to make important reforms, I
easily arrived at a mutual understanding. It was his idea
to elevate the studies in Italy by introducing foreign, es-
pecially German, scientific men into the chairs at the uni-
versities, who should teach the new generation of Italian
students. I worked out for him a project for the erection
of a zoological station at Naples, the most suitable place
in Italy. The Casino Reale at Chiatamone was to be trans-
formed and fitted up for such a purpose, and a little steam
yacht for dredging was to be placed at the disposal of the
station. The latter was in the meantime intended for a
sort of school, connected with the whole system of public
instruction, to form teachers of natural history for the
whole kingdom. The plan was completely worked out
and adopted by Matteucci and several others among the
first scientific men of Italy. They applauded it heartily ;
Filippo de Filippi especially did everything he could to
bring it into play, and talked about it, as he told me, to
King Victor Emmanuel during a hunting-party. Matteucci
afterwards left the ministry — Filippi and he are dead— the
fate of the project is easily to be understood.
" Thus I had got round the Mediterranean. In January
1 87 1 I was at Trieste delivering public lectures. On Jan-
uary 8 I published in the New Free Press two letters on
* Some Necessities and Wants of Scientific Investigation,'
the subject of which presented itself to my mind when view-
ing some of the Austrian arrangements for public instruc
tion. I may be allowed to say that my article met with
universal approval ; and some Triestian friends, amongst
whom I may mention especially Field- Marshal Lieutenant
v. M6ring,at the time Governor of the Coast District, talked
with me on it, and agreed that Trieste would be a very
good place for the execution of my project. M5ring him-
self directed my attention to some small buildings at Mira-
mare, lying outside the park ; we visited them together
and talked about the necessary arrangements to be made.
I worked out a fresh project, made rather special calcula-
tions on the money necessary for executing it, and sent all
this to the Austrian Minister of Public Instruction, Herr
v. Stremayr, with whom I spoke on the subject afterwards,
when I passed through Vienna. As you know, I addressed
at the same time Gegenbaur, Haeckel, and you, to approve
my views and assist me. You sent me besides a letter from
Darwin, who applauded much your own plan for erecting
a station, and had even offered a subscription for it I
added all these letters to my memorial, which unfortunately
had the same fate as the Italian : Stremayer left the
ministry before he could do the least thing for the realisa-
tion of a plan which he thought exceedingly valuable.*
Though Prof. Vogt did not succeed in carrying out
his plan, there can be no doubt that his idea is the very
one wanted for the present state of biology. A great
number of other zoologists entertained it, but nobody
knew how to execute it.
In the winter of 1868-69 1 found myself at Messina, occu-
pied with the investigation of the embryology of Crustacea.
Together with my friend MicluchoMaclay I often spoke
of the necessity of establishing a zoological station on the
coast of the Mediterranean, and we agreed to leave a
considerable quantity of instruments, amongst which was
a small aquarium furnishing a constant stream of water, to
our successors in Messina. An Austrian squadron, just sail-
ing round the globe with a considerable number of natural-
ists, amongst whom were Herr v. Scherger and others,
stopped several days in the harbour of Messina, and caused
me many thoughts about the great advantage such and
other expeditions would derive from a net of scientific
stations stretched over the whole globe.
But how to get anything like such stations built and
kept up for years? I did not know at that time that Pro£
Vogt had already tried to get assistance from several
great governments, and had failed to succeed. But I
did not even try to do anything like this, knowing before-
hand that it would be usele?s. Zoology is at present in a
rising condition, it has still to conquer the place it ought
to occupy in the attention of the public by making itself
indispensable to intellectual progress. As it is, govern-
ments will not easily be induced to sacrifice much money
for the progress of this science.
I took another line. After some unsuccessful attempts
to get money by collecting small sums, I combined the
idea of founding a scientific station with the plan of build-
ing a great public aquarium at Naples. My calculation
was, that by the entrance-fee of that aquarium the sums
necessary for keepingup the station could easily be obt^ned,
and that perhaps more than that would come out of it.
I saw at a certain distance even the possibility of erecting
other stations with the surplus of the Naples income, and
of giving in such a way quite a new development to biolo-
gical science, just that development which biology wanted
after the great event of the Darwinian theory.
As soon as I had got a hold at Naples, I begxi to
spread my ideas in letters and conversations. I the
pleasure of finding almost everybody in England and
Germany quite ready to assist as much as possible. I
brought the subject before the meeting of the British
Association in Liverpool, and succeeded so far that a
committee was appointed by Section D, composed of
Prof. Rolleston, Dr. Sclater, and myself as secretary,
under the name of " The Committee for the Foundation
of Zoological Stations in Different Parts of the Globe.*
This was during the war between Germany and France.
While it lasted it was almost impossible to do anything
in favour of the scheme I had got into my head, except
thinking and meditating upon it as much as possible.
But as soon as peace was made I proceeded again, as
well with the negotiations at Naples as with agitation in
other countries.
As secretary of the above-named committee, I gave a
report to the meeting of the British Association at Edin-
burgh. I stated in that report that the establishment at
Naples was now quite safe, so far as the permission of
the Town Council was concerned ; and that, in all proba-
bility, the station would be seen there in working order in
January 1873. I added that I had got the assistance of
my own Government, and I may add here that the Italian
Government also assists me greatly. I proposed fur-
ther in my report that the British Association might con-
sider the opportunity given by the cessation of the annual
grant to the Kew Obervatory, of building a zoological
station at one of the most favourable places on the Bridsh
coast My idea in proposing this was based on the same
considerations which had made me go to Naples. I
thought it very convenient and very practicable to build a
small station, for example, at Torquay or Plymouth, and
to combine in such a station, in the same way as at
L/iyiLi^cju kjy
d>^^
Feb. 8, 1872]
NATURE
279
Naples, a laboratory with a larger aquarium for the public.
The income of the latter in a place like Torquay, where
there are so many residents and visitors at all times of
the year, would completely suffice to keep up the labora-
tory, and pay a modest sum to a naturalist, who would be
charged with the management of the station. Being
unable to attend personally the meeting at Edinburgh,
I could not give all the reasons which induced me to make
this proposition. All the more I shall avail myself of the
present opportunity to do so.
The present state of zoology requires, as stated above,
new means of investigation. Systematism and simple
faunistic researches fall very far short of the problems
now ripe for solution. Two great departments of biologi-
cal science go much ahead of all others, and these two
are embryology and the study of the life of animals in
relation to all those conditions which regard the struggle
for existence and the action of natural selection.
If we speak first of the latter chapter, it is clear that
past times have done much more in promoting knowledge
about it than the present generation. It is rather out of
fashion to study the habits and conditions of life of an
animal. Systematism, the making of genera and species,
have so much exceeded their legitimate grounds, that they
have almost completely suppressed that other branch of
natural history. We owe it to Mr. Darwin that he com-
pletely upset this one-sidedness, in proving, by his admi-
rable treatises on the Domestication of Animals and Plants,
on Sexual Selection, on the Fertilisation of Orchideae by
the Interference of Insects, of whatfundamentalimportance
these studies of the habits and conditions of animal life
can be. He added not only an enormous number of
hitherto unknown facts to the storehouse of science, but
he showed what immense importance these facts gained
by deriving from them the great principle of natural selec-
tion— a principle as grand as any in modern science.
Very few zoologists (in naming Mr. Wallace and Mr.
Bates, I do justice to these eminent men as two of those
who promoted these studies independently of Mr. Dar-
win) have followed Mr. Darwin's lines in these depart-
ments. Nevertheless this must happen : it constitutes
one of the most urgent necessities of biological study in
our time, and it must not only be done for our domestic
animals, and those that live most closely around us, but
wherever animals are to be found, and so above all in that
enormous field of animal life which occurs in the sea.
Every one will agree with me that we know scarcely
any of the secrets of the life of the sea bottom. We have
short notices on the habits of some fishes ; but this is
altogether insignificant compared with the immense bulk of
things unknown to us in the same department And of
echinoderms, cuttle fish, jelly fish, polyps, &c., &c., our
knowledge simply amounts to nothing.
Here an aquarium, under scientific guidance and super-
intendence, can work immense good and progress. And
such an aquarium will do double service ; first, it will
attract the public and yield money ; and then it will serve
immediately and directly the progress of science, by giving
the only possibility of knowing something about the habits
and the life of marine animals.
But a zoological station with an aquarium will serve
equally as much for the progress of embryology. Who-
ever looks at the development of biological science must
see that, during the last ten years, embryology has made
very important progress, not only in accumulating facts,
but in rendering them serviceable to the progress of ideas
and principles.
An offspring of the theory of descent is the maxim that
the ontogenetical development is an abbreviated recapitu-
lation of the phylogenetical development. This maxim,
or law, if- we choose to call it a law, gives enormous
importance to embryology. By the help and application
of it we may succeed in getting a deep insight into the
history of animal life long before the geological record.
The Cambrian and Silurian systems yield us already a
fauna of so high perfection, and so complete a series of
representatives of almost every great class of animals,
that we could easily be led to believe in a waving up and
down of animal creation, not in a constant progress, so
comparatively small are the differences between the pre-
sent fauna of the earth, and those which the geological
record of all the strata makes known to us. Embryology,
on the contrary, starts at the very begimiing of organic
life, tells us how out of simple organic matter cells became
formed, how these cells took different functions, thus
diiferentiating and organising the being that possessed
them. Embryology further tells us how out of one form,
one single form, whole classes came forth, and renders it
possible for us to trace the lines of origin of every member
of these classes, down to the common ancestor of all of
them.
Systematists, looking out anxiously for the "natural
system" of the animal kingdom, and turning to mere
anatomical differences, may be compared to Sisyphus
rolling his stone. They cannot succeed without taking to
embryology. Butembryological studies are among the most
difficult in the whole range of biological science. Not
only the interpretation of the facts, and the conclusions to
be drawn from observation, require an immense amount of
circumspection, caution, and critical ability ; but even the
simple statement of a fact, the mere act of observation,
is often exceedingly difficult. How many monographs on
the embryology of the chicken have been written since
Caspar Friedrich Wolff published his immortal book
against the doctrines of Haller. Pander, Baer, Remak,
His, and many others, have treated the same subject,
and still to-day there is uncertainty on the most funda-
mental questions. This is above all to be attributed to the
mechanical difficulties of observation. And these diffi-
culties do not exiit only in the case of birds' eggs ; they
are the same for the eggs of almost all animals, especially
for those of marine animals. These require a constant
stream of salt water to keep them alive, a stream which
is only to be had by the help of an aquarium. It is prin-
cipally due to the absence of such aquariums that our
knowledge of the development of fishes is still so rudi-
mentary ; for, though the works of Baer, Rathke, Vogt,
Lereboullet, Kupffer, and others have taught us a good
deal, nevertheless the essential parts of fish-embryo-
logy are still wanting. And this is the more to be re-
gretted as it cannot be doubted that the eggs of fishes
are, in many reg^ds, preferable as objects for the investi-
gation of general embryological facts to those of the
birds. Considering only the fact that all other vertebrata
have proceeded from fishes, most likely from shark-like
animsds, it will be of the greatest importance to acquire
L/iyiLiiLcvj uy
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28o
NATURE
lFe6. 8,1872
convenient methods for investigating the embryology of
these animals.
Besides, the enormous mass of other marine animals
watts equally for the establishment of laboratories pro-
vided with aquariums, before the study of their embryo-
logy can safely, and with due prospect of success, be taken
in hand. And that the common ancestors of all the
higher animals have lived in the sea, and must have left
the traces of their nature still in the embryos of marine
animals, is more than likely. Every attempt, therefore*
to get back to these ancestors, and to build up scientific
genealogy, must lead to the investigation of the embryology
of marine animals, must cause, in consequence, the desire
of having laboratories near the coast, provided with tanks
and continual streams of sea water, to overcome the mere
mechanical difficulties of the study.
These are reasons of the most imperious nature to
move all those who can do something, to combine their
exertions for the foundation of zoological stations near the
sea-coast.
When I therefore proposed, in the name of the Com-
mittee for the Foundation of Zoological Stations, the erec-
tion of such a station at Torquay, my principal object
was to create a greater facility for English zoologists to
execute scientific works of the above-mentioned nature.
Without denying one moment the immense benefit zoology
has always derived from English naturalists, one may
justly lament that embryology has not found so many
students in a country which has such great opportunities
of following the study as, for example, has been the case in
Germany. England abounds in splendid localities for the
study of marine animals ; the innumerable harbours, firths,
and bays yield an immense material for the scientific
observer. Students at the universities would have the
easiest access to these localities, and would gain a great
mass of information from them ; but circumstances have
directed almost the whole scientific spirit in another direc-
tion— almost all the biologists are occupied with the com-
pletion of the faunistic records of the English seas. The
existence of a zoological station at Torquay must lead to
a greater cultivation of the other branches of marine
zoology by Englishmen, and most open also for foreign
zoologists the opportunities yielded by the fauna of the
south coast of England for carrying in studies in com-
parative anatomy and embryology.
It will be essential, not only for the progn^ess of zoology
in general, but also for the development of the whole
scheme for the foundation of zoological stations, that those
countries which contribute by their natural position most
to the progress of marine zoology should be provided first
with zoological stations. If zoological stations in other
parts of the world outside Europe are to be founded, they
will require above all zoologists to conduct them. Where
are these at present to be found ? Nowhere, I believe.
If, therefore, the great object of my plan is to be attained,
it will only be by gradually and consistently developing
its base— the foundation of stations in Italy, Britain,
France, Norway, and perhaps Spain or Portugal With
the help of these stations, zoologists may be educated who
would be inclined to go to remoter places, such as, for in-
stance, Capetown, Ceylon, Japan, or Australia, and con-
duct or work only for a couple or more years in the
stations built in those countries. There can be no doubt
that the benefit for science would be enormous if there
existed efficient working stations in these countries ; but
to make them efficient the principal means is to give them
well-instructed naturalists at their head, and this is at
present not possible.
Therefore I take the opportunity of repeating once more
that it seems to be essential to proceed with the foundation
of a zoological station at Torquay, and to head that
station by a young, laborious zoologist, who is already
experienced in histological and embryological work. It
cannot but be that science, and especially British science,
will derive considerable benefit from such a proceeding.
Naples, Jan. 2 Anton Dohrn
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF EGYPT AND
MALTA
Notes of a Naiuralisi in the Nile Valley and Malta, By
Andrew Leith Adams, M.B. (Edinburgh : Edmonston
and Douglas, 1871.)
FEW men have better opportunities for furnishing
valuable contributions to the Natural History of
foreign parts than surgepns attached to the Army and
Navy ; an education in at least the rudiments of natural
science, combined with abundant leisure, presenting
means which are not at the disposal of all travellers. As
a rule, we fear that this class of men have done but little
for Science compared with what might have been expected
of them. There are, however, some honourable excep-
tions, among them our present author, whose " Wander-
ings of a Naturalist in India" has been already given to
the public, and who now publishes the results of the
labours of his leisure hours and vacation rambles in the
investigation of the archaeology and natural history of
the Lower Nile and Malta.
The most interesting portion of Dr. Adams's researches
in Egypt and Nubia relates to the evidence as to the
period when the northern portion of the African Continent
became elevated above the sea. On this point he says :—
''The discovery of the common cockle and other
marine shells far mland, and -over vast tracts of Algeria
and the desert of Sahara, even up to height of more
than 900 ft above the present level of the Mediterranean,
and at a depth of 300 ft below it, fiilly establishes the fact
that a large portion of North Africa was, at no very dis-
tant period, covered by the ocean ; moreover, that the
highlands of Algeria, Tunis, Morocco, and Barbary, were
at this period separated from Africa by sea, and that the
submergence occurred during the modem or post-tertiary
period. Further researches have also proved that the
same description of phenomena are to be observed along
the borders of the Red Sea. A question therefore sug-
gested itself to me in 1863, whether or not Egypt and
Nubia had participated in the same continental move-
ments. Accordingly, no opportunities were omitted during
our short sojourn m Lower Egypt in searching for similar
evidences of upheaval and depression, but, owing to the flat-
ness of the country, drifting of the desert sands, and great
expanse of cultivation on the river's banks, and our rapid
movements, I was unable to discover any traces. It was
not until we approached the frontier of Nubia, and passed
the first cataract, that favourable opportunities were pre-
sented. The Nile, now contracted by the porphyritic and
sandstone rocks, flows between steep banks, and creating
accumulations of alluvium and bendings and openings in
Digitized by
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Feb. 8, 1872]
NATURE
281
its course, the desert may be said to come down to its
margin.
" Wherever these Nile deposits exist, there may be seen
clusters of date and doom palms, and fields, whilst further
back stand the mud-built villages of the natives ; and still
more inland are observed plateaus and terraces at variable
levels, covered with finely rounded angular stones and
drifted sand. These terrace cliffs continue, with broken
intervals,* from below the first cataract up to the extreme
point attained by us at the top of the second cataract.
The observer may have some difficulty at first in tracing
these river terraces, but, after a little experience, there
will be no trouble in making them out. Let him proceed
from the river (i) across the alluvial plain (3), on which
stands Der, the capital of Nubia, to the ruined temple (4)
of Rameses the ureat. on the verge of the cultivated
tract, then mount the plateau immediately above (5), and
wander inland until he gains a height of 130 ft. above the
highest mark of the inundation (2), and commence
digging among the stones, when he will come to a
reddish-brown soil, highly impregnated with natron, which
the natives collect for top-dressing on their fields below.
There he will find abundance of Nile shells distributed
throughout the soil from the margin of the cliff above the
temple inland for upwards of a mile, and until the drifted
sand of the desert makes it difficult or impossible to trace
them further ; indeed, the same appearances are observ-
able along the right bank of the river throughout the
distance just indicated. These fossil fluviatile shells
belong to species nearly all of which have been proved to
exist in the Nile at the present day, and comprise the
following species, determined from specimens sent to
the Geological Society of London, and examined by the
late eminent conchologist Mr. S. P. Woodward : — Unio
lUhophagus {?) Bulimus pullus, Paludina bulimoideSy
Aetheria semilunata^ Cyrena fluminalis and variety
trigona^ Iridina niloiica.
From these data Dr. Adams concludes that Egypt and
Nubia participated in like movements with other portions
of the Continent to the east and west ; but whether or
not, in common with them, they were entirely submerged
under the sea at the same epoch, is not so clear, as no
marine shells have yet turned up in either Egypt or
Nubia.
At Malta, the author's researches were chiefly devoted
to an investigation of the fossil mammalian remains in
which this group of islands is so rich, for which purpose
the British Association, at the suggestion of Dr. Falconer,
Mr. Busk, and Captain Spratt, voted 60/. in 1863 in aid
of his explorations. These Maltese mammalian remains
areof unusual interest, comprising the Hippopotamus Pent-
landi, an animal about as large as the existing Nile
species ; the Elephas melitensis of Falconer, or Pigmy
Maltese Elephant, not more than 4^ ft in height ; the still
smaller Elephas Falconeri of Busk, the average height of
which at the withers could not have exceeded 2} to 3 ft. ;
a new large species, named by Dr. Adams, from the place
of its discovery, Elephas Mnaidray the Gigantic Fossil
Dormouse, Myoxus melitensis^ described by Dr. Falconer
to be " as big in comparison to the living dormouse as the
bandicoot rat to a mouse," and the Hollow- jawed Dor-
mouse, Myoxus Cartel^ another new species detected by
the author. Conspicuous among other vertebrate remains
are those of the Gigantic Swan, Cygnus Falconeri^ another
large swan, several other species of land and water birds,
at least two species of fresh-water turtles, and a lizard.
With regard to the recent MoUuscan fauna, a small
land-snail belonging to the genus Helix has been found
near St. Paul's Bay, and on the bare limestone cliffs of the
west highlands of Gozo two recent shells of the genus
Clausilia^ not apparently found in the adjoining continent
or Sicily ; and at present these represent the only living
animals that can be said to be peculiar to the Maltese
Islands. Lists of the fishes and birds of Malta are given
at the end, the majority of the latter being birds of pas-
sage, with respect to the habits of which some interesting
particulars are given.
We have no information with regard to the vegetable
productions of the island, and this is to be regretted, as
observations made during so long a residence would
doubtless have elicited some new and interesting facts.
The author, however, has probably acted wisely in not
trusting to second-hand information which his own
botanical knowledge would not have enabled him to
verify. We find the well-known Cynomorium of Gozo, the
Fungus melitensis of the Knights of St. John, a flowering
plant, spoken of as a lichen.
The volume is illustrated with some well-executed
woodcuts and lithographic plates, and we recommend it
to all interested in the subject
OUR BOOK SHELF
A Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera, By
W. F. Kirby. (London : Van Voorst, 1871.)
The great work on the " Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera,"
by Doubleday and Hewitson, completed after the lamented
death of the former by the assistance of Prof. Westwood,
included under each genus a synonymic list of all the de-
scribed species which the authors were able to determine.
But more than twenty years have elapsed since the com-
pletion of this most valuable work, which still remains
without a competitor either in this country or on the Con-
tinent, and thus our means of reference upon systematic
matters connected with the beautiful and interesting
group of butterflies generally, have remained at what must
be regarded nowada^rs as a somewhat antiquated stand-
point, whilst the business of describing has been carried
on with the most astonishing energy. In Britain Double-
day's collaborateur Hewitson, and his successor Butler,
have described an almost inconceivable multitude
of new species, and a considerable number have
also been added to the list by Bates and Wallace;
whQst on the Continent the Brothers Felder and Dr.
Herrich-Schaffer have been equally active. New views
have also been put forward as to the natural sequence and
linutation of the sroups (families and subfamilies) into
which the great Rhopsuocerous tribe is divided, and the
L/iyiiiiLcu uy
<3^'
282
NATURE
[/i?^. 8,1872
whole face of this department of entomological science
has undergone a wonderful change in the last twenty
years.
Under these circumstances many an entomolos:ist has
no doubt often wished that a new " Genera of Diurnal
Lepidoptera " would make its appearance ; but such works
are not to be lightly undertaken, and it may be long before
we can hope to see a good, general, systematic treatise
upon this proup of insects. In the meanwhile we welcome
Mr. Kirby's catalogue as a most important aid to the study
of the Diumad Lepidoptera. It is a complete catalogue
of the described species of the group, amounting, as an
estimate, to about 9,600 in number, and gives the synonyms
borh of the genera and species in a clear and easily-
intelligible form. With the assistance thus offered to him
by Mr. Kirby, the entomologist may easily ascertain what
has been done by former writers in this department of his
science, and it will be his o^vn fault if he does not keep
himself au courant with its future progress.
Criticism upon a work of this nature would be out of
place here, and we can only cordially recommend the
results of Mr. Kirb/s most conscientious labours to the
attention of all entomologists.
A Class-book of Inorganic Chemistry^ with Tables of
Chemical Analysis^ and Directions for thtir Use, By
D. Morris. B.A. (London : G. Phillip and Son, pp. 157.)
This work has been compiled for the use of students pre-
paring for the Oxford and Cambridge Middle Class
Examinations, and the Matriculation Examination of the
University of London ; it lays claim to no originality of
treatment, and professes to be simply a collection of
"enlarged notes," . . . "originally culled from the
best modem books." Under these circumstances we are
somewhat surprised that the author should have ventured
to publish it ; we are c^uite unable to detect any special
merit in the book, and it is disfigured by many passages
which show great want of exactness. Thus, we find
"nitric acid, or nitric anhydride, N,Os;" "sulphate of
potassium or dipotassic sulphate;'* the formula of phos-
phate of calcium is written 3Ca2PO^, of chloride of lime
CaOCl,0. We are told that ** ammonium and sodium
are distinguished by the smell of ammonia on the addi-
tion of caustic potash." " Pure water has no action upon
the metal (lead), but water charged with air corrodes ir,
and the oxide of lead thus formed dissolves in the water."
Among the redeeming qualities of the book may be men-
tioned the questions which are selected from various
University examination papers, and the examples given
worked out in the text ; but with errors of the nature of
those given above it is impossible to recommend the book
to the student, or to regard it as a reliable source of in-
formation.
The Elements of Plane Geometry for the Use of Schools
and Colleges, By Richard P. Wright, Teacher of
Mathematics in University College School, London,
fonnerly of Queen wood College, Hampshire. With a
Preface by T. Archer Hirst, F.R.S., &c., late Professor
of Mathematics in University College, London. Second
Edition. (Longmans, 1871.)
This work would have been more correctly described as
being "by Eugene Rouch^ and Ch. de Comberousse,
translated and edited by Richard P. Wright^" &c. But
although Mr Wright can lay small claim to onginality, he
has shown judgment in the selection of an eminently
logical and masterly treatise on geometry, and he has
rendered it into clear and forcible English. The arrr»nge-
ment is excellent, and many of the conclusions for which
Euclid fotmd it necessary to reason geometrically on each
particular case are treated generally by purely logical
considerations. Many of the demonstrations, notably
that of the pons oHnorum^ are far more simple and con-
vincing than those in Euclid. The difficulty of the twellUi
axiom is met by the easy axiom that through a point
without a line only one parallel can be drawn to that ltH€.
In some points there seems to be an unnecessary alteration
of the language of Euclid, as in the definition of a figure,
" Surfaces and Lines or combinations of them." This
definition seems to have been introduced to enable the
authors to describe a locus as a figure ; but it having beea
point ei out that a locus is not a figure, Mr. Wright has
described it as a line^ but has not restored the wo^d figure
to its ordinary acceptation. At the same time it is not
quite correct to define a locus as a line^ excluding such
loci as a pair of parallel lines, the circumference of a
circle with its centre, &c. Again, the word circumference
is substituted for the word circle whenever the circum-
ference only is intended. It is true that the word circU
in Euclid is used in two different senses, but thi« leads to
no ambiguity of ideas; while the use of the word circum-
fere^tce for the circumference of a circle only excludes its
ap> lication to an ellipse or other closed curve. The word
angle is not defined when first introduced, but we are told
afterwards that it "may be regarded as the quantity of
turning of a definite character around the vertex, which a
movable line must receive in passing from the direction of
one side to that of the other." We fail to see the force of
the words " of a definite character," and would suggest
the following definition : " When a straight line moves
about a fixed point in itself so as togoccupy a new position,
the quantity of turning it has undergone is called the
angle between the two positions." The exercises are
in>:enious and instructive, but those of the earlier chapters
are much too difficult for mere beginners. The treatment
of proportion is good, and the work as a whole is an
admirable introduction to the higher mathematics, and a
great help to independent invesdgation. We especially
recommend it to students who have found themselves
discouraged by the cumbrous form and initial difficultits
of Euclid. The second edition contains the alterations
sugfrested by a late eminent mathematician in the
Athenceum on the appearance of the first edition, with the
addition of the substance of the second book of Euclid,
and in a few cases the demonstrations of Euclid have
been restored. H. A. N.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
( The Editor does not hold himself responsibU for opinums expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications,]
The Aurora Borealis of Feb. 4th
After a rather long absence of auroral displays, a brilliant
and many coloured example was seen here last night, February
4, not quite so vivid as that of October 1870, but coming next
to it so far as my own experience gots.
At about 8 p. M. , when the maximum development was reached,
all the heavens were more or less covered with pink ascending
streamers, except towards the north, which was characteris ically
dark and grey, first by means of a long low arch of blackness
transparent to large stars, and then by the streamers which shot
up from that and along its whole length, for they were green or
grey only for several degress of their height, and only became
pink as they neared the zenith, the region where the more
precisephenomena occurred, a% thus : —
1. Tne focus of the vertical streamers coming up from all
azimuths was very constant among the 6tars, but was not in the
zenith itself, being neatly 18'' south and 5° east thereof.
2. The red streamers varied fn»m orange to rcKe-pink, red-
rose, and d^mask-rose, or from strontium a, through calcium a,
liihium a, and on to and beyond pota^siuni a, that is, tiiey did
so to the naked eve, but the spectroscope knew no varirty of
reds amongst them ; and I, haviag a ve^r good referring spec-
trum in the lower part of the field of view, giving potassium a,
lithium 0, sodium a, dtron acetylene and green acetylene, bt>
Digitized by
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Feb. 8, 1872]
NATURE
283
sides the blue and violet, saw Ane^rom's ^tixi aurora! line per-
petually over dtron acetylene at W.L, 5579, and the red aurora
line between sodium a and lithium a, but nearer to the latter,
say at W. L. 63-a
3. Now, W.L. 6350 in the solar spectrum is a pretty bright
scarlet red, so that orange could easily be made of it by the green
aurora mixing therewith, and the spectroscope separates each of
tbe two kinds of light with perfect ease But how came potassium
red or W. L. 7700, i>., the blood red, lurid red, and tragedy red of
painters to appear so markedly to the naked eye, and yet not be
seen at all in the spectroscope, either as a new ingredient or an
altered place of the red line ? It would apparently be by the
mixing up of rays and streamers of the blackness out of that 1 ing,
low dark arch on the northern horizon. But when a spectroscope
fails (as fail it must) to show a characteristic line for a region of
blackness, what other instrument can we take to prove the case ?
Excessively faint greenish and bluish lines appeared at wave
lengths 5300, 5100 and 4900 nearly ; but the mam light in the
spectroscope was to the extent of 8-tenths of the whole, that of the
green line 5579, and of 1 7-tenths the red line 6350 ; while to
the naked eye the splendour of the display and its variety con-
sbted in triple mixtures of 5579, 6350, and the unknown dark
medium. Could something be ascertained about that, if those
who have good teVscopic star spectroscopes were to observe a
star when shining through one of these inky black arches ?
At 9.30 P.M. when all the aurotahad faded or passed away to-
wards the fiouth, whereafew straggling pink patches still appeared,
the northern horizon and its sky being now free from the black
arch, as well as tbe green streamers, p«rfectly^ astonished me by
the clear pellucid blue of a true starlight night sky in a bright
climate and clear atmosphere. Evidently the dark arch and
streamers are as much a part of the aurora as the green and red
lights, but how to investigate them — that is the question.
C. PiAzzi Smyth
15, Royal Terrace, Edinburgh, Feb. 5
Last evening an aurora of rather unusual brilliancy was seen
here. I happened to be out with a friend in the country about
sunset, when the sky was completely overcast and fine rain was
falling. We noticed that darkness did not come on so quick as
usual, and at 7 o'clock it was so light as to lead my friend to
believe that the moon was shining above the clouds. Later in
the evening slight breaks began to appear in the clouds, through
whidi the brst magnitude stars were just visible, and through these
op>enings an intense red illumination appeared. The spectroscope
gave from every part of the heavens a very bright line in the
green, and anotner fainter one nearer the blue, together with a
diffused light over the green and blue parts of the spectrum.
The brightest part of the aurora was towards the S. W. From
the large amount of light, although it was raining at the time, it
must have been one of the brightest auroras that have been
witnessed for years. G. M. Skabrokb
Rugby, Feb. 5
Coming up the Channel on Sunday night last in the P. and O.
screw-steamer Ddta^ about 9.40 P.M., I saw a very fine aurora.
The sky was cloudy, which somewhat dimmed its brightness, but
it was rather brilliant towards the N.
Having a Hoffman's direct vision spectroscope with me, I
turned it towards the brightest red portion which*lay towards the
N.E., and with a moderate sUt got a v<^ry sharp and distinct line
in the green at or near the position of F in the solar spectrum.
No other lines were visible. But on removing the telescope,
and observing the spectrum with the naked eye, a fine crimson
line revealed itself near C ; the colour of it was exactly that of
hydrogen a, as seen in a vacuum tube.
I also thought that there were fiunt traces of structure visible
in the blue and violet, but of this I cannot be sure.
There had been traces of auroral phenomena visible early in
the same evening. The green line was so distinct that unpractised
observers saw it easily. The red line, however, was much
fainter, and appeared to Bicker.
I much regret that I had no means of recording the position
of the lines. R. J. Friswell
About sbc o'clock on Sunday evening the ruddy appearance
of the upper clouds gave warning of an aurora in prospect, but
I wss not prepared Tor the magnificent sight which appeared on
looking out an hour later. The higher part of the sky seemed
covered with bright rose-coloured clouds, which, from the dark
ma.«ses of clouds passing underneath, seemed continually to be
shifting in position. Intervals of ,deep green appeared amongst
the red, and the^ when looked at with a spectroscope, gave a
stronger light than their surroundings. Obj*'cts near were illu-
minated as if the moon had risen behind the clouds. I had a
miniature spectroscope of Browning's, with which I examined
the brightest parts, and obtained four lines — one very bright
green, two very faint nebulous green bands, and one red line.
Having a spirit lamp handy, in which were remnants of sodium,
lithium, and sulphate of copper, I was able roughlv to estimate the
positions of the lines. The red was about a third from D towards
the lithium line ; the very bright green about a third from D to the
copper line near b, the other faint green bands were more refran-
gible, and I should think their places were between b and /*, and
near F^ hut I could not get th^r po^fitions so well as the other
two ; certainly the most refrangible was nnt so far as the violet-
potassium linewhich I could see in the field.
The light green was present everywhere, the red only showed
occasionally with very varying intewity, and the most refrtngible
green line was also continually varying, but it was brighter than
the second green line.
The light around attained its maximum about a quarter to
eight, and then very slowly diminished to about midnight, when
it had nearly disappeared. A light drizzling rain wa<( falling the
whole time. J. P. Maclkar
Shanklin, Feb. 5
Thkrk has been a m-ignificent red aurora here this evening.
I saw it first before twilight had quite di^apoeared, and at first
thought it was the crimson of sunset unusually late. It was at
its finest between six and seven ; at that time there were columns
of light shooting up from the horizon almost to the zenith, and
occup3ring almost half the horizon from the E. of N. round
by E. The crimson colour was variegated with bluish white
in a way that I have not seen before The barometer was at
about 29-45 inches, with a strong breeze from the sou^h.
Joseph John Murphy
Old Forge, Dunmurry, Co. Antrim, Feb. 4
There was. a fine display of aurora here yesterday evening.
I first observed it about 5. 30^ iust in the twilight, but it was then
confused with the rays of the setting sun; as the darkness
deepened the aurora came out alone, and was then extremely
beautifiiL It extended from the extreme N.E. to the extreme
N.W., but firom the reflection of the numerous douds, appeared
to have a much larger area. It was of a bright crimson colour,
with the rays golden or orange, of which, however, only a very
few were visible.
As the evening came on, about 80, the clouds gradually
became thicker, and at hist almost entirely covered the sky ; the
only effect then apparent was a deep red glow, which continued
with unequal intensity imtil 1145. and with all probability much
later. At 9.35 there was a break in the clouds towards the E.,
when the aurora shone forth in all its splendour. The aurora
was most certainly visible in daylight, just appearing as the twi-
light came on.
I have no doubt if the atmosphere had been clearer, we should
have had a most magnificent display ; as it was, the effect was
really beautiful J. S. H.
Gloucester, Feb. 5
There has been a magnificent and extensive auroral display
this evening, of which I beg to send vou the following account
After a very heavy fall of rain, which lasted in this part of the
country from I o'clock p.m. until 5 30 o'clock, there were col-
lected in the northern horizon numerous cirro-stratus clouds,
which gradually at first, and afterwards rapidly, moved towards
the E., with the strata to the S. As these were passing
away, I saw, about midway between these clouds and the zenith
a bright patch of pale red light, which became well defined by 6
o'clock. A few minutes after this appeared I saw in the N. W.
another patch of red light, and bv 6. 15 there stretched from N.,
N.W., and N.E. three very broad streamers converging in the
zenith, and forming a splendid crimson canopy, the streamers
being quite separated, until meetmg, by dark spaces. These slowly
disappeared, and of a sudden ttiere appoued a bluish-white
streamer stretching N.E. to tad ptidog tneienithby about 10*.
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NATURE
\Feb. 8, 1872
At this time I could see that the Pleiades were partly covered,
although not hidden, by a part of this streamer. At 6.35 it
faded away. At 6.40 light clouds began to rise in the W. and
S. W., ana as I recognised this phenomenon as auroral, having
seen similar clouds on other occasions of auroral displays, I care-
fully watched them, and saw at 6.50, in the S. W., a crimson-
coloured patch, undefined in shape, originating from the light
clouds. At 6.55 there shot up from the S. beautiful red, cnm-
son, and blue streamers, which conveiged in the zenith. At 6. 58
other bands of crimson and blue arose due S., and joined the
others in the zenith. At 7.0 I was quite astonished to see the
aurora appear in the S.S.E., by which time the previous bril-
liant display in the S. had dimmed, and the whole of them formed
a southern canopy. During this southern display, the northern
parts were quite dark, with heavy looking clouds ; but at 7.5 the
clouds slightly broke up, and I saw a faint redness in the N.E.,
about 45" above the horizon. By this time the southern streamers
and patches began to spread and assume a mottled appearance,
which reached by 7.10 the N.W. At 7.15 the N.W. and E.
were quite dark and cloudy, and there remained only slight
traces of the aurora in the S.W. high up in the heavens, and by
8.35 it bad entirely dinppeared. John Jeremiah
.35 It bad entirely disappeai
Park, Tottenham, Feb. 4
Doubtless many of your readers witnessed the magnificent
aurora which occurred on Sunday, February 4. If any one else
has noted the position of the radiant point, as seen from this
station, the following observations, made somewhat roughly,
from this place (lat 53' 17' 8" N., long. 6" 10' 22" W., nearly)
may be of use in determining approximately the height of that
point above the earth.
At 7.15 (Greenwich time) its zenith distance was 23"; its
bearing in azimuth 4' E. of S. At 7.30 ite zenith distance was
the same ; its azimuUi IS** E. of S. At 9. 10 its zenith distance
was 13* ; its azimuth i" W. of S. M. H. Close
Newton Park, Blackrock, Dublin, Feb. 5
Last evening (Sunday, Feb. 4) there was a brilliant display
of aurora visible in North Devon with some unusual features.
At 6 o'clock the sky was clear, except a cloud of deep rose
aurora over Orion, and another detached portion toward the
west. This soon developed into a cloudy arch of the same
colour stretching from east to west ; then, a little south of the
zenith between the Pleiades and Aldebaran, this arch culminated
to an obtuse point of white cloud, something like a broad gothic
arch. The northern half of the heavens was quite clear, but a
series of radiations towards the south, and spreading east and
west, issued from this point For some time it seem^ doubtful
whether it was aurora, or a peculiar appearance of the clouds
caused by high air currents, and a refraction of light from the
sun's rays in ihe higher r^ons of the atmosphere. At one time
there was some appearance of spiral radiations, or drift of cloud
from this point near the zenith, with a distinct but irregular gap
of clear sky, somewhat similar to the Coalhole in the galaxy
near the Southern Cross ; but this did not last long, alttiough
the general appearance was continued for more than half an hour,
with varying play of light, over a space of about 140'' of the
southern heavens, with pretty well-defined eastern and western
boundaries of deep rose colour, culminating in the white focus
near the Pleiades, which appeared the centre of action. The
rose colour was chiefly confined to the eastern and western boun-
daries, with intermitting starts of whitish radiation toward the
south. Occasionally well-defined streaks of a lighter tint crossed
the western portion of the rosy cloud, which app«ued to originate
from the lignt of the sun, now, of course, far below the horizon.
At length the eastern portion became less brilliant, but still Orion
was enveloped in a steady rosy haze, although it gradually be-
came fainter, until, a httle before 7 o'dodc, the rosy colour
below Orion toward the eastern horizon became as brilliant as
ever, and soon a straight broad ray of rose colour started up from
the horizoiL This was not curved or arched, like the whiter
radiations which seemed to originate from near the zenith ; nor
was it, like them, intermittent and wavy ; but had the appearance
of a broad beam of rosy light originating below the horizon, and
darting straight upward in a diagonal direction, proceeding over
Castor and Pollux and Jupiter. Then the north side of this
became of a peculiar light bluish green.; if I may be allowed to
coin a word, it was of a moonshiny colour. If the moon had been
a few days younger, I should have thought it originated from the
mooiL Thb very peculiar and distinct broad beam or bar of light
almost developed prismatic colours from its southern rosy edge^to
its northern bluish-green well defined border. There was a&) a
somewhat indistinct tendency to the same prismatic appearance,
spreading some little distance over the heavens on the.south side
of this beam near the zenith. The northern segment of the sky
from Castor and Pollux to about direct west was still perfectly
clear, both from cloud and aurora, right down to the horizon ;
there was a bank of cloud along the southern horizon. About
7 o'clock there was an appearance of rosy tint to the north of
the peculiar straight bank spoken of, and Uiis reached as far as
the pointers in the Great Bear. About the same time there was
a peculiar development of white cloud from the zenith toward
the north-west, streaked and fringed with well defined radiation*;,
and this gradually increased until the northern portion of the
heavens, which had hitherto been quite clear, was covered to
within 30° of the horizon, the border of this cloud being very
distinctly and deeply serrated with £ain-like shapes radiating from
near the zenith. The phenomena I have described occupied
more than an hour, and mv attention was now drawn from it
until after 8 o'clock, when the whole heavens were cloudy, but
behind and between the clouds the rosy tint was still visible as
an irregular arch stretching from north to west As the clouds
broke off the whitish wavy radiation could be occasionally seen
still issuing from near the zenith, and across the western part of
the rosy arch were occasionally seen the straight diagonal bars of
a brighter shade^ apparently caused by the l^ht of the sun, but
the clouds obscured most of the phenomena. At a last look
near 9 o'clock the clouds had somewhat cleared, and there were
two brilliant arches, more like the regular aurora from the north-
west horizon towards the zenith, at right angles to the more
cloudy arch, which had been visible for some time stretclung from
the north to the west W. Symons
Barnstaple, Feb. 5
Last evening (Sunday, February 4) the sky presented a
weird and unusiuil aspect which at once struck the eye. A lurid
tioge upon the clouds which hung around suggested the reflection
of a distant fire, while scattered among these torn and broken
masses of vapour having a white and phosphorescent appear-
ance, and quickly altering and changing their forms, reirindod me
of a similar appearance preceding the great aurora of October
187a Shortly some of these shining white clouds or vapours
partly arranged themselves in columns from east to west, and
at the same time appeared the characteristic patches of rose-
coloured light which are seen in an auroral display.
About 8 o'clock the clouds had to a certain extent broken
away, and the aurora shone out from behind heavy banks of
clouds which rested on the western horizon, the north-eastern
horizon being free from cloud and shinuig brightly with red light
And now, at about 8.15, was presented a most beautiful pheno-
menon. While looking upwards I saw a stellar-shaped mass of
white light form in the clear blue sky immediately above my head,
not by small clouds collecting, but apparently forming itself in
the same way as a cloud forms by condensation in a clear sky on
a mountain top, or a crystal shoots out in a transparent liquid,
leaving, as I fancied, an almost traceable nucleus or centre with
spear-like rays projecting from it ; and from this in a few seconds
shot forth diverging streamers of golden light, which descending
met and mingled with the rosy patches of Uie aurora hanging
about the horizon. The spaces of sky between the streamers
were of a deep purple (the effect of contrast), and the display,
though lasting a few minutes only, was equal if not excelling in
beauty, though not in brilliancy, the grand display in 1870, be-
fore fdluded to, in which latter case, however, the converging rays
met in a ring or disc of white light of considerable size.
What struck me particularly was the aurora developing itself
as from a centre in the clear sky, and the diverging streamers
apparently shooting downwards, whereas in the ordinary way the
streamers are seen to shoot up from the horizon and converge
overhead. The effect may have been an illusion, but if so it was
a very remarkable one. Examined with one of Mr. Brownirig's
direct seven-prism spectroscopes, I saw the principal bright line
in the green everywhere (the other lines were not visible), and
noticed the peculiar flickering in that line which I noticed in
1870^ and which has also I think been remarked by Sir John
Herschel. The general aurora lasted for some time till lost in
a clouded sky, and in fact rain was descending at one time while
the aurora was quite bright Strong wind prevailed during the
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Feb. 8, 1872!
NATURE
285
night. The aurora was probably extensive, as the evening, not-
withstanding the donds, was nearly as bright as moonlight
Guildford, Feb. 5 T. Rand Capron
The Floods
Two of the largest districts which are most constantly flooded
are, perhaps, Oxford and "The Plain of York." The same
cause floods both these districts, namely, what Mr. Mackintosh
has called ** Colonel Greenwood's hard gorge and soft valley
theory." Both these districts have been worn down by rain and
rivers in the soft oolitic strata ; and the Humber and the Thames
have ever had, and have now, to force outlets through compara-
tively hard chalk gorges. The rain-flood waters, checked at
these gorges, overflows and deposits alluvium behind the gorges.
The same taJies place in the soft strata ol the Weald, behind the
nine comparatively hard chalk gorges of the North and South
Downs. G£ORGS G&ebnwood
Brookwood Park, Alresford, Feb, 3
Zodiacal Light
Tin evening of Feb. 2 being clear, after a long persistence of
rainy cloud for many days, a1x)ut 6.5 P.M.I began to notice the
existence of a zodiacal light. Some time later, probably about
6.40, it was considerably brighter than any portion of the galaxy
in sight at the time, though this might not have been the im-
pression of an inattentive spectator, as the gradual melting away
of its edges produced much less contrast with the ground of the
sky than the better defined outline of the Milky Way. Its light
was in fact, so imperceptibly diffused that it was impossible to
fix its boundaries or extent with any accuracy. Its general
position wa««, however, undoubtedly a I'ttle below the square of
Pegasus (where its upper edge fell short of a and 7), and beneath
the three stars of Aries ; but its light was here so enfeebled that
its termination was quite uncertain, and it could only be said that
the direction of its axis was towards the Pleiades. Its breadth
where most brilliant, near Pegasus, might probably be estimated
at 8' or 9% from comparison with the distance from a to /8, and
with the length of the belt of Orion ; but this determination was
liable to great uncertainty. It was thought to show a ruddy
tinge, not unlike the commencement of a crimson Aurora Borea-
lis ; this may have been a deception, but it was certainly redder
or yellower than the galaxy. At 7 I examined it with a little
pocket spectroscope, which shows very distinctly the greenish
band of the aurora ; but nothing of the kind was visible, nor
could anything be traoed beyond a slight increase of general
light, which, in closing the slit, was extinguished long before
the auroral band would have become imperceptible. It was
still visible at 8.30. The phenomenon had been previously
notfced, but with less distinctness, on Dec 30 and Tan. 1 1.
T. W. Webb
Hardwick Vicarage, Herefordshire
Magnetic Disturbance during Solar Eclipse
With the known relation existing between the sun and terres-
trial magnetic disturbance, it is not surprising that some indica-
tion of a change in the earth's magnetism might be expected
during a solar eclipse ; and the case cited by the Rev. S. J.
Perry, of its supposed observation by M, Lion, is not the first
instance of the kmd.
Shortly after the eclipse of 1870, Signor Diamilla Miiller, of
Florence, published a paper in the Gatzetta Ufficiale^ No. 17,
describing some magnetic observations made in Ital^r during the
2 1 St, 22nd, and 23i5 December, and from which it appeared
that there was a slight variation in the curve of the 22nd, at the
time of the eclipse, which did not appear in the curves of the
preceding and subse<^uent days. Signor Miiller at once con-
cluded that the variation was produced by the eclipse ; but it
was points out by Senhor Capello, of the Lisbon Observatory,
that the same disturbance was recorded by his self-recordii^
instruments, but it occurred there some time before the totality.
It was also recorded by the instruments here, and proved to be
insignificant when compared with other disturbances continually
observed,
A careful examination of the curves for the time of the i860
eclipse has also failed to show any trace of a similar movement
then occurring. G. Mathus Whipplk
Kew Obscrratory, Fd) 5
Circumpolar Lands '
Mr. Hamilton, in Nature of January 2j, refers to a paper
in which " the rising of the land at the poles is inferred as a ne-
cessary result of the cooling and contracting of the earth." He
then goes on to give the substance of part of the paper, beginning
as follows : —
'* If a spheroid of equilibrium, in motion about an axis, con-
tract uniformly in the diirection of lines perpendicular to its sur-
face, a new spheroid is produced, having a greater degree of
eccentricity, because if equal poitions are tsdcen ofl* the two
diameters, the ratio of the equatorial diameter is increased. This
is equivalent to a heaping up of matter around the equator,*^
Thi reasoning of this Utter passage appears sound, but it con-
tradicts the former one. As I have shown in my letter to which
Mr. Hamilton replies, the facts, so far as known, appear to point
to a relative increase of the polar diameter ; he admits this, and
then gives reasons for expecting a relative increase of the equa'*
torial one. He must have made some oversight.
Old Forge, Dunmurry, Jan. 27 Joseph John Murphy
I
THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
TRUST you will kindly allow me space for a few lines
on the subject of some rare specimens connected
with the History of Photography, now in the possession
of Madame Ni^pce de St. Victor, whose husband it will
be remembered was the first to employ glass, and a trans-
parent medium (albumen) for the purposes of photo-
graphy, thus discovering, to a great extent, the process
of Photography as it exists at the present day. The first
glass ne^tive, or rather clichS^ Madame Ni^pce possesses,
as likewise prints executed in 1848.
Nifepce de St. Victor was likewise one' of those who
have worked hard to secure natural colours in the camera,
some very perfect specimens—photographs of coloured
dolls — which prove distinctly that the solution of the
problem is Dot impossible, as many believe, are also in-
cluded in the Nicpce collection, together with some results
of early photo-engraving.
Madame Ni^pce and family have been left, I regret
to say, in very straitened circumstances, for the busy
philosopher in his lifetime had but the pay of a subordi-
nate officer in the French Army to subsist on. She has
placed in the possession of the Photographic Society this
valuable collection of her late husband, and it is proposed
to exhibit it at the next meeting of the Society on the 13th
inst, and any institution or individual desiring to become
possessed of some of the specimens wUl be readily fur<.
nished with information by H. Baden Pritchard
GANOT'S PHYSICS*
GANOT'S Physics is so well known in this country
that our task is very different from that of reviewing
a new work, and we can do little more than compare this
edition with the previous. It is unusual for any large
scientific work to pass through five editions in about ten
years, and the value of the book may be estimated by
this fact. It has passed through more than twice the
above number of editions in France, and has been trans-
lated into various European languages. In the present
edition the type has been altered, and the size of the ]>age
somewhat increased, while twenty-eight new illustrations
have been added, and the text has been augmented.
The doctrine of energy has of late been so largely
developed that we are surprised to find so small an
amotmt of space given to the subject No more than
two pages are devoted to it, while the term " transmuta-
tion of energy," does not appear in the index. Neither
do we find the terms '' Kinetics *' and '* Kinematics ; ^ yet
we imagine that the student who presented himself as a
candidate for a Science Scholarship at any of our Uni-
* An Elementary Treatise on Physics, ExperimenUl and Applied. Tran<
sUted and Edited from Ganot's " £16menU de Physique." by E. Atkinson,
Ph.D., F.C S. Fifth Edition, Revised «ad Enlarged. 898 pp. 8vo. (Loa«
" - * md Co. i87aJi
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NATURE
[Fed. 8, 1872
versitiesy not knowing the meaning of these tenns, might
find himself quite at sea in some of the questions. In-
Fic.
deed we do not find much introduction of the terms of
the Thomsonian Physics, and this is surely to be re-
gretted ; for just as the philosophy of Francis Bacon
used to be called the " New Philosophy," so might the
Natural Philosophy developed in the treatise of Tait and
Thomson be called the "New Physics.* The experi-
mental science of the future must be based, we conceive^
upon the system therein elaborated.
We are glad to notice a very good account of Morin's
apparatus for demonstrating the laws of falling bodies
(p. 49), which does not appear in the 1868 edition. The
principle of this, it will be remembered, is to cause a falling
body to trace its own path upon a rotating cylinder. The
accompanying diagram (Figs, i, 2) needs no explanaticm.
The vanes are for the^ purpose of producing uniformity
of motion in the revolving cylinder ; the falling weight is
a mass of iron, P, furnished with a pencil, which presses
against the paper on the revolving cylinder. The curve
traced can be proved to be a parabola, and the paths
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4,
traversed in the direction of the descent are shown to
vary directly as the squares of the lines in the direction
of rotation.
Under the head of " Endosmose of Gases" (p. 97) we
find no account of the cause of diffusion of gases, the
experiments of Graham, the determination of the relative
velocity of atoms by Clausius, and the explanation of
such facts as the rate of diffusion of hydrogen being four
times greater than that of oxygen. But it may be argued
that this rather belongs to Chemistry.
We are glad to see that the law which relates to the
volume of gases under varying pressures is now called
after its true discoverer, " Boyle's Law," but the experi-
ment, demonstrating at once the incompressibility of
fluids and the porosity of dense bodies, is, as usual, attri-
buted to the members of the Accademia del Cimento,
while it was in reality proved twentj; years earlier with
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Feb. 8, 1872]
NATURE
287
a hollow sphere of lead by Francis Bacon. Again
" Mariotte's Tube," as it is called (p. 120), is described
and figured by Robert Boyle fourteen years before
Mariotte mentions it. Morren's mercury pump for slow
but accurate exhaustion is described and figured on
p. 141 (Figs. 3, 4) ; by its means a vacuum of one-tenth
of a millimetre of mercury may be obtained.
The Acoustics has been considerably augmented, for
while in the 1868 edition it occupied fifty- two pages, it
now fills fifty-five larger pages. We notice, among
other things, an account and woodcut of KOnig's stetho-
scope, and of his cylindrical resonator ; of Helmholtz's
apparatus for the synthesis of sounds ; and various new
woodcuts of manometric flames. We do not observe any
mention of singing or sensitive flames. In the section
devoted to heat, we do not find an account of Prof.
Guthrie's experiments on the conduction of heat by
liquids ; or of the recent observations regarding the heat
of the moon and certain stars ; and the portion relating
to the "Mechanical Equivalent of Heat" is, still very
meagre and insufficient.
The magnetism of iron ships might with advantage be
alluded to m the account of Magnetism ; and M. Noe's very
powerful thermo-electric battery is also worthy of notice.
On pp. 596 and 597 we are glad to observe capital figures
and descriptions of the electrical machines of Bertsch
and Carre ; the latter appears to be a most desirable
addition to the Physical Laboratory, as, even without a
condenser, plates of 49 centimetres diameter give sparks
18 centimetres long, and the machine is not much
affected by moisture. The apparatus figured on pp.
678—670 for demonstrating the attraction and repulsion
of electric currents by currents, consists of new and
improved forms of those devised by Ampere, and is
extremely ingenious ; as is also the form of solenoid
described on p. 690. (Fig. 5.)
Fig. 5.
A few alterations in the text would be advisable if a
table of errata is introduced ; thus (p. 750) no explanation
is given of the stoppage of a cube of copper when caused
to rotate between the poles of a powerful electro-magnet,
as soon as the magnet is made ; neither is reference given
to the explanation which in another form is given else-
where. Again (p. 628) we read : — ... " Kirchhoff"
has concluded that the motion of electricity in a wire in
which it meets with no resistance is," &c. A very few
clerical errors are observable : — p. 185, M. Costa should
be M. Corti; p. 246, topmost line, " substances by which
their action," «c., should read ** which by their action ; "
p. 289, line ten from the top, p should be^; and p. 524,
line 4, we find ^^ plain polarised light."
These, however, are quite minor matters ; the book
was a good one at the outset of its career, and each suc-
ceeding edition has rendered it more and more complete.
The above remarks are made rather as suggestions than
in any spirit of adverse criticism. Ganot's Physics is a
great aadition to our scientific literature, and neither
student nor savant could spare it from his library.
G. F. RODWELL
THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE
T^HE object of the investigation discussed in Nature
-•• (No. loi, pp. 449-452) being merely that of ascer-
taining whether the incandescent matter contained in the
solar atmosphere transmits radiant heat of sufficient
energy to admit of thermometric measurement, no par-
ticular statement was deemed necessar>- regarding the
spectrum which appeared on the bulb of the focal thermo-
meter after shutting out the rays from the photosphere
during the experiments. The appearance of this spectrum
has in the meantime been carefully considered. Its
extent and position suggest that the depth of the solar
atmosphere far exceeds the limits hitherto assumed.
The accompanying illustration represents an apparatus
constructed by the writer to facilitate the investigation.
Evidently the expedient of shutting out the photosphere
while examining the effect produced by the rays emanating
from the chromosphere calls for means by which the sun
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NATURE
{Feb. 8, 1872
maybe kept accurately in focus during the period re-
quired to complete the observations. The main features
of the apparatus being shown by the illustration, a brief
descri ption will suffice. The parabolic reflector which con-
centrates the rays from the chromosphere (described in
the previous article) is placed in the cavity of a conical
dish of cast-iron, secured to the top of a table suspended
on two horizontal journals, and revolving on a vertical
axle. The latter, slightly taper, turns in a cast-iron socket
which is bushed with brass and supported by three legs
stepped on a triangular base, resting on friction-rollers.
The horizontal journals referred to turn in bearings
attached to a rigid bar of wrought-iron situated under the
table, firmly secured to the upper end of the vertical axle.
The horizontal angular position of the table is adjusted
by a screw operated by the small hand-wheel a^ the in-
clination being regulated by another screw turned by the
hand-wh^'el b. A graduated quadrant, e, is attached to the
end of the tiblc in order to aflbrd means of ascertaining
the sun's zenith distance at any moment. The index </,
which marks the degree of inclination, is stationary, being
secured to the rigid bar before described. The rays from
the photosphere are shut out by a circular disc, f, composed
of sheet metal turned to exact size, and supported by three
diagonal rods of steel. These rods are secured to the
circumference of the conical dish by screws and adjust-
able nuts in such a manner that the centre of the disc/
may readily be brought in a direct line with the axis of
the reflector. The m-chanism adopted for adjusting
the position of the table by the hand-wheels a and d re-
quires no explanation ; but the device which enables the
operator to ascertain when the axis of the reflector is
pointed exactly towards the centre of the sun demands
particular notice. A shallow cylindrical box, ^, provided
with a flat lid and open at the bottom, excepting a narrow
flange extending round the circumference, is firmly held
by two columns secured to the top of the table. A convex
lens of 26 inches focus is inserted in the cylindrical box,
the narrow flange mentioned affording necessary support.
The lid is perforated by two openings at right angles,
0*05 inch wide, 2*5 inches long, forming a cross, the lens
being so adjusted that its axis passes through the central
point of intersection of the cross. The face of the table
being turned at right angles to the sun, or nearly so, it
will be evident that the rays passing through the perfora-
tions and through the lens will produce, at a certain dis-
tance, a brilliantly illuminated cross of small size and
sharp outline. A piece of ivory, or white paper, on which
parallel lines are drawn intersecting each other at right
angles, is attached to the top of the table in such a position
that the centre of intersection of the said lines coincides
with the axis of the lens. This axis being parallel with the
line passing through the centre of the disc/and the focus of
the reflector, it will be perceived that the operator, in direct-
ing the table, has only to bring the illuminated cross within
the intersecting parallel lines on the piece of ivory.
Ample practice has shown that by this arrangement an
attentive person can easily keep the disc / accurately in
line with the focus of the reflector and the centre of the
sun during any desirable length of time. The absence
of any perceptible motion of the column of the focal ther-
mometer during the experiments which have been made
furnishes the best evidence that the sun's rays have been
effectually shut out by the intervening disc,which, it should
be remembered, is only large enough to screen the aper-
ture of the reflector from the rays projected by the photo-
sphere. It may be noticed that actinometric observations
cannot be accurately made unless the instrument is
attached to a Uble capable of being directed in the man-
ner descnbed ; nor is it possible to measure the dynamic
energy transmitted by solar radiation unless the calori-
meter emplo> ed for the purpose faces the sun with the
same precision as our parabolic reflector. It is worthy of
notice that the lightness of the illustrated apparatus ren-
ders exact adjustment easy, since screws of small diameter
and fine pitch may be employed. It only remains to be
stated that in order to admit of accurate exammation of the
spectrum before referred to, the thermometer is removed
during investigations which do not relate to temperature,
a cylmdrical stem of metal, 025 inch diameter, coated with
lamp-black, being introduced in its place.
With reference to the result of recent experiments, it is
proper to state that, at the present time, the sun's zenith
distance being now nearly 60" at noon, no perceptible
heating takes place in the focus of the parabolic reflector.
The observations relating to temperature mentioned in
the previous article, were made when the zenith distance
was only one- third of what it is at present. The conse-
quent increase of atmospheric depth, at this time, has
completely changed the colour of the spectrum, and ren-
drred the same so feeble that its extent cannot be
determined. As seen last summer, before the earth had
receded far from the aphelion, the terminadon of the
spectrum reached so far down that an addition of 0*1 5 inch
to the radius of the disc/ would scarcely have shut it out.
Now an addition of 0*15 inch to the radius of the dbc cor-
responds to an angular distance of 9' 45^ ; hence,
assuming the radius of the photosphere to be 426,300 nules,
the depth of the solar atmosphere cannot be less than
255.000 miles. And, judging from the appearance at the
period referred to, there can be little doubt that a larger
and more perfect reflector wdl enable us to trace the spec-
trum still further down. Consequently, a further enlarge-
ment of the disc /will be required to extinguish wholly
the reflected light from the solar atmosphere. It is
reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the depth of the
solar atmosphere wiU ultimately be found to exceed very
considerably the foregoing computation.
It has been suggested regarding the instituted investi-
gations of the radiant heat transmitted by the chromo-
sphere, that the thermo-electric pile ought to be employed
in combination with the parabolic reflector. The object
of the investigation being simply that of proving by the
feebleness of the radiant power transmitted to the surface
of the earth that the chromosphere and outer strata of
the sun's envelope do not possess radiant energy of
sufficient intensity to influence solar temperature as sup-
posed by Secchi, tests of the suggested extreme nicety
are not called for.
With reference to the effect of increased depth, the
small amount of retardation suffered by the rays in
passing through the highly attenuated atmosphere of the
sun, previously established, shows that the question of
solar temperature will not be materially affected, even
should it be found that the depth of the envelope is
greater than the radius of the photosphere.
J. Ericsson
T//E RIGIDITY OF THE EARTH
CIR WILLIAM THOMSON'S views regarding the
•^ rigidity of the earth have been hitherto received in
silence by those who entertain different opinions from
him ; but it does not follow on this account that they
regard his position as unassailable. It is more satisfactory
to attempt to establish positive results in science, than
to criticise the labours of others ; but as Sir William
Thomson, by his letter in Nature for January 18,
manifestly invites discussion, I hope I shall be excused
for making the following remarks.
When nearly ten years since I saw the abstract in the
Proceedings of the Royal Society which he appends to
his I'-tter, 1 resolved to suspend my judgment until I had
an opportunity for reading his papers in exienso. To
such of your readers as happen to be interested in this
question, and who have not yet seen these publications. I
would venture to recommend a similar course. In the
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NATURE
289
" Philosophical Transactions " for 1862, the memoir on the
rigidity of the earth is fully printed, and immediately
following it is another designated " dynamical problems
regarding elastic spheroidal shells and spheroids of in-
compressible liquid." The conclusions arrived at in the
first are essentially and admittedly dependent on the
investigations presented in the second. Not long after
they were published I gave my best attention to the study
of both, and it soon appeared to me that the problems
treated in the second could have no physical bearing on
the question of the earth's structure. The very title of
this memoir partly reveals its character in this respect
In order to apply the results obtained in this memoir to
the earth, it is supposed to be a spheroidal homogeneous
elastic shell filled with incompressible fluid ; whereas in
such an inquiry the earth can scarcely be supposed to be
otherwise than a heterogeneous solid envelope containing
a fluid whose properties are not inconsistent with those of
fluids coming under our notice. Under this form I have
treated the hypothesis in the " Philosophical Transac-
tions" for 185 1, and also in subsequent publications.
Incompressibility is not a property of any known fluid ;
and Neumann, when referring in his comprehensive
treatise on geology to the influence of pressure in pro-
moting the density of the interior parts of the earth,
expresses what is very generally admitted among philoso-
phical geologists as well as physical inquirers, when he
says that " fluid bodies are endowed with far more com-
pressibility than solids."* Hypotheses are often indispen-
sable in physical inquiries where we are proceeding from
the known to the unknown, but there are two conditions
to which they should conform ; first, they should be
capable of verification by a comparison of the results to
which they lead with those of observation, and secondly,
they should not contradict established physical laws or
the known properties of matter, unless the contradiction
is specially explained and fully accounted for. The
second of these conditions is clearly violated when the
internal fluid of the earth is supposed to differ from all
known fluids by being supposed to be incompressible.
And this violation is especially flagrant when the solid
matter enclosing the incompressible fluid is supposed to
be at the same time elastic and therefore compressible,
and when, moreover, the line of reasoning adopted as to
the earth's internal structure pointedly depends upon
these assumptions as to the properties of its fluid and
solid portions. Sir William Thomson endeavours to
prove, by a process of reductio ad absurdutn] that the
interior of the earth is for the most part or altogether
solid ; in other words, he supposes the mterior to be fluid,
and then tries to show that the tidal actions produced in
this fluid by the sun and moon must cause oscillations in
the crust which have not been observed. He may justly
claim to have proved that the earth does not consist of
an elastic solid envelope enclosing a mass of the ideal
substance called an incompressible liquid, but he has not
proved the point which he intended to establish, namely,
the absence of an interior fluid nucleus endowed with the
properties conm>only attributed to fluids. He also sup-
poses throughout his investigations, in the same manner
as was supposed by Mr. Hopkins, that the transition from
the solidity of the shell to the fluidity of the nucleus is
not gradual but abrupt. Those who maintain the validity
of the hypothesis of the interior fluidity of the earth are
far from holding this opinion. On the contrary, all
observations hitherto made on the materials of the earth
lead to the conclusion that the solid shell is so constituted
as to present first a superficial coating whose mechanical
properties we can partly ascertain by direct experiment ;
secondly, a mass whose density and rigidity probably
increase with the depth from the outer surface ; thirdly,
an interior coating m which the effects of pressure are
resisted by those of temperature, and where an imperfectly
* Lchrbuch der Gcologie, I p. a68, and edition.
fluid and pasty mass is in contact at one side with the
solid shell, and on the otlier with the more perfect fluid.
This mass should be manifestly much more yielding and
compressible than the perfectly solidified shell ; for if
compression tends to increase the rigidity of solid matter,
the middle division of the shell, as just described, should
be more rigid than its superficial portion, and very much
more rigid than the interior pasty mass. The work
performed by small changes of shape in the fluid nucleus
due to the action of exterior disturbmg bodies should thus
be expended partly in producing small variations of
density among the compressible strata of which it is com-
posed, and partly in changing the shape of the yielding
matter of the inner surface of the shell The deformations
of a shell consisting of homogeneous elastic matter, such
as steel acted upon by exterior forces, must be the
resultants of all the elementary defoijnations among its
particles summed up or integrated. It would behave
somewhat like a vibrating bell; but such is not the
behaviour to be expected in a mass of discontinuous and
heterogeneous materials. Vibratory motions in such
bodies are for the most part extinguished by interferences,
or their amplitudes are at least very much reduced.
If the conclusions deduced by M. Perrey of Dijon from
his voluminous labours so often referred to by Mr. Mallet
in his Reports on Earthquakes, be correct, some coimection
between these disturbances and the phases of the moon
seems to be established which may be due to such com-
paratively feeble vibratory actions. Sir William Thomson's
conclusions rightly interpreted show that the constitution
of the fluid nucleus and the nature of the materials of the
shell must be essentially different fi'om what he supposes
in order to establish these conclusions. A person who
never saw a railway train might as justly reason as to the
impossibility of travelling in it at high rates of speed, by
demonstrating that the shocks experienced by perfectly
rigid carriages connected without any compressible
arrangements would be too great for travellers to endure,
if not too great for the permanent integrity of the
carriages themselves. In assuming the incompressibility
of the fluid nucleus for the purposes of his indirect de-
monstration of the rigidity of the earth, Sir William
Thomson makes a petitio prtncipii nearly as vital as
shocks incident to influence of bufi^rs in reasoning on the
the omission of the railway carriages.
I am at a loss to know where any warrant was found
for affixing the property of incompressibility to the
supposed fluid nucleus of the earth ; and those who main-
tain the hypothesis of the interior fluidity of the earth are
entitled to repudiate an assumption fastened on that
hypothesis not only in opposition to evidence derived
from experiments on fluids, but in direct contradiction to
the arguments employed by them in discussing the
question of the earth's structure.
Henry Hennessy
THE LANDSLIPS AT NORTHWICH
IN the " Notes " of the number of Nature, for Jan. 25,
I find one referring to the landslips at Northwich in
Cheshire, by mistake called Nantwich. As the descrip-
tion given of these landslips and their cause is scarcely
accurate, your readers may like to see a short account
of them.
Northwich is the great centre of the Cheshire salt
trade. The manufacture is principally carried on now at
Northwich and Winsford, both towns lying in the valley
of the River Weaver, though formerly Nantwich was
engaged in this trade, and Middlewich still continues so
to be. The position of the latter is indicated by its name,
it lying between Northwich and Nantwich. The salt is
found lying in two beds, called the upper and lower
rock salt. The first bed is met with in the neighbour-
hood of Northwich at the depth of about forty yards, and
290
NATURE
\Feb.%, 1872
is twenty-five yards thick. Although brine springs had
been known and worked as early as the time of the
Norman Conquest or earlier, yet the bed of rock salt was
only discovered in 1670 when searching for coal at Mar-
bury, about a mile to the north of Northwich. During
the last 200 years this rock salt has been worked, or to
speak more correctly, for more than a century the upper
bed was worked, when an agent of the Duke of Bridge-
water sank lower still, and, after [lassing through about
ten yards of hard clay and stone, with small veins of rock
salt running through it, the lower bed of rock salt was
discovered This lower bed is between thirty and forty
yards thick, but only about five yards of the purest of it
is ''got*' This good portion lies at a depth of from 100
to 1 10 yards, according to the locality. In the neighbour-
hood of Winsford both beds are met with at a much
greater depth. The whole of the rock salt obtained is got
now from the lower*bed, and last year it reached nearly
150,000 tons, probably the largest quantity ever obtained
in one year. It may as well be said that this mining of
rock salt has had nothing whatever to do with the subsi-
dences spoken of, though the wording of the note would
lead readers to expect the contrary. At present there is
no danger to be expected from the lower bed of rock salt.
The whole danger arises from the upper bed, as will be
seen from the following account : — The salt trade of
Cheshire is a very extensive one, and during the year 1871
upwards of 1,250,000 tons of white salt have been sent
from the various works in that county. The whole of this
immense quantity has been manufactured from a natural
brine which is found in and around Northwich and Wins-
ford, as well as in several other smaller places. This brine
is produced by fresh water finding its way to the surface
of the upper bed of rock salt, technically called the Rock
Head. The fresh water dissolves the rock salt, and
becomes saturated with salt The ordinary proportion of
pure salt in the brine is 25 per cent To obtain the quan-
tity of salt above mentioned, it would be necessary to
pump 5,000,000 tons of brine. The pumping of brine is
mcessantly going on, and as a natural consequence the
bed of rock salt is being gradually dissolved and pumped
up. As the surface of the salt is eaten away, the land
above it subsides. This subsidence is not spread over
the whole surface, but seems to follow depressions
in it, thus forming underground valleys with streams
of brine running to the great centres of pumping.
Wherever a stream of brine runs, there the subsidence
occurs, and in many localities the sinking is very rapid
and serious, but fortunately is almost always gradual and
continuous. An inmiense lake, more than half a mile in
length, and nearly as much in breadth, has been formed
along the course of a small brook that ran into the river
Weaver, and this lake is extending continually. Besides
this gradual continuous sinking, which affects the town of
Northwich very seriously, causing the removal and re-
building of houses or the raising of them by screw-jacks
in the American fashion, the raising of the streets and so
on, there is a sudden sinking of large patches of ground,
lea\ing large deep cavities such as described in your
Note. These latter are more terrifying and dangerous.
They are in the majority of cases caused by the falling-in
of old disused mines in the upper bed of rock salt These
old mines were worked so as to leave but a thin crust of
rock salt between the superincumbent layers of earth and
the mines. The roof of the mine is supported by pillars
of rock salt at intervals. Of course the weakest and most
dangerous point is the old fiUed-up shaft As most of
these mines have been disused for nearly a century, the
position of the old shafts is unknown. When the brine
has eaten away the layer of rock salt left as a roof, the
whole of the earth lyipg above falls into the mine, and
an enormous crater-like hole, some too feet or more in
depth, is formed, which in process of time becomes fUled
up with water, the noine itself being choked with earthy
matter. In the immediate neighbourhood of Northwich
there are a great number of these rock pit holes, as they
are called, and it is nothing very unusual for one to fall
in.
The rock miners, as they are called, were at work in the
lower mine last year when one of these sudden subsidences
occurred. They knew nothing of it I have been myself
under this hole, and it was a fearful one to look at when
it first went in. There is no communication between the
upper and lower beds, and the miners have about thitty
yards of hard clayey stone and rock salt between th'em
and the upper old mines. The subsidence more particu-
larly alluded to in your Notes is not in the immediate
neighbourhood of Northwich, but rather midway between
Northwich and Winsford, near Marton HalL It is rather
difficult to know what is its cause, as there is no rtrcord of
any mines ever being worked in that neighbourhood. The
general belief is that the rock salt, which undoubtedly
underlies the whole neighbourhood, has been gradually
dissolved, and that a sinking has commenced as at
Northwich ; then that, owing to some peculiarity of the
particular overlying strata — probably to their sandy nature,
as quicksands are known to exist about Northwich — the
earthy and sandy matter of the immediately overlying
strata has been carried away by the brine streams till a
large hollow has been formed. This has continued till
the superincumbent mass could not be borne up any
longer, and thus suddenly fell in, filling up the lower cavity,
but op*-ning a large crater- like pit from the surface.
A Government inspector has been to the neighbour-
hood, and his report is expected very shortly.
The whole neighbourhood of Northwich is well worthy
of more attention than it has received, and it is sur-
prising that our geologists have not been able to give a
better account of the rock salt formation than has yet
been done.
Thos. Ward
NOTES
We are glad to be able to state that the severe sentence passed
upon M. £. Redus has been changed, in consequence of the re-
presentations of the scientific men of this and other countries,
into the comparatively mild one of exile from France.
Wb understand that the Chahr of Anatomy in the new German
University of Stiasbuig has been offered to, and declined by,
Prof. G^enbaur, who has done so much to nuse the scientific
reputation of the University of Jena. A similar offer has also
been made to Gegenbaur's distinguished colleague, Haeckel, the
result of which is not yet announced.
The Master and Senior Fellows of St John's College, Cam-
bridge, have elected Mr. J. B. Bradbury, M.D., of Downing
College, Linacre Lecturer in Medicine in the room of Dr.
Paget, who has been elected Regius Professor of Physic
The Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction and the Ad-
vancement of Science recommenced their sittings yesterday.
The two Smith's Prizes of the University of Cambridge have
been this year awarded to the First and Second Wranglers re-
spectively.
Wb regret to leam that the Australian Eclipse Expedition has
proved a failure, through the unfavourable sUte of the weather at
the point of observation.
It is with great regret we have to record the death on Wed-
nesday, January 31, at Torquay, of Dr. G. E. Day, F.R.S., late
Chandos Professor of Medicine in the University of St Andrew,
at the age of 56. Our columns have bone frequent evidence of
the extent of Dr. Day's acquirements in many branches of
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Feb. 8, 1872]
NATURE
291
Natural History. He was one of the founden of the Pathologic
cal and Cavendish Societies.
The name of Colonel Cheney, F.R.S., of the Royal Artillery,
who died on Tuesday, the 30th ult, at his residence near Kilkeel,
Co. Down, Ireland, in the 83rd year of his age, was almost more
familiar to the last generation than to this. Among his various
titles to eminence as traveller, savan, and military critic, he will
be chiefly known as "the pioneer of the overland route to
India." It b now nearly forty years since General, then Captain,
Chcsney returned frnm his explorations of the Euphrates for the
purpose of establishing steam communication wirh India vid
Egypt and Asia Minor, to ask the Government to give him the
command of an cxp-dition. The d<:mand was granted ; two
vessels, the Tipi's and 'he EuphrcUis^ were placed at his dispo.saI.
The indefatigable manner in which he prosecuted his scheme, in
the face of many disappointments smd discouragements, is well
known. He has himself written the history of his travels and
adventures ; and the lines of communication now in existence
bear witness to the practical value of hia projects. General
Chesney has for many years back enjoyed the repose which was
the fitting reward of much arduous toil ; and now leaves behind
him the record of a useful, honourable, and well-spent life.
Dr. William Baird, F.R.S., whose df^aih we recorded last
week, after a long and painful illness w*' horn at Eccles, in
Berwickshire, in the year 1803, educated at Edinburgh, and
received in 1823 an ap^tointment as surgeon from the E&st India
Company. Whi'e in this oflfice he visited Ind>a, China, and
many other countrir-s, the natural history of which he carefully
studied. In 183 1 he published a paper *' On the Luminosity of
the Sea," in Ijmdon^s Magazine of I^atural History^ and from
that time became a frequent contributor to the scientific journals,
more especially to the "Transactions" of the Berwickshire
Naturalists' Club. In 1838 he compiled a Cyclop^ia of the
Natural Sciences. In September 1841 he was appointed
an Assistant in the Zoological Department of the British Mu*
seum, which office he filled till his death. In 1851 his mono
graph on the British EntomostraD>us Crustacea, a work of great
ability and research, was published by the Ray Society. Between
the years 1838 an i 1863 he contributed a number of papers on
the Entomostraca to the " Annals of Natural History," and the
" Proceedings" of the Zoological Society. During ihe lat'er years
of his life his attention was principally given to the Entozoa, of
the then known species of which he had as early as 1843 drawn
up a citalogue, which was published by the trustees of the
British M uveum. Numerous papers on the same subject were
also contributed by him to the *• Proceedings " of the Zoological
Society, the " Transactions" of the Linnean Society, &c Latterly
he was engaged in preparing a general catalogue of the Entozxa,
for which he had accumulated a vast amount of material Hb
knowledge of some other branches of natural history was equally
extensive and profound, and his death will leave a gap am ng
those who were ac-q«iainted with his varied acquirements, and
the courtesy and readiness to assist displayed to all who sought
his help or advice.
Thb Academy records the death of Prof. Trendelenburg, of
Berlin, who had attained a two-fold eminence as a philologist
and Aristotelian commentator, and as an original thinker.
The Waynflete Professorship of Chemistry at the University
of Oxford, win shortly become vacant by the resignation,
through ill-health, of Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, Bart, M.A.
The Wayfiflete Professorship of Chemistry was directed by
the ordinance of the University Commissioners of 1854, re-
lating to Magdalen College, to be founded in that college in
lieu of certain prselectoriihips mentioned in its ancient statutes,
and to be maintained by a stipend of 600/. per annum. The
ProiiBMor U elected by the Chancellor of the Unhrenityt the
Visitor and President of the College, and the IVsidents of the
Royal Society and of the College of Physicians. Prof. Brodie
was elected in 1865, and was the first professor under the new
ordinance, having previously resigned the Aldrichian Pro*
fessorship of Chemistry, which he had held since the resignation
of the late Dr. Daubeny, and which chair was suppressed in
1 866, the revenues being applied to the payment of a salary
of a Demonstrator, and to the purchase of chemical apparatus
or other' means towards the study of chemistry in the Univeisity.
In the Gazette of India is the following tribute to the memory
of the late Archdeacon Pratt: — '*The Governor- General in
Council has received with deep regret official intimation of the
death of the Venerablr the Archdeacon of Calcutta, the Reverend
J. H. Pratt, on the 28th ultimo, at Ghazeepore, m the North-
Western Provinces. The Governor General in Council cmnot
a low the death of Archdeacon Pratt to pass unnoticed by the
Government which he served so long and so well Mr. Pratt
entered the service in the year 1838, and was appointed
Archdeacon of Calcutta by the late Bishop Wilson on the 6th
October, 1849. Under the ordinary ru'es of the service, Mr.
Pratt would have retired in October, 1867, but so efficiently had
he filled his high office in the Church, that he was solicited by
Government, with the full approval of Her Majesty's Secnrtary
of State, to continue to hold it. In adopting this course the
Government was moved not only by its own appreciation of the
Archdeacon's services, but the strong recommendation of the late
B<shop Cotton, who bore testimony to A'^hdeacon Pratt's emi-
nent scientific attainments and uni^rsity d stinctions, to the active
part which he had taken in the management of the diocese, and
in the promotion of all good works, and to his personal piety and
high Christian character. At a later date Her Majesty's Secre-
tary of State, in sanctioning the retention of Archd^con Pratt in
the service un<il October 1872, remarked: — 'I cannot refrain
from expressing the high sense I ent^ertain, in common with the
present Bishop of Calcutta, the L'eutenint -Governor of Bengal,
and your Elxcellency in Council, of the zeal and ability with
which he has for so many years faithfully and laboriously dis-
charged the duties of his Office.* The Governor-General In
Council feels assured that the death of the Venerable Archdeacon
will be mourned by the entire Christian community in India.'*
It is announced that Professor Flower will commence bis
annual Hunterian Lectures on Comparative Anatomy in the
Theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons on Friday, the i6th
inst., at four o'clock. The lectures will be continued at the
same hour every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until the
27th of March. The subjects to be embraced by the present
course are the modifications of the organs of digestion, includ-
ing the mouth, tongue, salivary glands, alimentary canal, liver,
and pancreas. These will be treated of in detail in the various
animals composing the class Mammalia, and if time should per-
mit, a review of the principal variations of the same parts in the
other VertebraU will follow. The lectures will be illustr ated as fully
ax possible by specimens from the Museum, and by diagrams,
and it should be added, are open without fee to any gentleman
presenting his card at the door.
Thb Times of India calls attention to the very scant recogni-
tion which literary or scientific merit has received in conferring
the distinction of the Star of India. Although the Order of the
Star of India was established for the reward of good service of
every kind, and the soldier, the civilian, the diplomatist were not
considered, on the institution of the Order, to have any better
claim to the decoration than the man o! science or the man of
letters, yet on the list there is at the present time scarcely a
single representative of literature, science, or art. The Times
strongly commends the claims of Dr. Forbes Watson and Dr
George Smith to this distinction, for the adnuraUe work done in
bxioging the English publie hot to hot with the azti and menn-
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292
NATURE
[Fed. 8, 1872
factttres' of the East, sexvioes which haye as yet received^no
recognition whatever from the Crown.
The brilliant display of the aurora borealis, seen in London
on Sunday night, of which various accounts will be found
in our columns, appears to have been observed in France, as
well as in Wales. Scotland, and Ireland. The phenomenon was
seen in Turkey and also in Egypt. A telegram from Alexandria
says that a large space of sky was illuminated for five hours.
The report of the Meteorological Department on Monday notices
the wide extent of the display, and adds, ** a considerable change
in the weather seems likdy. " '
At his inauguration as Rector of the University of Edinburgh
on Monday last, Sir Wm. Stirling-Maxwell is reported to have
made the following pertinent observations on the medical educa-
tion of women : — "He was in favour of teaching women every-
thing that they desired to learn, and for opening to them the
doors of the highest oral instruction as wide as the doors of
book-learning. As to medical education, he said that so long as
women would minister to their sick children and husbands, he
must hear some aigument more convincing than he had yet heard
why they were to be debarred from learning the scientific grounds
of ihe art of which they were so often the empirical practitioners,
or the docile and intelligent instruments."
Tint Academy for February i contains a reply, by Prof. Helm-
holtz, to Prof. Jevons's article on "The Axioms of Geometry,"
in our issue for October 19.
We learn firom the British Medical Jaumal that the Brown
Institution for Sick Animals is likely to conmience at once a work
of great public utility. Aided by a handsome grant from the
Chambers of Agriculture, Profs. Sanderson and Klein, and Mr.
Duguid, will undertake an extended series of observations on the
treatment and comparative pathology of pleuro-pneumonia,
an epizootic which commits the most costly ravages among our
herds.
"Justices* Justice" has become a proverb. Here is a
sample of justices* science: — At Chelmsford the county magis-
trates declined to grant the use of the Shire-hall for a lecture on
the sun, illustrated by experiments in spectrum analysis, on the
ground that the electric light might endanger the safety of the
building !
The American NcUuralist for January reprints a corre-
spondence between the Commissioner of Agriculture for the
United Suites' Government, and Prof. Asa Gray, and other
botanists, respecting the dismissal of Dr. C. C. Parry from his
office of botanist to the department, which appears to have been
performed in a very summary manner, and on slight grounds.
Mr. M. C. Cooks, the well-known mycologist, announces his
intention, if the names of a sufficient number of subscribers can
be obtained, to issue monthly a small journal, with illustrations,
devoted absolutely to Cryptogamic Botany. It will serve as a
sort of Appendix to the Lichen and Fungi Floras recently pub-
lished, by recording and describing new species as they are found.
Although British Ciyptogamia will occupy the first place, it is
intended to record from time to time what is doing abroad in all
the Cryptogamic families (except ferns), and to keep the student
acquainted with what is being publbhed in foreign countries as
well as his own. Monographs of genera and families, critical
observations on species, and all kindred subjects, will receive
attention. The co-operation is promised of the Rev. W. A.
Leighton, Dr. Lauder Lindsay, Dr. Braithwaite, F. Kitton, and
other specialists.
The Journal of Botany states that a re-issue is in course of
preparation of Lindley and Hutton's " Fossil Flora of Great
Briiain," originally published in 1837, and now very scarce. A
supplementary volume will be added by Mr. Carruthera^ which
will contain a critical revision of the species in the original book,
and figures and descriptions of all the important additions to
fossil botany made during the last thirty* five years.
A CLEVER application of science to commercial purposes has
been made by an Italian gentleman, M. Eugenio de Zuccato, of
Padua. By means of the invention any number of copies of a
manuscript or design, traced upon a Tarnished metal plate, may
be produced in an ordinary copying press. The modm operandi
is very simple. To the bed and upper plate of a press are
attached wires leading from a small battery, so that when the
top of the instrument is screwed down the two metal surfaces
come into contact, and an electric current passes. An iron plate
resting upon the bed of the press is coated with varnish, and
upon this surface is written with a steel point any communication
it is desired to copy. The letters having thus been formed in
bare metal, a few sheets of copying paper are impregnated with
an acid solution of prussiate of potash, and placed upon the
scratched plate, which is then subjected to pressure in the copy-
ing press. An electric current passes wherever the metal has
been left bare (where the writing is therefore), and the prussiate
solution acting upon the iron, there is found prussiate of iron, or
Prussian blue characters, corresponding to those scratched upon
the plate. The number of copies that may be produced by this
electro- chemical action is almost unlimited, and the formation
of the Prussian blue lines is, of course, instantaneous. The
patent, which is, we believe, the property of Messrs. W^aterlow
and Sons, forms a renuurkable instance of science serving as
handmaiden to the man of business.
It will be remembered that a process of engraving by means
of a forcible jet of sand was recently invented in America by
Mr. Tilghman, and applied to photography, a gelatine relief
being used as the mask or shield containing the design. The
Photographic News states that a further modification has been
patented by Mr. Morse, who uses a new method of propelling
the sand. He provides a simple box or hopper, from which
depends a small tube about 8fL long, and no machinery what-
ever beyond this is used. A mixture of corundum and emery,
in the form of powder, is placed in the hopper and allowed to
descend through the tube. The object to be engraved is held
under the extremity of the tube, so that the engraving powder
will fall upon it, and in a few minutes* time the most splendid
ornamental designs are cut, with marvellous exactitude and sur-
prising beauty. An American paper says : — " We have seen
engraved effects, produced by this process, upon glass and silver
ware, that altogether surpass anything that has ever been
attempted by the most skilled hand labour. This simple and
beautiful invention promises to revolutionise the art of plate and
glass engraving. By its use the adornment of all kinds of wares,
in the most superb manner, may be quickly accomplished, at a
tithe of the cost of the ordinary methods.**
A CATALOGUE is printed of the Meteoric Collection of Mr.
Charles Upham Shepard deposited in the Wood's Building of
Amherst College, Mass., U.S.A. It comprises 146 liiholites or
meteoric stones, which are considered unquestionably authentic,
from all parts of the world, the time of fall varying from the year
1492 to 1871, and 93 siderites or meteoric irons, which fell
between 1735 and 1870. The total weight of the collection is
above twelve hundred pounds. The heaviest iron, that of Aerio-
topos, weighs 438 pounds ; the smallest, that of Otsego, half an
ounce. The largest entire stone, that of New Concord, weighs
52 pounds ; the smallest, from Hessle, less than 50 grains. The
whole number of specimens exceeds five hundred. The col-
lection embraces, besides numerous casts, an extensive series of
doubtful meteorites, in which all the principal irons and stones of
this descriptionare represented. ^^ ,
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NATURE
293
SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE FROM AMERICA *
'pHE statement, by Professor J. D. Whitney, of the present
-*- condition of the geological survey of California, lately
presented to the Governor of the State, gives a gratif^ng
picture of the activity and success in accomplishing the objects
tor which the exploration was authorised. The State Geologist
remarks that less has been done than he had hoped, in conse-
quence of the suspension of the appropriations by a preceding
Legislature. Since the work was resumed, however, as the result
of renewed appropriations by the Legislature of 1869, the
survey has been carried on as rapidly as the nature of the service
would allow. Among the points particularly engaging the
attention of the State Geologist was the completion of the
topographical map of Califomia^ it being readily understood that
this must be a necessary preliminary to a geological map. The
survey of Central California was considered especially interesting
and important, embracing, as it does, that portion of the State
from Owen's Lake on the south to Lassen's Peak on the north,
or between 36* and 40° 30' north and south, and 117° 30' and
123** east and west, the whole area comprising about one-third
of the State, with probably ninety-five per cent of the popula-
tion residing in it Of the portion included within these limits,
represented upon four maps, three are entirely drawn and partially
engraved, wlule the fourth is two-thirds drawn, with tlie field-
work of the remaining third yet to be done. A preliminary
map, however, of the whole of California, on a scale of
eighteen miles to an inch, has been drawn, in compliance with
the wbh of the community, and will soon be ready for distri-
bution. Besides these, other works connected with the same
subject are reported by the State Geologist, being the new
editions of the Yosemite Guide-book, and the publication of the
first volume of the "Ornithology of California," which is
characterised as a work exquisitely illustrated and admirably
prin'^ed. The remaining volumes of the series of reports are so
far completed as only to wait the continuance of appropriations
to place them in hand and secure their early appearance.
Arrangements have also been made with Mr. Lesouereux to
work up the fossil plants of California, and with Dr. I^idy
and Prof. Meek in regard to the fossils. Prof. Brewer, of
the Survey, is well advanced in the work on the Botany of
California, which, when completed, will doubtless be used
extensively as a text- book. It is much to be hoped that very
liberal appropriations will be made for these important objects,
since its chief and his assistants are known to be among the very
best specialists in America, and their work has commanded the
highest respect among naturalists at home and abroad. The
reports themselves are models of perfection in regard to typo-
graphy and general execution, and are not to be surpassed by
the finest European works, whether published by governments
or private parties. It may be stated as a well-known fact that
much interest has been excited throughout the scientific circles
of Europe by the character of the work done under the auspices
of the State, and the utmost admiration expressed in regard to
its liberality and enterprise ; this example being commended to
European governments as eminently worthy of their imitation. —
A letter from Captain Buddington, the sailing-master of Captain
Hall's vessel, the Polaris, dated at Upemavik, reports that the
party were in good health and spirits ; and that Mr. Chester,
the first mate, had gone up the coast to bring down Hans
Christian, Dr. Kane's Esquimaux hunter, who was to join the
expedition. — Among the many works published by the United
States government, or at its expense, there are few that exceed
in intrmsic value, as well as in beauty, the volumes hitherto
printed belonging to the series of reports made by Mr. Clarence
King, at his geological and other explorations of the region
along the fortieth parallel of latitude. This expedition is still
occupied in carnring out the work assigned to it by the engineer
department of the army, while reports are now being made of
such portions of the work as have been completed. It is nearly
a year since the volume upon the mining industry of the Sierra
Nevada and other mineral reeions of the West was published,
as prepared mainly by Mr. J. D. Hague (one of Mr. King's
assistants), but including articles by Mr. King himself, and other
members of the corps. This was accompanied by a laii^e atlas
of plates, and contained fixll details of all the methods of metal-
lurgical operations and manipulations, together with drawings of
machinerv, plans of mines, sketches of mining geology, &c.
This book has been received with great favour everywhere, and
« Communicated by tho Sdcntific Editor fAHavftft Wttklf,
has redounded greatly to the credit of the United States, first in
authorising the research, and then in publishing the results in so
superior a style. We now have to chronicle the appearance of
another volume of the series— namely, the Botany, as prepared
under the direction of Mr. Sereno Watson, the botanist of the
expedition. This constitutes volume five of Mr. King's reports,
and number eighteen of the professional papers of the engineer
department of the army. The work embraces a report upon the
geography, meteorology, and physics of the region explored as
connected with the general botany of the country, catalogues of
the known plants investigated, descriptions of new genera and
species, ana various appendices ; these accompanied by forty
plates of new or rare species. Another volume of the series is
now in press, and will include the zoological portion, as fur-
nished by Mr. Robert Ridgway. This will probably appear
in the course of a few months. — ^The scientific tendency of the
age, manifested in the continual springing up of new associations
in different parts of the country, receives an additional illustration
in the establishment of the Natural History Society of Marquette,
Michigan, whtch was organised during the month of December,
under the pre^dency of Dr. Hewitt.
ON THE CARPAL AND TARSAL BONES OF
BIRDS*
'T' HE author stated that he had followed with great interest the
'*' work of Huxley, Cope, Morse, and others, in tracing out the
ornithic characters in the Dinosauria. While following these rela-
tions he had noticed a marked difference in the characters of the
carpus and tarsus of the two classes. It seemed strange that a
group of bones so persistent in the reptiles as well as in the mam-
malia should be so obscure or wanting in birds. Owen objects
to the term tarso-metatarse, as he believes the existence of a
tarsus has not been demonstrated. W. K. Parker, in 1861, on
the osteology of Balseniceps, questions if the lower articular por-
tion of the tibia is not the homologue of the mammalian astra-
galus and not an epiphysis. Gegenbaur has now shown that in
one stage of the young bird there is a proximal tarsal ossicle, and
a distal tarsal ossicle, the first one anchy losing with the tibia, the
distal one likewise anchylosing with the metatarse. Thus, the
term tarso-metatarse is quite proper. While this was a great
step toward a proper understanding of these parts, Mr. Morse
believed that a nearer relation would be found in the discovery of
another proximal tarsal bone. In those reptiles he had examined,
whatever the number of tarsal bones, there were always in the
proximal series one corresponding to the tibia, and another cor-
responding to the fibula. He had found this feature in birds.
In studying the embryos of the eave swallow, bank swallow, king
bird, sand piper, blackbird, cow blackbird, bluebird, chirping
sparrow, yellow warbler, and Wilson's thrush, he had found
three distinct tarsal bones, two in the proximal series answering
to the tibia and fibula, and one in the distal series. The first two
early anchylose, and present an hour-glass-shaped articular surface
as Prof. Cope has descrit>ed in the astragalus of Laelaps. The
final anchvlosis of these conjoined ossicles with the tibia, formed
the bicondylar trochlea so peculiar to the distal end of a bird's
tibia. The distal tarsal ossicle became united with the proximal
ends of the metatarse, as has been shown. In the carpus he had
found four perfectly distinct ossicles, the distal carpal bones be-
coming united to the base of the mid and outer metacarpals, the
other two remaining free, though the ulnar carpal in some cases
anchylosed with the ulna. In the king bird and yellow warbler,
he had found a fifth carpal on the radial side.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
The youmal of Anatomv and Physiology^ Second series.
Na ix., November 1871. — The fint article in this number is by
Prof. Humphry, " On the Anatomy of ,the Muscles and Nerves of
Cryptobranchus Jiaponicus" an animal which has been only rarely
dissected. The muscular system presents no points of great
peculiarity or interest, resembling very closely that of other
Urodela, With respect to the nerves, no trace of the third,
fourth, or sixth cranial could be found ' ' * * thoui^h tin-
third and fourth, both of very sm in )m>
cranial cavity ; previous dissectors 1
• Abstract of paper by Prof. E. S. Morse,
D Association for the Adv.
of the American
fiwA the American Naiumlitt,
Digitized by
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294
NATURE
{Feb. 8, 1872
bmnch from the fifth in the orbit, but this coald not be found in
the present specimen. The three divisions of the fifth cranial
nerve were distinct, but the ophthalmic and supra maxillary left
the skull by a common foram*^. The vagus gave off branches
answering to the spinal accessory, and also a Urge lateral nerve
which ran back along the body, giving off no branches until it
reached the great lateral muscles of the tail, and in that differing
from the corresponding nerve of fishes. The spinal nerves
resembled in most points those of man very closely, the brachial
and crural plexuses were, however, much more simple, which
Prof. Humphry thinks is associated with a lets perfect specialisa-
tion of the action of the limb muscles ; and below knee and
elbow the course of the nerve trunks in die fore and hind limbs
was almost identical.- -The next paper is by Prof Flower, " On
the compostion of the Carpus of the Dog." The os cen'rale had
previous y never been recognised in Carnivora, and both Cuvier
and Owen regarded it, in those animals in which it is present, as
a dismemberment of some element of the carpus ; Gegenbaur,
however, regarded it as itself a true carpal element, though never
able to discover the state of things in those cases in which it was
absent. However, in the skeleton of a dog six weeks old. Prof.
Flower finds that the so-called scapholnnv bone consists of
three distinct pieces, viz., a distinct scaphoid and lunar, and a
third piece evidently answering to the os centrale ; thus confirm-
ing the view that the latter is a true primitive carpal element. —
Dr. Messenger Bradley gives an account of the b^ain of an iiiiot,
who during life could taste and hear well, and could repeat a few
words in a parrot-like manner, bat was c mgenitally blind, and
never recognised any one, or, although not paralysed, made any
attempt at locomotioiL His bonrs were extremely fragile,
fracturing invariably if he jerked a limb against the bed. The
brain when removed weighed twenty-eight ounces : most of the
fissures and lobes of the cerebrum were present, but (notwith-
standing the small size of the hemisphe^'es) wrere relatively small
The island of Reil was small and very simple. The corpora
quadrigtmina were very small, which is incr resting, taken in
connection with his blin inesa. The cerebellum was relatively
large, the vermiform pr>cess was imperfect, the pyramil and
short commissure entirely absent, and the left hemisphere coa-
siderably lighter than the right. The bones throughout the body
when examined microscopically were found permeated with oil
drops and granular matter, but when these were washed
away normal bone structure could be mate out. except
an unusually large size of the Havers an canals. — Prof.
Young contributes some facts in the anatomy of the shoulder
ginile of birds, showing that the only movement of the humerus
in flight which is anatomically poosiblt, is that in a figure
of eight,— A short description by Mr. Watson, of the digestive,
circulato'y, and respiratory oigans of the Indian elephant, k>l ows.
— ^The action of the chlorides of platinum, iridium, and pal-
ladium when introduced into the blood of dqgs is the subject
of an interesting paper by Dr. Blake, of San Francisco. — Prof.
Turner de:>cribes the variations of nerves in the human body
which he has lately met with, and then follows a paper by Pro/.
Struthers on the Great Fin Whale, the most interesting points being
a careful account of the muscles of the fore- limb, helping to dear
up some points as to the homologies of the bones ; and the dis-
covery, for the first time in this species, of a bony rudiment of
the femur, though Prof Flower had previously noticed a cartila-
ginous one. — Mr. Garrod gives some observations made on him-
self showing that the exposure of the nude body to a temperature
below 70" F. causes a rise in the intemd temperature of the
body ; which is greater the lower the temperature ot the sur-
rounding air down to 45°, the lowest point at which observations
have bMn made. This he attributes to a contraction of the
cutaneous vessels driving the blood inward 1, and also lessening
the conducting power of the skin. Exposure to a tempera ure
of 70** causes no rise. — A detailed description of the anatomy of
the Malayan Tapir, by Dr. Murie^ and of the muscles and nerves
of the chimpanzee and anubis, by Mr. Champneys, do not
admit of a short abstract being ^ven of either of them. —The
Report of the Progress of Physiology, by Drs. Brunton and
Ferrier, is very full, and contains short accounts of many matters
of great interest The anatomy report is pos tpoaed.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Geological Society, January 24.— Mr. JoMph Pr«stwich,
F.R.S.9 president, in the chair. — The following commiuiications
were read :—(0 "On the Foraminifera of the Family Rotalin^e
(Carpenter) found in the Cretaceous Formations, with Notes on
their Tertiary and Re>xnt Representatives," by Prof: T. Rupert
Jones and Mr. W. K. Parker, F.R.S. The authors enumerated
the Rotalinae which have been found in the Cretaceous rocks of
Europe, and showed by tabular synopses the range of the species
and notable varieties in the different formations of the Cretaceous
systeoL For the comparison of the Tertiary Rotalinae with those
of the Cretaceous period the following Tertiary formations were
selected :— the Kessenberg beds in the Northern Alps, the Paris
Tertiaries, the London Clay, the Tertiary beds of the Vienna
Ba^in, and the English and Antwerp Crags. The authors also
enumerated the recent Foraminifera of the Atlmtic Ocean. The
authors st<ited that oi Planorbuiim several specie » and important
varieties of the compact, conicil form occur throughout the Cre-
taceous series, and tnat those of the Nau'iloid group are still
more abundant. The plano-convex fbrmt are represented
throughout the series by ^. (Iruncatulina) lobatula ; but the flat
concentric growths had not yet come in. IHanorbulina extends
down to the Lias and Trias. Pulvinulina repanda is feebly re-
presented in the uppermost Chalk, but forms of the **M€Hardu"
group aboudd throughout the series. Species of the *^ degam"
group are peculiarly characteristic of the Gault, and some of the
** Schnibfrsii" group are scattered throughout. These two
groups extend far back in the Secon iary p .riod. The typical
Pota/i t Brccarii is not SL Cretace ms form, but the nearly allied
i?. umbilicata is common. Tinoporus and Patdlina occur at
several stages ; Calcarina only in the Upper Cialk. Tne above-
mentioned tjrpes are for the m jst part still living, but the
^^ auricula " group o( Pulvinulina is wanting in the Cretaceous
series, as also are Spirdlina and Cymbalopora, except that the
latter occurs in the Maestricht Cialk Discorbina and Calcarina
make their first appearance in the uppermost Chalk. Tne chief dis-
tmctiou between the Cretaceous and the existing Rotalinae «as said
to consist in the progressively increasing numl^r of modifications.
The authors cjn eluded by disputing the propriety of regarding
the Atlantic ooze as homologous with the Chalk. The president
suggested the possibility of some of the minute Foraminifera
being transported foasiU derived from earlier beds ttian those in
which they are now found. Dr. Carpenter observed that the
mode of examination to be adopted with Foraminifera was dif«
ferent in character from that which was applic ible to higher
organisms. The range in variation was so great that an
imperfect examination of Nummulites had suMced to make
M. d'Archiac reduce the number of species by one half;
and all the speaker's subsequent studies had impressed upon hitn
the variety in form and in sculpturing of suriace on individuals of
the .^ame species. When out of some thousands of specimens of
Operculina, say, a dozen pronounced forms had been selected,
such as by themselves seemed well marked and distinct, it might
turn out that after ail there was but one species present with
intermediate varieties connecting all these different forms He
thought the same held good with Rotalinae, and that there were
osculant forms which m'g»it connect, not only the species, but
even the genera into which they had been subdivided. This fact
had an important bearing on their genetic succession, wpeciAlIy
as it appeared that some of the best-mirked types were due to
the conditions under which they lived. The temperature in
tropical seas differed in accordance with the depth so much, that
when 2,000 fathoms were reached a degree of cold was atuined
such as was to be found in high latitudes ; and in consequence
the deep-sea forms in tropical latitudes assumed the dwarfed
character ofthose in shallower seas and nearer the pole. He
su.{geftted caution in drawing inferences from forms so subject to
modification, both spontaneous and due to the dep'h of the sea,
especially as connected with abundance of food. Prof Rjunsay
remarkei that geologists would be pleased to find Foraminifera
exhibiting, like orher organisms, changes in some degree con-
nected with the lapse of time. These low forms, however, could
hardly afford criteria for judging of the age of geological forma-
tions, while at the same lime such ample means were affonled by
the higher oiganisms for commg to a conclusion. He cited» for
instance, the Cephalopoda, as proving how different were the
more important forms of marine life in Cretaceous times fiom
those of the present day. He thought that no one who had
thoroughly stud ed the forms of ancient life would be led to
ignore the differences they presented, as a whole, from those
now existing.— Prof. Jones, m reply, observed that the ques-
tion of whether the Foraminifera in a given bed were
derived or not was to be solved partly by their condition
and partly by their relative proportional bat that in moft
L/iyiLiiLCJU uy
<3^'
Feb. 8, 1 872 J
NATURE
295
sufficient data existed on which to found a judg-
ment Ht agreed with Dr. Carpenter as to the ezistenc<
of extreme modifications, and it \aA been his object to ignore
such as seem due to ordinary and local causes, and to group the
forcns in accordance with certain characteristics. Whether the
classification was right or wrong, it was necessary, for the sake
of increasing knowledge, that fossils of this kind should be ar-
ranged in groups ; and whether these were to be regarded a«
truly generic was a minor consideration. In forming their types
and subtypes the authors had carefully avoided minor differences ;
but they still thoujght that the modifications which were capable
of being substantiated were significant of a great lapse of time.
A variation once established never returned completely to the
original type. In Glo&igfrina^ he stated that there were in Cre>
taceous times 8 forms, in Tertiary 12, at the present time
14 ; and these modifications he regarded as equivalent to the
specific changes in higher animals. --(2.) " On the Infralias in
Yorkshire," by the Rev. J. F. Blake. The Infralias, f^^., the
zones of Ammonites planorbis and Am, anguIcUus, have been
recorded hitherto only from Redcar, to the beds at which place
the author referred ; but the chief object of the paper was to
describe some sections at Cliff, near Market Weighton, where
these and lower beds are well exposed, and have yielded a numer-
ous suite of fossils. He considered, however, that these beds
did not belong to the typical Yorkshire area, but were the thin
end of the series which stretches across Eogland. He supposed
there had been a burier in Carboniferous times, which had sepa-
rated the coal-fields of Yorkshire and Durham, prevented the
continuity of the Permian beds, and curved round the secondary
rocks to the north of it, to form the real Yorkshire basin, while
these beds at Cliff were immediately to the south of it The
sections described were six m number, the first pit yielding the
great majority of the fosnils, and the third showing best the
succession of the beds. The fossils could be mostly identified
with known forms, and showed a striking similarity to the Het-
tangian fauna. In all the clays of the Infralias Foraminifera
were numerous and varied. The section in pit No. 3 showed,
commencing at the top :— I. Stone bed with Am. angulaius (the
fossiliferous bed of pit No. i). 2. Thick clays, with bands of
stone characterised by Am. Johnstoni. 3. One band of clay
with Am, planorbis. 4. Thin- bedded stones and clays, some of
them oyster-bands. 5. Clays without Foraminifera, and with
impressions of Anaiina (Wnite Lias). The Avicula conioria
senes is not reached, nor are there any signs of the bone-bed, as
the junction with the Keuper marls, which are found three miles
off, is not seen. The paper was followed by references to the
fossils meotioned, including the description of those that are
considered new. Pro£ Duncan remarked that English geologists
had been backward in receiving the term Infralias, which he had
suggested with respect to the Sutton Down beds some years ago,
and the propriety of which was shown by the term having been
applied to the same beds by French geologists at a still earlier
period. As to the Whue Lias, he regard^ it as a mere local
deposit, not to be found out of England. He traced the exist-
ence of the Infralias fit»m Luxembouig through France into
South Wales, where corals were abimdant. In York:»hire,
though one fine coral had been found, the Ammonites seemed to
point to a difference in condiiion. Mr. Hughes remarked that
the lithologiaU character of the beds, as described by the author,
did not agree wiih that of the Infralias in the S W. of England
or the N. of Italy, and that the palseontological evidence which
had been laid before the Society did not confirm the view that
they were Infralias, the author having especially noticed the
ab^nce of Avicula contorta where he expected that it should
occur. Also, by reference to the author's section, Mr. Hughes
pointed out thit below what he descnbed as Infralias he drew
other beds which were not Trias, the author having explained
that some beds which had been called Trias were only stained
beds of Uassic age. —The Rev. J. F. Blake, in reply, acknow-
ledged the difference between the Yorkshire section and those of
the neighbourhood of Bath, but insisted on the similarity of the
fossils.
Linnean Society, February i.— Dr. J. D. Hooker, F.R.S.,
vice-president, in the chair. "On the Clafisification and Dis-
tribution of Composiiae," by G. Bentham, F.R.S., president.
The order Compositae, or Synantherae, is remarkable, not onlv
from its enormous size, but from its ex'tremely natural and well-
marked characters, there being not a single instance in which it
is doubtful whether a plant should be referred to this order or
not All the estential chanurters of the andrredum, pistil^
structure of the fruit, structure of the seed, and inflorescence are
absolutely constant throughout the 10,000 species comprised
within it. This very fact, however, renders its sub-division into
tribes and genera a matter of extreme difficulty, the systematist
being compelled to adopt characters as generic, which, in other
orders, would hardly be considered as even specific. After
briefly reviewing the labours of Linnaetts, Jussieu, Cassini, Don,
Lessing, Schultz Bipontinus, De CandoUe, Asa Gray, Hildebrand,
Delpbo, and other botanists who have paid special attention to
this subject, the author spoke of the special opportunities he had
had in Uie preparation of the "Genera Plantarum," in conjunc-
tion with Dr. Hooker, for examining himself nearly the whole
of the genera comprised within the limits of the order, and then«-
proceeded to the consideration of the ^ue of the several
characters available for the distinction of genera and tribes :
I. Sexual differences in the florets contain^ in the capitulum,
which may either have both the male and the female organs per-
fect, or the female organs sterile in the cential florets, or the
male organs or both sets abortive or wanting in the marginal
florets. These distinctions formed the basis of Linnaeus's order,
but have been considered of less and less importance by subse-
quent writers. The author finds them sometimes constant in
large genera or subtribes, sometimes variable in closely-allied
species. 2. Di- and tri-morohtsm, very rare in Compositae, except
as connected with sexual differences. 3. Differences in the pistiL
The ovary and ovule are uniform throughout the order, and the
style nearly so when it acts only as the female organ ; but the
modifications of its extremity, in so far as they are destined to
sweep the pollen out of the anther tube, supply some of the
most important differential characters for genera, and even for
tribes. These characters, first brought forward by Cassini, formed
the basis of Lessing's and De Candolle^s classifications, but have
in many instances been too implicitly relied upon. 4. Differences
in the fruit and its pappus. The structure of the fniit and seed
is uniform in the order, but the outer shape of the achene and its
ribs, angles, or wings have been made much use of, especially by
Schultz Bipontinus, and the pappus presents such inbnite varia-
tions so easily observed that it has been applied to the distinc-
tion of innumerable g^em often very artificiaL 5. Differences
m the androeciwa. The male organs are as uniform in their
structure, nunber, insertion, and relative position as other
essential parts of Uie flower, but appendages often observed at
the base of the anthers, usually called tails, having no apparent
function to perform, are, however, so constant in their presence
or absence, as to supply most valuable tribual characters.
6. Differences in the corolla, which, though uniform as to
essential points in its structure and position, shows modifications
of the limb or lamina, which are of great importance as distinc-
tive characters : (i ) the pentamerous Kgula of Cichoraceae truncate
at the end with five short equal teeth ; (2) the r^;ular tubular
corolla, either slender and equal to the end, or expanded upwards
into an equally toothed or lobed limb ; (3) the bilabiate corolla,
in which the two inner lobes forming the inner lip are usually
shorter or smaller or more deeply divided than the three outer ;
and ( 4) the tnmerous ligulate corolla forming the ray of most
heterogamous capitula, in which the two inner lobes are deficient
or rarely represented by minute slender teeth. 7. Differences in
the calyx. This organ b so reduced as to supply no characters
except such as are derived from the ribs and pappus of the ripe
fruit, and are considered under that head. 8. Differences in the
ultimate inflorescence and bracts, ue.^ in the capitulum, its in-
volucre, receptacle, and paleae, the modifications of which acquire
a great degree of constancy and consequent importance in the
distinction of genera or even of tribes, as might be expected
from the increased functions imposed upon them by the abor-
tion of the calyx. 9. Differences in foliage. There is no type
of foliage in Compositae which may not be found in several other
orders, although the leaves are never compound with articulate
leaflets, but the opposition or alternation of the leaves are of great
assistance as characters of some of the tribes, differences in habit,
stature, and general inflorescence, rarely giving absolute characters
excepting where numerous capitula are crowded on a common
recepca^ into a kind of compound capitulum. 10. Differences
in geographical distribution, which, if considered in as far as it
may be attributed to origin independently of climatological con-
siderations and modem colonisations, may be of great use ia
determining natural genera. In the ponion of the paper now
laid before the society and read in abstract the author enters into
considerable detail with regard to the above several series of
available characterj, and concludes with a summary of the
thirteen tribes which he has adopted for the ' ' Genera Plantarumi ''
i_/iyiiLi,£Lc;u kjy
e>^'
296
NATURE
[Fed. 8, 1872
reserving for a future meeting the second part relating to the geo-
graphical distribution of the order.
Chemical Society, February i. — Dr. Frankland, F.R.S.,
president, in the chair. — When the ordinary business of the
Society had been transacted, a note "On the crystalline
principle of Barbadoes aloes " was read by the author, Dr. W.
A. Tilden, in which he described anew derivative of aloin. This
is chloraloin, which crystallises from boiling-water in yellow
silky needles, bearing considerable resemblance to the corre-
sponding bromime compound bromaloin. — Dr. C. R. A. Wright
tnen read an elaborate paper " On the relations between the
atomic hypothesis and the condensed symbolic expression of
chemical facts and changes known as dissected (structural)
formula;," in the first part of which he showed the possibility of
expressing chemical facts without reference to the atomic theory ;
and in the second examined how far these facts could be accounted
for by the atomic hypothesis. A long and very interesting dis-
cussion ensued, in which some of the speakers advocated the
emplo3rment of the atomic theory to a greater or less extent, as
promoting the progress of chemical science, whilst others de-
sired its abolition.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, January 29. — A note by M. J.
Boussinesq on the integration of the equation with partial de-
rivatives of the isostatic cylinders produced in a homogeneous
and ductile solid, was presented by M. de Saint- Venant —
M. A. Ledieu read a note containing objections to the marine
gyroscope proposed by M. £. Dubois at the meeting of January
22. — M. J. A. Serret presented a memoir on the pendulum of
L^n Foucault.— M. Jamin presented a note by MM. A. Comu
and £. Mercadier on melodic musical intervals, confirmatory of
their previous results. — A note by M. J. VioUe on the induction
currents produced in the polar masses of Foucault's apparatus
was read. — M. Daubree presented a note by M. Peslin on the
bands of the solar spectrum, in which the author indicates a very
simple relation between the most important bands. — M. Delaunay
communicated a note by M. Fron on the prevision of certain
earthquakes. — A further note by Father Secchi, on the tempe-
rature of the sun, was read, in which the author still maintains
his opinion as to the enormous temperature of that body. — A
note by M. £. Liais on absolute meridian observations in the low
latitudes of the southern hemisphere was read, with especial re-
ference to the observatory of Rio de Janeiro. Upon this paper
MM. Le Verrier and Laugier made some remarks.-- M. S.
Meunier communicated a paper on the methods which con-
cur in demonstrating the stratigraphy of Meteorites. — M. De-
launay made some remarks upon the note presented to
the last meeting of the Academy by M. Renou with regard to the
Meteorological Manual of the Paris Observatory for 1872, and
presented to the Academy the first number of a monthly Meteoro-
logical Bulletin published by the Observatory. — M. P. Thenard
presented some observations upon the preservation of wines by
heating, in connection with a recent note by M. BalanL He
claimed the discovery of the action of heat upon wines for MM.
Appcrt and de Verguette.— M. Chevreul reatd a note upon the
investigations upon dyeing carried out by M. Paul Havrez ; MM.
MonteKore-Levi and Kunzel presented a reply to a claim of
priority made by MM. de Ruolz and Fontenay with respect to the
discovery of phosphorus bronze and its employment in the
manufacture of ordnance ; M. Wurtz presented a note by M. L.
C. Coppet on the supersaturation of the solution of chloride of
sodium ; and M. C. Bernard communicated a note on the analysis
of the gases of the blood by MM. A. Estor and C. Saint- Pierre.
— ^The livdy discussion commenced two or three meetings ago on
fermentation and heterogcny was reopened by a long paper on fer-
mentations by M. £. Fremy, and continued by MM. Balardand
Wurtz. — M. C. Martins resul an important paper on the normal
position of the hand in man and in the vertebrate series.
BOOKS RECEIVED
£NOLiSK.'~The Highlands of Ceotral India : Capt. J. Forsyth (Longnuins).
•-Rude Stone Monuments in all Countries: J. Fei^gusson (J. Murray). —
Hints and Facts on the Origin of Man : P. Melia( Longmans). — ^A Dictionary
of Chemistry, Supplement : H. Watts (Longmans).— <;andcamus : Hu-
morous Poems translated from the German bv C G. Leland (TrQbner).—
GaonMUical Conic Seaions: J. S. Jfackson (Macmillans). — Arithmetic in
Theory and Practice : J. Brook Smith (Macmilians).— Worms, a Scries of
X.«cture5 ott Practical Helminthology : Dr. T. S. Cobbold (Churchill).
FoRSiGN. — Medianische Jahrbucher, 1871 ; Heft 4 : S. Strieker. — Mitthei-
lungen dcr Naturforschendcn Oresellschaft in Berne. x8to- — Nouvra-n
Memoires de la Society Helvetique des Sciences Naturelies en Berne,
Vol. xxiv.— Beitrage zur Ktitik dcr Darwrinsche Lehre : Dr. £. Askcnasy.
DIARY
THURSDAY, February 8.
Royal Society, at 8.3«.~Experiments concerning the Eyolutton of Life
from Lifeless Matter : W. N. Hartley. — Experiments on the Directive
Power of Large Steel Magnets of Bars of Magnetised Soft Iron, and of
Galvanic Coils, in their Action on External Small Magnets : \k ith Ap-
pendix, containmg an Investigation of the Attraction of a Galvanic Coil on
a Small Magnetic Mass : James Stuart, M.A.
SociSTY OP Antiquaries, 8.30. — ^On the Hunnebedden of HoDand : A. W.
Franks.— On an Inscribed Saxon Knife ; J. Evans, F.R.S. — On a Sword
Found in Spain : Col. Lane Fox.
Mathematical Society, at 8. — On the Factors of the Differences of
Powers, with especial reference to a theorem of Fermat's ; W. Barrett
Davis.—On an AJgebratcal Form and the Geometry of its dual connection
with a polygon, plane, or spherical : T. Cotterill.
FRIDAY^ February 9.
Astronomical Society, at 3. — Anniversary Meeting.
Royal Institution, at 3. — On Sleep : Prof. Humphry, F.R.S.
Qubkett Microscopical Club, at 8.
SATURDAY, February 10.
Royal Institution, at 3. — On the Theatre in Shakespeare's Time ; Wm.
B. Donne.
SUNDAY, February h.
Sunday Lecture Society, at 4.— On the Skeleton of the Higher Verte-
brates : Dr. T. S. Cobbold, F.R.S.
MONDAY, February la.
Geographical Society, at 8.30.
London Institution, at 4.— Elementaiy Chenustry : ProC Odling, F.R.S.
TUESDAY, February 13.
Royal Institution, at 3. — On the Circulatory and Nervous Systems : Dr.
W. Rutherford. F.R.S.E.
Photographic Society, at 8 —Anniversary Meeting.— On a Comparison
of the Different Modes of Plate Cleaning : Dr Anthony. Hie Ni^pce dc
Sl Victor specimens will be shown.
WEDNESDAY, February 14.
Society or Arts, at 8.— On the Study of Economic Botany : J. CoUins.
THURSDAY, February 15.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali
Manufacture ; Prof. Odlmg, F.R.S.
Royal Society, at 8.30.
Society or Antiquaries, at 8.30.
LiNNBAN Society, at 8.— On a Chinese Artichoke Gall : A. Mailer, F.L.S.
—On the Habits, Structure, &c., of the three-banded Armadillo : Dr. J.
Murie, F.L.S. — Comparative Geographical Distribution of ButterHies and
Birds : W. F. Kirby.
Chemical Soobty, at 8.
CONTENTS Page
The Foundation of Zoological Stations. By Dr. Anton Dohrn 977
The Natural History of Egypt and Malta. (lYith Illustration) 280
OuK Book Shelf , 381
Letters to the Editor: —
The Aurora Borealisof Feb. 4— Prof. C. Piazzi Symth, F.R.S.: G.
M. Ssabrokb ; R. J. Friswell. F.CS. ; Capt. J. P. Maclbak,
R.N. ; J. J. Murphy, F.G.S.: J. Jeremiah ; Rev. M. H. Close ;
W. Symons, F.CS. ; T. R Capron 282
The Floods— Col. George Greenwood 385
Zodiacal Lieht— Rbv. T. W. Webb, F.R.A.S aSs
Magnetic Disturbance During Solar Eclipse — G. Math us
1^ Whipple, F.R A.S 2S5
Circumpolar Lands— J. J. Murphy. F.G.S 285
The History OF Photography. By H. Baden Pritchard, F.CS. 2S5
Ganoi 's Physics. By G. F. Rodwell, F.CS. (With I llust rations). 285
The Solar Atmosphere. By Capt. J. Ericsson. {lYitJk Iltustra-
tion ) 287
The Rigidity of the Earth. By Prof. Hennessy, F.R.S. . . . ^83
The Landslips at North wich. By Thos. Ward 289
Notes 390
Scientific Intelligence from America 293
On the Carpal and Tarsal Bones or Birds. By Prof. E. S.
Morse 293
Scientific Serials 393
Societies and Academies 394
Books Receiybd 296
Diary 29S
NOTICE
We beg leave to date that we dicHne to return rejected communica*
tions^ and to this rule we can make no exception. Communica^
turns respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers^ not to the Editor,
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NATURE
297
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1872
THE POSITION OF THE CENTRE OF
GRAVITY IN INSECTS
MY researches on the conditions of equilibrium in
living beings, have led me to the conclusion that
a complete knowledge of them is only possible when the
position of the centre of gravity in each is known.
At present the knowledge of the mechanism of the Ar-
ticulata has made considerable progress, thanks to the
use of processes of investigation borrowed from Physics ;
and it appeared to me, that there would be real utility in
the description of an easy method for the discovery of the
centre of gravity in the Articulata, and the results which its
application to insects has allowed me to obtain. I am,
unfortunately, unable in a simple risume to give a descrip-
tion of the instrument which I have employed. A very
short description without an engraving is necessarily
obscure, and loses all utility. I shall simply say that the
instrument in question is a reproduction, on a small scale
and with some improvements, of that which Barelli has
invented for the determination of the centre of gravity in
man. And with regard to the results of my experiments,
I must also renounce the idea of giving them in the form
they assumed in my work , that is, without the considerable
number of figures combined in tables. I shall confine
myself to the enunciation of the general conclusions 1
have been able to deduce, and to supporting them, as re-
quired, by several examples.
(i.) The centre of gravity in an insect is situated in
the vertical and medial plane which passes along the
longitudinal axis of the body.
(2.) It occupies a position almost identical in insects of
the same species, the same sex, and in the same attitude.
(3.) The exterior form of the body rarely permits the
determination of the exact position of the centre of gravity
without experiment, I shall cite the results with which
the family of Odonates have furnished me as examples.
All its representatives have nearly the same exterior
aspect ; and yet, notwithstanding this quasi identity of
structure, I have found in the relative position of the
centre of gravity the following differences : —
Agrion puclla, female 1st third of the 3rd abdominal ring,
„ sanguinea ,, Posterior border of the 2nd abdo-
minal ring.
Libellula conspurcata ,, „ ,, of metathorax.
Libellttla vulgata „ Groove between thorax and ab-
domen,
^schna grandis „ Middle of 2nd abdominal ring.
(4.) The centre of gravity does not occupy the same
position in the two sexes of one species. It is sometimes
less and sometimes more to the rear in the females than
in the males ; and its situation depends on the relations ex-
isting between the different dimensions of the individuals.
One would suppose that the centre of gravity would
always be situated further back in females than in males,
as the abdomen of. the former is in general more bulky
than that of the males. During the metamorphosis from
larva to perfect insect, the relative centre of gravity ap-
vou V.
proaches the head ; the absolute centre, on the contrary,
recedes from it.* This apparent contradiction is very easily
explained ; the thorax of the larva is generally much re-
duced, and the abdominal rings numerous. In the perfect
insect the thorax has acquired considerable dimensions,
and the number of abdominal rings has diminished. The
thorax, prolonging itself more to the rear, has approached,
so to speak, the centre of gravity, which also remains in
the medial region of the body ; and the abdomen shorten-
ing itself, the distance of its extremity from the point in
question diminishes.
(5.) While standing, the centre of gravity is placed at
the base of the abdomen, or in the posterior portion of
the thorax, and usually in the centre of the length of the
body.
(6.) When an insect is walking,its centre of gravity under-
goes constant displacement about a mean point, but the dis-
tances of displacement are too small to be measured. In
fact, if experiments are made with leaping Orthoptera,
grass-hoppers, or Acridians, it is ascertained that the dis-
placement of their enormous posterior members leads to
changes in the situation of the centre of gravity, but
these changes are so small that one arrives at the con-
clusion that it is impossible to measure them in ordinary
insects.
(7.) The displacement of the centre of gravity, when
the insect passes from the state of repose to that of flight,
cannot be ascertained except with those species where the
wings lie folded on the back when in a state of repose.
The displacement is horizontal and from back to front.
For example, in the following species the displacement
Dytiscus dimidiatus
Hydrophilus piceos
Melolontha vulgaris
Notonecta glauca
Locusta viridissima
Vespa vulgaris
Plusia gamma
Eristalis tenax
0*045 of the total length of the body.
0028 „ „
0053 „
0032
0-054 „ „
0023
0025
0-037 M
(8.) During active flight the centre of gravity osciUates
continually about a mean position, which corresponds
with the instants when the extremities of the wings pass
the point of crossing of the 8-shaped curve which they
describe in the air.
(9.) In aquatic insects the centre of gravit}' is nearer
to the lower than to the upper surface of the body.
(10.) During swimming, the movements of the posterior
feet, acting like oars, determine the oscillation of the
centre of g^vity around a mean position, which answers to
the position of the swimming feet placed at the middle of
their course. These oscillations of the centre of gravity
lead to a continual swaying of the body about a transverse
axis passing through the mean centre of gravity, and it
ought, consequently, to follow a gently undulating course.
Felix Plateau
* In my work I have called the rehtlve position of the centre of gravity,
its position as regards any portion of the body, as rings, hip (hnttcht), &c. :
and I have named the ateolute position of the centre of gravity the number
which is obtained by calculating the relation between the distance of the
centre of gravity from the posterior extremity of the body and the total
length of the animal. The quotients, 050, 0*67, for example, obtained in
this manner, mean that the distance of the centre of gravity from the posterior
extremity is ^ or /i^n of the total length of the body. They show imme-
diately, and independently of the form and thinness of the rings, whether the
centre of gravity is in the centre of the insect, nearer to the head, or nearer
to the anal orihce.
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298
MATURE
[Feb. 15, 1872
ON THE COLOURING-MATTERS FOUND
IN FUNGI
DURING the last autumn I studied very carefully
the colouring-matters occurring in such fungi as I
was able to find in my own district. For the correct
specific determination of many of them I am much in-
bebted to Mr. M. C. Cooke. Though the number ex-
amined was small, compared with the total number of
British species, it was sufficient to lead to some interesting
conclusions, and at the same time to point out the ne-
cessity of the examination of many more, which so far
have not fallen under my notice. It therefore appears to
me better to postpone the description of the individual
colouring-matters until I can include a greater number,
and compare them as a whole with those found in algae,
lichens, and other natural orders ; but at the same time it
may be well to give a short general account of some of
the conclusions to which I have been led by the facts
already observed.
So far I have been able to determine, by means of their
optical and other properties, the existence of at least thirty
distinct colouring-matters, and I feel persuaded that fur-
ther examination will greatly extend the list. The majority
of fungi contain at least two, and many contain several,
different coloured substances, which can be separated, or
perfectly well distinguished by other means. Closely
allied species sometimes contain two or more in common,
but very often one or more differ ; whilst, at the same time,
species belonging to somewhat widelyl separated genera
are occasionally coloured by identical substances — for ex-
ample, SUreum hirsutum zndPeztsa aurantia. Notwith-
standing this, on the whole, there does appear to be a very
decided connection between the general organisation of
the plant and the particular kind of colouring-matter
developed in it. There is, however, a considerable varia-
ation, even in different individuals of the same species —
one developes much of one substance, and another of
another— and thus we can easily understand why we often
find them of very different colours, with every inter-
mediate tint. The connection between general organisa-
tion and the coloured products is still more decidedly
proved by comparing those met with in fungi with those
found in other natural orders. As already mentioned, I
have been able to distinguish at least thirty different
kinds in fungi. Of these fully twenty have such well-
marked optical characters that they could be recognised
without difficulty in other plants. Some of the rest could not
be easily distinguished when mixed with any of the modifi-
cations of tannic acid, and therefore nothing very positive
can be said about their presence or absence in certain
plants. Confining our attention to those about which
there is no such doubt, I may say that only one is known
to occur in any plant not a fungus. This is the fine
orange colour, soluble in bi-sulphide of carbon, found in
Calocera viscosa^ which agrees perfectly with the more
orange-coloured xanthophyll of some faded leaves, and of
the exterior layer of the root of the carrot. The rest
have hitherto been found only in various fungi. Neglect-
ing individual differences, and taking into consideration
only such general characters as are most useful in dividing
colouring-matters into natural groups, there is also a re-
markable difference between those of fungi and of some
other natural orders. In several previous papers I have
described how colouring-matters may be divided into
three groups by the manner in which they are acted upon
by sulphite of soda. In group A the detached absorption
is removed, even when the solution contains free ammonia ;
in group B it is removed only when the solution* contains
excess of a weak acid, whilst group C is not changed in
either case. So far, with only two exceptions, all the colour-
ing-matters found in fungi belong to group C, even when
they are blue or red, whereas with only two exceptions all
the blue and red colouring-matters in the petals and leaves
of flowering plants belong to groups A and B. A larger
proportion of those of group C occurs in fruits, and a still
larger in coloured woods, and thus the colouring-matters
of fungi are much more closely related to those in woods
than to those in flowers or leaves. As far as my observa-
tions extend, there is little or no specific agreement be-
tween the substances found in fungi and those in algae and
lichens. These latter orders are, however, closely related
in this respect, for the greater part of the specific
colouring-matters found in algae occur in lichens, along
with others similar to, hut perhaps not identical with,
those met with in fungi. Substances analogous to tannic
acid are not of common occurrence, but are found in a
few, as for example in Agariats suhlateritius^ passing by
oxidisation into a very insoluble brown colouring-matter,
as in the case of faded leaves in autumn.
I am most willing to admit that much still remains io
be learned ; but, at the same time, these various facts
appear to prove that there is some definite rei tion
between the organisation of plants and the chemical and
optical characters of the compounds formed during their
growth. If further research should establish this con-
clusion, one may perhaps indulge the hope that it will
throw much light on certain questions in vegetable physio-
logy. H. C. SORBY.
SCHMIDT'S COMPARATIVE ANATOMY
Handbuch der Verglekhenden Anatomie, Eduard Oscar
Schmidt. Sechste Auflage. (Jena, 1872.) Pp. 402.
IT is now more than twenty years since the first edition
of this manual appeared. The plan is that of a com-
panion to the author's lectures as Professor in the
University of Gratz. It begins with a somewhat lengthy
introduction on the general principles of Morphology and
Physiology. In discussing the distinction between ani-
mals and plants, the author appositely quotes Buffon's
dictum, " II n'y a aucune difference absolument essentielle
et g^n^rale entre les animaux et les v^gdtaux.'* He also
does full justice to the pre-eminent importance of Cuvier's
labours in palaeontology as well as in comparative
anatomy and classification ; but it is strange to find the
name of Hunter conspicuous by its absence, even in a
brief sketch of scientific biology. The lines which the
author has chosen for the motto of his book,
AUe Gestalten sind ahnlich, und keine gleichet der andem,
Und so deutet der Chor aof ein gcheimes Gesetz,
have, he believes, now received their solution. For Prof.
Oscar Schmidt is a convert to the Darwinian creed.
He says, " I have not freed myself from my old geological
orthodoxy without much diffictdty; and I am therefore
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JFeb. 15, 1872]
NATURE
299
pleased to have finished this new edition, in which the
breach is complete." The contents of the book show
that this is no half-hearted conversion.
It is divided into chapters, each of which treats of the
anatomy of one of the primary groups of the animal
kingdom, and the following table of contents, not given
in the work itself, sufficiently indicates the principles on
which the arrangement is made, i, Protista and Pro
tozoa ; 2, Coelenterata ; 3, Echinodermata ; 4, Vermes ;
5, Anhropoda ; 6, Mollusca ; 7, Tunicata ; 8, Vertebrata.
There is a good account of the Tunicata, or " Primeval
Vertebrates " (Urwirbelthiere), from which the following
is an extract.
After describing the characters of the ascidian larva
as known before Kowalevsky's researches, the author
continues :
" When the yelk-division has taken place, the ovum
becomes first flat and then hollow on one side. A
depression is thus formed, lined by two layers of cells
(germinal laminae). From the more superficial of these
are developed the skin and nervous system, from the
deeper the notochord, muscles, and alimentary canal, the
muscles arising in a secondary layer of cells derived from
the deeper ong^nal one. A dorsal groove bounded by
two longitudinsd folds becomes rapidly converted into a
tube, the spinal canal, and this is immediately followed by
formation of the tadpole-like tail. . . . The primitive
digestive tract is the depression described above, which first
closes and then forms a new opening on to the surface, the
future mouth. The branchial sack, alimentary canal, and
cloaca keep pace with the other organs (those, namely,
which are derived from the superficial or serous layer),
and when the larva becomes fixed, the latter either dis-
appear altogether, like the notochord, or undergo retro-
grade change, like the nervous system. Thus the original
likeness of the larva to the vertebrate type becomes lost"
Each chapter begins with a pretty full survey of the
classes, orders, and other sub-divisions in the group of
which it treats, with their several characters. In looking
through these, some points appear worthy of note. No
mention is made of Gregarinida. Sponges are kept
among the Protozoa. The account of Uiis class is not so
full as might have been expected from the author's
familiarity with it ; and with respect to its relation
to the Coelenterata, he merely remarks : " The early
form of calcareous sponges, as well as the adult condi-
tion of certain genera, suggest a comparison with the
Coelenterate type." The Tunicata are removed from
the worms, but Infusoria are added to this heterogeneous
group, which, with Prof, Schmidt and most German
naturalists, includes Bryozoa and Annulata, and probably
contains as many distinct types as it did when Linnaeus
first defined it. Among the Arthropod2^ Limulus is
placed between the Amphipoda and Branchiopoda, as
the type of the Crustacean order Pcecilopoda, while
the Myriopoda do not appear at alL The Pteropoda
form an order of the Gasteropoda, or (as they are
inconveniently called) Cephalophora. The Vertebrata
are divided into seven classes, Amphioxus and the
Cyclostomi being both separated from Pisces, and made
into independent primary divisions. Dipnoi appear as
the highest order of fishes, separated from the Ganoids
by Teleostei. Among the monodelphous mammals it is
surprising to see the Sirenia still united in the same order
with the true Cetacea ; while, on the other hand, the
Pinnipedia are separated from the other Camivora. The
order Primates is broken up by the exclusion of Homo
altogether, and the separation of the Lemurs (Prosimiae).
The author a^ees with Haeckel and Gegenbiur in regard-
ing this last order as the lowest of the Discophorous
Mammalia, and as representing the ancestors of that
group.
The morphological description in each of the above
chapters embraces in most cases too wide a subject for
the space allotted to it. Even in Gegenbaur*s work one
finds the Vertebrata, and still more the Vermes, too ex-
tensive for the anatomy of ihe whole group to be con-
veniently considered at one view, and, not only is
Schmidt's style less concise, but is not illustrated by
diagrams of any sort The account of the vertebrate
skull and of the specialisation of the somites of Arthro-
poda are instances of the deficiency referred to. More-
over, there is generally much too cursory an account of
Embryology in comparison with other subjects. Indeed
the development of Vertebrata is entirely omitted. The
bibliography is evidently intended as a guide for students
to the latest and most accurate works in each department^
and for that purpose is fairly complete and well selected ;
but there are some remarkable omissions, as of Mr.
Parker's monograph on the shoulder girdle.
On the whole, this expanded syllabus is interesting, as
a fresh instance of the progress which ** the new zoology " is
making abroad ; but its chief practical value will probably
be to those who have the advantage of hearing the
author's lectures. For them the wish with which he sends
out the present edition will no doubt be amply fulfilled :
** I hope that it will remain what it has been, a book for
students, and will keep me in that active intercourse with
young minds which ensures to a university teacher the
jfreshness of thought, the imagination and openness to
new ideas, which he can so ill afford to lose."
P. H. Pye Smith
OUR BOOK SHELF
Text-Books of Science, Technical Arithmetic and Men*
suration. By Charles W. Merrifield, F.R.S. (Long-
mans and Co.)
Arithmetic is a science as well as an art, and although
the title of this book points solely to the art of arithmetic,
we are bound to examine how far it has supported its
right to a place in the series of text-books of science.
The author says in the preface that *' his experience has
led him to believe that there is not much practical con-
nection between successful teaching and logical sequence.
The province of logic is to test ideas, not to impart them."
We venture to demur entirely to these propositions, and
to assert that each successive idea acquired by the pupil
should be made to follow logically from the ideas pre-
viously existing in the mind, and that ideas which cannot
stand the test of logic are, in an educational point of view,
worthless.
We proceed to select a few instances of the disregard
of logical sequence which the author considers compatible
with successful teaching, (i.) The only definition of di-
vision given is the following : — " The object of division is
to find how many times one number is contained in
another. This number of times is called the quotient."
A few pages further on is given the method of dividing
/. s, d, by 365, and no hint is given that a different inter-
pretation of division is requiied, viz., distribution of the
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[Feb. 15, 1872
money into so many parts, and not finding how many
times the number 365 is contained in so much money,
which is meaningless. (2.) Multiplication is said to be
only a shorter method of " getting at " a particular kind
of summation ; but when we come to fractions we are
told parenthetically that to multiply 7 pence by J is to
take three-quarters of it, without any discussion of the
extension of the very meaning of the word multiplication
that must be made before this interpretation is intelligible.
In the same way we are told that one way of writing
289 -5- 17 is W before the important truth has been im-
pressed on the pupil that J of 3 = J of i, so that a symbol
IS used in two clistinct senses before the identity of those
senses has been shown. Throughout the book all diffi-
culties are slurred over with half reasons, which are to be
accepted by the pupil as whole ones. There is no attempt
to lead the pupil to discover the rules for himself, or to
trace the way in which they were originally arrived at ;
while at every turn we meet with such expressions as
" evidently,'* " it is clear," " it is easy to see," " there is no
mystery about decimals," as substitutes for the considera-
tions which should really connect the new rules with the
previous knowledge of the pupiL We might pick out
specimens of this want of thoroughness from almost every
page, but we must now turn to the art of arithmetic. The
author says ** care has been taken not to introduce any-
thing in the way of mathematical invention or discovery,"
but surely care should also have been taken that the book
should not be behind those already published in the brevity
and completeness of the methods given. The rule for
contracted multiplication is given, but its application to
complicated calculations, such as practice, interest, stocks,
&c., is left untouched. Contracted division is mentioned,
but is not applied to the only case where it is indispens-
able, division by an interminable decimal Decimalisa-
tion of money is taught, but by the old clumsy method ;
while a mode of approximate decimalisation is given, which
is of no use if the result required be greater than the given
amount. The latter portion of the book is devoted to
mensuration, in which considerations that belong to the
higher mathematics are described as evident, while all
mention of the mensuration of rectangles and the differ-
ence between linear, square, and cubic feet is omitted.
The book is below the level of the more advanced thought
of the age. and unworthy to take rank in the series which
contains "Miller's Inorganic Chemistry," and "Maxwell's
Theory of Heat" H. A. N.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ TTie Editor does not hold hims^f responsible fir opinions expressed
by his correspondatts» No notice is taktn of anonymous
communications, ]
The Total Eclipse as seen at Ootacamund
As a photographer and an ardent lover of science, I was of
course anxioos to catch an image or two of the eclipse, as a
memorial of the grand scene of the morning of the 12th inst.
Unfortunately for me, I read a short time ago an article by Mr.
Brothers, of Manchester, on photographing eclipses, in which
he says that it b useless to attempt a photograph of an eclipse
without an equatorial stand to fix the camera to. Inquiries soon
convinced me that in a primitive place Uke this it was impossible
to get such a stand, and, in consequence, I gave up all idea of
making an attempt at taking a photograph of the eclipse. The
eclipse, however, no sooner commenced, than I laid aside my
telescope and brought my camera into use to viratch the pro-
gress of the eclipse, with the aid of a strong magnifying glass on
the focusing screen of the camera. Here I saw that the pro-
gressive movement was scarcely perceptible ; and that, with a
shon exposure of three seconds, I might get an image : though
not i)erfectly sharp, yet it mi^ht show all details necessary for
fomiing an interesting memorial of the eclipse.
I prepared one plate some time before totality, washed it, so
that it would keep good for an hour or so, and some time after
totality had commenced I exposed it for three seconds, and de-
veloped it some time after totality. As far as I know I exposed
the plate 75 seconds after the commencement of totality, and the
result was the plate I had the pleasure to hand to you, and the
prints you saw in my place were printed from it I may add
that the plate was taken with a No. 6 D. Dallmeyer*s lens, with
the full opening and without a stop.
I will digress for a moment and express my surprise that I heir
that the photographers of the Expedition parties obtained only
five or six plates during totality, and that tney gave exposures of
about 15 seconds. If I had exposed my plate 15 seconds instead
of three, I should have had nothing remaining but "a foggy ghost. "
There must have been a great want of proper balance in their
chemicals. Again, they seem to have been prorided with a
number of slides, or camera-backs, to hold a certain number of
prepared plates. Now, had I known that I could obtain toler-
able results without an equatorial stand, I would have presented
you with a plate of at least eighteen different photos ot totality.
As my idea may be useful on a future occasion, I will shortly
mention it. Photographers are in the habit of taking 2, 4, 6. or
even eight cartes de visite photos on one single plate, and often
also with one lens only, by an arrangement which we call repeat-
ing backs. A slight modification of the repeating back would
have enabled me, or any one else, to take in quick succession,
without loss of a second, at least 18 or 20 photos of the eclipse
on one single plate. Different exposures might have been given
to some or to all, and a treble number of photos to what has
been obtained might have been secured without additioxud ex-
pense, and with less trouble. Any apparatus-maker would
furnish such a slide for about 4Qr., and as the operator would
have only to pay attention to one slide and one plate, he would
work with more certainty and comfort. If any one will say that
one good photo of the eclipse was aU that was needed, I must
say that I differ from him. I observed most distinctly that the
shape of the corona was undergoing a regular dissolving view
process, and had not for two seconds exactly the same shape.
Of this more hereafter.
The eventful day commenced here in the centre of Ooty, vlth
the sky overcast both in the east and west with dark grey clouds.
The camp of the Expedition on Dadabetta appeared enveloped
in fog, so that the early prospects of the members stationed
there must have been rather gloomy. In the town where I was
the eclipse was visible from the very first conmiencement to the
last moment ; only once, for a few seconds, during the earliest
stage, a small cloud obscured the sun. The grey, gloomy donds
receded (as if inspired with fear) as the eclipse advanced, in the
direction of all four points of the compass, and the atmosphere be-
tween the earth and the sun and moon appeared of that absolute
pure and blue hue, which can seldom be seen any nrhere else except
in high mountains. The scene as seen from the centre of Ooty
was a grand sight Every eye was turned to the east, the curious
play of colours around the hidden sun, the general gloom or
want of light, the ghostly shadows thrown by trees and other
objects, the clear appearance of the stars in the west, combined
with the solemn stillness (which we enjoyed at Ooty) not a breath
nor a leaf moving, combined with all the other novelties of a
total eclipse, formed a scene which is easier imagined than
described. Chickens and fowls were of opinion that the day
was ended, and retreated to their roosts, and many old people
(natives of course) hid themselves in their huts, filled with
anxious expectations of the things which were to come. The
whole scene was still more enhanced by a lai^e assembly of
natives which had assembled near my place. Their exclamations
of fear, of terror, and awe, were very amusing if not distracting.
Now their fear showed itself by short and earnest incantations *
or prayers to a certain good deity to deliver the sun from the
cruel uite of being swallowed by the large serpent, which, in
their opinion, constantly pursues the sun, and overtakes it
during an echpse, and when only the interference of a good deity
can save the sun from the fearful fate of having to undergo digestion
in the belly of the terrible serpent Some brgan to smite their
breasts, and pluck their hair, accompanying these acts with ex-
clamations which betrayed no small amount of mental agony about
the probable fate of Father Sol ; others watched in trembling
silence, awaiting the end with fear, but coupled with hopes that
the prophecies of the holy Brahmin might yet be fulfilled.
Higher and hicher rose the excitement, untd the entire sun was
engulphed in the terrible serpent's mouth. But it happened, as
the Brahmins had foretold, a powerful good deity cut off with
one blow the big serpent's head, and the sun, instead of going
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301
down the serpent's throat, emerged slowly in all his glory from
the opposite side.
If science gains as much in knowledge by the observations
made by the different eclipse parties as the wily Brahmins
have gained by this late eclipse m money, then a great deal of
knowledge will have been gained about all those mysterious
phenomena by which Father Sol is still surrounded ; for every
village in India, as far aa the country was affected by the eclipse,
paid willing contributions to the Brahmins, that these holy men
might use Si their influence (by prayers, fastings, and offerings)
with their deities in order to induce them to come to the rescue
of the sun in the hour of his great danger and need ; and I hear
that the Brahmins hereabouts had an abundant harvest in money
from the poor villagers, to whom they preached months befoie
the great danger impending over the sun ; and as these poor people
are not yet bold enough to doubt a single word of these heaven-
born Brahmins, they tontribulcd to the best of their abilities to
the Brahmins, in whose hands, as they believe, rests not only the
fate of men but of the whole universe, as the Brahmins are the
connecting links between men and the deities ruling this and
other worlds. An event like the eclipse shows how much im-
portance is to be attached to all the reports and writings about
the great progress in enlightenment of the people of India.
Knowledge does not reform their manners ; many well-informed
and educated natives performed all the superstitious ceremonies
connected with the eclipse, with just as much zeal as the igno-
rant ryot, and many of those who talk to us Europeans about
the folly of all the old superstitions, went back again, and per-
formed their rites in the manner of their forefathers, fearing,
that if they did not do so. Father Sol might be lost for good,
and tliat we might have to end our remaining days in the con-
stant gloom of starlight.
I have already mentioned that, as far as my observations go,
I observed that the shape or form of the corona or glory which
surrounded the eclipsed sun underwent changes in form even
duiing the short space of two minutes; bui you will easily
see that an observer with no other means than an ordinary good
telescope, his naked'eye, and a photographic caniera, was quite
incompetent to draw any conclusion ; suffice it therefore to
say that the changes in the shape of the corona during totality
can but be compared to the slow tiansformation of forms in
a dissolving-view apparatus, or perhaps more correctly to the
changes of form and shape we observe 'in isolated thin clouds.
I will not express more of my opinion on the nature of the
corona than that I believe it consists or partakes of the nature oi
shining, illuminated ether, perhaps somewhat of the same nature
as the aurora borealis ; why I thmk so will appear below.
About eight or ten seconds before totality ended, the moon
appeared as if it had made a jerk (stumbled against something),
and that jerk was accompanicid by a tremendous flickering move-
ment and momentary brightening up of the corona. This
momentary phenomenon (tor all passed in less or not more than
one second) I am unable to describe more clearly, and I cannot
compare it to anything except to those flickering movements
and brighten ings up observable in the aurora borealis. I spent
one entire night during the winter of 1845 in watching a grand
aurora borealis in North Germany, but bad nearly forgotten all
about it, but the above appearance in the corona towards the
dose of totality . remindetl me so forcibly of it that I hold
that something similar is connected with the corona. I was
watching the eclipse with a strong magnifier in the camera
obscura, and three gentlemen near me used telescopes, and we
all observed the same — I in the camera, and they with their
telescopes— and the flickering caused us all to express some
surprise, such as ** Look ! look ! "
In the evening I had some conversation on the eclipse in
general with the telegraph master, a very scientific gentleman,
who, without my saying anything about the matter, told me that
he observed such a phenomenon.
I think this b about all I can siy, as the play and changes of
colours which were visible are quite beyond my sphere ; I can
only say I saw them, but I do not remember their order and
succession, nor changes.
In conclusion I must once more repeat that what I say must be
taken for what it may be worth. I merely speak of the appear-
ances without accounting, or being able to account, for them ;
and this will not be surprising when those who spend their
lives in these studies can often only offer conjectures as to the
real nature of these matters.
Ootacamund, Dec. 22, 1871 J. Boesingeb
Natural Science at Oxford
The regulations relating to Natural Science at Oxford, re-
printed in a recent number of Nature, * will have considerable
interest for those who follow the progress of such studies at the
Universities.
The Natural Science School is one of the five '* Final Schools."
There are examinations ^hich take place at the end of the Uni*
versity course ; in any one or more of them it is open to candi-
dates to seek for honours. Hitherto the Natural Science School
has offered a threefold division of its subjects, namely, Biology,
Physics, and Chemistry. A candidate was allowed to select any
of these three divisions, and was expected to show, in the first
place, a general acquaintance with the subject matter ; and in the
second, a detailed knowledge of some particular branch of it.
The selection of the "special subject" was left entirely to the
candidate, but the liberty of choice (in theory a most valuable one)
was frequently altogether abused. The object was, apparently,
in many cases, to turn the tables on the examiners, and by
selecting matters likely to be out of the way of their reading, to
make the examination almost fictitious. It is to remedy this
that the new Board of Studies has laid down the scope of the
general and special knowledge which will be required from candi-
dates for the future.
The regulations at present published relate only to Biology.
I venture to think that they by no means form such a philosophi-
cally-arranged course as might have been expected.
The first paragraph states the nature of the general knowledge
which will l>e demanded. This is defined to consist of General
and Comparative Anatomy, Human and Comparative Physiology
and Physiological Chembtry, and the general philosophy of the
subject The books recommended are the best commentary on
the meaning attached to these headings. The list certainly does
not err from defect of copiousness yet it b noticeable that
although it contains all the common zoological text books, it
does not include any dbtinctively botanical book whatever. I do
not mt an to say that some of the authors named in it do not
touch on Botany, but thb is so far accidental that they apparently
owe their position on the Ibt to their bearing on zoological
matters. It appears to me therefore that the only conclusion
which can be anived at from the regulations b that by Biology is
not intended General Biology, but only Biology from a zoological
standpoint. Thb is, I think, to be regretted. A general
acquaintance with the principal forms of vegetable life ought to
form part of a comprehensive biological course, and should be
required even of those who intend to devote their strength to the
study of the animal economy alone.
The fifth paragraph appears to admit of Botany being taken
up to a certain extent as an alternative subject, but thb does not
remedy its practical absence from the general scheme. I can
see nothing in the regulations to preclude a candidate taking
high honours in " Biology " who shall, for example, be quite
ignorant of the anatomical differences between a cycad and a palm,
or shall be quite unable to indicate any points of agreement
between a mushroom and a mould. Any one in this predica-
ment might perhaps excuse himself as a zoologbt, but he can
hardly be allowed to claim the whole of Biology «s his province.
W. T. Thiselton Dyer
Auroral Statistics
Having had already to answer many questions and calm some
fears touching the recent brilliant aurora, and its prototype in
October 1870, "when the Franco-German war was raging," I
beg to send you some condensed statistical returns of auroral
phenomena during the last eleven years, prepared and printed
before the recent manifestation, and to be published in a few
day?, but as a part of a ponderous volume not likely to be gene-
rally accessible, viz., vol. xiii. of the "Edinburgh Astronomical
Observations. "
In that book I hare endeavoured, amongst other subjects of
professional duty, to exhibit the final mean results of nearly
7,025,000 meteorological observations of all kinds, by 55 ob-
servers of the Scottbh Meteorological Society, spread over the
coimtry at as many stations ; and, after a preliminary process of
compression into 32 numerical tables, the quintessence of the
whole appears on a single page, whereof the 28th line gives a
numerical expression for each month of the year ; combining the
* See Naturs, Na zi8, pi 970.
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\Feb. 15, 1872
number of times that atxrora was visible with the extent of
country over which it was observed, and the numbers stand
thus:—
January ... ... 297
February ... ... 42*5
March... ... ... 350
April ... ... ... 27|
May
{une ...
uly ...
August
September
October
November
December
ox>
12*6
360
49 4
li:t
It will thus be seen that October and February are precisely
the two months when brilliant auroras are most likely to be
seen ; and that of these two maxima of the annual cycle October
has rather the advantage.
The lightning return, prepared on the same principle, is not
nninstructive to be compared against the aurora ; for, though
both in its aerial altitude and actual numerical returns, lightning
ma^ bNC the very opposite of aurora, yet it exhibits a tendency to
a similar double maximum in the course of the year ; and not a
few of the lightning storms of that second, or winter maximum,
are locomotive "meteors," travelling from S.W. to N.E., and
having undoubtedly a very wide-spread earth-influence and phy-
sical signification. The actual numbers are these : —
January ... ... 24*0
February ... ... 14*4
March... ... ... 7*0
April ... ... ... 15*4
May 37*4
June ... ... ... 480
Jiily 53-2
August ... ... 38-4
September ... ... 22*4
October ... ... 20*8
November ... ... 150
December ... ... 15*0
C. PiAzzi Smyth
15, Royal Terrace, Edinburgh, Feb. 10
The Aurora of February 4
I WILL not attempt to describe the wonderfully gorgeous dis-
Flay of aurora which I witnessed on Sunday night, February 4.
merely wish to mention a circumstance connecied with it which
may have some interest. I was watching for the zodiacal light
at about 5.30, and, having; perceived taint traces of it, I presently
saw some peculiar red clouds a little above it ; from their rapid
change of form I soon became aware that this was the light of
an aurora. From that time, and from that spot, it spread
rapidly ; a bright white arch extending high overhead from W.
to £., while a segment of blue sky stretoied low down in the
s s s
t t t
H h h
s s s
ft U O O
S E. in the magnetic meridian, the space between being filled with
brilliant colours. Shortly after this a radiating point became very
striking, not in the zenith, but at one-third the distance from the
Pleiades to Capella ; and then the folds of gorgeous light-red,
white, and faint green, interspersed with dark shading, spread
from it, like a canopy, down on all sides except in the N. W. I
never witnessed or r^ad of such a display in these latitudes.
\Vith one of Browning's small star spectniscopes the spectrum
consisted of a small portion of brilliant red, then a bright band
irfither close to it, imd th^n twp others be^ood | tl^^ two Utter
being rather nearer together than the first and second ; that at
the more refrangible end being the faintest, and that near the
red the strongest I enclose a sketch showing the spectrum, the
slit being wide open.
The maximum display was between 6.4$ and 7 p.m ; at 7. 15
it was fading rapidly. Clouds covered the sky at 7.30, and
some smart electric showers fell ; still I could see that the dis-
play was going on ; and at ix P.M., in spite of dense clouds, the
light was sufficient to enable me to read large print
H£NRY Cooper Key
Stretton Rectory, Hereford, Feb. 6
On Sunday evening 4th inst, a beautiful display of aurora
was observed here (lat 51° 26' o* N., long. 0*20' 53* W.). Mv
attention was first directed to it at 6h. 4nL (G.M.T.) at which
time there was a fiery glow over a considerable portion of the
southern sky, much resembling the reflection of a distant con-
flagration. Shortly after, an almost complete auroral arch, of
faint orange red light, similar to that at first observed, was
noticed, extending from £., above and partly embracing 8, c, and
^ Orionis, to W., its altitude (by estimation) at the centre being
about 40°, and its extent something like 120**. For a short time
this glow was most intense in S.S.E. at a great altitude, but
the display attained its greatest intensity about 6h. x 5m., when
a number of rays or streamers of whitish blue and orange red
light appeared as if radiating from a point near 8, a, and x
Persel At 6h. 20m. nothing was observed but a widely diffused
fiery glow, which must have continued more or less during the
whole evening, as it was again observed by me at 8h. 25m.
John James Hall
Fulwell, near Twickenham
There was a fine display of the above phenomenon here on
Sunday night, February 4. At five o'clock a muddy undefined
redness made its appearance in the N.E. and W., especially in
the former, which continued for some time without any very
marked change. Towards half-past six the redness became more
concentrated, gradually brightened, and finally became of a most
intense brilliancy — indeed, so much so that it fairly baffles de-
scription, the landscape and the countenances of those standing
near being visibly tinged. Streamers soon began to form, and >hr»ot
gradually upwards from the horizon in all directions from N.E. by
S. to W., some intensely red, some very white, while others were
of a greenish hue. The red and white being vtxy brilliant, were
finely intermingled, especially in a N.E. direction, while a muddy
green prevailed chiefly in the S., and a reddish tinge in the W.
By seven o'clock that rare phenomenon, a corona, was formed
overhead, assuming a variety of shapes. The most curious part
of the display (as far as my experience goes) was the entire ab-
sence up to this time of any streamers or coloured haze in a W.
by N. to N. E direction, the sky being cloudless, perfectly clear,
and the stars shining with their usual brightness. On the forma-
tion of the corona a sheet of fan-shaped sea-green haze shot from
it in a N. direction, spreading rapidly as it advanced, but did
not proceed for more than 20^ when it suddenly disappeared.
The streamers were remarkably steady throughout and straight,
unlike those during the display of November 10 of last year,
which were wave-hke, rapid, and flicker mg. By half-past seven
the entire sky had assumed a greenish tin^e, wi'h a reddish glow
in some places, and a few resplendent beams of white light from
the E. chiefly. At a quarter to eight red streamers became
visible in a N. direcrion, at a considerable elevation, resting on a
greenish haze, itself emanating from a very indistinctly white arch
spread across the N. At nme the sky was still tinged, and a
streamer here and there visible, but by ten the display was over,
as clouds had obscured the heavens. Although the red colours
were so intense and deep, the stars could be distinctly seen
through them, and when the streamers suddenly changed to
white, &C., it was possible to see the time on a watch, though
the night under ordinary circumstances would have been dark.
A common dipping needle which marked 56° at noon changed
to 45^ before the aurora became visible. Barometer corrected
and reduced, 29 748. Temperature, 37" at the time. Solar
radiator during the day, 77". A few suooting &tar:» darted across
the heavens in a south from east direction, mainly during the
aurora. A wet night aftei wards set in.
Thomas Fawcett
Sl^^we School, Cumberland, Feb. j
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A VIEW of the mag^nificent aurora of Feb. 4 was much interrupted
here by great masses of cloud, which frequently drifted over
large tracts of the illuminated sky, and towards 8 o'clock col-
lected and descended in a general downpour of rain. Neverthe-
less enough of it was seen to produce a very striking impression.
It began to tinge the southern sky at a considerable altitude so
early in the evening that I thought it must have been the reflec-
tion of a crimson sunset ; nor was I undeceived till I had been
to the other side of the house, where I found the western horizon
glowing with amber light, in which was no trace of the expected
ruddiness. Red continued throughout to be the prevailing hue,
chiefly in great diffused masses, but occasionally broken up into
filaments and streamers; there fwas, however, no absence of
sheets and columns of the more usual pale green light. The
clouds, chiefly heavy cumuli, assumed a strange aspect ; some-
times, when opposite to the crimson illumination, reflecting a
dull and sombre r^ at others, when projected in front of it and
enlightened from the other side by the twilight, or the green
aurora, standing out ln*lurid and ghastly contrast. At one period
the northern part of the sky, up to a great altitude, though clear
and studded with stars, appeared at first sight almost like a black
cloud from its contrast to the greenish white sheet which
bordered it abruptly at a considerable height on the west ; this
again passing into crimson masses in the south, and sending out
a whitish stream to meet another from the east, and form, pro-
bably, for a few moments, a complete bright ring, somewhat
south of the renith, of which, however, only one half could be seen
from the post of observation. The light was so intense that even
after it had been a good deal obscured by cloud, a large print
might have been read without much difficulty. A miniature
spectroscope (one of Browning's) brought out some, interesting
features. The usual yellowish green auroral line was distinct
everywhere, and coula be perceived even when the instrument
was directed to masses of dense cloud ; and as was observed by
Birmingham on a former occasion, could be made out in the re-
flection from any suitable terrestrial object; white paper for
example exhibited it very obviously. As shown in the brighter
greenish patches in the sky, it remained visible even when the
slit was so much contracted that the sodium band of a common
fire would have been thinned down almost to its smallest breadth
before extinction. Such a diminution of light, however, was fatal
to the rest of the spectrum, which was a veir remarkable one.
With a ivider slit a cr'mison band, bearing a nir amount of con-
traction, was perceptible in the brighter patches of that hue,
with a dark interval between it and the principal green band. On
the opposite side of that green band, beyoml a second similar
dark space, was a considerable extent of greenish or bluish light,
quite decided, but so feeble as to leave it undecided whether it
was of uniform brightness, or (as I suspected) compounded of
contiguous bands ; beyond this again was another dark space,
leading on to a faintly luminous band, too dim to show colour,
but which must have taken its place somewhere in the blue.
This Imnd, and the darkness adjacent to it on the less refrangible
side, were each about as broad as the intensely ivivid yellowish
green stripe. Could the light have borne sufficient reduction,
we shotUd certainly have Imd three narrow bright bands in the
red, green, and blue, the two latter being wide apart, with either
a faint separate continuous spectrum, through part of the inter-
val, or possibly several feeble lines, which the widening of the
slit fused into one lengthened area.
The peculiarity, first noted I believe by Otto Strove, was
very obvious, that even where the naked eye recognised the
strongest and fullest crimson without a trace of green, the green-
ish yellow band in the spectroscope far exceed^, perhaps three
or four times, the red line in visibility. This display was dis-
tinguished from almost all that I can recollect to have witnessed
through many years, by its very feeble development in all the
northern portion of the sky.
Hardwick Vicarage, Hay T. W. Wmb
Will you kindly permit me to correct an error which crept
into my letter of Isist Monday on the aurora. The words
** western " and " north-eastern " in the 14th line should have
read respectively "eastern" and '* north-western.** Allow me
also to call attention to the present condition of Jupiter. On
Thursday evening last the equatorial ochre-tinted belt was lighter
in colour than 1 have seen it of late years, but much and dis-
tinctly mottled with light and dark clouding, two dark hanging
spot^ OQ thcupp«r 9d^r with adJQioin^ eUipt;9«l bright patches.
being conspicuous, while the lower dark madder-brown edge was
very unequal, being swollen and thick about one-third to the
right from the centre, and tliinning off towards each end. The
dark belt above the equatorial zone had two knots or thickenings
of considerable size upon it, and the whole series of belts pre-
sented ragged and dentated edges, and, to use the apt phrase of
a lady who saw them, had a '* mountainous ** look.
On occasional glimpses I more than suspected a general
mottling of the whole surface of the planet, which, moreover,
presented a dull appearance, the dark and light belts and spaces
not bein^, as I thought, so well contrasted as usual. The poles
were coloured as in ordinary, the upper one warm and ochreish,
the lower slate grey. The instroment used was Browning's 8^
reflector, full aperture, with inserting achromatic eye-piece 306.
A transit of a satellite and its shadow added to the general effect.
Guildown, Guildford, Feb. 10 J, R. Capron
On Sunday, the 4th of Febroary, at 10 p.m., I observed the
central point of the ' ' corona ** of the aurora visible that even-
ing to be situated between i, 64 and 65 Geminorum, in R.A.
7h. 20m. and N. decL 28". Our latitude is N. 50^ 50' 55", and
longitude E. o' 32' 50".
The "corona" drifted away very slowly towards the E.
against a slight £. wind blowing at the time.
Perhaps some of your contributors can calculate the aurora's
height from the earth from the above notes, and let us know the
result through your journal. J. E. H. P.
St Leonard's, Sussex^ Feb. 12
Not wishing to trouble you with a long description of the
aurora observed by so many on the evening of the 4th, I will
confine myself to a few remarks. The spectrom of the brighter
(portions, viewed through a five-prism direct instrument, con-
sisted generally of the four lines mentioned by Captain Maclear;
but when the spectroscope was turned towards the brightest of
the curved streamers forming that splendid red and pink star,
which so suddenly burst forUi at 7*25, some degrees south of the
zenith, the relative intensity of the lines was completely changed,
the red line becoming more strongly marked even than the
green.
The fact that the green line can always be detected, even
where the unassisted eye fails to notice any trace of auroral light,
might suggest the advisability of a daily observation with a small
hand spectroscope for those who are desirous of forming a com-
plete list of all auroral phenomena. Magnetic cUsturbances are
a sure guide in the case of grand manifestations of aurora ; but
might not a very slight aurora be observable wiUxout the magnets
being sensibly affected ?
On the evening of the 4th the magnetic storm commenced
about 2 P.M., and was at its height from 4 to 9, though the
magnets were not steady again until after sunrise the next
morning. S. J. Perry
Stonyhurst Observatory
I WRITE a very short account of the great aurora of February
4, as seen by me in the south-east of France, between Chamb^ry
and Macon. It may be of some interest, as a brilliant aurora is
very unusual in those latitudes, and this was quite comparable in
briUiancy to the auroras of October 1870, and November 1871,
which I witnessed in Scotland. The sunset was very clear and
bright, but as the sunlight gradually faded, light fleecy clouds
appeared in different parts of the sky, with the ruddy tints cha-
racteristic of the Northern Lights. As it became darker the red-
ness increased in intensity and extent, overspreading a large portion
of the sky, especially towards the zenith, and was streaked with
bands of greenish white light. On the eastern horizon a well-
defined arch of this pale green light was visible for some time,
while underneath the arch the sky was so black that but for a
large star shining in the centre of the blackness, I should have
supposed that the darkness was due to a heavy cloud. There
were, in fact, no trae clouds at the time in the sky, and the large
stars were everywhere visible amid the shifting masses of nebulous
light, which at one Instant seemed to be the raddy reflection of
a great fire, and at another to be lighted up by the rays of a full
moon. Long streamers of red and green light seemed to shoot
up towards the zenith from almost every point of the horizon at
various times ; but singularly enough there appeared to be fewer
displays of this sort in the north than in any other quarter of
%% )ic»T9a8. B^ingi hQwey^, ia % railway 9{MTia^ ia rnvtioq.
i_/iyiLi^c7u kjy
<f>^'
304
NATURE
{Feb. 15, 1872
and with mountains on every side, the true horizon was not
visible, and it was impossible to make very accurate observations.
The rosy clouds remained long after the coruscations had died
away, but the chief splendour was displayed for an hour and a
half after sun?et
If the aurora of this spring was not more brilliant than those
of the last two autumns, it was, I think, more remarkable for its
sharp contrasts of colour, and for the peculiar " coal sacks," or
areas of blackness, which seemed to bs actually a part of the
aurora as much as the red or green light.
David Wedderburn
I HAVE to correct an important error in my account of the
aurora of the 4th, published by you on the 8th. I stated that
it was finest between 6 and 7. At 9 it appeared to be fading,
and I ceased to watch it ; but I learned afterwards that it re-
kindled, and was at its highest between 9 and la The colour
was still red, and the columns of light met near the zenith.
Joseph John Murphy
Old Forge, Dunmurry, Ca Antrim, Feb. J2
The Great Comet of 1861
The following observation may interest your readers. It is
taken from a volume entitled, ** The Industrial Progress of New
South Wales," published by authority of the Colonial Govern-
ment. Under tne head of Astronomical Progress is a paper by
Mr. Tebbutt, in which he says that, while observing in Australia
on the morning of July I, 1861 (». ^., really, in the afternoon
before sunset of our June 30), he noticed the widening out of
the branches of the tail of the comet then visible. He remarks
that this observation is very interesting when taken in connection
with the announcement made by Mr. Hind, ihat '*it appeari not
onlv possible, but even probable, that in the course of June 30,
1 80 1, the earth passed through the tail of the comet, at a distance
of perhaps two Uiirds of its length from the nucleus."
There were at least two observers in England of what was
probably the opposite effect of perspective (viz., the closing up
of the branches of the tail) on the evening of June 30. The
rapid, angular motion cf one of the streamers was separately
observed by Mr. Geoi^e Williams, of Liverpool, and the Rev.
T. W. Webb, of Hard wick, the latter of whom has given a de-
tailed account of his observations in the "Monthly Notices of the
Royal Astronomical Society," vol xxiL, p. 311. According to
these observations, our actual pa£sage through the streamers of
the tail must have taken place about sunset on the evening of
June 30. A. C. Ran yard
ON LUMINOUS MATTER IN THE ATMO-
SPHERE
MUCH has lately been written and lectured on atoms,
molecules, organic matter suspended in the air,
effects of the light passing through the sky, abstracting
its blue colour, and changing it into red. May I there-
fore be allowed to add some facts which I noticed during
a long and careful observation of a hitherto almost un-
known phenomenon to which my attention was drawn by
chance.
Some years ago I had directed my excellent six-feet of
Merz, Munich, towards the sun in order to draw the
sun-spots in the camera-obscura. One day (April 27,
1863), when the sun had scarcely passed, and I was push-
ing the instrument to get its disc again in the field, I
was astonished to perceive a mass of luminous little
bodies, apparently coming from the sun, and passing
altogether with great velocity towards the east. They
brightened in a white and sparkling light, and were as
numerous as stars ; but as their velocity was much too
great, and as they disappeared when I followed them to
some distance from the sun, I was inclined to take them for
little bodies floating in the atmosphere, and getting their
light from the sim, an opinion which soon became
' stronger when I grew aware that I had to draw out the
eye-picce some millimetres in order to get them quite clear
and distinct As I had never heard of the existence of any
such bodies, I resolved to give notice to Dr. Wol^
Director of the Observatory at Zurich, who convinced
himself of the strange phenomenon, and, encouraging
me to persist in my investigations, told me that the late
Sig. Capocci, on the Capodimonte Observatory at
Naples, had mentioned these little bodies appezuingto
him under similar circumstances on May ii, 1845.
Since that time Prof. Dr. Edward Heis, of Munster, West-
phalia, in his " Wochenschrift fur Astronomie," 1869,
March 24, also gave full corroboration to this fact. I there-
fore went on, and uniting the investigation to the daily
labour of observing and drawing the sun spots, my arrange-
ment of the camera-obscura improved and ensured these
results as well Convinced of the importance of the
phenomenon, I resolved to direct my whole attention to it,
and to examine it thoroughly. I decided to find out not
only the distance, the size, the shape, the frequency, the
velocity, and the nature of the light of these little bodies,
but also to take notice of their daily direction by comparing
it with the simultaneous direction of winds and clouds. 1
continued my observations during a period of three years.
As I mentioned above, I was obliged to draw out the
eye-piece of the telescope in order to have the litde
objects more distinct. Now, everybody knows that the
focal distance of any lens, or system of lenses, such as the
telescope is, will differ according to whether the beams
come from a more or less distant object. The little
bodies did not appear distinct in the focus of the sun ; I
had to draw out the eye-piece ; but if the focal distance
was greater, their distance was smaller than that of the
sun, and by means of a scale placed on the eye-piece, I
soon obtained the result that these little bodies belong Xo
our atmosphere, floating in a stratum of about 4,000 metres
down to about 200 metres, the mo^t numerous swarm pass-
ing almost always at a distance of not less than 500 metres.
Here I remark that for my observations I had chosen the
time of the sun being in, or about, the meridian, for then
I was sure to have its light as strong, and the sky as clear
as possible, while mostly preferring a magnifying power
of only 48 diameters.
Taking the little bodies in the right focus, I was enabled
not only to draw their shape, which I found very various,
but also to measure their apparent diameter, which did
not differ less, and depended much on distance, the nearer
ones being larger, and, as I learned from the scale the
accurate distance of every one, I calculated theu* diameter
to vary from 10 to 59 millimetres, the average being 32
millimetres. Their shape was very various, too. The
greater number were oblong, angular, resembling flakes,
some few were orbicular, while some smaller ones were
star-shaped, with transparent arms.
With respect to their frequency, I was surprised to find
on certain days, especially in April and May, an incalculable
number of little bodies in the field of the instrument,
passing without interruption for hours. In general I found
their number to be connected with the purity of the sky ;
and every day I noticed the average, the daily minimum
occurring in the morning and evening hours, the maximum
in the noon-tide hours ; also the annual minimums in the
summer and winter months, the chief maximum from
April 20th to May 15 th, the second, much lower maximum
in August and September. I often saw their number in-
crease soon after clouds had passed.
The velocity of the bodies, irregular in the lower strata,
being about 2 metres in a second, became greater and
more regular in the higher ones, where, for instance, at a
distance of 3,000 metres, I found them to pass 8 metres
during the same period, a rapidity agreeing closely with that
of the cirri^ which often passed at or above this distance.
Whether far or near, all these little bodies glittered in a
magnificent white light behind the sky, but as it retreated
farther from the sun its blue colour became darker,
the light of the bodies consequently diminished, and was
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Feb. 15, 1872]
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305
more and more absorbed, when I followed them to some
five or more degrees from the sun, in whose proximity
they always brightened most, but passing over its disc,
appeared to be rather dark, changing, however, suddenly
into white when they emerged and entered the blue again.
It became obvious that the little bodies I had before
me were of small density, partly opaque, apparently of a
white and reflecting surface, the edges of which were lit
tip by the sunbeams.
The course of the higher ones (at some 1,000 metres
distance) being generally parallel, and their reciprocal
velocity of about the same rate, I noticed much vanety in
the lower strata, where their flight was often of great incon-
stancy, changing their direction every moment, or falling,
and second after second augmenting their focal distance,
by the change of which, tsdcen'on the eye- piece scale, I
learned that these bodies did not quite follow the law of
gravitation, losing time ; a fact not surprising to me,
already convinced of their small consistency. In com-
paring the daily direction with the simultaneous course of
winds and clouds, there was a remarkable conformity. Ac-
cepting the direction of the clouds to be the same as that
of the wind in the stratum they pass through, a supposition
not far from the truth, to which, of course, I was forced, hav-
ing no weather-cock in such high regions, I foimd the direc-
tion of the little bodies and the clouds (in about the same
stratum) to be (i) accurately the same in 31 percent. ; (2)
differing not above-90 degrees in 49 per cent. ; (3) differing
not above 180 de^ees in 67 per cent. ; and (4) of quite
opposite direction m only 1} per cent This conformity is
so evident that when the sky is cloudless, starting from
the distance and direction of the ever-passing little bodies,
one might easily learn the direction and perhaps the
velocity of winds in the reciprocal strata, a fact of course
of no little value to meteorologists and even mariners.
Taken altogether, these results could not but lead to
the opinion that what I had to deal with were ice-crvstals
and flakes of snow. Here it may be recollected that
already, in the seventeenth century, Mariotte, the re-
nowned discoverer of the law of gas-expansion, pointed
out that parhelions and mock- moons are caused by ice-
crystals floating in the sky ; and indeed, if we consider the
above results, we are forced to believe him. Firstly, we
learned that these bodies belong to the atmosphere ; we
also found them in its lower strata. Their average size
of 32 millimetres, their flake-like shape, their incalcu-
lable number, will also strongly convince us. But while
Uie minimum during the winter months might seem
rather unaccountable, the chief maximum occurring in
April and May, it may be remarked that from September
to March the sun, although in the meridian, does not light
up so strongly the rather misty sky ; and that many days
the sun will not appear at alL Now, referring to the chief
maximum, from about April 20 to May 15, is it not
astonishing that it occurs on the very same days which,
especially those of May, were at all times well known
from their low temperature, and called in Germany " the
Latins" (Pancratius, May 12 ; Servatius, May 13, &c.),
and were much feared by gardeners ? But are the enor-
mous masses of ice-crystals found in the atmosphere
during these days the origin of its low temperature, or
does the latter favour the formation of snow-masses ? I
only mention the fact that, for instance, heat is absorbed
when snow is melting, and would be happy to direct the
attention of meteorologists in any country to this pheno-
menon, inviting contributions of facts and correspondence.
Finally, the velocity of the bodies being the same as that
of the clouds, their reflected magnificent white light,
their regular courses in the higher regions where strong
winds are generally blowing, their irregular or even falling
movement and small density in the lower ones, and their
very remarkable conformity of direction with simulta-
neously passing clouds, will give much support to my ex-
planation. Henry Waldnek
Weii^hwH near Heidelberg
THE MONGOOSE AND THE COBRA
T N reading the interesting accoimt of a fight between
■'• these two animals, as given in Nature for Jan. 1 1
(p. 204), the question arises. How does the mongoose sur-
vive the bite of the cobra ? There are only two solutions
of this question, viz. : — (i) That the mongoose has some
antidote ; and (2) that it is not affected by the cobra
poison. With regard to the first, various observers give
different antidotes, such as grass, Aristolcchia^ &c. (see
Sir J. E. Tennent's " Natural History of Ceylon," p. 38).
There is no one plant that the mongoose has hetn proved
to go to as a remedy. 2. That the mongoose is not
poisoned by the bite of the cobra has, I think, been
proved by Dr. Fayrer, of Calcutta. I quote three of his
experiments, which are published in the Edinburgh
Medical Jouj-nal^ April 1869, pp. 917-919: — "A young
mongoose {Herpestes Malacconsi^ was bitten two or three
times by a full-grown cobra,^t 1.24 P.M. on the 30th April
1868, on the inner side of the thigh from which the hair
was iirst removed. Blood was drawn] by the bites."
This animal died in six minutes, but in the two following
experiments no harm resulted to the mongoose. The
second mongoose was also "bitten on the inner side of the
thigh, and put into a cage immediately." It got no antidote
except " raw meat," and was none the worse for the bite.
The third mongoose was put into a large wire cage with
a full-sized cobra at i p.m. (April 2, 1868). " The snake
struck at the mongoose, and they grappled with each other
frequently, and apparently the mongoose must have been
bitten, as the snake held on to it about the neck or head.
At 1. 1 5 P.M. there was no effect on the mongoose ; both it
and the snake were much excited and angry, the snake
hissing violently. 2.30 ; no effect on the mongoose. The
snake is bitten about the head, and shows the bleeding
wounds. 2.5 1 ; they are both occasionally darting at
each other, but the mongoose jumps over the snake, and
tries to avoid it. Next day at noon both were well ; the
snake frequently struck at the mongoose, but did not appear
to injure it ; both seemed very savage, but the mongoose
would not bite the snake ; he jumped over it. There had
been two cobras in the cage during the night, both equally
fierce, and striking each other and the mongoose ; but the
latter was uninjured. He was bitten once by the cobra
rather severely on the head." James W. Edmonds
HARTWIGS SUBTERRANEAN WORLD *
'T^HE increasing demand for works of a semi-scientific
^ character similar to that now under consideration,
is in itself the most satisfactory proof that a desire for ac-
quiring a more extended and accurate knowledge of the
phenomena of Nature is gradually taking root within a
Fig. I.— Blind Fish {Amhlyopsis spelenu)
class of society, which,Hintil of comparatively late years, had
always contented itself with a very opposite style of litera-
ture. When it is observed, in many of the so-c^ed popular
scientific books, that accuracy has evidently been less
* "The Subterranean Worid." By Dr. George Hartwif, (Londoi^l
Longmans, Green, and Co.)
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NATURE
%ob
carefully studied than what is termed sensational effect— a
feature so characteristic of the period we live in— it is
refreshing to find that Dr. Hartwig, in his description of
the various phenomena of the subterranean world, has,
without any such aid, succeeded admirably in conveying
avast amount of solid information, in so lucid and easy a
style as to make even his unscientific readers quite inte-
rested, and likely to forget that he is treating of subjects
{Feb. 15, 1872
usually considered fas pertaining to the domain of dry
Science. In so doing he seems also to have been assisted
by having adopted a system of classification, or rather
grouping, of the subjects which form his separate chap-
ters, which, although not strictly scientific, is preferable
in the present instance, as being more in accordance with
popular notions.
The work, besides being well got up, is abundantly
O
§
n
d
o
illustrated j many of the woodcuts being of very superior
chuacter and execution, whilst the plates are, in general,
good, and with one exception — that of the ideal view of
the great earthquake at. Lisbon in 1775 — they are free
from that objectionable sensational or exaggerated cha-
racter so observable in the illustrations of French works
on popular Science, several of which have lately been
rendered into English. The two maps indicating the
distribution of coal and metallic deposits in Great Britain
and the Americas respectiveljr are not on a par with the
rest, owing to errors of omission ; thus, amongst others,
neither the central lead-producing district of Wales, nor
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Feb. IS, 1872]
NATURE
307
the Northampton iron district, are shown in the former ;
nor have the auriferous deposits of Central America or
British Columbia been indicated on the latter map.
In a work intended for the general British public, the
temperature, when alluded to, should preferably have been
stated in degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, since, al-
though the scale of Celsius or centigrade is often made use
of by men of science here, it will not be at all familiar to
the majority of the readers of Dr. Hartwig's book, which
it is to be hoped will have a very extended circulation.
Several errors in the text might also be pointed out — as,
for example, calling the usual Cornish ore or copper
INDIAN ROCK-CUT TEMPLE : PORCH OF THE CHAITVA CAVE TEMPLE, AJUNTA
pyrites a bisulphuret of copper ; titanium is stated to be a
metal of a copper red colour, &c. ; but when the great
extent of scientific ground over which the author travels
in this book is taken into consideration, some allowance
must be mad& and it must| fairly be admitted that the
work, as a whole, is singularly free from serious errors.
and we would recommend it strongly, in the belief that
from its at once easy entertaining and instructive style,
it will be sure to interest many in the study of these
natural phenomena, to whom the very name of Science is
at present associated with all that is dry and uninviting.
D. F.
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NATURE
[Feb. 15, 1872
RECENT DISCOVERY OF PIT^DWELLINGS
DU RING the late summer, while engaged in excavating
a Roman building at Finkley, near Andover, a
deep trench, 100 feet in length, was found, dilating at the
opposite ends into large subterranean pits, which, from the
primitive character of the articles met with in them, such
as flint and bone implements, spindle-whorls of chalk,
and a rude form of pottery, appeared to belong to an
earlier period than the Roman. One of the labourers en-
gaged in the explorations became quite an expert in the
recognition of these rude objects ; and he having lately
been employed in digging a yard at a new railway station,
situated on a hill, about half a mile distant from St. Mary
Bourne, unmediately overlooking the Upper Test Valley,
found the subsoil so abundant in calcined stones, broken
pottery, and other evidences of early occupation, that he
called my attention to the circumstance, which led to the
discovery of a group of pit-dwellings or hut- circles ; and
it is hkely, from their mode of arrangement, that they
form a portion of an extensive settlement or vicus. Some
knowledge of nine of these has been obtained, although,
from their situation, two only have been completely m-
vestigated, and five others partially.
The pits occupy the space of about a quarter of an
acre, and have all entrance shafts, sloping gradually down-
wards from their inlets, and widening as they approach
the pits. They may, with their contents, be described
seriatim. No. i is oval or pear-shaped, having its
entrance southwards. Its length is 22 feet from the end
of the pit to the mouth of the alley ; greatest diameter
12 feet ; depth at the centre of the pit 5 feet This was
the only circle that contained flints, of which twelve cart-
loads were removed from it ; and as some of the stones
were arranged in courses, without mortar, around its cir-
cumference and on eack side of the alley, I have thought
that the superstructure must have been of flint, and had
fallen in. The relics found were chiefly at the centre,
where the fire-place had evidently been ; the smoke
most likely escaping through the centre of the roof.
They consisted of about a bushel of calcined flints, bones
of a small species of Bos^ probably longifrons^ Cervus ele-
phus, Capra.SuSy and Giirw, besides broken vesseb, ohiefly
of a very rude, hand-made kind, although a few pieces
found about the pits bore wheel-marks. The bones had
mostly been split open in order to obtain their marrow.
They had lurther been exposed to fire, and bear impres-
sions made by teeth and knives ; and some of the smaller
long bones had evidently been used as marrow-spoons,
while other small splinters of bone had the appearance of
having served the purpose of awls or needles. In this
circle also part of a rude sandstone hand grain-rubber was
found, besides some flint-flakes, a scraper, and some cores ;
and, in addition, the outer lip of a large cowry, which had
been carefully cut from the shell, and had been used as a
rasp, the crenulations in the lip being considerably worn
down. It had further been employed as a polisher ap-
parently, the enamel being worn away in places.
Pits 2 and 3 were only partially explored, as they ex-
tended beneath the station yard. One of them, however,
was partly filled with calcined flints ; and in it were found
a piece of a grain-rubber and pottery and bones similar to
those just described.
Pits 4 and 5 had only portions of their passages opened,
as the pits extended beneath the Station Road. In these
we found a few flint-flakes, and some calcined stones.
Pit 6 contained no remains, as it was evidently the pas-
sage only of a pit partly formed, and had not been occu-
pied.
In digging a well in the station garden similar relics
were thrown out, and it is evident that the shaft of the well
passed through one of these pits ; and, as additional evi-
dence of British occupation, in clearing away the soil
around the circles, one of the labourers picked up a Gaulish
gold coin, which bears on its obverse and reverse degraded
representations of more perfect figures. The com, in short,
is a slightly more perfect copy of the lowermost of the
three coins depicted at p. 84 of " The Celt, the Roman,
and the Saxon," ist ed. ; which figure is there stated as
being a rude copy of a gold stater of Philip of Macedon.
Pit 7 was fully explo^. It was 42 ft. in length from
the extremity of the pit to the mouth of the passap^
which opened eastward ; its widest diameter 13 ft. 6 in.,
and depth 5 fl. at the pit's centre. Here the fire-place
had stood, as in No. i, and around it we found bones
similar to those discovered in Pit i, with the addition of
some teeth of a small species of horse, and bones of the
hare or rabbit. The bones were, in most cases, broken,
and some of them had been wrought for use as imple-
ments. Two flint arrow-heads were found in the alley,
and the centre of the circle further contained flint-flakes,
scrapers, cores, and arrow-heads, a fragment of a rude
grain-rubber, and a flint muUer showing use on one side.
Here also occurred a whetstone, made from a piece of
sandstone such as I have observed occurring in the drift
of the Reading beds ; and evidently from the same drift
a lump of native ironstone, containing a large percentage
*of iron, which had been picked up by some occupant erf
the pit and used as a hammer. As tlu-owing^some small
light on their domestic economy, a chalk spindle-whorl
was found, and with it a small disc of pottery, bored at
the centre, the direction of the hole showing that it had
been suspended by a string, perhaps round its owner's
neck. The whole of the fictile ware found here was of a
rude hand-made type, and some of the " crocks " were
scored with irregular zigzag lines, made apparently with a
pointed stick.
At nine feet south of Pit 7 a circular hole in the chalk
was cleared out. It was found to be 5 ft in diameter and
3 ft. in depth. It contained a quantity of bones of animals
similar to those already enumerated, with snail shells that
had been exposed to fire ; and beneath the bones a number
of charred flints, with charcoal and ashes. It was evi-
dent that strong fire had been employed here, as the chalk
was in places burnt through and discoloured to the depth
of several inches, which led to the inference, coupled with
its contiguity to Pit 7, that it was a cooking-hole. It is
not unusual for uncivilised people, as the negroes, to have
their cooking places outside their dwellings (see " Flint
Chips," by E. T. Stevens, p. 59).
At another part of the same yard, about 10 ft. of well-
built wall was removed. It was doubtless Roman, as near
it a better kind of pottery was found, including a piece of
Samian, besides two roof-nails and a bronze buckle.
The quantity of calcined stones everywhere present was
the most striking feature in the remains. Some of them,
I observed, were faced on one side, and a few had facets at
right angles, and these, it occurred to me, might have
been used in constructing ovens or fire-places. A large
number, however, were perfectly circular, and had bright,
clean surfaces ; these might have been employed for the
purpose of stone-boiling.
With traces of Roman occupation we have here these
rude remains which show residence by an earlier people,
who, doubtless, lived on after the advent of the Romans.
I have, as yet, observed no entrenchments in the field ;
but there is no doubt that similar circles occupy a large
space of the upper slope of the valley. The flint imple-
ments stamp the remains as Neolithic ; and those found
in the pits difler in no respect from the wrought flints
occupying the subsoil of the yard, as well as occasionally
occurring on the surface of the adjoining fields. The
settlement is favourably situated to have enabled the oc-
cupants to obtain water from the river Test ; and along
the same side of the valley, within the space of two miles,
I have discovered nK>re than one working site, in which I
have obtained a large and varied collection of tools and
weapons both chipped and poU^^,
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These huts must have been covered, some, perhaps,
with stones, others with a wooden or wattle superstructure,
covered wiUi clay or sods of turf ; and their poor inhabi-
tants evidently cultivated, to a small extent, some of the
cereals, had an early knowledge of weaving, and lived
domesticated with oxen, goats, and swine. The red-deer
were most likely obtained by hunting in the dense forest
that then occupied the deep clay lands of North Hamp-
shire, as an extension of the ancient forests of Harewood,
and Chute, and Finkley. Further, these shallow pits
might have been the summer residences of a people whose
winter habitations were at Finkley.
J. Stevens
INAUGURATION OF THE OBSERVATORY AT
CORDOBA
AN interesting account of the inauguration of the
Argentine Observatory at Cordoba in October last
appears in the Standard of Buenos Ay res. The chief
feature of the ceremonial was a very able address by
Prof. Gould, the Director, from which we make the follow-
ing extracts, as bearing specially on the work of the
observatory : —
** In the year 1751 a French astronomer, the Abbd de la
Caille, visited the Cape of Good Hope for the purpose of
determining the positions of the principal southern stars.
With a little telescope of comparatively insigriificant
dimensions, he succeeded in obtaining the materials for
so complete a catalogue— as far as the limit of brightness
which nis telescope permitted— and in determining the
positions of those stars so well, that this catalogue of about
9,800 stars constitutes to-day the chief reliance of
astronomers for their knowledge of a large portion of the
southern sky. Since that time a permanent observatory
has been established by the British Government at the
same place, and a large number of valuable observations
have been made by various eminent men. Other observa-
tories in the southern hemisphere have been founded at
Paramatta, Santiago de Chile, and Melbourne, all of which
have contributed essentially to our knowledge of the
southern sky ; as also has the observatory at Madras, which,
although north of the equator, commands a view of the
greater poi tion of the southern heavens. Yet how much re-
mains to be done in this direction will be very evident when
I state that, while the numberof stars in the northern hemi-
sphere whose positions and magnitudes have been deter-
mined cannot fall short of about 330,000, the number in the
southern hemisphere whose observed places have been
pubUshcd does not probably exceed 50,000. But this is
not all. The greater portion of those which have been
observed lie in that part of the sky which is clearly visible
in Europe ; and if we consider the regions beyond 30°,
there are scarcely 13,000 southern stars whose places and
magnitudes have been determined and made available for
scientific use, while the corresponding portion of the
northern sky contains something like 164,000 such stars.
**The first undertaking now proposed for the Argentine
Observatory is to do something towards filling this hiatus
by determining the places of the principal stars situated
between the tropics, where the observations of northern
astronomers 1>^n to become less numerous, and the
polar circle, where Gilliss' observations commence. This
work is best performed by dividing the sky into narrow
zones or belts, and subjecting each zone to a special
scrutiny for the purpose of measuring the positions of all
stars of a sufficient orightness within its limits. If no un-
foreseen impediment presents itself, these observations
should be completed within two years from their com-
mencement.
'* There is another most important investigation espe-
cially desirable in the present condition of our knowledge :
this is the application of the newly-discovered methods of
stellar photography to the more prominent objects in the
southern heavens. The ingenious researches and inven-
tions of Mr. Rutherford in New York have resulted in the
development of methods by which the relative positions
of clusters of stars may be permanently recorded by
photographing them upon glass, and the numerical values
subsequently determined by means of a measurement of
the photographic impressions, with a degree of precision
far greater than that of the ordinary methods. And
this process possesses the signal and peculiar advan-
tage, that the representations thus obtained of the
stars' places at a given moment may be preserved,
and the measurements repeated at any subsequent
time. The process has not yet been introduced
into European observatories, but it has been thoroughly
tested in America, and valuable researches have already
been made by this photographic method.
" During the greater part of the year we have had
neither instruments nor building, and during the short
time these have been available we have experienced an
unexpected and most serious obstacle in the clouds of im-
palpable dust, which, rising from all sides, penetrate to
the inmost crevices of every part of the instruments. This
difficulty will, I think, be obviated to a great extent when
vegetable growth shall have covered the soil ; and to this
end the Minister has given directions for providing
as good a supply of water [as may be possible, while the
buUding and instruments have been provided with special
and unusual protections against the evil. The position of
the city of Cordoba renders this trouble inevitable, inas-
much as water for irrigation is only to be found in the
valley, whilst an observatory must necessarily be placed
upon high land. With the arrival of the rainy season I
trust that a carpet of vegetation may remove this source
of anxiety.
" A considerable time would, under any circumstances,
have been requisite for computing the numerical table,
and making the various other osculations necdfiil for
bringing the instruments into active service. The addi-
tional interval has been employed in an undertaking of a
totally different sort, which may, I trust, be foimd in the
end to possess as much scientific importance as the work
originally intended. During this period of enforced delay
we have succeeded in making a full catalogue of all those
stars of the southern heavens which are visible to the
naked eye, determining for each one the precise deg^e of
its brightness. When, after the moon has set to-night,
you raise your vision to the starry sky, and, as you look
more intently, perceive one faint star after another reveal
itself to your sight, you will yet succeed in discerning no
star whose place and magnitude has not been recorded
within the past year by some one or more of the observers
in this institution —
'' ' Sidera cuncta notans tacito labentia coel?.'
" The progress of the work so far has not failed to afford
its due share of discoveries. It has given us the know-
ledge of a considerable number of stars which possess
the singular character that their brightness is not always
the same, but undergoes systematic variations. Some
have been seen to rise to considerable brilliancy, and then
fade away until telescopes of some power are needed for
rendering them visible. Others still are now found to
possess a brilliancy decidedly greater or decidedly less
than that which has been assigned to them by more than
one astronomer in times past Such stars must be care-
fully watched, and the fact of any regular and periodic
fluctuation in the amount of their light either established
or disproved. Of such cases there are already many on
our records, thanks to the assiduity and zeal of the assistant
astronomers, no one of whom has failed to make manifest
the existence of severaL One of those most remarkable
for the rapidity of its changes is a little star in the con-
stellation "Musea," which is invisible to the unaided
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[Feb. 15, 1872
sight during one half its period, and visible during the
other half; while the observations of Mr. Rock show that
it goes through all its changes within the short interval of
21^ hours. Another in the constellation of the *' Southern
Triangle," which has been regularly observed by Mr.
DaviSy exhibits regular fluctuations of light, comprised
within a period of about 3} days, similarly alternating
between visibility and invisibility. These two exhibit the
most rapid changes of any of the stars which we have
hitherto observed ; but there are others not less interest-
ing, observed not only by the two gendemen mentioned,
but also by Messrs. Thome and Hathaway, who are like-
wise pursuing these investigations with much success.''
NOTES
The retirement of Prof. Huxley from the London School
Board throws a great responsibility upon the men of Science in
London in general, and on Marylebone in particular. We are
of opinion that of all the good work which Prof. Huxley has
done, none will have a more lasting national importance than
that which has resulted in the introduction of Science among
the subjects to be taught in the London schools — and, there-
fore, in all the School-Board-schools throughout the country,
for the force of public opinion will, in the long run, insist that
the London model shall be everjrwhere followed. It is because
we fear that this important advance may be arrested, unless steps
are taken still to have the claims of Science represented on the
Board, that we draw attention to the subject, which, in our
opinion, is of sufficient importance to occupy the attention of
the Royal Society, and the other scientific bodies, if their aid is
necessary. Doubtless membership of the School Board involves
sacrifice ; but it is to be hoped that the clerical squabbles which
have so interfered with the desired progress here, as it did, in-
effectually, in other countries, are now as nearly over as they
ever will be ; and if this be so, thea, instead of the 170 sittings
given by some members last year, a much smaller number will
suffice.
Wb have reason to know that many weak people have been
alarmed, and many still weaker people made positively ill, by an
announcement which has appeared in almost all the newspapers,
to the effect that Prof. Plantamour, of Geneva, has discovered a
comet of immense size, which is to " collide," as our American
friends would say, with our planet on the 12th of August next
We fear that there is no foundation whatever for the rumour.
In the present state of science nothing could be more acceptable
than the appearance of a good large comet, and the nearer it
comes to us the better, for the spectroscope has along account to
settle with the whole genus, which up to this present time has fairly
eluded our grasp. But it is not too much to suppose that the lay-
men in these matters might imagine that discovery would be too
dearly bought by the ruin of our planet Doubtless, if such ruin
were possible, or indeed probable — but let us discuss this point
Kepler, who was wont to say that there are as many comets in
the sky as fishes in the ocean, has had his opinion en-
dorsed in later times by Arago, who has estimated the
number of these bodies which traverse the solar system as
17,500,000. But what follows firom this ? Surely that comeU
are very harmless bodies or the planetary system, the earth
included, would have suffered from them long before this,
even if we do not admit that the earth is as old as geo-
logists would make it But this is not all. It is well
known that some among their number which have withal put
on a very portentous appearance are merely the celestial equi-
valents of our terrestrial " wind-bags " — brought down to their
proper level they would have shrunk into very small dimensions
indeed. But there is more comfort still. The comet of 1770
positively got so near to Jupiter that it got entangled among his
moons, the diameter of ^ smaUcst of which is only some 2,000
mUes ; but the moons pursued their courses as if nothing had
happened, while the comet was so discomfited by the encounter
that it returned by another road— t.^. astronomically speaking,
its orbit was entirely changed. While, last of all, in our cor-
respondence this week, will be found one fact the more in favour
of the idea that, in 186 1, we actually did pass through a comet.
We have a suggestion for those weak people who are still
alarmed by these celestial portents, and steadily refuse to
acquaint themselves with the most elementary work on Astro-
nomy, which would convince them how groundless their fears
are. In India, during the last Eclipse, the priests reaped
magnificent harvests from the offerings of the faithfiiL In
England, possibly, it would be considered incorrect to make such
offerings to the priest ; but let them still be made — ^to the Royal
Astronomical Society. In this way the EngUsh Philistine would
approach nearer the standard of his less-civilised brother ; Science
would be benefited, and, doubtless, the omen would be averted
— at all events they always have been.
The Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society
was held on Friday last, when the president's address was read.
The medal this year has been awarded to Prof. Schiaparelli for
his brilliant demonstration of the identity which exists in the
elements of the orbits of certain comets and known systems of
meteors. Among the obituary notices for the year were those
of Sir John Herschel, Prof. De Morgan, and Mr. Babbage.
The Council of the Geological Society have awarded the
Wollaston Medal for the present year to Prof. J. D. Dana, of
Yale College, Connecticut, and the balance of die proceeds of
the Wollaston Fund to Mr. James Croll, of Edinburgh.
The Hopkins Prize, which was founded in memory of the
late Mr. Hopkins, and is adjudged to the author of the best
original memoir, invention, or discovery in connection with
Mathematico-physical or Mathematico-experimental Science
that may have been published durhigthe three years immediately
preceding (who is or has been a member of the University of
Cambridge) has been awarded to Prof! J. Clerk Maxwell, F.R.S.
The adjudicators were Profs. Stokes, Tait, and Clifton. The
fund is vested in the Cambridge Philosophical Society.
We learn that, in addition to the scholarships for Natural
Science at Cambridge, of which a list was given in our number
for February i. King's College offers an exhibition of the value
of about 80/. per annum. The examination will conunence on
April 9, will include Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology, with
one Classical and one Mathematical paper, and will be open to all
candidates under twenty, and tp undergraduates of the collie in
their first and second year. Names must be sent in, before
March 10, to the Rev. A. A. Leigh, tutor of the college, from
whom further information may be obtained.
Prof. George Rolleston has been elected a Fellow of
Merton College, under the ordinance of 1854, which founded the
Linacre Professorship of Physiology, and endowed it out of the
revenues of this college. Profl Rolleston graduated in 1850,
and was afterwards elected Fellow of Pembroke College. In i860
he was appointed to the Linacre Professorship of Physiology.
The Industrial Museum at Edinburgh has lost, by the death of
J. Boyd Davies, its zoological director or manager. No one knows
what the authorities are going to do, but it is to be hoped they
will select a good man, not a talker but a worker. The monetary
value of the post is 200/. to 250/. per annum. The Lectureship
on Zoology at the High School is also vacant
At a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society held on
Monday evening last, the president. Sir H. C. Rawlinson, sta'.ed
that, three days before, the expedition, consisting of Lieut. Daw-
son, R.N., lieut. Henn, R.N., and Mr. Oswald Livingstone,
the son of Dr. livin^tone, set sail in the first steamer despatched
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Feb. 15, 1872 J
NATURE
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from the Thames to Zanzibar direct. The three gentlemen
engaged in it had been given every assurance that their under-
taking would be assisted at home in every possible way. The
subscriptions to the fund for its maintenance amounted to 5,000/.,
of which upwards of 2,000/. was received from London alone ;
Edinburgh had contributed 350/. ; and the little town of Hamil-
ton, the native place of Dr. Livingstone, 200/. ; while the cor-
poration of the City of London had subscribed one hundred
guineas, and the leading commercial firms of the City had come
forward in an equally liberal manner. The Admiralty has
refused to allow Lieut. Dawson his full pay while engaged on
the expedition.
The important article which we are able to give this week,
on the Position of the Centre of Gravity in Insects," by M. Felix
Plateau, is an abstract of a long memoir by that author, to be
found in the '' Biblioth^ue Universelle, Archives des Sciences
Physiques et Naturellcs," voL xliii., for 1872.
The Naval and MUitary GazetU asserts that the ChaHenger^
screw- corvette, will be commissioned early in the summer for a
voyage of exploration and research. Some scientific gentlemen
will be accommodated on board the vessel, and it is probable
that Captain George S. Nares, now serving in the surveying
vessel Sluarwater^ in the Red Sea, will be placed in command.
The actual places which will be visited have not yet been
determined, but it is anticipated that the groups of islands in the
Pacific wDl have special attention bestowed upon them. This
movement on the part of the Admiralty is in encouraging con-
trast to the fact that Arctic voyages have been abandoned to
other nations, and to the late refusal of the Lords of the Treasury
to grant any assistance whatever to the Livingstone search ex-
pedition.
The following is the list of officers and council of the Royal
Microscopical Society elected on the 7th of February -.—Presi-
dent—Mr. W. K. Parker, F.R.S. Vice-Presidents— Dr. W. B.
Carpenter, F.R.S., Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., Sir John Lubbock,
Bart, M.P., F.R.S., Mr. John Millar. Treasurer— Mr. John
W. Stephenson. Seaetaries— Mr. Henry J. Slack, Mr. Jabez
Hogg. Council — Dr. Robert Braithwaite, Mr. JohnBemey, Mr.
Charles Brooke, F.R.S., Mr. T. W. Burr, Dr. W. J. Gray, Dr.
Henry Lawson, Mr. Henry Lee, Mr. S. J. M'Intire, Mr. Henry
^ Perigal, Dr. G. W. RoystonPigott, Mr. Charles Stewart, Mr.
* T. C. White.
The International Scientific Series, to be published by Henry
S. King and Ca, is an indication of a movement of great im-
portance. The series will be published simultaneously in New
York by Messrs. D. Appleton and Ca, in Paris by M. Germer
Bailli^re, and in Leipzig by Messrs. Brockhaus. The first
volume, by Prof. Tyndall, F.R.S., on "The Forms of Water,
in Clouds, Rain, Rivers, Ice, and Glaciers," is now in the press,
and will be published in March next. Among others already
arranged for are Prof. T. H. Huxley, F.R.S., on Bodily Motion
and Consciousness ; Dr. W. B. Carpenter, F. R. S. , on the Principles
of Mental Physiology ; Sir John Lubbock, Bart, F.R.S., on the
Antiquity of Man ; Prof. Rudolph Virchow, on Morbid Phy-
siological Action ; Prof. Alexander Bain, on Relations of Mind
and Body ; ProC Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., on the Conservation
of Energy ; Mr. Walter Bagehot, on Physics and Politics ; Dr.
H. Charlton Bastian, F.R.S., on the Brain as an Organ of
Mind ; Mr. Herbert Spencer, on the Study of Sociology ; Prot
Waiiam Odling, F.R.S., on the New Chemistry; Prof. W.
Thiselt *n Dyer, on Form and Habit in Flowering Plants ; Dr.
Edward Smuh, F.R-S., on Food and Diets; Prof. W. Clifford,
on the First Principles of the Exact Sciences explained to the
non-mathematical ; Mr. J. N Lockyer, F.R.S., on Spectrum
Analysis; Dr. W. Lauder Liudsay, on Mind in the Lower
Aniinals \ Dr. J. B. P«tti^vr^ F.R.S.| 00 Aqimal (<o^moUon ;
Prof. A. C. Ramsay, F.R.S, on Earth Sculpture; Dr. Henry
Maudsley, on Responsibility in Disease ; ProC W. Stanley
Jevons, on the Logic of Statistics ; Prof. Michael Foster, on
Protoplasm and the Cell Theory ; Rev. M. J. Berkeley, on
Fungi : their nature, influences, and uses ; Prof. Claude Bernard,
on Physical and Metaphysical Phenomena of Life ; ProC A.
Quetelet, on Social Physics; Prof. H. Sainte-Claire Deville,
Introduction to General Chemistry ; Prof. Wurtz, on Atoms
and the Atomic Theory; Prof. Quatrelages, on the Negro
Races ; Prof. Lucaze-Duthiers, on Zoology since Cuvier ; Prof.
Berthelot, on Chemical Synthesis.
The death of Dr. Harvey, Professor of Botany in the Univer-
sity of Dublin, arrested the progress of the Flora Capensis
shortly after the publication of the third volume had brought the
work half-way towards its completion. It is hoped that if the
Cape Legislature will accede to Dr. Hooker's request for a re-
newal of the grant towards the expenses of printing, the remaining
volumes may be at once taken in hand. The general super-
vision will be undertaken by Prof. Thiselton Dyer, who will
probably receive assistance in monographing different families
from Profs. Lawson and Perceval Wright, Drs. Sonder, Trimen,
Masters, and MacNab, and from Messrs. Carruthers, A. W.
Bennett, Hiem, Britten, and Baker.
Dr. Miller Coughtrey is engaged on a long paper on
the long- handled combs, Roman, Swiss, bone cave, Mexican,
and other forms. It is now in proof for the Proceedings of the
Antiquarian Society of Scotland.
We note the appearance of the first number of a new monthly
magazine, " The Earth : a popular magazine on Geology,*' whose
object is " to collate and bring together facts and discoveries
baring on advanced and truthfiil views of Geology, and to oppose
false and current opinions on the subject." Among the fallacies
to be exposed are : — '* That there has been an evolution of one
creature into another," " that vegetable life either preceded or
succeeded animal life on the globe," *' that granite is a rock of
fusion," &C. ; and among the truths to be advocated are : — *' That
the configuration of the earth is a result of the agency of the
winds and tides, of volcanic action^ and of fluviatile anl glacial
action," ''that there has been no evolution of species," and
" that basalt is a crystallisation from solutions."
We are glad to see that the labours of the English Strasburg
Library Committee, consisting of Mr. Hepworth Dixon, Lord
Houghton, Prot Huxley, Lord Ljrtton, the Duke of Manchester,
Sir J. G. ToUemache Sinclair, Bart M.P., and Mr. Trubner,
secretary, are being crowned with success. From the list we
have just received of books already presented, we see that almost
every department of Government has presented its publications.
This remark also applies to the following scientific societies :—
The University of Oxford, the Trustees of the British Museum,
the Astronomer Royal, the Royal Geographical Society, the
Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Botanical Society of Edinburgh,
the Early English Text Society, the Historic Society of Lanca-
shire and Cheshire, the Meteorological Society, ihe Radcliffe
Observatory, Oxford, the Royal United Service Institution, the
Philosophical Society of Glasgow, ths Royal Institution of Great
Britain, and Owens College, Manchester. In this list we may
remark that some of the most important of our societies are still
conspicuous by their absence.
The problem, " What to do with our juvenile criminals," i^-
pears to have been solved by the Government of the State of
New York in a most satisfactory manner. We have before us,
and hope to be able to return to it again, a pamphlet issued by
the "Department of Pubhc Charities and Correction," bearing
the title, inexplicable to English bumbledom, of " Cruise of
School-ship Mercury in Tropical Atlantic Ocean." It is, in
fact, an account of a gruise undertaken in th^ interests of sciencct
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and under the management of Prof. Henry Draper, containing a
report " on the chemical and physical facts collected from the
Deep Sea Researches made during the voyage of the nautical
school-ship Mercury^ undertaken in the Tropical Atlantic and
Caribbean Sea in 1870-71 ; the "cruisers" being, not Dr. Car-
penter, ProC Wyville Thomson, and Mr. Giryn Jeffreys, but
the boys committed to the care of the Commissioners in New
York for slight misdemeanours and vagrancy !
We regret to hear that the Geology Cliss at Christ's Hospital,
having gone through an introductory course of lectures, has
stopped, and has not been replaced by a class of Botany or any
sister science. It is greatly to be regretted that the Chemistry Class
do not get beyond the simpler metals and easy testing ; those who
would wish to study Chemistry are restricted to the more
elementary branches of inorganic chemistry alone.
Prof. Hughes, F.R.G.S., gave two lectures at Christ's
Hospital on February 3 and icon Physical Geography. In his
introduction he, like Prof. Huxley, claimed for his science a posi-
tion eqxial to that held by the German Erdkunde, defining bath
to be that which explained to us " the aspect of nature and
natural phenomena." In his first lecture he dealt with ** High
Lands and Table Lands," somewhat overthrowing the popular
idea of mountains gained from text books. In his second lecture
he spoke of the " Ocean and Deep-Sea Currents," explaining
clearly and advocating warmly the ingenious theories and proofs
of Dr. Carpenter, about which there has been so much discussion
in the pages of Nature. We attach no little importance to
these lectures, because they brought the hearers up to the present
state of our knowledge of the deep sea and of the Himalayan
Mountains, far further than the best text-books have yet
brought us. It is only to be regretted that other gentle-
men of like abilities and knowledge with Prof. Hughes do not
come forward and offer to lecture to boys on other branches of
Natural Science. It is hard for those who feel an interest in
nature to feel themselves bound by the iron chains of verse com-
position.
Lippincott^s Magazine for January contains an interesting and
profusely-illustrated article on the New Port Storm Signals, by
ProC Thompson B. Maury.
PHYSICS
Preliminary Catalogue of the Bright Lines in the
Spectrum of the Chromosphere*
The following list contains the bright lines which have been
observed by the writer in the spectrum of the chromosphere
within the pa-t four weeks. It includes, however, only those
which have been seen twice at least ; a number observed on one
occasion (Sept. 7) siill await verificati jn.
The sptctroscone employed is the same described in the Jour-
nal of the Franklin Institute for November 1870 ; but certain
important modifications have since been effected in the instrument.
The telescope and collimator have each a fo :al length of nearly
10 inches, and an aperture of ^ of an inch. The prism train
consists of five prisms (with refracting angles of 55") and two half-
prisms. The light is sent twice through the whole series by
means of a prism of total reflection at the end of the train, so
that the dispersive power is that of twelve prisms. The instru-
ment distinctly divides the strong iron line at 196 1 of Kirchhoff's
scale, and separates B (not b) into its three components. Of
course it easily shows everything that appears on the spectrum
maps of Kirchhoff and Angstrom. The adjustment for "the
position of minimum deviation " is automatic ; ue. , the different
portions of the spectrum are brought to the centre of the field of
view by a movement which at the same time also adjusts the
prisms.
The telescope to which the spectroscope is attached is the new
equatorial recently mounted in the observatory of the College by
Alvan Clark and Sons. It is a very perfect specimen of the
admirable optical wt>rkmanship of this celebrated firm, and has an
aperture of 9iV inches, with a focal length of 12 feet.
In the table the first column contains simply the reference
number. An asterisk denotes that the line affected by it has no
well-marked corresponding dark line in the ordinary solar spec-
trum.
The second column gives the position of the line upon the
scale of Kirchhoff's map — determmed by direct comparison with
the map at the time of observation. In some cases an interroga-
tion mark is appended, which signifies not that the existence of
the line is doubtful, but only that its precise place could not be
determined, either because it fell in a shading of fine line*, or
because it could not be decided in the case of some close double
lines which of the two components was the bright one ; or,
finally, because there were no well-marked dark lines near enough
to fiimish the ba&is of reference for a perfectly accurate deter-
mination.
The third column gives the position of the line npoa Ang-
strom's normal atlas of the solar spectrum. In this colonm an
occasional interrogation mark denotes that there is some doubt
as to the precise point of Angstrom's scale correspon-iin^ to
KirchhoffV. There is considerable difference between the two
maps, owing to the omission of many faint lines by Angstrom,
and the want of the fine gradations of shading observed by
Kirchhoff, which renders the co-ordination of the two scales
sometimes difficult, and makes the atlas of Kirchhoff far superior
to the other for use in the observatory.
The numbers in the fourth column are intended to denote the
percentage of frequency with which the corresponding Un s are
visible in my instrument They are to be regarded as only roughly
approximative ; it would of course require a much longer period
of observation to furnish results of this kind worthy of much
confidence.
In the fifth column the numbers denote the relative brilliance
of the lines on a scale whtre 100 is the brightest and x the fainteit
These numbers also, like those in the preceding column, are
entitled to very liitle weight.
1 1
Rcf. No. j
1
1
Relative
BrightneM.
Chemical
Element.
s i
> s
I
534'5
7060?
60
3
2
654s
6677?
8
4
L.
3
C
6561 8
100
100
H.
L.J.
4
7190
64957
2
2
Ba.
5
7340
6454-5
2
3
6
743?
6431.
2
2
7
768?
6370*
2
2
8
8168
62603
I
I
Ti.
9
8200
6253 -2
I
2
Fe.
10
8742
61405
6
8
Ba.
L.
II
I>i
58948
10
10
Na.
L.
12
I^,
5889-0
10
10
Na.
L.
•13
10170
5871-
100
75
tl
14
12743
1281S
55340
6
Ba.
J5
55260
I
I
Fe.
16
1343s
5454*5
I
2
Fe.
17
1351-3
5445*9
I
2
Fe. TL
18
13631
5433 -0
I
Fe.
•19
13660
5430*0
2
3
20
13720
54245
3
4
Ba.
L.
21
1378-5 ?
541 80?
I
2
Ti.?
•22
1382s
5412-
I
I
23
1391-2
5403-0
2
2
Fe. Ti.
24
1397-8
53962
I
2
Fe.
25
1421*5
5370-4
I
2
Fe.
R.
26
1431-3
53606
2
2
R.?
^l.
1454-7
53320
2
z
Ti.
28
14629
5327-7
I
3
Fe.
29
1463-4
5327*2
I
3
Fe.
30
1465*0?
Corona
line [
5321-
2
2
y3i(
14741 )
5315-9
75
15
Fe?
L.
Digitized by
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Feb. 15, 1872]
NATURE
313
Ref. No.
1
5283-
1
1
ll
4
Is
! (^0
32
1505*5
1
33
i5>55
52750
5
,L. R.
34
1:
5269-5
3
Fe. Ca.
35
52685
2
Fe.
1
36
15280
5265-5
2
Fe. Co.
1 L.
37
I561O
52390
1
Fe.
,
38
I564I
52362
I
1
39
15677
5233*5
2
Mn.
. R-
40
15697
52320
2
Fe.
41
1577-3
52260
2
Fe.
42
1580-5 ?
5224-5
I
Ti.
43
1601-5
52073
3
Cr. Fe. ?
44
1604-4
52053
3
Cr.
1
45
16065
52037
3
Cr. Fe. ?
46
1609-3
5201 -6
2
Fe.
^l
161I.5
5'99-5
1
48
1615-6
51970
2
L. R.
49
(*»
5183-0
15
Mg.
L.
50
)^
5172-0
15
Mg.
L.
51
/^
5168-5
10
Ni.
L.
52
u.
5166-5
10
Mg.
L.
53
1673-9
1678-0
5 > 53*2
1
Na.
54
5150-1
2
Fe.
55
17785
5077-8
I
Fe.
56
18668
5017*5
3
R.
57
1870-3
5015-?
2
R.
58
1989-5
4933*4
5
Ba.
L.
59
2001-5
49232
3
Fe.
R. L
60
2003-2
4921 3
1
61
2007 1
49181
3
3
L.
62
2031-0
4899-3
6
4
Ba.
L.
63
2051-5
4882-5
2
2
L.
64
F.
48606
100
75
H.
J. L.
65
2358-5
46290
1
Ti.
66
2419-3
4583*5
I
I
H
2435*6
4571-4
I
Li.
68
2444-0
4564*6
1
69
24466
4563 -X
2
Ti.
70
24578
4555*0
1
Ti.
71
2461 -2
45533
3
Ba.
72
^^5rz
4548-7
3
Ti.
73
2486-8
4535-2
I
Ti. Ca. ?
74
24895
4533-2
I
Fe.
75
24906
4531*7
I
Ti.
76
2502 -s
2505-8
4524-2
2
Ba.
77
4522-1
2
Ti.
78
2537-3
45004
3
Ti.
79
2553-?
4491-0?
1
Mn.?
80
alHl
4489*5?
1
Mn.?
81
4480-4
2
Mg.
L.
82
2581-5?
4471*4
75
8
A bandra
ther
e.
than a lin
83
2585-5
44686
I
Ti.
84
26250
4443*0
I
Ti.
85
26700
4414*6
1
Fe. Mn.
86
2686-7
4404-3
2
Fe.
87
27050
"^393*5
4384^-8
2
Ti.
88
2719-?
I
Ca.?
89
2721-2
43827
2
Fe.
90
2734*?
4372'
I
91
2737*?
4369*3 ?
I
Cr.
92
27758
43520
1
Fe. Cr.
93
27960
43400
100
50
H.
L.J.
94
G.
4307*0
2 ]
Fc. Ti. Ca.
95
2870*0
43000
I
Ti.
96
4297-5
I
Ti. Ca.
97
42890
2
Cr.
98
42745
2
Cr.
99
4260-0
I
Fe.
100
4245*2
I
Fe.!
lOI
4226-5
I
Ca.
102
4215*5
2
Fc. Ca.
103
h.
4101-2
100
20
H.
R.L.
The ^th column contains the symbols of the chemical substances
to which, accoxxSing to the maps above referred to, the lines owe
their origin.
There are no disagreements between the two authorities ; in a
majority of cases, however, Angstrom alone indicates the element,
and there are several instances where the lines of more than one
substance coincide with each other and with a line of the solar
spectrum so closely as to make it impossible to decide between
them.
In the seventh and last column the letters J.j L., and R. de-
note that to my knowledge the line indicated has been observed
and its place published by Janssen, Lockyer, or Rayet. It is
altogether probable that a large portion of the other lines con-
tained in the catalogue have before this been seen and located by
one or the other of these keen and active observers, but if so I
have as yet seen no account of such determinations.
I would call especial attention to the lines numbered 1 and 82
in the catalogue ; they are very persistently present, though faint,
and can be distinctly seen in the spectroscope to belong to the
chromosphere as such, not being due, like most of the other lines,
to the exceptional elevation of matter to heights where it does
not properly belong. It would seem very probable that both
these lines are due to the same substance which causes the D'
line.
I do not know that the presence of titanium vapour in the
prominences and chromosphere has before been ascertained. It
comes out very clearly from the catalogue, as no less than 20 of
the whole 103 lines are due to this metal
Hanover, N.H., Sept 13, 1871 C. A. YoUNO
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
The American Naturalist for October 1 87 1 commences with
a paper by Dr. Jeffreys Wyman entitled, " Experiments with
Vibrating Cilia," the cnief points in which are some determina-
tions of the rate of movement of the vibrating cilia on the gills
of Mollusca, both in air and in water, and the description and
drawing of an instrument by means of which this rapidity can
be measured and exhibited so as to be seen over a lai]ge lecture-
room. Prof. James Orton furnishes some contributions to the
Natural Hi&tory of the Valley of Quito (continued in the next
number) ; and Dr. J. S. Billings contributes a paper onlfysterium,
a genus of Ascomycetous Fung^, and some of its allies, illus-
trated by a plate. Mr. T. Martin Trippe has a very interesting
paper on some differences between Eastern and Western Birds,
m which he traces the difference in habits, note, time of breeding,
&C., in the same species of bhd in the eastern and newly-settl^
western portions of the American contment, and the manner in
which the indigenous avifauna of the Western States is becoming
gradually superseded by eastern forms, along with the advance
of man.
The first paper in the number for November is by Grace Anna
Le*jns on Synmietrical Figures in Birds* Feathers, in illustration
of the beauties furnished for the microscope by the feathers of
birds. Dr. Elliott Coues gives a description and drawing of a
little- known species of oriole, the only one which is a native of
the Western States, and is knovns as Bullock's Oriole^ Xanthorthus
Bullockii^ Swainson. Prof. Geoige H. Perkins contributes some
'* Notes on the Geodes of Illinois ; " and the remainder of the
number is occupied by reviews, and the usual interesting items
of Natural History Miscellany.
The number for December opens with an extremely interesting
paper by the Editors on " The Mammoth Cave and its Inhabi-
tants," an account of a visit paid to this extraordinary cavern in a
hill of the sub-carboniferous limestone formation in Edmondson
County, Kentucky, after the Indianapolis meeting of the Ameri-
can Association for the Advancement of Science. After a
general description of the cave and history of its inhabitants, it
contains a description, with dravangs, of all the species of Crus-
tacea and insects which are found in it The Rev. Samuel
Lockwood writes an account of "A Singing i^^^^wwyjor Vesper-
mouse," the species known as the jumping-mouse, wood-mouse,
and white-footed mouse, with the notes of its song. This num-
ber concludes Vol. v. of this admirably-conducted magazine,
which we commend to the notice of all interested in the study
of natural history.
Journal of Botany for January. A menoir of the late lamented
editor of this journal, Dr. Berthold Seemann, commences the new
Digitized by
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3H
NATURE
\Feb. 15, 1872
volume, now conducted by Dr. Trimen, assisted by Mr. J. G.
Baker. The original articles are as follows : — **On the Genus
Albizzia, nearly 5Ued to Acacia," by Baron Ferd. von Mueller ;
••The ErysiphH oiihe United States," by Messrs. M. C. Cooke
and Peck ; a continuation of Mr. J. G. Baker*s "Botany of the
Lizard Peninsula ;" and Lichenographical Notes, by J. A. Martin-
dale. Short notes, reviews, and reprints, complete the programme
of the number.
The first article in the Quarterly Journal of Science for January
is by Captain S. P. Oliver, on "The Dolmen Mounds and Amor-
pholithic Mtmuments of Brittany," in which he deUils the his-
tory and analogies of these mounds, classifying them into twelve
distinct varieties. The article is apparently not complete. Next
follows a short paper on " The Illumination of Beacons and
Buoys," detailing the most recent inventions in this direction.
The third article i< on " Natural and Artificial Flight," detailing
M. Marey's investigations on this subject, with numerous illus-
trative woodcuts. A paper on ** The Coal Commissioners' Re-
port " is simply a risumi of the evidence brought before the
Commission. Mr. Mungo Ponton, on " The Spectroscope : its
Imperfections and their Remedy," advocates the construction of
an instrument on the diffracting principle, without which the
writer maintains that accuracy, certainty, and uniformity of
results cannot be attained. The last and longest article in the
number is on " Modem Cannon Powder," with two steel plates.
A larger proportion than usual of this number is occupied by
notices of books, and details of the progress of the physical and
mechanical sciences.
The last published part of the " Memoirs of the Natural His-
tory Society of Danzig" (** Schriften der Naturforschenden
G^llschaft in Danzig, New Series, voL ii., Heft 3 and 4)
contains but few papers of general interest, although the special
scientific importance of some of them is doubtless very great.
Thus a great part of it is occupied by a number of tables giving
the results of meteorological observations made in Danzig, with
great care and astonishing labour, by M. F. Strehlke, during the
years 1841-43, and by a series of tables of refraction for micro-
meters, by M. E. Kayser. Two other papers of almost purely
local interest relate to the chemical composition of the water sup-
plied to Danzig, and to its effects upon lead pipes. The preced-
ug papers occupy more than half the number before us ; the
remainder all relate to natural history matters. M. C. G. H.
Brischke continues his minor observations upon insects, the
greater part of his present communication relating to the enemies
of the rape-plant and their parasites. The dipterologist will find
a new species of Phytomyza described under this head. The
same author contributes a list of the Rhynchota of the Province
of Prussia. The fourth section of M. A, Menjge's Prussian
Spiders completes the list of zoological contributions. In it the
author describes the first two families of his third tribe (the
Tubitelae), ending with Argyroneta aquoHca^ as the 170th species
here described by him. M. A. Ohlert's "Lichenological
Aphorisms," the only botanical paper, contains some important
and interesting observations.
The following are the most important articles in the Rome
Scientifique^ Nos. 25 — 32. Prof. Lorain, of Paris, has an in-
teresting article on the report of the Committee of 1870 on the
liberty of higher instruction; Mr. Herbert Spencer contributes a
paper on Greneral Laws ; report of M. Quatrefage's course of
lectures on Anthropology at the Museum of Natoral History ;
Helmholtz*s address in memory of Prof. Magnus at the Academy
of Sciences at Berlin ; Herbert Spencer on the Classification of
the Sciences, an elaborarion of his essay '* On the Genesis of
Science," published in 1854 ; Berthelot on the state of bodies in
solution; report of Prof. Bernard's course of lectures at the
College of France on Experimental Medicine ; abstracts of
paper read at the Indianopolis Meeting of the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science ; translations of Lockyer's,
Maclear's, and Respighi's accounts of the Total Solar Eclipse,
together with reports of M. Janssen's observations ; an article by
Herbert Spencer on the reasons why he dissents from the philo-
sophy of Comte, being a reply to a review in the Rhme des Deux
Mondes ; M. Vemeuil on Surgical Pathology; report of the
committee appointed by the Society of Physicians and Surgeons
of the Paris Hospitals to visit the new Hotel Dieu ; M. Alglave
on the scientific riunions at the Assembly ; M. Hebert on the
"Tithonic Stage," and the new German school. There are
in addition a number of reports of proceedings of foreign
Bodeties.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Institution, February $.— Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart,
vice-president, in the chair. Messrs. Alexander Brodie,
John Cleghorn, Edward John Gayer, Arthur Edward GrifBths,
William Grogan, the Hon. Frederick H North, Messrs. Samuel
Wagstaff Smith, W. Soame<i, Henry Virtue Tebbs, Bumey Yeo,
Henry Yool, were elected members. The special thanks of the
members were returned for the following donations to •* The
Fund for the Promotion of Experimental Researches :" — Prof.
Tyndall (3rd donation) 30/., Mr. Arthur Giles Puller (5th dona-
tion) 21/. The prevnts received since the last meeting were laid
on the table, and the thanks of the members returned for the
same.
Geologists' Association. — A special general meeting was
held on the 2nd February, when a revised code of laws was
adopted. Subsequently, at the annual meeting, the re]>ort for 187 1
was adopted, and the officers for the ensuing year elected. At
the ordinary meeting which followed, the Rev. f. Wiltshire, M. A.,
F. G. S., president, in the chair, a paper was read by the Rev. T. G,
Bonney, M.A., F.G.S., tutor of St. John's College, Cambridge,
' ' On the Chloritic marl, or Upper Greensand, of theneighbourfatxxi
of Cambridge." The author commenced by a brief sketch of the
geology of the Cam valley, and the position of the seam, barely
a foot in thickness, which rests upon the eroded surface of the
Gault, and is full of green grains and dark nodules, rich in
phosphate of lime. He described the matrix as a fine chalky
marl, full of foraminifera, and minute fragments of organisms,
with a considerable mixture of mud, insoluble in hydrochloric
acid. The composition of the green grains (commonly called
glauconite) was then discussed, and it was shown that they
differed considerably from the typical mineral of that name ; he
had not satisfied himself that any were casts of foraminifera.
After a few words on the phosphatic nodules, and some erratic
rocks in the bed, he gave a sketch of the palaeontology of the
deposit, calling attention to the condition of \h*t various fossil
remains, and to the number and size of the pterodactyles and
turtles. He then gave his reasons for considering this deposit as
formed during the Upper Greensand epoch, but as containing
many fossils which had been derived from the Upper C^ault by
slow denudation. The nodules he considered as mainly of
concretionary origin ; for they were too pure to be r^arded as
clay saturateid by phosphate. He concluded by sketching out
his conception of the physical geography of the East Anglian
district in the Neocomian and lower part of the Cretaceous
epoch. — Prof. Morris, after some remarks on the value of the
paper, spoke of the composition of the green grains, and then
traced the range of the deposit, which he agreed with Mr. Bonney
in thinking was the formation of a very long period of time. -
Mr. Lobley remarked upon the mineralogical and palaeontological
differences existing between the Cambridge deposit and the
chloritic marl of Dorsetshire. — Mr. Bonney, in his reply, having
referred to the great scarcity of fossils in the Gault of Cam-
bridge, the Rev. T. Wiltshire stated that the Gault of Kent was
n ome pUces devoid of organisms.
Zoological Society, February 6.— Mr. R. Hudson, F.R.S.
V.P., in the chair. — A communication was read from Dr. T. S.
Bowerbank, F.R.S., containing the first portion of a series of
papers, entitled " Contributions to a general History of the
Spongiadse," in which descriptions were given of several species
ot Tethea^ and of Ilalispongia choanoides. — A communication was
read from Dt John Anderson, containing notes on a young living
female of Rhinoceros sutnatrensis^ which had been captured in
Chittagong, in February 1868, and had been removed to Cal-
cutta on its way to England. These notes were accompanied by
a photograph of the animal from life. — A second communication
from Dr. Anderson contained notes on Manouria and Sca/na^
two supposed genera of Land-Tortoises, which Dr. Anderson
showed to be identical with Tesiudo cmys of Schlegel and M tiller.
— Mr. Sclater read a paper on Kaup's Cassowary {Casuarius
Kaupi), of which the Society's collection contained a living
specimen. To this was added a list of the other known species
of the genus Casuarius, and an account of their geographical dis-
tribution.— A communication was read from Dr. A. Giintherj
F. R. S., on two specimens of Lizards of the genus Hydrosaurns,
from the Philippine Islands, for one of which, being hitherto un-
desaibed. Dr. Giinther proposed the name Hydrosaurus nuchalis^
— ^A second commimication firom Dr. A. Gunther contained the
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Feb. 15, 1872]
NATURE
315
description of a new genus and species of Cbaracinoid Fishes
from Demerara, pxx>posed to be called Nannostomus beckfordu —
A communication was read from Lieutenant Reginald Beavan,
of the Revenue Survey Department of India, containing descrip-
tions of two new species of Cyprinoid Fishes from the Punjab.
— Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited specimens of and described a
new species of Green Woodpecker from Southern Spain, which
he proposed to call Cecinus sharpiu
Anthropological Institute, February 5.— Dr. Chamock,
vice-president, in the chair. W. J. Jeaffreson, M.A., was
elected a member. — Lieut. -Col. G. G. Francis exhibited a series
of flint, stone, and bone implements and human bones from
Paviland, Gower. — Mr, Geoxge Harris, vice-president, read a
paper "On the hereditary transmission of endowments and
qualities of various kinds." Of the actual transmission of
qualities no doubt could be entertained. Many thought they
were mainly derived from the mother, and in some instances they
were inherited from the grandparents. That was often observed
in cases of disease. Endowments did not, however, always
directly descend, but were transmitted in various ways, such as
in the descent of particular talents. In other cases it was
modified in the transmission ; occasionally the various qualities
of both parents seemed to be divided among the different
members of the family. That was observable in the breed-
ing of animals. Physical qualities were also transmitted in
the same way, and artificial acquirements had been considered
transmissible. The most extraordinary instances were related
of the existence of complete continuity, both mental and moral,
between the parents and the children. The author considered
the subject to be one of deep interest, and suggestive of various
theories, and irespecting which the observations ef each might
add to the common stock of knowledge. — A paper on " the
Wallons," by Dr. Chamock and Dr. Carter Blake, was then
read. The Wallons were descendants of the old Gallic
Belgse who held their ground in the Ardennes, when
Gaul was overrun by the Germans. The Wallons were
tall, somewhat slender, raw-boned, tough, rough, and hardy,
and made excellent soldiers. Their hair was dark, eyes fiery,
dark-brown, or blue, and deep sunk. The ordinary Wallons
stood in a similar, relation to Belgium to what the Irish
peasant did to the Sassenach. They were poor, jovial, good-
natux-ed, superstitious, chaste, hospitable, quarrelsome, violent,
and generous, like the Irish. They were poetical, rich in song,
and fond of the dance. They surpassed the Flemish in adroit-
ness, activity, and skill, and the French in earnestness, perse-
verance, and diligence. As evidence of their peculiar character,
a Wallon would drag a pig from Namur to Ghent, or even to
Bruges, to gain a few sous more than he could in his own
district. Some of the most eminent of the modem statesmen of
Belgium were of Wallon descent. Notwithstanding these gene-
ral remarks, a special mental and moral character might be pre-
dicated of the Wallons of each district. The ppper concluded
with copious remarks on the language of the Wallons, together
with their proverbs.
Society of Biblical Archieology, February 6. — Dr. Birch,
president, in the chair. — ^The following gentlemen were duly
proposed as members of the society :— Mr. T. H. Christy, Mr.
James Collins, Mr. George C. Hale, Rev. Prof. Mahaffey. An
important communication was received from M. Clermont Gan-
neau, on an ** Inscription in Hebrew or Ancient Phoenician
Characters of the time of the Kings of Judah, discovered at
Siloam-cl-Fokani, nearjem^alem." In this paper M. Ganneau
related the discovery of two incised tablets, executed on the wall
of a mined rock-cut chamber or sacellum, near to the house of
the Sheikh of Siloam. The inscriptions were in the old Archaic
character, now familiar to the ardiseological world in the fiimous
Moabite Stone. Some Christian hermit had, about the fourth
centuxy of our era, wilfully mutilated part of the writing, but
enougn still remained to attest its extreme value as a palaeographic
record. Portions of the first four lines of the first tablet the
learned savant believed to contain the name of the divinity Baal,
and to denote a votive dedication to him by a functionary, name
illegible, about the period of the later Kings of Judah. The
author inclined to think that the cave had been originally dedi-
cated to Baal at a still earlier period, probably by one of
Solomon's Moabitish wives, and that it was afterwards added to
and finished in a subsequent reign. M. Ganneau pxomised» in
conclusion, shortly to lay before the society a more perfect
examination and conjectuzal restoration of the inscriptions on both
tablets, and expressed a hope that the records in question would
prove not inferior in importance to any other, as being themselves
the oldest, or nearly the oldest, positively Hebrew i^criptionsin
existence.
Mathematical Society, February 8.— Pro£ Cayley, vice-
president, in the chair. The chairman mentioned that the presi-
dent had made inquiries at the Home Office as to the mode of
procedure requisite for obtaining a charter for the society, and
that the {matter would come on for consideration at the next
subsequent meeting (March 14) when members would have an
opportunity of stating their views upon the desirability of in-
corporation.—Mr. T. W. L. Glaisher was elected a member of
the society. — Mr. Cotterill gave an account of his paper " On
an Algebraical Form, and me geometry of its dual connection
with a polygon, plane, or spherical. " The chairman. Dr. Hirst,
and Prof. Clifford took part in a discussion on the paper.
Entomological Society, February 5. —Prof. Westwood. presi-
dent, in the chair. — Mr. McLachlan brought before the notice of
the meeting an illustration of the manner in whidi the increase
of plant-lice is checked by Hymenopterous parasites; a family of
aphides collected round a poplar twig exhibited had been utterly
destroyed by these parasites, there remaining only the inflated
emoty skins much resembling the egg of some large insect, and
each with a circular hole whence the parasite had emerged.— Mr.
Drace exhibited a selection from a large collection of butterflies
formed in CosU Rica by Dr. Van Patten. It included about
fifty new species and one new genus. Amongst the more strik-
ing forms were four new species of Papilio, three of Morpho,
three or four of Z<^^«/fj, &c— Prof! Westwood exhibited draw-
ings and specimens of various interesting species of Acarnia^ in-
cluding forms new to Britain. One of uese was allied to the
poisonous Argas ptrsicus, and had been found in the crypt of
Canterburv Cathedral. Mr. Bond had also seen examples found
in a church on a gentleman's coat after two young bats had fallen
upomhim from the roof. Another pertained to the genus Trogulus^
and had been found in Dorsetshire. — Major Parry read a paper
on new species of Leucanoid Coleoptera, which was followed by
others by Prof. Westwood ai^d M. Snellen van Sollenhoven, on
insects of the same family.
Edinburgh
Royal Physical Society, January 25.— Dr. Robert Brown,
president, in the chair. — Prof. Turner exhibited a large speci-
men of the electrical eel (Gymnotus electricus) of South
America, which he had received a few weeks ago from Dr. Rid-
path, surgeon. West India Mail Steam Packet Service. He
described the arrangement of the electrical organs, and compared
them with the corresponding oigans in Torpedo, Mcdapterurus^
and Momiyrus, and in the tail of the common skate. Dr. T.
Strethill Wright made some remarks on the relation of these
curious organs to various electrical apparatus. The organs of
the electrical fishe^ were not properly batteries, but were pro-
bably condensing apparatus. Some time ago he made an arti^
ficiaf electrical eiel, and with it he had performed all the experi-
ments Prof. Faraday had done with the electrical eel itself,
which he would exhibit and explain to the society. He gave a
sketch on the board of condensing voltaic apparatus, which y^s
probably analogous to that of the electrical fishes. — Various
species of Peduncukted Cinipedes of Barnacles were exhibited
from Shetland, Cornwall, the Black Sea, &c, by Mr. C. W.
Peach. In October last Mr. Gatherer, of Lerwick, sent him a
fine colony of Lepas Jascicularis which had been taken floating off
Kirkallister lighthouse by a gentleman fishing, and ^ho saw a
great many similar masses floating past his boat. They are each
attached to a bulb bkemass, and are in various stages of growth.
About ten are left, some havirg fallen off. When very }oung
they are attached by a short ptduncle to feathers, cork, cinders,
and seaweeds, or any other floating object As they increase in
size they form a bulb on the foot-stalk. This in time becomes
so large that it falls off, and thus the animal is buoyed up with it
— in fact, "paddles its own canoe." When thus afloat the
animals multiply, and the bulb is enlarged also. It is far from
rare, and found in all seas. In Cornwall, after long- continued
south-west winds, it is thrown ashore bv thousands. — ** Remarks
on the Diamond Fields of South Africa,^' by Mr. Andrew Taylor.
Dublin
Royal Geological Society of Ireland, January 10.— Dr.
W. Frazer in the chair. Pro£ £. Hull, F.R.S., read some
notes on the Marble of Carrara. — Prof. Maodister read
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NATURE
{Feb. 15, 1872
notes of some farther "Researches on Conchospirals." He
pointed out the geometrical properties of the logarithmic spirals
of Mollusca, the special form of spiral in Ammonites, and the
methods of deducing the individual specific parameters from
(a) tangential measurements, O) horizontal sections, and (7) ver-
tical sections. 'The Chairman exhibited a human skull from
Swan River, Australia, encrusted with shells and much acted on
by water.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, Februarys. — M. Serret presented a
note by M. A. Mannheim, containing generalisations of Men-
nier's theorem. — M. H. Resal presented a memoir on the
mechanical effects of the American hammer. — A memoir was
read by M. £. Duclaux on the laws of the flow of liquids in
capillary spaces. — Mr. P. Blasema presented a note on the
solar atmosphere, in which he claims to have arrived at the same
conclusions with M. Janssen, from his observations during the
eclipse of December 22, 1870.— M. Renou replied to the ob-
servations made by M. Delaunay with regard to the Meteorologi-
cal Annual of the Paris Observatory at me last meeting of me
Society, and M. Le Verrier suggested the appointment of a com-
mittee to revise the meteorological observations presented to the
Academy during the last century, and to bring out an authentic
edition of them. — Communications, descriptive of the aurora
observed in France and elsewhere on the evening of February 4,
from MM. Frou, Salicb, Laussedat, and Chapelas, were read, as
also an extract from a letter from M. Comu to M. Fizeau upon
the spectrum of the same aurora. The most important result
obtained by the last-mentioned author was the determination of
the existence of a yellowish-green band coinciding with that pre-
viously observed by Angstrom in 1867-68. — M. Prazmowski
also presented a note on the spectral investigation of the aurora
of Feb. 4. He described a green band about £ of Fraunhofer
(seemingly identical with that observed by M. Comu), a red
band near C, and two more very faint bands in the blue and
violet, near F and G. — M. Bobierre communicated some chemi-
cal investigations on the Landes of Brittany, in which he noticed
especially the constituents of the ashes of plants grown on those
soils. They are chiefly remarkable for the great quantity of
silica contained in them and their poverty in alkaline salts. —
M. Cahours presented a note by M. G. Chancel, on the con-
traction of solutions of cane sugar at the moment of inversion,
and on a new saccharimetric process. The author described
the method employed by him, and stated that a solution of
cane sugar, after inversion, has undergone an appreciable
diminution of volume, which increases in proportion to the
amount of sugar in solution. Upon this property he proposes
to found a new method of saccharimetry. — M. Sacc presented
an analvsis of the linseed oil referred to in a recent memoir read
to the Academy. T-M. Dupuy de Lome read two long and ex-
ceedingly interesting papers upon the construction of a screw
aerostat invented b^ him, and on the results of a trial trip made
with it. The machme consists of an oblong balloon, with a boat-
shaped car ; the author describes it as presenting great stability.
The propeller worked by eight men moved the ouloon through
the air with a velocity of 2*82 metres per second, or loj kilome-
tres (about 6| miles) per hour, so that a certain amount of power
over the movements of the machine was obtained. ^The warm
discussion upon heterogeny and the nature of fermantation was
continued at this meeting by a second communication on the
latter subject by M. Fremy, who denies that the experiments of
M. Pasteur have anything to do with fermentation. He also
declared that his theory has nothing in common with that of
Liebi^ with which it was identified by M. Wurtz. The paper
contamed accounts of experiments made with malt, yeast, muk,
and grape-wort, and upon the decomposition of organic bodies
by the action of moulds. — MM. Dumas and Balard made some
remarks on this conmiunication, and M. V.'Meunier presented
a note in which he stated that organic bodies do frequently make
their appearance in solutions treated afler M. Pasteur's method,
80 that, he thought, the results obtained by that gentleman are
not conclusive. — M. de Quatrefages presented a note by M. E.
T. Hamy describing the occurrence of brachycephalous negroes
among the Cammas on the shores of the Fernand-Vaz River in
Western Africa. — M. Milne-Edwards described a self-regulating
gas-heating apparatus in use in the zoological laboratory of the
Museum; smd M. Sichel JUs forwarded the description of
a new ophthalmoscope for simnltaneous observatioiis by two
persons.
BOOKS RBCEIVBD
English. — ^A Treatise on Attractions, Laplace's Functions, and the FiguTe
of the Earth, 4th edition : T. H. Pratt (Ma^millan and Co.)— Science a^xl
Humanity: Noah Poiter (Hodder and Stoughton^. — Solid Geometry and
Conic Sections : J. M. Wilson (Macmillan and Co ) — Report by the Com-
mittee on Intemperance, for the Lower House of Convocation : 0^^ CUrke
and Co.)— Our National Resources and how they are reached: W. Hoyle
(Simpkin and Marshall). — Consumption, and the Breath re-breathed ; I>r. H.
M'Cormac (Longmans).
Foreign.— Bulletin de la Sod^i Imperials des Naiurali&tes de |Moscoa.
187 1, Nos. I and 9.
DIARY
THURSDAY. Fkikuahy 15.
Royal Soarrv, at 8.30. — On the Induction of Electric Currents in an Infi-
nite Plane Conductmg Sheet: Pro'. Gerk MaxwelU F.R.S.— On some
Derivatives of Uramido-benzoic Add : J. P. Griess, F.R.S.
SociBTY OF Antiquaribs, at 8jo.
LiNNBAN SociBTY. at 8. — On a Chinese Artichoke Gall : A. Mul'er, F.L.S.
—On the Habits. Structure, &c., of the Three-banded Armadilk) : Dr. J.
Murie, F.L.S.— Comparative GeoKraphical Distribution of Butterflies and
Birds: W. F. Kirby.
Chemical Socuty, at 8.
FRIDAY^ February i6w
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Crystallisation of Silrer uid other
Metals: Dr. Gladstone, r.R.S.
Gbolocical Society, at i.— Anniversary Meeting.
SATURDAY. February 17.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Theatre in Shakespeare's Time : Wm.
B Donne.
SUNDAY. February 18.
Sunday Lbctitre Society, at 4>— On the Htmian Hand, as VHtastndng the
Scheme of Creation : Lawson Tait.
MONDAY, February 19.
Entomological Society, at 7.
Anthropological Institute^ at 8. — Strictures on Darwimsm: H. H.
Howorth— Race-Characteristics as related to Civilisatton : J. Gould
Avery.
London iNSriTtrriON, at 4.— Elementary Chemistry : ProC Odlinf , F.R.S.
TUESDAY. February so.
Royal Institution, at 3,— On the Circulatory and Nervous Systems : Dr.
Rutherford.
Zoological Society, at 9. — Notes upon the Anatomy of the ^roung Hippo-
potamus, as observed in the specimen which died in the Society's Gardens
on the loth January, 187a : J. W. Clark. — Contributions to a General His-
tory of the Spongiadae. Part II : Dr. J. S. Bowerbank. — On the Spiders
of Palestine and Syria; containing a general l^t with descriptions of
numerous new speoes and characters of two new genera: Rev. O. P.
Cambridge.
Statistical Society, at 7.45.— On Prison Disdpline and Statistics in
Lower Bengal : Dr. Mouat
WEDNESDAY. February at.
Geological SoasTY, at 8. — Migrations of the Graptolites : ProC H. Alleyne
Nicholson, F.G.S.— How the Parallel Roads of Glen Roy were Formed :
Prof. James Nicol, F.G.S. — Notes on Atolls or Lagoon-isUnJs : S. J.
Whitnell.
Society op Arts, at 8.— On Prison Labour, as an Instrument of Punish-
ment, Profit, and Reformation : F. J. Mouat.
Royal Society of Literature, at 8.30.— On Results of recent Excava-
tions in Rome : Mr. Vaux.
Meteorological Society, at 7.
THURSDAY, February aa.
Royal SoaaTV, at 8.3*.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali
Manufacture : Prof Odhng, F.R.S.
Society or Antiquaries, 8.3a
CONTENTS Page
The Position or the Centre or Gravity in Insects. By Felix
Plateau « *.* *9^
On the Colouring-Matters roUND in Fungl H. C. Sorby, F.R.S. 298
Schmidt's CoMfARATiVE Anatomy. By Dr. P. H. Pye Smith . . 29S
Our Book Shelp >9»
Letters to the EorroR:—
The Total Eclipse, as seen at Ootacamund.— J. Boesinger . ". . 300
Natural Sdence at Oxford.— Prof. Thiselton Dyer 301
Auroral Statistics.— ProC C. PiAzzi Smyth, F.R.S 301
The Aurora of February 4.— Rev. H. C. Key {IVith DiagmmY.
J. J. Hall ; T. Fawcett ; Rev. T. W. Webb, F.R-A.S : J. R.
Capron; Rev. S. J. Perry, F.R.A.S. ; Sir D. Weduerburn,
Bart, M.P. ; J. J. Murphy, F.G.S 30a
The Great Comet of i86x.— A. C. Ranyard, F.R.A.S 304
On Luminous Matter in the Atmosphere. By Henry Waloner 304
The Mokgoose and the Cobra. J. W. Edmonds 305
Hartwig's Subterranean World. (With 1 UustratioHs) ... 305
Recent Discovery op Pit Dwellings. By J. Stevens . . . . 30B
Inauguration op the Observatory at Cordoba 309
Notes 310
Physics : Preliminary Catalogue of the Bright Lines in the Spectrum
of the Chromosphere. By ProC C A. Young 3x2
SCIENTIPIC SeRLALS 3<3
SoaETIBS AMD ACADEMIES 3M
Books Received 3M
DiAiy 3(6
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NATURE
317
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1872
THE ROCK . THERMOMETERS AT THE
ROYAL OBSERVATORY, EDINBURGH
THE whole of the observations made with these
instruments (reading to hundredths of a degree
Fahrenheit) from 1837 to 1869 having been reduced on a
uniform plan, and found to exhibit some well-marked
supra-annual cycles, a paper on the subject and on their
relations to the sun-spot cycles of similar period but
diverse shape was sent in to the Royal Society, London,
on March 2, 1870.
Since then two eminent astronomers, one of them being
Mr. Stone, the newly appointed Astronomer Royal at the
Cape of Good Hope, and the other Mr. Cleveland Abbe,
Director of the Cincinnati Observatory, have published
somewhat similar deductions touching atmospheric tem-
peratures in reference to sun-spots ; Mr. Stone basing on
thirty years of South African temperature observed by
his indefatigable predecessor Sir T. Maclear ; and Mr.
Abbe on sixty years' temperature observed on the elevated
station of Hohenpeissenberg near Munich, under the
superintendence of Dr. Lamont, the Bavarian Astronomer
Royal ; both paxties, equally with myself, using the same
famous series of observations of sun-spots, as made by
M. Schwabe, and discussed both by Prof. Wolf and Prof.
Balfour Stewart. More recently still a Canadian writer,
employing the returns of the Toronto Observatory for
many years past, considers that he has established a con-
nection between the amount of annual rainfall there and
the sun-spots ; and of these again with the periods and
dates of several interlacing streams of circum-solar
meteors. And within the last few days the Radcliffe
Astronomer announces in his report for 1871 that the
mean azimuthal direction of the wind at Oxford, rigorously
computed from automatic records during the last eight
years, varies year by year through a range of ^V on the
whole, between maximum and minimum of visible sun-
spots ; the tendency of the wind to a westward direction
increasing with the number of spots, and with such west
wind, it is to be presumed, tlie amount of rain also.
These results touch closely on the hopes of physicists
to render meteorology more of an exact science by getting
at its cosmical relations, but they also touch equally close
on another point where the highest science is at present
completely dumb, although too it is the very point where
the utmost amount of bene6t might be conferred on the
largest numbers of the people, viz., some approximate in-
dications of the character of the seasons for a year or
two beforehand ; or indeed, very much as I did make a
first attempt, for the two winters of 1870-71 and 1871-72,
in the paper presented to the Royal Society in the spring
of 1870.
How intimately the well-being of the poor generally,
as well as of the agricultural classes, depends on those
characteristics of weather which no scientific society can
at present *oretell, and no Ministry prevent in their
destructive effects to the national revenue when they do
come, the following letter may serve as a better example
than anything that I could prepare on theory alone : —
VOL. V.
"Webb's Green, Hales Owen, June 12, 1871
" To C. Piazzi Smyth, Esq., Edinburgh
(Copy)
"Sir, — I am a reader of Chatnberi Journal and a
farmer of some 600 acres. In the publication of Messrs.
Chambers I read that you had expressed an opinion from
certain observations you had made that the late winter
would be very severe. For the general run of weather
prophets I have very little respect ; but every respect for
opinions that are the result of scientific induction.
" Consequently I conducted my farming operations with
due regard to your prognostication, and as the result has
been a profit to me, I write to thank you. Gratitude has
been defined as ' a lively sense of favours to come,' and
from that view and in consideration of the present
weather if you could give me your opinion of the weather
that you think likely to prevail for some time to come I
should feel much obliged.
"I have not troubled you with this epistle entirely
from a selfish point of view, for besides being a farmer I
am unfortunately an employer of a very underpaid class
of workmen, hand rail makers.
" Now that stocks of wheat are exhausted, meat is a
luxury to which railers caimot aspire ; and if the season
continues ungenial, before the harvest of 1872 there may
be absolute scarcity of bread. I want to get up a fund
for emigration, but if you could give me any inK)rmation
as to the probabilities of season that would dispel my
gloomy anticipations for next winter, I should rejoice. — (
am, &c., &c. (Signed) "Thomas Bissell"
But I have so little desire to incur responsibility for any
weather predictions that I have gladly availed myself of
the opportunity of the publication of the 13th volume of
the Edinburgh Astronomical Observations to lay before
the public by means of the several Plates 11 to 15 inclu-
sive a complete graphical representation of the whole
series of Edinburgh rock- thermometer observations, and
on which I will merely venture the following explanatory
remarks : —
1. The most striking and positive feature of the whole
series of observations is the great heat-wave which occurs
every eleven years and a fraction, and nearly coincidently
with the beginning of the increase o( each sun-spot cycle
of the same eleven- year duration. The last observed
occurrences of such heat-wave, which is very short lived
and of a totally different s/ta^e from the sun-spot curve,
were in 1834*8, 1846-4, 1 857*8, and 1 868*8, whence, allow-
ing for the greater uncertainty in the earlier observation
we may expect the next occurrence of the phenomenon
in or about i88o'o.
2. The next largest feature is the extreme cold close on
either side of the gjreat heat-wave ; this phenomenon is
not quite so certain as the heat-wave, partly on accoimt
of the excessive depth and duration of the particular cold
wave which followed the hot season of 1834*8. That ex-
ceedingly cold period, lasting as it did through the several
successive years 1836, 37, and 38, was, however, appa-
rently a rare consequence of an eleven year minimum
occurring simultaneously with the minimum of a much
longer cycle of some forty or more years, and which has
not returned within itself since our observations began.
Depending therefore chiefly on our later observed eleven-
year periods, or from 1846*4 to 1857*8, and from the
latter up to 1868*8, we may perhaps be justified in con-
cluding that the minimum temperature of the present
cold wave was reached in 1871*1, and that the next similar
cold wave will occur in 1878*8.
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[Feb. 22, 1872
3. Between the dates of these two cold waves there are
located, according to all the cycles observed, even in-
cluding that earlier one otherwise exceptional, three
moderate and nearly equidistant heat-waves, with their
two intervening and very moderate cold waves, but their
characters are quite unimportant as compared with what
is alluded to under heads i and 2 ; and with regard to all
the waves, it may be just to state that there has been in
observation more uniformity, and will be therefore in pre-
diction more certainty for their dates than for their
intensities. C. PiAzzi Smyth
February 1872
DARWIN'S ORIGIN OF SPECIES
The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection; or
the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle
for Life, By Charles Darwin, M.A-, F.R.S. Sixth
edition, with additions and corrections. (London : J.
Murray, 1872.)
FEW are the writers, scientific or otherwise, who ca
afford, in every successive edition of their works, t®
place side by side the passages which they have seen rea-
son to alter, from a change of view or any other cause.
And yet to this point we find especial attention called in
each succeeding edition of Mr. Darwin's "Origin of
Species." And herein lies the true humility of the man
of science. Science is often charged with being arrogant.
But the true student of Nature cannot be otherwise than
humble-minded. That man is unworthy of the name of
a man of science who, whatever may be his special branch
of study, has not materially altered his views on some
important points within the last twelve years.* The
means at our command for obtaining correct views of
the laws which govern Nature are ever increasing, and
if we only
Let knowledge grow fix)m more to more,
this can but cause that
More of reverence in us dwell,
reverence for the eternal constancy of Nature's laws, with
respect to which we even yet know so little. But a false
pride more often tempts men to conceal than to avow their
change of opinion. Mr. Darwin carries the contrary practice
perhaps to an excess. But such a course necessarily dis-
arms criticism of its sting ; and if the learner sometimes
ventures to point out wherein he differs from the master's
conclusions, it is only in the hope that the interchange of
opinion may lead to a removal of the difficulties which
prevent a complete accord of thought.
The sixth edition of the " Origin of Species " is con-
siderably smaller than its predecessors ; but this does
not arise from any diminution of matter, but from the
use of smaller type. There has been, in fact, considerable
addition, and our province will be simply to call attention
to those points in which previous editions have been
amended or amplified. Already, in the fifth edition, Mr.
Darwin had stated that the able criticism of his work
which appeared in the North British Review had induced
him to modify his views with regard to the frequency of
the occurrence of characters which are not useful to the
• The fint edition of the " Origin of Spedes" was published in 1859.
individual ; we find now, on some other points, a similar
modification of opinion.
It has always seemed to us that one of the weakest
parts of Mr. Darwin's statement of the theory of natural
selection is the emphasis with which he asserts that single
instances of departure from the law would prove the
theory to be unsound. In the present edition, speaking
of the rattle of the rattlesnake— the only effect of which
has been stated to be to direct to the snake the attention
of its enemies— he goes out of the way to repeat that
''if it could be proved that any part of the structure
of any one species had been formed for the exclusive
good of another species, it would annihilate his
theory.** Why it would annihilate his theory, we
must confess we are unable to understand ; since Mr.
Darwin repeats in this edition even more emphatically
than in previous ones that '' he is convinced that natural
selection has been the main, but not the exclusive, means
of modification of species.** Since then other causes have
been at work to cause the evolution of species, why may
not some of these causes be able to produce parts bene-
ficial to the race rather than to the species? In the
special case, however, under consideration, the rattle of
the rattlesnake, an American naturalist comes to the
rescue of the Darwinian theory. Mr. Darwin was
probably not aware at the time of writing that Prof
Shaler had stated his belief, from the result of observation,
that the rattlesnake's rattle is actually beneficial to it, its
object being to imitate the sound of the cicada or other
insect which forms the food of many birds, thus attracting
them within its power, and accounting for the apparent
*' fascination '* of its prey, which must now be consigned
to the limbo of traveUers' tales.
The greater part of the additional matter in this edition
is naturally devoted to a reply to the objections urged in
Mr. Mivart's " Genesis of Species.** In replying to Mr.
Mivart*s objection to the theory that "mimicry** has re-
sulted by the process of natural selection, on the ground
that the early stages of resemblance would have no useful
tendency, the following sentences appear to us to be open
to objection, or to be wanting in clearness : — ** But in all
the foregoing cases the insects, in their original state ^ no
doubt presented some rude and accidental resemblance
to an object commonly found in the stations frequented
by them.*' " Assuming that an insect originally happened
to resemble in some degree a dead twig or a decayed leaf.**
What is meant by the "original state" of an insect ? Every
insect-form must have been evolved from some previously
existing simpler form by a gradual process, and the " rude
or accidental resemblance** must be due to the operation
of the same causes that produced the finished likeness.
We must acknowledge that Mr. Darwm appears to
us to fail to grapple with the difficulty in the way of
the application of his^ theory, that either the early
stages of the " mimicry *' are useless, or that the
exact reproduction of figure and pattern in the " mimic-
ing'* insect is a mere freak of nature. Mr. Darwin
states his belief that "the sight of birds is probably
sharper than ours," which would tell heavily against the
utility of the first approaches towards resemblance ; Mr.
Wallace, if we recoUect rightly, has expressed a contrary
opinion.
Mr. Mivart*s objection with regard^ to the curious fact
Feb. 22, 1872 J
NATURE
319
that in the Pleoronectidae, or Flat-fish, the eyes are oppo-
site in the young state, and afterwairds become placed
both on the upper side of the head— that this change
must have taken place suddenly, since any small ap-
proach to it would not be useful — ^is met by an ingenious
argument, previously advanced by Malm. It is stated
that " the Pleuronectidse, whilst still very young and still
symmetrical, with their eyes standing on opposite sides
of the head, cannot long retain a vertical position, owing
to the excessive depth of their bodies, the small size of
their lateral fins, and to their being destitute of a swim-
bladder. Hence, soon growing tired, they fall to the
bottom on one side. While thus at rest, they often twist,
as Malm observed, the lower eye upwards to see above
them, and they do this so vigorously that the eye is
pressed hard against the upper part of the orbit The
forehead between the eyes consequently becomes, as could
be plainly seen, temporarily contracted in breadth. On
one occasion Malm saw a young fish raise and depress the
lower eye through an angular distance of about 70^"
The objections urged by Nageli in his ** Begriff und
Entstehung der naturhistorischen Art,'' with respect to
plants, that the families of plants differ chiefly from each
other in morphological characters, which appear to be
quite unimportant to the welfare of the speeies, are com-
bated on the ground that we ought to be exceedingly
cautious in pretending to decide what structures now are
or have formerly been of use to each species. While
admitting that in earlier editions he underrated the fre-
quency and importance of modifications due to spontaneous
variability, Mr. Darwin points out that many peculiarities
of structure, lately supposed to be simply morphological,
are now known to be intimately connected widi facilities
for fertilisation.
On the whole it seems to us that each succeeding edition
of the " Origin of Species" lessens the distance between
Mr. Darwin and those who believe that the influence
of natural selection, though a vera causdy has been
overrated as an element in the evolution of species. If it is
admitted that important modifications are due to '* spon-
taneous variability,'' that natural selection is not the
exclusive means of modification. Darwinians and non-
Darwinians have equally before them the problem to dis-
cover what these other laws are which are co-efficient in the
production of new species, and what part each of these
plays in producing the final result. Until this is accom-
plished we can hardly consider the great problem of the
Origin of Species as solved. Towards the solution of it,
however, the labours of Mr. Darwin will ever be held as
having contributed a larger share than those of any other
naturalist When we look at the title-page, and see that
a work which has produced a greater revolution in the
scientific thought of the day than any published in this
country since Newton's "Principia" is yet only in its
eleventh thousand, and reflect that, although this is not a
small sale for a scientific work, yet books which contain
the germ of no new thought, and contribute not one iota
to our sum of knowledge, have sold their hundreds of
thousands, we cannot but think that in the coming age,
when the people will really care about science, our de-
scendants will regard this unworthy fact in the light that
we do the unpopularity of the writings of Milton and
Goldsmith during their lifetime.
We must not omit to mention a very useful addition, for
the unscientific reader, made to this edition, in the shape
of a glossary of the principal scientific terms used, pre-
pared by Mr. W. S. Dallas.
Alfred W. Benneit
MAXWELL ON HEAT
Theory oj Heat, By J. Clerk Maxwell, M.A., LL.D.
(London : Longmans and Co. 1872.)
IT is very seldom that we meet with a book so instruc-
tive and delightful as Prof. Maxwell's "Theory of
Heat" It has peculiar claims upon the student of Physics,
inasmuch as it supplies a want which has been long and
widely felt The point of view is undoubtedly a new one,
and to enable our readers to perceive the value of the
book, we ought to make a few remarks upon the kinds of
text-books that we have hitherto had. In these books the
aim has been to inform the student's mind, and the
fault to inform it too minutely and too exclusively.
They have been of two classes — elementary books, in
which the information is given in a popular manner,
and advanced books, through the pages of which mathe-
matical formulae are very liberally interspersed.
In reading such a book the strength of the student's
mind is devoted to one or at most two objects. If the
book be elementary, he is bent upon acquiring a good
knowledge of the facts, along with a knowledge, more or
less complete, of the experimental methods by which these
facts have been obtained. I f, on the other hand, the book be
an advanced one, his strength is devoted to grappling with
and overcoming its analytical difficulties. But after he has
studied both classes of text-books, he rises from their pe-
rusal with the belief that there is something wanting before
he can have a thorough grasp of the subject, and a clear
view of its truth and beauty. He has followed the experi-
menter only too zealously into his elaborate and accurate
calculations, or it may be the mathematician into his pro-
found investigations, and he now begins to realise the
truth of the poet's saying —
He who hath watched, not shared, the strife
Knows how the day hath gone,
and to sigh for some elevated spot from which he may
obtain a clear view of the whole field. He hears vague
rumours that the caloric battalions and their allies the
coipusctdar forces, have lost the day, but he wishes to see
their discomfiture more completely with his own eyes.
Such a point of view is afforded by Prof. Maxwell.
He has — wisely, we think— confined himself to this one
object, to give the student a clear logical view of the
whole subject ; nor has he broken the unity of his treat-
ment by going into details, whether experimental or
mathematical Every true student of physics should read
this book, and he will unquestionably find it a most delight-
ful study. He will, we venture to say, rise from its perusal
with a much truer and wider conception of the science of
heat ; and if he then wants more detailed information
upon any branch, he may consult one of the ordinary
text-books. Another beauty of the book is the accuracy
and completeness of its historical notes. The author
has successfully combined the part of historian and
that of logician, and has given us very many valuable
references to original memoirs, in whicb^e n:^ ^
320
NATURE
[Feb. 22, 1872
ourselves the first germs of the various developments.
The only thing wanting in this respect is an index, into
which the various facts and names of the book might
have been collected with much advantage to the reader.
Another point of interest in the book is the prominence
given to the graphical method of representing truth. The
Isothermal and Adiabatic curves are largely dwelt upon,
and their usefulness in leading us to detect new properties
of bodies is well pointed out. We are glad to think that
the importance of such graphical representations is be-
coming well recognised in many departments of science.
Even in pure mathematics, if we have occasion to calcu-
late a series of numerical values fron a formula, by
plotting them upon curve-paper we shall discover at oace
by the eye if we have made a mistake in our calculation.
In like manner, if we plot the result of a series of careful
experiments after the manner of Regnault and others, we
shall probably be able to determine from the appearance
of the curve whether or not we may trust to the accuracy
of our determinations.
Finally, by a series of lines similar to those exhibited
by Prof. Maxwell, we come to see with great ease the re-
lation that exists between the various properties of bodies ;
for instance, we see at once and as a direct consequence
of the definition, that the ratio between the two specific
heats is the same as that between the two elasticities.
We cannot close this review without remarking upon
the good English in which this excellent book is written ;
and this, we trust, will go far to convince the scientific
public that the most profound and original treatment of
physics is not inconsistent with purity of language.
B. Stewart
OUR BOOK SHELF
Queen Charlotte Islatids : A Narrative of Discovery
and Adventure in the North Pacific, By Francis
Poole, C.E. Edited by John W. Lyndon. (London :
Hurst and Blackett, 1872.)
Mr. Poole enjoys the distinction of being the only edu-
cated Englishman who has ever lived on Queen Charlotte
Islands, where he spent two years in an endeavour to de-
velop the mineral resources of the country. The volume
therefore necessarily possesses the interest attaching to a
narrative of a residence in an almost unknown country.
We miss, however, those touches which add so much to
the charm of books of travel, which indicate that the
writer has visited many men and many cities, and is
capable of contrasting the natural products or the habits
of the people of one part of the world with those of
another. The attraction for the author to these islands was
the presence of copper, to work which a company was
formed in 1862. There can bs little doubt that cop-
per-veins, and probably other minerals, do exist in
the islands in quantities that would amply repay the in-
vestment of labour and capital in their working. The
climate appears to be equable and agreeable, the harbours
are magnihcent, and the soil is rich and productive, so |
that we may hope that at some future time Queen Char- '
lotte Islands will become a valuable dependency of the |
British Crown. If Mr. Poole's volume succeeds in draw-
ing to their capabilities the attention of those who are
competent to develop their resources, it will have per-
formed good service.
Hints and Facts on the Origin of Man, and oj his Intel-
lectual Faculties, By Pius Melia, D.D. (London :
Longxnans and Co., 1872.)
The writer of this little book states in his preface that
"he has brought together systems, facts, statements, and
reasons, taken from all available sources, with the view of
elucidating several important truths about man, which are
at the present day either called in question or absolutely
denied." The extent to which he has consulted, or the
accuracy with which he has quoted from, original sources,
we gathered from the fact that he entirely passes over, as
unworthy of notice, the systems of Goethe and Oken,
and from the statement that the " Philosophic Zoologique "
of G. B. Lemarck (sic) was published in 1830.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
A Zoological Station at Torquay
The article on "The Formation of Zoological Stations," by
Anton Dohm, which appeared in Natuke of the 8th inst, was
read at the meeting of tlie Torquay Natural History Society on
the 14th inst, and was the subject of an animated conversation.
I am happy to add that the scheme met the warm approval of
the members, and that if a station be established at Torquay, the
cordial co-operation of the society may certainly be reckoned on.
W. Pengkllv, Hon. Sec.
Museum, Torquay, Feb. 17
The Chicago Observatory
A LETTER, signed by one of the Professors of the University
of Chicago, commenting on the impoverished state of the Chi-
cago Observatory since the great fire in that city, having had an
extensive circulation through the Press, I have to request the
favour of the insertion in your columns of the follovring state-
ment on the subject, just received by the Secretary of the Royal
Astronomical Society from the Director of the University, Prot
T. H. Safford. Edwin Dunkin,
Hon. Sec to the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Observatory, Greenwich, February 22
" Dearborn Observatory, Chicago, Jan. 29, 1872
'* Dear Sik,— As the enclosed article from the London Daily
News (see also London Times of January 9) might convey the
impression that the Observatory is to be closed, permit me to
state exactlv the facts.
" The Observatory — whose funds are separate from those of
the University— has, during the few years of its existence, accu-
mulated a large stock (perhaps too large) of unpublished and
only partially discussed observations, especially upon stars between
35'' and 40** of declination, in conection with the German Astro-
nomical Society, on Argelander's plan. A few months before
the fire arrangements had been in progress by which it would
gradually acquire the means to discuss and publish these obeer-
vations, and these arrangements have been interrupted.
"So far, then, as the City of Chicago is concerned, nothing
further is to be expected for the present, and, perhaps^ the
coming year ; but as business has revived, it is expected that
the dimculty of providing means will not be permanent
" For the present it is necessary for me to give a portion of
my time to geodetic and geographic-astronomical work for the
United States engineers, who are conducting large operations in
the central portion of the country ; and the publication of our
observations will be in consequence delayed.
'* It is but fit that I should here acknowledge the indebtedness
of the Observatory to the Hon. J. Yoimg Scammon, at whose
sole expense the Dearborn Tower and the Meridian Circle Room
were built, and upon whom the support of the Institution has
mainly depended.
"Our thanks are especially due to those scientific friends
who have so kindly given their works. Were it not for the
Greenwich and other star-catalogues received by past donation*,
I should have found myself in no condition to accomplish the
work which I am now doing for support.
"T. H. Safford,
" Director of Dearborn Observatory
" To the Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society."
L^iyiiiiLcvj uy
<3^'
Feb. 22, 1872]
NATURE
321
Composition of Vibrations
While holding one of Konig's large polbhed tuning-forks in
my hand, I happened to give it a swaying movement on the plane
on which its vibrations were being performed, and immediately
noticed that the space through which the fork swtmg wan occu-
pied by a series of bright straight lines arranged in a fan-like
form . The lines spread out, or drew together, as the rate of
movement impressed on the fork increased or diminished. The
case was clearly one of compos'tion of vibrations, the bright
lines being merely the edges of the prongs seen in positions of
instantaneous rest, where the proper motion of a prong was equal
and opposite to that communicated to it by the hand.
By taking fcrks of different pitch, and causing them to swing
with equal velocities, the dependence of pitch on the number of
vibrations performed in a given time was easily exhibited.
In case this simple observation has not yet been made or dc-
scribed I ask its insertion in Naturb.
Trlni'y College, Cambridge Sedley Taylok
Eclipse Photography
Mr. J. BoESTNGER, in the last number of Nature, expresses
his surprise at the ignorance of the photographers attached to the
late expeditions, and favours them with hints, observations, and
instructions still more surprising. Because he cannot see their
reasons for employing equatorial stands, plates in separate frames,
and long exposures, he concludes these were unnecessary ; and
affirms " there must have been a great want of balance m their
chemicals." No doubt there is a want of balance somewhere,
and I diffidently submit the probability that Mr. Boesinger has
lost his.
I would briefly state to those few of your readers who may
have been misled by this correspondent, that equatorial stands
driven by clock-work are absolutely necessary in the production of
the best results, either by short or long exposure of photographic
plates; a picture "not perfectly sharp but vrluable as a
memorial," was what Mr. Boesinger aimed at (and I sincerely
hope he obtained it), but the expeditions had higher aims and
greater expectations. Single large plates were exposed separately,
that should a corona extending many d^reesbe actinically pre-
sent, it might 6nd ample room to put in an appearance ; in such
a case had '^ repeating backs " been used to give many pictures
on one plate, there would have been great danger from the corona
of one picture over lapping that of another, to the ruin of all.
Comparatively long exposures were found necessary to secure
impression from ihe faint extremities of the ra>s.
Henry Davis
Tidal Friction according to Thomson and Tait
I AM so arraid that this letter will convict me of hopeless
stupidity that I conceal my name. For I am going to confess
that I do not understand, and even feel inclined to dispute, the
reasoning of Thomson and Tait, on pp. 191 -194 in their great
work, respecting the effijct of tidal friction on the motion of the
exrth and moon. It will be a convenience to your readers if I
quote the passage at full length :—
•* Let us suppose the moon to be a uniform spherical body. The
mutual action and reaction of gravitation between her mass and
the earth's will be equivalent to a single force in some line
through her centre, ana must be such as to impede the earth's
rotation as long as this is performed in a shorter period than the
moon's motion round the earth. It
^^ must therefore lie in some such direc-
tion as the line MQ in the diagram,
which represents, necessarily with enor-
mous exaggeration, its deviation, OQ,
from the earth's centre. Now, the
actual force on the moon in the line
MQ, mav l>e regarded as consisting of
Qyy \k A force m the line MO towards the
0 J^ earth's centre, sensibly equal in amount
to the whole force, and a compara-
tively very small force in the line MT
perpendicular to MO. This latter is very nearly tangential
to the moon's path, and is in the direction WM her motion.
Such a force, if suddenly commencing to act, would, in the first
place, increase the moon*s velocity ; but aAer a certain time she
would have moved so much farther from the earth, in virtue of
this acceleratioii, as to have lost, by moving against the earth's
attraction as much velocity as she had gained by the tangential
accelerating force."
The consequences are then shown to be that the moon's
distance would be increased in the ratio I : i . 46, and her
periodic time increased, and the earth's period of rotation
lengthened.
This reasoning perplexes me ; for if the effect of a certain
amount of fluid friction is to throw the line of action of the force
from MO to MQ, a fluid friction is conceivable which should
throw it outside the earth alto;;ethei*. Moreover, the line of
attraction of the earth on the moon would be in a. line not
passing through the earth's centre, a result I cannot understand,
especially if the fluid friction were increased as just suggested.
Nor can I see that a force in MQ, the centre of the earUi telng
free, would tend to stop the rotation of the earth.
As I view the matter, fluid friction generates a coup/e tending
to stop the rotation of the earth, and it is impossible to combine
this couple with the force in MO, and represent the resultant by
a single force. The energy lost in the form of monientum of
rotation of the earth is gained in the heat devolved by the fluid
friction, which is ultimately dissipated. And the final result
would be that the orbit of the moon would not be appreciably
altered, while the period of rotation of the earth is gradually
lengthened.
Am I wrong, for the thousandth time in my life ? and if so
will some one try and enlighten me. Perhaps Prof. Tait will
.spare a few minutes to an old friend. M. A.
Circumpolar Lands
In Nature (Feb. 8) Mr. Murphy seems to admit the sound-
ness or the reasoning by which I endeavoured to show (Jan. 2$)
that the earth's form is probably undergoing a slow progressive
change, but he think) that the statements m the first and last
parts of my letter are contradictory.
If Mr. Murphy will be good enough to read again the para-
graph immediately following the one which he quotes, I think
he will And that there is no contradiction. " Transmission of
pressure towards the poles " must tend to elevate the land in those
regions. How that pressure is produced and transmitted I have
endeavoured to show in the same parai^raph.
However, the main proposition which I sought to establbh in
my paper of 1857, before alluded to, is that any spheroid of
equilibrium, whether earth, sun, or any other, in motion about
an axis, in cooling from a fluid state, imdergoes a change of form,
and with this proposition Mr. Murphy seems to agree.
Mr. Murphy has inadvertently omitted part of a sentence in
making his quotation from my letter, thus representing me as
speaking of a ratu? with ott^ quantity only.
Queen's Coll., Liverpool, Feb. 16 George Hamilton
The Spheroidal State of Water
I HAD the pleasure a few da) s ago of visiting Messrs. Johnson's
celebrated iron wire manufactory in Manchester. There may be
seen a series of furnaces and rolling mills which in twenty-four
hours can convert a truck load of the best Swedish iron into the
bright and polished galvanised wire which b now being so ex-
tensively employed to complete our very perfect system of Post
Office telegraphs. Every stage of the process passes beneath the
eye of the observer; the melting of the pigs, the formation of
the billets, the puddling of the bloom, the shingling of the balls,
the rolling of the bars, and their subsequent extension by further
rolling, and drawing into telegraph wire.
The bars are cut off" into loft. lengths, and are placed in a
Siemen's regenerative furnace, where tney are raised to a brilliant
white heat They are then drawn out of^ the mouth of the glow-
ing furnace, and pass through a series of consecutive rollers of
varying dimensions, and rotating with varying speed, ultimately
floiKing out in a continuous stream of iron wire. In fact, the
metal is at such a high temperature and so plastic that the curves
it takes in falling convey the idea of a thin, fine unbroken jet of
liquid matter.
The rollers are kept cool by the constant play upon them of
jets of water. The fust pair of rollers is fixea close to the mouth
of the furnace, which is partially closed by a moveable screw that
is only raised when the attendant sprite requires to direct another
bar to the attenuating process of the continuous rollers. The
jet of water that cools the first pair of rollers in one furnace fell
in a broken shower upon the foot-plate of the mouth of the
furnace, which, from its proximity to the fire, was raised to a
'lyitized by
Google
322
NATURE
\Feb. 22, 1872
very high temperature, and therefore converted the drops of
water into the spheroidal state. There they bounded and danced
and rolled about like pith balls under an excited electrical receiver.
Their constant rotation and well-known rippling motion gave
them an opaque appearance which cansea them to resemble
closely a fine fall of hail. In £act, those to whom I pointed out
the phenomenon likened their appearance to a fall of dusty snow
at the mouth of a furnace. The sight was very striking and in-
teresting. The workmen had taken these spheroids to be par-
ticles of scale and dust swaying about in the currents of air at
the mouth of the furnace.
I have seen many times the experimental illustration of
" Leidenfrofit's phenomenon " at the mouth of a furnace, but I
had never before seen its practical, though accidental, develop-
ment, and in the incident which I have narrated above the in-
terest chiefly attadies to the great antithesis of the fact and its
appearance--snow at the mouth of a fiery furnace.
* W. H. Preecr
The American Eclipse Expedition
I DEEM it but proper and just that I should correct a mistake
that has just met my eye in Dr. Schellen's excellent work on
Spectrum Analysis.
On page 332 of the 2nd German edition we find " Die erstere
Expedition wahlte nnter der Anfuhmng von Professor Morton
die Stationen im Staate Iowa.
"(I) Burlington mit den Beobachtem Professor Mayer, Ken-
dall, Willard, Phillips, und Mahoney, denen sich der als ge-
wandter Spectroskopist bekannte Dr. C. A. Young, Professor am
Dartmouth College (Hanover), und Dr. B. A. Gould fiir dUpho-
tographischen Au/nahmen hinzugestgllenJ'*
In the English translation, edited bv Mr. Huggins, the above
reads, "The first expedition, under the guidance of Professor
Morton, selected stations in the State of Iowa as follows :—
"(i) Burlington, where its observers were Professor Mayer,
and Messrs. Kendall, Willard, Phillips, and Mahoney, together
with Dr. C. A. Young, Professor of Dartmouth College (Han-
over), well known as an experienced spectroscopist, and Dr. B.
A. Gould, to whose chaige the photographic department was
committed."
Dr. Gould had no connection with the photographic expedi-
tion, but placed himself under Professor Cofhn's general organi-
sation, so that he could have facilities for making observations
on the corona, and in searching for the suspected intermercurial
planet
The Burlington station of the 'Philadelphia eclipse expedition
was placed under the direction of Dr. Mayer, and the photo-
graphs pointing page 337 of Dr. Schellen's woric are two of the
five plates securedby him during totsdity.
Also the diagram on page 335 is from Dr. Mayer's report on
the eclipse (published October 1869), an abstract of which, with
accompanying copies on glass of the original negatives, was
presented by M. Delaunay to the Institute of France. The
Kev. T. W. Webb laid tibem before the Royal Astronomical
Society, when the report and the photographs were discussed at
length at the meeting of November 12, 1809.
Henry Morton, President
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey
Mr. Spencer and the Dissipation of Energy
Will you permit me to inquire, for the instruction of the many
who are famiuar with Mr. Herbet Spencer's " Doctrine of Evo-
lution," and especially in regard to " First Principles," sec. 58,
referred to by Mr. Spencer in his paper in your number for
February i, if the theory of the "Dissipation of Energy"
does not upset a very considerable and significant portion of Mr.
Spencer's " First Principles"? William. Smyth
Maidstone, February 12
THE AURORA OF FEBRUARY 4
/^N Sunday, the 4th inst. , was witnessed one of the most magni-
ficent displays of aurora which have been seen in Europe with-
in the past twenty or thirty years. To most observers in this coun-
try it appeared equal in magnificence to the two fine aurorse seen
on Oct 24 and 25, 1870, and which were especially grind in
England ; but foreign observers could only compare it with those
seen in 183 1 and 1836. But if we take all the attendant pheno-
mena into consideration, it will appear that, whilst others may
have equalled this one in grandeur and beauty, there is not one
which can compare with it either as to the wide extent of country
over which it was visible, or as to the strangeness of many of the
phenomena by which it was accompanied. The numerous letters
which have appeared in these columns the last two weeks
show how universally it was noticed in England, Scotland, and
Ireland ; but in addition to these, the letters and telegrams which
have appeared in the daily and weekly papers — ^both English
and foreign — ^show that it excited attention over a still larger
area. It is difficult to trace the exact limits of this area ; but when
we mention Paris, Cologne, Berlin, Malta, Constantinople, Egypt,
and India, it will be seen what a laige extent of country is em-
braced. So far we have seen no account of it as having been
visible in the extreme north of Europe, as in Iceland, Norway,
Sweden, St. Petersburg, &c., where most auroras boreales are so
well displayed ; but, on the contrary, many of the cities in which
it was noticed are those which are commonly supposed to be
too far south for such phenomena to be seen. The importance
of this point will appear later on.
To take England first Mr. Allnatt sends to the Tirms a
long description of the appearance of the aurora as seen by
him at Frant, which shows that it was first noticed at 6 P.M.
in the S. W., and that by 7 o'clock it had reached the zenith.
It disappeared at 7.45, but reappeared for a short time at
10.50 in the N. ; but " at 7.30 p.m. the whole heavens were per^
vaded by this abnormal southern aurora, that had now expanded
universally and dipped its supplementary bands into the northern
horizon." He also writes: — "The earth's electricity was so
powerful, that the gold leaves of the electrometer remained
diverged for a considerable time ! " Other correspondents de-
scribe it as seen at Blackburn, in Lancashire, at 7, *< embracing
the whole southern sky from N.E round to W. ;" from Faver*
sham, in Kent, as visible between 9 and 10 o'clock ; " from
Cambridge as having its maximum intensity about 10 ; at Swin-
don as commencing at 10 minutes past 7 and lasting till 10
o'clock, " and giving as much light as a full moon, every object
being clearly visible." But many observers had noticed it at
times considerably earlier than those just mentioned: thus,
"J.S.H.," writing in Nature kst week from Gloucester,
"observed it at 5.30, just in the twilight, but it was then con-
fused with the rays of the setting sun ; but as the darkness
deepened the aurora came out alone, and was then extremely
beautifiil." But still earlier was it observed at Hartlepool,
whence a correspondent writes, at $ o'clock :— " The whole
of the southern sky was tinged with a most beautiful
rose colour, which, as darkness set in, extended towards
the zenith, where it culminated in a brilliant corona." This
very early manifestation of the aurora partakes very much
of the nature of a "day aurora," the possibility of which has
been so much discussed in these columns {vide Naturr, vols. iiL
and iv.) To us there does not appear much difficulty in believ-
ing that these grand meteorological phenomena, whatever their
cause may be, are independent of merely relative time, and that
the reason why they are mostly observed at night is because the
purely local circumstances are then most favourable to their ob-
servation. That an aurora should wait till night-lime before it
manifests itself hardly seems probable, whilst, on the other hand,
that the more brilliant light of the sun should prevent auroral
displays being seen in the day-time is not only probable but is
borne out by what we know of the light of the stars and planets.
No one believes that stars only shine at night-time, why then
should there be a belief that auroral displays take place only at
night-time, especially when it is remembered that the experiences
of polar travellers in their sanless regions are distinctly against
it ? But this is a difrression arising from the fact that in com-
parative daylight we have distinct and independent evidence of
this aurora having been observed. In addition to those already
L^iyitized by VJiOOQ..^
Feb. 22, 1872]
NATURE
323
given, from Worcester wc learn that it was noticed " shortly
before 6 o'clock in the twilight, when thin fleecy clouds of a
bright rose colour were observed in the South and East," whilst
correspondents of the Kblnische Zeiiung state that it was first
noticed at Cologne about 6 o'clock, and at Bonn about *'half-
P^t 5, gradually becoming more and more marked till 6
o'clock, when do doubt was left as to its true auroral character."
While there is .thus clear evidence that the phenomena had
commenced some time before 6 o'clock, there is, as might
be expected, great diversity as to the time when it was last
visible. That this should be the case is only natural, and is
entirely dependent on purely local circumstances— the state of
the weather, the cloudiness of the sky, &c Thus, whilst in
some the aurora first appeared at 6 o'clock, to others it was not
visible till between 7 and 8 ; and whilst in some places it
disappeared about 8 or 9, it was then in others in its most
brilliant state. But, taken as a whole, it appears to have lasted
the whole evening until quite late at night ; thus a correspondent,
writing to the Pall Mall Gazette horn Autun, states that ** at mid-
night the East was crimson, and it was so light that I could tell
the time easily, although my watch has gold fingers, and strong
shadows were cast in rooms whose windows faced the East."
We have thus evidence of the aurora having commenced about
5 o'clock, and continuing at least till midnight, and probably
later. But before proceeding to notice the other attendant phe-
nomena, we would direct attention to a passage in the letter of the
correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette^ before alluded to, which
confirms the hypothesis that the accounts of "showers of blood,"
&c., mentioned in ancient chronicles were in reality only auroral
displays. He writes, *' all these signs and wonders produced a
considerable effect upon the peasantry, who see in them warn-
ings of a coming war ; they always connect the idea of a red
aurora with bloodshed." Comparing, then, all the varied
accounts to which we have referred, we find very general agree-
ment with regard to certain phenomena, some of which are of
very remarkable character. The first of these is that when the
aurora was noticed by those who observed it early in the evening,
it appeared m the Southern and South- Western horizons, thence it
seems gradually to spread, and finally appeared later on in the
evening in the Northern and Eastern horizon. That this was the
case is shown by the agreement of the accounts, some of which we
have already quoted, and many more of which might be given. Thus
at Bonn, "nothing remarkable was to be noticed on the northern
horizon, whilst on the southern lay the dense, greyish bank of
clouds, whence auroral streamers shortly ascended." There can
also be little doubt that during the middle of the evening, and
towards midnight the chief seat of the display was to the north
and east, as shown in the letters of those who first observed the
phenomena at about 7.30 to 9 o'clock, and continued to do so
till towards midm'ght. The second well-marked phenomenon
was that between 7 and 8. There appeared a brilliantly-coloured
arch, extending across the heavens from S.W. towards the north
and east. Thus at Autun we have described ''a splendid and
perfect arch, spanning the sky from a point on the south-eastern
horizon to one on the south-western, and which lasted, more or
less continuously, for two hours, whilst from 10 to 12 the sky
became gradually less luminous in the south, and grew more and
more splendid overhead. Till about ii the two eastern and
western auroras united in a vast arch overhead, with tongues of
green flame darting through a sufiiised crimson." Similarly other
accounts, with merely local variation. The third well-marked
phenomenon appears to have been the formation of a " corona,"
nearly, if not quite, in the zenith, whence auroral rays streamed
out in all directions. At some places this was more marked than
at others, but is more or less universally noticed, both by English
and foreign observers. Thus at Cardiff it is reported that "a
corona, having rugged, sharply-defined edges, stood out promi-
nently in the zenith, apparently op a parallel plane to the earth,
and having its centre almost immediately over the head of the
spectator, rays firom which extended to the N.E. and N.W.
horizons." If one'may venture to say so, most anrorse visible
in our latitudes appear to commence in general by an accumula-
tion of cloud masses towards the magnetic north, then coloured
masses slowly appear, and afterwards rays, or streamers, are sent
up from this nortiiem horizon towards the zenith. Sometimes
the coloured masses themselves rise toward the zenith, and there
the streamers pass in all directions. But in this aurora of the
4th of February, all the most marked phenomena are directly con-
trary to our ordinary experience, and should therefore be carefully
noted. It is an extremely interesting inquiry to ascertain
whether on the evening of the 3rd or 4th instant a brilliant
Aurora Australis was visible in the southern hemisphere. If we
consider the wide extent of country over which the aurora which
we are describing viras visible, the probability becomes very great
that this will be found to be the case. The question then arises,
Was the aurora of Feb. 4th, appearing as it did first in the
southern horizon, an Aurora Australis or not ? It is impossible
to answer this question definitely ; but we would throw out the
following suggestion :— Knowing the ultimate connection that
there is between northern and southern aurorar;, and the fact that
one of any magnitude rarely happens vrithout the other, may we
not have seen the last traces of a grand Aurora Australia, which
gradually died away, whilst at the same time an Aurora Borealis
was in process of formation, and which appeared in its full
brilliancy in the northern and eastern hori zon towards the latter
part of the evening ? We would make this suggestion vrith all
due deference, but it seems to us to account in a fairly satisfactory
manner for most of the very unusual and peculiar phenomena
noticed, viz., the first appearance of the aurora in the south, the
grand arch, the corona in the zenith, and the final disappearance
in the north. We must also remember that in what is called the
correspondence of northern and southern aurone, there must be
at least twelve hours difference as r^^ards time. So that if there
was an Aurora Australis on the same day, it would be dying out
at the time our display was commencing.
In conclusion, the wide extent of country over which this
aurora of the 4th February was vbible, is easily shown. In
Paris a '* magnificent aurora" is reported, at Nancy and Chau-
mont there was a ** brilliant display," while the Franco-German
telegraph lines were greatly disturbed. At Constantinople one
telegram states that '* a splendid aurora, extending over half the
heavens, was visible for several hours ; " whilst another states
that it was seen '*from 10 till half-past I." From Alexandria
we hear that " a large space of the skies was illuminated for five
hours." That it was visible at Malta, Suez, and Bombay, the
following interesting account shows. It is supplied by Mr. George
Draper, of the British Indian Submarine Telegraph Company,
under date of Feb. 5th, and it also shows how powerful were the
" earth currents " which ^vere noticed in connection with this
most brilliant aurora. He writes : —
** It may interest your renders to know that ilic brilliant aurora
which was visible in London last night was also vkible at Bom-
bay, Suez, and Malta, Our electrician at Suez reports that the
earth currents there were equal to 170 cells (Da!iidJ*s batteries),
and that sparks came from the cable. These ekttncal disturb*
ances lasted until midnight, and inlerrupted the working of both
sections of the British Indian cable between Suez and Aden, and
Aden and Bombay. Sinct^ Thursday last the signals on the
Britbh Indian cables have been very much interfered with by
electrical and atmospheric disturbaoces, causing considerable
delay in the transmission of messages, which oil efforts foiled
entirely to overcome. Our superintendent at Malta also reports
that there was a very severe storm there yesterday morning, so
much so that they were compelled to join the i^ble to earth for
several hours. He also reports the auron. as jrezj large and
brilliant The electrical disturbances on tl* "^^ "^eiJi-
terranean, and on those between Lisbon ai
raltar and the Guadiana, were also very j
the land line between I,ondon and the I^
npted for several hours last tught h$ ^^
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NATURE
{Feb. 22, 1872
Taken, then, on the whole, this aurora of February 4th yfVA
one of the most brilliant, most interesting, and most widely
visible which has been witnessed for many years past, and is
probably one that will cause renewed attention to be paid to the
still unsolved problem of their causes.
J. P. Earwaker
[We have also received the following from J. W. Spengcl
of Berlin:— "At Berlin, the sky being covered by clouds,
no one could see anything. But a young astronomer of our
observatory told me that he had recognised the existence
of a mighty aurora by means of the spectroscope. The
magnet* were also vehemently disturbed, and all the tele-
graphs failed for several hour^. The following appears in the
Leipzi^er AUgemeine Zeitung for Feb. 8 : — * Freiberg, Feb. 6.
The aurora observed by many on the evening of Sunday caused
here a complete interruption of communication through the tele-
graph wires for some time. The intensity between 5*40 and
6*45 overcame the strength of the battery at this station, so that it
was not possible to change the oscillations of the magnetic needle
caused by the earih-stream. After the northern light had be-
come fully developed the oscillations became stronger, and fol-
lowed one another at short intervals until the phenomena
entirely disappeared about 7 P.M.* At Warmbrunn in the
Riesengcbirge, the aurora was seen magnificently from 6 to 8 '30.
Towards 10 it had almost disappeared. The thermometer indi-
cated o' C, with a violent storm from the south-west. About
II the storm suddenly subsided ; the thermometer fell to - i -5*,
and the aurora appeared for the second time in the same manner
and with the same uninterrupted play of colours as at 6. After
11*30 the storm recommenced, and the aurora disappeared soon
after 12. The play of the aurora on the snow-covered mountains
is described as one of the most magnificent sights that can be
conceived. " — Ed.]
REFERENCE SPECTRUM FOR THE CHIEF
AURORA LINE
WHILE Nature herself seems to delight in surround-
ing some questions with triple difificultics and mys-
teries almost inscrutable, there are other questions which
she has made the easiest of the easy if men will only use
the means which she has prepared. And amongst such
easy questions, no more signal example can be quoted
than the exact spectrum place, within very narrow limits
indeed, of Angstrom's yellow-green aurora line, whenever
any aurora at all appears.
This chief aurora line coinciding precisely (as I believe
I may say from my own observations, though by means
of the roughest of home-made apparatus) with the second
line, at W.L. 5579, of the citron band of the blue base of
flame, from any and every material used for artificial
illumination by man, and having immediately on one
side the ist line, of the same strength with itself, at W.L.
5630, and on the other side the lainter 3rd line, at W.L.
5535, of the same citron band ; the smallest variation of
spectrum place in the aurora line can be instantly per-
ceived by the eye on this chemical scale, without the aid
of any mensuration apparatus.
And yet in your last impression a respectable spectro-
scopist, after much labour, informs the Academy of
Sciences in Paris, on Feb. 5, that Angstrom's yellow-green
aurora line is somewhere close to Fraunhofer's solar line
E, i>. W.L. 5269 ; and in your previous impression a
returning Indian observer considers the same Angstrom
line to be somewhere near F, or W.L. 4860. Now, not
only are these statements in error to the extent of from 30
to 70 times what they need be, but they cruelly drag us
backwards in what should be the alwnys onw.ird course
of science, and cause men to flounder once again in that
slough of confusion they were immersed in a couple of
years ago, when the chief solar corona line, at W.L 5316,
and Angstrom's grand aurora line, at W.L. 5579, were
stated to be one and the same line, in the same place.
Excuse may, indeed, be proffered for these two obser-
vers, that they did not know of such a convenient night
reference-spectrum as that which I have now alluded to ;
and then comes the question as to whose fault was that.
A full description of the method (after extensive trial
for several months) was sent by me to the Royal Astro-
nomical Society on May 30, 1871, with the particular
request that the paper might be read at their June meet-
ing and printed in the June Monthly Notice. This was
mainly with the hope of supplying some possibly useful
hints to the intending eclipse-corona-observers of Decem-
ber. The paper, however, though taken in, was neither
read at the June meeting (if I am rightly informed) nor
did it appear in the June Monthly Notice ; but was handed
over to secret referees, who simply sat upon it during six
long months— or until the eclipse was safely past, and
then they began to hint about possible objections beirg .
likely to be taken against some parts of the paper.
Of course I could not allow so admirable a society to
run any risks of which they were afraid on my account ;
so I withdrew the paper thereupon, and am now engaged
in publishing it myself, sustained in so doing by the hope
that, although the eclipse for which it was mainly intended
is irretrievably gone, its pages may yet be useful to some
spcctroscopists of aurora ; and, in fact, that through their
influence certain of both French and English observers
will cease to attempt comparing the faint aurora's chief
line with a bright solar spectrum, which they can never
see in combination therewith (and if they could it has no
coincident lines), but with a cheaply-procured chemical
spectrum, which only comes well into view under the
darkness of night, and is gifted by Nature in the spectro-
scope with an easily recognisable line in apparently
absolute coincidence with the cosmical line of Angstrom.
C. PiAzzi Smyth
15, Royal Terrace, Edinburgh, Feb. 16
AMERICAN DEEP'SEA SOUNDINGS*
UNDER the title at foot a pamphlet of thirty-three
pages, accompanied by a large chart, and illustrated
by several diagrams and tables, has been issued. The
school-ship Mercury is a vessel belonging to the com-
missioners having in charge the hospitals and prisons of
New York city, and is employed for the purpose of
training boys, committed by the magistrates for vagrancy
and slight misdemeanours, to become thorough seamen.
Instead of growing up to be a curse to the community,
such boys are made into valuable men. The adventurous
life has a special charm for them.
An essential feature of the discipline on this ship is to
make long cruises, by which the boys are fitted quickly to
enter into the service of the navy or mercantile marine.
Of 258 boys carried out on this voyage, 100 were on the
return of the ship, in the opinion of the captain, capable
of discharging the duties of ordinary seamen.
The commissioners, in addition to the above object,
desiring to advance the interests of science as far as lay
in their power, instructed the captain, P. Giraud, to obtain
a series of soundings on the line of or near the equator,
from the coast of Africa to the mouth of the Amazon, to
observe the set of the surface currents and the temperature
of the water at various depths. He was also directed to
bring home specimens of water and of the sea bottom.
The ship sailed on December 20, 1 870, and arrived at
Sierra Leone on February 14. On February 21 she left
♦ Cruise of the school-ship Mercury in the TropioU Atlandc, with a
R»'pr»Tt to the CommisMoners of Public Charities anil Correction of the City
01 New York on the chemical and physical lacts collected from the deep-sea
researches made during the voyage of the nautical school-ship Mercury^
undertaken by their order in tVe Tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sei,
1870-7 r. By Henry Draper, M.D., Professor of Analytical Chemistry and
Physiology in the University of New York.
L/iyiLiiLcvj Dy
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Feb. 22, 1872J
NATURE
^^%
Sierra Leone, and the soundings and other observations
were continued till she reached Havanah, April 13, 1871.
The i)apers, together with the various specimens, were
placed in the hands of Professor Henry Draper, of the
New York University, for examination. His report com-
mences by stating '*that much attention has recently
been given to deep-sea researches in consequence of the
investigations made by the United States government on
its coast, and by Dr. Carpenter. Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys, and
Prof- Wyville Thomson, in the North Atlantic and
Mediterranean Sea. Not only have many of the facts so
ascertained been corroborated by this voyage of the
Mercury^ but the commissioners, by authorising it, have
added much that is new and interesting to our knowledge
of the physical condition of the deep sea."
Then follows a discussion of the barometric variations,
in which it is show that they were very small in crossing
the ocean, the minimum being only ^ below, and the
maximum -^ above the mean. In a general manner the
pressure increased on nearing the American coast.
The currents varied from south near the African coast
by south-west to west near the American coast, and their
velocity was on an average above half a knot.
Some general remarks on the sounding apparatus
(Brook's detaching apparatus) and water-collecting
cylinder are next made, attention being more particularly
directed to the incorrect conclusions that the latter is apt
to lead to. ^' The constitution of the water as it exists at
great depths is not correctly represented by the sample
thus obtained. A considerable portion of the gases
dissolved therein may escape under the relief of pressure
as the cvlinder is drawn to the surface, and hence
examinations of such samples as regards their gaseous
ingredients are liable to be deceptive. Even the saline
ingredients will suffer disturbance when they are held in
solution by gases that will thus escape ; for instance, this is
the case with carbonate of lime." Table iv, shows the
specific gravities of the samples of sea water from the
surface and at various depths to 420 fathoms ; Table v.,
the air temperature between Sierra Leone and the Florida
capes ; Table vi., the temperature of the air, sea surface,
and of the water at various depths. The thermometer
was of Six's form, without index error when compared
with a standard Kew instrument, but not protected on the
Miller- Casella plan.
A diagram of the bed of the Atlantic Ocean at the
twelfth parallel of latitude is introduced, based on fifteen
soundings. It shows that "parting from the African
coast the bed of the ocean sinks very rapidly. A couple
of degrees west of the longitude of Cape Verde the
soundmgs are 2,900 fathoms. From this point the mean
depth across the ocean may be estimated at about 2,400
fathoms, but from this there are two striking departures —
first a depression, the depth of which is 3,100 fathoms,
and second, an elevation at which the soundings are only
1,900, — ^the general result of this being a wide and deep
trough on the African side, and a narrower and shallower
trough on the American. It may be that this peculiarity
is a result of the river distribution on the two continents
respectively, there being, with the exception of the Senegal
and Gambia, no important streams on the African side,
whilst on the American there are many, and among them
pre-eminently the Orinoco and the Amazon, these vast
rivers carrying their detritus far out to sea and helping to
produce the configuration of the ocean bottom in question.
However this may be, it is doubtless through these deep
troughs that much of the cold water of the north polar
current finds its way."
" In accordance with this we perceive, on examining the
temperature of the water after the African verge of the
greater or eastern sea trough is reached, that there is a
difference in temperature between the surface and that at
a depth of not more than 200 fathoms exceeding 25^ in
many cases. This decline of temperature increases as
the depth increases, one observation giving an additional
fall of^ 4° at an additional depth of 200 fathoms. It is
not, however, intended to affirm that the mass of cold
water is restricted to these deep troughs, since even in the
West India seas at similar depths low temperatures are
observed, and this though the^ heat of the surface water
had become very much higher. In those seas while the
surface temperature was 84*^ the thermometer at depths>
of 400 and 500 fathoms marked 48^ ; and these it must be
remembered were the indications of an uncompensated
instrument which was bearing a pressure of at least half a
ton on each square inch of its surface, and hence
registering degrees that were higher than the truth. This
accords with the observation of Mr. Barrett that in the
deepest parts of the sea near Jamaica there exists a
temperature not far above that of the freezing point of
fresh water." Accompanying these remarks is a diagram
showing the curves representing the temperature of the
air, suriace of the water, and deep water during the
voyage, and that is followed by a diagram of the specific
gravity of surface and deep water.
**The general conclusion which may be drawn from
these results as to temperature and specific gravities is
that there exists all over the bottom of the tropical Atlantic
and Caribbean Sea a stratum of cold water — cold since
its temperature is below 50^ This is the conclusion to
which Dr. Carpenter has come as respects the Atlantic in
higher north latitudes ; and in this important particular
the cruise of the Mercury must be considered as offering
confirmatory proof of the correctness of the deductions
drawn from the cruises of the Lightning and Porcupine,^*
'^ There are reasons for supposmg that, so far from this
water being stagnant, its whole mass has a motion towards
the Equator, whilst the surface waters in their turn have a
general movement in the opposite direction."
An analysis of the gaseous ingredients was not
attempted, because the specimens had been kept too long
and for other reasons that are specified ; but in relation to
organic matter it is stated : '' I made some examinations
of the organic matter contained in these waters both by
incinerating the solid residue and by the permanganate
test It needed no especial proof that organic
matter was present in every one of these samples, for the
clearest of them contained shreddy and fiocculent
material, some of them quantities of sea- weed in various
stages of decomposition. With these vegetable substances
were the remains of minute marine animals. As bearing
on this subject I found on incinerating the solid residue
of a sample of water taken from 200 fathoms, that the
organic and volatile material was not less than 1 1 per
cent, of the whole. Though the quantity of organic
substance diminished as the structure under examination
was deeper, there still remained a visible amount in the
water of 400 or 500 fathoms. It is probable therefore
that even at the bottom of the ocean such organic sub-
stance may exist, not only in solution affording nutriment
to animals inhabiting those dark abysses as Prof. Wyville
Thomson has suggested, but also in the solid state.
Plants of course cannot grow there on account of the
absence of light."
"In order to determine whether any hitherto imknown
element existed in these waters, I subjected the solid
residue to examination with the spectroscope, volatilising
the substances by the aid of a voltaic current and
induction coiL A careful examination did not reveal the
presence of any spectral lines other than those belonging
to the well-known elementary substances in seapwater."
*^ The specimens of the bottom, obtained by attaching
to the sounding line quills or wooden tubes, I have
transmitted to Dr. Carpenter, who has kindly consented
to examine them. In a letter recently received he says,
'As far as I can see they consist of the ordinary Atlantic
mud, chalk in process of formation, with the ordinary
types of deep-sea foraminifenu"'
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326
NATURE
\Feb. 22, 1872
THE RECENT AURORA, AND A NEW FORM
OF DECUNOMETER
ON Sunday night, the 4th of February, we saw here
the magnificent coloured Aurora Borealis, which
has been described in Nature, in the newspapers, and
which, I see from telegrams, has been observed at very
distant stations. Indications of the aurora wer^ noticed
here soon after sunset ; but about 6.45 p.m. the whole
eastern portion of the sky became illuminated with red
light, at first faint, but rapidly becoming more and more
intense, while yellow streamers began to shoot up from
the north*eastem arc of the horizon nearly to the zenith.
About t^e south-west there was also much red and yellow
light ; it was spread over a large apparent area, but was
not so intensely bright or so strongly coloured as that
which lay to the north-east It too, however, possessed
splendid broad, yellow streamers. The display lasted in
fuU beauty till about 7.20, but long after that time much
red and yellow light with occasional streamers was to be
seen.
It is strange that the phenomena of the Aurora Borealis
still remain so little understood. It would add much to
our laiowledge, if those who witness these displays would
make sketches of the appearances at the time when very
definite forms of the streamers are observed, noting also
the time of the observation very carefully, and the position
of well-known stars and constellations. A comparison of
such sketches, and of notes that might accompany them,
wotdd give us most important data, and might lead to
the determination of the locality of the discharge
Simultaneous observations, at widely different stations,
of the disturbances of terrestrial magnetism that always
accompanied the aurora mi^ht, if compared, give us useful
information as to the direction and velocity of the electric
discharge ; and would probably at least help us to decide
whether it is to the discharges themselves, or to earth-
currents, or to both combined, that these disturbances
are due.
I wish to describe an instrument planned bv Sir
William Thomson, which may be easily constructed, and
with which the variations of the horizontal component of
terrestrial magnetism can be determined with g^at accu-
racy.
A flat wooden support, seven or
eight inches high, is fixed on a con-
venient foot furnished with levelling
screws, and in the face of it a groove,
rather more than four inches long and
about ^ of an inch deep, is cut
From a point at the top of this
groove, a very light mirror with
magnets attached — such as is used
in Thomson's reflecting galvano-
meter— is suspended by a single silk
\ fibre about four inches long; and
_ in front of the groove there is
fastened, if the mirror be concave,
a slip of plate glass to keep off
currents of air : or, if it be a plane
mirror, a lens is fastened in front of it, and the remainder
of the groove is covered up with a slip of glass or in some
other way. A lamp is placed in front of the mirror, and
the reflected image of it is received on a scale. The
motions of the reflected light upon the scale indicate the
deflections of the magnet.
Suitable mirrors and lenses are constructed by Mr.
White, instrument maken Glasgow. In making the
mirrors, a lar|^ number of the lightest circular glasses
used for covenng objects on slides for the microscope are
silvered ; and from these those which give an image
perfectly free from diRtortion are selected by trial Many
of the mirrors formed are much twisted and quite unfit
for us; ; but mirrors are obtained by this plan of sdection
/TN
"T —
Fig. I
bv trial far superior in lightness and in fireedom from
distortion to any that can be made by expending
extreme care in the glass-work. To the back of eau
mirror four small magnets are attached ; an arrangement
which has been found by trial to give the best result.
The object is to make the mirror with its magnets suffi-
ciently light, and to give it at the same time the greatest
possible magnetic moment The mirror is three-eighths
of an inch in diameter, and weighs not more than one-
third of a grain.
Plane mirrors are generally used in Glasgow, and the
lens is of such power that a lamp placed at a distance of
one metre (about 40 inches) gives an image at the same
distance from the mirror. The lamp is placed behind a
screen, and in the screen an oval hole is cut and a vertical
wire* is stretched across it The image of this wire is
received upon a scale. The scale may be set at a distance
of 40 inches (one metre) from the mirror ; that is to say it
Fic a
may be attached to the screen between the mirror and the
lamp ; or it may be put much farther away, at, say two or
three times that distance. The lamp and screen, with its
slit anjl wire, must then be brought near enough to the
mirror to throw back the conjugate focus sufficiently.
This arrangement gives of course increased sensibility.
We use for ir 3 parafHn oil lamp, of which the reservoir
is a very shallow rectangular vessel The slit in the screen
is slightly above the horizontal plane through the centre
of the mirror, and the scale slightly below that {plane.
The reflected ray passes below the reservoir of the lamp
to the scale beyond.
Our scales, which are also obtainable from Mr. White,
are divided into fortieths of an inch, and are genersdly
attached to a piece of wood, cut out so that its curvature
corresponds to that of a circle described with the disUnce
of the mirror as radius. Thus, by dividing the number
of scale divisions by the distance of the mirror in fortieths
of an inch from the scale, the angle is obtained to which
that number of scale divisions correspond. At a distance
of 60 inches we can easily read the position of the image
of the wire on the scale to less than half a scale division,
which, since the angle turned Uuough by the reflected
beam of light is twice that turned through by the mirror,
corresponds to an angular deflection of about 20*.
The great advantage which the arrangement that I
have just described possesses over any Uiat are ordinarily
used for observing rapid variation in magnetic declination
lies in the lightness of the mass moved. The heavy
declinometers employed in observatories are unable,
through their great inertia, to follow accurately the sudden
variations that occur during a magnetic storm.
James Thomson Bottomliy
The College, Glasgow
* A sunpTe vertical slit was formeriy used, but the vertical wire in tl»«
middle of the slit, a sucgestton of Prof. Tai^ is a great imptovoneat, as it
enables us to use plenty of light, while it gives increased i*»»fi^Vwi to the
reading on the scale.
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Feb. 22, 1872!
NATURE
327
THEORELLS PRINTING METEOROGRAPH
SOME time since brief mention was made of the above
instrument (devised by Dr. A. G. Theorell, of Nybro-
gatan, Stockhokn, Sweden— Nature, voL iv. p. 466)—
with reference to its having been exhibited at the London
International Exhibition, 1871.
Being in possession of a detailed description of the
same, I have thought that a copy with additional remarks
may be of interest in the pages of Nature.
I have no hesitation in saying that this instrument does
not occupy the prominent position to which it is justly
entitled, neither do^ I think that it is so well known-^
whether taken in the light of a wonderful piece of
mechanism, or of excellent workmanship — as it well
deserves to be.
The following is a description of the instrument in
accordance with the original, excepting only that I have
made a few slight alterations in order to render it more
intelligible, the original having been, as I suppose,
translated from the Swedish language, and not well
expressed : —
"Meteorological observations are by this instrument
delivered in tables printed on a slip of paper. Of the
four tabular columns theory/ gives the hours, the second
the temperature, the third the degree of humidity accord-
ing to August's method, and the fourth the atmospheric
pressure; this last (atmospheric pressure) is given in
millimetres, but the first figure, being always a 7, is sup-
pressed. The degrees of die thermometer employed are
those of the centigrade scale, and negative degrees are
expressed by their complements to 100.
" The registration takes place by means of electrical
currents, which are closed by contact between the mercury
in the various meteorological instruments and steel wires
that' descend into their tubes. These steel wires au-e con-
nected, by means of levers and three vertical screws, each
with its respective system of brass wheels with numerical
type engraved on the edges, in such a manner that the
rotation of the wheels causes an upward or downward
motion of the steel wires, so that the point of the scale on
which the lower extremity of the wire is situated, is neces-
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NATURE
\Feb. 22,1872
sarily that indicated by the number appearing at the same
moment uppermost on the corresponding wheels.
" The wheels containing the figures are governed by an
electro-magnetic motor, which, for !each observation, sets
the three wheel systems successively in motion, until the
corresponding wires have reached the mercury in their
respective meteorological instruments, when the above-
mentioned electrical current instantly arrests the motion,
so that accordingly all three steel wires stop with their
lower extremities each in contact with the surface of the
mercury in its respective instrument. The numbers there-
fore that stand uppermost on the numbered wheels are
just those which indicate the height of the barometer and
of the two thermometers, and now the same electro-
magnetic motor operates upon a printing apparatus which,
after having deposited colour on the type, presses the
slip of paper against them. This being done, the steel
wires are drawn up again by the motor, which stops as
soon as a certain distance from the mercury is attained,
and all is ready for the next observation.
" The interval between the observations is a quarter of
an hour."
Attention is then directed to the following considera-
tions : —
"The instrument delivers the observations in a form in
which they may immediately, and without further modi-
fication, be used by the meteorologist in his work.
" A very large number of very carefully made compa-
risons have shown that the observations registered by
this method possess an accuracy equal to that which is
generally attained by ocular observation.
" The zinc vessel, m which the upper ends of the ther-
mometers are enclosed, is so air-tight that it is found
possible, by means of chloride of lime and caustic potash,
to keep the enclosed air always free from damp and car-
bonic acid, a precaution which it will be easily understood
is necessary in every climate where the temperature is
liable to sink below the freezing-point, but is still further
necessary to protect both the mercury and the steel
wires from oxidation, and thus preserve the galvanic
contact.
" A meteorograph of this construction has for two years
and three-quarters been in use at the Upsala Observatory,
executing six observations every hour, without any per-
ceptible alteration of the surface either of the mercury or
the steel wires, that could in any way affect either the free
efficiency of the instrument or its degree of accuracy,
which throughout the whole time has been foimd to be
that above named.
" As the clock which determines the time of the obser-
vations does not require winding up — the instrument itself
restoring the tension of the mainspring every quarter of
an hoiu"— it continues to go as long as the driving force,
i.e,y the electrical current, is maintained ; and, as the slip
of paper applied lasts fully three months, it is clear that
that is the period for which the instrument may be left
to itself. The work then requisite is little more than to
take out, cut, and sew up in order the paper of observa-
tions, and replace it with another slip. We thus see that
this instrument requires but very little time and labour of
the person who takes charge of it.
" It is entirely for special reasons that the construction
of the instrument has been limited to the registration
of thermometrical, psychrometrical (hygrometrical), and
barometrical observations, for the method may be applied
advantageously to observations of the course of any phe-
nomena whatever, provided they can be indicated by an
index admitting of galvanic contact. It is, therefore,
applicable for all the now usual kinds of meteorological
observations, and nothing prevents the same instrument
executing and printing them all in one and the same
table."
The following is an extract (giving one hour's instru-
mental readings) of one of the printed forms referred
to in the first paragraph: —
1 . . 57 . • 130 . . 673
57 . . 130S . . 6725
57 . . 132 . • 672
57 . . 133 • . 673
2 . . 57 . . 1335 • • 672
The width of the slip of paper used in these obser-
vations is 4'25 in. •
In the Exhibition meteorograph, the timekeeper (re-
ferred to in the eighth paragraph) is merely a watch-move-
ment of moderate size."*^ In the place of the ordinary
minute-hand there are four, fitted on the same centre and
projecting from each other at right angles in the form
of a cross ; in other words, the points (one of which
resembles what is technically termed a spade hour hand,
and indicates the time) are 1 5 min. apart. Every time
one or other of the hands comes opposite the figure III.
it depresses a small steel lever which, through suitable
mechanism, completes the circuit.
I am indebted to Dr. Theorell for a very courteous letter,
dated from Upsala, respecting the block used in the
original description, also to Messrs. Norstedt and Son,
printers to the Swedish Government, for supplying me
with an electrotype copy of the same through the Swedish
Consulate. John James Hall
ON SLEEP \
PROFESSOR HUMPHRY commenced his lecture
by giving a brief account of some of the changes
that take place in the tissues when their function is
active, and explained that during this time a slight
deterioration of structure takes place, which, affect-
ing the voluntary system, the muscles and hemi-
spheres of the brain, causes the sense of tiring, and
necessitates a period of rest for the restoration of the
tissues to their former condition. In the case of the
muscles this rest is provided for by periods, quickly alter-
nating periods, of action and cessation of action. But in
the case of the brain, the actions upon which conscious-
ness, volition, &c., depend cannot be thus frequently
suspended. Their continuance is needed for the safety of
the body during long periods, through the whole day, for
instance ; and longer periods are therefore required for
repair. These are the periods of sleep.
He next took a cursory glance at the different parts of
the nervous system, explaining that the upper regions of
the brain are those which minister to consciousness and
volition, the intellectual operations, &c. He showed that
the functions of these regions not only can long be sus-
pended without interfering with the action of the lower
parts of the brain, which are more immediately necessary
to life ; but that they are very easily suspended — slight
causes, such as a jar, or a shock, or an alteration in the
blood current, being sufllicient to stop the action of these
parts and deprive the person of consciousness. The
spontaneous stopping of their action, consequent on the
slight deterioration of their structure from the continuance
of their functions during the day, is the proximate cause
of sleep during the night ; and the periodic recurrence of
sleep IS in accordance with the periodicity observed in
several of the nutritive functions, and, indeed, witnessed
in many of the other operations of nature.
Alter observations upon the condition of the brain
during sleep, the circumstances that conduce to sleep, the
time that should be allotted to it, and other points, the
Professor entered at some length into the subject of dreams.
These he regarded not, as has been supposed by some, to
be a necessary attendant on, or feature of, sleep, but rather
to be the result of an abnormal condition. In the natural
state we should pass from wakefulness to complete uncon-
* On the other side of the instrument to that seen in the engraving,
t Abstract of a Lecture delivered at the Royal Institution, on Friday,
February 9, by Prof. Humphry,
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Feb. 22, 1872J
NATURE
329
sciousness, and vice versd^ auickly, almost instantaneously,
and many persons habituaUy do so. But the transition
period is sometimes prolonged, and stages are observable.
The first thing that occurs is the lowering, or cessation, of
that control over the mental processes which is the highest
of our powers, the one requiring the greatest effort, and
the one most easily lost In this condition the thoughts
ramble unchecked, chase one another confusedly over the
mental field, and give rise to all sorts of incongruities of
the imagination. At the same time, being unrestrained,
they are excited, and evince efforts of memory and even
of combination, of which, in the regulated state of wake-
fulness, they are quite incapable. In this way the images
of persons and places" events, and items of knowledge,
loT>g forgotten in the ordinary state, are recalled with
distinctness, and we fancy that new information has been
acquired when it is only forgotten facts that are recalled.
He did not agree with the physiologists who conceive
that dreaming depends upon an inequality in the condi-
tion of different parts of the brain, some being excited or
wakeful, while others are quiescent or asleep. He rather
took the view that all the parts of the cerebral hemispheres
combine in each of the efforts of control, consciousness,
memory, and other mental acts, that all suffer alike from
those efforts, alike need the restoring changes which take
place in sleep, and, together, pan passt4, pass through the
stages on the way to and from sleep, in which dreaming,
sleep-walking, &c., occur.
NOTICE OF THE ADDRESS OF PROF. T
STERRY HUNT BEFORE THE AMERICAN
ASSOCIATION AT INDIANAPOLIS *
IN a brief notice of the recent address of Prof. Hunt,
it is stated that, while the discussions show learning and
research, and his review of the progress of opinions with
regard to the Taconic and associated rocks is an able
presentation of the subject, its conclusions are through-
out open to doubts and objections. Since it is fairer to
an author to make special, rather than general, criticisms,
I propose to state here a part of the objections referred to
in that remark. They are as follows \—
I. That, while accepting the ordinary views with regard
to most " pseudoroorphs by alteration" (crystals chemi-
cally altered without a loss of form), he rejects them with
respect to those that are silicates in composition ; that is,
he denies that the crystals of serpentine having the form
of chrysolite, pyroxene, dolomite, &c,are pseudomorphs ;
and the same of those of steatite, having the form of
hornblende, pyroxene, spinel, &c. ; of those of pinite hav-
ing the form of nephelite, scapolite, &c. ; and so in other
cases : — notwithstanding that (i) they bear positive evi-
dence of change in having ordinarily no polarising
properties, and no other intenor features or qualities con-
forming to the external form; that (2) the crystalline
forms are just those presented by the species after which
they are supposed to be pseudomorphs, and the idea of
their being real forms of a single polymorphous species is
wholly inadmissible, as pronounced by every crystallogra-
pher who has written on the subject ; that (3) the pseudo-
morphs show all stages in the process of change from in-
cipient to complete alteration, in the latter case not a trace
of the original mineral remaining.
In this assumption, for it is little better, he opposes the
views of every writer on pseudomorphs, excepting one —
Schecrer; and Scheerer's chemical speculations, which
are at the basis of his opinions, he rejects, like all other
chemists.
This unwarranted assumption has a profound position
in the system of views on metamorphism which Prof.
• Prof. Hunt's address has bten published in the •' AmericMi Naturalist"
for September, 1871, and, since then, in part, in Natukb, Vol. v. Nos. 105,
J 06. X07. Prof. Dana's reply is reprinted from advmnce-sheeU of Stutman *
yoMrnal forwarded to us by the author.
Hunt holds, and gives shape and intensity to his opinions
of the views of others.
2. That, in commencing a paragraph with the sentence,
** The doctrine of pseudomorphism by alteration, as taught
by Gustaf Rose, Haidinger, Blum, Volger, Rammelsberg,
Dana, Bischof, and many others (meaning thereby other
writers on pseudomorphism), leads them, however, to
admit still greater and more remarkable changes than
these, and to maintain the possibility of converting almost
any silicate into any other"— he grossly misrepresents
the views of at least Rose, Haidinger, Blum, Rammels-
berg, Dana ; and that he completes the caricature in the
closing sentence of the same paragraph, in which he says,
" In this way we are led from gneiss or granite to lime-
stone, from limestone to dolomite, and from dolomite to
serpentine, or more directly from granite, granulite or
diorite to serpentine at once, without passing through the
intermediate stages of limestone and dolomite ;" part of
which transformations, I, for one, had never conceived ;
and Rose, Haidinger, Rammelsberg, and probably Blum
and the " many others," would repudiate them as strongly
as myself. Next follows a verse from Goethe, that is made
to announce his personal vexation with their " sophistries ;"
alias absurdities, as the context implies.
Prof. Hunt's rejection of established truth alluded to
under sec. i here manifests its effects in leading him to
misrepresent— although unintentionally — the views of
writers on pseudomorphism ; and to add to his misrepre-
sentation by means of the strange conclusion, that, because
such writers hold that crystals may undergo cettain
alterations in composition, therefore they believe that
rocks of the same constitution may undergo the same
changes ; as if it were not possible th^ external or epi-
genic agencies might reach and alter crystals under some
circumstances of position, when they could not gain
access to great beds of rock. Haidinger, the eminent
crystallographer, mineralogist, and physicist of Vienna,
and one of the most prominent writers on pseudomorphism,
never wrote upon the subject of the alteration of rocks at
all, and this is true of others, against whom the above
charge is made by Mr. Hunt.
With a little clearer judgment, part at least of that
vexation of spirit which required the help of a great Ger-
man poet, and the German language, adequately to ex-
press, might have been avoided.
3. That he charges me with the opinion of Bischof, that
" regional metamorphism is pseudomorphism on a grand
scale :" when I make no such remark, neither express the
sentiment, in my Mineralogy of 1854, in which I give an
abstract of Bischof 's views and make my nearest approach
to them ; and when, if there was any occasion for a notice
of my opinions, a critic of 1871 should have referred to
the formal expression of them in my " Manual of Geology,'*
first published in 1863. The reader will there find the
'* diagenesis " of GUmbel, which Mr. Hunt takes occasion
to commend, applied, as had been done by others,
although Giimbei had not then announced it ; and also
other points discussed, with but a brief sdlusion to
pseudomorphisnL
The above remark by Mr. Hunt is not made with special
reference in his address to magnesian silicates, or any
other particular class of siliceous minerals ; but, as the
context shows, to rocks in generaL I have held to views
respecting the origin of serpentine which Prof. Hunt re-
jects, and have sustained them on the ground that the
pseudomorphous crystals of serpentine show what trans-
formations are chemically possible, and that hence they
may possibly illustrate the changes which beds of rock
have undergone. I have not applied this principle in
accounting for the origin of ordinary metamorphic rocks,
because, as above observed, crystals may often be reached
by agencies which can never reach or affect rock-forma-
tions, and for various other reasons against it But the
case of serpentine has been regarded as somewhat
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NATURE
\Feb. 22, 1872
different ; and I have believed, and still believe, that ex-
tended beds of rock have been turned into this mineral
by a method analogous to that which takes place in
pseudomorphism. Had Mr. Hunt's statement been made
a special one, restricted to this case, I should have had
little objection to it. I may add that the method of origin
for serpentine which I have deemed most probable
(though perhaps not the only method) is one which he
once advocated— that of the alteration of beds of dolo-
mite, or magnesian carbonate of lime, by waters contain-
ing alkaline silicates in solution ; and it has appeared to
me that the facts (i) that serpentine is commonly asso-
ciated with beds of limestone or dolomite, (2) that chry-
solite crystals are sometimes found in these rocks, and
(3) that the forms of crystals of both dolomite and chryso-
lite occur among serpentine pseudumorphs, give strong
support to this view.
Prof. Hunt's opinion on this point in 1857 he thus ex-
pressed in a letter to the writer, sent for insertion in " Sil-
liman's Journal," where it appears in volume xxiii. (1857)
at p. 437, as a conclusion to his brief statement.
"Suppose a solution of alkaline silicate, which will
never be wanting among sediments where feldspar exists,
to be difiused through a mixture of siliceous matter and
earthy carbonate, and we have, with a temperature of
212** F., and perhaps less, all the conditions necessary for
the conversion of the sedimentary mass into pyroxenite,
diaUage, serpentine, talc, rhodonite, all of which constitute
beds in our metamorphic strata. Add to the above the
presence of aluminous matter, and you have the elements
of chlorite, garnet, and epidote. We have here an ex-
planation of the metamorphism of the Silurian strata of
the Green Mountain range, and I believe of rock meta-
morphism in general" Again, in a letter dated July 6th,
published in volume xxiv., at page 272, he says :
" I have already in a previous note indicated the manner
in which I suppose these siliceous and argillaceous mag-
nesites and dolomites to have been in certain parts of the
formation transformed by the intervention of solutions of
alkaline carbonates into silicates, such as talc, serpentine,
chlorite, pyroxenite, &c. A further development of my
views of the metamorphism of sediments, with the results
of the investigation of a great many altered rocks, will
appear in the Report of Progress of the Geological Sur-
vey of Canada for the last three years — now in press."
It should be added, that Prof. Hunt acknowledges his
change of opinion in his address. But, in view of it, some
moderating of his positiveness of assertion would have
been reasonable.
4. That he attributes the origin of beds of serpentine
and steatite, — here following nearly Delesse, — to the
alteration of beds of different hydrous magnesian silicates
related to sepiolite (meerschaum), formed in the surface
waters of an era— Palaeozoic or earlier — while fossiliferous
rocks were in progress :— when, as a matter of fact, no
such- sepiolite-like beds are known to occur anywhere in
unaltered stratified formations of Palaeozoic orpre-Silurian
time, and they are found of limited extent only in some strata
of comparatively recent origin. The hypothesis, although
deserving of consideration, is therefore without any solid
foundation. The doubts that have been recently thrown
about the Eozoon affect unfavourably the hypothesis,
since these supposed fossils have been made prominent in
its support. The view, if true, would, as Prof. Hunt
implies, bring the making of serpentine and steatite rocks
under the kind of metamorphism styled by Giimbel
diagenesis, instead of that of epigenesis ; making them a
result of change without an addition of ingredients from
any external soi:rce, like most other metamorphism,
instead of throuj;h the agency of outside ingredients. But
it wants facts to rest upon.
5. That he attributes an origin similar to that for ser-
pentine and talc to beds of chlorite and hornblende ;
notwithstanding the fact that chlorite schist and horn-
blende schist—the purest forms of any large beds of these
minerals — are always more or less impure, and often
graduate into clay slate on one side, and mica schist on
the other ; and that these schists are thus so involved with
others, that if one is derived from ordinary sedimentary
beds, all must be.
6. That he devotes some pages to a " theory of en-
velopment ** as a method of accounting for the silicate
pseudomorphs referred to, beginning a paragraph with
the sentence : —
" By far the greater number of cases on which this
general theory of pseuddmorphism by a slow process <^
alteration in minerals has been based, are, as I sh^l en-
deavoiu* to show, examples of the phenomenon of mineral
envelopment, so well studied by Delesse in his essay on
Pseudomorphs."
While, in fact, this theory has almost nothing to do with
the subject, since pseudomorphs of serpentine, steatite,
and other species, with regard to which there is the dis-
pute, consist often of pure serpentine, steatite, &c., and
therefore have no enveloper, and are not cases of en-
velopment This theory supposes the material of the
so-called pseudomorph to be an impurity taken up into a
crystal in process of formation — ^a tning of common occur-
rence ; and, if satisfactory, would account for the want of
conformity between internal qualities and external form.
It is unfortunate for it that, as just shown, it does not
apply where it is wanted.
7. That he makes Delesse the author of the " theory of
envelopment : " — when Delesse has not proposed any such
theory for cases of ordinary pseudomorphism, but has
simply commenced, and very judiciously, his work on
Pseudomorphs (1859) by distinguishing the examples of
mere impurity, or envelopment, in crystallisation, in order
to clear the way for the actual facts ; and then gives a
long list of admitted pseudomorphs, including in it nearly
all kinds so recognised by other authors, and all that
affect the question discussed by Prof Hunt ; serpen-
tine occurring in the list as forming pseudomorphs
after chrysolite, hornblende, garnet ; steatite after py-
roxene, hornblende, epidote, scapolite, mica, topaz, mag-
nesite, dolomite, &c. In his work on metamorphism
(1861), Delesse takes back none of his views on pseudo-
morphism ; and in his late " Reviews of the Progress of
Geology," down to the last just out (1871), he reiterates
the ordinary views with regard to pseudomorphism^ and
mentions the occurrence of other pseudomorphs consisting
of talc, serpentine, &c.
8. That he cites Naumann as sustaining the " theory of
envelopment .•" — when this learned crystallographer and
mineralogist has only commended Delesse's chapter on
the envelopment of minerals in crystals, and presents in
his " Mineralogy" (the last edition of which, tluit of 187 1,
is now before me) the subject of pseudomorphism in die
usual way, with nothing whatever on the theory of en-
velopment; and, under the description of the species
serpentine, he speaks of " large pseudomorphous crystals
of serpentine from Snarum which still contain a nucleus
of altered chrysolite."
There is hence no foundation for Mr. Hunt's statement
that his views are " ably supported by Delesse," or any
occasion for the " no small pleasure " he derived from
Naumann's letter ; or any warrant for the remark (p. 47)
that Delesse and Naumann hold the "view" "that the
so-called cases of pseudomorphism, on which the theory
of metamorphism by alteration has been built, are, for the
most part, examples of association and envelopment, and
the result of a contemporaneous and original crystallisa-
tion." These men of science are not to be coimted upon
for aid, countenance, or comfort ; though claimed as friends,
it has not been their fault, as they have always avowed
the opinions of Haidinger and the ** many others." It is
a strange fact that, neither these claimed friends, nor the
many announced opponents, with one or two exceptions.
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Feb, 22, 1872]
NATURE
331
hold the views which Prof. Hunt has attributed to them
in his address. We are glad to know that this is not the
usual American method of dealing with authorities.
Giimbel and Credner are the other two claimed sup-
porters of his views. They have sustained Mr. Hunt's
opinions as regards the Eozoon and the origin of the
serpentine constituting it. But whether they disagree with
Haidinger and all others as to pseudomorphs of serpentine,
and of other hydrous silicates, I cannot say.
9. That while setting down the Taconic rocks, and
rightly, as Lower Silurian in age, he denominates the
micaceous gneisses, diorites, epidotic and chloritic,
steatitic and serpentinous rocks, talcoid mica schists,
quartzites, and clay-slates (which are always without
staurolite or andalusite), in fact, the whole range of meta-
morphic rocks, with small exceptions, between the Con-
necticut river and the great limestone formation of the
Green Mountains (admitted to be Lower Silurian), as the
Green Mountain Series^ and makes the whole ^^pre-
Cambrian^ in age, although the region has not been
examined by any one stratigraphically with the care
necessary for a positive op'mion ; and, although there are
gneisses, mica schists, and chloritic talcoid (or mica) schists
m the Taconic series, and therefore of admitted Lower
Silurian origin, which are closely like those of his Green
Mountain Series.
10. That he denominates, in like manner, the gneisses,
mica schists (said to be richer in mica than those of the
Green Mountain Series), homblendic gneisses and schists,
micaceous and clay-slates containing andalusite, cyanite,
or staurolite, and certain limestones, existing east of the
Connecticut river, as a White Mountain Series , and makes
these a newer " pre- Cambrian " than the Green Mountain
Series : — when there is the same want of stratigraphical evi-
dence as to age as in the former ; and when Prof. C. H.
Hitchcock's discoveries of Helderberg corals (Lower
Devonian, according to Billings, or else upper beds of the
Upper Silurian), at Littleton, not far north of the western
extremity of the White Mountain Series, makes it more
probable that part of the White Mountain Series of beds
are of Helderberg? age rather than pre- Silurian ; and his dis-
covery of labradorite rocks on the south-western margin
of the White Mountains, wholly unlike any of the so-
called White Mountain Series, shows further that a vast
amount of study in the field is needed before the dictum'
of any one respecting the age of New Hampshire rocks
is worth much.
Ic is now proved that there are labradorite rocks in
Waterville and Albany, N H., on the borders of the
White Mountain region, which are probably of Laurentian
age ; that on the other side of the White Mountain line,
but 25 miles to the north-northwest, there are fossil-bear-
ing, metamorphic rocks of the Helderberg (upper or
lower) period ; that 100 miles south-southwest, in Ber-
nardston, Mass., or central New England, there are other
fossil-bearing metamorphic Helderberg rocks, some of the
well-preserved crinoidal stems (as the writer has seen, as
well as read of in the account of Prof. Hitchcock) an inch
in diameter. Who then knows whether all, or any, of
the long intermediate periods of geological time, from
the Laurentian to the Devonian, are represented in the
New Hampshire metamorphic rocks lying between these
limits ? When observation has given positive knowledge,
we may then have several " White Mountain Series."
11. That he has relied, for his chronological arrange-
ment of the crystalline rocks of New England and else-
where, largely on lithological evidence, and commends
this style of evidence, when such evidence means nothing
until tested by thorough stratigraphical investigation.
This evidence means something, or probably so, with
respect to Laurentian rocks ; but it did not until the age
of the rorks, in their relations to others, was first strati-
graphically ascertained. It may turn out to be worth
something as regards later rocks when the facts have
been carefully tested by stratigpraphy. A fossil is proved,
by careful observation, to be restricted to the rocks of a
certain period, before it is used — and then cautiously — for
identifying equivalent beds. Has anyone proved by
careful observation that crystals of staurolite, cyanite, or
andalusite, are restricted to rocks of a certain geological
period? Assumptions and opinions, however strongly
emphasised, are not proofs.
It is no objection to stratigraphical evidence that it is
diflficult to obtain ; is very doubtful on account of the
difficulties ; may take scores of years in New England to
reach any safe conclusions. It must be obtained, what-
ever labour and care it costs, before the real order and
relations of the rocks can be known. Until then, litho-
logy may give us guesses, but nothing more substantial.
Mr. Hunt's arguments with reference to the White
Mountain Series, as urged by him in 1870, will be found in
Silliman'syournaL ii. 1. 83. Both there, and in his address,
may be seen the kind of evidence with which he fortifies,
or supplements, that based on the character of the rocks.
Direct stratigraphical investigation over the region itself,
in which ail flexures, faults, and unconformabilities have
been thoroughly investigated, is not among the foimda-
tions of opinion which he brings forward.
He endeavours to set aside the objections to his views
suggested by the existence of Devonian or Helderberg
rocks in central and northern New England ; but he pre-
sents, for this purpose, only some general considerations
of little weight, instead of definite facts as to the extent
and variety of the metamorphic strata that are part of,
because comformable to, these Helderberg beds. Had
he studied up these stratigraphical relations with the
care requisite to obtain the truth, and all the truth,
perhaps he would no longer say — it is " contrary to my
notions of the geological history of the continent to sup-
pose that rocks of Devonian age could in that region
have assumed such lithological characters." Notions olten
lead astray. James D. Dana
NOTES
TiiE Royal Hortictiltural Society hms taken a step which may
prove very advantageous to the interests of science, namely, the
appointment of a botanical Professor, who, by lectures, answers
to personal inquiries, and other means, shall assist in establishing
a more correct knowledge of the principles of botany and horti-
culture, and of the names of plants, amung those of the Fellows
and their gardeners who are desirous to profit by the opportunity.
Among the duties of the Processor of Botany will be to conduct
the scientific business of the society, both horticultural and
botanical ; to enter into communication with horticultural and
botanical establishments at home and abroad ; to conduct the
meetings smd edit the publications of the society ; to give courses
of lectures on scientific botany to the gardeners and others ; and
to have a general superintendence of the gardens at Chiswick.
The appointment to this office of Mr. W. T. Thiaelton-Dyer,
late Professor of Botany at the Royal College of Science,
Dublin, is a guarantee that the cultivation of scientific botany
will not be neglected.
Dr. David Ferribr has been appointed Professor of
Forensic Medicine at King's College^ London, vice W. A. Guy,
M.B., resigned.
The Secretary of State for India has appom ted Mr. A. G. Green-
hill, Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, Professor of
Applied Mathematics at the Civil Engineering College, Cooper's
HilL Mr. Greenhill graduated as Second Wrangler in 1870,
and was bracketed equal with the Senior Wrangler for the Smith's
Prize ; he also gained a Whitworth Scholarship while an tmder-
graduate.
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{Feb. 22, 1872
The Kadclifie trustees at Oxford, anxioui to aid one or more
advanced students in the scientific study of preventative or
curative medicine, offer 10/. a month, for three months, to a
student of St. Bartholomew's, Guy's, or St George's Hospitals,
desirous of working for that time in Oxford. He will have
opportunities of studying physics, chemistry, geology, the higher
parts of biology, clinical and sanitary medicine. Candidates must
be recommended on intimate personal knowledge by the Dean or
secretary of their medical schools, and will not be submitted to
an examination. The first election will be in the last week of
February. Tliere will be an election of another student in April.
A GENTLEMAN named Millard has bequeathed to the Presi-
dent and Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford, S,ooo/. for the
advancement of mathematical and general science.
The University of St. Andrew's has conferred the degree of
LL.D. on Mr. Archibald Cunningham Geikie, Professor of
Mineralogy and Geology in Edinburgh University.
The Royal Irish Academy have granted from the fund at
their disposal for scientific research, the following :— 50/. to C.
R. C. Tichbome, for Researches on the Dissociation of Salts in
hot solutions, and on the History of the Terebenes ; 30/I to E.
T. Hardman, for Chemico-Geological Researches ; 25/. to Prof.
R. S. Ball, for Researches in the Motion of Vortex Rings;
25/. to Prof. S. Downing, for Researches on the Motion of
Water through Curved Tubes; 50/. to P. S. Abraham, for
Biological Researches on the Coast of Madeira.
Robert Patterson, F.R.S., died at hi residence, Belfast,
on the 14th. He was born in April 1802. Educated at the
Belfast Academy, in his early days he contemplated the lrij.h
Bar as a profession, but finally devoted himself to mercantile
pursuits. At a very early age he was an ardent student of
Natural History, and in 1821 he joined wiih a few others to
form the Natural History Society of Belfast. Among the first
papers read before this Society were a series by Mr. Patterson
on the insects mentioned by Shakespeare, which were afterwards
published. His most important contribution to biological
literature was, perhaps, his ** Zoology for Schools," the fir»t
part of which appeared in 1846. This little work proved a
great lucce^ It was adopted by the Commissioners of Irish
National S.hools, and also by the Committee of Education in
England, and most certainly gave a great impulse to the study
of Zoology among the school classes of Great Britain. This
led to the issue in 1853 of "Zoological Diagrams," large
coloured plates which have proved of mateiial assistance
to both the teacher and the taught. He was a member o"
the British Association in its early days, and we believe
that the daily printed ** Journal of Proceedings" was an
idea that originated with him. Of the different positions of
honour and tiust held by Mr. Patterson in his native town, we
need not here speak. He was elected a member of the Royal
Iriih Academy in 1856, and a Fellow of the Royal Society in
1859. His genial and kindly presence will be missed by very
many of his old and young friends.
Harpers Weekly notes the death of Mr. W. Harper Pease, at
Honolulu, about the last of July, 187 1. This gentleman was an
American, bom, we believe, in Pennsylvania, and was occupied
for a long period in natural history pursuits. During the Mexi-
can war he visited that country, under the protection of the
American army, and made extensive collections of birds, which were
deposited in the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia^
among ihem some new species described by Mr. Cassin. About
the yrar 1853 he visi ed the Saniwich Islands, and occupied
himself for a time as a surveyor, and was sufficiently well pleased
with the climate and country to remain there, marrying a native,
and adapting himself to the customs of the people. During the
whole of his residence in Polynesia he was engaged in studying
the mollusca of the Sandwich Islands, and gradually extended
his research to the species of all the Polynesian group, making
collections either directly or through the medium of Mr. Garrett
and others. Numerous communications from his pen upon
Polynesian conchology have appeared in the yournal de Con-
chologie of Paris, the Conchohgical Journal of Philadelphia,
the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, and
elsewhere, and he has long been recognised as a thorough
naturalist and reliable author. He had accumulated around him
at Honolulu a very large library of conchological works, which,
indeed, lacked few if any of the more important treatises. He
enriched the principal cabinets of America and Eiurope by for-
nishing extensive collections, by which means he obtained, in
part, the facilities for procuring the b^oks needed for his in-
vestigations. He was for several years in ill health, and his
death by consumption was not at all unexpected by his friends.
We also learn from Harper^ 5 Weekly of the death in Reading,
Pennsylvania, on December 26, 1^71, of Mr. Charles Kessler,
in the six^y-sbcth year of his age. Mr. Kessler was known
as an ardent and successful student of entomology, devoting
himself to the lepidoptera, or butterflies, and bringing together
a very large collection of insects of this order. We have not
heard what disposition is to be made of this collection, but
we presume it will ultimately come into the possession of some
one of the natural history museums of the country.
Prof. Wyvillb Thomson has been prevented from lec-
turing to his students for the past fourteen days, owing to a mild
attack of continued fever. He hopes, however, to be able to
begin again on Wednesday next Dr. Christison has also been
laid up for some day-, owing to an attack of ephemeral fever.
We learn from the Acadetny that the African traveller and
botanist. Dr. Schweinfurth, has happily returned in safety to
Europe, and though he has suffered the loss of the greater part
of his invaluable collections and drawings, he has brought back
a harvest of information and experience which places his journey
among the most succersful of mcdem times. After his great
journey west of the Upper Nile, in the country of the Niam-
Niam and Monbuttu, he made a short excursion from his head-
quarters, the Seriba Ghatta, westward to Kurkur and Danga,
positions formerly visited by Petherick, and returning, planned a
much more extended journey, when a fire broke out in the
Seriba Ghatta on the 2nd of December, 1870, which not only
destroyed the station, but wiih it the whole property of the
traveller. Fortunately, a portion of his collection was at that
time already on its way to Berlin. Provided with a few necessaries
at Seriba Siber, the headquarters of the Egyptian troops, the
indefatigable traveller made a tour in a part of Fertit hitherto
unvisited by Europeans from December 1870 to February 1 87 1,
during which he found that the Bachr-el-Arab is unquestionably
the main stream of the basin which mouths in the Nile at the
Bachr-el-Ghazal. Having been deprived by the fire of every
instrument by means of which any mechanical reckoning of the
distances traversed during this journey could be made, the ex-
plorer, with an energy perhaps unexampled, set himself the task
of counting each step taken, and in this way constructed a very
satisfactory survey of his route.
Ifarper^s Weekly announces the receipt of advices as late as the
5lh of November from Mr. William H. Dall, whose return to
Alaska under the auspices of the Coast Survey we have already
chronicled Mr. Dall is well known for the encyclopedic work
published by him some time ago upon Alaska, the result of
several years' residence in that region. His present position gives
him unusual advantages for observation and research, and will
doubtless be made the most of in gathering an important mass of
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Feb. 22, 1872J
NATURE
333
information. He is now stationed at Iliuliuk, in Unalaska, and
engaged in surveying harbours and taking soundings, and generally
in gathering such information as to the shores and their adjacent
iK*aters, the tides and currents, as will be to the interest of com-
merce and navigation. He is also using his opportunities in
dredging for marine animals, and in making collections of natural
history, of which he has already accumulated quite a number.
The first contribution to science /rom the Hasler expedition,
under Prof. Agassiz, appears in the form of a letter addressed to
Prof. Peirce, dated St. Thomas, December 15. In this it is
stated that, in the course of the frequent examination of the
fioatmg Gulf-weeds made daily, for the purpose of collecting the
marine aninmls that usually inhabit them, a mass of this weed
was found, the branches and leaves of which were united to-
gether by fine threads, wrapping it in every direction into the
form of a ball. The threads forming the connecting material
were elastic, and beaded at intervals ; the beads being some-
times close together, sometimes more remote, a bunch of
them occasionally hanging from the same cluster of the
threads. From the accounts of the professor it would ap-
pear as if a globular mass had been formed by wrapping up
a small quantity in the thread, and then adding more, and
continually wrapping it up, until a ball of considerable size
was produced. A careful examination of these beads showed
that they were in reality the eggs contained in the substance of
the threads, and in some the embryo was sufficiently far ad-
vanced to prove that they belonged to a fish. The mass was
preserved and watched until some became detached and were
free in the water ; and by a very interesting process of critical
investigation, the fish i[self being too small for identification, it
was ascertained, mainly through the structure of the pigment-
cells, that they belonged to a small species, quite common in the
Gulf Stream, known as Chironectes pUtus, In this genus the
pectoral fins are supported on arm-like appendages, giving them
the power of hands ; a somewhat similar structure in some aUied
forms enabling them, when thrown on the shore, to walk or
crawl back leisurely into the water. It is somewhat remarkable
that these eggs should have been found in the month of Decern- .
ber, when the great majority of species lay their eggs in early
spring. It is possible that ChironecUs pktus may be an exception
to the general rule. A scarcely less interesting peculiarity is seen
in regard to the eggs of the goose-fish, or the common fishing-
frog, of the Atlantic coast. This is an extremely hideous-looking
species, shaped like a much-depressed tadpole, with an enor-
mous head and huge mouth, and sometimes weighing from fifty
to one hundred pounds. It is known to naturalists as Lophius
anterkanus. The eggs of this species are contained in an im-
mense flat sheet of mucus, sometimes thirty or forty feet long^
and twelve to fifteen wide, which, when floating along the sur-
face of the ocean, resembles nothing so much as a lady's brown
veil. The mucus is so tenacious as to admit of being wrapped
around an oar and dragged on board a vessel, but is extremely
slippery, and readily escapes from one's grasp. The eggs, or
embryos, are disseminated throughout this sheet at the rate
of ten to twenty to the square inch, and by their brownish
colour tend to give the impression just referred to. The num-
ber of eggs in one of these sheets is enormous, in some in-
stances exceeding a million.
The Gardmet^s Chronicle inquires whether the physicians or
the lecturers on Botany at St. Thomas's Hospital and King's
College Hospital, London, respectively, have been consulted as
to the planting that has been lately carried on in the enclosures
facing the buildings we have mentioned. We can hardly suppose
that these gentlemen can have had any voice in the matter, since
they must be too good physiologists not to know what must be
the inevitable result of such operations. At St Thomas's the
expenditure for evergreen shrubs must have been very con-
siderable. There are scores of such things as Libocedrus decurrtns^
Cupressus Lawsoniana, Thujopsis boreaJis, IVillin^onia, and the
like, which are certain to die. The selection of evergreen shrubs
for the Thames Embankment (north) is sufficiently unfortunate,
but for reckless planting commend us to the Hospital of St
Thomas. At King's College Hospital the planting has been
more modest, the victims consisting merely of cherry laurels.
Surely we might have looked for a little common sense in such
establishments as we have alluded to.
At the Wisbech District Chamber of Agriculture, held on
February 1st, some very interesting remarks were made by Mr.
S. H. Miller, advocating the establishment of a County Agricul-
tural Laboratory in which chemistry, botany, and agricultural
meteorology might be prosecuted, in which young farmers might
get a scientific training, and to which soils and manures might be
sent for anal3rsis. The warmth with which the proposal was re>
ceived by those present augurs well for the manner in which sub-
jects of this kind are now taking hold of the agricultural and
commercial mind. We heartily commend the subject to the
attention not only of Chambers of Agriculture, but of Chambers
of Commerce throughout the country.
Equally satisractoiy was the reference made at the half-
yearly meeting of the Scottish Meteorolc^cal Society, held on
January 25th, by Mr. Milne Home and Mr. Melvin, to the ex-
tent to which this country is lagging behind in its endeavours
to increase our knowledge in scientific agriculture. The follow-
ing resolution was passed at the meeting :—" This meeting
having had explained to it a scheme proposed by Commodore
Maury, of America, for obtaining reports from all countries of
the state of growing crops, and also of the weather in the dis-
tricts where these crops are growing, so as to warrant correct
estimates of these crops as regard both quantity and quality ;
and having learnt that an influential agricultural society in
America has approved of the scheme, and applied to the United
States Government to carry it out, and to invite the co-operation
of the Governments of other countries, agree to express a general
approval of the scheme, and remit to the Council to make a
favourable answer to Commodore Maury's communication."
At the recent annual conversazione of the Sheffield Literary
and Philosophical Society, the annual address was delivered by
Mr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., as president. Among the remarkable
inventions of the year he referred especially to the honour done to
the town by Mr. Eamshaw's new^method of integrating partial
differential equations, and to the invention of the Moncrieff gun-
can iage, where, by a simple application of mechanical principles,
the force of the recoil is utilised, and made instrumental in pro-
tecting the men and the gun, and employed to raise it into a
position for the next shot.
The pages of the " Public Ledger Almanack " are filled with
far more sensible matter than usually finds its way into similar
publications. We find articles on the atmosphere, on the various
descriptions of weather signals, and on the United States Coast
Survey.
M. QuETELET reprints a euloglum on the late Sir John
Herschel, spoken before the Academy of Science of Brussels, of
which he was an associate.
Mr. Fairgreve, the proprietor of Wombwell's No. i
Menagerie, is retiring from business, and b going to dispose of
the stock. The horses requisite for the dragging of the vans
were sold the other day in Edinburgh, and realised over 1,400/.
This sum gives a slight insijht into the large capital invested
by the owners of meoagerics. It is not known what he is going
to do with the animals. There is some talk of another Zoological
Garden being formed in Edinburgh, but nothing definite.
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334
MATURE
\Feb. 22, 1872
AERIAL NA VIGA TION IN FRANCE *
npHERE has been a most interesting sitting at the Academy
-^ of Sciences, at which M. Dupuy de Ldme read a report on
his newly tried and apparently successful system for steering air
balloons. M. de Lome is one of the roost eminent — if he is not the
most eminent — of living French engineers. He was the first to
apply steam to ships of war, and he was one of the earliest de-
signers of ironclad frigates. The piercing of a tunnel under the
English Channel is another of M. Dupuy de Lome's long-
cherished projects, and he is one of the engineers who are about
to commence that g^igantic enterprise. During the siege of Paris
by the Prussians, M. Dupuy de L6me offered to construct a
balloon which should have steering powers of its own, and so
not be totally at the mercy of the winds. That some sort of
guiding power was required for the balloons which were de-
spatched from Paris during its investment by the Germans is
shown by the fact that, out of sixty balloons sent out during that
period, no less than fifteen failed to carry their contents to a
place of safety, some falling into the sea and several into the
hands of the Prussians. After much tiresome delay, M. Dupuy
de L6 roe's plans were accepted by the Government of National
Defence, a credit of 40,000 francs (1,600/.) was opened for him,
and he began to construct his balloon at the Palais de I'lndus-
trie, in the Charops Elys^s. So great was the difficulty, how-
ever, in constructing an immense balloon on a totally new system,
in a city completely cut off from the rest of the civilised world,
that M. Dupuy de Lome's huge machine was not ready until just
four days before the capitulation. When that event took place, the
balloon had to be packed up and hidden away from the prying eyes
of the Germans when they partially occupied Paris. Then came
the Commune, and all the disorganisation which followed. It
was only after much difficulty that M. Dupuy de L6roe obtained
permission to make use of the buildings of the Fore Neuf at
Vincennes, whence, on the 2nd inst., he started on his trial trip.
Before proceeding to quote from M. Dupuy de L6me's most in-
teresting report, it may be as well to say a few words as to the
end which tne eminent aeronaut has proposed to himself. He
does not pretend to be able to make independent progress in the
teeth of me wind, but only to deviate from the direct set of the
wind when running before it He does not hope ever to be able
to beat to windward, but only to tack to right or left with the
wind. A sailor would say that M. Dupuy de L6me wanted to
be always running free with the wind on the quarter. So if the
wind set straight from Paris to Brussels, an ordinary balloon
could oidy land at some point between Paris and Brussels, or
else beyond the Belgian capital. But with a balloon constructed
on M. Dupuy de Lome's system, the areonaut might steer his
course either on the port or starboard tack, and might descend
at London or Cologne, as he saw fit.
Having said this much, let me try to describe the balloon
which M. Dupuy de L6me makes use of. Let your
readers imagine a gigantic e^g of inflated silk, the longer
axis being horizontal; to this egg is attached an oblong
car, something the shape of a pimt. The motive of the
inventor in choosing the ovoid form was at once to obtain
greater stability for the car than could be hoped for with
Uie old balloons, and at the same time to cive the least possible
hold to the wind. The diameter of the balloon is about two-
fifths of its horizontal length from point to point I take the
following dimensions from M. Dupuy de L6me's highly interest-
ing report, read before the Academy of Sciences, only changing
French metres into feet for the convenience of English readers.
Total length from end to end . . . . 118 ft 6 in.
Diameter at the point of greatest circum-
ference 49 ft 2 in.
Diameter of the screw 29 ft 6 in.
Number of blades 2
Number of tuims of the screw in a mi«
nute, when the balloon is going eight
kilometres (five miles) an hour faster
than the wind 21
M. Dupuy de Lome thus describes the rudder by which his
balloon is steered : — "The rudder is a plain triangular surface.
It is made of unvarnished calico, and is kept in its place by a
horizontal yard six metres long at its lower extremity. It can
* Reprinted from die Daily NiWi,
turn easily on its forward extremihr. The height of the rudder
is five metres, and it has a superfices of fifteen metres." The
car is next described — ^it is of wicker-work, and of sufficient
size to contain comfortably the windlass for the screw, and eight
men to work it ; the ventilator with which to manage the small
balloon— we shall have to speak of this presently— and the man
who attends to it In all, fourteen persons can be carried in the
car. The driving screw is directly carried by the car. The shaft
of the screw is a hollow steel tube. This shaft b constructed so
as to allow of the screw being easily dismounted when a landing
is effected. The rudder is fixed to the balloon itself, and the
screw, as we said, is below it, and immediately attached to the
car. Two blades only are used in the screw instead of four,
because when the ground b touched the two blades can be
placed horiz mtally, so as to escape injury. Were there four
blades, the screw would be almost certain to be broken when-
ever a landing was effected. The windlass which turns the screw
is worked by four, or, if necessary, eight men, in a similar manner
to the steering wheel of a ship — only the wheel is placed parallel
to the axis of the car, instead of at right angles to it, in order to
lessen the rolling occasioned by the movements of the men working
the windlass. The material of which the envelope of the balloon
is composed is white silk, weighing 52 grammes, not quite 2 oz.
to the square metre, and a coarser lining weighing 40 grammes
the square metre, and seven coats of india-rubber, which together
weigh 180 grammes, a little over 6 oz. the square metre. Thus
the whole weight of the external web of the balloon is 272
grammes, about 9 oz. to the sjquare metre. In order to render
the web of the balloon totally impermeable to the hydrogen gas
with which it is inflated, the silk was painred over with a sort of
gelatinous compound, invented by M. Dupuy de L6me. The
total weight of the two balloons when ready to start was 570
kilogrammes, or ra»her more than half a ton. The web of the
balloon was reckoned to be capable of supporting a pressure
of over 2,000 pounds to the square yard. I nave mentioned the
smaller balloon ; this is, more correctly speaking, only a division
as it were of the larger balloon. It is formed by means of an
inner skin, separating the bottom of the balloon from the rest.
This compartment occupies about one-tenth of the whole cuIhc
space of tne balloon, and serves to keep it stifi^ and of the re-
quired shape. By these means M. Dupuy de L6me has attained
the two ends he proposed to himself, viz., first, permanence in
the shape of the balloon ; and, secondly, he has been able to
give the whole apparatus an axis decidedly parallel to that of the
force of propulsion.
Having thus endeavoured to give some account of the new
aerial navigator — no easy matter without diagrams — ^it only re-
mains for us to say a few words about M. Dupuy de L6me*9
first experimental trip. There was half a gale of wmd blowing
at the time he started, and the screw had t^en slightly damaged.
The spirited inventor did not hesitate, however, to make his
contemplated ascent. The end justified his confidence ; for not
only was he able to land near Noyon, in the Department of the
Oise, some seventy miles north-east of Paris, but his balloon
more than answered his expectations. The screw, when worked
by four men, drove the balloon eight kilometres (about five miles)
an hour quicker than the rate at which the wind was Idowing ;
so that M. Dupuy de Lome not only "went like the wind," but
actually went faster than the wind. By the use of the rudder
the course of the balloon could be altered eleven degrees either
way from the set of the wind, making a total deviation of twenty-
two degrees. This is, of course, the greatest and most noteworthy
result obtained bv the new aerial machine. It may possibly be
asked, What is the use of the screw when the wind carries your
balloon at the rate of fifty-four kilometres, or nearly forty miles
an hour? The answer is, that without the screw the rudder
would be of little or no use. £very one knows that a ship with-
out way on her steerage-way, as it is called, is nearly impossible
to steer. And a balloon which has not, like a ship, a second
element for the rudder to work on, is still more at the mercy of
the wind. The next question is whether the screw cannot be
turned by steam instead of by manual labour. But fire and
hydrogen gas are bad neighbours, and the introduction of a steam-
engine into the car — although it was hazarded some twenty years
ago by one of our countrymen, Mr. Henry Giffard— would expose
the aeronauts to the dangers of an explosion, followed by a descent
to the earth, doubling in rapidity every sixteen feet, in accord-
ance with the law of gravitation. Even with a steam-engine on
board, there does not seem much cause to fear the " oizy navies *'
of the inventor of ironclad ships just at present
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Feb. 22, 1872]
NATURE
335
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Linnean Society, February 15. — Mr. G. Bentham, F.R.S.,
president, in the chair. — Prof. Wyville Thomson, F.R.S., Prof.
AUman, F.R.S., and Prof. W. T. ThiseltonDyer were elected
Fellows. — "On the Habits, Structure, and Relations of the
Three-bsmded Armadillo," by Dr. J. Murie. This animal b
distinguished from the other members of the order Edentata by
its habit of roUinjg itself into a ball like a hedgehog. The three
bands act as hmges, by means of which this rolling-up is
effected. It is also i>eculiar in walking on the points of its toes,
instead of, like other armadillos, on the whole foot It may be
considered as a connecting link from the armadillo to the extinct
glyptodon, and thence to the megatherium, and so on to the
padiyderms. — " On a Chinese Artichoke-Gall," by A. MiiUer.
— "Comparative Geographical Distribution of Butterflies and
Birds," by W. F. ICirby. The total number of species of birds
is stated by Dr. Sclater as 7,500, and that of butterflies is about
7,700, showing a remarkable closeness. If the surface of the
globe is mark^ off into the divisions proposed by Dr. Sclater,
we find in the Palaearctic region (Northern Europe and Asia),
including about 14,000,000 square miles, 630 species of butter-
flies and 630 of birds ; in the Indian region, including Asia south
of the Himalayas, about 1,200 butterflies and 1,500 birds ; in the
Australian region 725 butterflies and 1,000 birds ; in the Nearctic
or North American region, 480 butterflies and 660 birds ; in the
Neotropical or South American re^^ion, 4,200 butterflies and
2,250 birds ; thus, in five divisions £ere is a preponderance of
birds, which is balanced by a very large excess of^ butterflies in
the sixth r^on. — An interesting discussion followed, in which
Mr. A. R. Wallace, Mr. Sharpe, Mr. Stainton, and others took
part, and it was shown that if Dr. Gray's estimate of the number
of species of birds is taken, viz., 10,000, which is no doubt more
correct than Dr. Sclater's, the apparent parallelism vanishes ;
that in limited districts, as the British Isles, there is no resem-
blance between the number of butterflies and of birds ; that in
Mr. Kirby's paper no reference is made to the number of birds
in each region that are migratory, a most important consideration ;
and that the conditions of the natural features of the country, as
the prevalence of forests, may be favourable to the abundance of
insects, and unfavourable to that of birds.
Chemical Society, February 15. — Dr. Frankland, F.R.S.,
president, in the chair. — Prof. Roscoe, F.R.S., gave an account
of some of his recent researches on the element tungsten, under
the title "On the study of some tungsten compounds." The
author, after giving a short resumi of the labours of other
chemists on those compounds of tungsten which he had been
investigating, proceeded to describe their properties, and the
methods of preparation he had employed to obtain them. As
the result of his labours he has definitely settled that the metal
tungsten is a monad element with the atomic weight 184, and
has also showed the cause of the error of the French chemist
Persoz, who assigned 153 as the atomic weight A collection of
very fine specimens of tungsten compounds was exhibited by the
Professor.
Royal Geographical Society, February 12. — Sir H. C
Rawlinson, K.C.B., president, in the chair. The President an-
nounced that the expedition for the search and relief of Dr.
Livingstone left England on Friday last, and was at that moment
pro^^ly crossing the Bay of Biscay en route for Zanzibar. The
subscriptions from all sources, including the balance of the
Government grant lying at Zanzibar, amounted to nearly 5,000/.
Of this sum about 2,8<X3/. vrill have been expended by the time
the expedition leaves Zanzibar for the interior ; the remainder
would be ^held in reserve for contingencies verv likely to occur.
He read dso to the meeting a letter firom Earl Granville to the
Sultan of Zanzibar, stating the great interest the Government and
people of England took m Dr. Livingstone, and recommending
the expedition organised by the Royal Geographical Society of
England to his Highness s good offices ; and another to Dr.
Kinc, Acting Consul at Zanzibar, authorising him to apply 654A,
the balance of tbe| Treasury giant of 1870, to the purposes of
the expedition. So far everything connected with the expedition
bad been most satisfactorily and expeditiously carried out ; and
a message ordering the preparation of escort and porters at Zan-
zibar, sent as far as Aden by telegraph, would reach Zanzibar in
the unprecedentedly quick space of fourteen days. Letters had
been received fxooL Dr. Kirk of so recent a date as Dec x6, and
they informed us that no news whatever had been received since
September from the interior, but that the war between the Arabs
and the people of Un3ramwezi would be continued. This would
necessitate the adoption of an entirely new route by the expedi-
tion now on its way. — Letters were then read concerning Sir
Samuel Baker's exp«iition. The President stated that he had
received from the Prince of Wales the original letters of Sir
Samuel, copies of which his Royal Highness had sent to the
Times, A letter, three days later in date, contained the news
that a fertile portion of the Bari territory beyond Gondokoro had
been acquired, and that Lieut Baker would have charge of the
steamer for the navigation of Lake Albert Nyanza. — A paper
was then read by Sir Harry Parkes (British Minister at Japan),
entitled "Captain Blakiston*s Journey roimd the Island of
Yezo." Sir Harry explained that his office with regard to the
paper was that of reducing into readable bulk the voluminous
journals which Captain Blakiston had conmiunicated through
him to the Society, and of adding some necessary explanations.
Yezo was the northernmost island of Japan, laiger by 3,000
square miles than Ireland, and rising in importance from its
position and its great fertilitv and mineral wealth. Captain Bla-
kiston, the well-known explorer of the Yang-tsze-Kiang^ since
resident in Hakodadi in the south of Yezo, had enjoyed the
peculiar advantage of travelling with the privileges of a Japanese
official He went by sea to Akis Bay, on the south-east coast,
and thence by land almost entirely along the sea coast (the in-
terior being without roads or Japanese settlements) round the
island to Hakodadi. The native inhabitants are the singular
isolated people called Hairy-men, or " Ainos," a robust race,
apparently of Aryan extraction, and nearest allied to certain sec-
tions of Sclavonians, distinguished by the thick growth of hair on
the body, as well as head and beard.
Photographic Society, February 13. — The officers and
council for the ensuing year were elected, and the accounts of the
society explained by the treasurer, who reported the society free
from debt and with a satbfactory balance in hand. The report
of the council was read and adopted. — Dr. Anthony read a paper
"On various modes of Plate-cleaning." He stated that his ex-
perience went to show that the employment of cyanide of potas-
sium was better than any other agent for the purpose, the plates
being treated for a very brief period in the cyanide solution and
then washed in water. He foond mechanical methods generally
rendered the bath unclean, and for this reason also deprecated the
application to the glass plate of an albumen substratum. The
specimens of Niepce de St Victor were exhibited.
Edinburgh
Royal Society, February 19.— Sir Alexander Grant, Bart,
vice-president, in the chair. — 1. "Remarks on Contact-Electri-
city," by Sir William Thomson. 2. "On the Curves of the
Genital Passage as regulating the movements of the Foetus under
the influence of the Resultant of the Forces of Parturition," by
Dr,« J. Matthews Duncan. 3. " On a Method of Measuring the
Explosive Power of Gaseous Combinations," by James Dewar.
4. " Note on Modification of Sprengel's Mercurial Air-Pump,"
by James Dewar. 5. Prof. Alexander Dickson exhibited a series
of Abnormal Fir Cones, with remarks.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, February 12.— MM. Delaunay and
Serret protested against the insertion in the Comptes Rendus of a
note by M. Renou relating to asserted inaccuraaes in the publi-
cations of the Paris Observatory. — The controversy on fermenta-
tion and heterogeny was continued by M. Pasteur reading a reply
to M. Fremy, and M. Chevreul a communication on the history
of ferments after Van Helmont M. Engel also presented a mor-
phological investigation of the various kinds of alcoholic ferments,
which he describes as forming two genera, Sac€haromyces{}fit.ytXL)
with seven species, and Carpotymaigen. mrv.) with one species.
The characters of these forms were illustrated with outline
figures.— M. Bertrand presented the solution of an arithmetical
question by M. Bougaev ; M. Serret a note by M. E. Combescure
on some points in the inverse differential calculus ; and a note by
M. A. Mannheim on the determination of the geometrical con-
nection which exists between the elements of the curvature of
the surface of the princi{>al ceutres of curvature of a given
suriace. — M. de Saint- Venant presented an elaborate report upon
a memoir by M. Kleitz, entitled, " Researches upon the molecu-
lar forces in liquids in motion, and their appUcation to hydro-
dynamics. "— M. de Pambour read a note on the theory of hydraulic
L/iyiii^cvj kjy
joogle
336
NATURE
[Fed. 23, 1872
wheels, relating to the reaction- wheel — M. Saint- Venant com-
municated a note by M. Boossinesq on the equation of the partial
derivatives of the velocities in a homogeneous and ductile solid
undergoing deformation parallel to a plane. — M. Serret presented
a note by M. de Tastes m reply to a recent note by M. Ciotti on
the employment of vibrating elastic plates as a means of
propulsion. M. de Tastes stated that the elastic plate propeller
is his invention, communicated by him to M. £. Ciotti. — M.
E. Dubois presented a reply to M. Ledieu's objections to
the employment of the marine gyroscope. — M. Delaunay pre-
sented a note by M. C. Wolf on the reflecting power of mirrors of
silvered glass, and their application to astronomical purposes. — A
note by M. D. Genez on the absorption-bands produced in the
spectrum by solutions of hyponitrous, hypochlorous, and chlorous
acids, was communicated by M. H Sainte-Claire Deville. — A
note by M. Baudrimont on the recent experiments of M. Poey
with regard to the influence of violet light upon vegetation was
read, in which the author stated that he had arrived at totally
different results, having found that violet light was fatal to vege-
tation. — A great number of communications from all parts of
France, and also from Belgium, Switzerland, and Algeria,
relating to the aurora of February 4, were laid before the
Academy; they included notices of magnetic disturbances
observed in the telegraphic lines. — M. Delaunay presented a
paper by M. £. Stephan containing a list of nebulae discovered
and observed at the Observatory of Marseilles. — M. E. Vicaire
read a reply to Father Secchi's observations on the temperature
of the solar surface. — Some remarks were read by M. Harting
on the saccharine matter observed by M. Boussingault on lime
trees, which he ascribed to the action of aphides in accordance
with the commonlv received opinion. He stated that the saccha-
rine secretion produced by those insects consists in great part of
cane sugar. M. Boussingault .in reply said that in the case
observed by him the sacclmrine exudation appeared before the
aphides, and that it contained cane-sugar, grape-sugar, and
dextrine. — M. Le Verrier also read an extract of a letter from M.
FoUie on this subject. — M. Bussy presented a report upon a
memoir by M. Louvel, describing a process for preserving grain
in vacuo. The author suggested storing grain in air-tight grana-
ries, in which a partial vacuum may be produced by a powerful
air pump ; he described the construction of the apparatus, and
stated that a granary such as he proposed of the capacity of ten
cubic metres (about 370 cubic feet) and containing 100 hectolitres
of wheat would cost 750 francs. He stated that by this process
the ravages of insects are effectually stopped.
BOOKS RECBIVBD
£NCLiSH.*The Ong}n of Species, 6th edition : C. Darwin (Momy).^
TFansactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeolocy, Vol. i.. Part i. (Long-
mans).—Index of Spectra : W. M. Watts (H. Gillman).— Recollections of
Past Life : Sir H. UoUaad (Longmans).-^New Theory of the Figure of the
£arth : W. Ugilby (Longmans).
PAMPHLETS RECEIVED
fiNCLlSM.-^Ei^hth Annual Report of the Belfast Naturalists' Fi«ld Qub
for X87Z. — Italy in England.— Five Speeches on the Liquor Traffic : G. O.
Trevelyan —Description of a new Anemometer: J. E H. Gordon.— Psychic
Force and Modem Spirituai*sm: W. Crookes.— On the Mechanism of
Accommodation for Near and Distant Vision : Dr. R E. DuHg^eon. — Address
of Thos. Hawkesley on his Eleaion as President of the Institution of Civil
Engineers. —The Reflecting Media of the Atmosphere a Natural Law ; J.
Shaw.— Preliminary Report of the Scientific Exploration of the Deep Sea in
H.M. surveying vessel Porcuj^ine.-^Rmrt of tne Ladies' National Associa-
tion for the Repeal of the Osntagious Diseases Act.— Contributions to the
Flora of Berkshire : Jas. Britten.— A Grave Question for Englishwomen.—
What is the shape of the Earth : Scaevola. —On the Elevatioa of Mountains
by Lateral Pressure ; Rev. O. Fisher.— Meteorology of West Cornwall and
SciUy, 187 X.— Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute. Jan. 187a.— On
Teaching Universities and Examining Boards.— Child s Public Ledger
Almans^ 1872. — Every Saturday, No. t. — Pauperism and Crime : Rob -rt
Hill — rhe Mining Magaane and Review, No. 3. — The Quarterly Journal
of Education, Jan. 1872.- Righthindedness : D. Wilson. — Address at
the Anniversary Meeting of the Entomological Society : A. R. Wallace. —
Proceedings of the Geologist's Association, Oct x 871.— Hie National Church,
No. I.— The Scottish Naturalist, Na 5.
Amkkican and Colonial.— Lippintott's Magazine for Tan. X872.— Aus-
tralian Vertebrata, Fossil and Recent Mammals : G. Kreffu- Catalogue of
the Meteoric Colleaion of C. U. Shepard.— Proceedings of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal, 1871, Nos. xo, xx. — ^Appleton's Joumalt No. 14^.— Proceedings of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. April-Sept. 1871.— A
Letter omceminff the Deep-Sea Dredging, addressed to Prof. B. Petroe by
L. Agdssiz.— Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior for the year
ending Oct. 1871.- Report on the Geoliigiwal Structure of Prince Edward's
Island : Prof. Dawion.— Nitro-Glycerine, as used in the Con^traction of the
Hoosac Tunnel : G. Mowbray.— Cruise of the School-ship Mercury in the
tropical Atlantic Ocean.— Correspondenoe relative to Dccp-Sea Dxcdging.—
The Indian Antiquary. No z : Edited by Jas. Burgess.— Monthly Notices
of the Meteorological Society of Mauriuus.— The School Laboratory of
Physical Science, Nos. 3 and 4 : G. Hinrichs.
Foreign.— La Bdgique Horticole, Dec 1871-Feb. X873.— Bulletin de
I'Acad^mie Royale des Sciences de Belgique, No. xi, 1871.— Verhandlungcn
der k. k. geologischen Reichsanstalt «i Wien, No. 16, and No. i, 1872. —
Anzeigen der k. Akademie der Wiss. math -naturforsch. CUss«*, 1871, No. t-
29.- Bulletinde la Soci6tfe d'AnthropoIogie de Paris, June and July, 1870 —
Sitzuugsberichte Ijsis in Dresden. July-Sept. 1871.- Die geographisch ax
Verbrettung der 0>nifercn u. Gnetaceen : R. Brown. — Zeitschrift fdr Ethno-
lojie. Heft a.— [oumal general de rimprimerie. — N^oticc sur Sir |. F. W.
Herichei : Ad Quetelet. — Jahrbuch der k k. geologischen Reichsanstalt zu
Wie.i — Memoire delia Soaeu dei spectroscopisti Italiani, No. t. - Un exp^
rience relative k la question de vapeur visiculaire : ^ F. Plateau. — Rctherches
expcrimentales sur la poiition da centre de gravite chez les insectes : F.
Plateau. — ^Annali di (^mica, No. x, 1872.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Fbbruary 22.
Royal Socibty, at 8,30.— On a New Hygrometer : W. Whitehouse.-'Oa
the Contact of Surfaces: W. Spottiswoode.
Socibty op Antiquaribs, at 8.3a— The Roman Villa at Holcombe : Capt.
Swann, F.S.A.— The Ku-kham Chantry, Paignton, Devon : Sir W. Tite.
London Institution, at 7.30 — On South Africa and its Diamo id Fields :
Prof. T. R. Joncj, F.G.S.
FRIDAY, Fbbruary aj.
Royal Institution, at 9— On Sxual Influencs of Mjiic : Mr. H. Leslie.
QuBKBTT Microscopical Club, at 8.
SATURDAY, Fbbruary ««.
Royal Institution, at 3.^0x1 the Theatre in Shakespeire's Tims : Wm.
B. Donne.
SUNDAY, Fbbruary 25.
Sunday Lbcturb Socibty, at 4.^0n the Education of Women: Mrs.
Fawcett.
MONDAY, Fbbruary a6.
Gbocraphical Socibty, at 8.30.
London Institution, at 4. —Elementary C^miitry : Prof. Odling, F.RS.
TUESDAY, Fbbruary 27.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Circulatory and Nervous Systems : Dr.
Rutherford.
WEDNESDAY, Fbbruary 38.
Socibty op Arts, at 8.30.
THURSDAY, February 29
Royal Socibty, at 8. 3*.
SociSTY OP Antiquaribs, at 8.30.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali
Manufacture ; Prof Odling, F.R.S.
CONTENTS Pag.
Thr Rock Thsrmombtbrs at thb Royal Odsbrvatory, Edin-
burgh. By Prof. C. PfAZZi Smvth, F.R.S 3x7
Darwin's Origin op Spbcibs. By Alprbo W. Bbnnbtt, F.L.S. . . 318
Maxwbll ON Urat. By Prof. B. Stbwart, F.R.S 3*9
Our Book Shblp 320
Lbttbrs to thb Editor: —
A Zoological Sution at Torquay.— W. Pbngbllv, F.R.S. . . . 320
The Chicago University— Edwin DuNKiN. F.R A. S 320
Composition of Vibrations— Sedlby Taylor j'c
Eclipse Photography.— H. Davis 321
Tidal Friction accoitling to Thomson and Tait. ( lYith Diagram) . 3^1
Cifxnimpolar Lands. — G. Hamilto.n jzt
The Spheroidal State of Water.— NV. H. Prbecb 3*1
The American Eclipse Expedition. — Prof. H. Morton . . . . 322
Mr. Spencer and the Dissipation of Energy. — W. Smyth . . . 32a
Thb Aurora op February 4. Bv J. P. Earwakbr 322
Rbpbrbnce Spectrum por the Cmiep Aurora Line. By Prof C
PiAZZi Smyth, F.R.S 334
American Debp-Sea Soundings 324
The Recent Aurora, and a New Form op Declinometer. By
J. T. BorTOMLEY. {If^ith DLi^rams.) 326
Theorbll's Printing Meteorograph. []Vith lUuttration) By
J. J. Hall 327
On Slbep. By Prof. Humphry, F.R-S 32^
Notice op the Addrrss op Prop. T. Stbrry Hunt before thb
American Association at Indianapous. By Prop. J. D. Dana. 329
NOTBS 33t
Aerial Navigation in France 334
SociBTtBS and Academies 335
Books and Pamphlets Rbceiybd •336
Diary 336
NOTICE
We hav€ received a leUeriigntii ** ^.," which toe hold over till
informed {in confidence^ of the name and address of the writer.
Anonymous communications can in noci^e rocehfc attention,
..yitized by Google
NATURE
337
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1872
SCIENCE STATIONS
WE shall not be far wrong, we imagine, in supposing
that the article by Dr. Dohm in a recent number
of Nature on *^ Zoological Stations " has attracted con-
siderable attention among thoughtful men. We may,
indeed, congratulate zoologists that so important a task has
been taken in hand by one in every way so well fitted to
accomplish it ; and it will gratify our readers to learn that
the cheery energy and bright enthusiasm of the German
anatomist is fast overcoming the obstacles which his
scheme naturally met with in the indolent city of the
South, whose lands are so rich in classic ruins, and seas
so full of Darwin-speaking embryos. At the risk of spoil-
ing a good work we venture to add to his remarks some
further suggestions, confining ourselves, however, to one
or two points^
In the first place, we will be bold enough to express the
doubt whether it will be advisable to separate so entirely,
as Dr. Dohm recommends, the stations in England from
the work of teaching. The establishment of such stations
will be rendered infinitely easier if they can in any way be
made self-supporting. Dr. Dohm hopes, if we under-
stand him rightly, to pay the expenses of the Naples
station out of the fees of the Gentile sightseers, who will
be allowed to stroll about in the outer court of his embryo-
logical tempU. There can be no such hope for any like
English temple. Yet a very considerable share of the
necessary funds might without difficulty be raised, and a
Philistine British public might be made to believe that it
was getting its money's worth for its money, if the work
of teaching, which is palpable, which may be mea-
sured and valued, and for which a receipt in full may
be given, were to go on hand in hand with the immeasur-
able and invaluable work of original inquiry. There would
thus naturally grow up around the station a school of sound
zoology ; otherwise there would be great danger of its be-
coming a resort of SLmbitious privat-docsn/s anxious chiefly
to find a notochord where nobody had found it before, or
a home of some narrow zoological clique.
Much might be said for the establishment somewhere
on our British coasts of such a school of zoology on
the theory of a geographical distribution of scholar-
ship, and the existence of particular habitats best suited
for particular branches of learning. Sufficient founda-
tions for such a theory are at hand. It is easy to
understand why Edinburgh, with her sea close by, has
raised so many brilliant zoologists. We can see why
Manchester in the past and in the present has done so
much for chemistry. And, to look at the matter from
another point of view, one gets a glimpse of the reason
why high mathematics flourish at Cambridge, when one
gazes at her fenny flats, where, if the conception of three
dimensions be once reached, that of four is soon gained,
and feels the fogs and mists which wash out of the mind
everything that is not held fast by formulae. The natural
habitat for an English school of zoology is surely some
bright spot on our southern coast &
Nor need such an institution necessarily have an in-
VOL. V.
dependent isolated existence. There is too great a want
of community in our English Universities and Colleges
especially in matters of natural science. There is one
zoology at Oxford, another at Cambridge, another at
Jermyn Street, and these three have miserably little
dealings with one another. What immeasurable good
would a place of higher teaching do, where for a season,
or for a term, the zoological students of all the Universi-
ties might mingle together with mutual difTusion of ideas I *
The mere opportunity of material would be a great thing :
the Cambridge student would lift his ideas above the line
of beautifully prepared vertebrate skeletons, the Oxford
man would benefit by the change of diet from Anodon
and Astacus, and the London man would learn to see
actual things instead of reading about them in books.
But the greatest thing of all would be the catholic en-
thusiasm for biological leaming, which such an institution
could not fail to generate and foster.
Another remark which we would wish to make takes on
somewhat the shape of a complaint against Dr. Dohm,
that he has confined to one science ideas which should
properly belong to all the sciences of observation. It is
well to have a Biological station, but it is far better to
have a station at once Biological, Astronomical, and
Meteorological Let us imitate Dr. Dohm in giving our
views a concrete form. The eclipse party on their outward ,
and even on their homeward voyage, cannot fail to have
been struck with the bright clear air of the North Red Sea.
There is the very land of observation. It is impossible
for any one with a fragment of a mind within him to
sojourn on those delightful shores, where the eye re-
joices in its power, where the air helps vision instead of
hindering it, where the water is as clear and transparent
as the air elsewhere, without the desire springing up to be
a naturalist by day and an astronomer by night. And
this blessed region is now little better than a week's
journey from the fogs of London. Nothing could be
easier than to establish at no great expense a Science
Station at some spot on the shores of the Red Sea, a
little south of Suez. Suez itself is for many reasons
tmdesirable, but the little village of Tor suggests
itself as being a very suitable neighbourhood. There
would be comparatively little difficulty in getting supplies,
or in going and coming to and fro. The naturalist, the
astronomer, the meteorologist, with the Palestine explorer
as an occasional helpmeet, might spend here a winter, or
rather many winters, in which pleasure and profit would
be ranning a hard race together.
We cannot help thinking that such an idea has only to
be mooted to be at once caught up and set in action.
The outlay of the initial building and arrangements need
not be heavy, while the yearly expenditure might be kept
within comparatively narrow limits. Such an undertak-
ing is one which Government might justly take in hand,
but it is also one which private liberality might largely
aid, and to which contributions might come from the
funds of our ancient seats of leaming. In any case we
fairly think it is matter deserving serious attention, and
as such we leave it to our readers.
* It b impouible in a short article to develope a complete scheme ; we
might indicate our ideas, however, by suggesting that the right to study for
one or more terms in the station mignt be granted as a sort of scholarsmp to
promising biological students selected from all our great trarhing institutions.
L/iyiLi^cvj uy
T
338
NATURE
[Feb. 29, 1872
BURTON'S ZANZIBAR
Zanzibar: City, Island^ and Coast By Richard F.
Burton. In 2 vols. (London : J. Murray, 1872.)
IN these two bulky volumes Captain Burton gives us,
after a lapse of thirteen to sixteen years, a narrative
of his adventures and explorations in the island of
Zanzibar, the neighbouring smaller islands, the adjacent
coast of the mainland, and the Highlands of Eastern
Africa intervening between the coast and the great Victoria
N'yanza, the publication having been delayed by a series of
remarkable accidents. As in everything else that Captain
Burton has written, the volumes are full of graphic delinea-
tions of the natural features and inhabitants of the country,
combined with not a few details of a personal character
which have not the same interest for the general reader.
In 1856 Captain Burton laid before the Royal Geo-
graphical Society his desire once more to explore
Equatorial Africa ; a committee was formed to assist him
in his undertaking, a grant of 1,000/. was obtained from
Lord Clarendon, then Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, and on September i6th the enterprising tra-
veller received formal permission, "in compliance with
the request of the Royal Geographical Society, to be
absent from duty as a regimental officer under the
patronage of Her Majesty's Government, to be despatched
into Equatorial Africa, for a period not exceeding two
years, calculated from the date of departure from Bombay,
upon the pay and allowances of his rank.'' On December
26th in that year he landed at Zanzibar, the first view of
which is thus attractively described : —
" Earth, sea, and sky, all seemed wrapped in a soft and
sensuous repose, in the tranquil life of the Lotos-eaters,
in the swoon-like slumber of the Seven Sleepers, in the
dreams of the Castle of Indolence. The sea of purest
sapphire, which had not parted with its blue rays to the
atmosphere — a frequent appearance near the equator —
lay basking, lazy as the tropical man, under a blaze of
sunshine which touched every object with a dull burnish
of gold. The wave had hardly energy enough to dandle
us, or to cream with snowy foam the yellow sandstrip
which separated it from the underwood of dark metallic
green. The breath of the ocean would hardly take the
trouble to ruffle the fronds of the palm, which sprang like
a living column, graceful and luxuriant, high above its
subject growths. The bell-shaped convolvulus {Ipomaea
maritima), supported by its juicy bed of greenery, had
opened its pink eyes to the light of day, but was languidly
closinp^ them, as though gazing on the face of heaven were
too much exertion. The island itself seemed over-indolent
and unwilling to rise ; it showed no trace of mountain or
crag, but all was voluptuous with gentle swellings, with
the rounded contours of the girl-n egress, and the brown-
red tintage of its warm skin showed through its gauzy
attire of green. And over all bent lovingly a dome of
glowing azure, reflecting its splendours upon the nether
world, whilst every feature was hazy and mellow, as if
viewed through * woven air,' and not through vulgar
atmosphere."
A residence, however, of some months in the island by
no means established the impression which its first ap-
pearance might convey, of its being a terrestrial paradise.
The city of Zanzibar itself is a miserable, ill-built place,
foetid and unhealthy ; while the personal appearance and
habits of the natives are repulsive in the extreme. The
climate is remarkably uniform as to temperature, the
result of nine months' observation showing a range of
18^ — 19*' F. only. The mediimi temperature of January
is 83-5° ; of February, the hottest month in the year, about
85° ; and the mean gradually declines till July, the coolest
month, yf. The mean average of the year is between
79° and 80°. The barometer is almost uniformly sluggish
and quiescent, a few tenths above or below 30 iiL repre-
senting the maximum variation, even under the influence
of a tornado. Uniform, however, as is the temperature, the
degree of humidity of the atmosphere varies excessively.
At certain seasons the amount of moisture exceeds that
of the dampest parts of India, and the annual rain-fall is
in some years double that of Bombay, varying from icx>
to 167 inches. The Msika, or principal rainy season)
lasts from April to June ; the island is enveloped in a blue
mist, and the interior becomes a hot-bed of disease ; the
hair and skin are dank and sodden ; shoes exposed to the
air soon fall to pieces ; paper runs and furniture sweats ;
the houses leak ; books and papers are pasted together ;
ink is covered with green fur ; linens and cottons grow
mouldy ; and broadcloths stiffen and become boardy.
This excess of damp is occasionally varied by the extreme
of dryness. During the prevalence of the dry wind cotton
cloth feels hard and crisp, books and papers curl up and
crack, and even the water is cooled by the excessive evapo-
ration. Earthquakes are all but unknown in Zanzibar, a
single shock being recorded as having been felt in 1846.
Tornadoes are frequent, but the cyclones and hurricanes
of the East Indian islands rarely extend to this coast
During fourteen years there was but one tourbiUoa stiong
enough to uproot a cocoa-nut tree.
The prosperity of Zanzibar depends almost entirely on
its vegetable productions, and chiefly on the cocoa-nut and
the clove. The former supplies the natives with nearly all
their wants — food, wine, spirit, cords, mats, strainers,
tinder, firewood, timber for houses and palings, boats and
sails; and Captain Burton calculates that in 1856
12,000,000 nuts were exported for the soap and candle
trades. The sugar-cane might be grown to great advant-
age, but for the constitutional indolence of the inhabitants.
Cotton has been tried, but does not thrive ; and coffee has
not been cultivated to any extent The fruits in greatest
request by the islanders are the mango, the orange, the
banana or plantain, the pine-apple, and the bread-fruit —
all, however, with the exception of the banana and an
inferior kind of orange, being introduced exotics ; the
pine-apple has become perfectly naturalised. The most
important production of the island is the clove, which does
not, however, produce crops comparable to those of the
East Indies either in quantity or quality, owing to want
of skill and intelligence in its cultivation. The copal of
commerce is obtained chiefly from the neighbourhood of
Saadani,on the opposite coast of the mainland ; and Cap-
tain Burton entirely confirms the account of its production
already communicated to the Linnean Society by Dr.
Kirk, that it is a gum, or resin, exuding from wounds in
the stem of a small tree or large shrub (Hymencea verni'
cosa) belonging to the order Leguminosae.
Captain Burton's first expedition from Zanzibar was to
the smaller island of Pemba, lying to the north, and thence
to Mombasah, on the coast 4'' south of the line, the capital
of Northern Zanzibar, the best harbour on the Zanzibar
coast, land-locked by coral islands. The town itself is
built on the largest of these islands, where the climate is
oogle
L/iyiiiiLcv-i kjy
Feb. 29, 1872]
NATURE
339
hotter, drier, and healthier than that of Zanzibar. Here
he did not attempt to strike inland, the weather and the
hostility of the native tribes being unfavourable, but re-
turned along the coast southwards to Pangani, and
thence inland to Fuga,the capital ** city "of Usambara,
in the Highlands of Eastern Africa. In order to
gain a complete knowledge of the Zanzibar coast, he also
paid a visit to the island and port of Kilwa, situated be-
neath the ninth degree of south latitude. Here are the
remains of an ancient town of considerable size, with
respect to which many legends are current among the
natives ; but the gradual sinking of the coast has rendered
the ancient site uninhabitable. Although at the present
time a miserable and foetid collection of squalid huts,
Kilwawas found in 1500 by the Portuguese a town of
great prosperity, the capital of Southern Zanzibar, and
ruling the coast as far as Mozambique and Sofala ; but
the curses of European wars and the slave-trade have
desolated the once thriving country. Captain Burton does
not think very highly of the so-called *'free labour"
system, which he terms *' the latest and most civilised
form of slavery in East and West Africa."
The most important expedition made by Captain
Burton was, however, that undertaken between 1857 and
1859 to Kazehin the Ukimbu district, upwards of 500 miles
from the coast, and about 2** south of the southern shore
of the great Victoria N'yanza, in company with Captain
Speke. But as this journey has already been illus-
trated in his own '' Lake Regions of Central Africa," and
the country has been further described by Colonel Grant
and Captain Speke, he does not again enter into details
respecting it; but thus sums up what he considers its
geographical results : — '' That the Boringo is a lake dis-
tinct from the 'Victoria N'yanza' with a northern efRuent
the Nyarus, and therefore it is fresh water; that the
N'yanza, Ukara, Ukerewe, Garawa, or Bahari y a Pili, is
a long narrow formation, perhaps thirty miles broad, and
240 miles in circumference, and possibly drained to the
Nile by a navigable channel ; that the N'yanza is a waterj
possibly a swamp, but evidently distinct from the two
mentioned above, flooding the lands to the south, showing
no signs of depth, and swelling during the low season of
the Nile, and viu versdj and that the northern and
north-western portions of the so-called ' Victoria N'yanza '
must be divided into three independent broads or lakes,
one of them marshy, reed-margined, and probably shallow,
in order to account for the three effluents within a little
more than sixty miles."
The botanical results of this journey are about to be
illustrated by Colonel Grant, in a magnificent volume,
to be published by the Linnean Society, which it is un-
derstood will be illustrated by 600 plates, the cost of
which will be defrayed entirely by the gallant author.
One chapter is devoted to a sketch of the labours of
Captain Burton's old comrade. Captain Speke. Though
tribute is here paid to his many excellent qualities, we
regret to be again introduced to the details of the
estrangement which grew up between the explorers,
culminating at the meeting of the British Association
at Bath, when the two companions in arms met as
strangers, advocates of two rival "Nile-theories,"
as to the origin of the Father of rivers.
In the Appendices, Captain Burton gives some useful
details of the meteorology, commerce, &c., of Zanzibar.
A well-executed map helps to illustrate the author's
journeys, without a constant reference to which the
narrative is by no means clear ; but we caimot commend
the style in which the woodcuts interspersed here and
there are executed.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Deschaners Natural Philosophy . By Prof. Everett Part
III., Electricity and Magnetism. (London and Edin-
burgh : Blackie and Son.)
In the Preface by the translator of the present volume, it
is said, with much truth, that " the accurate method of
treating electrical subjects, which has been established
in this cotmtry by Sir W. Thomson and his coadjutors,
has not yet been adopted in France ; and some of Fara-
day's electromagnetic work appears still to be very im-
perfectly appreciated by French writers." Accordingly
we find that the translator has added a considerable
amount of matter, and more especially two important
chapters, one on the electrical potential and lines of
electric force, and the other on electrometers, together
with an appendix on electrical and magnetic units. Dr.
Everett has thus considerably improved a book, which, in
its original form, was already a good one. The ordinary
branches of the subject are unfolded, the plates are good,
and the explanations are full and clear. The portion
devoted to magnetism is in this, as apparently in all such
general treatises on natural philosophy, considerably the
most defective part, and especially in the sections which
relate to terrestrisil magnetism. The whole of that
question is most insufficiently dealt witib. The treatment
of the secular changes in the magnetic elements is con-
fined to twelve lines,where it is said that '' declination and
dip vary greatly, not only from place to place, but from
time to time ; " but from which we should expect that the
unlearned reader would be led into the error tnat intensity
is uniform. Then, again, the vast subject of changes
in the elements, such as are not secular, is confined to one
short paragraph, headed " Magnetic Storms ^ \ The
intrinsic importance of the subject of terrestrial mag-
netism, and the great and increasing interest attaching to
it, no less than the extreme beauty of many of its in-
vestigations and results, entitle it to a much larger notice
than the very imperfect one in this volume. The chapter
on the Telegraph contains useful matter, and especially a
description of an autographic telegraph, an instrument
which, while interesting and ingenious, nas not often found
its way into such treatises. We miss such points as how
to find the locality of a fault in a telegraph wire, which we
might the more expect to see treated of when we consider
the full explanation which is given of Ohm's laws, and
when we see such elaborate details as to some telegraphic
instruments as are entered into in the chapter in question.
The chapters on the heating effects of currents, and on
electrolysis, are clear. The question of electromotive force,
and of the means of determining it, might have been
entered into more fully ; and, generally, from the character
of the chapter on the potential, we inight have expected
to see a little more introduced concerning points \i'hich
may be elucidated by the application of the principle of
the conservation of energy. James Stuart
Medisinische yahrbiicher^ herausgegeben von der k. k.
Gesellschaft der Arzte, redigirt von S. Strieker. Jahr-
gang 1871. Heft iv. Mit 4 Holzschnitten. (Wien :
1871.)
This part, which concludes the first volume of Strieker's
Jahrbuch, contains : (i) Researches on the Inoi^anic Con-
stituents of the Blood, by Adolph Jarisch. Jarisch gives
the details of an improved method by which Uood can be
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340
NATURE
\Feb. 29, 1872
collected from the vessels of a dog without the loss of any
of the water by evaporation^ whilst at the same time, being
frozen, it loses its disposition to coagulate, and when sub-
sequently thawed can be readily manipulated. The mean
of four analyses gave the following results : —
Phosphoric add anhydride . . • .0*1103
Sulphuric add anhydride . . . .0*0358
Chlorine 0*2805
Potash 00342
Soda 03748
lime o'oii2
Magnesia 0*0058
Oxide of iron 0*0948
Total ash found ' 08922
Calculated 08640
In Verdeil's treatise, the amount of ashes of fresh blood
is stated to be on the average 6*45 per cent. Jarisch points
out that this must be an error of the press, his own results
giving only 0864 per cent, a difference that is too great
to be regarded as an error of analysis. 2. An essay on
the Centres of Vascular Nerves, by Dr. Soboroff. In this
paper Dr. Soboroff shows from the results of experiments
performed on frogs that the nerves supplying the vessels
of the web of the foot proceed from the spinal cord, and
run into the sciatic nerve. 3. On the presence of Fungi in
the Blood of Healthy Men, by Adolph Lorstorfer. Lorstorfer
drew blood from the fingers of eleven people who considered
themselves in perfect health with every precaution to
avoid contamination with dirt, and examined the specimens
daily with a Hartnack microscope, ocular 3, objective 10.
During the first two days he observed nothing remarkable,
except in some cases a few scattered groups of small
granules. On the third day similar groups were always
foimd, though still scattered. The granules were of equal
size, considerably larger than those of the colourless
blood corpuscles, but without any definite arrangement.
On the fourth day they had increased in size, and were
arranged in groups of four, so as to resemble the well-
known Sarcina ventriculi. On the fifth day the granules
had slightly increased in number and size, but after this
date no change was observable up to the tenth day, when
the preparations became unserviceable. Lorstorfer thinks
his experiments render it probable that the germs of
Sarcina ventriculi exist in the blood as a natural condi-
tion. There are three other papers, but they are all of a
purely professional nature. One being by Hofmokl on
Resection of the Upper and Lower Jaw : one by Bress-
lauer on Typhus : and one by Popof! on Pneumonia.
H. P.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his corrapondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications. ]
Development of Barometric Depressions
I HAVE only just had my attention called to the critique on
"The Laws of the Winds prevailing in Western Europe," in
Nature of Jan. ix, which I have seen to>day for the first time.
Though it is now rather late to do so, I may perhaps be per-
mitted to point out some unintentional misrepresentadons of my
views into which the writer appears to me to have fallen.
He considers it improbable in the extreme that the course of
boric depressions should be regulated "by one law" in intra-
tropicaly and by " a totally distinct law " in extra-tropical regions
of the globe. I nointed out (pp. 40, 41) that in temperate
latitudes the general distribution of atmospheric pressure com-
monly tends to transfer local depressions in an eastward direc-
tion ; while the influence of predpttadon resulting from the mean
distribution of solar heat propa^tes them in the same direction.
Since the reversal of pressure-distribution which accompanies
polar periods only retards the eastward progression, I drew the
conclusion that, in temperate latitudes, the most important of the
two factors of the progression is the influence of precipitation,
and accordingly I devoted the first part of my work to this, with
the promise (which I hope shortly to redeem) that the motive
effect of the general pressure-distribution shall be described in
Part II. All this yoiu* reviewer ignores. Had I been engaged
in a discussion of the tropical cyclones, I should have proceeded
in an inverse order ; since the most important factor of their
westward progression appears to be the mechanical influence of
the distribution of surrounding pressures. It is, however, im-
portant to observe that as in temperate, so in tropical latitudes,
these two influences are conmioni^r coincident in direction. In
the West Indies, e.g. — at those periods when cyclones prevail —
mean temperatures are lower on the south, or left, than on the
north, or right, of their course; and a similar remark applies,
mutatis mutandis f to the typhoons of the Indian and China seas.
Briefly, my position is this. The influence of the general dis-
tribution of temperatures, and that of the general distribution of
pressures, may be practically regarded as two forces, A and B,
from which the progression of l(^al depressions results. Both of
these commonly act in the same direction — in temperate latitudes
producing eastward, and in tropical westward, progression. But
of these A is the preponderating influence in temperate, B in
tropical latitudes ; partly because the influence of precipitation
on the surface-currents increases with diminution of temperature,
and paitly because the currents resulting from the geneni distri-
bution of pressures are far more constant and of vastly greater
extent, in proportion to the extent of the cyclones, in tropical
than in temperate latitudes. I am convinced that the attempt to
simpUfy the rules which regulate the progression of depressions by
striking out either of these factors, or by the substitution of
J. K. L.'8 single law, will meet, as it h&s hitherto met, with
failure.
Your reviewer also ignores what I have said (pp. 28, 29) as
to the occurrence of heavy precipitadons unproductive of baric
depression, and thinks it necessary to travel to Khasia or to the
Himalayas to find illustrations of a truth which it was never in-
tended to deny. Every one conversant, as he considers me to
be, with the meteorology of Western Europe alone^ is aware that
heavy and extensive precipitation not uncommonly occurs with-
out producing retrograde circulation (and sometimes with gene-
rally increasing pressures), where antecedent atmospheric con-
ditions do not favour such developments. The reviewer concedes
that the immense precipitation in the Himalayas "probably
causes a very great barometric depression ; " a concession which
is not to be accepted, both because such a reference to antecedent
grobabiiities b inapplicable to empirical science, and because the
ict itself may be denied. But supposing this great Himalayan
depression to exist, and no retrograde circulation (as J. K. L.
maintains) to be developed around it, his discovery of a region
in which "Ballot's rules" are contravened, is indeed one of no
small importance.
Into the widie question of the influence of the earth's rotation
I will not here enter, further than to remark that the hitherto
admitted universality of the rules connecting the direction of all
atmospheric currents with the distribution of surrounding
pressures, and the variation of these rules in the two hemispheres,
appears to have been satisfactorily accounted for by attributing
it to the earth's rotation ; while it has never been, with much
plausibiUty, traced to any other cause or combination of causes.
Hereford, Feb. 17
W. Clement Lby
Zoological Nomenclature
In the President's address to the Entomological Society of
London recentiy given by Mr. Wallace, one of the points most
fully discussed is the rules of zoologicsd nomenclature. These
rules are undoubtedly of very considerable, though indirect, im-
portance to science, and it is not very satisfactory to find that
great divergence of opinion as to what these rules are^ or should
be, still prevails amongst recent describers and catalo^;uers.
Some years ago I was entrusted by the Entomological Society
with the task ol preparing a synonymical catalogue of the Cole-
optera of our islands, to be published under the auspices of the
Society ; my attention, therefore, has necessarily been directed
to the questions under discussion in this matter, and I will here
state the conclusions to which I have come.
1st That a conunittee to frame and publish laws on zoological
nomendatnre is not to be desired. Such committee would have
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Feb. 29, 1872J
NATURE
341
DO power whatever to enforce the laws it might make, and
could not be expected to put an end to discussion on these
points. The knot must be untied, not cut
2nd. That the binomial system of nomenclature should not
be arbitrarily considered to have commenced at any given date ;
but that recognisable names in all works in which this system is
methodically employed should be used according to the rule of
priority.
3rd. That it b not necessary to suppress a generic name in
zoology because it has been previously used in botany (or vice
versa); but that it is much to be regretted that any generic name
should thus be' 2h double use, and it should always be made
matter of reproach to an author that he has committed an act of
this nature.
4th. That names must be Latin to the extent that renders
them capable of being written or used in scientific Latin ; but
that classical emendations beyond this are entirely inadmissible ;
no line except this can be drawn between emendation, alteration,
and total suppression. The laws of classical languages have,
/er se, no more right over scientific nomenclature than has the
Hindoo language. As regards the much talked-of " Amphio-
nycha knownothing," it shotdd be latinised in the simplest man-
ner, as Amphionycka knownothinga ; and I would further suggest
that its barbarian author be well hissed whenever he ventures to
show his face in a scientific assembly.
5th. That as regards placing an author's name after a species,
the name so placed should always be that of the first describer
of the species ; not because he has any right in the matter, but
as an additional means of certainty, and as a security against
change.
6th. That the specific name is the name of an object, and
therefore a noun, and should be changed in gender, or any other
manner, when removed from one genus to another.
7th. That it is very undesirable to use the same specific name
in two closely-allied genera ; but that where this has been done
already no alteration should be made till the two names actually
come into collision on account of the two genera being united as
one genus. Surely to act otherwise is like cutting one's throat
for fear somebody else should do it
8th. That as regards placmg an author's name after a genus,
the name so placed should be that of the author who established
the genus in the sense in which it is actually used. Carabui of
Linnaeus included all the insects now comprised in the family
Carahida^ at present divided into several hundreds of genera.
To write, therefore, Carabus Linn., when we mean something
entirely different, may be usual but is not desirable.
I may add, that I consider it useless to expect a perfectly
stable zoological nomenclature, until zoology itself is complete
and perfect ; but that in order to reduce chuiges to a minimum,
classical and other secondary claims must not be allowed any
great importance.
D. Sharp
Thorohill, Domfriesshir
Deep- Sea Soundings
In reference to the very interesting article in Nature for
February 22, ** American Deep-Sea Soundings," may I be per-
mitted to make the following remarks : — It is there stated that
the water-collecting cylinder is apt to lead to incorrect con-
clusions in regard to the gaseous ingredients of sea water obtained
by its means from great depths, owing to the escape of a por-
tion of the gases when the pressure is relieved by the cylinder
being drawn to the surface. As a member of the Porcupine ex-
peditions of 1869 and 1870, 1 had nearly eight weeks' constant
daily experience in the examination of samples of abyssal water
thus obtained, and I believe that I was the first to adapt the
gas analysis apparatus of the late Prof. W. A. Miller to the
exigencies of a laboratory on board ship. The general result
of these experiments for 1869 will be found as an appendix in
No. 121 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society. My object
in writing now is to point out that if there were such an escape
of gaseous ingredients as is indicated above, the abyssal water
would be so saturated with them at the ordinary atmospheric
pressure (i>. after the sample was removed from the water cylin-
der in the laboratory), that the least elevation of temperature
would be sufficient to cause a further quantity to be given off.
This, however, never was the case, ^ce I invariably noticed that
there was no appearance of bubbles of gas, until the water had
been heated above 120° Fahr., and firequently still hotter. I may
add that the only samples of water vimich appeared saturated
with gaseous ingredients were those taken at the surface, afte
sever^ hours of strong wind. I must confess that after giving a
good deal of thought to the subject, and conversing with friends
whose knowledge of physics is far greater than mine, who agree
with my view of the matter, I am unable to see any reason why
we should expect to find any greater quantity of gaseous in-
gredients in abyssal than in surface water. No doubt, if the ex-
cess were there the enormous pressure would retain it, but
where is the source of the supply of the supposed excess ? I have
never seen a satisfactory answer to this question. The solvent is
exposed to excessive pressure, but the gases to be dissolved in it
are not, unless there is any evolution of gas at those depths. It
is probable that this abyssal water was at some point in its cir-
culation near the surface, when an interchange would take place
between some of its dissolved carbonic acid and the oxygen of
the atmosphere. And it appears to me that it is only when the
particles of sea water are near the surface, and exposed to no ex-
cess of pressure, that they dissolve their gaseous ingredients,
which are afterwards modified in their composition by the animal
life on the sea bottom. William Lant CARPKNTtR
Clifton, Bristol, February 26
Snow at the Mouth of a Fiery Furnace
It would be interesting to ascertain the temperature of the
saltatory drops noticed by Mr. H. W. Preece. Sudden and ex-
cessive evaporation may have produced actual congelation.
Henry H. Higgins
ON THE SPECTRUM OF THE ATMOSPHERE
TOURING the voyage out to India of the Eclipse Ex-
■*— ' pedition, I took every opportunity of observing care-
fully the spectrum given at sunrise, compared with that at
sun-high, and obtained the following results, which, though
poor in themselves, will show the wide field open for
further research.
When leaving England, and for some way into the
Mediterranean, the length of the spectrum as seen at sun-
rise extended generall)r from about B in the red to near
G in the violet. Great differences were, however, presented
in the absorption-lines according to the state of the
weather, or perhaps rather according to the state of the
sky when the sun rose.
If the sun rose among yellow tinted clouds, the absorp-
tion bands about B, C, between C and D, and near D,
were exceedingly well defined ; at the same time the blue
end did not extend so far as usual, showing that there was
more absorption of the blue, while probably the greater
quantity of aqueous vapour in the air reflected the red
and yellow rays. In these cases the tint of the clouds
generally changed to a rosy red shortly after sunrise.
A clear sunrise, on the contrary, snowed an extension
of the violet end, whilst the aqueous bands at B, C, and
D were less defined, as if the red and yellow light were
not so strong to show them out by contrast.
On passing through the Suez Canal and down the Red
Sea the spectrum was shortened at both ends, leaving
from little beyond C to a third from F to G ; this would
seem to show a general absorption going on in the atmo-
sphere from some cause, probably light dust in the air.
This idea is strengthened by the beautiful purple colotur
of the distant mountains, as if, though the violet rays were
greatly absorbed, the red rays were so to a less degree,
whilst the want of aqueous vapotu: allowed nearly all the
yellow rays to be transmitted.
When clear of the Red Sea in the Indian Ocean, the
blue became greatly reduced, and the red end extended
to A ; the aqueous bands were very strong indeed, so
much so that on two mornings Dj and D^ could hardly
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NATURE
[Fed. 29, 1872
be distinguished amid the black mass that stirrounded
them ; the lines near C and C or y of Brewster were
sharp and clear.
On nearing India another change took place ; the blue
continued to be absorbed, till at sunrise the spectrum
could hardly be seen beyond F, but the blue green became
very bright, and the dark bands between d and F very
distinct, the lines commencing at 1825 Kirchhoff especially
attracted notice, standing out sharp and distinct, so as at
first to be mistaken for F : those nearer F at 1890 K
showed as a clear broad band, but not nearly so black as
1825. I am not prepared to give an explanation of this
phenomenon, but will remark that when the sun rose clear
and free from clouds the aqueous bands to D were less
distinct, while tiie atmospheric bands from D to E were
clear and sharp, and those beyond d remarkably so. But
if the Sim rose among clouds, these were generally
tinted with a golden yellow, changing afterwards to arose
or red colour, and, as might be expected, the lines from
B to D and just beyond D, were well defined, whilst from
E to near F the spectrum was not so clear.
After this the duties of preparing the instruments for
the eclipse prevented my taking any observations, as most
of our work was done in the early morning. But after
the eclipse, whilst on the Neilgherry Hills, 6,000 feet above
the sea, I had an opportunity of finding that the strong
line at 1825 had nearly faded away. The weather was
then fine, but misty. A few days after, on going down
the Ghauts to Bombay, I was struck with the blue colour
of the mist that was hanging about the valleys, and I ex-
amined it with the spectroscope ; the blue extended much
farther than usual, and the lines between d and F were
again distinct
On the passage home the same results were obtained
as on going out ; but as I had a much smaller spectro-
scope I could not make the observations with the same
accuracy as before. When passing up the Red Sea the
absorption was evident at both ends of the spectrum, and
the mountains were of the same beautiful purple colour
that I had noticed before.
From Alexandria to Southampton we had very bad
weather, constant gales, making it difficult to observe.
But I got the following results : With a cloudy sky at
sunrise, and appearance of wet weather, the bands from
B to beyond D (d of Brewster) were strong, whilst the
blue end of the spectrum was greatly absorbed, and the
lines from ^ to F were less distinct ; this was reversed
with clear weather. As we gained higher latitudes, the
blue end of the spectrum lengthened out, and the bands
beyond F, particularly about 2330 K, became distinct,
while the bands 1825 K and 1890 K gradually faded,
and now their intensity is not one-fourth of what I
observed it in the Indian Ocean.
These observations are very imperfect, but I hope, if I
can get the instruments, to carry out a more perfect system
of observation, feeling sure that it is a subject worthy of
great consideration in meteorology, especially when taken
m connection with the temperature and pressure of the
atmosphere and the state of the weather.
Shanklin, Feb. 5 J. P. Maclear
PFOF. AGASSirS EXPEDITION
IT is probable that I may have been anticipated, as
regards part of the present communication. If not,
I believe that many of your readers will be glad to learn
the objects with which Prof. Agassiz has sti; o^ with
Count Pourtales and a distinguished band of skilled ob-
servers, on a scientific expedition in the United States'
surveying ship Hassler^ and to receive a brief accotmt of
¥rhat ne has already done at St Thomas and Barbados^
at which places he was obliged to touch, in consequence
of defects in the vessel or her machinery.
The Professor's chief obiects are stated in a letter from
himself to Prof. Peirce, the Superintendent of the \J.S,
Coast Survey. (See Nature, vol V., p. 194.)
The Expedition was detained some days at St Thomaf,
and the time of the Professor and his assistants was devoted
chiefly to the collection and preparation of fishes, with a
view to the study of the brain, and the breathing and di-
gestive organs. Several boxes full, preserved in alcohol,
were at ooce shipped to the United States, as the first-
fruits of the Expedition.
The party arrived at Barbados on December 26, and
spent four days there. The first two were devoted by the
Professor to examining and studying the large collection of
West Indian shells, marine and terrestnal, of corals,
sponges, Crustacea, and semi-fossil shells of the island,
made by the Governor, Mr. Rawson. Of the marine
series he yvrote in the following terms to Mr. J. G.
Anthony, the Curator of the Harvard Museum : — " I am
having high carnival. I have found here what I did not
expect tp find anywhere in the world — a collection of
shells in which the young are put up with as much care
as the adult, and extensive series of specimens show the
whole range of changes of the species, from the formation
of the nucleus to the adult" He was particuLariy struck
with the now unique specimen of HolopuSj lately pro-
cured by Mr. Rawson, which was described by Dr. J. E.
Gray in the December number of the " Annals of Natural
History," and named by him, from a drawing, H, Rawson f\
but which Agassiz, who had seen the specimen of
D'Orbigny in Paris, before it disappeared, considers to
be a normal specimen of H, Rarusii, which had only four,
instead of five arms. Count Pourtales recognised amoog
the corals several similar to those which he had obtained
by dredging in or near the Gulf Stream, and described
in the latest No. (4) of the *' Illustrated Catalogue of the
Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College,"
the presence of which on the coast of Barbados serves to
indicate the close siniilarity of submarine life in those
two distant localities.
The next two days, or rather the night of the next, and
the preater part of the following day, were spent in dredg-
ing m the neighbourhood, in a depth of 60 to 120 fathoms,
about a mile from the shore, whence Mr. Rawson has
procured his fine specimens of Peniacrinus MiilUri,
The Holopus was found on the opposite side of the island.
The results were beyond the expectations, or even the
hopes, of the most sanguine of the party. Only dead
fragments of the Pentacrinus were obtained, but among
the abundant spoils were four specimens of a new genus
of Crinoid, without arms on the stem, (like Rhizocrinus f)
which remained alive, with the arms in motion, until
noon on the following day, under the excited observation
of the party. A number of deep-sea corals, alive, Crus-
tacea, sea urchins of new species, star fish, sponges, crys-
talline, Jurassic, and corallmes, &c., and a rich harvest of
shells, were obtained. Among these was a splendid live spe-
cimen oi PUurotomaria Quoyana^ F and B, of which genus
Chenu writes that only one living species, and of that only
one specimen, is known. The animal exhibited re-
markable affinities, and the artist accompanying the ex-
pedition was able to take several sketches of it A large
Onisciay shaped like O, cancellata Sow. but with an
orange inner lip ((9. Dennisonif)^ some specimens of
Phorus Indicus Gmel., a magnificent new species of
Latiaxis^ with many exquisite specimens of PUurotoma^
Fusus, MureXy Scalaria, and three or four of Pedicularia
sicula Sw., with innumerable Pteropods and Terebratu-
linae, rewarded these ** burglars of the deep." The Pro-
fessor was delighted, and it was with reluctance he
abandoned so rich a field in order to secure his passing
through the Straits of Magellan at a right season.
Barbados, January 26 R.W.R.
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Feb. 29, 1872]
NATURE
343
ETHNOLOGY AND SPIRITUALISM
THE Academy of February 15 contains a review
by Mr. A. R. Wallace, of my " Primitive Culture,"
where he raises a point on which I wish to make some
further observations ; but inasmuch as the form of publica-
tion of that journal adapts it rather to criticism than to
correspondence, I ask leave to change the venue^ and
make my remarks in the columns of Nature.
In "Primitive Culture" (Vol i., pp. 279-84), I have
given an account of the widespread popiJar belief in
" were- wolves," including under this heading the analogous
belief in man-hyaenas, man-tigers, &c. According to this
superstition, certain human beings are considered to be
temporarily transformed into wolves, hyaenas, or tigers,
and in these shapes to go about preying on mankind.
While expressing an opinion that " the origin of this idea
is by no means sufficiently explained," I have offered two
suggestions as bearing on its prevalence in the world :
first, that such notions are consistent with the familiar
doctrines of the lower culture as to transmigration of souls
and transformation of bodies ; second, that certain insane
persons do actually suffer under the delusion that this
transformation (the idea of which popular belief has put
into theu* minds) has really happened to themselves, and
they prowl about like wild beasts accordingly. Mr.
Wallace disapproves of this treatment of the sub-
ject, and propounds a view of his own, as follows : " A
recognition of the now well-established phenomena
of mesmerism would have enabled Mr. Tylor to
give a far more rational explanation of were-wolves
and analogous beliefs than he offers us. Were-wolves were
probably men who had exceptional power of acting upon
certain sensitive individuals, and could make them, when so
acted upon, believe ihey saw what the mesmeriser pleased ;
and who used this power for bad purposes. This will ex-
plain most of the alleged facts, without resorting to the
short and easy method of rejecting them as the results of
mere morbid imagination and gross credulity."
Let me now first observe that Mr. Wallace's explanation
does not supersede my suggestions ; indeed, he meets
neither of the points which I endeavour, however tenta-
tively, to de^ with. He offers nothing like a reason why
knavish sorcerers in districts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and
America should hr.ve all hit upon the device of imposing
the same peculiar delusion upon their dupes ; nor does
he account for the fact, vouched for by satisfactory
evidence, that in certain cases the supposed were-wolf is
himself utterly persuaded of the reality of his own trans-
formation, and goes to execution believing in his offence.
The proofs are, I think, convincing, here as elsewhere in
the history of magic, that sorcerers were originally and
still are usually more or less believers in their own magical
pretensions — though very many used and use fraudulent
means to enhance their supposed powers ; and some, who
may be reckoned among the vilest of the human race, are
simply professional impostors. Yet Mr. Wallace's sug-
gestion, though it does not do away with the need of mine,
seems to me valuable as a well-directed attempt to explain
a part of the matter left untouched by me. His theory
that a were-wolf may be a person possessed of the pecu-
liar faculty exerted by mesmerists, of making others de-
lusively imagine that they see and hear what in fact does
not happen, is a theory at any rate plausible, and possibly
on the track of explaining much of the power belonging
to sorcerers, savage and other. (I may remark inci-
dentally that the power of mesmerists in producing
anaesthesia and working on the imagination of^ their pa-
tients has never been contradicted by me.) Now, without
committing myself to Mr. Wallace's idea, beyond saying
that it is plausible and worth pursuing, I proceed to apply
it somewhat tarther. Granting that a were-wolf, in virtue
of being a person capable of exerting mesmeric influence,
can delude people, and even assemblies of people, into
fancying that they perceive monstrous imrealitieSi the
question arises. Was any one with this were-wolf-faculty
present in the room when Mrs. Guppy made her cele-
brated aerostatic entrance ? Is Mr. D. D. Home a were-
wolf? Is a professional "medium" usually or ever a
person who has the power of acting on the minds of
sensitive spectators, so as to make them believe they
see what he pleases? Pursuing this subject yet a
step farther, I have now to csdl Mr. Wallaces at-
tention to an interesting fact. The sorcerers of
the Abipones of South America, who by mere roaring
within their tents threw the credulous savages into
agonies of panic terror, caused by vivid belief that tiger-
spots were in the act of coming on their (the sorcerers')
bodies, that their nails were growing into claws, that they
were actually transforming themselves into tigers, deadly
though invisible — these sorcerers were actually the pro-
fessional spiritualistic mediums of the tribe, part of whose
business it was to hold intercourse with the spirits of the
dead, causing them to appear visibly, or carrying on
audible dialogues with them behind a 'curtain. Mr.
Wallace, as me most eminent scientific man who has
taken up what are known as modem "spiritualistic
doctrines," no doubt has the ear of all who hold these
doctrines. I think it may bring about investigations
leading to valuable results if Mr. Wallace will inform
spiritualists with the weight of his authority that he
beUeves in the existence of a class of men who, in his
words, have exceptional power of acting upon certain
sensitive individuals, and can make them, when so acted
upon, believe they see what the mesmeriser pleases, and
who use this power for bad purposes.
With reference to other parts of Mr. Wallace's review
of my work, I have to thank him for several valuable
comments, while, at the same time, I venture to express
an opinion that some of his objections to my ethnological
treatment of spiritualism are unreasonable, and especially
I wonder that so serious a student of natural science
should make it a ground of complaint against me that in
treating of difficult and important problems I consider it
necessary to bring forward copious and widely distributed
evidence. But rejoinders to reviews are seldom desirable
in themselves, and my justification for the present note
lies in the importance of drawing attention to a matter
worth considering by persons on both sides of the
spiritualistic controversy. E. B. Tylor
DREDGING EXPEDITIONS
THE occasion of an American Dredging Expedition
recently starting, leads us to make the following re-
marks on such Expeditions in general, more especially
upon one whose progranmie has lately come to our ears.
England has perhaps of all countries done the most
for dredging. We have only to point to such names as
Forbes, Ball, McAndrew, Wallich, Jeffreys, Wyville
Thomson, and Carpenter, as among the landmarks in
the cause. Indeed, for many years coast dredging has
been a popular amusement with the marine naturalist
and collector, and many a prize has been in this manner
turned up.
In 1868 Messrs. Carpenter. Thomson, and Jeffreys were
fortunate enough to obtain the use, free of expense, of a
Government steamer, and, armed with a substantial grant
from the Royal Society, tried their luck in the deep sea.
The following year the Government again gfave them the
use of a vessel, and the Royal Society a further grant of
200/. Again in 1870 they went out at the country's ex-
pense. The great and important results obtained during
these cruises are pretty well known to the scientific
world, and it is unnecessary to repeat them here.
In the year last mentioned an unheard-of circum-
stance took place. An English yachtsman, Mr. Marshall
344
NATURE
[Fed. 29,1872
Hall, not only gave up the use of his yacht for the
summer in the cause of Science, but bore nearly the
whole expense of the cruise himself. The naturalist who
accompanied them was Mr. Kent, of the British Museum,
a man comparatively unknown before that time ; and
this was, perhaps, the reason why the Royal Society
could only afford to give £s^ towards the expense of ap-
paratus, &c. As a natural consequence, the expedition
was considerably crippled for want of proper gear, and
they were unable to attempt deep-sea work. It is too
rare for persons who are blessed with means to assist
Science in any way, and when such an act of generosity
does take place, it ought not to be forgotten on the part
of the scientific public. Yet it is rumoured that a similar
expedition to Morocco and Madeira, which Mr. Marshall
Hall is arranging for the spring, is likely to be received
with some coldness by some influential members of the
scientific brotherhood. We sincerely hope that the
rumour is incorrect.
It appears that Mr. Marshall Hall proposes to be
absent n-om England for between three and four months ;
and, besides the natural history, to investigate, as far as
possible, certain chemical and physical questions concern-
ing the deep sea and its currents in the neighbourhood of
the above-mentioned places. He is taking with him a
young naturalist, Mr. P. T. Abraham, B.A., B.Sc, lately
from Dublin, at which University he came out first in
natural science honours, and where he has gained a high
reputation for zoological knowledge. It is also probable
that another naturadist will make up the staff. These
gentlemen intend to give, besides the use of the yacht,
150/. or so— as much as they are able. The remaining
250/. — ^for the total cost of the expedition could not
amount to much less than 400/., when the items of gear,
apparatus, outfit, and maintenance for such a time are
taken into consideration — they hope to obtain in the form
of grants from the learned societies. We feel sure that
the 'Royal Society will be among the first to endow the
work out of the fund placed at their disposal by the
Government, and the best friends of Biology may wish
that they had more frequent opportunities afforded them
of assisting in researches in which it is fitting that in the
first instance a private individual should come forward.
It is possible even that other societies may be induced
to help if they have funds at their disposal. Among
such societies we may mention the Zoological Society,
which contains on its roll the names of men of the firit
rank in every department of zoology. It is true that a
great portion of the funds are expended in the direction
of the higher vertebrates, and that the lower animals do
not receive the attention they may deserve ; but still, it
must be remembered that the great object of the society is
the popularisation of natural history.
We hope that the Nornc^s will not be the only dredging
excursion starting from British waters this year. The
field that has been so ably opened up by Dr. Carpenter
and his colleagues ought not to be allowed to slip away
altogether from the hands of Englishmen. We know too
» well that other nations are not backward in following up
and eclipsing the work that British pluck and genius have
been the first to venture upon. The Americans are on
the track, and our Continental neighbours will not be far
behind.
We are glad that the extended circumnavigation expe-
dition is in process, and we believe that if nothing un-
forseen occurs, Prof. Wyville Thomson, with a staff of
competent aids, vnll sail in the autumn on their long
journey, which cannot fail to have the most important
bearing on our future advance in such studies. Such a
journey as this, however, instead of making more modest
dredging operations of no avai^, vastly increases their in:-
poitance ; and it is not too much to hope that the time is
not far distant when men of money and leisure will more
generally occupy their time in such pursuits.
SOLAR HEAT
THE calculations presented by Pere Secchi, in his
work " Le Soleil," relative to solar temperature and
solar radiation, tending to discredit the result of recent
investigations on the subject, I have carefully examined
the '' solar intensity apparatus," the indications of which
form the basis of those calculations. This unique device
will be found delineated on p. 267 of the work referred to,
the accompanying illustration (Fig.^i) being a fac-simile of
the same. It represents a longitudinal section through
the centre line, thus described :— A B and C D are two
concentric cylinders soldered one to the other ; they form
a kind of boiler, the annular space being filled with water
or oil at any temperature. A thermometer, /, passes
through a tube, across the annular space, to the axis of
the cylinder ; it receives the solar rays mtroduced through
a diaphragm, m n, the opening, o, of which is very litde
larger than the bulb of the thermometer. A thick ^lass,
V, closes the back part of the instrument, and admits of
ascertaining whether the thermometer is placed in a direct
line with the pencil of rays. The interior cylinder and
the thermometer / are coated with lamp black. A second
thermometer, f, shows the temperature of the annular
space, and consequently that of the inclosure. The whole
apparatus is mounted on a support having a parallactic
movement, to facilitate following the diurnal motion of
the sun. The apparatus being exposed to the sun, it will
be found, on observing the two thermometers, that their
difference of temperature increases gradually, and that in
a short time it ends by being constant.
Before pointing out the peculiarities of the contrivance
thus described by P^re Secchi, it will be instructive to
examine his " solar intensity apparatus," manufactured by
Casella, represented in Fig. 2. The manufacturer pub-
lishes the following statement regarding this instrument :
— " Two thermometers are here kept immersed in a fluid
at any temperature, and a third surrounded by the same
conditions, but not immersed, is exposed to the rays of
the sun. The increase of temperature thus obtained is
found to be the same, irrespective of the temperature of
the fluid which surrounds it.'' No one acquainted with
the principles which govern the transmission of heat
within circulating fluids can fail to observe that the ther-
mometers applied above the central tube will not furnish
a reliable indication of the temperature of the fluid below
the same, nor of any portion of the contents of the annular
space towards the bottom. Apart from this defect, it will be
perceived that an upward current of atmospheric air will
sweep the underside of the external cylinder, causing a re-
duction of temperature of the fluid confined in the lower half
of the annular space. Again, the heat radiated by the
bulb of the thermometer exposed to the! sun will elevate
the temperature of the air within the central tube, and
consequently produce an internal circulation tending to
heat the upper part of the fluid contained in the annular
space. The effect of the irregular heating and cooling
thus adverted to will be considered after an examination
of the result of some observations recorded in Table A
conducted at different times during the month of Sep-
tember 187 1. In order to insure an accurate position, the
instrument during these observations was mounted in a
revolving observatory upon a table turning on declination
axes provided with appropriate mechanism and declina-
tion circle. An actinometer being attached to the same
table, the true intensity of the radiant heat, as well as the
sun's zenith distance, were recorded simultaneously with
the indications of the Secchi instrument furnished by
Casella. Let us first consider the tabulated observations
of September 2 recorded at equal intervals of three
minutes. The indication of the two thermometers
immersed in the fluid contained in the annular space first
claims our attention, since the temperature of this fluid is
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Feb. 29, 1872]
NATURE
345
the principal element in Pdre Secchi's computations of
solar temperature. It will be seen on referring to the
second and third columns of the table that, while the
upper thermometer indicates a mean temperature of 86*9/
the lower one shows only 79'5% difference = 7*4°. Tins
great discrepancy of temperature at different points of the
upper portions of the annular space at which, owing to
the inclined position of the concentric tubes, something
like uniformity ought to exist, suggests a still greater dis-
crepancy of temperature at the underside towards the
lower termination of the tubes. In addition therefore to
the observed irregularity of temperature at the upper part,
shown by the table, no mdication whatever is furnished of
the temperature of the fluid in the annular space below the
central tube, nor towards the termination at either side.
Obviously, then, no accurate computation can be made of
the degree of refrigeration to which the central thermo-
meter is exposed by the radiation from the cold blackened
surface of the internal tube, every part of which, as we
have seen, possesses a different temperature compared
with the rest, consequently transmitting radiant energy of
different intensity. It will be found practically im-
possible, therefore, to detennine the true differential
temperature of the contents of the bulb exposed to
the sun's rays and the fluid contained in the annular
space. Hence, the differential temperature entered in
the table, the result of comparing the indications of the
thermometers, is manifestly incorrect. It will be found
also by reference to the table that while the mean tem-
perature imparted to the central thermometer by the sun's
rays is 93 i'', the mean temperature of the fluid in the
annular space is 83*3^ Consequently, the intensity of
solar radiation established by the instrument is only
93'i° - 83 3** = 979® Fah. Now, the sun during the
recorded experiment of September 2 was exceptionally
clear, the mean indication of the actinometer while the
experiment lasted being 60*05°, ^^^ showing that the
energy developed was only ^2£ a 0*16 of the true radiant
intensity. The mean zenith distance, it may be men-
tioned, was only 33° 24' during the experiment. Agree-
able to the table of temperatures previouslsr published, the
maximum solar intensity for the stated zenitn distance is
^3*35° t thus we find that the sun, as stated, was excep-
tionally clear while the trial took place, which resulted m
developing the trifling intensity of 979° Fah. The result
of the experiments conducted September 6th, recorded in
the table, it will be seen was nearly the same as that just
related, the mean temperature indicated by the thermo-
meter exposed to the sun being 98*2^ while the mean of
the two thermometers immersed in the fluid was 87*8°,
hence the differential temperature 98*2^ - 87*8° « io*4°.
The mean temperature of solar radiation during the ex-
periment, ascertained by the actinometer, was 5975% the
zenith distance being 35"^ 33'. Consequently, the intensity
indicated September 6th was only ^^^^ = 0*17 of the true
energy of the sun's radiant heat, against o'i6 during the
previous experiment. It will be observed that the fluctua-
tion of the differential temperature was much greater
September 2nd than during the succeeding experiment,
owmg, no doubt, to the influence of currents of air pro-
duced by a strong breeze on the first occasion, the re-
volving observatory being partially open on the side pre-
sented to the sun during observations.
With reference to the small differential temperature
indicated by the Secchi instrument manufactured by
Casella, it may be urged that it is not intended to show
the true intensity of solar radiation on the earth's surface,
but simply a means of determining solar temperature.
Granted that such is the object, yet the extreme irregu-
larity of the temperature of the fluid within the annular
space shows that the instrument is unreliable, a fact
established beyond contradiction by an experiment in*
stituted September 27, 1871. On this occasion water of
a unifonn temperature was circulated through the annular
space. This was effected by gradually charging this space
from the top, and carrying off the waste at the bottom,
holes having been drilled in the external casing for thatpur-
pose. The result of this conclusive experiment is recorded
at the foot of Table A. It will be found on reference to the
figures, that the mean difference of the two thermometers
immersed in the fluid was only 64*9° -64*4 ■■ 0*5°, while
the mean differential temperature was augmented to
79*1'* - 64-45 =s I4-65'* against 979'' on the 2ndof Septem.
ber, although the zenith distance was greater, and the
solar intensity less ; circumstances which ought to have
diminishtd the indicated intensity. It is neemess to enter
into any further discussion of the demerits of the instru-
ment represented in Fig. 2. We may now return to the
consideration of the device delineated in Fig. x, copied
from ^ Le SoleiL" It will be seen that the material
difference of construction is that of applying only one
thermometer for ascertaininp^ the temperature of the fluid
in the annular space.. Possibly this sixtgle thermometer
may indicate approximately the mean temperature of the
upper and lower portions of the fluid above die central
tube ; but it furnishes no indication of the temperature
below, nor at either extremity of the annular space. The
inadequacy of the means adopted for ascertaining the
temperature of the internal surfiice which radiates towards
the bulb of the central thermometer having thus been
pointed out, it will be well to consider whether the ex*
pedient of passing a stream of water of nearly uniform
temperature through the annular space, will insure trust*
worthy indication. In order to determine this question,
I have constructed two instruments, in strict accordance
with the delineation in Fig. i, exceptinjg^ that in one of
these the concentric cylinders are considerably enlarged,
the annular space, however, remaining unchanged. Ex-
periments witn the two instruments prove that the enlarge-
ment does not materially influence the indications,
provided water of a uniform temperature be circulated
through the annular space. But these e3q>eriments have
demonstrated that the size of the bulb of the thermometer
exi>osed to the sun cannot be changed without influencing
the differential temperature most materially. This wiU
be seen by reference to Table fi, which records the result
of experiments with different thermometers, and tubes of
different diameter, conducted October 17, 187 1. As on
previous occasions, the instruments, in order to insure
accurate position, were attached to tne decUnation table
arranged within the revolving observatory. The bulbs of
the thermometers employed were very nearly spherical,
their diameters being respectively 0*30 and 0*58 ins.
The upper division of Table B which records the experi-
ment with the small bulb exposed to the sun, establishes,
it will be seen, a differential temperature of 14*4" for the
instrument having the i J-in. central tube, and 16° for the
one having the 3-in. central tube. Referring to the
lower division of the same table, it will be seen that
when the thermometer with the large bulb is exposed to
the sun, the differential temperature reaches 22*5° in the
instrument containing the ijin. central tube, and 21*1° in
the one having the 3in. tube. We thus find that, by
doubling the diameter of the bulb of the thermometer
exposed to the sun, all other things remaining unchanged,
an augmentation of the differentia temperature amounting
to nearly one-third takes place. This fact proves the
existence of inherent defects fatal to the device delineated
in Fig. X, rendering the same wholly unreliable.
Agreeably to the doctrine of exclianges, the diameter of
the bulb is an element of no moment, since the internal
radiation towards the szme— provided its temperature be
uniform — depends solely on the temperature and angular
distances of the radiating points of the enclosure. In*
fallibility of the '' solar intensity apparatus " has evidently
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3*6
NATURE
{Feb. 29, 1872
been taken for granted on the stren^ of the soundness
of this doctrine, as we find no allusion to the size of the
bulb in M. Soref s account of his observations of solar
intensity on Mont Blanc ; nor does Mr. Waterston, who
employed a similar instrument during his observations in
India, advert to the dimensions of die bulb of the ther-
FlG. 1.
mometer exposed to the sun. These physicists apparently
overlook the fact that, while the entire convex area of the
bulb is exposed to what may be considered the cold radia-
tion from the enclosure, only one half receives radiant
heat from the sun. This circumstance would be unim-
portant if the heat thus received were instantly trans-
Fic. a.
milted to every part ; but the bulb and its contents are
slow conductors, while the conducting power diminishes
nearly in the inverse ratio of the square of the depth.
Consequently, by increasing the diameter, the parts of the
bulb opposite to the sun will receive considerably less
heat in a given time than if the cUameter be diminished.
Table A, showing the result of observations made with Seodift
' Solar Intensity Apparatus,'' manufactured by Casella.
Sbptember a, 1871.
Thcr-
External Casing.
Differential
Zenith
exposed to
the Sun.
mometer.
Lower
Ther-
mometer.
Mean.
tempeiature.
1 distance.
Fah.
Fah.
Fah.
Fah.
Fah.
• »
f^'5
760
70-0
730
10-5
3^^
842
770
71 "5
742
100
8SS
790
742
766
8-8
32 50
860
83s
74-5
790
7*0
890
840
75*5
1^:5
92
330
90s
85-0
76-s
92
920
?S-5
780
f''
102
Z3 10
930
86-5
87-8
790
827
10 '2
940
8o-o
839
lo-i
3321
945
890
!''5
51*
9-2
95*5
90*0
82-5
86-2
9-2
3332
965
90s
^3-5
870
95
980
91-5
!^s
8S0
lO'O
33 44
990
920
850
88 s
10-5
1000
930
860
89s
10-5
3356
lOIO
93 5
86-5
900
ii-o
101 'S
940
870
90s
iro
348
931
869
795
83-3
979
Zl^
Sbptbmbbr 6, 1871.
94*5
880
5' '5
847
97
3556
95 5
88-5
830
857
97
96s
895
845
870
9*5
3S4I
97 5
900
850
87s
100
980
90*0
850
875
105
3S26
985
90-5
85s
880
IO-5
99*0
90s
iv
881
10-9
3S"
1000
91 0
86-5
887
11-2
100-3
91 0
870
890
"•3
3456
1003
912
875
893
1 10
loo'S
91-5
880
897
10-8
3441
982
902
853
878
10-45
35 33
785
640
640
64*0
14-5
440
790
65-0
640
645
145
79 5
650
645
64 7
147
44 55
79*5
630
650
64-0
15s
79*5
64*0
650
64-5
150
45 51
790
64-5
65-0
647
14-2
790
64-5
655
65 X)
14-0
4648
790
645
65-5
6s 0
140
179-0
65-0
65-5
652
138
4746
791
64-4
649
6465
14*45
4516
Table B, showing the result of employing different thermo-
meters.
Diameter of Bulb 0*30 in.
14 inch tube.
Zeniih
distance.
3
inch tube.
Zenith
Sun.
Fluid.
Diff.
Sun.
Fhiid.
Diff.
distance
Fah.
74
745
75
Fah.
60
60-3
607
61
61
Fah.
14
14-2
14-3
14-4
15
5032
50-24
50*16
508
50-I
Fah.
79
79
79
Fah.
621
62-3
625
63
Fah.
15 ;4
l6-5
x6
16
49 54
503
50 12
5021
5030
75-0
60-6
14-4
50-16
786
62-6
160
50 12
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Feb. 29, 1872J
NATURE
347
Diameter of Bulb 0*58 in.
xi
inch tube.
Zenith
3
inch tube
Zenith
distance
Sun.
Fluid.
Diff. -
Sun.
Fluid.
Diflf.
F*h.
Fah.
Fah. 1 • '
Fah.
Fah.
Fah.
• /
83-6
626
21 49 54
79*2
601
191
SO 32
^\
63
22*5 SO 3
81
603
207
SO 24
634
23 50 12
82-5
607
21-8
50 16
867
635
23-2 ' 5021
827
607
22
508
«77
637
23 i SO 30
83
61
22
501
85*9
632
22-5
50 12
817
606
211
SO 16
J. Ericsson
MAGNETICAL AND METEOROLOGICAL OB-
SERVATIONS AT HAVANA
ON the 9th and loth day of November I noticed on
my instruments two strong magnetic perturbations,
during which a series of extraordinary observations was
taken at intervals of five, of ten, and fifteen minutes.
From these I was naturally drawn to think that an
aurora borealis would be seen in higher latitudes, and
was waiting for a confirmation of my views.
This I found in the numbers i6th and 23rd of November
of your scientific journal, Nature, which I have just
received, and in which I see with great pleasure the
Curves of the Homontal Magnetic Force on the 9th and xoth davs of
November, 1871, compared with the Mean Force of the whole month.
(1 hour = o™ 'ot in th* lint 0/ the abscissa
5 division 0/ the scaU of the Bifilar Magnetometer = o^ ox in
the fine ojthe ordinates.
Each one tf these divisions 0/ the scale corres^nds in parts ofhoritontal
force to K^ o '0000995 73.
description of the aurora borealis seen in England on the
9th and loth of November in perfect accordance with my
observations of those days.
As it will not be devoid of interest to know to what
an extent an aurora borealis, when seen in England,
exerts its influence on the magnetic variations of a place
situated in the Tropics and in very remote longitude, I
take the liberty of sending you the curves of the hori-
zontal magnetic force as registered by the bifilar magneto-
meter on the 9th and loth of November, together with
the curve of the mean horizontal force of the whole
month. A comparison between them and those taken in
other places will be, I hope, very pleasant to those who are
interested in magnetic researches.
My observations on the bifilar magnetometer are re-
duced to the temperature of ^f Fah. The variation of
the thermometer attached to it was 0^*8 during the whole
perturbation.
The magnetic instruments I make use of are those of
the Observatory of Makerston, Scotland, which were
arranged and sent many years ago to this Observatory by
order of General Sabine at the request of P. Secchi, of the
Roman Observatory.
Another perturbation, although not so intense as those
already described, was observed on the 2nd of November.
It began at ten o'clock in the morning, and lasted the
whole day.
A very remarkable one was also observed on the 17th
and 1 8th of June ; it began at ten o'clock in the evening
of the 17th.
On the 2 1 St of August, while a hurricane was felt in
St. Thomas, and an aurora borealis seen from the Ob-
servatory of Dun Echt, Aberdeen, I noticed an extraordi-
nary variation, which attained its maximum between four
and six o'clock in the afternoon. A similar one occurred
on the 24th.
Finally, on the i6th and 17th of August two great hurri-
canes swept the shores of Florida, and their influence
upon the magnetic force can be perfectly noticed on the
curves of those days.
Benedict Vines
Havana, Dec. 21, 187 1
NOTES
We alluded some time since to the threatened destruction of
one of the most notable megalithic monuments in this country,
the Great Circle at Avebury, in Wiltshire. All archaeologists
will be glad to hear that Sir John Lubbock has added one more
to his eminent services to science by the purchase of the site on
which the Circle stands. It is right also that the meed of praise
should be awarded to those of the residents in the district whose
zeal has been directed towards the attainment of this object, and
who have thus shown their sense of the value of the monument
which is one of the glories of their county. We refer especially
to the Rev. Bryan King, the vicar of the parish, Mr. Kemm,
Mr. George Brown, and the Rev. Alfred Charles Smith, Hon.
Secretary of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History
Society. It is to be hoped that their example will stimulate
similar zeal for the preservation of monuments in other parts of
the country.
Dr. T. Stkrry Hunt, chemist to the Canadian Geological
Survey, has been appointed to the chair of Geology in the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mr. Hensm an has been appointed Lecturer on Botany at
the Middlesex Hospital, in the place of Dr. T. S. Cobbold,
F.R.S., who has received the appointment of Lecturer on
Parasitic Diseases.
At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Monday
evening last, Sir Henry Rawlinson, the President, announced
that the vessel with the Livingstone Expedition on board arrived
at Malta on the 23rd inst, and was to reach Port Said on Sunday, ,
and leave Suez on Monday night. By the accounts to hand siU
on board were pronounced to be well, and in the highest spirits.
The finances of the expedition were in a highly satLsfactory state,
many contributions being remarkably striking, as showing the
great interest taken in the enterprise not only in this, but in many
distant countries. A contribution of 100 guineas had been re-
ceived from a former member at Stockholm, who had alwajrs
taken a deep interest in the travels and discoveries of Dr. Living-
stone. The Italian Royal Geographical Society had also sent a
contribution of 15/. 15^., while national committees to assist the
fund had been formed in Scotland and Ireland, who were work-
ing most energetically. The town of Glasgow has subscribed
i,ooQ/., Edinburgh 400/., and Dublin promised to be equally
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NATURE
\Feb. 29, 1872
generous. Similar interest had been awakened in Chicago,
whence lOO/. had come in to be placed at the disposal of the
Livingstone Expedition ; and on the whole it might be said the
announcement of the undertaking had been hailed with general
satisfaction throughout the civilised world. Exclusive of two
sums of 400/. and 600/. odd, the latter the balance of the former
Government grant, there was now standing to the credit of the
expedition a sum of 4,200/.
The following gentlemen were on Saturday last elected to
Junior Studentships in Natural Science at Christchurch, Ox-
ford :--Mr.D. A. Greswell, Commoner of Balliol Collie, Mr.
B. Hainsworth, of Manchester Grammar School, Mr. W. A.
Smith, of Clifton College. These scholarships are of the annual
value of 75/., together with the rooms rent free.
At the examination recently concluded at the Melbourne
University, there were no less than 225 competitors, of whom
86 passed the matriculation examination, and 108 the civil service
examination. Many of the names in the former were included
in the latter, but on the other hand, there were some who passed
the larger, the matriculation examination, who did not pass the
smaller examination, that for the civil service. The reason is,
that for the matriculation any six subjects serve to qualify, while
for the civil service, of the four subjects, two given ones are es-
sential. The examinations this time had a novel feature, from
there being three lady candidates, all of whom passed. The
Council of the University, however, has passed a resolution to
the effect that the successful ladies should not be allowed to
matriculate. No reasons have been given for this decision, but
it is presumed that the obstacle is a legal one.
The Academy states that the President of the Geographical
Society of Italy has written to the papers to say that the Con-
servator of the Biblioth^que Royale of Belgium has discovered
a MS., in twelve chapters, containing the original autograph
account of the discovery of Australia by Manuel Godinho, a
Portuguese navigator, who touched there in 1601, and whose
priority to the Dutch sailors, who arrived three or four years
later, has been unduly neglected. Mr. Ruelens vouches for the
authenticity of the MS., which was brought to light at the Ant-
werp Exhibition, though it passed unnoticed in the crowd.
Prof. Cleveland Abbe, in an article entitled « Historical
Note on the Method of Least Squares," in the American Journal
of Science and Arts, shows that this method, though first pub-
lished in a printed form by Le Gendre in 1806, and invented by
Gauss in 1795, ^^ published in 1808 by Prof. Robert Adrain,
at that time in New Brunswick, N. J., in the *' Analyst," he
having been independently led to this invention by the study
of a prize problem offered some months previously in that
periodical
An important addition has been made to the list of works
devoted to inquiries and instructions in regard to the great fisheries
in the form of a paper, by M. Achille Costa, upon the fisheries
of the Gulf of Naples, published by the Royal Institute
for the Encouragement of Natural Science, &c., of Naples.
The subject is treated under four heads : first, a description of
the various modes by which fishing is prosecuted in the Gulf of
Naples, whether commendable or otherwise, with engravings of
the nets and other apparatus used ; second, the considersttion of
the various modes of fishing, and their relationship to the present
and prospective supply; third, memoranda in regard to the
localities in which the different kinds of fish and other marine
animals are to be found, and the favourite places for depositing
their spawn ; and fourth, a systematic catalogue of the different
species of marine animals found in the Gulf of Naples, and
gathered for the purpose of serving as food.
P*OF, Marsh reports to the American Jwrnai of Science the
discovery, during his explorations in 187 1, of a remarkable fossil
bird. It was found in the Upper Cretaceous of Western Kansas,
and the remains consist of Uie greater portion of the skeleton,
at least five feet in height, and which, although a true bird, as is
shown by the vertebrae and other parts of the skeleton, diffexs
widely from any known recent or extinct forms of that dass,
and affords a fine example of a comprehensive type. The bones
are all well preserved. The femur is very short, but the other
portions of the legs are quite elongated. The metatarsal bones
appear to have been separated. On his return the professor
proposes to describe this unique fossil under the name of Hes^
perornis regalis.
In the expedition against the Losshais, who have attacked
our tea pbntetions m Cachar, the interests of science have been
cared for. Lieutenant Browne, 44th Foot, known in India as
an able naturalist, has charge, with a trained native from the
Indian Museum at Calcutta, to act as collector. Something is
expected from the unexplored regions of the Losshai country.
Herr Pausch, a member of the late German polra ex-
pedition, recently made a communication to the German An-
thropological Society in regard to certain abandoned habitations
of the Esquunaux in East Greenland. He remarked that at
each of seven different points they found three stone houses, some
of them certainly over one hundred years old. These were
winter huts, the remnants of their summer abodes bemg indi-
cated by stone rings. In many places there were indications of
stone graves, and from the skeletons found in them tolerably well-
preserved crania were obtained, agreeing with the Eastern
Esquunaux type as described by Virchow, and exhibiting the car-
nivorous habit in the highest degree. Remains of wood carving,
tolerably well executed, occurred with the dead bodies, and in the
heap were found bone knife-handles, harpoons of bone, arrow-
tips, and even knife-shaped pieces of iron, probably obtamed
from the English expedition of 1823.
In referring to the explorations of Dr. Hayden about the
Yellow Stone Lake during the past summer, mention was made
of the fact that the trout all seemed very much infested with a
peculiar kind of worm, which interfered considerably with the
enjoyment of eating them. Specimens of this animal have been
submitted to Prof. Leidy, of Philadelphia^ who reports that they
represent a new species or type of worm, of the genus Dtbothrium,
Two species of the genus have long been known as infesting
sahnon and other members of the trout family in Europe, but
both are decidedly different from the new form just mentioned.
The Trustees of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at
Harvard College, Cambridge, U.S.A., have issued their Annual
Register for 1870, together with the Report of the Director,
Prof. Agassiz. It is slated that the accessions to the Museum
during the past year had been very great and of surpassing im-
portance. Foremost stands DeyroUe's collection of Curculio-
nidse, presented by Mrs. A. Hemenway; next the collection of
Galls of Baron d'Osten-Sacken, presented by him ; then the
inagnificent collection of FossU Plants of M. Lesqucreux, espe-
cially remarkable for the exquisite selection of the specimens it
contams, and that of Insects of Texas, made by Mr. J. Boll,
both of which have been bought by the Museum ; and not least
the unparalleled collection of Neuroptera, brought to America by
Dr. Hagen, and now deposited in the Museum. There are
special reports on the Mammalia and Birds by Mr. J. A. Allen ;
on the Fishes by Dr. Franz Steindachner ; on Conchology by
J. G. Anthony ; on the ArticulaU by Dr. Hagen ; and on the
PalaeontologicalcoUections by Prot Shaler, Mr. J. B. Perry, and
Dr. G. A. Macak.
We have received the Register of the Trustees, Officers, and
Students of the Lehigh University, South Bethlehem, Pcnn.,
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349
U.S., for, the year 1871-72. The Univcwity was founded by
a gift, in the year 1865, from the Hon. Asa Parker, of the sum
of 500,000 dols., and a site of land containing 56 acres in the
Lehigh Valley. The purpose of the founder was " to provide the
means for imparting to young men of the valley, of the state,
and of the country, a complete professional education, which
should not only supply their general wants, but also fit them to
take an immediate and active part in the practical and profes-
sional duties of the time. The system determined upon proposes
to discard only what has been proved to be useless in the former
systems, and to introduce those important branches which have
been heretofore more or less neglected in what purports to be a
liberal education, and especially those industrial pursuits which
tend to develop the resources of the country, — pursuits, the para-
mount claims and inter-relations of which natural science is daily
displaying — such as Eogineering, Civil, Mechanical, and Mining ;
Chemistry, Metallurgy, Architecture, and Construction." For
this purpose, special classes in all the above-named subjects have
been instituted ; and by the liberality of Robert H. Sayre, one
of the trustees of the University, an Astronomical Observatory
has been erected in the University grounds and placed under the
care of the Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy, for instruc-
tion of students in Practical Astronomy. The Observatory con-
tains an equatorial, by Alvan Clark, of six inches clear aperture,
and of eight feet focus ; a zenith sector, by Blunt ; a superior
astronomical clock, by William Bond and Sons ; a meridian circle
and a prismatic sectant, by Pistor and Martins.
Dr. £. ASKENASY, m his " Beitriige zur Kritik der Darwin-
schen Lehre," contrasts the doctrine of Natural Selection as
carried out to its full extent by Darwin in his "Origin of
Species'* and "Variation of Animals and Plants under Domesti-
cation," with the modified form of theory adopted by Nageli in
his '' Conception and Origin of Species in Natural History."
The first part of Dr. N. J. C. MiUler's ** Botanische Unter-
suchungen " treats of the separation of carbonic add by the
green parts of plants under the influence of sunlight, and is
illustrated by a plate, delineating, in the form of curves, the
effects of the different rays in the solar spectrum.
Dr. Gerard Krefft, in a paper on the Australian Verte-
brata, Fossil and Recent, points out how valuable would be a
general study of Natural History in a country like Australia,
where every pool and creek teems with animal life, numerous
mussels, various kinds of cray-fish, turtles, frogs, lizards, fresh-
water snakes, and other creatures, all of which are more nourish-
ing to a starving human being than the wretched nardoo on
which the lamented Burke and Wills tried to subsist. He advo-
cates the establishment of district museums, and that the children
should be taught to observe the habits and economy of different
animals, in particular of those which are useful, by which means
the wealth of the country would be much inor^sed. Dr. Krefft
promises hereafter a complete natural history of Australian Verte-
brates, which will be the first ever published.
The "American Horological Journal," published in New
York, of which several numl>eT8 lie on our table, contains not
only articles of special interest to manufacturers and vendors of
docks and watches, but others on Spectrum Analysis, and kin-
dred sdentific subjects.
" Index to Prices" is responsible for the following :~The
demand for human hair is so great that it is impossible to supply
it Price has risen to i6x. a pound. As much as 1,000 dols.
has been offered for a " head of hair" six feet long. Some ladies
dress fifty to sbcty miles of hair every morning.
At the meeting of the Sodety of Arts held last week. Dr.
Brands, Inspector-General of Forests to the Government of India,
said that the cinchona plantations were now become almost
forests. Before long they would be able to be coppiced every
six or eight years, just as oak coppices were, treated in Germany,
Scotland, and elsewhere, every fifteenth or eighteenth year, and
this would probably be the simplest and most profitable mode of
getting the l)ark. The introduction of ipecacuanha into India
was also alluded to. Dr. Masters expressed an opinion that
there must be dozens, if not scores, of plants indigenous to that
country, having the same medical properties as ipecacuanha,
which could be much more easily utilised.
According to the editor of the Journal of Conchologyt of
Paris, the Paris Museum recdved twenty-three shots from cannon
of the German besiegers in the course of the siege, destroying
many of the plant-houses. Two of these balls exploded in the
condiological laboratory, in the care of Prof. Deshayes, causing
great injury to the specimens, and the Septaria in the general
collection were literally ground to powder. The large collection
of shdls of the lower sands of the Paris basin was entirely de-
stroyed. This is much to be lamented in a sdentific point ot
view, as it contained many types. A ball also passed through a
glass case containing the Unios and Anodonta.
At a late meeting of the State Dental Society of Pennsylvania
one of the members, Dr. Barker, is reported in the Dental Times
(July 1S71) to have read an essay on Irregularity of Teeth, the
circumstances favouring it, and suggestions on its prevention and
treatment. The essayist held the opinion that a retrograde
metamorphosis is going on in human teeth. To obviate this
there must be improvement in the mode of living, the use of
more substantial food, and from the time of the appearance of
the deciduous teeth children should be under the care of an edu-
cated dentist ; so that when the permanent teeth begin to erupt
they maybe properly guided, and a regular arch result Asa
rule the first permanent molars should be extracted to make
room for the succeeding teeth, for the jaws of the Anglo-Saxon
race are shortening, and no longer have room for thirty-two
teeth. How will this end ?
On January 28, the town of Schamachi, in the Caucasus,
was totally destroyed by a succession of earthquakes. Few houses
remain standing, and many lives have been lost.
A Correspondent of the Globe writes to say that the recent
intdligence, describing the total destruction of the city of Oran
in Chil^ by an earthquake, must be a mistake. He says, that
the city of Oran in the province of Salta, in the Argentine Con*
federation, was destroyed by an earthquake, on October 22,
last year, but very few lives were lost This is the earthquake
referred to in Nature (p. 251), but the date was there wrongly
given as November 15.
Between ten and deven at night, on December 12, two shocks
of earthquake were felt at Serampore, in quick succession.
The second and the strongest lasted about ten seconds, and
seemed to move from north to south. The vibrations were very
strong, but no great amount of damage was done.
The Rangoon Mail states that on the night of December 12,
an earthquake which lasted about ten seconds was fdt at Prome.
The wave appeared to travd from north-east to south-west The
shocks were stated to be severe, and followed in quick succession,
but no damage is reported in the town. The earthquake
occurred on the night of the new moon. A letter recdved from
Herzadak states that an earthquake was felt there on the same
night In another paragraph we give an account of an earth*
quake fdt at the same time at Serampore.
On the 12th of December at ia5 p.m. an earthquake was fdt
at Calcutta with a shock lasting dght seconds, and moving from
east to west It was fdt at Ducca about the same time^ but its
direction was considered to be from north to tonth. It was also
felt at Akyab and in Burmah. ^ t
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NATURE
{Feb. 29, 1872
WALLACE ON THE ORIGIN OF INSECTS*
AMID all the discussions to which the question of the Origin
of Insects has given rise, it is to me surprising that one of
the most ingenious and remarkable theories ever put forth on a
question of natural history has not been so much as once alluded
to. More than six years ago, Mr. Herbert Spencer published,
in his " Principles of Biology," a view of the nature and origin
of the annulose type of animals, which goes to the very root of
the whole question ; and, if this view is a sound one, it must so
materially affect the interpretation of all embryological and
anatomical facts bearing on this great subject, that those who
work in ignorance of it can hardly hope to arrive at true results.
I propose, therefore, to lay before you a brief sketch of Mr.
Spencer's theory, with the hope of calling attention to it, and
inducing some of you to take up what seems to me to be a most
promising line of research ; and, although the question is one
on which I fed quite incompetent to form a sound judgment, I
shall csdl your attention to the light which it seems to throw on
some of the most curious anomalies of insect structure.
The theory itself may be enunciated in very few worc's. It is,
that insects, as well as all the Annulosa, are not primarily single
individuals, but that each one is a compound, representing as
many individuals as there are true segments in the body, these
individuals having become severally differentiated and specialised
to perform certain definite functions for the good of the whole
compound aTi^nml.
Mr, Spencer first calls attention to the fact, that among the
undoubtedly compound animals (which are almost all found in
the sub-kingdoms, Ccelenterata and Molluscoida) the several
individuals are rarely combined in such a manner as to necessitate
any physiological division of labour amoug them. The associated
individuids of aHydrozoonor an Ascidian are each firee to spread
their tentacles, to (hraw in currents of water, and to select their
food, without in any way interfering with each other, because
the compound animal is either branched or approximately hemi-
spherical, and thus there is no necessity for any of the combined
individuds to become especially modified with regard to the rest
But shodd a compound animal have its component individuals
arranged in a linear series, there would most probably arise a
marked difference of conditions between the two situated at the
extrcnTiities and Uiose between them. If they remained united,
some modification must have occurred to adapt each to its condi-
tion. But if, further, the series should be fixed at one end, the
oUier being firee, a new differentiation must arise ; for the two
ends being very differently situated, the intermediate ones will
also differ accordingly as they are nearer one end or the other.
Here there is a cause for the c&fferentiation of united individuals
that does not exist in any branched or other synunetrical arrange-
ment than a Imear one. Some of the Salpidse show such a
rudimentary linear aggravation, but their mouths and vents being
lateral the individuaSs are so similarly situated that no differenti-
ation need occur. A little consideration will show us that this
is one of those cases in which perfectly transitional forms are not
to be expected. A permanent imion of individuals in a linear
series, such as to necessitate differentiation of fixnction among
them, could only be effected by a series of co-ordinated grada-
tions, each of which would have so ^;reat an advantage over its
predecessor as to necessitate its extmction in the stru^le for
existence. We cannot expect to find the union without the
differentiation, or the differentiation without the complete union ;
and it will, therefore, be impossible to prove that such was the
origin of any group of animals, except by showing that numerous
traces of separate individualities occur in their organisation, and
cannot be explained by any of the known laws of development
or growth in animals not so compounded.
£1 the structure of the lower Annelids we do find strongindi-
cations of such an ancestral fiision of distinct individuals. These
animals are composed of segments, not merely superficial, but
exhibiting throughout a wonderfiil identity of form and structure.
Each segment has its branchiae, its enlargement of the alimentary
canal, its contractile dilatation of the great blood-vessel, its
ganglia, its branches from the nervous and vascular trunks, its
organs of reprouuction, its locomotive appendages, and, some-
times, even its pair of eyes. Thus every segment is a physio-
logical whole, having all the organs essential to life and
multiplication. Again, just as other compound animals increase
by gemmation or fission, so do these. The embryo leaves the
* Extracted fromaa Address read at the Anniversary Meeting of the Ento-
molofficsd Society of London on the aand Jaatuuy, 1873, inr Alfred R.
Wallace, F.L.S., F.Z.S., Fkesident, ftc
t^ a globular ciliated gemmule ; elongation and segmentation
then ti£e place, always m the hinder p^ so as to elongate the
compound animal without interfering with the more specialised
anterior segment In the Nemertidse, and some Flanaria,
spontaneous fission occurs, each part becoming a perfect animal,
and in the Taenia this is the usual mode of reproduction. The
account given by Professor Owen in his " Comparative Anatomy
of Invertebrates " is very suggestive of Mr. Spencer's view. He
says : — " On the first appearance of the embryo annelid it usually
consists of a single segment, which is chiefly occupied by a large
mass of unmetamorphosed germ-cells. Aiid these are not used
up, as in higher animals, in developing the tissues and organs of
an undivided or individual whole, but, after a comparatively
slight growth and change of the primary segment, proceed in the
typical orders to form a second s^:ment of somewhat simpler
structure, and ^en repeat such formations in a linear series,
perhaps more than a hundred times. So that we may have a
seeming individual anneUd, consisting of many hundred s^ments,
in which a single segment would give all the characteristic
organisation of such individual, except some slight additions or
modifications, characterising the first and last of the series."
He also tells us that spontaneous fission has now been observed
to take place in almost every order of Annulata ; and, in many,
artificial fission produces Vwo distinct individuals. In some cases
the compound animal consists of very few s^ments, three only
in the genus Chsetogaster, the fourth always separating as a zooid,
and forming a new animaL In the higher Articulata, the process
of gemmation goes on to a considerable ^extent in the tigg, and
even afterwards in some cases, but more or less irr^ularly.
Thus the larva of lulus is hatched with eight s^ments, and at
the first moult it acquires six new ones, which are added between
the last and the penultimate.
The gradual fusion of the once distinct individuals into a
complete unity, is shown in a very interesting manner as we
advance from the lower to the higher forms. In the Anndida,
Dr. Carpenter tells us, the spiracles of each segment are separate,
and do not communicate internally with those of other segments.
In the Myriapoda they partially communicate, while in the
Insecta they communicate perfectly by a ^tem of anastomosing
vessels. The same thing is indicated by the various positions of
the chief apirades. In Smynthurus among the Podurid^ there
are only two, opening under the side of the head immediately
beneath the antennae. In Solpugidse ( Arachnida) they are situated
between the anterior feet ; in some spiders they open near the
end of the abdomen, in others at its base. The position of the
mouth and eyes at the anterior extremity of the body, and the
vent at the posterior, are obviously what would arise as soon as
any specialisation of function in Uie series of zooids occurred.
It is not, therefore, surprising that we never find these change
their position. But for the respiratory and generative organs
there is no such necessity for fixity of position, and as they
existed originally in every s^ment, we can well conceive how,
as articulate forms become more and more modified, it would
sometimes be useful to the compound animal for these organs to
become abortive or developed in different parts of the body.
We have seen that this is to some extent the case with the
former organs, but it occurs to a much greater extent with the
latter.
The most generalised form is to be seen in the intestinal
worms, each segment of which possesses a complete hermaphro-
dite reproductive apparatus ; so that, in this respect, no less than
in their capacity for spontaneous fission, these creatures are
really what we should expect the early type of compound
animals to be. This, however, is a rare case, but even in the
much higher leeches there are testes in no less than nine of the
segments, and Dr. Williams discovered a direct passage from
the spermatheca to the ovaries, which seems to indicate mtemal
self-fertilisation. It is, however, in the lower Arthropoda that
we find the most curious diversities in the position of these
organs. In the Glomeridae the genital openings in both sexes are
situated in the third segment, just behind Uie insertion of the
second pair of limbs. In the Polydesmidse the female organs
are in the third segment, while those of the male are in the
seventh s^;ment ui lulus the same organs are situated in the
fourth and seventh segments respectively. The ChUopoda, on
the other hand, have them near the end of the body, as in most
insects. In the Acarina the ovaries open on the middle of the
abdomen or on the under side of the thorax, either between or
behind the last pair of legs. In spiders the seminal orifice is at
the base of the abdomen, but the palpi are the intromittent
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oi]gans ; these are spoon-shaped, and are besides anned with
homy processes, hooks, and other appendages, and must be
looked upon as true generative organs. In the Astaddae the
sexual orcans of the male are at the base of the first pair of
abdominal legs, those of the female at the base of the third pair.
Among the true winged-insects there b one remarkable case of
abnormal position of these organs, in the dragon flies, which
have the seminal vessels in the ninth, while the complex male
sexual organs are situated in the second, abdominal s^ment It
is interesting to note that this curious anomaly occurs in an
order which is considered to be of the greatest antiquity and
most general!^ iypt among the true insects.
There are many other facts of a similar character to those I
have now touched upon, and they all become clearly intelligible
on the theory of Mr. Spencer, that the Annulosa are really com-
pound animals, or, as he expresses it, " aggregates of the third
order ; '' while the other great groups of highly organised
animals — Mollusca and Vertebrata — are typically simple animals,
or "aggregates of the second order," (the cells of which their
structures are built up being ''aggregates of the first order ").
Nothing of a similar character is to be found among the two
latter groups. No molluscous or vertebrate animal can be
divided transversely so that the separate segments shall be in
any degree alike, and contain repetitions of any important
organs. The distinct separation of parts in the vertebral colunm
has been acquired, for it is less visible in the lower types than in
the higher (the reverse of what obtains among insects), and in
the lowest of all is quite absent ; while in none is there any
corresponding multiplicity or displacement of respiratory, circu-
latory, or generative organs. The vertebral column corresponds
rather to the segmented shell of the Chiton, and has no more
relation than it to the essential plan of the more important vital
organs. Neither does any mollusk or vertebrate undergo spon-
taneous fission, nor that complete and progressive segmentation in
the process of development which is characteristic of all Annulosa ;
nor do they ever exhibit the phenomena of parthenogenesis or
alternation of generations, the essential feature of both which is,
that numerous individuals are produced from a single fertilised
ovum, by a process analogous to (or perhaps identical with)
ordinary gemmation, and both which phenomena sometimes
occur even among the higher insects.
In concluding this short sketch of a remarkable theory, I
would observe, that if it is a true one it at once invests the
objects of our study with a new and exceptional interest ; because
they are the most highly developed portion of a group of animals
which will, in that case, differ fundamentally in their plan of
structure from all other highly organised forms of life. In the
•tudv of the habits, instincts, and whole economy of insects, we
shall have to keep ever in view the conception of a number of
individualities fused into one. yet perhaps retaining some separate-
ness of mental action, a conception which may throw light on
many an ol^cure problem, ana which will perhaps materially
influence our ideas as to the nature of Ufe iUelf. We must
remember also, that if the insect is really a compound animal,
then the only true homolo^ that can exist between it and a
vertebrate, or a mollusk, will be one between a single segment
and an entire animal, and the search after any other will be so
much lost time. Especially must the acceptance of this theory
have an important bearing on all embryological and genetiod
studies ; and if the facts and arguments adduced by its learned
and philosophical author do make out even a primA facie case in
its favour, it must detierve the careful and unbiassed consideration
of all who endeavour to solve the problem of the Origin of
Insects.
THE AUSTRAUAN ECUPSE EXPEDITION
WE have already announced that no scientific results are to
be expected from the Australian £cUp«e Expedition, owing
to the unpropitious state of the weather. The following particu-
lars are obtained firom the Melbourne Argus: —
** The five days intervening between the arrival at Na VI.
Island and the eclipse were employed by the astronomical party
in erecting and testing the instruments. Tents had to be put
up, brick foundations and pedestab built, and distances deter-
mined. There was plenty of hard work, and the time at the
disposal of the astronomers was found to be none too much.
Nor were those who had to sleep on shore with the instruments
to be envied. Poisession of the island was hotly disputed by
legions of rats, who behaved in the most impudent manner.
They boldly eyed the operations in the daytime, winking
widcedlv fix>m behind the tufts of grass. Every night they held
a corroDoree in the tents, coursing over the instruments and
the forms of the wearied sleepers, gnawing hats and any baggage
which promised a toothsome morsel ; and in some instances they
had the audacity to bite the men who attempted to brush them
away. The passengers filled up the interval by visits to the main-
land, and one or two of the neighbouring reefs and islets. On
Thursday, December 8, Mr. Moore formed a party and went to
Cape Sid mouth, the boat carrying provisions for three or four
days. A native on the beach seemed much alarmed at their
approach. When they landed he ran off at full speed and was
not seen again. Only two other blackfellows showed themselves,
though the tracksand camp fires proved that there were many in the
neighbourhood. These blacks were known to be hostile, and it
was necessary to take precautions to guard against a surprise.
The maf^ter of the schooner Challenge^ from Sydney, bound for
Cape York, passed with his vessel a few yards astern of the
Governor Blackall that morning. On hearing that a party had
set out with the intention of landing at Cape Sidmouth, he ex-
pressed the consoling opinion that u they entered the bush they
would never come out of it again. But no such disaster befeL
" On the hiib, which rose abruptly a few humired yards from
the beach, were well-defined quartz reefs, and the neighbourhood
presented all the appearance of auriferous country. A few miles
from Cape Sidmouth was found an enormous heap of the bones
of the dugoDg, the strange mammal which inhabits these seas.
There were nearly two tons of bones, piled up in fantastic
array, with all the skulls on top. At every turn were ant-hills,
rising in solid cones from 6 fl. to 12 ft hign, and almost as hard
as granite. Some of them had fine pinnacles, and these airy
minarets, clustered together in graceful shapes, had a very
pleasing effect. The numerous screw pines were also an agree-
able feature in the landscape. The mountains, eight or ten
miles inland, were well wooded, with occasional abrupt squares
of grassed land.
*' Mr. Moore prosecuted his botanical researches on the main-
land during two days. Those who imderatand botany may be
interested to learn from his account that the high ground at the
cape is sparsely covered with stunted growths and trees, chiefly
Eucalypti and Grevillea chrysantha. Advancing into the interior,
broad -leaved acacias and arborescent species fn Hakea vjAMela^
leuca principally characterise the open forest country. There
are belts of thick jungle scrub of no great width, in which a very
slender and graceful palm, which is believed to be new, occurs
in great abumiance. A species of Nepenthes^ or pitcher plant, is
also found in great profusion. Arahaceous trees are numerous.
Ferns are scarce, but in the open forest the ground is thickly
covered with Schisaa dichotoma, A very remarkable plant was
found as an undergrowth in this, having large white bracts and
bright ereen foliage. It is supp<^ed to be a species of Mussanda,
Toward the north of the cape is a long, low, flat country, chiefly
covered with mangrove. The sandy patches contain a variety
of undershrubs and climbers, with a tree here and there. The
silk- cotton plant {Cochlospermum gossypium) also vanes the scene
with its delicate flower. Among these shrubs a very interesting
plant — a species of Eugenia — was found. It bears a fruit about
the size and colour of a cherry, having a pleasant sub-add flavour.
This fruit was largely eaten by the party, and the ttee which
bears it b supposed to be well worthy of cultivation. The vege-
tation b otherwise principally characterised by a species of Bus-
beckia^ Eltzodendron^ Hibiscus^ Bauhinia, and a species of
Banksia, After leaving the mainland the party vbited Na VII.
Island of the Claremont group, where Mr. Brazier added an
Auricula and a Bulimus to his previous collection of shelb,
which included specimens of the genera Diplommatina^ Pupa,
Hilkarion^ Helix, Truncatdla, Pythia, and Cassidula, Had
the expedition selected a portion of the mainland for the observ-
ing pomt, there would have been some interesting and extensive
explorations in the interior. The party were fully equipped with
arms and ammimition, some supplied by the Government and
some privately owned, but with the ship nine miles off, and the
limited time at our dbposal, much exploration was impracticable.
In any case, there was no anchorage for the vessel within two
miles of the shore, and that was one of the reasons why the
bland was preferred for the observatory.
*' On Thursday afternoon, some of the excursionbts went In the
captain's boat to look for shelb on a small sandbank which had
come into view, and landed on an island considerably smaller
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NATURE
{Feb. 29, 1872
than the fish that Sindbad mistook for ttrra firma. It was in-
tended to visit No. VII. Island, but it seemed that the country
we were in search of had gone under water — ^its custom in the
afternoon — and we sailed over paxt of it On Friday a visit was
paid to the reef, which extends for three or four miles from one
extremity of No. VI. Island. The party landed on a patch of
sand, and waded about three miles in 2 ft of water over a coral
bottom, in quest of shells. Here we had the wonders of the
deep and its strange inhabitants laid at our feet in all their rich
variety of colour. Some curious specimens were obtained.
There were enormous clams, capable of holding a man's foot in
their grip, abundance of hkht-le-mer^ pearl oysters, all kinds of
star fish (some of the most beautiful ultramarine), and many sorts
of coral. One member of the party picked up a handsome live
conch shell, weighing about 141b. Another was delighted with
a strange creature belonging to the star fish order. When first
taken from the water it had all the appearance of a pentagonal
plum cake of about 2 lb. weight, beautifullv encrusted with sugar
crystals and profusely ornamented with coloured caraways. But
removed*from the sea water the glories of this appetising-looking
creature only survived a brief period. When we had been a
couple of hours prospecting on this rocky bottom of the ocean
the tide rose rapidly, and we had no sooner got into the boat than
the whole reef dropped out of view. The attractions of No.
VI. Island proper were exhausted for the majority of people in a
very brief space, but one or two were sometimes to be seen mean-
dering along the beach, the very pictures of placid contentment
The presence of a porter bottle in one hand and an ojrster knife
in the other seemed to suggest that they had been visiting some
of the oyster beds. They were so full of blessed condition that
conversation was superfluous, and on these occasions we passed
them without making a remark to disturb their- dreamy hap-
piness.
" Repeated attempts had been made since leaving Sydney to
catch fish, but without success, only one small one having been
hooked. This afternoon, however, great sport was afforded by
the sharks. The bathers who went over the ship's side every
morning had been warned that there were several of these
villanous footpads of the sea about ; but nothing but the sight of
these rapacious monsters on deck sufficed to induce them to
abandon the practice. The method adopted in catching these
sharks enabled both anglers and riflemen to take a part As
soon as a shatk was hooked his head was drawn about six inches
out of water, and three or four conical balls lodged in that ugly
flat prominence settled him before he was hauled on deck to be
drawn and quartered. In this way six, measuring from 9ft to
X2ft in length, were disposed of in the course of an hour and a
half, besides two which were shot in the sea, and turned over on
their backs to sink. After this experience the morning ablutions
of the company were limited to splashing about the decks under
the hose.
*' Most of the company slept through the night on deck.
With the marvels of the stellar firmament above, whichever way
the eye was directed, we became contemplative astronomers, like
the Chaldean shepherds of old. The striking garnitude of the
sky formed an endless scene to gaze at and admire. Little
wonder that the ancients made me heavenly bodies objects of
religious veneration. When the sun had finished his daily round,
we watched the le.-scr I'ght that rules the night, making her
stately procession through the heavens, and the infinite variety of
stars moving in concert through boundless space. There is much
of the charm of romance m the i-tudy of the science which
teaches us that there are other globei», in comparison with which
the earth is but a speck, and proves to us that the 'patines of
bright gold * with which the sky is inlaid are not simply points of
light, but worlds like our own, with systems of satellites moving
in their appointed courses in obedience to the laws of nature.
These unknown countries afford abuudant scope for interesting
speculation. The mind endeavours to picture the circumstances
of their inhabitants, and to conjecture, by some earthly standard,
what their pursuits may be. Bat the imagination refuses to
believe that the occupants of these bright worlds are subject to
the conditions which bind those who dwell upon ' the dim spot
which men call earth,' and that they have cities like ours, with
their sins and their sorrows. There were some stars in the
firmament which old residrjits of Australia had not seen for many
years. While our vessel was progres^sing northwards, constella-
tions unknown in the south had been coming into view, and we
saw Cassiopeia and Perseus gradually rise above the horizon with
great brilliancy. Apart from the scenery of the heavens, the scft
was beautifullT phosphorescent When the phosphoresoenoe
was stirred all the sparks were converted by the action of the
retina into lines of light, which played around the ship in radial
streamers.
•*No time was lost by the astronomical party when they had
once effected a landing on Eclipse Inland, as we christened the
point of observation. The islet was soon converted into a bust-
ling little canvas town. From nearly every tent some instrument
peered, all pointing in the one direction, as though these mortals,
with their puny optics, thought to stare out of countenajice the
great Eye of Day. The Victorian party had two analysing spectro-
scopes and an integrating spectroscope, both equatorially mounted.
The first was in the hands of Mr. Ellery, and the second was to
be worked by Mr. Foord, both gentlemen having assistants to use
the finding telescopes attached to pick out portions of the corona
for examination. The two analysing spectroscopes were for
examining the nature of the light of the chromospnere and the
corona ; and the integrating spectroscope, entrusted to Mr.
M 'George, was designed to examine the nature of the whole light,
all the observations being directed with a view to determining the
character of the orb from which the light proceeds. Prof.
Wilson had two Savart's polariscopes. The object of polari-
scopic observations is to ascertain whether the light of the corona
is that of a self-luminous body or a reflected light ; also, in the
case of its being a reflected ligh% to determine the angle of in-
cidence, the great question to be settled being whether the
cotona is an appendage of the sun, or whether it exists in our
atmosphere. There was also a magnetic theodolite to record
magnetic disturbances. Mr. Moerlin, assisted by Mr. Walter,
had charge of the photographic department The principal in-
strument was one of Dalmeyer's rapid rectilinear lenses of 410.
aperture and 3oin. focal length, giving an image of about three-
tenths of an inch in diameter, equatorially mounted, and driven by
clockwork. It was intended to take ten views during the totality.
Mr. White, assisted by Mr. Black, directed the instruments for
determining the position of the station and predicting the time
of the diflerent phases of the eclipse. On the morning of the
7th December a brick pier to support the transit instruments was
built. The pier was made square, as the instruments had to be
placed not only in the meridian for the accurate determination of
the time and longitude, but also at right angles to the meridian
for finding the altitude. The first observations were made by an
eight-inch altazimuth, which does not require such a massive
stand as the transit This gave very nearly the local time and
the direction of the meridian. By means of these data the
transit was fixed at right angles to the meridian, the finding of
the latitude by this method being more troublesome and requir-
ing finer weather than the finding of the time. On the first
night the sky was rather cloudy, so that only two complete ob-
servations could be taken. The next night three observations
were obtained, and the third night four observations were made.
This being considered sufficient for the latitude, the instrument
was next morning placed in the meridian, but the weather was
so unfavourable ttiat no observations could be taken in that'posi-
tion, so that the altazimuth had to be resorted to for the time
observations.
** The Sydney party were furnished with an equatorial tele-
scope, made by Nlerz, of Munich, with 7jin. clear aperture and
I oft 4in. focal length, mounted on the German plan. Attached
to the telescope was an apparatus' for taking photographs in the
principal focus of the object glass ; also a photographic lens and
camera, by which a second series of photographs could be taken
simulianeou^^ly, the photograph c lens havm^ a 3in. aperture and
3oin. focal length. There were, in addition, two small telescopes
of 2in. aperture, with a magnif3ring power of 20, mounted equa-
torially and driven by clockwork, and a third telescope of 3 4 in.
aperture and 4ft 6in. focal length. The party intended to take a"
double series of photographs, to make two independent drawings,
and to make naked-eye drawings and observations. The duties
were apportioned as follows i— Mr. Russell, the Government
astronomer, was to take photographs with the large telescope ;
Mr. Beaufoy Merlin photocraphs with the camera, the Rev. W.
Scott and Lieutenant GowTland to make drawings with small
telescope, and Mr. W. McDonnell to act as timekeeper. The
p^issengers were famished with diagrams, and each received in-
structions to pav special attention to some one partictilar portion
of the phenomena. When the day of the eclipse arrived the
instruments were all working admirably. There had been
numerous rehearsals to secure the utmost economy of time, and
all felt that nothii^ but dear weather was needed for saocess.
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F^. 29, 1872]
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353
" On Monday afternoon, the I ith of December, for the first time
since leaving Melbourne, the sky became seriooslv overcast. The
clouds had been gathered in dense dark masses all the earlier part
of the evening, and at ten o'clock at night there was an awful
thunderstorm, which lasted over an hour. The glow of the
lightninsf, which came down in sheets of flame, and 3ie rattle and
crash of the thunder which followed the flash instantly, were in-
expressibly grand. It was something quite beyond the experience
of any one on board. A portion of the astronomical party re-
turned from the shore in the middle of the storm. While they
were ascending the ship's side the lightning struck the iron
rigging, leaped across from stanchion to stanchion in balls of fire,
and broke off at the ropes depending from the dead-eyes with
loud crackling noises before it reached the sea. The vessel was
lit up from stem to stem with a blinding light, and those on deck
could see nothing for some seconds after each flash. The party
in the boat were so much affected in this way that some sdarm
prevailed at first Each one thought he had been deprived of
sight, and asked his neighbour how it was with him. Had we
been in a wooden ship the consequences would in all probability
have been serious. This storm unfortunately did not clear the
atmosphere. Next morning, the day of the eclipse, every eye
was turned heavenward. To our dismay there was not a speck
of sky to be seen. At ten o'clock there were several breaks in the
clouds, and the sun showed himself for a few seconds, but an hour
and a half later all was dense cloud again. Things looked brightest
at mid-day, when there seemed to ^ a possibility of a fine after-
noon. Then dark clouds swept up from the horizon, and extin-
guished almost every hope. At two o'clock there was yet another
chance, though a faint one. This was tantalising. Every in-
terest centred in a few patches of sky and their relations to the
neighbouring clouds. They were aggravating clouds of every
imaginable form and variety^irras, stratus, cumulus, nimbus —
all were there at various times of the day, assuming the most
distressing shapei, but giving no promise of dissolving.
" The computation of the duration of the eclipse was found to
be very accurate, the eclipse occurring, as near as could be
judged, three or four seconds before the predicted time. The
computation was as follows : — First contact, ih. 15m. 6s. ;
commencement of totality, 2h. 42ro. 23s. ; end of totality,
2h. 45m. 49 f. ; last contact, 4h. im. 6s. At the time of the
first contact there was scarcely a rift in the canopy of clouds.
The sun was wholly obscured. A few seconds later a passing
glimpse was obtained, showing that the encroachment of the
dark body of the moon on the bottom edge of the sun's disc had
begun. Then all was dark again, excepting a faint luminous spot
indicating the radiant body's position. A sharp shower fell at
this time, and the Instruments exposed had to be covered up. A
drizzling rain continued during the remainder o( the afternoon.
At the faintest indication of a break in the clouds the astronomers
ran out of their tents, and endeavoured to take observations, but
without any result. Seven minutes before the commencement of
totality there was a gleam of light from the sun, but the phase
of the eclipse could not be discerned. We caught a momentary
glimpse of the silver sickle of the sun at the top, just before the full
obscuration. Then darkness fell suddenly like a pall on the sur-
rounding objects, and we knew that toUuity had begun. It was
a strange weird li^ht at first. The large billowy clouds assumed
olive and purple tints, and then chang^ to an ashen hue. These
colours were reflected in the sea with some variations of light
green and copper. Men looked livid in the light, and every-
thing around had a most unearthly ai)pearance. The steamer at
anchor showed wiUi a wonderful distinctness ; everv line, spar,
and bit of cordage stood out against the horizon with the sharp-
ness of a highly-magnified stereoscopic picture. There was no
total darkness, owing, probably, to the amount of light diffused
in the clouds. During totality, newspaper print could be read
without much difficulty. Nor was there any perceptible diminu*
tion in the temperature. The three minutes and a half seemed
exceedingly short We saw nothing of the corona beyond a
brief glimpse of a luminous mark shining faintly through the
vapours. Some said they detected a decided red tinge. The
clouds turned black, the tints disappeared from the sea, and
utter darkness seemed coming upon us, when a few ravs of light
played upon the edges of a great bank of clouds in the N. W.,
some of the grey tints of dawn appeared, and daylight came
back with a rush, as from the lifting of a veil. A hawk which
had been sailing about swept down into a bush on the island to
roost as soon as totality began. When daylight returned, he was
astonished to find himself within a few feet of forty or fifty men.
and flew off in wild alarm. Though daylight had returned, the
sun was still hidden by the douds. A minute later we faintly
saw the re-appearance of the solar limb at the bottom like a fine
luminous threu), when more clouds interposed and shut out the
great luminaxv for the remainder of the ailemoon. This was all
that was vouchsafed to us of the grand phenomena of a total solar
eclipse. Never was Nature more assiduously wooed to reveal her
treasures to science. But it was all to no purpose. Of the up-
ward and onward march of the moon, the successive dis-
appearance of the solar spots, the brilliant breaking into view of
Bailey's Beads, the passage of the shadow through the air, the
rose-coloured prominences and coronal radiations during totality,
the reappearance of the solar crescent, and the find retreat of
the lunar shadow into space, we had seen nothing. No observa-
tion could be taken by instrument. Mr. Russell exposed a
photographic plate for twenty seconds during totality, but got no
result
"Nothing remained but to pack up and head the ship for
home. The work was commenced before the eclipse was over,
the rain falling dismally all the time, and was completed in less
than three hours. The disappointment to all was very great.
It was especially felt by the astronomical party, but they lx)re it
bravely, as became men who had faithfully performed their duty.
When over dessert that evening Mr. Ellerv proposed in the
interests of science, " Success to the Other Eclipse Expeditions,"
there was not one who did not cordially wish that all the other
observers might have presented to their view the radiant globe
projected on an azure sky, instead of the mountains of dull cloud
that desolated our hopes.
" Later in the evening the schooner Matilda^ bound for Syd-
ney, from Torres Strait, with twelve tons of pearl shell, came
alongside. The master and first ofiicer reported having seen the
eclipse very distinctly while near Night Island, in lat 13* 9' S.,
long. 143" 39' E., about 15 miles from No. VL island. They
were not aware that the eclipse was going to occur, and at first
took the darkness for approaching bad weather, until one of
them happening to look under the mainsail, observed the pheno-
menon. Though wholly unprepared for the eclipse, they gave a
very intelligent account of it, on being carefully examined by
Prof. Wilson. Mr. Walton, master of the Matilda^ stated that
he had just ordered some clothes that were drying to be taken
down, as bad weather seemed to be coming on, when he
happened to look up and see the eclipse. It was so dark that
he had to light the binnacle lamp. On a diagram being handed
to him, he correctly indicated the points of disappearance and
first reappearance of the sun. He drew on a black disc a line
showing the boundary of the ring of light round the dark body
of the moon, narrower in the right-hand bottom quadrant, and
wider, with a projection, in the left-hand top quadrant The
colour of the light, he said, was whitbh, like ordinary sun-
light He was particularly asked if he saw any pink light,
and said no. lie described the boundary as bemg sharp,
and clear towards the moon, but rough and irregular
outwards. The breadth of the annulus which he drew was
about i-i6th of the ^diameter of the black disc. He said he
and the other officers differed as to the duration of the darkness.
The time was variously guessed at from five to ten minutes. His
own opinion was that it was seven or eight minutes. There were
no clouds on the sun at the time, and the blue sky was visible.
Some of the South Sea Islanders on board were very much
alarmed, and wept plenteously. Mr. Hore, first officer of the
Matilda^ stated that on his attention being directed to the eclipse,
he went below to fetch his sextant in order to use the dark glasses.
The captain called to him to make haste, as he was losing the
best of it On coming on deck he saw the dark body of the
moon, surrounded by a fine ring of red light, outside of which
was a broader ring of paler red light ; while all outside of that
was as black as night His drawing on the card showed the
breadth of the inner ring to be one-eighth the diameter of the
moon, and the breadth of the outer on to be seven- six-
teenths of the diameter of the moon. On being pressed
as to the colour, he said it was not like fire itself, but
like the glow of fire when the fire is concealed. The
illustration he used was the glow of a house on fire seen
from behind another house. Only one cloud passed over the sun
during the eclipse, and that was a very small one. Peter R.
Cooper, carpenter on board the Matilda, drew a line showing the
boundaries of the inner and outer annuli, the inner one extending
rather more than half round, the point of first reappearance
being the middle of it, the outer one extending less than a
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\Feh. 29, 1872
auadrant, aad being entirely on the upper right-liand side. He
described the colour as being like the upper ground part of a
kerosene lamp shade in the cabin to whicn he pointed. The sun
looked watery. When he first saw it it was coming from behind
scud. There was no sky which could be called blue. It was a
whitey sky. Cooper's drawing was marked with radial lines
extending across the outer annulus from the inner.
•* The return voyage was begun at daylight on the morning of
the 1 3ih of December. The only lasting traces of the astronomers
left on the island were the photographers' dark rooms and the
brick foundations used for the instruments, in which were en-
tombed two bottles containing coins and newspapers and some
particulars of the expedition. A member of the party, animated
by something of the spirit of Old Mortality in his desire to pre-
serve from oblivion the mortuary memorials of the expedition,
inscribed this touching record on the slab which formed the top
of one of these pedestals : — ' Sacred to the memory of the
Australian Eclipse Expedition.* "
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, Februaryis. — " On the Induction of Electric
Currents in an infinite plane sheet of uniformly conducting
matter," by Prof. Clerk Maxwell, F.R.S.
The currents are supposed to be induced in the sheet by the
variation in position or intensity of any system of miignets or
electromagnets.
When any system of currents is excited in the sheet, and then
left to itself, it gradually decays, on account of the resistance of
the !>heet. At any point on the positive side of the sheet, the
electromagnetic action is precisely the same as if the sheet, with
Its currents, retaining their original intensity, had been carried
away in the negative direction with a constant velocity R, where
R is the value, in electromagnetic measure, of the resistance of a
rectangular portion of the sheet, of length I and breadth 2 t.
This velocity, for a sheet of copper of best quality of one milli-
metre thickness, is about twenty-five metres per second, and is,
therefore, in general comparable with the velocities attainable in<
experiments with rotating apparatus.
When an electromagnet is suddenlv excited on the positive
side of the sheet, a system of currents is induced in the sheet, the
effect of which on any point on the negative side is, <U tfu first
instant^ such as exactly to neutralise the effect of the magnet
itself. The effect of the decay of this system of currents is
therefore equivalent to that of an image of the magnet, equal and
opposite to the real magnet, from the position of the real magnet,
in the direction of the normal drawn away from the sheet, with
the constant velocity R.
When any change occurs in an electromagnetic ^tem,
whether by its motion or by the variation of its intensity, we may
conceive the change to take place by the superposition of an
imaginary system upon the original system ; the imaginary system
being equivalent to the difference between the original and the
final state of the system.
The currents excited in the sheet by this change will gradually
decay, and their effect will be equivalent to that of the ima^nary
system carried away from the sheet with the constant velocity R.
When a magnet or electro-magnet moves or varies in any con-
tinuous manner, a succession of imaginary magnetic systems like
those already described is formed, and each, as it is formed, be-
fins to move away from the sheet with the constant velocity R.
n this way a tram or trail of images, b formed, moves off, par-
allel to itself, away from the sheet, as the smoke of a steamer
ascends in still air from the moving funnel.
When the sheet itself is in motion, the currenti, relatively to
the sheet, are the same as if the sheet had been at rest, and the
magnets had moved with the same relative velocity. The only
difference is, that whereas when the sheet is at rest no difference
of electric potential is produced in different parts of the sheet,
differences of potenrial, which may be detected by fixed elec-
trodes are produced in the moving sheet
The problem of Arago's whirling disc has been investigated by
MM. Felici and Jochmann. Neither of these writers, however,
has solved the problem so as to take into account Uie mutual
induction of the currents in the disc. Tliis is the principal step
made in this paper, and it is expressed in terms of the theory of
ima^, bv which Sir W. Thomson solved so many problems in
Statical Electricity. In the case of the whirling disc, the trail
of images has the form of a helix, moving away from the disc
with velocity R, while it revolves about £e axis along with the
disc. Besides the dragging action which the disc exerts on the
magnetic pole in the tangential direction, parallel to the motion
of the disc, the theory also indicates a repulsive action directed
away from the disc, and an attraction towards the axis of the
disc, provided the pole is not placed very near the edge of the
disc, a case not included in the investigation. These pheno*
mena were observed experimentally by Arago, Ann. de ChimU,
1826.
February 22.—" On a New Hygrometer." By Mr. Wildman
O. Whitehouse.
"On the Contact of Surfaces." By William Spottiswoode,
M.A., Treas. R.S.
In a paper published in the "Philosophical Transactions"
(1870, p. 289), I have considered the contact, at a point P, of
two curves which are co-planar sections of two surfaces (U, V) ;
and have examined somewhat in detail the case where one of the
curves, viz., the section of V, is a conic In the method there
employed, the conditions that the point P shoukl be sextatic,
involved the azimuth of the plane of section measured about an
axis passing through P ; and consequently, regarded as an equa-
tion in the azimuth, it showed that the point would be sextatic
for certain definite sections. It does not, however, follow, if
conies having six-pointic contact with the surface U be drawn in
the planes so determined, that a single quadric surface can be
made to pass through them alL The investigation therefore of
the memoir above quoted was not directly concerned with the
contact of surfaces, although it may be considered as dealing with
a problem intermediate to the contact of plane curves and that
of surfaces.
In the present investigation I have considered a point P com-
mon to the two surfaces, U and V ; an axis drawn arbitrarily
through P ; and a plane of section passing through the axis and
capable of revolution about it Proceeding as in the former
memoir, and forming the equations for contact of various de-
grees, and finally by rendering them independent of the azimuth,
we obtain the conditions for conuct for all positions of the cutting
plane about the axis. Such contact is adled drcumaxal ; and
in particular it is called uniaxal, biaxal, &c., according as it
subsists for one, two, &c axes. If it holds for ^ axes through
the point it b called superficial contact ; and in the memoir some
theorems are establbhed relating to the number of sections along
which contact of a given degree must subsist in order to ensure
uniaxal contact, as well as to the connection between uniaxal
and multiaxal contact. At the conclusion of sec. 3 it is shown
that the method of plane sections may, in the cases possessing
most interest and importance, be replaced by the more generu
method of curved sections.
In the concluding section a few general considerations are
given relating to the determination of surfaces having superficial
contact of various degrees with given surfaces ; and at the same
time have indicated how veiy much the general theory b affected
by the particular circumstances of each case. The question of a
quadric having four-pointic superficial contact with a given sur-
face b considered more in detail ; and it b shown how in general
such a quadric d^enerates into the tangent plane taken twice.
To this there b an apparently exceptional case, the condition for
which b eiven and reduced to a comparatively simple form ; but
I must a(unit to having so left it, in the hope of giving a fuller
discussion of it on a future occasion.
The subject of three-pointic superficial contact was considered
by Dupin, •• D^veloppements de G^om^trie," p. 12, and, as I
have learnt since the memoir was written, a general theorem
connecting superficial contact and contact along varioas branches
of the curve of intersection of two surfaces (substantially the same
as that given in the text) was enunciated by M. Moutard. *
In a corollary to thb theorem, M. Moutard states that through
every point of a surface there can be drawn twenty-seven conies,
having six-pointic contact with the surface. Thb number b
perhaps opoi to question ; and I have even reason to think, from
considerations stated to me by Mr. Qifford, that the number ten,
fiven in my memoir above quoted, may be capable of reduction
y unity to nine. But thb question refers to tne subject of that
earlier memoir rather than to this.
Geological Society, February 7.— Mr. Prestwich, F.R.S.,
president, in the chair, i. " Further Notes on the G^Iogy of
the neighbourhood of Malaga," bv M. D. M. d'Orueta. In
thb paper, which b a continuation of a former note laid
* Poncelet, " Applications d'AnalyM k U G^omfei^" 2864, torn. iL p. 363
Digitized ^
<f>^^
Feb. 2Q, 1872]
NATURE
355
before the society {see Q. J. G. S. xxvii, p. 109), the author
commenced by stating that his former opinion as to the Joras-
sic age of the rocks of Antequera is fully borne out by later
researches upon their fossils. They apparently belong to
the Portlandian series. The author made considerable
additions to his description of the Torcal, near the foot of which
he has found a sanastone containing abundance of Gryphtea
virgula and Ostrea deltoidea. This he regards as equivalent to
the Kinmieridge clay. In the Torcal he has also found a soft,
white, calcareous deposit, overlying the limestones of supposed
Portlandian age, and containing a fossil which he identifies with
the Tithonian Tcredratula diphya. The author discussed the
peculiar forms assumed by the rocks of the Torcal under denuda-
tion, which he supposed to be due originally to the upheaval
caused by the rising of a great mass of greenstone, portions of
which are visible at the surface on bom sides of the range.
2. " On the River-courses of England and Wales," by Prof. .A
C. Ramsay, F.R.S., The author commenced by describing
the changes in the physical conformation of Bntain during
the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, and the relations
which the deposits found during those periods bore to the
Palaeozoic rocks of Wales and the north-west of England. He
stated that the Miocene period of Europe was essentially a
continental one, and that it was closed by important disturbuices
of strata in central Europe^ one effect of which would be to give
the secondary formations of France and Britain a slight tilt
towards the north-west To this he ascribed the north-westerly
direction of many of the rivers of France ; and he surmised that
at this period the rivers of the middle and south of England also
took a westerly course. The westerly slope of the cretaceous
strata of England was also, he considered, the cause of the
southern flow of the Severn, between the hilly land of Wales
and the long slope of chalk rising towards the east. The Severn
would thus establish the commencement of the escarpment of
the chalk, which has since receded far eastward. The author
believed that after the Severn had cut out its valley the cretace*
ous and other strata were gradually tilted eastwards, causing the
easterly course of the Thames and other rivers of southern and
eastern England. ' In these and other cases adduced by the
author, the sources of these rivers were originally upon the chalk
near its escarpment ; and it is b^ the recession of the latter
(which was followed by the formation of the oolitic escarpment)
that its present relation to the river-courses has been brought
about. The author also referred to the courses followed by the
rivers of the more northern part of England, and indicated their
relations to the general dip of the strata.
Geological Society, February 16. — Mr. Joseph Prestwich,
F.R.S., president, in the chair. — ^The Secretary read the reports
of the council, of the Library and Museum Committee^ and of
the auditors. The general position of the society was described
as satisfactory, although, owing to the number of deaths which
had taken place among the Fellows during the year 1871, the
society did not show the same increase which has characterised
former years. In presenting the Wollaston gold medal to the
Secretary, Mr. David Forb^ for transmission to Prof. Dana,
of Yale College, Connecticut, the President said ; — " I have
the pleasure to announce that the Wollaston Medal has been con-
ferral on Prof, Dana, of Yale College, Newbaven, U.S. ; and in
handing it to you for transmission to our Foreign Member, I beg
to express the great gratification it affords me that the award of the
Council has fallen on so distinguished and veteran a geologist
Prof. Dana's works have a world-wide reputation. Few branches
of geology but have received his attention. An able naturalist
and a skuiul mineralo^t, he has studied our science with advan-
tages of which few of us can boast His contributions to our
science embrace cosmical questions of primary importance —
palseontological questions of special interest — recent phenomena
in their bearings on geology, and mineralogical investigations so
essential to the right study of rocks, especially of volcanic
phenomena. The wide range of knowledge he bi ought to bear
in the prdduction of his excellent treatise on Geology, one of the
best of our class books, embracing the elements as well as the
principles of geology. His treatise on Mineralogy exhibits a like
skill in arrangement and knowledge in selection. In conveyiiijg
this testimonial of the high estimation in which we hold his
researches to Prof. Dana, may I beg also that it may
be accompanied by an expression how strongly we
feel that the bonds of friendship and brotherhood
are connected amongst all civilised nations of the
world by the one common, the one universal, and the one
kindred pursuit of truth in the various branches of science." —
Mr. David Forbes, in reply, said that it was to him a
great pleasure to have, in the name of Pro£ Dana, to return
thanks to the society for their highest honour, and for this mark
of the appreciation m which his labottrs are held in England. It
had rarely if ever occurred in the history of the society that the
Wollaston medal had been awarded to any geologist who had
made himself so well known in such widely different departments
of the science, for not only was Prof. Dana pre-eminent as a
mineralogist, but his numerous memoirs on the Crustaceans,
Zoophytes, coral islands, volcanic formations, and other allied
subjects, as well as his admirable treatise on general Geology,
fully testify to the extensive range and great depth of his
scientific researches. — The President then presented the
balance of the proceeds of the Wollaston donation fund to Prof.
Ramsay, F.R.S., for transmission to Mr. James CroU, and
addressed him as follows: — "The Wollaston fund has been
awarded to Mr. James Croll, of Edinburgh, for his many valuable
researches on the glacial phenomena of Scotland, and to aid in
the prosecution of the same. Mr. Croll is also well known to
all of us by his investigation of oceanic currents and their bear-
ings on geological questions, and of many questions of great
theoretical interest connected with some of the great problems in
Geology. Will you, Prof. Ramsay, in handing this token of the
interest with which we follow his researches, ixiform Mr. Croll of
the additional value his labours have m our estimation, from the
difficulties under which they have been pursued, and the limited
time and opportunities he has had at his command." — Prof.
Ramsay thanked the president and council in the name of Mr.
Croll for the honour bestowed on him. He remarked that Mr.
Croll's merits as an original tUnker are of a very high kind, and
that he is all the more deserving of this honour from the cir-
cumstance that he has risen to have a well-recognised place
among men of science without any of the advantages of
early scientific training; and the position he now occu-
pies has been won by his ovm unassisted exertions. The
President then proceeded to read his Anniversary Address,
in which he discussed the bearings upon theoretical Geology
of the results obtained by the Royal Commission on Water-
Supply and the Royal Coad Commission. . The Address was pre-
faced by biographiced notices of deceased Fellows, including Sir
Roderick I. Murchison, Mr. William Lonsdale, Sir Thomas
Adand, Sir John Herschel, Mr. George Grote, Mr. Robert
Chambers, and M. Lartet — The ballot for the Council and
Officers was taken, and the following were duly elected for the
ensuing year :— President— The Duke of Argyll, K.T., F.R.S.
Vice-Presidents— ProC P. Martin Duncan, F.R.S., Prof. A. C.
Ramsay, F.R.S., Warington W. Smyth, F.R.S., Prof. John
Morris. Secretaries— John Evans, F.R. S. , David Forbes, F. K. S.
Foreign Secretary, Prof. T. D. Ansted, F.R.S. Treasurer— J.
Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S. Council— Prof T. D. Ansted, F.R.S.,
the Duke of Argyll, F.R.S., W. Carruthers, F.R.S., W. Boyd
Dawkins, F.R.S., Prof. P. Martin Duncan, F.R.S., R. Ethe-
ridge, F.R.S., John Evans, F.R.S., James Fergusson, F.R.S.,
J. Wickham Flower, David Forbes, F.R.S., Capt Douglas
Galton, C.B.,F.R.S., Rev. John Gunn, M.A., J.Whiiaker HuJke,
W. W. Smyth, F.R.S., Prot J. Tennant, Heniy Woodward.
Zoological Society, February 20^ Prof. Flower, F.R.S.,
in the chair. — ^The secretary read a report on the additions that
had been made to the society's menagerie during the month of
January, 1872, and called particular attention to a young king
penguin {Apterodytes pertfianii)^ presented by Mr. F. P. Cobb,
of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, and to a collection of African
land tortoises, transmitted by Dr. Grey of Cradock, Cape
Colony. — ^The secretary also called attention to the female
Sumatran rhinoceros (Rhinoceroi sumatrensis) just added to the
society's menagerie. — A paper was read by Mr. J. W. Clark,
on Uie visceral anatomy of the hippopotamus, as ob-
served in the young specimen of this animal which had died in
the society's gardens on the lOth January, 1872. After giving
an account of the morbid appearances noticed, Mr. Clark de«
scribed in detail the stomach of this specimen, which appeared
to differ in some points from those exammed by previous authori-
ties— A communication was read from Dr. J. S. Bowerbank,
F.R.S., containing the second part of his " Contributions to a
Genend History of the Spongiadse," in which was contained a
full account of two species of the genus Geodiiu — A paper by the
L/iyiii^cvj ijy
joogle
356
NATURE
{Feb. 29, 1872
Rev. O. P. Cambridge was read, "On the Spiders of Pales-
tine and Syria," in which was given a general list of the Arane-
idea of those countries, together with descriptions of numerous
new species, and the characters of two new genera. — A
communication was read from Dr. John Anderson, con-
taining descriptions of some Persian, Himalayan, and other
reptiles, either new or little known to science. A second paper
by Dr. Anderson contained some further remarks on the external
characters of the new Burmese macaque, which he had recently
described under the name Macacus brunneus» — A communica-
tion was read from Count Thomaso Salvadori, containing
a note on a specimen of Lidth's jay [Garrulus iidthii)^ in
the coUectian of the King of Italy, which had originally been
received sJive from Japan. Mr. D. G. Elliot read a note
on a Cat described by Dr. Gray in the Proceedings of the
Zoological Society for 1867, as Fdis pardinoides from India,
which Mr. Elliot considered to be identical with Fdis Geoffroyii
of S. America.
Manchester
Liteiary and Philosophical Society, February 6. — E. W.
Bioney, F.R.S., president, in the chair. Dr. Joule, F.R.S.,
called attention to the very extraordinary magnetic disturbances
on the afternoon of the 4th instant, and from which he anticipated
the aurora which afterwards took place. The horizontally sus*
pended needle was pretty steady in the forenoon of that day, but
about 4 P. M. the north end was deflected strongly to the east of
the magnetic meridian, and afterwards still more strongly to the
west. The following were the observations made : —
Deflection from the Deflection from the
Magnetic Meridian.
Mag
netic Meridian.
Time
Time
4.0 P.M.
. ; 0 50 E.
6.XO P.M.
I 24 W.
4.30 1,
. . 047W.
6.12 „
1.8 „
4.55 ..
4.58 „
. . 2 22 „
741 »
0 10 „
. . 30,,
7.43 1,
0 0 „
5.9 »
. . 3 45 »
8.9 „
042 „
5.12 »
. . 0 52 „
8.31 »
0 10 „
5- 23 »
. . 5 36 „
!-54 "
I 18 „
S.24 M
. . 2 28 „
8.58 „
0 52 „
5.35 „
. . 0 52 „
"3 M
0 5 M
5.55 >* . . 0 52 „
Mr. Sidebotham states that he also expe<
:ted the
magnificent
aurora on account of the violent disturbance of the needle at
Bowdon, amounting to at least 3". Observation with the spec-
troscope by Dr. JoSe showed a bright and almost culourle.<is line
near tne yellow part of the spectrum. This line appeared in
whatever part of the heavens the instrument was directed, and
could be plainly seen when the sky was covered with clouds and
rain was lallm^. When looking at the most brilliant red light of
the aurora a faint red light was seen at the red end of the rpec-
trum, and beyond the bright white line^ towards the violet end,
two broad bands of faint white light Mr. Thomas Harrison
stated that he taw the aurora on last Sunday evening from (P^ 15™
Ko 9*» 30° and took spectroscopic observations thereon from
various parts of the sky. In each case, however, he discovered
only one bright yellow line, situated between D and £, being on
Kindihoff's scale about 1255 to 1260. He is not acquainted with
any known substance that gives a correspondmg line. The Une
throughout was very dear and decided, ooth in the narrow and
wide slit ; but he failed to discover anv continuous spectrum.
The line was also very perceptible by reflection from those parts
of the sky in which no trace of aurora was visible ; and although
the streaks were both zed and white, the spectroscope appeared
to give the aurora as a monochromatic light
Kilkenny
Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of
Ireland, January 17. — ^The Mayor of Kilkenny in the chair.
Rev. J. Graves (hon. sec; read the report for 1871. The follow-
ing members were elected : — Earl of Dunraven, Rev. W. H.
Fraser, L. Daniel, J. Lloyd, G. Reade, W. Irvine, J. Martin,
W. J. Lemon, A Gibb, A Menzies, F. Barton, and w. Moore ;
the Rev. Dean Watson and B. Delanny, were raised to Fellows.
^-" Historical Documents of 1644" were exhibited by the hon.
tec., one of which contained a key to the cipher used in the
correspondence between Ormonde and the confederate leaders at
the time. The following papers were read : ** On a recent dis-
covery of Coins at Mullaboden, Bally more Eustace, co. Kildare,"
by Rev. J. F. Shearman ; •• On Kilkenny, past and present," by P.
Waiters ; "On some Unrecorded Antiquities in Yar-Connaught,"
by G. H. Kinahan ; " On some AnUquities of Oak at BeUisle,
CO. Fermanagh," by W. F. Wakeman.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English.— Principles of Geology, nth edition. Vol. i. : Sir C Lyctl
(J. Murray).— .Scottish Meteorology, 185S-X871. Edinbureht 'bservatory.— A
Treatise on the Theory of Friction : J. H. JcUett(MacnuIlan).— The Climate
of Uckfield : C L. Pnsce (Churchill).
Ambkica. - Transactions ot the Albany Institute, VoU. x-6.— Transactions
of the Society for the Promotion of Useful Arts in the State of New York.
Vol. iv., Part 11. — ^Annals of the Dudley Institute, Vols. L and ii. — Annual
Address before the Albany Institute : O. Meads.— The Advice of a Father to
his Son : N. Francois.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Februaky 29.
Royal Socibty, at 8.30.— On the reUtive Power of 34 Substances to Prevent
the Development of Protoplasmic and Fungus Life, and in Arresting Putre-
faction : Prof. Crace-Calvert, F.R.S.
Socibty op Antiquaries, at 8.3a — Further Facts in the History of the
Early Discovery of Australia: R. H. Major, F.S.A.
FRIDAY, Masch 1.
Royal Institution, at 9.— Measuring Temperature by Electridty : C W.
Siemens.
GsoLOGtsTS* Association, at 8.— On the Geology of Hampstead, Middlesex :
C. Evans, F.G.S. — Note on a recently exposed Section at Battcrsea : j. A.
Coombs.
AKCHiSOLOCICAL INSTITUTE, at 4.
SATURDAY, March a.
Royal Institution, at 3.— Demonology : M. Conway.
SUNDAY.ViKWCXi 3.
Sunday Lbctukb Socibty, at 4.— On the Icelandic Language and iu
similarity to English. The Literature of Iceland, Old and Modern . Jon
A. Hjaltalin.
MONDAY, March 4.
Entomological Socibty, at 7.
ANTHRoroLOGiCAL INSTITUTE, at 8.— Anthropological CoUectioos &om the
Holy Land. No. III.: Capt. K. F. Burton andDr. C. Carter Blake.— Race
Characteristics as related to Qvilisation : J. Gould Avery.
London Institution, at 4.— Elementary Chemistry : Prof. OiUinc, F.R.&
Royal Institution, at a — General Monthly Meeting.
TUESDAY, March 5.
Zoological Society, at 9.— Notes on an Otrich, recently living in the
Society's collection : A. H. Garrod.— Catalogue of the Birds found is
i Ceylon, with some remarks on their habits and local distribution, and de-
scnptiOQs of two new species peculiar to the Island : E. W. H. Holdsworth.
Society of Biblical ARCHjeoLOCY, at 8.30.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Circulatory and Nervotu Systems : Dr.
Rutherford.
WEDNESDAY, March 6.
Geological Society, at 8. — On/'ni!fiiu»/A«»(;tf«/A^n*(Egefton), anewgenus
of Fo&sU Fish from the Lias of Lyme Regis ; On two Specimens of
Ischyodus from the Lias of Lyme Regis : Sir P. de M. Grey-Egerton,
Bart., M.P., FR.S.— How the Parallel Koads of Glen Roy were formed :
Prof. Tames Nichol, F.G.S.— Notes on Atolls or Lagoon Islands : S. j.
Whitnell.
Society op Arts, at 8.— On the Goiiatk Training Ship : Capt. Bourchier.
Microscopical Society, at 8. _.^
Pharmaceutical Society, at 8.
THURSDAY, March 7.
Royal Socibty, at 8. 3*.
Society op Antiquaries, at 8.30.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alka
Manufacture : Prof Odlmg, F.R.S.
LiNNBAN Society, at 8.
Chemical SoasTY, at 8.
CONTENTS Pace
SciBNCE Stations 337
Burton's Zanzibar 338
Our Book Shblp 339
Lbttbrs to the EorroR: —
Devclopmentof Barometric Depressions. —W. Clement Lb%* . . 340
Zoological Nomenclature — D. Sharp 340
Deep^ea Soundings.— W. L. Carpenter ......... 341
Snow at the Mouth of a Fiery > umace.— Rev. H. H. Higgins . 341
On the Spectrum op the Atmosphere. By Capt. Maclbar, R.N. 341
Prop. Acassiz's Expedition 342
Ethnology and Spirituausm. ; By E. B. Iylor, F.R.S .... 343
Dredging Expeditions 343
Solar Heat. By Capt J. Ericsson. [With IllustmtioHs.) . . 346
Magnbtical and Meteorological Observations at Havana.
By Benedict Vines. {With Illiutrutitm.) 347
Notes 347
Wallace on the Origin of Insects sso
The Australian Eclipse Expedition 351
SoasTiEs and Academies 354
Books RECEiyBO 336
Diaey 356
NOTICE
We beg leave to state that we decline to return rejected communua'
tiotUf and to this rule we can make no exception, Communica'
turns respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publisherst NOT to the Editor,
Digitized by
Google
NATURE
357
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1872
A FRENCH ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE
IN France there is at the present time a movement of
regeneration in the scientific world, slow indeed,
and difficult to be seen through the troubles on the
surface, but the evidence of it is incontestable. The
actual activity is great ; publications of every kind
appear, some quite new, as the Journal de Physique^ the
Archives de Zoologies others improved and extended, as
the Annales de VEcoU Nor male. The Comptes Rendus of
the Paris Academy, which afe the weekly rhumk of
French science, have rarely been so full of important
memoirs, while research, almost dead to England, pro-
mises regeneration for French science.
To take a recent example of this activity, we may
cite about fifty notices relative to the aurora borealis
of last month, coming from every part of France. This
amount of attention paid to a phenomenon which, a
few years ago^ would have excited nothing more than
a mere curiosity, evidences the actual aspirations con-
nected with, and a natural taste for, scientific subjects.
But what must specially strike the English scientific
world is the recent foundation of a French Association
for the Advancement of Science, on the model of the
British Association, without any other modifications than
those which must result from the different characters of
the two nations.
Though this proposal has not reached its complete ex-
tension (no publicity having been as yet given to it) it is
possible, from the rapidity with which the working com-
mittee was constituted, the large amount of money
collected, and the sympathies expressed on all sides, to
predict for the younger sister of the British Association a
great success.
The proposed statutes, which have been drawn up and
provisionally adopted at a series of meetings at which
MM. Balard, Berthelot, Briot, Broca, Claude Bernard,
Combes, Comu, Decaisne, Delaunay, Descloiseaux, De
Luynes, Dumas, Friedel, P. Gervais, A. Girard, G. Ha-
chette, Lacaze-Duthiers, Laugier, Levasseur, Loewy,
Mari^-Davy, V. Masson, Pasteur, Serret, Tisserand, and
Wurtz were present, are as follows :—
Art. I. — ^The Association propoaes to fkvour by every means
in its power the progress of the sciences, their practical applica-
tion, and the diffusion of scientific knowledge. For this purpose
it will exercise its influence principally by meetings, conferences,
and publications ; by gifts of instmments or money to persons
engaged in researches, observations, or experiments, scientific
enterprises which it would have approved or provoked. It
appeals to all those who consider the coltnre of the sciences as
necessary to the greatness and prosperity of France.
Art. II. — The Association is established with a capital
divided into shares of 500 francs each, subscribed by members
who take the title of founders. It will commence its operations
as soon as 200 of these shares, forming a capital of 100,000
fnuics, shall have been subscribed. *
Art. hi. — The Association shall consist of founders and
ordinary associates, who shall pay an annual subscription of
* Thismmount ha« been exceeded some weeks since. It was subscribed by
scientific men, and by the greater number of the councils of the railway,
industrial, and financial companies.
VOL. V.
20 francs. This subscription can always be compounded by the
payment of the sum of 200 francs once for alL
Art. IV. — The number of founders or associates is unlimited,
and all enjoy the same privileges. The names of the founders
shall, however, always appear at the head of the lists, and these
members receive gratuitously and for ever aU the publications of
the Association, as many copies as they have subscribed shares
of soofr.
Art. v.— The seat of the Council of the Association shall be
at Paris.
Art. VI. — Each year the Association shall hold in one of the
towns of France a general session, the duration of which shall
be eight days.
Art. yil. — In the general session the Association shall be
divided into sections, of which the number and functions shall
be fixed by the general assembly on the proposition of the Council
These sections shall be attached to the four groups of Mathe-
matical, Physical and Chemical, Natural, and Economical and
Statistical science. Every member of the Association shall
choose each year the section to which be wishes to belong. He
can nevertheless take part in the work of the other sections, but
only with consultative voice \^oix consultative, )
Art. VIII. — The bureau of the Association is composed : —
I, of the president and secretary ; 2, of the presidents and secre-
taries of sections ; 3, of the treasurer and the librarian.
Art. IX. — ^The Association shall be managed gratuitously by
a Council composed — x, of the bureau of the association ; 2, of
members elected in the general assembly to the number of three
by each section.
Art. X.— At the commencement of each session the presi-
dents, vice-presidents, and secretaries of the sections are nomi-
nated directly by a relative majority of the sections.
At the end of each session, the Association, united in general
assembly, shall name the town where the following session shall
take place, fix a programme for that session, and nominate by
relative majority the president and secretary for the following
year, and also the members of the Council.
The president and secretary shall be taken in turn from each
of the four sections. If either is prevented from attending, he
shall be replaced by one of the presidents or secretaries ot the
divisions of the section to which he may belong.
Art. XI. — The Council charged with the organisation of the
session in the town selected can for that purpose elect an honorary
president
Art. XII. — All members of the Association are asked to take
part in elections by voting either in person or by letter {par
correspondence).
Art. XIII. — The Council represents the Association. It has
full power to carry on and administer the social business, both
active and passive. It shall receive all funds belonging to
the Association, of whatever kind they may be. It shall invest
in Government securities the funds arising from the shares, sub-
scribed by the founders, and from the compounding of annual
subscriptions by the associates. It shall superintend the ex-
penditure of the disposable funds voted by the Association on its
proposal. It shall make all rules necessary for maintaining in-
ternal order and the execution of the present statutes. It shall
convoke the Association, and arrange the programme of the
meeting, in conformity with deliberations made in the general
assembly.
The Council shall nominate and constitute the special com-
mittees for the funds for encouragements, for publications, and
for conferences.
The Council shall deliberate in due form and by the majority
of members present ; nevertheless no resolution shall be valid
unless it shall have been deliberated upon in the presence of one-
fourth, at least, of the members of the Council.
Art. XIV. — The Council shall prepare annually the budget
of expenses ^ of the Association, and shall read in the annual
general session a detailed account of receipts and expenses of
work themselves [de Venercice koulS),
Art. XV. — The statutes can be modified on the proposition of
the Council, and by a majority of two-thirds voting m the general
assembly. The proposed modifications shall be indicated before-
hand in the Convocatory letters addressed to all members of the
Association.
Proposed Sictions
1st Section — Mathematical Science
1st, Division of Mathematics, Astronomy, and Geodetical
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[Mar. 7, 1872
Science; and Mechanics; 3rd, Navigation; 4th, Civil and
Military Engineering.
2nd Section— C^^i^o/ and Physical Scimci
5tli, Physics ; 6th, Chemistry ; 7th, Meteorology and Physics
of the Globe.
3rd Section — Natural Sciences
8th, Zoology and Zootechny ; 9th, Botany ; loth. Geology and
Mineralogy; nth, Medicine.
4th Section — Economic Sciences
1 2th, Agriculture {Agronomic)', 13th, Ethnography and Geo-
graphy; 14th, Statistics.
We are told that certain modifications may be intro-
duced before the final constitution of the Association, but
they are not likely to change the general character of the
institution.
Amongst the promoters of this Association are to be
found the names most celebrated in French science,
showing that this scientific movement is a general one,
and answers to a pressing want
A peculiar feature will be remarked : the general spirit of
the statutes denotes a very decided tendency to decentrali-
sation. Up to the present time French science has had the
reverse tendency, — to attract to Paris all the intelligent
strength of the nation. The result, most excellent for Paris,
which constitutes one of the greatest scientific centres in the
world, has been very disadvantageous for the country. The
provincialy^i////j (local universities) have been deprived
of the most important of their members, and are actually
very far from answering to the scientific standard of the
metropolis. If we add now that the Aiinistere de Pin-
struction Publique not only has insufficient funds for
these institutions of higher instruction, but considers the
facultts as sources of revenue by the granting of degrees,
it -will be understood that it is the right time to act
vigorously to raise the taste for science in the parts of
the country remote from the capital.
Too much encouragement cannot be given to the
founders of the French Association in their task of de-
centralising science in France. The first result will be
to create real scientific centres, vigorous with a new life,
and diffusing a great activity. It cannot be objected
that the genius of the nation is opposed to such a decen-
tralisation, and that all aspirations must necessarily con-
verge towards Paris. This is an error. The town of Mont-
pellier gives the example of a Facultd de M^decine, of
which the reputation is scarcely inferior to the Paris
facuUL It is equally certain that Toulouse the town of
Jeuxfiorauxy Lyons, Marseilles, Clermont, and many
others, under a vigorous impulse, could also become
great scientific centres. To aim at this object, nothing
will be better than to show every year the whole scientific
corps of Paris, the scientific E tat- major transporting
itself to a remote city or town, liberally giving lectures
and conferences, and promoting researches and experi-
ments. Thus the metropolis will greatly help the scientific
renovation, and will show that it wishes not to attract
to itself the whole force and consideration, but to diffuse
its own energy over the whole country.
It is probable that the first meeting will be held this
year at Lyons, the second town of France, at the end
of August or the beginning of September. To the inte-
rest of the meeting would be added the attraction of a
great industrial exhibition.
We cannot do otherwise than wish a great success to the
French Association. We are happy to see that all parties
are uniting in their exertions in such a direction ; that a
good number of associates, independent or belonging to
scientific societies, are giving in their adhesion to the
new association. Amongst the congratulations which
the Association ought to receive at its birth, no doubt
one of the first will be addressed by the British Asso-
ciation. This will be for England both a duty and an
honour. A nation must always] be^ happy to be valued
and proud to be imitated.
QUETELET'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
SCIENCE OF MAN
Physique Sociale^ ou Essai sur le Dcveloppement des
FaculUs de P Homme. Par Ad. Quetelet. (Brussels,
1869.)
AnthropomUrie, ou Mesure des diffiircntes Facult^s de
V Homme. Par Ad. Quetelet. (Brussels, 1870.)
TWO lines of research into the Science of Man, of the
highest moment as well in theoretical Anthropology
as in practical Ethics and Politics, both to be always asso-
ciated with the name of Quetelet, are now discussed at
large in his Social Physics and Anthropometry. The two
great generalisations which the veteran Belgian astrono-
mer has brought to bear on physiological and mental
science, and which it is proposed to describe popularly
here, may be briefly defined. First, he has been for many
years the prime mover in introducing the doctrine that
human actions, even those usually considered most arbi-
trary, are in fact subordinate to general laws of human
nature ; this doctrine, maintained in previous publica-
tions, especially in the earlier edition of the first-named
work some thirty-seven years ago, is now put forth in its
completest form. Second, he has succeeded in bringing
the idea of a biological type or specific form, whether in
bodily structure or mental faculty, to a distinct calculable
conception, which is likely to impress on future arguments
a definiteness not previously approached.
The doctrine of the regularity and causality of human
actions was powerfully stated some fifteen years ago by
Mr. Buckle in the introduction to his '* History of Civili-
sation." Buckle is here essentially the exponent of
Quetelet's evidence, from which, indeed, as a speculative
philosopher he draws inferences more extreme than those
of his statistical teacher. To Quetelet is due the argu-
ment from the astonishing regularity from year to year in
the recurrences of murders and suicides, a regularity ex-
tending even to the means or instruments by which these
violent acts are committed ; his inference being broadly
" that it is society which prepares the crime, the criminal
being only the instrument which executes it." From
various other sources Buckle brought together other pieces
of evidence, especially one which is now quoted by all who
discuss the subject, the regularity from year to year of
letters posted, whose writers forget to direct them. It
may by this time be taken as proved by such facts that
each particular class of human actions may be estimated,
and to a great extent even predicted, as a regular product
of a definite social body under definite conditions. To
quote another luminous instance of this regularity of
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Mar. 7, 1872J
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359
action, M. Quetdet gives a table of the ages of marriage
in Belgium (Phys, Soc. i. p. 275). Here the numbers of
what may be called normal marriages, those between men
under 45 with women under 30, as well as of the less usual
unions where the women are between 30 and 45, show the
sort of general regularity which one would expect from
mere consideration of the circumstances. The astonishing
feature of the table is the regularity of the unusual mar-
riages. Disregarding decimals, and calculating the
approximate whole numbers in their proportion to ic^ooo
marriages, the table shows in each of five five-year periods
from 1841 to 1865, 6 men aged from 30 to 4S who married
women aged 60 or more, and i to 2 men aged 30 or less
who married women aged 60 or more. M. Quetdet may
well speak of this as the most curious and suggestive
statistical doctiment he has met with. These young hus-
bands had their liberty of choice, yet their sexagenarian
brides brought them up one after the other in periodical
succession, as sacrifices to the occult tendencies of the
social system. The statistician's conunent is, '^ it is curious
to see man, proudly entitling himself King of Nature and
fancying himself controlling all things by his free-will,
yet submitting, unknown to himself, more rigorously than
any other being in creation, to the laws he is under sub-
j ection to. These laws are co-ord inated with such wisdom
that they even escape his attention."
The sidmission of evidence like this, however, is not
always followed by the same philosophical explanation of
it Buckle finds his solution by simply discarding the
idea that human action *^ depends on some capricious and
personal principle peculiar to each man, as free-will or
the like ; ^ on the contrary, he asserts " the great truth
that the actions of men, being guided by their antecedents,
are in reality never inconsistent, but, however capricious
they may appear, only fonn part of one vast scheme of
universal order, of which we, in the present state of know-
ledge, can barely see the outline." M. Quetelef s argu-
ment from the same evidence differs remarkably from
this. His expedient for accounting for the regularity of
social events without throwing ovier the notion of arbitrary
action, is to admit the existence of free-will, but to confine
its effects within very narrow bounds. He holds that arbi-
trary will does not act beyond the limits at which science
begins, and that its effects, though apparently so great,
may, if taken collectively, be reckoned as null, experience
proving that individual wills are neutralised in the midst
of general wills (p. 100). Free-will, though of sufficient
power to prevent our predicting the actions of the indivi-
dual, disappears in the collective action of large bodies of
men, which results from general social laws, which can
accordingly be predicted like other results regulated by
natural laws. We may perhaps apprehend the meaning
of Quetelet's views more deariy from another passage,
where, to show how apparently isolated events may be
really connected under some wide law, he compares single
facts to a number of scattered points, which seem not re-
lated to one another till the observer, conmaanding a
view of a series of them from a distance, loses sight
of their little accidents of arrangement, and at the same
time perceives that they are really arranged along a con-
necting curve. Then the writer goes on to imagine, still
more suggestivdy, that these points might actually be
tiny ammaled creatures, capable of free action within a
very narrow range, while neverthdess their spontaneous
movements would not be discernible from a distance
(p. 94), where only their laws of mutual relation would ap-
pear. M. Quetelet can thus conciliate received opinions
by recognising the doctrine of arbitrary volition, while
depriving it of its injurious power.* His defence of
the existence of free-will is perhaps too much like the
famous excuse of the personage who was blamed for
going out shooting on the day he had received the
news of his father's death, and who defended himself
on the ground that he only shot very small birds. But
it is evident that the statistics of sodal regularity have
driven the popular notion of free-will into the narrow
space induded between Quetdet's restriction and Buckle's
abolition of it In fact, no one who studies the temper of
our time will deny the increasing prevalence of the ten-
dency of the scientific world to reject the use of the term
free-will in its vulgar sense, that of unmotived spontaneous
election, and even to discourage its use in any other sense
as apt to mislead, while its defenders draw thdr weapons
not so much from observation of facts as from speculative
and dogmatic philosophy.
To those who accept tiie extreme principle that similar
men under similar circumstances must necessarily do
similar acts ; and to those, also, who adopt the notion of
free-will as a small disturbing cause which disappears in
the large result of social law, the regularity of civilised
life carries its own explanation. Society is roughly homo-
geneous from year to year. Individuals are born, pass
on through stage after stage of life, and die ; but at each
move one drops into another's place, and the shifting of
individuals only brings change into the social system, so
far as those great general causes have been at work which
difference one age from another, the introduction of
different knowledge, different principles, different arts,
different industrial materials and outlets. The modem
sociologist, whatever his metaphysicalprepossessions, looks
at society as a system amenable to direct cause and effect.
To a great extent his accurate reckonings serve to give
more force and point to the conclusions of rough ex-
perience ; to a great extent, also, they correct old ideas
and introduce new aspects of social law. What gives to
the statistical method its greatest scope and power is that
its evidence and proof of law applies indiscriminatdy to
what we call physical, biological, and ethical products of
society, these various effects acting and re-acting on one
another. A few instances may be given to show the
existence of the rdations in question, without attempting
to show their precise nature, nor to trace the operation of
other determining causes.
Thus, for instance, the mode of life affects its length
Statistics show that the mortality of the very poor is
about half as much again as the mortality of the very rich ;
while as to the influence of professions, it appears that in
Germany only twenty-four doctors reach the age of seventy
as against thirty-two military men and forty-two theolo-
gians. The propensity to theft bears a distinct rela-
tion to age; thus the French criminal statistics esti-
mate the propensity to theft between the ages of
twenty-one and twenty-five, as being five-thirds as much
as between the ages of thirty-five and forty. The
* In regard to the relasioa of statistia to the dodriDe of (atnliam. see Dr.
Farre's *' Report od the Programme of the Fourth Session of the Statistical
Congress.'*
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{Man^j^ 1872
amount of criminality in a country bears a relation,
indirect and as yet obscure, but unmistakeable, to its edu-
cation, or rather, to its want of education. In France, in
1828-31, the constant percentage of accused persons was
about as follows : could not read or write, sixty-one ; im-
perfectly, twenty-seven ; well, twelve. The comparison
of this group of numbers with those taken lately in England
shows a great change of proportion — evidently resulting
from the wider diffusion of education ; but the limitation of
crime to the less-educated classes is even more striking :
cannot read or write, thirty-six ; imperfectly, sixty-one ;
well, three. Again, for an example of connection of
physical conditions with moral actions, we may notice a
table, showing how the hours of the day influence people
who hang themselves. (Phys. Soc. ii. 240.) The
maximum of such cases, 135, occurred between six and
eight in the morning ; the number decreased slightly till
noon, and then suddenly dropped to the minimum ; there
being 123 cases between ten and twelve o'clock, against
only 32 between twelve and two o'clock. The num-
ber rose in the afternoon to 104 cases between four
and six, dropping to an average of about 70 through
the night, the second minimum, 45, being between two
and four o'clock in the morning. Here it is impossible
to mistake the influences of the periods of the day ; we
can fancy we see the poor wretches rising in the morning
to a life of which the misery is beyond bearing, or can
only be borne till evening closes in ; while the temporary
relief of the midnight sleep and the midday meal are
marked in holding back the longing to self-destruction.
Madness varies with the season of the year : the
maximum being in summer, and the minimum in
winter (p. 187) ; a state of things which seems intelli-
gible enough. Again, it is well known in current
opinion that more children are bom in the night
than in the day; in fact, there are about nve night- born
against four day- bom, the maximum being about mid-
night, the minimum a little before noon (i. p. 208). Why
this is no one yet knows ; it is a case of unexplained law.
But another not less curious law relating to births seems
to have been at last successfully unravelled. In Europe
about 106 boys are born to every 100 girls. The expla-
nation appears to depend on the husband being older than
the wife ; which difference again is regulated by pruden-
tial considerations, a man not marrying till he can main-
tain a wife. In connection with this argument it must be
noticed that illegitimate births show a much less excess
of male children (p. 168). Here, then (if this explanation
may be accepted), it appears that a law which has been
supposed to be due to purely physiological causes is trace-
able to an ultimate origin in political economy.
The examples brought forward by Quetelet, which thus
show the intimate relation beti^een biological and ethical
phenomena, should be pondered by all who take an in-
terest in that great movement of our time — the introduc-
tion of scientiflc evidence into problems over which
theologians and moralists have long claimed exclusive
jurisdiction. This scientiflc invasion consists mainly in
application of exact evidence in place of inexact evidence,
and of proof in place of sentiment and authority. Already
the result of the introduction of statistics into inquiries of
this kind appears in new adjustments of the frontier line
between right and wrong, as measured under our modem
social conditions. Take, for instance, the case of found-
ling hospitals, which provide a " tour," or other means for
the secret reception of infants abandoned by their parents.
It has seemed and still seems to many estimable persons
an act of benevolence to found and maintain such institu-
tions. But when their operation comes to be studied by
statisticians, they are found to produce an enormous in-
crease in the number of exposed illegitimate children
(Phys. Soc. L 384). In fact, thus to facilitate the safe
and secret abandonment of children is to set a powerful
engine at work to demoralise society. Here, then, a par-
ticular class of charitable actions has been removed, by
the statistical study of its effects, from the category of
virtuous into that of vicious actions. An even more im-
portant transition of the same kind is taking place in the
estimation of almsgiving from the ethical point of view.
Until modem ages, through all the countries of higher
civilisation, men have been urged by their teachers of
morality to give to the poor, worthy or unworthy ; the
state of public opinion being well exemplified by the nar-
rowing of the word " charity " from its original sense to
denote the distribution of doles. Yet, when the statistics
of pauperism were collected and studied, it was shown
that indiscriminate almsgiving is an action rather evil
than good, its tendency being not only to maintain, but
actually to produce, idle and miserable paupers. In our
time a large proportion of the public and private funds
distributed among the poor is spent in actually diminish-
ing their industry, frugality, and self-reliance. Yet the
evil of indiscriminate almsgiving is diminishing under the
influence of sounder knowledge of social laws, and genuine
charity is more and more directed by careful study of the
means by which wealth may be spent for the distinct
beneflt of society. Such examples as these show clearly
the imperfection and un trust worthiness of traditional, or
what is called intuitive morality, in deciding on question s
of right and wrong, and the necessity of appealing in all
cases to the best attainable information of social science
to decide what actions are really for or against the general
good, and are therefore to be classed as virtuous or
vicious.
Moreover, it is not too much to say that the com-
paratively small advance which moral science has made
since barbaric ages has been due to the repugnance
of moralists to admit, in human action, the regular
causality which is the admitted principle of other parts of
the action of the universe. The idea of the influence of
arbitrary will in the individual man has checked and
opposed the calculations which now display the para-
mount action of society as an organised whole. One
point in M. Quetelet's doctrine of society requires a men>
tion for its practical bearing on morals. There has seemed
to some to be an immoral tendency in his principle that
virtuous and vicious acts are products, not merely of the
individual who does them, but of the society in which
they take place, as though the tendency of this view were
to weaken individual responsibility, and to discourage
individual effort Yet, when properly understood, this
principle offers a more strong and definite impulse to the
effort of society for good and against evil, than the theory
which refers the individual's action more exclusively to
himself. M. Quetelet's inference from the regular pro-
duction of a certain amount of crime year by year from
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NATURE
361
a society in a certain condition, is embodied in his maxim
that society prepares the crime and the criminal executes
it. This should be read with a comment of the author*s.
"If," he says, " I were to take up the pavement before my
house, should I be astonished to hear in the morning that
people had fallen and hurt themselves, and could I lay
the blame on the sufferers, inasmuch as they were free to
go there or elsewhere ? ^ Thus every member of society
who offers a facility to the commission of crime, or does
not endeavour to hinder its commission, is, in a degp-ee,
responsible for it. It is absurd to suppose that the crimes
in great cities are attributable altogether to the free agency
of the poor wretches who are transported or hung for
them. The nation which can and does not prevent the
existence of a criminal class is responsible collectively
for the evil done by this class. This we can see plainly
enough, although the exact distribution of the responsibility
among the different members of society may bs impossible
to determine. Such a theory, of course, casts aside the
revenge-theory of criminal law, assimilating the treatment
of criminals to the operation of a surgeon healing a
diseased part of the body, if possible, or, if not, rendering
it harmless or removing it.
The wealthy and educated classes, whose lives seem to
themselves as free from moral blame as they are from
legal punishment, may at first hear with no pleasant sur-
prise a theory which inculpates them as sharers in the
crimes necessarily resulting from the state of society
which they are influential in shaping. Yet this considera-
tion is by no means one of mere hopeless regret, for
coupled with it is the knowledge that it is in their power,
by adopting certain educational and reformatory measures,
so to alter the present moral status of society as to reduce
the annual budget of crime to a fraction of its present
amount Thus the doctrine that the nation participates in
and is responsible for the acts of its individual members is
one which widens the range of duty to the utmost The
labours of M. Quetelet in reducing to absolute calculation
this doctrine of the solidarity of human society, entitle
him to a place among those great thinkers whose efforts
perceptibly raise that society to a higher intellectual and
moral level Here, as everywhere, the larger compre-
hension of the laws of nature works for good and not for
evil in the history of the world
Some slight account has now to be given of M.
Quetelet's doctrine of typical forms, as displayed in the
'* homme moyen," or '' mean man," of a particular nation
or race. This is no new theory ; but since the publication
of the '* Physique Sociale" in 1835, the author has been
at work extending and systematising it, his last results
being shown in the present works. First, it must be
pointed out that the term ''homme moyen" is not in-
tended to indicate what would be popularly meant by an
"average man." An average or arithmetical mean of a
number of objects may be a mere imaginary entity,
having no real representative. Thus, an average chess-
man, computed as to height from the different pieces on
the board, might not correspond to any one of the actual
pieces. But the " homme moyen " or central type of a
papulation really exists ; more than this, the class he
belongs to exceeds in number any other class, and the
less nearly any other class approaches to his standard
the less numerous that class is, the decrease in the number
of individuals as they depart from the central type con-
forming to a calculable numerical law. The *' mean mm ^
(the term may probably be adopted in future researches,
and when teciinically used its popular meaning will cease
to interfere with this special one) — the " mean man " thus
stands as a representative of the whole population, in-
dividuals as they differ from him being considered as forms
varying from his specific type.
To realise a conception which even among anthropo>
logists has scarcely yet become familiar, it is desirable to
show by what actual observations M. Quetelet was led to
the discovery of his principle. When a large number of
men of a practically homogeneous population are mea-
sured, and arranged in groups accordingly, it becomes
evident that the individuals are related to one another by
a law of distribution. A central type is represented by
the most numerous group, the adjoining groups becoming
less and less numerous in both directions. Thus, on
classifying the measured heights of some 26,000 Ame-
rican soldiers of the Northern army during the late
war, the proportionate number of men to each height
was ascertained to be as follows (Phys. Soc. 1. p. 131 ;
Anthropom. p. 259) : —
Height, inches .... 60 61
No. of men in 1,000 . i i
Height, inches .... 69 70
No. of men in 1,000 . 140 121
Here it is seen that the mean man is a little under 5 ft Sin.
in height, the numbers of men shorter and taller diminish-
ing with evident regularity, down to the few representatives
of the very short men of 5 ft and under, and the very tall
men of 6 ft. 4 in. and over. The law of relation of
height to numerical strength is shown graphically by the
binomial curve figured above, where the abscissae
(measured from an origin on the left) represent the heights
of the men, and the ordinates the relative numbers of men
corresponding to each height The maximum ordinate,
representing the number of mean men, is at m « about
5 ft 8 in., the ordinates on both sides diminishing almost
to nothing as they reach the dwarfish and gigantic limits
d and g^ and vanishing beyond.
Again, measurement round the chest, applied to the
soldiers of the Potomac army, shows a similar law of
62 63
%
6s 66 67 68
2 20
75 "7 134 157
71 72
s
74 75 76
80 57
13 5 a
grouping (Phys. Soc. iL 59 ; Anthropom. p. 289).
32 33
67 "9
... 166 119 68
Round chest, inches .
No. of men in 1,000
Round chest, inches .
No. of men in 1,000
36
28
40
13
41
4
34 35
160 204
42
I
Here the mean man measures about 35in. round the chest,
the numbers diminishing both ways till we reach the few
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[Mar. 7, 1872
extremely narrow-chested men of 281n., and the few ex-
tremely broad-chested men of 42UL These two examples
may represent the more symmetrical ca^es of distribution
of individuals on both sides of a central type, as worked
out by M. Quetelet from various physical measurements
applied to large numbers of individuals. Here the ten>
dency to vary is approximately equal in both directions.
Where the tendency to vary is perceptibly different in the
two directions the curve loses its symmetry, as in the
Rgures representing the weights of women at different ages
(Anthropom. p. 349), and the number of marriages of men
and women at different ages (Phys. Soc. i. 272). The
actual series of numbers given by observation are placed
beside series computed according to the law of the ex-
panded binomial, the same which is applied in the theory
of probabilities to such calculations as that of the pro-
portionate distribution of less probable events on each
side of a most probable maximum term, the distribution
of errors of observation of a single object, and of acci-
dental variations in general. It is the closeness of approxi-
mation between the observed and calculated series of
variations, computed not only as to the dimensions, but
the actions of man, which gives to M. Quetelefs theory its
remarkable definiteness and precision.
The diagram of statures here figured, which may be
looked upon as representing a nation measured in one
particular way, at once impresses on the mind a concep-
tion of a race-type materially differing from the vague
notions hitherto current It is seen that individual men
of different statures are required to constitute a nation,
but they are required in less and less proportion as they
depart in excess or defect from the central type. The na-
tion is not even complete without its dwarfs and giants.
In fact, if all the monstrously short and tall men of a par-
ticular country were put out of sight, and the census of the
population taken according to stature, the national formula
thence deduced would enable a statistician to reckon
with considerable accuracy how many dwarfs and giants
of each size had been removed.
M. Quetelefs investigations further prove, or tend to
prove, that similar laws of variation from the central type
govern the distribution of individuals classed accord-
ing to other bodily dimensions, and also according
to physical qualities such as weight and strength, it
being borne in mind that the particular expressions with
their descriptive curves differ for the various qualities or
faculties of man, being also in some cases much less sym-
metrical than in others. An absolute coincidence of the
series of observed facts with the numerical law chosen to
express them would be too much to expect ; it is a great
deal to obtain even a rough coincidence. For instance,
when the strength of a number of men is estimated by a
dynamometer, the maximum number showed 140 to 150
degrees on the scale, the number of weaker and stronger
men being both fewer from this point, groups following
approximately the proportions of the coefficients of a bi-
nomial of the 6th order ; the numbers are reduced as
follows from the table (Anthropom. p. 365) : —
Renal force, degrees. . 90 loo-iio 120-130 140-150 160-170
No. of men in 04 ...18 14 20 15
Blnom. coeff i 6 15 20 15
Renal force, d^ees 180-190 200
No. of men in 04 ... 6 i
Binom, ooeff 6 i
In the various numerical examples here given, the dement
of age is not introduced, the ages of the individuals being
Calculated or taken as uniform. The problem of variation
of numerical distribution of a population at different a^s
is treated by M. Quetelet in a comparatively simple case,
that of the stature-curve. Here a curve approximating to
a parabola is laid down, the ages of man from birth on-
ward being measured along its axis ; each double ordinate
of this curve forms the base on which a binomial curve is
erected perpendicularly, the vertices of these curves form-
ing a curve of mean stature, of the nature of a curve of
mortality (AnthropooL p. 264). How far M. Quetelet
may succeed in his contemplated purpose of carrying his
method from the physical into the intellectual and moral
nature of man, it is premature to judge.
Without entering into the more intricate and difficult
problems opened by this theory of central types, it is
evident that the bearing of its main conception on the
problems of anthropology and biology in general is highly
important Some able anthropologists have accepted the
theory of the mean or central standard as a basis for the
comparison of races, but this line of research is still in its
infancy. In M. Quetelet's last volume a principle is
Worked out which serves as a bridge between the old
and new methods. His experience is that in a well-
marked population no extraordinary number of observa-
tions is required for the determination of the mean man.
In former ages, one result of the national type being so
preponderant in number and so easily recognisable was
that the bodily measurements of any man of ordinary
Stature and proportions could be trusted to give, with
reasonable accuracy, the standard measures of the nation,
Such as the foot, cubit, fathom, &c. In the same manner
M. Quetelet finds a small number of selected individuals
sufficient for ascertaining the standard national propor-
tions of the human body, male and female, from year to
year of growth ; his tables, founded for the most part on
Belgian models, are given in an appendix. This method
is applicable to the purposes of general anthropology. Thus
a traveller, studying some African or American race^has to
select by mere inspection a moderate number of typical
men and women, by comparison of whose accurately ad-
measured proportions he may approximate very closely to a
central race-type.* It is not necessary to dwell on the ob-
vious difficulties of connecting the standard types of mixed
nations with the races composing them. The stature-
curve of England differs visibly in proportions from that
of Italy, the measurements of Scotch and American
soldiers show very different mean and extreme terms, and
the problems of race underlying these differences are of a
most complex character, the more so when the considera-
tion is introduced of the race-type varying within itself
from century to century. M. Quetelet is naturally apt,
when expressing his views in an exordium or a peroration,
to draw a good deal on the anticipated future results of his
add irable method ; but in judging of the value of his doc-
trine of central types, the best criterion is his actual suc-
cess in reducing the observed facts of nature to numerical
* Thus General Lefroy's measuremenls of thirty-three Chipewyan Indians
("Journal of the Ethnological Society." vol. if. p. 44, 1870) are sufficient to
determine the stature of the mean man as about 5 ft. 710., the number of
individuals in this maximum group being 8. It is even possible to guess
from this small number of measuramentt the numericiil Uw of variation in
the tribe, the aeries of groups from 5ft. i'm, to sfu 11 in. beinKas follows ;—
i|ii>8|'6,8|4l»4ii3*>*
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NATURE
363
calculation. The future must show how far it will be
possible to apply to the theory of species the definition
of central specific forms, from which varieties calculably
diminish in numbers as they depart in type.
E. B. Tylor
OUR BOOK SHELF
Magnetism. By Sir W. Snow Harris and H. M. Noad.
(London : Lockwood and Co.)
This is a good book, and we are glad to see the subject
of magnetism fully treated in a popularly written text-book.
It is a second edition of Sir William Snow Harris's
rudimentary treatise, with considerable and important
additions by the editor. The part of chief importance
which is added is Chapter viii., which deab with the more
recent progress of terrestrial megnetism. This chapter
consists of thirty pages, and the author has managed to
condense into that space a wonderfully large amount of
interesting, useful, and accurate information on the
subject. In so short a space we must be content ¥rith
results rather than with particulars, but the matter con-
tained in this chapter, in point of importance, accuracy,
and exhaustiveness, places the present treatise, as far as
terrestrial magnetism is concerned, much before any
similar book with which we are acquainted. The correc-
tion of the compass in iron ships is entered into in the last
chapter. The telegraph is scarcely touched upon, but
this perhaps rather belongs to a treatise on electricity.
We have a chapter on theories of terrestrial magnetism.
The theory of Gauss should never be classed, as it is here,
and indeed as it is generally classed, along with theories
like those of Halley or Hanstein, or with such things as
electro-magnetic theories and the like. The word " theory "
in these cases means quite a different thing from what it
means when applied to Gauss's investigations. Hanstein
and the like ali make some physical hypothesis, which
may or may not be the case ; but Gauss makes no such
assumption at all, except in so far as he supposes that
the needle at all parts of the earth's surface is sUfected by
forces due to the same origin, and varying inversely as
the square of the distance, which has been experimentally
proved to be the law according to which magnetic forces
act He then shows how the effect on a needle can be
expressed in terms of an infinite series which is neces-
sarily mathematically convergent and true, and he then
uses an approximation to that series, which approxima-
tion is justified fully by experiments similar to those made
by the late Prof. Forbes at the top and bottom of the
Faulhorn. Gauss's theory, then, is a truly scientific
theory, inasmuch as it involves no unjustified physical
hypothesis, but is a lo^cal deduction from observed facts
and established principles, and in this differs radically
from the other theories which are too often classed with
it Dr. Noad has been so successful in Chapter viii. that
we cannot help wishing he had introduced a chapter also
on this subject James Stuart
The Amateur's Flower-Garden : a Handy Guide to the
Formation and Management of the Flower Garden
and the Cultivation of Garden Flowers, By Shirley
Hibberd. Illustrated with coloured plates and wood
engravings. (London : Groombridge and Son, 1871.)
Mr. Hibberd is a practised writer on gardening subjects,
though his books have not much claim to be considered
as scientific treatises, but rather as pretty gift-books to lie
on the drawing-room table and give to its furniture a
^wrwi-scientific air. That they have their use cannot be
doubted, but it is not a very high one. The worst
part of this book is the illustrations. From the letter-
press mav be doubtless culled some useful hints as
to the planting and management of a flower-gardeni
though we do not think it eaual in this respect to some
other works, such as those by Mr. Robinson, which are
less under tne trammels of time-honoured prejudices and
superstitions. But many of the illustrations, including
some of the woodcuts and nearly all the coloured plates,
are simply atrocious. The drawings of a show pelargo-
nium (p. 80), pansy (p. 45), ranunculus (p. 156), carnation
(p. 1 1 7), and some others, are mere caricatures, and un-
worthy of a place in any work which bears the least
pretensions to a scientific character.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
The Survival of the Fittest
I HAD designed sending a note to you, critical of the abstract
of mv paper on "The Laws of Organic Development," repub-
lished from the American Naturalist in. one of your recent issues,
before I read the remarks of Mr. Spencer in your number of
February i.
If Mr. Spencer will examine the Essay itself (for sale by
McCalla and Stavely, 237, Dock Street, Phila., or Naturalists'
Book Agency, Salem, Mass. *) he will find that I have there ex-
clusively employed his phrase ** Survival of the Fittest" The
expression "Preservation of the Fittest," not used by Mr.
Spencer, was inadvertently introduced in writing the abstract.
This was done hurriedly between the sittings of the Amer. Assoc.
Adv. Sci. for a reporter of the New York Tribune, and was sub-
sequently printed by the Naturalist whde I was absent on the
Plains of Kansts. It therefore contains several obscurities, the
result of an attempt to abridge, and a number of typographical
blunders. The essay will be found to be free from these.
There being no misrepresentation of Mr. Spencer's views on
this point, I notice the second objection he makes. Where, in
the sentence regarding the Survival of the Fittest, I say that
"this neat expression no doubt covers the case, but it leaves
the origin of the fittest entirely untouched," Mr. Spencer regards
my language as an " indirect statement that I " (Mr. S.) ** have
done nothing to explain the origin of the fittest**
It is pUin enough that my remark doss not apply to Mr.
Spencer or to his writings, but exclusively to the doctrine of
Natural Selection, and to Mr. Spencer's terse phrase, " which
no doubt covers the case," i.e. Natural Selection (not the whole
theory of Evolution). I cannot see that this language can be
tortured into the interpretration Mr. Spencer places upon it, but
Mr. Spencer's language decidedly implies thftt my statement is
literally correct.
I am, however, well aware that Mr. Spencer has done more
than any living man to explain the " Origin of the Fittest," and
on this account in particular his name does not appear in my
criticism. Another reason for its omission is that i have taken
the liberty not to read his work, " The Principles of Biology,"
because I have suspected, from my reading of other works of tnis
philosopher, that it b in advance of other treatises on the subject
I postponed it until, by investigation "in the shop," I should
have attained to some definite views based on reasoning un-
influenced by the opinions of others, hoping to use "The
Principles of Biology thereafter in such a way as its merits
and justice to its author should require.
Edward D. Copb
Philadelphia, Feb. 20
Bthnology and Spiritualism
Tmerk is only one pobt in Mr. Tylor's communication
(Nature, Feb. 29, p. 343) on which it seems desirable that I
should say a few words, in order that I may not be supposed to
assent to what I conceive to be a most erroneous view. Mr.
Tylor suggests that the phenomena that occur in the presence of
what are cidled mediums, are or may be of the same nature as
the subjective impressions of persons under the influence of a
powerful mesmenser. Five and twenty years ago I was myself
• Under thtUtlt, " The Method of Ctcation of Organic Types.**
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364
NATURE
[Mar. 7,1872
a practised mesmeriser, and was able to produce on my own
patients almost the whole range of phenomena which are exhi-
bited in public as illustrative of "mesmerism" or "electro-
biology." I carried on numerous experiments in private, and
paid especial attention to the conditions under which the phe-
nomena occur. During the last seven years I have had repeated
opportunities of examining the phenomena that occur in the
presence of so-called "mediums," often under such favourable
conditions as to render trick or imposture simply impossible. I
believe, therefore, I may lay claim to some qualifications for
comparing the mesmeric with the mediumistic phenomena with
especial reference to Mr. Tylor*s suggestion, and I find that there
are two great characteristics that broadly distinguish the one from
the other.
1. The mesmerised patient never has d(mdls of the reality of
what he sees or hears. He is like a dreamer ta whom the most
incongruous circumstances suggest no idea of incongruity, and he
never inquires if what he thinki he perceives harmonises with his
actual surroundings. He has, moreover, lost his memory of
what and where he was a few moments before, and can give no
account, for instance, of how he has managed to get out of a
lecture-room in London to which he came as a spectator half an
hour before, on to an Atlantic steamer in a hurricane, or into
the recesses of a tropical forest.
The assistants at the siances of Mr. Home or Mrs. Guppy are
not in this state, as I can personally testify, and as the almost
invariable suspicion with which the phenomena are at first re-
garded clearly demonstrates. They do not lose memory of the
immediately preceding events ; they criticise, they examine, they
take notes, they suggest tests — none of which the mesmerised
patient ever does.
2. The mesmeriser has the power of acting on " certain sensi-
tive individuals" (not on "assemblies" of people, as Mr. Tylor
suggests), and all experience shows that those who are thus
sensitive to any one operator are but a small proportion of the
population, and these almost always require previous manipula-
tion with passive submission to the operator. The number who can
be acted upon without such previous manipulation is very small,
probably much less than one per cent. But there is no such
limitation to the number of persons who simultaneously see the
mediumistic phenomena. The visitors to Mr. Home or Mrs.
Guppy all see whatever occurs of a physical nature, as the records
of hundreds of sittings demonstrate.
The two classes of phenomena, therefore, differ fundamen-
tally ; and it is a most convincing proof of Mr. Tylor's very
slender acquaintance with either of them, that he should even
suggest their identity. The real connection between them is
quite in an opposite direction. It is the mediums, not the assis-
tants, who are "sensitives." They are almost always subject
to the mesmeric influence, and they often exhibit all the charac-
teristic phenomena of coma, trance, rigidity, and abnormal sense-
power. Conversely, the most sensitive mesmeric patients are
almost invariably mediums. The idea that it is necessary for me
to inform "spiritualists" that I believe in the power of mesmerisers
to make their patient believe what they please, and that this " in-
formation" might "bring about investigations leading to valu-
able results," is really amusing, considerbe that such investiga-
tions took place twenty years ago, and fed to this important
result — that almost all the most experienced mesmerises (Prof,
Gregory, Dr. Elliotson, Dr. Reichenbach, and many others) be-
came spiritualists I If Mr. Tylor*s suggestion had any value,
these are the very men who ought to have demonstrated the sub-
jective nature of mediumistic phenomena ; but, on the contrary,
as soon as th^ had the opportunity of personally investigating
them, they all of them saw and admitted their objective reality.
Alfred R. Wallace
Development of Barometic Depressions
If I have misrepresented Mr. Le/s views, the misrepresenta-
tion was certainly unintentional ; but after fairly considering lids
letter in Nature of February 29, 1 am unable to see that I nave
misrepresented his views, so far as they are exposed in his " Laws
of the Winds prevailing in Western Europe." Part II., of
course, I i^ored. It is not yet published ; for aught I know, is
not yet written ; and as I have not the pleasure of a personal
acquaintance with Mr. Ley, it is difficult to understand how I
could be expected to express any opinion on a book which is
still in the womb of the future. But as to the present work,
Part I., which I read and reviewed, it is mainly occapied -vriili
instances, ingeniously worked out, in illustration of the rule
which he distinctly enunciates, that revolving storms are doe to
ths depression of the barometer caused by a heavy rain over a.
large area. Perhaps, in the same way, Part IL is to be xnainlj'
occupied by an examination and discussion of the still more
numerous instances in which revolving storms have not followed
heavy rain over a large area ; and if so, I shall be glad in dae
time to give it my best attention. But for the present, having
before me merely the author's existing work, I repeat what I
have, in effect, already said, that the occasional or even frequent
sequence of rain and storm does not establish between the two a
relationship of cause and effect.
A very casual examination of our own roisters, and those of
Western Europe generally, would show that instances of rainfall
quite as great as any that Mr. Ley adduces, happen very fre-
quently without any storm following ; and clearly if Mr. Ley's
nile is sound, it must apply to all instances which cannot be
claimed as exceptions, and that not only in our own latitudes,
but in other parts of the world, and especially in those parts
where the rainfall is excessive. It was certainly not ** necessary "
to travel to Khasia for instances of the £Bulure of this rule ; bat
its failure was exhibited in the mo>t full and clear manner by a
reference to that extraordinary rainfall.
Mr. Ley speaks of some "fact" relative to the Himalayas
which "may be denied." I do not quite understand what (act
he means. The facts I have spoken of are the " heavy and
long- continued precipitation," and a very great depression
of the barometer." If it is either of these that he wishes to
deny, I can only say that his doing so confirms my former state-
ment that he has confined his investigations too exclusively to
Western Europe. But when I spoke of the one as causing the
other, it was not as stating a fact, but as suggesting a probability ;
whilst whether there is or is not " a region in which Ballot's
rules are contravened " I am unable to say ; if there is I have
not discovered it, and I don't know where it is, but it is not near
the Hirnalayas, where, so far as we know, the circuit of the wind
is quite in accordance with Buys Ballot's Law, though on a scale
of extreme magnitude — of such magnitude indeed that our
observations do not extend to the end of it. It is curious that
an author who, like Mr. Ley, writes sensibly within his professed
boundaries, should hav« limited his studies so closely as he appears
to have done ; but as the remark to which I have just referred
shows pretty conclusively that he has not examined into the range
of the barometer in India, so the remark which he makes about
the advance of cyck>nes " in the West Indies, e.g.^^ shows that
he is strangely in the dark as to the variations of temperature in
the tropical Atlantic.
The columns of Nature are not the place to discuss at length
such well-worn subjects as either Buys Ballot's law or the in-
fluence of the earth's rotation, and certainly whether the earth's
rotation does or does not produce the effect attributed to it, vms
quite beyond the scope of my former allusion to it ; but I said
and repeat that its influence is not " obvious," that an argument
based on it is not a " truism," and that to apply these words to
a point that is at any rate doubtful is both objectionable and im-
proper. J. K. L.
Solar Intensity
I HAVE read with interest the criticism in your last number of
Padre Secchi's Solar Intensity Apparatus. With reference to
the single point of the discordant results obtained by thermo-
meters with bulbs of different size, I would observe that I en-
countered a similar difficulty some years ago in investigating the
adaptability of the instrument invented l^ Herschel, commonly
called the " black bulb in voom," to rM[ular comparable meteo-
rological observations. I found that the krge bulbs always gave a
higher reading than the small bulbs. I supposed this to proceed
from the colder stem depriving the blackened bulb of its heat,
the larger bulb, of course, losing less tlum the smaller, and I
overcame the diflSculty entirely by having about an inch of the
stem as well as the bulb coated with lamp-black. I am not
sure, however, that this would answer so well in a non-exhausted
chamber. Probably a small bulb will always be cooled by con-
vection more rapidly than a large one.
In the excess of the temperature indicated by the improved
instruments I have referred to over the temperature of the air, at
the same height— usually 4ft —above the soil (which is also very
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NATURE
365
nearly the temperature of the outer glass in which the blackened
thermometer is enclosed), we have not indeed an absolute mea-
sure of solar intensity ; for all measures of that must, it would
seem, depend on the substance exposed and the conditions as to
cooiingy &C., under which the exposure takes place, but a sensi-
tive test by which slight variations in its amount can be deter-
mined, and the amount at different places and different times
compared. F. W. Stow
The Aurora of February 4
The following is an account of the aurora of February 4 as
seen by a gentleman living in Russia, at Anspatd, in the province
of Vitebsk. After stating that the barometer had risen very
high (30*2), he says; — ** To-night, as I drove home from
Rengarten, there was the most beautiful aurora borealis I ever
saw. It began in the north-west, and gradually rose higher and
higher, till at last it reached the horizon a little north of east,
and such a broad band, or rather succession of bands, that it
covered half the heavens. It was a bright rose colour, and its
light and colour were reflected by the snow, so that the whole
earth was rosy ; though it was between nine and ten o'clock, and
there was no moon, it was nearly as light at day. It is still in
full force as I am writing, and I can see it from my window, but
it constantly changes its form and colour." I think the latitude
of the place is 56 or 57. J. M, II.
Aurora Island
Nature for May 25 (which has only just reached this part of
the world) contains a note respecting the reported disappearance
of Aurora Island in the New Hebrides. In that note the small
upraised coral island of that name north-east of Tahiti is con-
founded with Aurora — a high volcanic island — more than 40° to
the west of the former. It is scarcely to be wondered at that
the mistake should be made when the name of the island
is alone given; but when "Aurora Island, one of the New
Hebrides group," is spoken of as being to the ** north-eastward"
of the well-known island of Tahiti one feels surprised at the mis-
conception.
Has it yet been clearly defined to which Aurora the report
refers, and is it not more probable that the captain's chronometer
was out, or that his reckoning was incorrect, than that either
island has really been submerged ? A few months ago Dr.
Geotge Bennett, F.L.S., of Sydney, New South Wales, showed
me a sketch which he made of Aurora in the New Hebrides some
years ago. From that the island appears very mountainous, and
the map' of Melanesia, in Petermann's Geographische Mittheil-
ungen (1870), makes it about twenty miles long and 2,000ft. high.
S. J. Whitmek
Samoa, South Pacific, Nov. 4, 1871
P.S. — The following notes of earthquakes in the Samoa group
may be of interest to some of your readers : —
May 14, 187 1. — 2.5 P.M. First a vertical, followed by a hori-
zontal, shock.
July I, „ — 9.30A,M. Slight horizontal shock.
„ 16, „ — 12. 10 P.M. Vertical shock.
Aug. 3, u — 12.15 P-^* Slight horizontal shock, accom-
panied by a loud rumbling noise.
Sept. 23, „ — i.45 A.M. A slight horizontal shock.
I was absent from Samoa from September 1870 to April 1 87 1.
During that time there were eight shocks of earthquake in the
group ; but the dates and other particulars were not noted. One
is reported as having been the most severe shock known here.
Earthquakes h<'ive b^n more frequent in Samoa for the past year
or two than formerly.
FOUL AIR IN MINES AND HOW TO LIVE
IN IT
I.
BEG to forward you for publication in NATxmE
an account of some very interesting experiments
recently made at Chatham, on the employment of a res-
pirator in military mining. They were conducted in a
I
thoroughly practical manner by Mr. J. Edward Gibbs, a
highly intelligent young ofificer of Engineers, who, I may
add, has given the respirator a very convenient form, and,
I trust, will continue the work he has so well begun.
It is to be borne in mind that the cotton wool employed
in the respirator is not to be steeped in glycerine, but
moistened with this substance ; the wool ought to be well
teased until all its fibres are wettedb, ut they must not form
a clot. John Tyndall
"When on duty at the Defensive Mines one day
during the mining operations of July and August 1871,
three men were brought out in a fainting state, caused by
a rush of foul air in untamping. Thinking some means
might be devised for preventing such accidents, and the
consequent loss of time and panic, I consulted with
Captain Malcolm, R.E., who proposed Prof. Tyndall's
firemen's respirator for consideration. Colonel Lennox
sent me to the maker to inqiure, and I returned with one.
"With the assistance of Quartermaster- Sergeant In-
gram of the Chemical Laboratory, and several books of
reference, I have collected the following notes : —
"After exploding a charge of gunpowder at a gallery-
head, it becomes dangerous to untamp, because of the
poisonous gases produced by the combustion of the
powder. These gases are CO,, N, CO, HS, C^H^, and II.
The only gases that are present in sufficient quantities to
harm are CO, and CO. CO, to the amount of ^J^ ('005)
of the bulk of the air at the gallery-head would render it
unfit to sustain life. CO to the amount of ^ Jo ('oi ) would
do the same. 100 lbs. of powder evolve 22559*38
cubic in. of gas at 60° F. and 30* B., of which 94297896
are CO,, and 2249*848 are CO.
" Miners working in the presence of the foul air from
the explosion suffer in two ways. If affected sud-
denly, they feel a binning at the nape of the neck, and
their limbs tremble, they turn giddy and faint. This
is to be attributed chiefly to the CO. The miners are
also affected in a slower maimer by the COg. They feci
their breathing becoming difficult, as if there were a
weight on their chest, with a tight feeling in the head ; if
not brought into the fi'esh air they are in time overcome
and faint. This also brings on headache, on coming into
fresh air.
" Any method of getting rid of the foul gases by che-
mical means must interfere greatlv with the progress of
the work. In any case there woidd be considerable diffi-
culty in destroying the CO, as it has neither acid nor
basic properties. A good system of ventilation through
hose would clear the galleries of the foul air, but would
not overcome the difficulty of tmtamping, because at any
moment of the process there may be a rush of foul gas,
which would take effect on the men at work, before the
ventilation could carry it away.
" A good respirator worn by each of the men employed
at imtamping might overcome this difficulty. Prof.
Tyndall's respirator for firemen is constructed with a view
to enable the men to inhale pure air when at work in a
burning house, by separating the smoke and noxious
vapoiu-s. It consists of two parts; (i) the mouth-piece ;
(2) the body of the respirator.
"The mouth-piece is an invention of a Mr. Carrick,
hotel-keeper at Ghisgow, who had patented it.* It has
two valves, /and e, (See Nature, June 15, 1871.) The
air inhaled comes from below, up through the body of the
respirator and through /. The exhaled breath closes /,
and escapes through ^, thus keeping the contents of the
body of tne respirator cooL There is an aperture <?, which
fits closely round the lips, and to prevent respiration
through the nose, there is a nose-pad nxed on top of the
mouth-piece. A wire-gauze partition separates tfie mouth-
piece from the contents of tne body of the respirator.
• This is not the moutb-pieGe now adoptttL— J.T.
366
NATURE
[Mar. 7, 1872
" The body of the respirator is about 4111. or 510. long,
and contains at the top a layer of cotton woo^ moistened
with glycerine to prevent any solid particles escaping into
the mouth from lower layers, and also to stop those very
minute particles of the smoke that may not have been
arrested below. Next comes a layer of dry cotton wool,
then a layer of charcoal fragments, another layer of dry
cotton wool, and then some fragments of slaked lime.
Below this comes some more cotton wool, and then the
wire-gauze cover or cap at the bottom.*
" For smoke the layer of lime is not necessary, but in
the mines it would be of the greatest use, because it has
a. great attraction for COj. The layer of charcoal would
absorb the CO and the HS in the air, and the mixture in-
li lied would be perfectly innocuous. The disadvantages
of ihis respirator in its present form for mining purposes
MIC — that it is too long, and an effort is required in breath-
iii;; through the small valves.t Mr. Ladd, of Beak Street,
Roj^ent Street, the maker of these respirators, has made
some improvements in the mouth-piece, which may over-
come some of the inconveniences of the old pattern.
*• I received permission to use the R.E. workshops for
experimenting on the shape best suited for use m the
mines. Tyndall's respirator has been severely tested in
dense and pungent smoke from pine wood, and it succeeded
to the perfect satisfaction of Captain Shaw, Chief Officer
of the London Fire Brigade. Firemen are to wear it
aitached to hide helmets, but for the mines any arrange-
ment which will support the respirator and keep it close
to the mouth durmg work, without being hot or uncom-
foitable, will suffice.
" Experiments made with the Respirator. — On Satur-
day, August 19, 1 871, a trial of the respirator was made
ill the Chemical Laboratory, S.M.E., in the presence of
Colonel Lennox, Dr. Fox, and others. I was shut up in
an air-tight cupboard^ with the respirator on. By my
side were jars containmg CO and CO, in a proportion of
i.J,7 each of the cubic content of the cupboard (141,698-4
cubic in.), not allowing for the space occupied by my
own body and the stool on which I sat The respirator
contained animal charcoal and lumps of slakea lime
mixed together, thus dispensing with one layer of cotton
wool. After emptying all the jars, I remained for ten
minutes in the full mixture (fifteen minutes in all) without
the slightest discomfort except from the awkward shape
of the respirator. I was then called out.
*^0n Monday, the 21st, another trial was made in the
presence of Dr. Fox and Lieuts. Abney and Galwey.
This time a rabbit and three birds were placed in the cup-
board with me. The respirator contained, in addition to
the charcoal and slaked lime, a small quantity of sul-
phate of soda. The only cotton wool used was a small
layer soaked J in glycerine at the top, and a thin layer of
dry wool at the bottom. The sulphate of soda was intro-
duced according to Prof. Graham's advice, in order to
Ijive an atom of O to the CO to form CO,, becoming itself
sulphite of soda. The content of the cupboard is
141,698*4 cubic in. : from this would have to be deducted
the space taken up by my body, say 3} cubic ft. (Dr.
Parke's Hygiene), or, roughly, 6,000 cubic in., leaving
135.698 cubic in. 1,890 cubic in. of CO, in jars were
nilroduced from a pressure bag, making altogether ; —
1,890 cubic in. of CO,
1,921 cubic in. of CO,
or 3,811 cubic in. of poisonous gases in addition to my
exhaled breath, or about 3 per cent of the capacity of the
cupboard. In order to perfect the mixture of the gases,
I waved a towel about constantly, and after the end of
* Thli order may be varied in different ways without prejudice to the
!•: -j.>.Kor.
t 1 licse objections have been in great part met by the recent forms of
Cm respirator.
\ See remark in the introductioa above.
the trial, a taper being extinguished at the top of the
cupboard showed that the CO, had been stirred up to
the top. The rabbit and two birds died at the same time,
about twenty-three minutes after the cupboard was closed,
while the CO from the pressure bag was being introduced.
I stayed in the cupboard thirty minutes (five minutes after
the mixture was completed and seven minutes after the
death of the animals). When I came out I felt a pressure
on my ears, as when descending too rapidly in diving.
Dr. Fox said that this was produced by my blood, my
heart then beating at a high rate.
*' This is satisfactory, as showing that the gases had not
affected me, but only the exertion of breathing through
the respirator, for thirty minutes, combined with the heat
of the close atmosphere in which I was.
" To prove that the gases did not affect me, I quote some
extracts from Dr. Park's * Hygiene ' :— * Dr. Angus Smith
says the breathing of CO, to the extent of i 5 to 2 per cent,
produces slowness of heart action, while the respirations
become quickened if not gasping ; this is perceptible with
as little as 'i per cent. Less than \ per cent, of CO has
produced poisonous symptoms, and more than i per cent,
is rapidly fatal to animals. CO in excess produces loss
of consciousness, slowness of heart action, and finally
paralysis of the heart.
"The slowness of diffusion of the two gases was
remarkably shown by the effect on the thurd bird.
The cage which held it was suspended at the top of
the cupboard. The bottom, back, and top were of
wood, the other sides were of wood for about \\ in.
and then of wire. The bird, which was at first on a
perch, was very soon affected by the impure air, and fell
to the bottom of the cage. Here the wooden bottom and
sides evidently supported a layer of pure air, for although
the bird had lost consciousness, and indeed was con-
sidered to be dead, yet after being brought out into firesh
air, it was revived by ammonia, and after an hour or so
fluttered away. The other animals, that were not so pro-
tected, died before all the gases had been introduced.
" On examining the sulphate of soda, very little was found
to have been changed into the sulphite ; it would, there-
fore, seem that a constant change occurred, the sulphate
giving up oxygen to the CO, becoming sulphite, and then
the sulphite Uking oxygen from the air to form the
sulphate. Whether the good effect of the first change
compensates for the loss of free oxygen in the second
change is a question for the opinion of a chemist ; how-
ever, Prof. Graham's recommendation is of great weight.
" All that were present agreed that the trial was per-
fectly satisfactory, and I think this is a fair conclusion.
For the object in view throughout has been to devise
some plan by which a man may work for some time in a
foul mine, and may be secure from the effects of a rush
of foul gas caused in untamping, &c.
"Defensive mmes, though small, poison the ground
more effectively than overcharged mines, which allow
most of the gas to escape. I have before shown the total
amount of CO and CO, evolved by the explosion of 100 lbs.
of powder, which, according to our late operations, seems
to be an average charge. It is probable that a large pro-
portion of these gases would escape into the au-, and that
the rest would be diffused equally all round the charge.
Therefore only a small amount is likely to be encountered
at any one point Hence it would seem that the respirator,
which has succeeded with very powerful mixtures of
poisoned air, would be quite enough to guard the miners
from any of the gases from explosions.
"It only remains now to hit upon a convenient shape
which will not render the breathing laborious. If we suc-
ceed in this, it is likely that the respirator would be of use
also in civil work, such as exploring mines in search of
bodies after a colliery accident***
J. E. G.
* This is one of the purposes contemplated by myself, but the sucgcstioii
of Mr. Gibbs is independoit andoriginsL— J. T.
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Mar. 7,1 872]
NATURE
3^7
THE STRUCTURE OF THE CORONA
AMONG the parties organised to observe the Total
Eclipse of 1869, Aug. 7, that sent from the Cincinnati
Observatory was probably favoured above all others in
the advantage of having a comparatively elevated station
and an exquisite atmosphere. The publication of the work
done by this party has been delayed by the fact that for a
year subsequent to the eclipse I was wholly absorbed in
the labour attending the maintenance of the " Weather
Bulletin of the Cincinnati Observatory/' and my subse-
quent occupations in the present office have entirely pre-
vented me thus far from even attempting the reduction of
our observations : the original note-books are at present
packed away with the library of the Observatory, await-
ing the removal and rebuilding of that institution.
My own attention was expressly given to the structure
of the corona aad coronal streamers, for which purpose I
used the full aperture of an exquisite six-inch objective
(one that had received a prize at the Paris Exposition
Universelle), and which was loaned to the Eclipse Expe-
dition by Mr. T. G. Taylor, of Philadelphia.
A short notice of the principal features noted by myself
was sent at once to the editor of the Astronomische
Nachnckien^ but has not yet been published, and I there-
fore take the liberty of restating through your wide-spread
journal the simple phenomena that I then saw.
Our station was at Sioux Falls City (formerly Fort
Dakotah), in the south-eastern comer of Dakotah Terri-
tory, latitude 44", longitude 97^^, elevation about 1,500 feet
above sea-level, in the midst of an extended plateau. Rain
and cloud had continued up to a few hours previous to the
critical moment, but the atmosphere during the eclipse
was of surpassing steadiness and clearness.
The altitude of the sun at time of totality was about 40°,
the local time 3.30 p.m.^ the duration of totality 4 minutes.
No sooner had totality begun than, after sketching in most
of the prominences as points of reference, I viewed the
corona without darkening glasses, and with a magnifying
power of probablv 120 diameters. The whole interval of
totality was, unfortunately, not at my disposal, owing
partly to the very rough and faulty stand supporting the
telescope (everything Had to be transported 100 miles by
mules mto a wilderness), and partly to an interruption by
one of the members of the party ; but there seemed to me
to be no doubt of the facts as recorded, nor was I conscious
of the least undue emotion that might have interfered with
my reliability as a witness, although it was the first total
eclipse that I have had the pleasure of observing.
As seen through my inverting telescope, the structure
of the large protuberance on the right hand lower limb
was well made out. The neighbourhood of the sun was
examined to a distance of its own diameter (a radius of
possibly one degree from the sun's centre), but no trace
of the coronal rays as they were seen by others of my
party. The evidence as to the existence, shape, and posi-
tions of these streamers, as given by my six assistants,
was conclusive as to their actual appearance, with the
usual variations as to details.
That they were not detected by the six-inch glass was
probably due to their diffused light and the small field of
view. On the apparent upper and left hand limb of the
sun, the six-inch glass showed the long series of red pro-
minences depicted in the photographs published by the
Naval Observatory. Above the greater portion of the arc
of the sun's limb thus covered, and extending somewhat
farther to the right, appeared to rise up three and possibly
more conical masses of pearly light.
These were distinctly contrasted against the light diffused
as the background of the field of view, and there was every
evidence that they had an identical structure and cause.
The outline of each of the pearly mountains was that of a
rounded cone, as shown in the drawing — exactly resem-
bling the kilns used in some branches of pottery and other
manufactures. The apices of the cones were blunted or
truncated, and not well defined ; the outlines of the sides
of the cones were quite sharp down to within a few
minutes of the sun's limb, when all three appeared to
begin to lose their distincliire characteristics.
The height of the apices above the limb varied between
one-half and two-thirds of the solar radius ; the diameters
of the bases of the cones were probably included between
seven and three minutes. Each apex was of a slightly
dusky shade compared with the body of the cone.
The most interesting feature was an unmistakable stria-
tion upon the surface of each cone ; the striae apparently
twisting spirally around up to the apex opposite to the
movement of the hands of a watch, as represented in the
accompanying drawing.
I noticed no colouration of these strias other than their
darker hue. The details of this striking and new phe-
nomenon interested me so much that I naturally enough
lost the observation of the third contact The pearly
cones were on that limb of the sun from which the moon
was moving, and the details were every moment becoming
more distinct, when the growing height of the bank of red
protuberances was followed by the too speedy apparition
of the glowing sun beneath.
Chagrin at the loss or imperfect observation of the third
contact caused me to forget to note whether the three
cones continued in view for any number of seconds there-
after. From the time of first recoenising the pearly cones,
until their disappearance, probably thirty seconds elapsed
(I am writing without my note-book or other aid to
memory), and I did not note any change in the appear-
ance of the striae.
The middle one of these cones caught my eye more
especially, and the impression was that the other two,
especially that on the right, was some distance behind it,
or possibly obscured by a cloud of haze in the solar at-
mosphere. At the time it seemed to me that I saw in the
central cone a column of smoke and hot g^s ascending
high above the area of red fiames, then visible on the
surface of the sun, and that the other two cones corre-
sponded to other areas of red fiames behind. The dif-
ference in character and position between these cones and
the coronal streamers as observed by the others with the
naked eye, and with opera glasses, seemed to argue that
the latter were very probably individual subjective pheno-
mena, or that they originated in the earth's atmosphere
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36»
NATURE
[Mar. 7, 1872
whilst the pearly cones existed in the solar atmosphere
and constituted a true solar corona.
My long delay in making this communication to the
scientific world will be excused, I trust, in view of the im-
perative demands made upon my time during the two
years that have elapsed since the Eclipse of i8^ I shall
be deeply interestea to learn whether Uie phenomena seen
by myself may not be repeated on some other occasion
and be studied by more experienced observers.
I may add that I had hastily provided myself with a
Nicbl's prism in hopes of making at least some trial of the
nature of the coronal light ; but the rude apparatus did
not work satisfactorily, and I confined myself to detaib of
structure ; indeed, in my earnest gaze upon the novel
phenomena I quite forgot the polarising apparatus.
Cleveland Abbe
Office of the Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army,
Washington, Feb. 6, 1872
EARTH'CURRENTS AND THE AURORA BO-
RE A LIS OF FEBRUARY 4, 1872
T T is unforttmate that more accurate observations of the
•*■ electrical phenomena accompanying auroral displays
cannot be made upon the telegraph wires of this countxy.
The truth is, public business cannot be made to suffer for
scientific investigation, and at such moments the disturb-
ance of the wires makes it more than ever imperative that
delays should not occur. The whole efforts of the staff
are directed to maintain the communications intact, hence
the observations made on February 4 are not very nume-
rous, though they are sufficiently interesting to deserve
record.
At Portsmouth twenty-six observations were made of
the direction and strength of the earth-currents on a wire
extending from Portsmouth to London, vid the London
and South- Western Railway— a length of 74 miles, giving
a resistance of 995 ohms. These were as follows : —
•%
I
Tiow.
1
s
M
Q
l^t
P
30^
20
6.11
10
6.13
30
6.15
25
6.«7
40
6.19
30
6.21
N
IS
<5.«3
'i
24
6.2,
20
6.27
»»
20
6.29
—
0
6.31
P
8
6.33
It
13
Remarks.
° 1
Time.
6.41
P
7.35
7.42
It
N
>>
8.6
8.8
8.22
8.28
8.30
N
P
90
! 9.40
1 1
o
41
68
o
o
35
12
o
o
o
o
Remarks.
"No observa-
tions made
between
^6.4i&7.35.
E*To observa-
ionsmade
between
.30 & 9.0
.M.
P means Positive from London to Portsmouth,
The officer who made these observations writes : —
" Strong deflections arising from earth currents were ob-
served on all circuits except the local ones. The duration
of the currents changed from north to south at intervals
of a few minutes, and varied in strength from 1° to 68^.
The strength of the current was proportionate to the
length of the wire. Thus Chichester circuit (a short one)
was affected less than the Guildford, and the latter less
than the London circtrits. The working was niaintained
to London with comparative ease by looping two circuits
together at each end." The latter method is that usually
adopted to overcome the disturbance due to earth currents,
bat of course it is only applicable in places where there
are two wires or more.
Another officer at the Waterloo Station, London, ob-
served the deflections gradually appear on every needle
circuit, of which many concentrate at that station. Xhcy
commenced about 2 P.M., and from that period to 8 p.m.
they had all alike been more or less disturbed. 1 1 was
noticed that the needles moved over gradually, not by a
continuous motion, but by jerks, resembling that of the
minute hand of a large clock. This has, however, been
proved to be due to the friction of the pivots, and not to
any pulsations in the currents.
The currents were always most apparent, and first no-
ticeable on the longfest lines, and as the lengths of the
circuits terminating at Waterloo are very variable, this
gradual appearance was very interesting. Lines running^
south-west and west appear to have been most aflfectecL
All the wires in the Channel Islands were also very
much disturbed. In fact Jersey was broken down to
England for three hours, owing to the fact of there only
being one cable. The section most affected was that
between England and Guernsey. It was also noted that
the wires in France were very much influenced.
The records from abroad snow that, as in previous c ases
of storms of this character, the effect hais been simultaneous
all over the globe. The French Atlantic cable was
seriously affected ; the strength of the current was at one
time equal to 90 Daniell cells. It was at times im-
possible to read even with condensers in circuit The
American lines were also disturbed in the East, West,
and North, but not in the South.
It is much to be regretted that simultaneous observa-
tions cannot be made in various parts of the globe, detail-
ing, in comprehensible units of measurement, the direction
and strength of these currents, as well as the exact lime
of their appearance and disappearance. We might then
arrive at some knowledge of their cause.
Southampton, Feb. 24 W. H. Preece
THE DARMSTADT POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL
'X*HE following epitome of the programme of the
-■■ "Grand Ducal Hessian Poljrtechnic School of
Darmstadt " may interest the readers of Nature as a
further illustration of the facilities offered in Germany
for technical training of the highest and most practical
kind.
The object of the school is stated to be a thorough
scientific, as well as artistic, education, for all techniod
pursuits, assisted by appropriate practical exercises. The
mstitution affords special facilities for the educati<m of
architects, engineers, mechanical and chemical technicists,
manufacturers, craftsmen, and agriculturists. The insti-
tution is divided into the following sections : — (i) the
Lower School ; ^2) the School of Architecture ; (3) of
Engineering ; (4) of Machinery ; (5) of Technical
Chemistry ; and (6) of Agriculture.
The Lower School aims at giving a general instruction
in mathematics, natural science, and design, as a founda-
tion for the special pursuits taken up afterwards. For
admission into the school it is necessary that the student
shall be sfarteen years of age, and have received such an
education as would be afforded by the highest class of
a " Realschule,** or the third course of a "Gymnasium,"
with the exception of the dead languages. This implies
a knowledge of algebra, as far as equations of the
second order, an acquaintance with loganthms, with plain
geometry, and the elements of solid geometnr, practice in
German style, a knowledge of the outlines of history, and
some practice in linear and free-hand drawing.
Examinations are held in the bwer school at the end of
each half-year, in the other divisions at the end of each
year ; a diploma is only given if the student gives satis-
factory evidence of having completely mastered one of
the bnmches of technical study hi which special instruc-
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Mar. 7, 1872]
NATURE
369
tion is given. The payments consist of an entrance>fee
of 5 fl., and a payment of 50 fl. per annum ; and in addi-
tion 6 fl. is charged for every day's work of 7 hours in the
chemical laboratory ; 10 fl. for 2 afternoons of 3 hours in
the physical laboratory.
In addition to the subjects required in each special de-
partment, lectures or instruction are given in the following
subjects, and attendance at some of them is strongly re-
conmiended to all students, in order to give a wider
culture than would be attained by exclusive attention to
his special pursuit ; — (i) Exercises in Literature and
History ; (2) the French and English Languages ; (3)
the General History of Art ; (4) National Economy ; (5)
Conmiercial Knowledge ; (6) the Principles of Jurispru-
dence; (7) Physical Geography; (8) Zoology; (9) Sys-
tematic Botany; (10) Singing and Gymnastics.
The course in the Lower School extends over two years, in
which the following subjects are compulsory : — First year,
(i) History and Literature with the German Languages ;
(2) Higher Algebra ; (3) Stereometry and Trigonometry ;
(4) French; (5) Outline Geometry; (6) Free-hand
Drawing. Second year, (i) History and Literature with
the German Language ; (2) Analytical Plane Geometry ;
(3) Algebraic Analysis, the Differential and Integral
Calculus; (4) Higher Algebra; (5) Experimental Phy-
sics; (6) Mechanics; (7) French; (8) Free-hand Draw-
ing ; (9) Outl'me Geometry.
In the special schools for Architecture, Engineering,
Mechanics, Technical Chemistry, and Agriculture, the
entire com^e extends over a period of from two to four
years. The extent to which the studies are carried will
be illustrated by the following abstracts of the curriculum
in the Agricultural School, the shortest of the courses : —
First year (i) Experimental Physics; (2) Experimental
Chemistry ; (3) Chemical Exercises ; (4) Histology
and Morphology ; (5) Vegetable Physiology ; (6) Syste-
matic Botany (with excursions) ; (7) Zoology ; (8) Minera-
logy ; (9) The Study of Rocks ; (10) Anatomy of Domestic
Mammalia; (11) Physiology of Domestic Mammalia;
(12) External form of Domestic Mammalia ; (13) Agricul-
tiual Implements and Machines ; (14) Nationad Economy ;
(15) Mathematics ; (16) The Drawing of Plans. Second
year — (i) Chemical Exercises ; (2) Agricultural Chemistry ;
(3) Practical Microscopy ; (4) Practical Physiology ; (5)
The Diseases of Plants ; (6) General Agriculture ; (7)
Special Agriculture ; (8) General Breeding of Aninials ;
(9) Special Breeding of Animals ; (10) The Conmierce of
Agriculture; (11) The Cultivation of Garden, Orchard,
and Vine ; (12) Internal Diseases of Domestic Mammalia ;
(13) External Diseases of Domestic Mammalia ; (14)
Technology (Heating and Lighting) ; (15) Agriculturcd
Book-keeping ; (16) Irrigation, Tilling, &c. ; (17) History
and Literature of Agriculture ; (18) Practical Geometry.
To assist in the studies of the pupils there are
chemical and physical laboratories, an experimental farm,
mineralogical, zoological, and botanical collections, models
of macmnery, designs, libraries, excursions into the
country, &c. Under special circumstances students can
be admitted as " Hospitanten " to certain only of the
studies, without going through the entire course ; but care
is taken that this does not interfere with the regular
studies of the other students.
LAKE VILLAGES IN SWITZERLAND
IT is satisfactoiy tofind that the correspondents of some
of the daily journals are now in the habit of giving
scientific information to their readers. The following is
taken from the Standard: —
^ An interesting archaeolc^cal discovery has recently
been made on the shores of the Lake of Bienne. The
Swiss Government has been for a long time endea-
vouring to drain a considerable tract of land between the
two lakes of Morat and Bienne, but in order to do this
effectually it has been found necessary to lower the level
of the latter by cutting a canal from it to the lake of
Neuchatel At the beginning of the present year the
sluices were opened, and the waters of the Lake of Bienne
allowed to flow into that of Neuchatel. Up to the present
time the level of the Bieler See has fallen upwards of
three feet, and this fall has brought to light a number of
stakes driven firmly into the bed of the lake. This fact
becoming known, a number of Swiss archaeologists visited
the spot, and it was decided to remove the soil round these
stakes to see whether any remains of a Lacustrine village,
which they suspected had been raised upon them, could
be traced. At a distance of between five and six feet
from the present bed of the lake the workmen came upon
a large number of objects of various kinds, which have
been collected and are at present under the custody of Dr.
Gross, of Locrass. Among them are pieces of cord made
from hemp, vases, stags' horns, stone hatchets, and utensils
used apparently for cooking. The most precious specimen
is, however, a hatchet made of nephrite (the name given
to a peculiarly hard kind of stone from which ths Lacus-
trines formed their cutting instruments). This hatchet is
sixteen centimetres long by seven broad, and is by far the
largest yet discovered in any part of Switzerland, no other
collection having any measuring more than eight centi-
metres in length. A quantity of the bones found at the
same time have been sent to Dr. Uhlmann, of Miinchen-
buchsee, for examination by him, and he finds that they
belong to the following animals, viz, :— stag, horse, ox,
wild boar, pig, goat, beaver, dog, mouse, &c., together
with a number of human bones. If the level of the lake
continues to sink, it is hoped that further discoveries will
be made, and the scientific world here is waiting the
result of the engineering operations with keen interest"
NOTES
Wb have great pleasure in announcing that Prof. Andrew C.
Ramsay, F.R.S., has been appointed Director-General of the
Geological Survey in the room of the late Sir Roderick I.
Marclnson.
^ At the moment of going to press we have received the an-
nouncement of the death of Prof. Goldstiicker, the eminent
Sanscrit scholar. He died on Wednesday morning.
Mr. G. B. Airv, the Astronomer Royal, and Prof. Agassiz,
were elected foreign associates of the AcadimU des Sciences at
Paris in the room of the late Sir J. Herschel and Sir R. I.
Murchison at the meeting on the 26lh ult
Dr. Maxwell Simpson, F.R.S., has been elected as suc-
cessor to the late Dr. Blyth in the chair ^of Chemistry, Queen's
Collie, Cork. Dr. Simpson is well known to men of science
at home and abroad as an accomplished chemist, and one who
has been especially distinguished for his original researches.
The Crystal Palace Company's School of Art, Science, and
Literature is about to take an important step, having for its ob-
ject the emphasising of the science branch of the school, in order
that eventually the south of London may be provided with an
institution which, in a measure, may represent the Royal and
London Institutions which already exist in the west and centre.
The step consists in adding to the courses of lectures on scientific
subjects already given special courses to be given from time to
time by scientific men of eminence, similar to the courses given
in the Institutions before referred to ; and it is hoped that the
same lectures and the same standard of excellence and illustration
may be secured. As the lecture theatre of the school has been
burnt down, the lectures, pending its rebuilding, are to be given
in the theatre in the Crystal Palace ; but it need scarcely be stated
that these lectures have no connection with the Crystal Palace,
except so far as the School of Art, Science, and Literature is
connected with it, and that they will be given at a time when the
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NATURE
[Mar. 7, 1872
Palace is closed to the general pablic. Mr. Norman Lockyer
has consented to give the first course of lectures. This step
taken by the Committee u in every way to be conamended, and
\v£ look with confidence to the success of these lectures as paving
the way for others in various parts of the country, which may
eventually do much towards popularising Science among the
massss.
Prof. P," Martin Duncan, F.R.S., is now delivering the
course of Lectures on Biology to the dasB for the Higher Educa^
tion of Women at South Kensington, in the place of Prof.
Huxley, who is still in Egypt for the complete restoration of his
health*
Mr. W. Marshall Watts, D.Sc, of the London Uni-
versity, has been appointed to an assistant mastership in Giggles-
wick Grammar School, Yorkshire, The governors have settled
that chemistry, including practical work in a laboratory, and
physics, shall hereafter be taught in the school, and the teaching
of these branches of science has been entrusted to Dr. , Watts.
Until recently Dr. Watts has had the main charge of the teaching
of chemistry in the Manchester Grammar School, a school
which has been eminently successful in obtaining scholarships in
physical science at Oxford. Mr. E. K. Pnmell, Scholar and
Prizeman of Magdalen College, Cambridge, has also lately been
appointed to a classical mastership hi Giggleswick School.
The Council of the St. Andrews Medical Graduates' Asso-
ciation are about to appeal to the many friends of the late Pro-
fessor of Medicine in the University of St. Andrews, to aid them
in an attempt to make a more fitting provision for his widow than
Dr. Day's ill-health allowed him to accomplish. We regret to
learn that snchjan appeal is necessary, and heartily wish it success.
The Haberdashers' Company have recently awarded Mr.
Webb, the Senior Wrangler of Cambridge, 50/. for three con-
secutive years ; he having been a pupil of the Rev. C. M.
I^oberts at Monmouth, of which school the Haberdashers'
( 'orapany are governors. They also propose to grant four ex-
hibitions of 50/. to the children or grandchildren or apprentices
of Liverymen of the Company under ceftain restrictions, to be
tenable for three years. In addition to the above, one exhibition
of 50/. will be specially granted to a scholar of any school under
the Company's management. The sum of 150/. will also be
appropriated towards assisting the education of children of the
l^ivery of the Company, lool. yearly wiH also be awarded as
a prize to the inventors of anything new in haberdashery.
As the period of the Transit of Venus in 1874 approaches,
astronomers both at home and abroad are becoming more and
more active in their preparations ; and the American committee
on this subject, it is understood, has already decided in consider-
able part upon the stations to be occupied. Of the result of
their conclusions we hope to give an account before long to our
readers. In Russia the committee, under Prof. Struve, proposes
the establishment of a cliaia of observers, at positions 100 miles
apart, along the region comprised between Kamischatka and the
lUack Sea. The German committee has decided on recommend-
ing the organisation of four stations for heliometric observations
of the planet during its transit, one of them in Japan or China,
and the others probably at Mauritius, Kergaelen, and Auckland
islands ; and three of these, with the addition of a fourth station
ill Persia, between Mascate and Teheran, will be equipped for
photographic observations alsa The French, before the war,
suggested that stations be established at St Paul Island, New
Amsterdam, Yokohama, Tahiti, Noumea, Mascate, and Suez.
How far this programme will be carried out under the changed
circumstances of that country remains to be seen^
We have received a letter from a valued correspondent, calling
attention to some defects in the arrangements for the study of the
Natural Sciences, and especially of Botany, at the Univerdty of
Cambridge. The letter we refrain from publishing, in the belief that
the good work whidi is now proceeding at the Universities will
be carried out eventually frir more completdjr than it is at pre-
sent, and that even Botany may ultimately receive the attezLtion
that it deserves.
Tub Brazilian steamer to New York brings advices of the safe
arrival at Pemambuco of the steamer HassUr^ with ProC AgHSslz
and party. They were to leave for Rio Janeiro, jn company
with the Ticonderaga, on Jan. 16. As there are several gentle-
men on board who have undertaken to supply information in
regard to the movements of the vessel, we shall doubtless before
long have fiill accounts of the progress made up to the date men-
doned ; although in r^ard to the subject of deep-sea soundings
and supposed discoveries connected thereimth we must probably
wait, for correct detaOs, for the official report to be made by
Count Pourtales direct to the Superintendent of the Coast
Survey.
The " Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior for the
United States on the Operations of the Department for the year
ending October 31, 187 1," states that the results of Pro£
Hayden*s expedition, in accordance with his instructions to in-
vestigate the geology and natural resources of the little known,
but interesting, region about the source of the Yellowstone and
Missouri rivers, shows it to have been a complete success, and fully
to justify the liberal provision made by Congress for it. A pre-
liminary report of the results was to be presented to Congress at
an early date. A great amount of valuable notes and specimens,
illustrating the agricultural, mineral, zoological, and botanical
wealth of the West, was secured.
We learn that the Smithsonian Institution has recently suc-
ceeded in obtaining two complete skeletons of the remarkable
tapir of the highlands of the United States of Colombia, known
to naturalists as Tapirus pinchique or roulini. Previously only
the skull had been obtained by Roulin, by whom it was first
made known, and it was one of the rarities of the great anatomi-
cal collection at Paris. The Smithsonian Institution had before
obtained a number of skulls and a skeleton of the still more
remarkable tapir of Panama, which had remained undistinguished
from the common species of Panama till within a few years, when
first described, under the name of Elasmognathus bairdii^ by
Prof. Gill, from two skulls in the Smithsonian collection. There
are no external or dental differences between the tapirs corre-
sponding with the marked differences in the skulls ; the external
differences being confined to the contour of the forehead, the
colour, and the character of the hair. In the mountain tapir,
as might be expected in an animal dwelling in such elevated
regions, the hair is long and coarse, and is of a black colour,
strongly contrasting with that of the common tapir of South
America; it is also somewhat smaller than that species, and
has the forehead less arched from the occiput. It is confined to
the highlands, and is separated, at least so far as is known, by
quite a wide band of country from the common species.
The Report of the officers of the Peabody Academy of Sciences
of Salem, lately made to the trustees, presents a satisfactory
statement of the progress made during the past year. This estab-
lishment received a moderate endowment from George Peabody,
of London, and the income is expended in the care of the
valuable museum belonging to the Academy. The directors of
the establishment are Mr. F. W. Putnam and Dr. Packard.
The principal additions to the museum of the Academy during
the year have consisted mainly of insects and archaeological
specimens, and also a series of the animals inhabiting the Mam-
moth Cave of Kentucky. All of these, together with the collec-
tions previously in the museum, have been properly arranged
and classified, and tend to render the museum very attractive.
The report urges very strongly the propriety of securing an addi*
tionol endowment, to enable the Academy to publish in its
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371
memoirs certain valuable scientific manuscripts now in hand, the
alternative of being obliged to send them to some other establish-
ment having more means at its disposal being greatly deplored,
as they were based upon the collections of the Academy, and
Bhould legitimately appear nnder its auspices.
The Clifton College Scientific Society has just issued the
second part of its Transactions, containing the record of its pro-
ceedings from February to July, 1871. The president and
secretary state in their Report that the papers read at the Society's
meetings have been as numerous as previously, and the attendance
of members and visitors has in no degree fallen off ; and that,
although there is still much to be desired in this respect, yet the
number of working members is steadily increasing. The various
sections of botany, zoology, entomology, geology, archaeology,
chemistry, and physics have, on the whole, done good work, the
least satisfactory reports being in the case of zoology, chemistry,
and physics. The great event of the half-year has been the
long* expected opening of the new Museum and Botanic Garden,
both of which institutions are well deserving of support from
those outside the school who are able to assist in furnishing
them. The Botanic Garden is already one of the very best to be
met with anywhere in the provinces. Among the papers read
before the society and printed in the Transactions, the following
have struck us as especially excellent : — " A Scientific Visit to
Cheddar," by the President and J. Stone; "The Church of
St. Mary Redcliflfe, Bristol," by R. W. Wilson ; "The Coalfield
of South Wales," by A. CruttweU ; "The Birds of Clifton," by
D. Pearce ; and an admirable paper on "The Spectrum," by
W. A. Smith.
The last number of the Bullttin de la SocUU de GhgraphU
contains an article by Delesse on the oscillations of the coasts of
France.
The Annual Address, delivered before the Albany Institute,
New York, by Orlando Meads, on May 25, 1871, has just
reached us. It is chiefly occupied with a sketch of the history of
this successful and enterprising institution.
The Poona Observer of February 6 gives the following ac-
count of Indian Geological Excursions : — " The Principal of the
Poona Civil Engineering College, Mr. T. Cooke, together with
the Professor of Chemistry, Mr. S. Cooke, with about twenty
students of the first class, proceeded on a geological excursion on
January 29, and arrived here on Saturday morning last After
Itaving Poona they arrived at Shabad, where they remained
for a whole day. The next morning they left Shabad and
arrived at Krishtna at about ten in the morning, and in-
spected the Krishtna Bridge. After inspecting several works of
the G. I. P. R., they started for Poona on the afternoon of
Friday. The thanks of the studenti as well as of the Principals
are doe to the O. L P. R. Company, in kindly placing their
waiting-rooms at the several stations where they halted, at the
disposal of the boys. The expense of this excursion is to be
borne solely by Govenunent The amount allotted for the pur-
pose of this excursion was 500 Rs."
The following account of the Aurora of February 4 appears
in the Times of India of the following day: — "A magnificent
Aurora was visible, from the Rawul Pindee portion of the Pun-
janb, last night, February 4, from 12 to past 12.30 o'clock. It
occupied the northern quadrant of a clear sky, or rather more,
the stars shining dimly through a glowing deep red hazy light
reaching half way up the heavens, and which was crossed by
thin vertical rays of white light stretching to the south. The
night was calm but less frosty than usual at this season, and the
oldest inhabitant who witnessed the display averred he had never
seen anything like it in his life before." The suggestion made
by our correspondent Mr. Earwaker, that we witnessed on that
day a combiiistioii of the Northern and Southern Aurora, is thus
confirmed.
SCIENCE IN PLAIN ENGUSH
IN a paper under this headings in the Boston Jourftal oj
^ Chemistry, Mr. C. A. Joy, after quoting from our articles of
June 22 and 29, 1871, proceeds thus \ — We must admit that what
Mr. Rushtonsaysof EnglishschooUapplieseauallywelltootirown.
Does anybody know of a preparatory school hi the United
States where mstruction in science is given on a systematic plan
by teachers especially fitted for the work, and with well-selected
apparatus and judicious text-books, and where an equal value
for excellence in science is given to pupils as for mathematics and
the languages ? There are, doubtlos, tome such schools, but it
is my misfortune never to have heaid of them. The truth is,
there are few teachers. The custom in this world of studying
everything else but the world we live in, which has been handed
down to us from our ancestors, has precluded the possibility of
anybody being fitted to teach the natural sciences excepting the
few who have had the energv and the means to overcome every
obstacle, and to leam something ; and ther are so rare that they
are not to be had for ordinary Khoob. We are now in a (air
way to acquire considerable knowledge of the planet Mars, its
climate and physical condition ; and it may be that we shall
some day be fiivoured by a visit from an inhsUtant of that dis-
tant world. The arrival of such a visitor would be rapkUy
heralded over the land, and he would be introduced to our best
society, to the leading men of education ; and as he would doubt-
less be possessed of an inquiring turn of mind, he would have
many embarrassing questions to ask. He might address the in-
quiry to the gentleman on his right at the public dinner, whidi
would be sure to be given to him, as to the composition of the
crust of the earth ; or he might ask what the glass windows
were made of, and what form of light shone through them, or
the water on the table and the air of the room might absorb his
attention. If the respondent happened to be a University bred man
the chances are ten to one he could not answer a single question ;
he would be forced to say that the study of the language of
a people formerly occupying a small portion of the globe had
monopolised all of his time, and prevented the acquisition of a
knowledge of any of the natural phenomena around him ; he
might, in fact, have more knowledge of Mars than of the earth.
It IS probable that our visitor would be slightlv astonished at the
^orance of the best educated members of the conmiunity. I
do not know that we are boxmd to prepare ourselves for the
approaching visit, but the very sucgestton of it ought to startle
us a little out of our propriety, andmake us review the course of
instruction we have pursued for so many years. As long as the
requirements for admission to college are left just as they are at
present, all persons who expect to go to college must follow a pre-
scribed course or be found wanting. The teacher in a prepara-
tory school knows that the pupil can attend only a certain
number of hours, and to get up his task for admission to college
nearly all this time must be devoted to classical studies. There
is no time left for science, and it is not taught This state of
things has led to a violent controversy on the part of the advo-
cates of the two systems, and the ouestion appears to be no
nearer a solution at the present time tnan it was many years ago.
The advocates of classical training will not vield an inch of
ground, and the scientists are equal^ firm. It £5 a pity that some
compromise cannot be affected, as a knowledge of Latin and
Greek is of great value to the scientific student, and ought not to
be omitted. And as the classicists now have the colle^ in Uieir
power, would it not be well for them to recommend a knowledge
of language rather than of pranmiar, and a facility of readi^
generuly instead of prescribmg the precise rramber of chapters
and verses ? If the teacher of Chemistry, for example, were to
insist upon the students studying 100 pages dl Miller, 50 pages
of Roscoe, two books of Gerhardt, the correspondence of
Lavoisier, and the life of Berzelius. before presenting himself
for examination, he would be looked upon as slightly deranged ;
and yet this is precisely what is done by our classical friends.
A chemist can tell in half an hour whether the candidate is
prepared to go on with a certain class; and he cares not
now, when, or where the applicant obtained the know-
ledge. Not so our classical friends; they insist upon
chapter and verse as if there were a charm in the prescrioed
number— and bv so doing thev do great harm to our schools. A
friend of mine desired to put his son at a select school, and had
a long conversation with the principal in reference to the studies
he would have to pursue in order to fit him for cc^eoe. The
principal had the experience of thirty yean in his callfaig, and
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\Mar. 7, 1872
knew precisely what was required. He produced his scheme of
hours, and conirinced the pareat that in order to fit his son for
college it would be necessary for him to devote a certain number
of hours to the reading of a prescribed number of pages and
verses of Latin and Greek ; and to do this no deduction could
be safely made. He showed that the average attendance of boys
was aboat 6,000 hours, and by assigning to each hour its par-
ticular work, if not interrupted by accident or illness, the pupil
would be able to come up to the prescribed standard. My
friend tried to see if a few minutes could not be gained for a
small amount of science, but the teacher, with his experience of
thirty years, was Inexorable, and he could not crowd m a know-
ledge of this world into the course of studies even edgewise.
It has been sometimes said that the most ignorant members of
our community are our men of education ; and after looking
over the scheme of studies which the victims of liberal education
are obliged to follow, the paradoxical remark would almost
appear to be true. It may therefore be asked. What change the
advocates of reform would propose ? I cannot attempt to answer
this question for all parties, as there is little uniformity of belief
on the subject ; but it may be well to state the case of a
prominent party in the modern agitation. We have a large class
among us who admit the culture to be derived from the study of
language, and who would not on any account banish Latin and
Greek from the curriculum ; but they would remove that study
to a later part of the course, and replace it by scientific subjects.
They think that those subjects which cultivate and strengthen
the powers of perception, observation, and judgment, should be
taught first. They would instruct the youth in a knowledge of
the laws of health or physiology ; they would have him know
something about plants, animals, minerals, and the commonest
laws of chemistry and physics, so that if the pupil is com-
pelled to leave school at an early age, he would know
now to take care of mind and body, and be enabled to
turn his knowledge to some account They would commence
the study of Latin and Greek at a period when the mind is more
mature, and thus avoid the enormous waste of time, the bad
habits of droning over lessons, and the monopolising character
of the present system. There are so many instances of persons
who commenced the study of the classics at mature years, who
have excelled all others, that the advocates of postponing lan-
^ages to the latter part of a boy's course appear to be justified
m their claim. If the study of Latin and Greek could be com-
menced after the student enters college, it is believed that more
real progress would be made in the four years of the college
course than is effected under the present arrangement of devoting
ten years of a boy's life to this study. This is the compromise
that many good men advocate. They wish the preparatory
schools to be wholly given up to mathematical, scientific, and
English studies, and to have the colleges assume the charge of
the classics. Instead of devoting every hour of the preparatory
course to languages, they would give the time to the sciences,
and they would demand a knowledge of the general principles
of science as a requisite for admission to college. This would
be turning the tables entirely, and would aSbrd scientific men a
chance to try the effect of the modem education. The other side
have had it all their own way for a long time, and it would appear
to be no more than fair for them to let people of different views have
a chance. Such a radical change as this cannot be accomplished
at once. It would demand immense moral courage on the part
of the trustees of a college to expose themselves to the cry of
lowering the standard of study. They would have the alumni
of existing institutions and the prejudices of the whole com-
munity against them, and it would require a generation before
the majority would become reconciled to the new order of things.
Another obstacle would also arise at the outset, and that would
be the difficulty of securing competent teachers of the natural
sciences. It is this obstacle that has stood in the way of the in-
troduction of the study of science in our schools. There are far
too few teachers. To surmount this difficulty in the city of New
York a normal colleg^e for females and a free college for males
have been established, and scientific schools have been founded
in all parts of the country. These institutions are destined to
work a great revolution. As soon as they have trained a suffi-
cient number of teachers, we shall find our public schools afford-
ing a better education than at present, and their example will
have to be followed by the owners of private schools, who desire
to^ keep up with the progress of the age. What we want is
science taught in plain English, and there is every prospect of
our speedily attaining the desired end.''
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Numbers 8, 9, and 10 of the 27th volume of the Proceedings 0/
the Swedish Academy of Sciences (Ofversigt af Kongk. Vetenskaps
Akademiens Forhandlingar) which have just readied us, contain
several valuable contributions to science. The most important
of these relate to zoological subjects. Thus we find from M.
Anton Stuxberg the first portion of a paper modestly described
as a contribution to the Myriopodology of Scandinavia, but con-
taining a synonymic revision, with descriptions, of the Swedish
Chilognatha, under which the author recognises the genera
Jidus^ IsobaUs, Blaniulus, Polydesmus^ Craspedosonta, Glomefis^
Polyxenus^ and Polyzonium, including in all eighteen species. M.
G. Lindstrom contributes a paper on opercular structures in
some recent and Silurian corals, m which he refers especially to
Goniophyllum pyramidale 9xA Cystiphyllum prismaticum. From
M. Gustaf Eisen we have a most valuable contribution to the
Oligochaetal fauna of Scandinavia, illustrated with numerous
figures on seven plates, and containing a monograph of the Scan-
dinavian species of the g<tn}:tsLumbricus, of which eight arerecog-
rised by the author. As the characters are given in Litin, and
most of the species are found in this country, this paper will be of
particular value to British naturalists. One species, Lumbricus
purpureus, is described as new. — M. J. E. Areschoog communi-
cates a list, with remarks, of a series of algae collected by Dr.
Hedenborg at Alexandria. — ^The longest paper is an account, by
Prof. A. E. Nordenskiold, of the Swedish Expedition toGreenUnd
in 1870. This paper contains some interesting observations, illus-
trated with diagrams, on the glacial phenomena of Greenland ;
the remarks on the geology of the more interesting parts of the
coast, especially those where fossil plants are found, are also of
great importance ; as is the account given of the supposed
meteoric iron-stones of enormous size which have lately attracted
so much attention. Analyses o^ the material of these masses by
the authors, T. Nordstrom and J. Lindstrom, are given. Lists
of the land plants and algae collected on the expedition, and of
the microscopic algae obtained from the inland ice, form an ap-
pendix to the paper. M. P. T. Clevi contribu^ a paper on
platinum-bases containing organic radicals, and M. G. R. Dah-
lander some investigations relating to the mechanical theory of
heat
The American Naturalist for January (voL vu, No. i) com-
mences with Prof. Agassiz's letter, already printed in our columns,
on Deep-sea Dredgings. Mr. F. W. Putman follows, with an
extremely interesting and well-illustrated article on the Blind
Fishes of the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky and their Allies, a
sequel to Mr. Packard's paper on the Blind Insects of the same
locality in the previous number. Dr. R. H. Ward describes a
new erecting arrangement, especially designed for use with
binocular microscopes. One of the most Interesting articles in
the number is on the Rattlesnake and Natural Selection, by
Prof. N. S. Shaler, who, from observation of the animal in its
native haunts, regards the rattle as a useful appendage, imitating
the note of the Cicada, and thus attracting birds which are in
the habit of preying on that insect Prof. Shaler states that,
without committing himself to a belief in the sufficiency of natur^
selection to account for the eidstence of the snake's rattle, he has
been driven step by step from a decided opposition to the whole
theory, and compelled to accept it as a vera causa^ though still
thinking it more limited in its action than Mr. Darwin believes.
There is the usual supply of interesting short notes on the various
branches of natural history.
Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society ^ October 1871,
New Series, No. xxxiu — ^This number of the Journal of the
Scottish Meteorological Society contains a paper by Mr. Buchan,
the secretary, "On the Rainfall of Scotland," based on obser-
vations made at forty-six places during long series of years. The
questions of droughts and excessively wet vears are dealt with.
As regards their geographical distribution it is shown that some
have been felt over the whole of Scotland, whilst others have
been restricted to the west or to the east of the country, or with-
in still narrower limits ; and as regards their recurrence, that
there has been no perodicity observed, and that there is nothing
in the observations of the past forty years to sanction the opinion
that there has been any progressive increase or decrease in the
Scottish rainfall. The important engineering question of the
deficiency of the three driest consecutive years rainfall from the
average is carefully examined, and the conclusion is arrived at,
that in estimating the rainfall of the three driest consecutive
years, it will not be safe to deduct less than one*fourUi from the
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373
average annnal ndnfalL Mr. Bacban contributes another paper
•* On the Temperature ot the Soil compared with that of the
Air," being a discussion of series of observations made twelve
times daily in different parts of Scotland, at the instance of the
Marquis of Tweeddale, president of the society. From the
observations it is seen that the surface temperature of the soil is
considerably colder than the air resting on it in winter, and con-
considerably warmer in summer ; and from the relations of the
temperature of the soil to that of the air during changes of
weather, some interesting results are drawn with reference to
the influence of solar and terrestrial radiation on climate. — A
brief notice of the winter climate of Malaga, detailed notes of
the weather of the quarter, and tabulated returns from ninety-
one stadons, including several highly important stations in Ice-
land, Faro, and r^ons bordering on the Mediterranean, make up
the number.
Journal of the Chemical Society ^ December 1 87 1. — This num-
ber commences with a paper by Watson Smith, " On the Dis-
tillation of Wood," and although of considerable technical
interest it does not present any new features. — A paper on
Anthraflavic Acid follows, by W. H. Perkin. This is a substance
which occurs in the artificial alizarin of commerce. Two distinct
formulae have already been assigned to this body by Drs. Schunck
and Liebermann. This communication proves conclusively that
these formulae were wrong, and that in reality this add is isomeric
with alizarin, but unlike that body it possesses no tinctorial
power. — Dr. Armstrone contributes 'a paper on the action of
Nitric Acid on the Dichlorophenol Sulphuric Adds. The results
obtained are very interesting, but seem to cast some doubt on the
theoretical speculations of some German chemists on the consti-
tution of those bodies. — The abstracts in this number occupy 100
pages, and comprise many papers of great value. — E. Baudiment
has made an extensive series of experiments on the intimate
action of substances which assist the decomposition of potassic
chlorate and the disengagement of oxygen. Many bodies were
tried, some of which, as cupric or manganic oxides, when heated
with potassic chlorate, as is well known, yield oxygen very readily,
in this case, when the temperature reaches a definite point, a
sudden rise of 50" or 60** takes place with a tumultuous evolution
of gas. The author hai found that the decomposition of potassic
chlorate is always accompanied with a disengagement of heat, so
that this substance may be called an endothermic compound.
The Monthly Microscopical Journal, February 1872.— " On
the relation of Nerves to Pigment and other Cells or Elementary
Parts," by Dr. Lionel S. Beale, F.R.S. After alluding to
the tendency of opinion in these days to favour the con-
dusion that the finest branches of nerve fibres come into struc-
tural relation with the active elements of other tissues, Dr. Beale
affirmed his opinion that, whatever may be the influence produced
by the nerves upon the structure, he does not think it depends
upon continuity of substance between the nerve and the tissue
affected. — "Report on Slides of Insect Scales," wjnt to the
Royal Microscopical Society by the Chevalier de Cerbacq, ex-
amined by Henry J. Slack. — ** On the Structure of the Stems of
the Arborescent Lycopodiacece of the Coal Measures," by W. Car-
ruthers, F.R.S. — **On a Leaf- Bearing Branch of a Species of
Lepidodendron" These papers contain the results of an examina-
tion of a series of spedmens from Mr. John Butterworth, of
Shaw, near Oldham.— "On Bog Mosses,*' by Dr. R. Braith-
waite, F.R.S., part iii.. Monograph of the European species.
This paper includes an enumeration of species, and full descrip-
tion of Sphagnum cymbi/oHum, the first in the series. —
"The advandng powers of Microscopic Definition," by Dr.
Royston Piggott. This is a further contribution to the vexed
question of beaded scales, and may be taken as a summary of
Dr. Royston Piggott's views, of which the first portion appears
in the present number of the journal. — ** Microscopical Object-
glasses and their Power," by Edwin Bicknell ; ** Remarks on a
ToUes' Immersion, -^j" by Edwin Bicknell ; " Maltwood's
Finder Supplemented," by W. K. Bridgman. This latter com-
munication offers a plan l^ means of which two correspondents
may bring their " Maltwoods " into rdation with each other, sup-
posing that their indications do not coindde. — "On a new
Micro-telescope," by Prof. R. H. Ward, reprinted from the
"American Naturalist" This number of the journal is illus-
trated by four plates.
The Journal 0/ Botany for February is ornamented by a very
good portrait of the late editor. Dr. Berthold Seemann. The
original articles are fewer than usual, induding only the condu-
sion of Mr. J. G. Baker's paper on the Botany of the Lizard
Peninsula, and a case of poisoning by the seeds of Macrozamia
spiralis^ by Dr. George Bennett There are, however, a good
many interesting short notes and several valuable reprints, in-
cluding Dr. W. R. McNab's Histological Notes, read before tiie
Botanical Sodety of Edinburgh ; a list of new spedes of phane-
rogamous plants published in Great Britain in the year 1871 in
the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Botanical Maga'
zinc. Floral Magazine, Gardener^ Chronicle, Hooker's Icones
Plantarum, Journal of Botany, Journal of the Unnean Society,
and Refugium Botanicum ; and Canon Kingsley's admirable
address to the Winchester and Hampshire Scientific and Literary
Sodety, on Bio-Geology.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Geological Society, February 21.— Prof. Ramsay, F.R.S.,
▼ice-president, in the chair. The following conmiunication was
read: — ** Migrations of the Graptolites." By. ProC H. Allejme
Nicholson, M.D. The author commenced by stating that the
occurrence of the same species of marine animals in deposits in
different areas is now generally r^arded as evidence that such
deposits are not strictiy contemporaneous, but rather that a mi-
gration from one area to another has taken place; this mi-
gration he thought would probably in many cases be accom-
panied by modification. Applying these principles to the
Graptolites, he endeavoured to show in what directions their
migrations may have taken place. He excluded from the family
Graptolitidae the genera Dictyonema, Dendrograpsus, Callograp-
sus, and Ptilograpsus, and stated that the family as thus limited
extended from Upper Cambrian to Upper Silurian times. The
earliest known Graptolites were those of the Skiddaw Slates,
which he thought would prove to bdong to the Upper Cambrian
series. The Skiddaw area he considered to extend into Canada,
where the Quebec group belongs to it Genera of Graptolites
belonging to this area are represented in Australia, and this the
author regarded as indicative of migration, but in which direc-
tion was uncertain. Having discussed the forms of Graptolites
characteristic of the deposits in the Skiddaw- Quebec area, the
author proceeded to indicate the mode in which the family is re-
presented in the areas of deposition of the great Silurian series,
namely, the Llandeilo areas of Wales and Scotland, the Conis-
ton area of the North of England, the Gala area of South
ScoUand, the Hudson-River area of North America, and the
Saxon and Bohemian areas, giving under each of these heads a
list of species, with indications of their probable derivation.
Mr. Etheridge commented on the importance of Dr. Nicholson's
paper, and on the difficulties attending the study of the Grapto-
litid^. The migration of these organisms appeared to him to be
very difficult to establish, especially in connection with their ex-
tension both eastwards and westwards. Mr. Hughes believed
that if we could discover the original of any species, we should
see a small variety appearing among a number of forms not very
different from it, and from which it had been derived ; but when
the variety had prevailed, so as to be the dominant form, we
were far on in the history of the spec'es ; that it was a great
assumption to fix upon any bed we now know as representing the
original source of any group ; that we know too littie about the
chronological order of the geological divisions referred to to
reason with any safety on the migration of Graptolites from one
era to another ; that the term Lon>er Llandeilo, for instance, was
very unsatisfactory as used in the paper; there was nothing
lower than the Llanddlo Flags at Llandeilo ; and where older
beds occurred in Scotland and elsewhere, it was not at all clear
that the equivalent of the Llandeilo Flags was present at all.
He differed also altogether from the author as to tne position of
the Dufton Shales, and criticised the views of the author as to
the range of some spedes. He thought that M. Barrande's
theory of the colonies was borne out by the study of the
Graptolites, but that we had not sufficient data to speculate as
to the areas in which they made their first appearance, or the
order of their geographical distribution. Prof. Duncan ob-
served that at the present time there was, among other forms,
quite as great a range for spedes as that of the Graptolites
pointed out by the author. Having looked through all the
drawings of Graptolites that he could meet with, he had found
none whatever that were accurate ; and he had moreover never
in any specimens discovered such cups or calices between the
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NATURE
[Mir. 7, 1872
semtionB as were always attributed to these organisms. From all
he had seen he was led to the conclasion that the projections on
the Graptolites bore the same relation to the centzul stem as
those of some of the Actinozoa. These latter also, like the
Graptolites, seemed to prefer a muddy sea. Professor Duncan
dso suggested that the Graptolites were really the remains
of the filiform polypiferous parts of floating Hydrozoa.
Prof. Morris regarded the paper as mainly suggestive. It
was on all hands agreed that there were in Britain two
principal zones in which graptoUtic life was most abun-
dant ; and the same held good in America. Both these
seemed to be homotaxially related. M. Barrande had long
since pointed out the probable emigration of many of the
Bohemian species from the British area ; and there could be no
doubt of there being many species common to Europe, America,
and Australia. This afforded strong evidence in favour of some
such theory as that of migration. He cautioned observers as to
taking careful notice of the manner in which Graptolites are
presented in their matrix ; for when seen from three different
points of view, they exhibited such differences that three species
might be made from one form of organism. Mr. Gwyn Jefireys
mentioned the wide distribution of marine Hydrozoa by means
of winds and currents, as illustrative of the history of Graptolites,
the dispersion of which might have arisen from similar cause,
and not from migration. Mr. Prestwich commented on the un-
certainty of our knowledee with regard to Graptolites, and con-
sequently regarded specnmtion on £e subject of their migration
as premature. He instanced CardUa plankostaia, which was
formerly regarded as having originated in the Paris basin and
come thence into England, but which had since been found in far
earlier beds in Britain ; so that the presumed course of its mi-
gration has been reversed. Mr. Hicks remarked that the rocks
referred by the author to the Upper Cambrian were in reality
the lowest of the Silurian series, and that the Graptolitidae were
exclttsivdy a SUurian family. Mr. Hopkinson also made some
remarks both on the distinction of different species of Graptolites
and on their distribution. He regarded the Quebec area as that
in which these forms had originated. The Chairman commen-
ted on the great want of accord among those who had studied
Graptolites, not only with regard to their structure, but to their
distribution in different horizons. He thought that the sugges-
tion of the author, as to modification of form during migration
having taken place, seemed to throw some light on the subject.
He could not regard two districts now only separated by the
Solway Firth as constituting two geographical areas so distinct
that the occurrence of the same species in both could with pro-
priety be held to be due to migration. The phenomena in the
other cases seemed to him quite as much in accordance with dis-
tribution from some common centre as with migration along any
line connecting two spots where Graptolites are now found. He
thought that the recurrence of these forms on different horizons
in Cumberland was to l)e accounted for by the fact that most of
the rocks which intervened between the shales containing these
omnismi were merely sub-aerial volcanic beds, on which, after
submergence, these muddy shales had been deposited.
Entomological Society, February 19.— Prof. J. O. West-
wood, president, in the chair. — Drs. Ransome and Livett, and
Messrs. Rothera and Tenner, were elected subscribers to the
society. — Mr. F. Smith made some observations respecting the
occurrence of two pupse in one laree common cocoon of Botnbyx
viari from China. The examples nad been found amongst silk-
waste in a Xxmdon warehouse, and this waste had been attacked
by mice, which fed upon the dead chrysalides. He further re-
marked that, occasionally, two or more swarms of wasps united
in building a common nest, and also that broods of different
species of wasps could be induced to act in concert, the result
being tliat when these wasps used different building materials, a
parti-coloured nest was produced. — Mr. Butler exhibited draw-
mgs of a large grub, apparently the larva of some species of
Ichneumonidce, whidi had emerged from the larva of the common
" buff-tip " moth (Pyginu lnu€phala\ which it nearly equalled
in size. — Dr. Buchanan White communicated extracts from his
note- book respecting the habits of a species of ant as observed
at Capri in 1866, confirming Mr. Moggridge's recent observa-
tions as to the grain-storing habits of these ants. Mr. Home
had observed a similar habit in certain Indian ants. — Prof
Westwood exhibited type-specimens and drawings of the animal
from Madagascar, upon which Latreille founded his genus Pro-
sopistcma as pertaining to the Crustacea \ and made some renuirks
thereon coimected with the assertion of a French entomologist,
Dr. Toly, that these creatures, and "le Binode" of tiie neigfa-
bourhood of Paris, described by Geoffroy, are in leality the
earlier stages of species of Ephemtridct, Prof. Westwood
was scarcely able to believe that this association was founded
upon facts, though he was not disposed to express any opinion
as to their actual affinities. — Mr. Miiller read some remarks on
the habits of certain gall-producing saw-flies of the willow, which
are said to avoid those portions of the trees thAt overhang water,
and suggested a practical application of the theory to save choice
fruit-trees fipom the attacks of insects, by surrounding them with
glass at the base, it being well known that glass is often mistaken
for water by aquatic insects.
Anthropological Institute, February 19. — Sir John Lab-
bock, Bart., F.R.S., president, in the chair. Messrs. C. Bowlcy,
R. J, Nunn, Edward Harris, J. E. Price, and J. P. Steele, were
elected members. Mr. H. H. Howorth read a paper entitled
** Strictures on Darwinism. Part I. : Fertility and Sterility."
After a brief statement of the evolutionary theory of Mr. Darwin,
which was the old-fashioned theory of Malthus pressed to its
utmost limits, viz., that in the struggle for existence which is
always going on everywhere the weak elements go to the wall
and are gnidually elimiiuited whilst the strong survive, the
author stated his intention in the present paper to confine
his examination to one case in its concrete form. He
criticised the argument that physical vigour, health, and
strength had, in the struggle for existence, a tendency to
prevail to the expulsion and eradication of weakness and
debility, and he held that the reverse was the truth as regarded
the large majority of cases, aud the paradox was the same in
substance as that maintained by Mr. Doubleday in his true Law
of Population. It was shown that the gardener, who was an
empincal philosopher, in his experience of cultivated plants, was
fiilly aware of the truth of the principle advocated by the author,
and a great number of instances were cited in illustration. Pass-
ing from the vegetable to the animal world, he showed how
stock-keepers and breeders had accumulated much sound ex-
perience, which corroborated that of the gardener in regard to
plants. It was a golden rule with them to keep their animals
weak and in a state of depletion if they wished them to breed
freely. Pure breeds were seldom very fruitful, they were
notoriously pampered and highly fed; but when turned into
coarse and scanty pastures their rounded sides became denuded
of flesh and the animals bred more freely. The same principle
obtained with man. It was in the crowded alleys and among
half-starved or ill-fed populations that fertility was greatest The
author had high authority for stating that as a general rule con-
valescent persons — those recovering from prostrating diseases —
were very fertile. On the other hand, with the rich and well-to-
do, especiallv among families whose position for some genera-
tions had been prosperous, comparative sterility prevailed.
Illustrations of that dictum were drawn [from the writings of
physiologists, from statistics, from the genealogical histories of the
nobility and gentry, and were sustainnl by lengthened argument
Natioiud and ethnic tendencies to fertility or sterility were sur-
veyed by the author, e,g.^ among the Irish, various Black and
savage peoples, Americans aboriginal and modem, the Slaves,
and vanous Russian tribes. In conclusion, the arguments were
thus summarised : that sterility is induced by vigorous health
and by a plentifiil supply of the necessaries of life, while fertility
is induced by want and debility, and that this law acts directly
against Mr. Darwin's theory, inasmuch as it is constantly recruit-
ing the weak and decrepit at the expense of the hearty and
vigorous, and is thus persistently working against the favourite
scheme of Mr. Darwin, that in the struggle for existence the
weak are always being eliminated by the strong.
Manchester
Literary and Philosophical Society, February 20. — Mr.
£. W. Binney, F.R.S., president, in the chair. The president
said that at the meeting of the society on the 9th of January
last he alluded to the probability of the genus Zygopieris
being found in the limestone nodules of the Foot Mine near
Oldham. He had lately had an opportunity of inspecting the
collection of Mr. James Whitaker of Watershedding, and he
there recognised a specimen of the ZygopUru Lacattii of M.
Regnidt There was a difference between the Autun and Old-
ham specimens ; for whilst the vascular bundles in the petiole of
the former were shaped like a double anchor, in the latter they
came nearly together and formed a circle ; but he thought this
difference scarcely sufficient to form another species. — Dr. J. P.
Joule, F.R.S., described some experiments he nad been mudog
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Mar. 7, 1872]
NATURE
375
on the polarisation by frictional electricity of platina plates,
either immersed in water or rolled together with wet silk inter-
vening. The charge was only diminished one half after an
interval of an hour and a quarter. It was ascertained both in
quality and quantity by transmitting it through a delicate galvano-
meter. He suggested that a condenser on this principle might
be useful for the observation of atmospheric electricity.— ** On
an Electrical Corona resembling the Solar Corona," by Prof.
Osborne Reynolds. — "On the ElectrO' Dynamic effect, the in-
duction of Statical Electricity causes in a moving body. The
induction of the Sun a probable cause of Terrestrial Magnetism,"
by Prof. Osborne Reynolds.
Edinburgh
Royal Physical Society, February 28. —Dr. James M 'Bain,
president, in the chair. The following communications were
read : — ** On the Dentition of Echinorhinm spinosus" by Prof.
Duns. Dr. Duns has obtained two specimens of this rare
shark in the Firth of Forth, one in 1S68 and another in 1871.
The former is in the Scottish Natural Museum, the latter in the
Museum of the New CoU^e. The specimens noticed by Yarrell
were referred to, and the form of the teeth of the 1868 example
shown. The remarks of Agassiz were quoted on the resemblance
of the teeth of Echinorhtnus to those of his genus Goniodus.
It ^was shown, that while in other specific features the speci-
men of 1 87 1 resembles those of that got in 1868, it differs
very widely in the form of the teeth. — "On Gametifcrous
Limestone, Balmoral," by Prof. Duns.— "On the Preserva-
tion of Compound Ascidians," by Mr. C. W. Peach. Mr.
Peach stated that when living at Cornwall he was much
struck by the beauty of the compound ascidians, so abun-
dant on rocks, &c., between tide-marks there, and that he
was perfectly aware that the beauty of the colours and
flower like systems of these lovely objects was always lost,
whether they were preserved in spirits or any other fluid. He
thought of Canada balsam — the great difficulty of contending
with wet objects suggested itself. He, however, tried, and so
far succeeded, by laying them on glass, (when detached from the
rocks), after squeezing out as much as possible of the moisture by
first laying them in cotton or linen rag between sheets of blotting
paper, changing these as often as required, and doing all as
quickly as possible, after taking the object from the sea. Thus
dried, they were placed on glass covered with warmed Canada
balsam, and covered with another similarly prepared plate of
glass, on which sufficient balsam was melted to cover up com-
pletely the specimen. It is then allowed to cool under slight
pressure, the superfluous balsam scraped off, and sealing-wax
put round the edges to form a cell, and thus they were
preserved. He exhibited several specimens — some preserved
twenty- five years ago — of Leptoclinum, Botryllus, Didem-
num, Paracidra, &c., in a beautifully preserved condition. —
Mr. Peach exhibited a number of fossil plants he had collected
last summer from the coal-fields of Edinburgh, Slamaiman, Bath-
gate, and Devonside near Tillicoultry. — **0n the Phos-
phate Deposits of South Carolina," by Prof. Pratt, Charleston,
U.S. — Mr. John Hunter exhibited a series of fossils from the
same^region.
Dublin
Royal Irish Academy, February 12.— Rev. J. H. Jellett,
president, in the chair. Dr Eugene A. Conwell reid a paper on
the identification of the ancient Cemetery at Loughcrew, Co.
Meath. — Dr. W. Frazer read notes on several finds of silver coins
lately made in Ireland.
.Paris
Academy of Sciences, February 19.— The dispute con-
cerning the accuracy of the results published by the Paris Obser-
vatory was carried on rather briskly by MM. Serret, Lc Vender
. and Dclaunay. — A note by M. Zeuthen on the determination of
the characteristics of the elementary systems of cubics was pre-
sented, with remarks by M. Chasles. — M. Ciotti claimed the
originality of his researches on the employment of vibratory
elastic laminae as a means of propulsioiu — M. Delaunay com-
municated some remarks on the experiments of M. Wolf, on the
reflecting power of silvered glass mirrors. — Numerous reports on
the aurora of February 4 were presented, and also a note by
Marshal Vaillant on the phenomena which give rise to auroras, a
note by M. H. Tarry on the origin of polar auroras, and a
memoir by M. Silbcrmann on the facts from which we may
deduce a theory of auroras borealis and australis founded on the
existence of atmospheric tides, and the indication, by means of
auroras, of the existence of flights of meteors in proxi-
mity to the terrestrial globe. — Marshal Vaillant regarded
auroras as produced by the reflection £rom the sur&ce of the
terrestrial atmosphere of the light produced by electrical or mag-
netic currents. M. Tarry ascribes to these phenomena a cosmical
origin. — A note by M. J. L. Soret on the induction currents
pr^uced in the coils of an electro-magnet when a metallic mass
is set in rotation between its poleswas read. — M. H. Sainte-Claire
Deville presented a note by M. E. Branley on the measure-
ment of^ the polarisation in a voltaic element — A note by
M. Respighi on the spectral analysis of the zodiacal light was
read, in which the author detailed some interesting observations
on the spectral phenomena presented by the zodiacal light and
auroras tending to indicate the identity of origin of the two
phenomena. — M. Delaunav presented a note by MM. Loewy
and Tisserand on the search for the last planet (99) Dike. — MM.
J. Pierre and E. Puchot communicated some facts in the history
of propylic alcohol, relating chiefly to the behaviour under dis-
tillation of the so-called monohydrate of that body. — M. G.
Tissandier communicated a note on a new mode of producing
anhydrous protoxide of iron by the action of carbonic acid
upon iron heated to redness. The author describes the
properties of the oxide thus prepared. — A memoir was
reaa by M. E. Dudaux. on iodide of starch, which
he does not regard as a regular chemical compound. —
A note by M. Blondlot on the alcoholic fermentation of sugar
of milk was read. The author described the fermentation of milk
when agitated from time to time, by means of a ferment apparently
proper to it, and stated that this fermentation was continued by
the addition of sugar of milk or glucose to the fluid after the
cessation of the first fermentation. He obtained alcohol bv the
distillation of the fermented product, and regarded his results as
favourable to the theory of fermentation of M. Pasteur. — M.
Pasteur criticised the recent communications of M. Fremy on the
subject of fermentation, discussing his experiments seriatim^ and
indicating objections to them. — M. S. de Luca presented some
investigations upon the composition of the gases which are
evolved from the fumaroles of the solfatara of Pozzuoli, upon
which M. Boussinp^ault made some remarks. — ^The processes for
the preservation of wines by the application of heat formed the
subject of notes by M. A. de Vergnette-Lamotte and by Dr.
Bart. — M. E. Alix noticed the existence of the depressor nerve
in the hippopotamus, and stated that it resembles that of the
horse in arrangement, but is thinner coinciding with the small
size of the primitive carotid. — M. A Bechamp presented some
observations on a recent note by M. de Segnes upon micro-
zymes.
February 26. — The following mathematical papers were read : —
An exposition of a geometric theory of the curvature of surfaces,
by M. A. Mannheim, presented by M. Serret ; a note on some
relations between the angular quantities of convex polyhedra, by
M. L. Lalanne ; and a determination of the characteristics of the
elementary systems of cubics, by M. Zeuthen, communicated by
M. Chasles. — M. de Saint Venant read a memoir on the hydro-
dynamics of streams. — M. Phillips presented a note on the
governing spiral of chronometers, ana M. de Pambour a second
paper on the theory of hydraidic wheels, relating to the reaction
wheel. — A letter from Father Secchi on the aurora of February 4,
and on some new results of spectrum analysis, was read, contain-
ing a description of the appearances observed at Rome, with a
notice of the phenomena presented by spectrum analysis, and a
discussion of the supposed relation between auroras and the
solar protuberances, which the author is not inclined to accept.
In a postscript M. Secchi calls attention to the appearance of
remarkably distinct bands and lines upon the planet Jupiter. —
A communication was read from Prof. Piazzi Smyth, on the
brilliant yellow band in the spectrum of auroras, which he
stated to be of constant occurrence, and to fall always upon the
line 5579. — M. A. Laussedat also presented a memoir on the
aurora of February 4, and M. C. Sainte-Claire Deville a con-
tinuation of M. J. Silbermann's memoir on the theory of auroras,
and on the indication by their means of the existence of flights
of asteroids in proximity to the earth. — M. C. Sainte-Claire
Deville also rc»d a note on the probable application of quadruple,
dodecuple, and tridodecuple symmetries, or of periods of 90, 30,
and 10 days, to the mean returns of the electrical phenomena of
the atmosphere, such as storms and auroras. — ^M. £. Becquerel
presented a memoir by M. G.« Plants, on th^ employment of
secondary currents to accumulate or tmifonft the effects of the
galvanic battery, containing the dcfifi'* venicnu in
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NATURE
[Mar. 7, 1872
the arrangements previously suggested by him. — M. H. Sainte-
Claire Deville communicated a note by M. J. M. Gaugain
on the electromotor forces developed by the contact of
metals with inactive fluids, containing the discussion of
results obtained with plates of platinum in distilled water. —
The question of priority in the invention of the method of pre-
serving wines by the action of heat was treated at some length
byM. Balardy to whom M. Thenard replied. — ^M. Tellier for-
warded a further communication on his system of producing
cold by the evaporation of ether, assisted by compressed air. —
M. Wurtz presented a note by M. E. Reboul on two new isomers
of bromide of propylene. — M. J. Personne read a note on iodide
of starch, in answer to one presented by M. Duclaux at the last
meeting. M. Personne claims to have arrived six years ago at
the conclusion that the so-called iodide of starch is not a chemical
compound. — A note by M. Marey, on the determination of the
inclinations of the plane of the wing at different moments of its
revolution was read. — M. C. Bernard presented a third note by
M. P. Bert on the influence which changes in barometric pressure
exert upon the phenomena of life, in which the author described
the effects produced by exposing small animals to various degrees
of atmospheric pressure. He has found that up to a pressure of
two atmospheres sparrows die when the air in the receiver con-
tains 25 per cent, of carbonic acid, but that above this limit
and below a pressure of 25 centims., this law does not
apply. .In the former case the birds perish partly by the
toxical effects of an excess of oxygen, and in the latter by
a privation of oxygen. — M. C. Bernard also communicated
a note by M. N. Grehant on the respiration of fishes, containing
a statement of the curious fact that fishes in respiration can avail
themselves not only of the oxygen dissolved in the water, but
also of that held by the red corpuscles of the blood of other
animals when these are mixed with the water. — A note by MM.
L. Labb^ and G. Guyon on the combined action of morphine
and chloroform, was also presented by M, C. Bernard. The
authors state that a state of perfect anaesthesia may be produced
and sustained for a long time without the usual danger, by ad-
ministering a subcutaneous injection of hvdrochlorate of morphine
about a quarter of an hour before the exhibition of chloroform. —
M. A. Bechamp read a paper ** On tlie Essential Nature of the
Organised Corpuscles of the Atmosphere, and on the part which
belongs to them in the phenomena of Fermentation." — M. S.
Meunier presented a note on the existence of bauxite in French
Guiana.
Vienna
Geological Institution, February 6. — Dr. Neumayr, " On
the Jurassic Provinces of Europe." The author stated the dif-
ferent development of the Jurassic strata in three regions of
Europe. To the Mediterranean province belong the Jurassic
beds of Spain, and of the Alpine and Carpathian districts;
secondly, the middle European province is formed by the Juras-
sic beds of England, France, and Northern Germany ; while to
the third, the Russian province, belong the Jurassic beds of
Russia, as well as those of Spitzbergen and Greenland. The
only really important diversity between the Jurassic strata of
these provinces is founded, as he shows, on differences in the
zoological characters of their faunas. Thus, for instance, the most
prevalent peculiarity of the Mediterranean province is the pre-
sence of Ammonites of the two genera, Phylloceras {Ifetcrophylli)
and Lytoceras (Fimbriati), which abound in almost all memt>ers
of the Jurassic formation in the Alps and Caipathians, while Uiey
are almost entirely wanting in the middle European province.
The Russian province, on the contrary, is chiefly characterised
by the absence of reef-forming coral and some other peculi-
arities. It is impossible to account for this difference by the suppo-
sition of land having separated the Jurassic seas of the dif-
ferent provinces. The fact that along the line of separation
between the Mediterranean and middle European provinces, from
the South of France to the Crimea, strata of DOth provinces
approach very near, even to a few miles, excludes this supposi-
tion. The onlf possible mode of explanation the author finds
in accepting in ihe Jurassic period climatic differences in
the zones from north to south. The strict separation of
both faunas along the said line may be explained, he thinks, by
a great stream of warm water, which produced similar effects to
the Gulf Stream in our time.— Dr. G. Pilar, "On the Tertiary
deposits in the valley of the Culpa, in the environs of Glina, in
Croatia." Very instructive sections have been denuded in these
deposits by the Culpa river. The marine beds, as well as the Sar-
matic and the Conjgeria beds are devebped; all abound with
fossils.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Makch 7-
Royal Socibtv, at 8.3a— On the Organisation of the Fo»U Plants of the
Coal Measures. III. Lycopodiaceae, by Prof. W. C WUlUmson, F.R.S.
SociBTv OP Antiquaribs, at 8.30. — Exhibition of a large collection of Pho-
tographs and Drawings of Irish Architectural Remains anterior to the
X2th Century, made by the late Earl of Dunraven, F.S.A., with Remarks
by Miss Stokes.
Chemical Soasrv, at 8.
LiNNEAN Society, at 8. — Revision of the Genera and Species of Solleae :
J. G. Baker. — ^Andra^cium in Cochltostema : Dr. Masters.
LoKDON Institution, at 7. — ^A Vindication of our Monetary Standard, with
an Exposition of its Internal Relations : J. A. Franklin.
FRIDAY, March 8.
Royal College op Surgeons, at 4.— On the Digestive Organs of the
Vertebrata: Prof. Flower, F.R.S.
Astronomical Society, at 8.
QuBKETT Microscopical Clvb, at 8.
KoYAL Institution, at 9.— On the Eflfect of certain Faults of Vidoa on
Painting, with especial reference to Turner and Mulready : R. Liebreich.
SATURDAY, March 9.
Royal Institution, at 3.— Demonology : M. D. Cooway.
MONDAY, March xi.
Royal Geographical Society, at 8.30.
Royal College op Surgeons, at 4. — On the Digestive Organs of the
Vertebrata: Prof. Flower, F.R.S.
TUESDAY, March la.
Photographic Society, at 8.>-Retouching, its Use and Abuse : Valentine
Blanchard.
Royal Institution, at 3.-~On the Circulatory and Nervous Systems : Dr.
Rutherford.
WEDNESDAY, March 13.
Royal College op Surgeons, at 4.— On the Digestive Origans of the
Vertebrau: Prof. Flower, F.R.S.
Society op Arts, at 8.— On the British Trade with France durln|^ the last
Ten Tears, in its relation to the General Trade of the United Kingdom :
Leone Levi.
THURSDAY, March 14.
Royal Society, at 8.3*.
Society op Antiquaries, at 8.30.
Mathematical Society, at 8.— Shall the Society apply for a Charter?
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali
Manufacture ; Prof. Odling, F.R.S.
CONTENTS Pag.
A French Association for the Advancement op Science . . 357
Qubtelet's Contributions to the Science op Man. By
E. B.TvLOR, F.R.S. iWitk Diagram:) 358
Our Book Shelp 363
Letters to the Editor :~
The Survival of the Fittest.— Prof. E, D. Cope 363
Ethnology and Spiritualism.— A. R. Wallace, F.L.S 363
Development of Barometric Depressions 364
Solar Intensity.— F. W. Stow 364
The Aurora of February 4 365
Aurora Island. — S. J. Whitmsb 365
Foul Air in Mines and How to Live in it.— I. By Prof. J.
TvNDALL. F.R.S., and J. E Gibbs 365
The Structure op the Corona. By Prof. Cleveland Abbe.
{With Diagram.) 367
Earth-Currbnts and the Aurora Borealis op February 4,
1873. By W. H. Preecb 368
The Darmstadt Polytechnic School 368
Lake Villages in Switzerland 369
Notes 369
Science in Plain English 371
SciENTiPic Serials • 37>
SoasTiBS and Academies 373
DlARV 376
Errata.— p. 141, first coL, line 3a, for "and should be changed," read "and
should not be changed.'* P. 338, first col., line 3. for "J. Murray** read
"Tinsley Brothers."
NOTICE
We b^ leave to state that we decline to return rejected communua^
tions^ and to this rule we can make no exception, Communica*
turns respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers^ not to the Editor.
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377
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 1872
LA SEINE*
IN carrying out the great works for the improvement
and embellishment of Paris under the late Empire,
all incidental discoveries of objects relating to art, history,
and science, were systematically investigated, recorded,
and preserved, instead of being left to the chance and
uncertain description of casual and independent ob-
servers. In a liberal and enlightened spirit the Munici-
pality of Paris and the Prdfet of the Seine (M. Hauss-
mann) established a proper organisation and a staff
{Service des fouilles et des substructions) to follow up such
discoveries, to take plans of old works, to preserve all art
treasures or objects of scientific value ; to note, in fact, and
to investigate everything of interest. Men eminent in
several departments were consulted, and engaged to draw
up reports with full illustrations of the discoveries. By
these judicious measures, the knowledge of the topo-
graphy, antiquities, and archaeology of Old Paris has been
greatly advanced. Works of the Roman, GaUic, and
Mediaeval periods have been brought to light, surveys and
plans made, and the more important specimens preserved
in situ or in the public museums.
To M. Belgrand, the eminent and able engineer for the
water supply and drainage of Paris, was deputed the work
of recording all the geological and some of the archaeo-
logical facts discovered during the construction of the
large works on which he was engaged.
Paris up to the last few years had been supplied with
water from local sources (river, canal, and wells), but as
these were found insufEcient and of indifferent quality, it
was determined to seek for other and better sources of
supply at a distance, and some large springs in the chalk
district, respectively distant sixty and eighty-four miles
from Paris, were eventually selected by M. Belgrand, and
their waters were brought to Paris by means of aqueducts on
a high level In carrying out this greit work, M. Belgrand
made himself intimately acquainted with the hydrography
of the Basin of the Seine. He explored every valley, and
determined the regime of every important river. The
result of the first part of the inquiry appeared in a valuable
series of tables, showing the connection between the
rainfall and the discharge of each river — the extent and
nature of the floods, and the geological character of the
ground with reference to the range and extent of the
permeable and impermeable strata, and which he illus-
trated by a specially coloured map. In connection with
the construction of the aqueducts, M. Belgrand had also
to ascertain the nature of the surface and the contours of
the hills and great plains along which he carried them, and
to examine the many pits whence the materials for con-
Qtruction were obtained. This geological investigation led
to the discovery of many interesting specimens, and further
suggested many theoretical inquiries relating to the origin
of the present surface, and to the rigifne of the old Seine
during the later geological periods. The result of the in-
* Lt Bassim Paritien aux Agts AniihUtori^ues, Par M. Belgnud,
Inspecteur-G^iUSral des Fonts and Chauss^es, Directeur des £aux et des
Egouts de la VHle de Paris. (Parii : Imprim^rie Imperial.)
VOU V.
quiry is embodied in the three handsome quarto volumes
before us— one of 255 pages of text, with 106 pages of
introduction, descriptive of the country and giving the
theoretical views ; a second containing plates of fossils,
of flint implements, and pit sections ; and a third with
extended coloured sections and a monograph by M. Bour-
guingnat of the shells found in the Drift beds.
Paris stands on Tertiary strata, from beneath which, at
a distance of some miles, the chalk crops out and forms
a belt many miles in width. These formations constitute
a table land having a height of loo to 200 feet along the
sea coast of Normandy, and rising from 503 to 600 feet
inland in Champagne. This district is traversed by the
Seine and its tributaries, floi^ing in comparatively narrow
valleys cut deep into the table land ; while, on the extended
upland plains thus formed, there rise, here and there,
ranges of hills of Fontainebleau Sands or other later
Tertiary strata. The strike of these hills is in a direc-
tion entirely distinct from that of the hill slopes flanking
the river valleys and forming part of the present river-
system. The latter range in various directions — north,
north-east, south, and south-east— in accordance with
the direction of the tributaries of the Seine until they
join that river, the main channel of which has, from
Montereau to the sea, a general direction south-east to
north-west. M. Belgrand found that the hills on the
plains nearly all ranged in this one given direction, or ^
approximately from south-east to north-west, with inter-
vening valleys having the same direction. Numerous
such ridges, none being of any great length and all narrow
and having this definite trend, are found to extend over
the whole plateau area uninfluenced by the more tortuous
deeper river-valleys which intersect the same area at
various angles to their course. The river- valleys are
covered with gravel formed of the dibris of the rocks
through which the present rivers flow, while the plateau
valleys and plains are free from such debris^ but are
covered with a uniform layer of red clay or loam. Whence
M. Belgrand concludes that the two systems of valleys
have a different origin. He contends that it is not pos-
sible to have a true river channel without having more or
less drifted gravels formed by the constant action of run-
ning water and by floods, and therefore that these higher
valleys could not have been formed by river action, while
at the same time their rectilinear and special bearing in-
dicates that their formation is due to one conmion and
independent cause.
M. Belgrand considers that the only explanation which
will account for the phenomena presented by these
higher-level valleys and hills, is the rapid and transient
passage of a large body of water over the surface ; and
as the excavation of these higher valleys took place after
the formation of the Fontainebleau Sands and of the
C^caire de Beauce (Miocene), and before the Pliocene
period (for the Elephas meridionalis of the valley of the
Eure shows that the land had then emerged), and as also,
according to M. Elie de Beaumont, the elevation of the
main chain of the Alps took place at the same period,
M. Belgrand connects the two events and supposes that
the sea of the Pliocene deposits of the Alpine area was
thereby displaced and that it swept over this northern
portion of France, denuding the softer portions of the
strata and leaving narrow ridges of the harder portions
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NATURE
[Mar. 14, 1872
all trending south-east to north-west (or in the direc-
tion from the Alps), standing out, on the denuded high
plains, as monuments of its passage. M. Belgrand points
out that where the Tertiary strata have presented a resist-
ance which the waters could not overcome, the high-level
valleys formed by the diluvial waters are, in such cases,
fronted in the opposite range of hills, against which
the mass of waters impinged, by a deep bay cut by the cur-
rent in those hills, and that the waters thus checked in their
course were turned off at acute angles, until they reached
the main channel of the Seine, tending thereby to form
secondary or tributary valleys, which, when the deluge had
passed, contributed, with the Seine valley, to form the pre-
sent lines of river drainage. Such volumes of water as we
have depicted would, he argues, have swept the higher
channels and plains clear of dibris^ leaving the denuded
area covered merely with the silt thrown down from muddy
waters, and depositing the coarser dSbris in the middle
and lower range of the deeper channels through which the
present rivers afterwards took their course. In support of
this hypothesis, he shows that, whereas the basin of the
Seine is now drained by the one river and its tributaries, the
diluvial waters held their course straight across that basin
and debouched in five main channels — one, marked by the
hills of Montmorency and Satory, took the course of the
Seine below Montereau to the sea, but in a more direct and
broader line ; the second took the course shown by the
hills of Villers-Cotterets, thence across the present valley
of the Oise, along the valley of the Pays de Bray, to the sea
at Dieppe ; the third followed in part the course of the
Aisne, and then by the line of the Somme valley to the
sea ; and the fourth and fifth by those of the valleys of
the Aulthie and Cauche. M. Belgrand accounts for the
radidity and force of this cataclysm in the belief, which
he shares with M. Elie de Beaumont, that the elevation
of the Alps took place rapidly and suddenly.
But there was a second elevation of the Alps, at a later
geological period, and which, according to M. Bel-
grand, may have produced a second deluge, not by
the displacement of the sea, for then there were only
lakes on the north-western side of those mountains, but by
the sudden melting of the snow on that great range ;
and our author again adopts the views of M. Elie de
Beaumont on this subject. This distinguished geologist
propounded in 1847 the theory that that last convulsion
of die Alps was accompanied by an enormous disengage-
ment of those gases to which has been attributed the for-
mation of the Dolomites and Gypsum beds of that chain^
and that this caused the accumulated snows to melt in a
very brief period of time {,un instant ). At the same time,
according to the same authority, the Pliocene lakes of
*' La Bresse '^ were raised and drained. Thus, suggests
M. Belgrand, this second convulsion might have caused
another diluvial wave to pass over the basin of the Seine —
an hypothesis also advanced by M. Elie de Beaumont, who
speaks of " the probable concourse in this off-throw flood
(tiiversement) towards the north-west, of the waters of
the great lake of La Bresse, in the production of the
diluvial phenomena observed in the neighbourhood of
Paris."
We are disposed to agree with our author in the
opinion, which we have elsewhere expressed, that the
original contour of the surface with its higher valleys
and hills, is due to a cause different from that which ex*
cavated the present river valleys— that it preceded ajid
is independent of it — but we cannot agree with him as to
the nature of that cause. Without going far into the
argument, we may mention that the well-known fact of
the gravel found in each tributary of the valley of the
Seine, consisting of the dBbris of those rocks only through
which that tributary flows, while in the Seine valley are
found the debris of all the tributaries, together with its
own and no more, is, it seems to us, a conclusive ajngu-
ment against the passage of a body of water from one
great basin to another — against the flow of such a body
of water from the Alps across the Jura, the great plains
of the Doubs and the Soane, the southern prolongation
of the Vosges, and, over the separating water-shed formed
by the lower hills of Burgundy, to the Seine basin, and so
to sea on the northern shores of France. Such a cata-
clysm must surely have spread the dkbris of the strata
destroyed in its course north-westward along the tract
over which it flowed. Some remains of the rocks of
Switzerland, of those of the Vosges and of Burgundy,
must siu-ely have been detected in the course of
its passage. How can the author account for the
large blocks and abundant cUbris of the Seine valley
—which blocks and debris he considers as originally
due to this cataclysmic action — and yet overlook the
almost necessary consequence of the introduction of
some foreign elements into the Seine Basin, whereas none
such exist. Not only is the dibris of each gre it tasin
restricted to its own rocks, but even each tributary river
valley has its own special rock dkbris and no other. M.
Belgrand remarks, it is true, of the Somme Valley, which
lies on the line of his third great diluvial water channel,
and which prolonged south-east passes across the Oise
valley and up that of the Aisne, that some cUbris of the
older rocks of the latter areas have been found in the chalk
valley of the Somme. But we must confess we have never
found a trace of such a mbcture, and we have particularly
examined the Drift of those areas with a view to the de-
termination of this point At the same time the water-
shed between the two valleys is so low that their complete
separation in old times appears to us more remarkable
than their present independence, and we can quite con-
ceive the possibility of the Oise waters, when ttiat river
flowed at its higher level, passing at periods of flood into
the valley of the Somme, and so carrying some small
amount of dkbris across the present water-shed, espe-
cially as so good an observer as M. Buteux is referred to
as the authority for this fact. If there, however, it is
evidently quite the exception, and may be accounted for
as just suggested.
With regard to the ingenious suggestion of M. Belgrand
that some south-east and north-west valleys of the table-
lands are faced on the opposite side of intersecting river
valleys by a bay in the hills due to the violence of the
checked diluvial waters, such for example as the amphi-
theatre in the hills on the west of the River Ecolle
between Milly and Moigny and again at Soissy, it is to
be remarked that such amphitheatres exist equally on the
opposite or lee side of the hills towards La Fert^-Alcps
and Maisse ; and, further, that, in the same Tertiary area
beyond the intersecting range of hills between the Ecolle
and the Essonne (which according to M. Belgrand's views
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Mar. 14. 1872]
NATURE
379
should have acted as a breakwater), the south-east and
north-west ridges again resume between the valleys of
the Essonne and the Eure.
After the contour of the surface produced by this cata-
clysm, and by which M. Belgrand considers that all traces
of any previous river courses must have been obliterated,
the Seine and its tributaries began to flow at an elevation
estimated by him of from 80 to 100 feet above the present
level. This he proves, as' we have already done, by the
occurrence of the remains, of land mammalia and of river
and land shells in beds of Drift at that elevation above
the Seine on some of the hills near Paris. This part of
M. Belgrand's work is admirably illustrated, both by
general and local sections, and contains valuable lists of
the mammalian remains, in the determination of which
he had the advantage of the high authority of the late
M.Ed. Lartet. Here again we cannot, however, agree with
him in his modus operandi. The great boulders of sand-
stone, meuliere, granite, &c., found in the valley gravel of the
Seine, are attributed by M. Belgrand in the first place to
removal to the line of the Seine valley by diluvial action,
and subsequently to their drifting along the valley channel
by the river action during floods of the Quaternary
period, and he gives some remarkable instances of the
power of water to remove large blocks, and of the rate at
which such blocks move. When, however, it is considered
that the granitic rocks of the Morvan have been tran-
sported some 150 miles, and other rock boulders in propor-
tion, that the angles of many of the large blocks of sand-
stone and of meuliere constantly show little wear, and that
they are dispersed irregularly and at various levels, some
imbedded in soft clays, and others in sand or fine gravel
and that these latter are often twisted and contorted, we
can only explain the phenomena by the action of river ice
and transport thereby.
M. Belgrand, on the other hand, shows that a prolonged
and steady fall of rain, even if not very heavy, during the
winter, now produces great floods — that such rivers as the
Yonne and Cure flowing over impermeable strata are sub-
ject to sudden and great freshets after a heavy but short
fall, whereas the Mame and Seine flowing over permeable
strata have their floods retarded, but, at the same time,
rendered more permanent by the rainfall having to pass
through the strata and delivered in springs. He also
shows that when the permeable strata become saturated
by long- continued rains, they act as impermeable strata
and that the floods follow close on the rainfall besides
being long maintained, so that in the remarkable and
long wet winter seasons of 1658 and 1802 the Seine rose
at Paris in the one case 29 feet, and in the other 24^
above its ordinary low level, and the floods in the last
case lasted three months. M. Belgrand considers that
this state of things was a normal condition during the
Quaternary period, and he sees reason to believe that the
rainfall at that period must have been very much greater
than at present.
The ordinary low-water discharge of the Seine at Paris
is 75 cubic metres per second ; but during these great
floods it rose to 2,400 and 2,000 cubic metres. M. Bel-
grand gives a list of eight such floods in the last two
centuries, during which the discharge was above thirty
times greater than the ordinary low-water discharge. In
rivers flowing over more impermeable strata the difference
is still greater ; and he mentions that in the Loire at
Orleans it has amounted to as much as 400 times, or
25 : 10,000. We may take the width of the Seine valley
during the high-level gravel period at six kilometres, and
during the low-level gravel period at about two kilometres ;
and M. Belgrand estimates that the river in flood had in
the first instance a sectional area of 60,000 square metres,
and in the second of 40,000 metres ; and, calculating the
flow at a given rate per second, the discharge, as compared
with that of the present river, would be as under :—
Discharge fier seco^ of the Seine at Paris tn the present
period and during floods in past periods : —
Present River
low water .
flood-water
Extreme rise
of river.
Metres
. 881 .
OldRiverduringthe | low level stage 20 )
Quaternary period ( high level stage 13 )
Discharge
of river.
Cubic Metres
. . 75
. . 2,400
27,000
60,000
Large as these Quaternary period quantities are, M.
Belgrand thinks that there are cases of recent occurrence
to prove that it is possible to realise them. He men-
tions a flood following on a heavy rainfall in the valley of
the Arman^on, a small river flowing over impermeable
strata, with a basin of only i)49o square kilometres, which
had its discharge raised for a short time to 800 cubic
metres per second ; and he infers that under like condi-
tions of rain and impermeability (by saturation and
otherwise) the Seine, with its basin of 78,600 square kilo-
metres, might have its discharge raised to 42,444 cubic
metres, showing, that notwithstanding the size of the old
river channels, the area drained during a period of
greater rainfall would have sufficed for the necessary
water supply.
In confirmation of this larger and more permanent
supply of water, M. Belgrand instances the presence of
the Hippopotamus, the remains of which are found at
several places in the Seine basin as well as in that of
the Somme, and which would have required for its
existence larger and fuller rivers. He also derives a
further argument in the presence of this animal, against
a prolonged and severe winter cold, which he considers
would have been fatal to it. M. Belgrand; nevertheless,
argues that the presence of the Reindeer indicates the
six summer months temperature of Scandinavia, not ex-
ceeding in the mean 8^ centigrade ; but with such a sum-
mer temperature we hardly see how he can avoid the
three months' winter temperature of the same latitude
or of 4*6 per cent A still more extreme winter tempera-
ture is in fact indicated by the presence of the Musk Ox
and the Marmot It is to be observed also that the Rein-
deer at that time lived as far south as the Pyrenees, and
that the physical condition of the drift deposits are, as
we have before shown, strictly in accordance with a very
low winter temperature. As the Hippopotamus is an ex-
tinct species, we do not know how far it may, like the
extinct Elephants and Rhinoceroses, have been adapted to
live in a severe climate. M. Belgrand's work is full of
interesting details of the distribution of these and the
other Quaternary animals, not only over the Seine Basin,
but in some cases over the whole of France. He gives also
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NATURE
[Mar. 14, 1872
a monograph with figures, by M. Bourguingnat, of all the mol-
losca of this age found in the Seine Basin. This well-known
conchologist makes out that out of a total of 76 there
are 38 new species which he considers as extinct, a con-
clusion which we expect English conchologists will hardly
be prepared to agree with, as they have detected no extinct
species in these deposits, and find only a few which are
not local — ^a view in which* we also believe most French
conchologists join. The author considers that the same
mammalian fauna is common to both the high-level and the
low-level gravels. In one main point, however, do these
gravels differ. I n those of the high-lev#s of Montreuil and
Bicetre no Human remains, no Flint Implements, have
been found, whereas, in those of the low-levels of Clichy,
Crenelle, &c., above 5,000 flints, more or less worked, are
stated to have been found by a single collector. Besides
these works of early Man, M. Belgrand states that human
bones, skulls, and entire skeletons, have been found in
these lower gravels ; but it seems to us that much of this
evidence requires confirmation.
The Quaternary period of the Seine Basin is coeval, in
M. Belgrand's opinion, with the Glacial period, and he
considers that it was.brought suddenly to a close with the
low- level gravels. To this Quaternary period the peat
deposits immediately succeed, owing, as the author in-
geniously suggests, to the suddenly diminished rainfall
leaving the rivers clearer and under conditions favourable
for the growth of peat, which he shows never takes place
in river valleys subject to frequent and heavy floods, but
always in valleys where springs abound, and the floods
are few and not turbulent.
The latter part of the work is occupied with a minute
account of formation of gravel beds, and of the position
of the Organic Remains, showing how all the features of
those deposits are to be accounted for by ordinary river
action, and that the mammalian remains are abundant
precisely at those very places where a river with strong
currents and numerous eddies would leave them. He
endeavours to account also for the fact of all the bones of
the larger animals being found in the coarser bottom
beds of gravel, by the circumstance that these coarser
beds were formed in those deeper water-channels along
which only the larger carcases could have floated, and
which were afterwards surmounted by those upper
beds of sand and finer gravel, which he considers
to be due to silting up {alluvionnement) of the chan-
nel where the river had changed its course to another
channel The brick earth or Loess is ascribed by
him, as by English geologists, to river floods. But
instead of considering it, as we do, to be produced by
successive floods at all the various levels of the river,
from the high to the low level, M. Belgrand admits but
two levels, the high and the low, and that owing to a sudden
elevation of the land, the excavation between these two
levels was produced at once without intermediate stages.
Consequently, he considers that the height of the Loess
above these two levels marks in each case the rise of
the flood waters. This, we think, is a weak point in his
argument According to his view, which he illustrates by
a section, showing the range of the Loess up the hill
slopes, he concludes that the floods of the low-level
stage of the river rose, notwithstanding the width of
the valley, to a height of 66ft.| and during the high-
level stage^ to a height of 43ft., which give very much
larger sectional areas for the river in flood than is other-
wise necessary, and such as we conceive the area drained
would have been insufficient to fill even with greatly larger
rainfall. For, although the discharge of the Arman-
gon may in a particular cas3 of heavy rainfall have been
so large as when multiplied by the whole area to give two-
thirds of the required supply, still it is perfectly well
known that the discharge by the main river never equals
the sum of all its tributaries, and the discharge of the
Seine at Paris on that occasion actually only rose to
1,250 cubic metres per second. There are besides beds
of gravel on the slopes of Clichy towards Paris, and a^^ain
on the slopes leading to Charenton distinct bedis of gravel
at intermediate levels, though of limited extent.
Thus, M. Belgrand ascribes the gravel beds and the
Loess of the Seine Basin to old river action, referring the red
loam alone of the higher plains above to diluvial causes,
in opposition to the view usually received in France, accord-
ing to which all these Drift beds are divided into the
three diluvial deposits o( Di/uvium ^ris, DUuvium rouge^
and Limon or Loess, As we have already expressed
very similar views respecting the commonly accepted clas-
sification, we cordially agree with the author on this paint.
The illustrations forming the second volume constitute
a very interesting exhibition of the art of Photo-litho-
graphy. The execution varies a good deal, and there are
plates which, though valuable for their truthfulness, are
rather indistinct. Some of the representations of the Flint
Implements are excellent The work is somewhat large
and costly ; but as a copious record of facts, an ingenious
statement of theory, and a reliable representation of
specimens, this work of M. Belgrand will be greatly valued
by all those who feel an interest in the remarkable phe-
nomena connected with the present configuration of the
country, the distribution of life during the Quaternary
period, and especially with the evidence bearing on the
Antiquity of Man. J. P.
OUR BOOK SHELF
The Discovery of a New World of Being. By George
Thomson. (Longmans, Green and Co., 1871.)
The world discovered by this psychological Columbus
is the "world of spirits," although he "disclaims all
connection with so-called SpirituaUsts— a sect of modem
times," whom he somewhat ungenerously " believes to be
either dupes or knaves." Mr. Thomson believes that
man consists of two "personalities," an animal per-
sonality or body, and a personality he calls spirit, which
is the " knowing and conscious we," and which he believes
to be as distinct from and as capable of being at almost
any moment abstracted from the former as steam is from
a steam-engine. Indeed, this latter phenomenon takes
place every time the body "goes to sleep," to use the
vulgar phrase ; for Mr. Thomson believes that the
" animal life never sleeps, and cannot sleep, and that to
say or think that it, or any other life, can sleep, in the
popular sense of the word, is the most glaring absurdity
that ever has had possession of the human mind." " What
is meant properly by sleep," he goes on to say, " is simply
the abstraction or withdrawal of the influence of a being,
a spirit, from a being, an animal, the leaving of a servant
to itself, from the influence of its lord and master." Mr.
Thomson explains the phenomenon of dreaming to be
the struggles of this " being, a spirit," to get out of and back
into the house of its servant, the body. The frequently
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381
unpleasant consequences of a late supper might have led
Mr. Thomson one step further, and suggested to him the
probable habitat of the spirit when embodied. How brim-
ful of meaning to Mr. Thomson, then, must bs Shakespeare's
well-known utterance — " We are such stuff as dreams
are made of." The particular merit which he claims for
himself as a discoverer is, that he has realised to himself
this spirit-world " predicted of old to be in existence,"
become conscious of himself as a " spirit in the world of
spirits," clearly distinct, "in rounded belief," as he puts it,
from that other entity, the body ; and he declares that
any one may make this awful discovery for himself if
he only has "faith," shuts himself off from the outer
world, and ponders long enough and with sufficient in-
tensity. If our author is really in earnest — and we can-
not but think he is— in trying to fathom the mystery of
life and of consciousness, we recommend him to approach
the subject unprejudicedly from the side of physiology ;
for so long as a psychologist concerns himself with the
phenomena of his "inner consciousness" alone, and
neglects the facts of his " outer man," his work is less than
half done, and he is as likely to succeed in arriving at the
whole truth as Columbus would have been in discovering
America, had he contented himself with studying charts
and staring longingly across the Atlantic for forty years.
On tJie Elevation of Mountains by Lateral Pressure; its
Cause ^ and the Amount of tt^ with a Speculation on
the Origin of Volcanic Action, By Rev. O. Fisher,
M.A., F.G.S , &c. (From the Trans, of Camb. PhiL
Soc. VoL xi. part iii)
This paper is of considerable interest as bearing upon the
question of the internal condition of the earth. Mr.
Fisher is of opinion that the elevation of mountain chains
and the phenomena of volcanoes can both be accounted
for on the hypothesis that the earth is solid. He conceives
that " if a sufficient loss of heat has happened since the
stratified rocks were formed, to cause a slight diminution
in the volume of the earth, dien the outer layer will have
become too large, and will have had to accommodate it-
self to the reduced spheroid ; and the lateral pressure
caused by the resulting failure of support will have given
rise to those foldings which have produced mountain
ranges ; " and an attempt is made by the author to " esti-
mate the lateral pressure which would arise in the outer
strata of the earth under such circumstances." Referring
to the results obtained by Archdeacon Pratt in India,
which seem to show that the density of the earth's crust
beneath mountain chains is less than in other places, the
author thinks this is only what might have been expected
upon the supposition that the elevation of these moun-
tains is due to lateral pressure ; for it is evident that the
strata would to some extent be supported by the lateral
pressure which upheaved them. Here then, he thinks,
may be the origin of volcanoes : — Diminished vertical
pressure will enable the interior layers of the crust to
pass into a state of fusion, and, " if from an independent
cause a partial passage towards the surface is opened for
molten rock containing highly heated water, the fluid will
convey to a level where the resistance is less the pressure
existing at a lower depth, and the force necessary to cbm-
plete a passage to the surface may be furnished by the
pressure of the molten rock and by the steam contained
within it." But, although Mr. Fisher believes that the
elevation of mountain chains and the phenomena of
volcanoes are both of them the result of the same funda-
mental causes, yet, he thinks, it would certainly be a
mistake to regard elevation as the consequence of vol-
canic action. He does not see how subterraneous lakes
of molten matter can account for the elongated form which
trains of volcanoes like those of the Andes affect ; nor
how such lakes should have shifted about from one region
to another at different geological epochs. His theory,
however, offers an explanation of the elongated form
assumed by chains of volcanoes— the shifting of volcanic
activity to different regions at successive periods— the
spasmodic character of volcanic action, and other vol-
canic phenomena. J. G.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
\Tki Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed
by his cor re ipon tents. No njtice is taken of anonymous
com munications. ]
The Placental Classification of Mammals
A REMARK made by Prof. Allen Thomson on this subject in
a late number of Nature induces me again to draw attention to
some objections I offered to the placental classification in a re-
view of Prof. Rolleston's "Forms of Animal Life" (Naturk, vol.
i., p. 81). If this system fails to satisfy so sound a critic and so
accofrplished an anatomist as Dr. Thomson, there must be some
serious deficiencies in it. No doubt De Blaioville did good
service in calling attention to the wide distinction of Marsupials
and of MoDotremes from other mammals ; but his names, Orm-
thoddphia and Didelphia^ are inappropriate, and even mislead-
ing, and the skeletil characters of these two groups furnish quite
as important, and fur more available, means of diagnosis.
It admiti of question whether the divisions of the higher
mammals, according to ths aims system, are the most
natural, even if rhs placet! were the best organ by which to
define them. It is true, at Prjf. Huxley observe*, that
the singularities which ally the elephant with the Rodentia
have been a matter of common remark since the days of
Cuvier, but the placental classification requires us to find
still more singulir ties between the elephant and the Ca*ni-
vora. On the other hand the Camivora lead down by the seals
to the true Cetacea, a line of connection broken by the placental
arrangement ; which is equally opposed to the more doubtful
analogy of the whales with the Rum-nants. And the third order
with deciduous zonary placentation, the isolated genus Hyrax^
whatever may be thought of its relations to Rodentia on the one
hand and to Ungulata on the other, has at least more likeness to
either than to elephants and cats. Again, the different placenta-
tion of Edentata may be held only an additional proof of the
looseness of an order held together chiefly by negative characters,
but if we break it up, shall we obtain a more natural or conveni-
ent arrangement by placing the sloths with the Ruminants, Manis
with Cetacea and Perissodactyla, and Orycteropus with Primates?
No doubt embryological characters are justly regarded as the
most important for revealing true affinities between animals. But
the tenacity of hereditary transmission, which gives them this
value, do^ not appear to belong to placental structure. The
placenta is more a maternal than a foetal organ, especially as to
Its deciduate or non-deciduate character, and should rather
rank with organs like the mamma than with the yelk-sac and the
amnion.
There are, moreover, many practical objections to the placental
classification. The opportunities of obtaining knowledge on the
subject are few, the investigation is not always easy, and it can-
not be readily verified by sttbse<)uent observers.
But the most important objection to De Blainville's system
is, that the perishable nature of the structures on which it is
based renders it impossible to apply the criterion to fossil animals.
It will probably be long before we shall have any notion of what
a Sirenian placenta is Tike ; it is only lately that we have learnt
what is the real placentation of so common a creature as the
rat, but we shall certainly never have the remotest idea of that
of a megatherium, a zeuglodon, or a rhytina. So that if it be
admitted — and surely no one will deny — that anv classification of
animals which is to be more than a mere aid to the memory, must
include all known forms, recent or fossil, it follows that neither
placenta, nor brain, nor an^ other soft part, can be of more than
subordinate value in classification. On the other hand, it may
be fairly maintained that there is no group of mammals, and
scarcely one of the other Vertebrata, of undisputed importance,
which cannot be completely defined by the characters of the
skeleton.
It is, I venture to think, rather the authority of such illustrious
names as Gegenbaur and Huxley than its own merits which have
recommended the placental classification of mammals. If we
regard the object of^ classification to be the settbg forth of true
genetic relationships, all characters must be induded^ and among
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\Mar. 14, 1872
them the placenta has no daim to be a primary index of affinity.
And if we only seek for the most practically convenient way of
arranging Mammalia, it is to the bones and teeth, rather than to
the maternal organs of generation, that we must look.
P. H. Pye-Smith
Potential Energy
While on the subject of Thomson and Tait's Natural Philo-
sophy, I should like to call attention to the definition of Potential
Energy, given in Art 273, p. 189.
I think it will be found that this definition gives the wrong
sign, because the potential energy in any configuration is the
amount of work the forces of the system perform in returning Xq
the zero configuration, the ideal position of stable equilibrium.
Thus when a spring is stretched or compressed tne potential
energy is measured by the kinetic energy which is generated by
the work done by the elastic force of the spring by the time the
spring has returned to its unstretcbed condition. With this
change of sign the definition now agrees with that given in
Art 484.
Infinite distance being taken as the zero configuration, the
potential energy is a positive quantity for such forces as electric
and magnetic forces.
With this zero the potential energy for gravitating particles is
negative, which is expressed by saying that the exhaustion of
potential energy is positive, because as the particles approach
their kinetic energy increases, and their potential energy suffers
exhaustion and diminishes.
In ArL 485 we read, " The potential at any point, due to any
attracting or repelling body or distribution of matter, is the
mutual potential energy between it and a unit of matter placed
at that point. But in the case of gravitation, to avoid defining
the potential as a negative quantity, it is convenient to change
the sign. Thus the gravitation potential at any point, due to any
mass, is the quantity of work required to remove a unit of matter
from that point to an infinite distance."
Although the gravitation potential has had its sign changed,
nevertheless the potential at any point P for gravitation and for
electric and magnetic forces, is defined in the same way as the
sum of the quotients of every portion of the mass divided by its
distance from P.
Thii is the Potential Function of Green, usually called by the
name given by Gauss, the Potential, and is the function which
satisfies Laplace's equation.
The gravitation potential is the old force function of Sir W.
Hamilton and Jacobi, such that its rate of increase in any di-
rection is the resolved part of the force in that direction on the
unit of mass.
The potential, defined as the potential energy in the unit of
mass is of opposite sign to the free function ; its rate of de-
crease in any direction is the component force in that direction.
These perplexing changes of sign arise from the fact that in
gravitation we have only one kind of matter, the particles of
which naturally attract ; hence the potential energy is n<^tive,
or it diminishes as the particles approach ; it is, therefore, con-
venient to make a change of sign.
In the general case of which electrical and magnetical pheno-
mena may be taken as the type, like particles repel, unlike
attract, and the potential energy increases as the particles
approach.
These definitions and conventions of signs are, of course, in
accordance with those given by Thomson and Tait ; the proper
signs and names are given also in Briot's '* Th^orie M^nique
de la Chaleur," but in all the other French books there is great
confusion ; for instance, in the "TheorieM^canique de la Chaleur"
of Verdet, the potential goes by Green's name, the potential func-
tion, but has its sign changed, while the potential energy is called
the potential, after Clausius. This also seems to be the nomen-
clature adopted by the Germans.
It is very necessary that all doubt as to the meaning and value
of these important functions should be set at rest ; the system
adopted in Thomson and Tait's ** Natural Philosophy" leaves
nothing to be desired. A. G. Greenhill
St John's College, Cambridge, March 6
Development of Barometric Depressions
I LEAVE to those who are equal to it the task of reconciling
and discussing "J. K. L.'s" propositions in reference to Indian
meteorology, which appear to be these :— i, " The zainfall in
the Himalayas " (instanced by him in proof that rainfall is not
the cause of depression), " probably causes a very great de-
pression " (meaning, I now suppose, the great Asiatic depression
really due to the rarefaction of the air in Central Asia) ; 2, " but
certainly not any currents such as I have described" (viz., cur-
rents in accordance with Buys Ballot's Law, having the lowest
pressure on their left) ; 3, " the drcnit of the wind in the region
of the Himalayas is, so far as we know, in exact accordance with
Ballot's Law."^
My complaint was that the critic had ignored, not« of coorse.
Part I L of my book, but certain propositions in Part 1., as "dis-
tinctly enunciated'' as those on which he comments^ and in-
separable from them, though not yet fully discussed.
I will now close, as far as my part is concerned, a discussion,
for the opening of which I was responsible, but which has, con-
trary to my intention, become rather personal than scientific. The
question, however, really at issue between us I believe to be one
of some interest in meteorology. " Does the fact that precipi-
tation in certain cases, and especially in the warmer regions of the
globe, fails to produce baric depresuon, disprove, or render im-
proliable, the theory (based on substantial evidence) that the
depressions which occur in Western Europe are results of pre-
cipitation?"
March 10 W. Clkmsnt Ley
A Safety Lamp
The article in this week's Nature on " Foul Air in Mines,
and how to live in it " calls to mind a contrivance made use of
by the watchmen of Paris in all magazines where explosive or
inflammable materials are stored, and suggests the idea that the
same may possibly be of service to our miners.
The Paris J^garosays, " Take an oblong vial of the whitest
and clearest glass, put in it a piece of phosphorus about the size
of a pea, upon which pour some olive oil, heated to the boiling
point, filling the vial about one- third full, and then seal the vial
hermetically. To use it, remove the cork, and allow the air to
enter the vud, and then re-cork it. The whole empty space in
the bottle will then become luminous, and the light obtained
will be equal to that of a lamp. As <oon as the light grows
weak its power can be increased by opening the vial and allow-
ing a fresh supply of air to enter. Thus prepared the vial may
be used for six months."
4, MoretonPhice, S.W. B. G. Jenkcns
Beautiful Meteor
I ENCLOSE a description of meteor, apparently of nnusual
brilliancy, recently seen by my assistant at Parsonstown, think-
ing that it may perhaps be interesting to some of your readers.
Carlton Club, London, March 12 Rossb
** Observed an intensely brilliant meteor. It was first seen in
the region about Lepus, whence it moved with a slow and steady
motion across the heavens to the S.£. horizon, where it gradually
disappeared in a bank of cloud at about 9^ 5" 19*, Green w-ich
mean time, having occupied seven or eight seconds in moving
over 50* of a great circle. The time given may be a few seconds
wrong, as it was noted by an ordinary watch. The head was
intenselv brilliant, of a bluish white colour, and lighted up the
whole sky.
**Its brightness was maintained during its entire visibility, and
may have been as great as the moon at quadrature. Apparent
diameter of the head 42'. It was followed by a very narrow tail
about 3^ in length and of a reddish hue. It did not leave auy
phosphorescent train behind it, but at the latter part of its course
it threw out some reddish luminous masses, that gradually faded
away. Its apparent course was in a great circle through fi Canis
Majoris to a point near the S. E. horizon, in azimuth b. 28^** £.,
and altitude &|^ For /3 Canis Majoris the azimuth was S.
20* 52' '4 W., and altitude 16° 4s' '3-
" Observatory, Birr Castle, March 8 '»
While travelling last night, at about twenty minutes to nine
o'clock, as we were descending a tolerably high hill, about $ miles
from this city, our road leading S.S.W., I found myself very
favourably drcumstanced for seemg s beantiM meteor which was
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Mar. 14, 1872J
NATURE
383
visible for probably forty seconds. It appeared first as if
approaching from the W.S.W. about 40" or 50* above the
horizon, unusually large and bright, and leaving a lon^ train of
bright spots behind. After a few seconds it seemed extinguished,
but in a moment or two flashed out again still brighter, appa-
rently passing due £., at a height of about 25° or 30^, through Eri-
danus, Lepus, Canis Major, and Argo, and much slower uian at
first. While passing under Orion two protuberances burst out,
giving it the appearance of an arrowhead, or .'rather a bird flying,
as it appeared to have a tail which at the end was a fine smoke
colour: it now occupied the space of i^** or 2^ Passing behind a
cloud below Rmdus it disappeared.
. Waterford, March 9 James Budd
"Whin"
Can you or any of your readers fiimish a probable etymology
of the word whin f Over all the north of England and south of
Scoland basalt is so called. Here we have the whin-iMl or strati-
form basalt — z&Am-dykes, or geological fissures filled with basalt.
The vocabularies in treatises on geology give no derivation of this
prevalent mining term. In Scotland whin seems to typify the
hardest mineral Known. Bams makes Death say in " Hombuik,"
** I micht as weel hae tried a quarry o' hard whin rock." Surely
a satisfactory root for the word in question can be found in
Celtic, Old Norse, Danish, or Anglo-Saxon ! The Old Norse
*' fors " is found in the names of several local waterfalls, as for
instance ** High Force" in Teesdale. At this "force" the
river Tees is precipitated over a whin-stone cliff. Soft high.
Wm. R. B£LL
Laithkirk Vicarage, Mickleton, March 12
CUCKOO AND PIPIT
SEVERAL well-kaown naturalists who have seen my
sketch from life of the young cuckoo ejecting the
young pipit ^opposite p. 22 of the little versified tsde of
which I send a copy)* have expressed a wish that the
details of my observations of the scene should be pub-
lished. I therefore send you the facts, though the sketch
itself seems to me to be the only important addition I
have made to the admirably accurate description g^ven
by Dr. Jenner in his letter to John Hunter, which is
printed in the "Philosophical Transactions'' for 1788
(vol. Ixxviii., pp. 225, 226), and which I have read with
pleasure since putting down my own notes.
The nest which we watched last June, after finding the
cuckoo's egg in it, was that of the common meadow pipit
(Titlark, Mosscheeper), and had two pipit's eggs besiaes
that of the cuckoo. It was below a heather bush, on the
declivity of a low abrupt bank on a Highland hill-side in
Moidart
At one visit the pipits were found to be hatched, but
not the cuckoo. At the next visit, which was after an
interval of forty*eight hours, we found the young cuckoo
alone in the nest, and both the young pipits lying down
the bank, about ten inches from the mai^n of the nest,
but quite lively after being warmed in the hand. They
were replaced in the nest beside the cuckoo, which
struggled about till it got its back under one of them,
when it climbed backwards directly up the open side of
the nest, and hitched the pipit from its back on to the
edge. It then stood quite upright on its legs, which were
straddled wide apart, with the claws firmly fixed half-way
down the inside of the nest among the interlacing fibres
of which the nest was woven ; and, stretching its wings
apart and backwards, it elbowed the pipit fairly over the
margin so far that its struggles took it down the bank
instead of back into the nest
After this the cuckoo stood a minute or two, feeling
back with its wings, as if to make sure that the pipit was
• "The Pipits," illustnued by Mis. Hugh Blackburn (Olugowi Made-
hose, »S72X
fjurly overboard, and then subsided into the bottom of the
nest
As it was getting late, and the cuckoo did not imm:-
mediately set to work on the other nestling, I replaced the
ejected one, and went home. On retumiag next day,
both nestlings were found, dead and cold, out of the nest.
I replaced one of them, but the cuckoo made no effort to
get under and eject it, but settled itself contentedly on the
top of it All this I find accords accurately with J cutter's
description of what he saw. But what struck me most
was this : The cuckoo was perfectly naked, without a
vestige of a feather or even a hint of future feathers ; its
eyes were not yet opened, aud its neck seemed too weak
to support the weight of its head. The pipits had well-
developed ouills on the wings and back, and had bright
eyes, partially open ; yet they seemed quite helpless under
the manipulations of the cuckoo, which looked a much
less developed creature. The cuckoo's legs, however,
seemed very muscular, and it appeared to feel about with
its wings, which were absolutely featherless, as with hands,
the " spurious wing " (unusually large in proportion) look-
ing like a spread-out thumb. The most singular thing of
all was the direct purpose with which the blind little
monster made for the open side of the nest, the only part
where it could throw its burthen down the bank. I think
all the spectators felt the sort of horror and awe at the
apparent inadequacy of the creature's intelligence to its
acts that one might have felt at seeing a toothless hag
raise a ghost by an incantation. It was horribly " un-
canny " and " gjewsome.** J. B.
The University, Glasgow
DR. G. E, DA Y
IN a former number, under the date of February 8, we
had the painful duty of announcing the death, at the
age of fifty-six, of Dr. George Edward Day, F.R.S.,
Emeritus Chandos Professor of Medicine in the Univer-
sity of St. Andrews, which took place at Torquay on
January 31, 1872. Most of his earlier friends had probably
heard of the sad accident which reduced him to a state of
bodily helplessness, and which darkened his latter years ;
but few of those who remembered him only as the genial
witty Cantab, overflowing with life and spirits, and as the
brilliant medical student at Edinburgh, carrying every-
thing before him in class-room and debating hall, or
later, as the active untiring President of the Medical
Examinations at St Andrews, would have supposed him
capable of the cheerful resignation with which he sub-
mitted to his enforced exclusion from all participation in
active, professional, and social life.
The story of Dr. Day's life is a sad record of brilliant
expectations suddenly wrecked, and long continued
struggles against irreparable calamities.
As the eldest son of a wealthy country gentleman of
good position, his fortune seemed assured from his birth ;
but the failure of the Swansea Bank in 1825, when he was
scarcely ten years old, ruined his father, and led to his
removal to the house of a widowed grandmother.
In 1834, after some preparation under a private tutor,
he went up to Cambridge with the reputation of an able
mathematician, and a good classical scholar. At the
University he worked splendidly by fits and starts,but the
period between 1834 and 1837 does not belong to the
working era of Cambridge, and George Day's natural
love of fun and the fascination of his manner combined
to render his society especially attractive to his comrades,
and the result was, that he came out as low as twelfth
among the wranglers of his year.
On leaving Cambridge he resolved to adopt medicine
as his future profession, and went to Edinburgh, where
he at once took his place among that brilliant band of
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[Mar. 14, 1872
young men who reckoned John Goodsir, Edward Forbes,
and many others of similar promise amongst their ranks.
On leaving Edinburgh he at once came to London, and
taking a house at the West End, attempted to esUblish
himself as a pure physician. During these eight or nine
years of his London life, Dr. Day laboured on with un-
wearying industry and patience, lecturing at the Middlesex
and other metropoliUn medical schools, writing for
reviews, translating from German, and turning his ver-
satile talents and his special knowledge of physiological
chemistry to account in every way. The result of this
heavy strain was a threatening of brain disease, which,
according to the verdict of his medical advisers, could
only be warded off by complete rest and cessation from
the cares in which he was immersed.
At that moment the death of an old friend. Dr. John
Reid, opened the prospect to him of obtaining the Chair
of Medicine at St. Andrews. His success in this probably
saved his life, for the removal from the turmoil of a
struggling London career to the comparative case of the
Scottish University arrested the threatenings of disease,
and enabled him to recover some of his old vigorous tone.
Duringthe I3years that Dr. Day held the Chair of Medicine
at St. Andrews, from 1850 to 1863, he made it his special
duty to promote the honour and further the interests of the
University by raising the character of medical degrees ;
and so successfully did he accomplish this task, that the
discredit which had belonged in former days to the M.D.
degree of St, Andrews was completely effaced under his
presidency of the Examining Board. A new system of
stringent vivd voce and written examinations was then
inaugurated, which justified those who graduated in his
time in regarding their attainment of the M.D. degree
of St Andrews as a professional honour of which any
man might be proud.
In 1857 Dr. Day's prospects of a more prosperous future
than he had as yet been able to look forward to were
completely destroyed by the accident to which we have
already referred, and which befell him in the course of a
vacation tour in the English Lake District. On a bright
morning at the end of the August of that year, he had set
forth from his hotel at Patterdale in full vigour and
strength, bent on " learning a new wrinkle about Hel-
vellyn," as he himself expressed it, by making his way to
the summit along a recently opened path. He made the
.ascent as he had designed, but instead of returning by
the same track, he struck off in the direction of the white
lead mines ; and while walking along what he mistook for
a miner's path, the ground gave way under him, and he
fell into what proved to be a horizontal chimney or cul-
vert, constructed to carry off the sulphurous, arsenical,
and other gases, whose deposits had proved injurious to
the sheep grazing on the hill side. He was rescued after
three hours of anxious suspense, but the proximate results
of that accident were dislocation of the right elbow and
two fractures of the same arm, the upper one in the
surgical neck of the bone of the humerus, which never
united. The subsequent effects were the complete de-
struction of his general health, which obliged him in 1863
to give up the Chair of Medicine at St Andrews and
retire from active life. A removal to the milder climate of
Torquay had little effect in arresting the train of symptoms
which year by year marked the progress of disease, and
were, it is conjectured, the result of a jar to the spine
sustained by his accident on Helvellyn, which had, in
truth, proved to him the beginning of the end.
And such was the checkered career of this man of
brilliant promise, unflinching bravery of spirit, clear judg-
ment, and tender heart. Disappointed again and again,
he always met his troubles manfully, and turned them to
good account for himself or others. We have given no
fist of the varions honours which he attained in his pro-
fession, or of his literary works, for the detailed reports of
these particulars are contained in the various obituary
notices which have appeared of Dr. Day in the medical
and other journals, to whose pages, as well as to our own^
he was a frequent contributor.
OCEAN CURRENTS
ANEW interest seems now to be taken in Ocean Cur-
rents, and much is being said and written upon tlie
subject. In the investigation of this subject it is very-
important that we should understand well all the forces
and agencies concerned in the production and mainte-
nance of the currents, and that we should consider well
all the principles, and theories based upon hypothetical
forces, which have come down to us from preceding gene-
rations, however plausible and however much sanctioned
by high authority they appear to be. As in the case o£
tiie winds, so also in ocean currents, the modifying force
arising from the earth's rotation has a very important
bearing, and should be well understood. There are cer-
tain erroneous views in connection with this force, which
have come down to us from preceding generations, and
which are contained in text-books, and are being taught
in colleges and schools, which are liable to have, and do
have, a mischievous bearing upon this subject These
are the more dangerous because they appear to have
received at least the tacit sanction of past ages, so
that almost any one is liable to adopt them without
much consideration. Prof. Colding has in this way been
unsuspectingly let into error in his recent paper on ocean
currents. We are all familiar with the usual explanation
of the trade- winds contained in text-books, which assum-
ing that a particle of air at the equator, at rest relatively
to the earth, and consequently having a lineal velocity in
space of about 1,000 miles per hour, is forced to move to-
ward the pole, it will, on arriving at the parallel of latitude
where the earth's surface has a velocity of only 900 miles,
still have its velocity of 1,000 miles per hour in the case
of no friction, and consequently have a relative velocity
of 100 miles per hour, and on arriving at the parallel of
60°, will still have its initial velocity of 1,000 miles, and
consequently have a relative velocity of 500 miles per
hour. But this is at variance with a fundamental and
well-established principle in mechanics. The force in this
case is a central force, or at least the compound perpen-
dicular to the earth's axis can be neglected, since it can
have nothing to do with any east or west motion. This
being the case, the principle of the preservation of areas
must be satisfied, and conseouently the particle of air^
when it arrives at the parallel where the earth's surface
has a velocity of 900 miles, must have a velocity of more
than 1,000 miles, and a relative velocity of more
than 200 miles per hour, and on arriving at the parallel
of 60°, where the earth's surface has a velocity of 500
miles, it must have a velocity of 2,000 miles, and conse-
quendy a relative velocity of 1,500 miles, instead of 500 miles
per hour. Adopting thoughtlessly, and very naturally, the
erroneous principle which is usually taught, that a particle
of air or of water in moving toward or from the pole, tends
to keep its initial lineal velocity relative to space. Prof.
Colding estimates the amount of deflecting force due to
the earth's rotation, eastward when the particle is moving^
towards the pole, and westward when moving from the pole,
and the result is, that his force is just one half of what it
really is. Consequently, all the results based upon his
estimated amount of this force should be doubled. Prof.
Colding has also entirely neglected one component of the
force due to the earth's rotation. It has been shown by
Prof. Everett, and also by the writer, that when a body
moves east or west, there is also a similar deflecting force
due to the earth's rotation, exactly equal to the former.
Prof. Colding has, therefore, taken into account only the
one-fourth part of the whole force. If he had taken in
this latter component of the force also, and resolved
it in the direction of the line of motion and perpen-
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385
dicular to it, as he did the fonner, he would have
found that the parts in the direction of motion, arising
from both components, exactly cancel one another in all
cases, and that the resultant of both components is
a force perpendicular to the direction of motion. This
force then tends only to change the direction of the mo-
tion, and never to accelerate or retard it, in whatever
direction it may be. Prof. Colding's result, therefore, that
the velocity of the current is accelerated by the earth's
rotation, when moving in certain directions, and retarded
in odiers, is erroneous.
It is known that there are two theories with regard to
the cause of Ocean Currents: the one, that they are
caused by the winds acting upon the ocean, the other, ad-
vocated by Dr. Carpenter, that they are caused by a dif-
ference of density of the ocean between the equator and
the poles, due to a difference of temperature. The ten-
dency of both theories is in the same direction, and the
currents, no doubt, are in some measure due to the forces
belonging to each theory. The history of the former
theory, and the high authority which can be appealed
to in its support, are well known, but we have reason
to think that the forces, and the effects of them, in the
former theory, are quite subordinate to those of the
latter. The well-known explanation of the Gulf Stream
by the former theory assumes that there is a heaping
up of the water of the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico by
the action of the trade winds, sufficient to change the
sea-level enough to cause the observed current passing
through the Strait of Florida. But the trade winds
cannot have much effect in causing a heaping up of
the water on the coast of Mexico, since the force is
applied to the surface merely, and tends to produce
only a surface current, while all the great body of the
water, except a little of the surface, is free to flow back.
It is true tnere must be a slight change of sea-level to
give rise to a force sufficient to overcome the resistances to
this under tow, but these are extremely small since the
velocity of this under tow, including all the great depth
of the ocean, except the superficial westward current, is
very smaJL That the merely superficial part of the equa-
torial current is mostly caused by the trade-winds may be
true, but the Gulf Stream, which is not directly acted
upon, except by the very gentle south-west winds, and
which is not merely a surface-current, must be mostly ac-
counted for by the other theory. Let us now see what can
be learned upon diis subject from observation. Instances
of a great change of water-level in shallow canals have
been cited to show the influence of the wind in causing a
heaping up of the water at the one end ; but the water in
these cases being very shallow, the force may be regarded
as applied somewhat to the whole body of the water, and
the under counter-current is thus prevented, but the case
is very different in a deep ocean. It is well known from
the discussion of tidal observations that the influence of
the wind in changing the sea-level is very small. If the
force of the trade winds causes a higher sea-level in the
Gulf of Mexico, we know that the west winds in higher
latitudes must cause a similar rise of sea-level on the west
coast of Europe, for the sum of the moments with refer-
ence to the earth's axis, of the forces, west between the
tropics and east in higher latitudes, must exactly balance
each other. If the explanation of the Gulf Stream requires
that the level of the Gulf of Mexico should be raised about
twelve feet, as shown by Prof. Colding, then there must be
about an equal change of level on the west coast of Europe,
if these changes are caused by the winds ; for although
the extent of coast receiving the west winds may be greater
than that receiving the east winds, yet this is counter-
balanced by the circumstance that the force of the west
winds acts at a less distance from the earth's axis, which
requires that they should be stronger. If, then, the west
winds cause a change of sea-level on the coast of Europe,
say of ten feet, then any change in the force of these
winds at different seasons must cause a very perceptible
change of sea-leveL Now, we know that the force of the
west wind on the Atlantic Ocean is considerably greater
in the spring than the autunm. There should therefore be a
corresponding difference in the mean level of the sea, and
this mean level on the coast of Europe should be greatest
in the spring. But the discussion of the tidal observations
made at Brest, shows that the mean level of the sea, after
bein|r corrected for the barometer and a very small astro-
nomical term affecting the mean level, is about four inches
lower in the spring when the winds are strongest than in
the autumn when they are weakest. (Proceedings of the
American Academy of Sciences and Arts, voL vii. p. 32.)
The discussion, likewise, of the tides of Boston Harbour
gives a similar result, except that the range of the monthly
means is still less, being less than three inches. (U.S.
Coast Survey Report for 1868.) These results should re-
ceive the attention of those who maintain that great
changes of sea-level are caused by the winds.
In a paper by the writer, published in SUliman^s
Journal (second series, voL xxxi. p. 45) there are several
pages given to the subject of ocean currents, in which it
IS maintained that the principal agency in their production
is difference of temperature of the sea-water between the
equator and the poles. The principal effects of the earth's
rotation are there given, which are too numerous to be re-
cited here. In addition to the results there given, the
following additional thought may be given here as being
perhaps new. As the surface-water flows toward the poles
the deflecting force of the earth's rotation presses it toward
the east In like manner as the water below flows toward
the equator, there is a similar force pressing it toward the
west. These forces are small, but tney must nevertheless
cause a gradual rising of the cold water at the bottom on
the American coast, and this, perhaps more than the Green-
land current, causes cold water there. The Gulf Stream
of warmer water cuts its way through this cold water
graduallv rising from the bottom, and hence the cold walls
observed by the U.S. Coast Survey.
Mr. CroU seems conunitted to the wind theory, and is
unwilling to admit that the theory advocated by Dr.
Carpenter can have even a subordinate effect His princi-
pal argument is based upon an experiment of M. Dubuat.
I know not under what circumstances this es^riment was
made, but of course it was i^nth a comparatively shallow
canal or stratum of water, and the result is no doubt
correct for the depth of water with which the experiment
was made. A much less force on each particle of a large
body of water is sufficient to overcome the cohesion of the
particles, and produce motion than upon a small one, just
as a small drop of water remains suspended to a twig,
while the same force of gravity causes a large one to drop
off. The case therefore of the ocean is very different from
that of a shallow canal. As Mr. Croll insists that Dr.
Carpenter's experiment, to be applicable to the case, should
have been made with a canal 120 feet long, and onlv one
inch deep ; so it might be insisted that M. Dubuars ex-
periment, to be applicable to Mr. Croll's case, should be
made with a canal or body of water three or four miles
deep. But there is no necessity for us to make any such
experiments, for nature is performing the experiment
regularly every six hours, and all that we have to do is to
observe. The attraction of the moon changes the level
due to the attraction of the earth alone, and puts the
ocean, as it were, upon an inclined plane with a gradient
of about two feet in the distance of a quadrant, and the
water slides down, causing a rising of the tide at one
place and a falling at another ; and in six hours this
gradient is reversed, and the reverse motion of the water
follows, thus causing the regular ebbing and flowing of
the tides. If M. Dubuaf s experiment were applicable to
the ocean, the moon could not cause a tide at all tmless
its mass were about fifteen times greater.
Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. W. Ferrel
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[Mar. 14,1872
FERGUSSON'S Rl/DE STONE MONUMENTS*
TN Mr. Fergusson's "Handbook of Architecture/' pub-
■■■ lished in 1 854, one chapter of about fifty pages is de-
voted to Megalithic, or, as he prefers to call them, Rude
Stone, Monuments. Ever since that period he has been
collecting materials on this interesting subject, and the
result is now before us, in the work which forms the subject
Fig. X.— Dolmen at Castle WclUn, Irelapd. From a drawing by Sir Henry Jams*.
of this notice. In it he confines himself to the classes of
monuments indicated in the title, omitting all reference to
hut circles, Pict's houses, brochs, and other buildings
composed of smaller stones ; not because he doubts
that they belong to the same period, ** but because their
age being doubtful also*' it would only complicate the
Fig. 3. — ^Dolmen de Bousquet. From a drawing by £. Cartailhac
argument to introduce them. He limits himself therefore
to tumuli, menhirs or stone pillars, stone circles, avenues,
and dolmens. All these we find sometimes singly, some-
times in combination, the tumulus containingadolmen, being
surrounded by one or more stone circles, and surmounted
by a menhir. Fig. liii., representing the celebrated
Fig. 3— Nine Ladies, Stanton Moor. From a drawing by L. Jewitt.
tumulus of New Grange, near Drogheda, gives a good
idea of the large barrows ; it was originally surrounded by
a circle of stones, most of which, however, have disap-
peared. Fig. 3 represents the stone circle, known as the
Nine Ladies on Stanton Moor.
The typical " Dolmen *' may be described as a massive
4.— Long Barrow, Kennet, restored by Dr. Thumam. Archaologia^ xii.
Stone resting on three supports ; the celebrated Kits Coty
House, near Maidstone, may be regarded as a typical ex-
• "Rude Stone Monuments." By James Fergusson, D.C.L., F.R.S.
London : John Murray, 1872.)
ample. Fig. cvii. represents one at Halskov, in Denmark,
raised on asmall mound, and surrounded by a circle of stone.
Fig. I, representing a Dolmen at Castle Wellan, Ireland, and
Fig. 6, one at Grandmont, in Bas Lan^uedoc, are more ex-
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387
ceptional types. Dolmens are sometimes covered by a
mound of earth (like the Gib Hill example, excavated by
Mr. Bateman), sometimes free, as in the preceding figures.
That all the earlier ones were covered, says Mr. Fer-
gusson, " is more than probable, and it may since have
been originally intended to cover up many of those which
now stand free ; but it seems impossible to believe that
the bulk of those we now see were ever hidden by any
earthen covering."
The tumuli which contain megalithic chambers closely
resemble the dwellings even now used by many northern
nations, the Siberian Yurt, for instance, consists of a central
Fig. 5.— View of Interior of Chamber at Uby. From Madsen.
chamber, generally sunk a little below the surface, built
of stones or timber, and heaped over with earth, so as to
form a mound. The Tchutski huts are very similar.
•* They are," says Captain Cook, " sunk a little below the
surface of the earth. One of them which 1 examined
was of an oval form, about twenty feet long and twelve
or more high. The framing was composed of wood and
the ribs of whales, disposed in a judicious manner, and
bound together with smaller materials of the same sort.
Over this framing is laid a covering of strong coarse
Fig. 6. — Dolmea ol Grandmont.
grass, and that, again, is covered with earth, so that, on
the outside, the house looks like a hillock supported by a
wall of stone three or four feet high, which is built round
the two sides and one end."
The huts of the Esquimaux and Lapps are built on the
same model, and have generally a longer or shorter
covered passage leading to the door, the object of which
is to keep the cold out of the central chamber. Round
the walls of the latter are ranged seats for the inmates
and part of the space is often separated off by parti-
tions. So closely do many of our Northern tumuli coxrel
spond to these descriptions, that Nilsson ]cm».
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NATURE
[Mar. 14, 1872
suggested many of them having been originally used as
dwelling places, and converted subsequently into tombs.
Fig xi., for instance, represents the.cluunber of a tumulus
near St Helier, in Jersey. Here we have the central
room, with partitions, and the passage leading to the door.
In some few cases the dead have been found sitting
round the sepulchral chamber, with their arms and imple-
ments by their side, just as they may be supposed to have
sat during life. Fig. 5 represents the chamber of a
tumulus at Uby in Denmark. Stonehenge itself (Fig. 8)
seems to be constructed on the same model : the mound,
however, being absent, or only represented by the en-
circling ring of earth.
In determining the date of particular tumuli, Mr. Fer-
* gusson seems to me to attach too much importance to
objects found on, or near the surface, and which often
have no doubt been accidentally dropped, or belong to
secondary interments. Thus he refers to the two objects
of iron found at Gib Hill, as if they justified us in ascrib-
ing that interesting tumulus to the iron age. But Mr. Bate-
man,by whom that mound was opened, expressly states that
the objects of iron were not found in the central cist, but
they belonged to a secondary interment. They throw,
therefore, no more light on the date of Gib Hill itself
than- the fragments of ginger-beer bottles which abound
in the area of Stonehenge do on the period to which it
belongs. This is a consideration idiich is of great im-
portance; because the history of these megalithic monu-
ments, the race by whom, and the date at which they
were constructed, are most interesting questions of
archaeology. Although few now regard Stonehenge as a
Druidical temple, stSl archaeologists are almost unani-
mous in regarding it as very ancient ; while the class of
meg^thic monuments they consider to have b^^im in
pre-historic times, and to have continued in out-of-the-
way parts down to a comparatively recent period. Mr.
Fergusson, on the contrary, is of a different opinion. He
endeavours to show that these monuments belong to one
period, and to comparatively recent times : —
" However this may be,** he says, " I trust that this
work may lay claim to being, in one respect at least, a
contribution to the cause of truth regarding the much-
^sputed age and use of these nide stone monuments. It
states distinctly, and without reserve, one view of the
mooted question, and so openly, that any one who knows
better can at once pull away the prop from my house of
cards and level it with the ground. If one thing comes
out more clearly than another in the course of this investi-
gation, it is that the style of architecture to which these
monuments belong is a style^ like Gothic, Grecian, Egyp-
FiG. 7.— Dolmen at PuUicondah.
tian, Budhist, or any other. It has a beginning, and
middle, and an end ; and though we cannot yet make
out the sequence in all its details, this at least seems clear
—that there is no great hiatus ; nor is it that one part is
pre-historic, while the other belongs to historic times.
All belong to the one epoch or the other. Either it is
that Stonehenge and Avebury, and all such, are the
temples of a race so ancient as to be beyond the ken of
mortal men, or they are the sepulchral monument of a
people who lived so nearly within the limits of the true
nistoric times that their story can easily be recovered,"
^ As already mentioned, the latter is Mr. Fergusson's
view. Almost alone among English archaeologists, he
considers that Stonehenge is part Roman, and believes it
to have been erected by Ambrosius, between the years 466
and 470 A.D., in memory of the British chiefs treache-
rously slain a few years previously. This theory I have
discussed in " Pre-historic Times," and, as I have little to
alter in, or add to, what is there said, I will not here
rei>eat my arguments.
As regards Abury, the second in importance — if, in-
deed, it be the second and not the first of these monuments
Mr. Fergusson says :— " I feel no doubt that it will come
eventually to be acknowledged that those who fell in
Arthur's twelfth and greatest battle were buried in the
ring at Avebiuryi and that those who turvivod faittd these
stones and the mound at Silbury, in the vain hope that
they would convey to their latest posterity the memory of
their prowess " (p. 89). In fact, Mr. Fergusson refers to
this period all the similar monuments in England, a con-
clusion which seems to me in itself most improbable, and
which becomes still more so if we consider the similar
remains of other countries. The Irish examples he con-
siders to be somewhat earlier ; the Moytura remains, for
instance, being perhaps as early as the first century B.c.
As regards the North, he regards the celebrated tumulus
of Maes Howe as probably the " tomb of Havard, or of
some other of the Pagan Norwegian Jarls of Orkney ;"
while the Stones of Stennis can hardly, he thinks, " be
carried back beyond the year 800," to which period he
refers all the megalithic remains in those islands. In
short he regards these monuments, whether in Britain,
Scandinavia, Germany, France, Spain, Algeria, or India,
as post-Christian in date, and in many cases not more '
than a few hundred years old. Such a conclusion seems
to me entirely inconsistent with architectural history.
Thus in more than one case we know of early churches,
probably belonging to the loth or nth centuries, which
are constructed over dolmens.
Mr. Fergusson admits that the great tumulus near
Sardis (Fig. i, p. 31) is rightly identified as the tomb of
Alyattes, wad (irected in the sixth centttry, 0.C| tfid was
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389
iescribed by Herodotus ; that some of the tumuli on the
rastem shores of the Mediterranean are certainly " as old
Ls the thirteenth century, B,c. : that the practice of bury-
ng in tumuli must have existed for many centuries before
»ucli tombs could have been constructed ; and that the
3Lge in wliich they '^ were erected was essentially the age
Df bronze : not only are the ornaments and furniture
found in the Etruscan tombs generally of that metal, but
the tombs at Mycenae and Orchomenos were wholly lined
with it ; ** a fact which is the more interesting when we
remember that all the metallic objects found in the tumuli
round Stonehenge were of bronze.
Again, let us consider the class of monuments which con-
sist of a free dolmen standing on a mound, and surrounded
by one or more stone circles. This type is very widely dis-
tributed. A Danish example has already been given, Fig.
5. Fig. 4 represents the long barrow at Kennet, near
Marlborough, after Dr. Thurman ; Fig. 2 is the Dolmen
de Bousquet in the Aveyron ; lastly, Fig. 7 is a similar
monument at PuUicondah, near Madras. These tumuli,
though differing in detail, are identical in all essential
Fig. 8.— General Kan of Stonehenge, from Knighi*t " Old England. -
points. If these monuments all belong to post- Christian
times, ihcy must have been erected by very different
races of men. Mr. Fei^sson, indeed, admits that they
are the work of very different races ; how then does he
account for the remarkable similarity existing between
them? He denies that the Celts, Scandinavians, or Iberians
were themselves naturdly " rude stone builders," and en-
deavours to remove the difficulty by an explanation which
is most important, because it seems to me to involve the
practical abandonment of the conclusion, which, as he
told us in the preface, is the central feature of his work.
This style of art, he says, " seems to have been invented
by some pre-Celtic people, but to have been adopted by
Celts, by Scandinavians, by British, and Iberian races.**
But if Eiu-ope was once occupied by a pre-Celtic, mega-
lithic-monumcnt-building race, surely some of our mega-
lithic monuments must l^ ascribable to that time and race,
and wc come back therefore to the general opinion of
archaeologists, that our megaHthic monuments belong to
very different periods and people, and not all to one race
or one epoch.
I cannot now enter into the consideration of the dates
to which Mr. Fergusson ascribes individual monuments ;
I doubt whether any belong to so recent a period as he
supposes : and can only express my surprise at the cer-
tainty and confidence which he feels in his own opinions — a
certainty sometimes, however, oddly expressed, as, for in-
stance, when he tells us, speaking of the crosses at Kata-
pur, which he considers to be Christian and contem-
poraneous with a group of neighbouring dolmens, that
" their juxtaposition and whole appearance render escape
from this conclusion apparently inevitable."
But while I cannot accept Mr. Fergusson's peculiar
theories, I cannot conclude without thanking him for the
labour and care with which he has brought together a
great number of illustrations, and a vast mass of facts,
on this most interesting subject In a review, one natu-
rally dwells on points of difference, but every one must
accord to Mr. Fergusson the credit which, in the follow-
ing passage from his preface, he claims for himself ;
though I would venture to add that the unintentional
self-criticism in the latter sentence seems to me not in-
applicable. *'I have," he says, "spared no pains in
investigating the materials placed at my disposal, and no
haste in forming my conclusions." His conclusions are, I
think, in some cases, hasty and untenable ; some seem in-
consistent with one another ; but no one can deny to his
work the merit of being a rich and trustworthy store-
house of facts. John Lubbock
THE STUDY AND TEACHING OF MECHANICS
A LECTURE on this subject, being one of the series
of lectures at the College of Preceptors on the
Teaching of Physical Science, was given by Prof. W. G.
Adams, of which the following is the substance : —
Mechanics treats of the laws of equilibrium and of
motion of bodies, and in its widest sense, as the science
of energy, must include all branches of Physics, for the
solid, liquid, and gaseous states of bodies are determined
by the more or less free motion of their molecules, and
heat, light, electricity and magnetism are all different
forms of motion. The study of the laws of equilibrium
and of visible motion is important, both for their practical
applications and because on them are founded the prin-
ciples of thermo- and electro- dynamics. Before entering
on a study of mechanics, students should have a know-
ledge of algebra and geometry, and on account of the
importance of accurate measiu^ement, the elements u)f
trigonometry should also be studied. By a proper
method of teaching geometry, boys can be taught to
think, and the exact definitions and proofs of Euclid's
Elements are better fitted to train the judgment and the
reasoning powers than any less exact system of geometr)'.
The way to teach geometry (and the same remark applies
to mechanics) is not to expect boys to get up their Euclid
from a book, and to say it off by the aid of a book of
figures (a system which has been practised in many
schools), but to explain the meaning of and illustrate
every proposition, so that boys may understand it The
true method of teaching mechanics is illustrated by the
way in which Galileo established the first principles
of dynamics, and placed them before his pupils. Due
weight should be given both to experimental and to
rational mechanics, and the best way of bringing the sub-
ject before students is to have parallel but distinct
courses of experimental and theoretical lectures attended
by students at the same time. The practical applications
of the subject are important, and some of them of great
simplicity. The ** Triangle of Forces " may be employed
to build up diagrams to represent the thrusts on a jointed
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NATURE
\Mar. 14, 1872
framework ; so that by '' Diagrams of Forces " the con-
ditions of stability of loaded structures, and the form and
tensions of suspension bridges, could at once be deter-
mined, by measurement of these diagrams or by calcula-
tion from them. Of the variety of text- books on the sub-
ject of mechanics, the teacher should reject books that
profess to be adapted for examinations, as well as those
which contain gp-oss errors on the laws of friction, or on
the inertia of matter and the laws of motion, or on the
subject of dynamical units and should select from those
which are not liable to such objections.
Competitive examinations may be useful if they are
made tests of thorough knowledge ; but too often they
injure the student who is preparing for them by narrowing
his mind, and create a class of dabblers in science, and
are worthless for the purpose for which they are intended.
Test examinations given to a class on the subject of their
lectures are the best tests of the knowledge and progress
of the student.
In teaching the laws of equilibrium of liquids and of
gases, the same method must be followed as in teaching
the laws of equilibrium and of motion of solids ;
and in addition to lectures and ordinary teaching
students should have the opportunity of making experi-
ments and measurements in these subjects in a physical
laboratory. Some knowledge of other kindred sciences
is necessary before a student can be said to have an in-
telligent knowledge of the principles of mechanical science.
Accurate investigation and experiment show that near the
melting and the boiling points the special properties and
laws of solids or of liquids are no longer true, and Dr.
Andrews has pointed out the existence of a border-land
between the liquid and the gaseous states, and has shown
that there is no breach of continuity between them.
Taking a model, of which three rectangular edges shall
represent the pressure, volume, and temperature, the
upper surface will represent the state of the substance,
and will explain in what way it is possible to pass from
the liquid to the gas without change of state or any sudden
change of volume. The ease with which we can conceive
of the state of a gas under different circumstances, when
we have such a model before us, shows the importance of
employing figures and models to give a boy clear ideas of
the propositions of mechanits.
Regarding Mechanics in its wider sense as the Science
of Energy, there are three great principles— the Conser-
vation, the Transformation, and the Dissipation of Energy,
which have been established, and these principles are
illustrated in the conversion of water into steam, m wind-
ing up a watch, in the diffusion of gases, in the conduc-
tion of heat, in the friction of the tides on the earth, and
in the rushing of water down a mountain side. This
latter source of energy has been employed in piercing the
Mont Cenis tunnel.
The accuracy of the calculations by which the axes
of the two tunnels on opposite sides agreed so completely
with one another shows the importance of accurate
measurement, and of the correct application of theoretical
principles to practice.
These principles of energy tell us that in raising the
waters of the ocean to the mountain tops, as much energy
must be expended as can be expended by those waters in
their return to the ocean, and the atmosphere, acted upon
by the solar heat, is the vast air-engine by which these
changes are accomplished.
NOTES
At the last mr cling of the Royal Society the names of the
candidates for eKction into the Society were read, in accordance
with the statutes, as follows : — Andrew Leith Adama^ Surgeon-
Major; William Grylls Adams, M.A.; William Aitken, M.D.;
Sir Alexander Armstrong, K.C.B., M.D.; Edward Middleton
Barry, R.A.; John Beddoe,' B.A., M.D.; Henrf Bowman
Brady, F.L.S.; Frederick Joseph Bramwell, C.E.; James Bmn-
lees, C. E. ; Edwin Kilwick Calver, Capt. RN. ; Alexander Carte,
M.A., M.D.; William Chimmo, Commander R.N.; Prof.
Arthur Herbert Church, M. A; Fredk. LeGros Clark, M.R.C.S. ;
Prof. John Cleland, M.D. ; Herbert Daries, M.D. ; Henry
Dircks, F.C.S. ; August Dupr^ Ph.D.; Michael Foster, jun.,
M.A., M.D. ; Peter Le Neve Foster, M.A. ; Wilson Fox,
M.D. ; Arthur Gamgee, M.D. ; Prof. Thomas Minchin
Goodeve, M.A. ; Townshend M. Hall, F.G.S. ; Edmund
Thomas Higgins, M.R.C.S. fRev. Thomas Hincks, B.A ; Rev.
A. Hume, LL.D. ; Henry Hyde, Lieut -Col R.E. ; Prof
Wiiliam Stanley Jevons, M.A. ; Edmund Charles Johnson,
F.R.G.S. ; George Johnson, M.D. ; Prof. Thomas Rupert Jones ;
John Leckenby, F.G.S. ; Clements R. Markham, Sec Geog.
Soc. ; William Mayes, StafT-Comm. RN. ; Edmund James
Mills, D.S& ; Thomas Geoige Montgomerie, Major R.E. ;
Robert Stirling Newall, F.R. A.S. ; Edward LAtham Ormerod,
M.D. ; Francis Polkinghome Pascoe, F.L.S. ; Prof. Oliver
Pemberton ; Rev. Stephen Joseph Perry ; John Arthur Phil-
lips, F.C.S. ; Bedford Clapperton T. Pim, Captain R.N. ;
William Overend Priestley, M.D.; Charles Bland Radcliffe,
M.D.; Edward John Routh, M.A.; George West Roystun-
Pigott, M.D.; William Westcott Rundell ; William James Rus-
sell, Ph.D.; Osbert Salrin, M.A; Harry Gorier Seeley, F.L.S.;
Alfred R. C. Selwyn(Geol. Survey, Canada); Peter Squire, F.L.S. ;
George James Symons, V.P. Met Soc; Edwin T. Truman,
M.RC.S.; Wildman Whitehouse, C.E.; Henry Woodward,
F.G.S.; Archibald Henry Plantagenet Stuart Wortl^, Lieut-
Col.
The Earl of Lonsdale, whose death is recorded this week,
was the fiither of the Royal Society, his election having taken
place sixty-two years ago, in iSio.^Thishonour now devolves on
Sir Henry Holland, elected in 1815.
The death is announced, on the 3rd inst, of Dr. A. B.
Granville, F.R.S., at the age of 88. He was one of the
oldest Fellows of the Royal Society, having been elected in
181 7, and was member of a laige number of foreign learned
societies.
We are very glad to be able to state that intelligence has just
been received from Prof. Huxley that his health has already
been greatly renovated by the pure air of Upper Egypt He
wrote from Thebes, and was then contemplating a risit to
Assouan, from which he would probably have returned to
Thebes before this.
Sir William Thomson has accepted the office of President
of the Geological Society of Glasgow.
The Radcliffe Travelling Fellowship at Oxford has been
awarded to Mr. F. H. Champneys, B.A. of Brasenose College.
This Fellowship is of the annual value of 200/., and tenable
for three years, provided the Fellow does not spend more than
eighteen months within the United Kingdom.
The President of the Quekett Microscopical Club will hold a
smrky on Friday evening, March 15, at University College.
Dr. Liebreich, the eminent ophthalmist, of St Thomas's
Hospital, delivered a lecture at the Royal Institution on Friday
evening last, on certain fiiults of vision, with special reference to
Turner and Muheady. The later "aberrations" of Turner's
style he attributed to a physical change in the refractive power of
the eye, by which illuminated points were converted into illu-
minated lines. The change of manner in Mulready's later pic-
tures he accounted for, in like manner, by increasing yellow
degeneration of the crystalline lens. We hope in a future num-
ber to give a report of the lecture.
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Mar. 14, 1872]
NATURE
391
The Royal Academy of Sciences of Belgium off<^ prizes on
the following subjects for Essays to be sent in during the
year 1873 : — (i) A simplification of the theory of the integration
of equations of 'the two first orders ; (2) On the disturbing
causes which influence the determination of the electro-motor
force and of the interior resistance of an element of the electric
pile ; (3) On the relations of heat to the development of flower-
ing plants, especially with regard toithe periodic phenomena of
vegetation, and on the dynamical influence of solar heat on the
evolution of plants ; (4) On the mode of reproduction of ser-
pents ; (5) On the composition and mutual relations of albumi-
noid substances ; (6) On the coal fields of the basin of Li^e.
A gold medal of the value of looo fr. will be given for the first,
fifth, and sixth questions, and of 600 fir. for the second, third,
and fourth. The essays must be written in Latin* French, or
Flemish. For 1874 the subjects are : — (i) On uric acid and its
derivatives, especially in relation to their chemical structure and
synthesis; (2) On the polymorphism of the Mucedineae, their
real nature, and the conditions of their development ; (3) On the
question whether the fungi of fermentation can, under certain
circumstances, become changed into the higher fungi, with
positive proof of the fact or the contrary.
Harper's IVgfkfysXaXes that Uriah F. Boyden, of Boston, U.S. A.,
has deposited with the Franklin Institute, of Philadelphia, the sum
of one thousand dollars, to be awarded as a premium to any
resident of North America who shall determine by experiment
whether all rays of light and other physical rays are or are not
transmitted with the same velocity. The conditions of the
premium limit the applicants to those living north of the southern
boundary of Mexico, and including the West India Islands.
Applications must be made before the ist of January, 1873, ^^
which time the judges, appointed by the Franklin Institute,
shall examine the memoirs and decide whether any one is
entitled to the premium.
We are desired by Colonel Grant to say that the botanica
collection from Tropical Africa, referred to at p. 339, was not
made in conjunction with Captain Burton, but during the
journey of Captain Speke and himself in 1860-3, from Zanzibar
to the great central Lake Region. The results will shortly be
published in the Transactions of the Linnean Society; it will be
illustrated by 100 (not 600) 4to plates, and the descriptions will
be in great part drawn up by Prof. Oliver. We are glad to hear
that Mr. W. O. Livingstone, who is accompanying the Living-
stone Search Expedition, has considerable botanical knowledge,
and is intending to bring home a collection.
In reference to the hairy tapir of the South American Andes
{Tapirus Roulint)^ the acquisition of skeletons of which by the
Smithsonian Institution was spoken of in our last number (p.
370), we are informed that a fine series of skins and skeletons of
the animal has recently been obtained by Mr. Buckley in Ecua-
dor. Some of these are now in the British Museum ; the others
have been purchased by Mr. Edwd. Gerrard, jun., of Camden
Town. At the last meeting of the Zoological Society a paper
was read by Dr. Gray, describing the specimens acquired by the
British Museum, and referring them to a new species, Tapirus
leucogenys. But we are informed that there are no valid grounds
for separating them from Roulin's Tapir of the U.S. of
Colombia.
We desire to call attention to the Annual General Meeting of
the Iron and Steel Institute, which will be held in Willis's
Rooms, King Street, St. James's, London, commencing on
Tuesday, March 19, under the presidency of Mr. Henry Besse-
mer. The programme of proceedings will be found in our ad-
vertising columns. It is expected that on Tuesday evening, March
19, a paper, by Mr. I. Lowthian Bell, "On the Conditions
which Favour and those which limit tlis Soonomy of Futl in the
Blast Furnace for Smelting Iron," will be read and discussed at
the meeting of the Institute of Civil Engineers, Great George
Street, Westminster. The Council have kindly promised to
issue invitations to members of the Iron and Steel Institute, to
attend on this occasion.
OuK. readers will have noticed in oar advertising colunms the
list of subscriptions at present received to the '* Priestley Memo-
rial Fund." The object is worthy of the attention of all who
are able and disposed to assist in so meritorious an object.
An important letter, by M. Berthelot, appears in the MoniUur
Scuntifique for February, in which this eminent savant insists on
the reconciliation of the scientific worlds of France and Germany,
pointing out that the united action of France, Germany, and
England, in the advancement of civilisation and science, is neces-
sary for the progress of the world.
It is stated that shocks of earthquake were felt at Dresden,
Pima, Schandau, Chemnitz, Rodenbach, Weimar, and Rudol-
stadt, between three and four o'clock on the afternoon of
the 6th inst. They continued to recur during an hour, and in
some cases several hours.
The return of Professor C. F. Hartt, of Ithaca, from his late
expedition to Brazil, has been already announced in the papers ;
and we are glad to learn, from Harper's Weekly^ that he suc-
ceeded in making many important discoveries in natural history
and the geography of the country, and especially the languages
of the native tribes. By his researches in this latter direction he
has already become quite an authority, and, we presume, will
before long begin to publish his linguistic results. In the course
of his expedition Professor Hartt took occasion to examine the
great Kjoekkenmoedding, near Santarem, referred to by various
travellers, which, however, yielded him only a few fragments of
coarse pottery and a few bones. He was very fortunate in the
opportunity of excavating the sites of a number of Indian villages
on the edge of the bluffs bordering the Amazon and the Tapajos,
in the angle made by the two rivers. Here he found an im-
mense quantity of broken pottery, often highly ornamented,
idols, stone implements, &c., probably derived from the Tapajos,
now extinct as a tribe, or merged into the mixed Indian popula-
tion of the Amazon. In an ancient burial-place on the Tapajos
he dug up a number of burial-pots ; none, however, containing
complete skeletons. An examination of the mounds of the
island of Marajo was to be made by some of his associates who
remained behind.
The Royal Horticultural Society has just issued an exceed-
ingly comprehensive and valuable series of meteorological obser-
vations made at their gardens at Chiswick from 1826 to 1864,
and analysed by Mr. James Glaisher. The number of tables
is nearly sixty, including the mean temperature of every day,
and the extremes of mean temperature for every day in each
month during the year specified, the excess or deficiency above
or below the average of the mean temperature of every day,
month, and year ; the daily ranges of temperature on every
day of the year, and the daily falls of rain in each month.
Comparisons are made with the series of observations taken at
Greenwich ; general conclusions are deduced, and the intro-
ductory observations are of value and interest to all meteor-
ologists.
We understand that the Meteorological Committee have re-
solved to issue lithographed illustrative charts of the Daily Weather
Report, which will be delivered in London, within a reasonable
distance from the office of the printer in Lincoln's Inn Fields,
between i and 2 p.m., or posted in time for the evening mails.
Up to the 31st of March these, charts will be supplied gratui-
tously.
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392
NATURE
[Mar. 14,1872
AURORA AUSTRALIS
r\^ Sunday the 4th instant, at 9h. 2801. p.m., my attention
^^ was suddenly called to a " fire." Looking in the di-
rection indicated, I saw at S.S.E., about 15** above
the horizon, a glare of reddish light Curious to know
whereabout the supposed fire was, I kept my eyes upon that part
of the heavens. Presently, similar pitches of light broke out on
either side of the first, and in a few seconds I could see, on the
assumption made, that there must be several fires blazing away
over a wide range, for the sky was here and there lit up with a
peculiar dark red light over an extent of at least 70"* of the norizon.
My attention being now aroused, I had recourse to various con-
jectures, which were speedily abandoned. The idea of an
aurora had occurred almost at the ou'set ; but as I had never,
with certainty, seen one in Miuritius, and never heard or read
of any having been observed there by others, I felt some reluc-
tance to admit the fact that I was actually witnessing one. My
doubts, however, were soon dispelled. I noticed ihat patches of
cloud floating across the illuminated portions of the sky reflscted
no light, and on one or two occasions, a faiat flickering,
like lightning, was seen among the upper cirrus clouds.
Thesi and other facts, coupled with the knowledge that the
magnets had been occasionally disturbed to a considerable
extent on Fridiy and Saturday, and on the morning of Sunday,
lefc no doubt on my mind.
Hastening to the house, I immediately mounted a portable
inclinometer and declinometer, and took all the measures I could
to observe what might Uke place, dividing my time and attention
between the instruments, which I put up in a verandah facing
the south, and the aurora right in front of me.
The needle of the inclinometer did not give the slightest indi-
cation of a disturbance, but the declinometer magnet was affected
to the extent at times of 9'.
It was 9h. 48m., or 20m. after I saw the luminosity supposed
to have been caused by a fire, that I began to observe the
aurora systematically, and I append a copy of the notes which
I took from that time up to ih. 20m. a.m.
What stiuck me particularly was the apparent quietness of
the whole scene. Unlike the " merry dancers," which I have
often seen and admired in Scotland, rapidly changing shape
and colour, and rushing in variegated columns and bands in
different directions with great velocity, thereby conveying an
impression of energy and violence, the display of Sunday night
was calm and serene, giving one an idea of peace and repose.
Except shortly after I first saw the phenomenon, I could not
make out any motion of the arches, segments, or luminous bands.
They appeared and disappeared without change of locality, the
intensity of the light increasing or decreasing without any
flickering. I could see no shooting, darting, or rushing of the
bands or beams. Each made its appearance and disappearance
simultaneously along its whole length, as if the action was
verticaL
The spectacle presented by the beams from 11 p.Mto 11.20
p. M. was at once grand and lovely beyond description. Almost
from the extreme left to the extreme right, and firom as low down
as I could see up to a meridional altitude of ab^ut 72°, the sky
was furrowed with alternate white and dark bands, all of which,
so far as I could judge, were parallel to each other and to the
magnetic meridian. They were generally at unequal intervals,
sometimes crowded together, and sometimes considerably apart ;
but in this respect I could only judge of those near the meridian.
At times they presented the appearance of graceful folds and
convolutions, but the action seems to have been performed so
gently and imperceptibly as to convey no idea of motion. They
presented the same colour during the whole time, namely, a sted
grey to a silver white.
The arches and segments were of a blood, cherry, or Indian
red, and every now and then, when the intensity of the light in-
creased, the stars twinkled like gems seen through a delicate pink
curtain or veil placed before them. Occasionally one could fancy
that he was looking at Uie Southern Cross through very trans-
parent glass or crystal of an exquisite ruby tint into an inner
chamber lit up with light of a similar colour.
The light was never very strong. I saw no part of the land-
scape lighted ttp by reflection. It is to be borne in mind, how-
ever, that I was occupied with the instruments, and that much
may have escaped my attention.
During some parts of the night black clouds passed over the
field of view, and I believe, although I could not see them, ex-
cept on one or two occasions, that they were light cirrus and
cirro-stratus clouds in the upper regions, as had been the case
.throughout the day.
The wind was light from £. by S. throughout, and the
barometer was 'lOO inch below the mean for the seasotL
After I A.M. the aurora speedily died away. At 3 A. M. I could
see nothing ; but looking out at 4.30 a.m. I saw a red glow in
the southward, which at first I took for aurora, but which tamed
out to be cirrus clouds lit up in the early dawn.
Throughout Monday the magnets were quiet. A great many
cirri appeared, which, in the evening, assumed at eastward and
westward a dark red colour, very much resembling that of the
aurora.
The Magnetic Observatory, which had barely commenced
operations, may be said to have been inaugurated on Sunday
night, ani it is possible that its future records will show, amongst
other things, that aurora is not so unfrequent in Mauritius as is
supposed, although such a display as that which has just occurrei
may not be seen for many years to come. In the end of August
and beginning of September, 1859, aurora was observed over a
considerable, portion of both hemispheres, and on one night
during that 'period I siw a reddish glo9r in our southern sky,
which miy have been the Aurora Australis. Probably the
present display has been seen over a great part of the globe.
Has any unusuil solar activity been observed ? Oa Friday a
chain of spots stretched over nearly the whole of the sun*s disc,
and a large group occupied another part of it On Monday the
chain had disappeared. Any one who may have made observa-
tions in *^he colony or at ssa on Sundiv night would oblige me
by sending them to Uie Observatory. It would be interesting to
know the height of the auro ra.
Aurora Australis seen at Mauritius on the ^h to 5M
February^ 1872.
9.48 P.M. — An irregular convex arch of dark red light ex-
tending over about 60** of the horizon, an i having its vertex in
the line of the magnetic meridiacu Brigh'.eit below the Southern
Cross.
9.58 P.M. — An arch of a dark red colour having a cord of
about 70^ Vertex in or near the magnetic meridian. Patches
of black cloud passing over the coloured segment from E. by S.,
but they reflect no light.
10. 1 P.M. — Ttie segment is of a more intense dark red colour.
Its eastern limit is about 3° east of the Cross, ai*l its brightest
portion from i"* to 2" above the Cross. It is broken off towards
the west, and extends in that direction to about only S. by W.
10 4 P.M. — No segment now seen, but patches of Indian or
cherry red on either side of the magnetic meridian at a distance
of 30* to 40° from it.
10.8 P.M. — The whole has almost disappeared.
10.19 ^'^' — ^^ intense blood-red paten atS.S.E. having its
centre 2° to 3" below the Cross. The stars shining through it
wiih subdued light.
10.20 P.M. — The red light all gone, but a broad conical space
of an ash-grey colour, with a slight green tinge, low down on
the horizon, and apparently bisected by the magnetic meridian.
Resembling early dawn.
10.22 P.M. — A dimly defined arch of a smoky red colour ex-
tends from about E.S.E. to S.W. by W. The height of its
vertex is about 40' above the horizon.
ia24 P.M. — All gone.
ia25 to 10.30 P.M. — Appearing and disappearing. Some
faint streaks of whitish light seen low down.
10.34 P.M.— Six bands of faint whitish light near horizon at
S. by E.
10.37 P.M. — A bright meteor of first magnitude travelled
slowly from a Centaun towards N. by E. It had a train of light
and left spirks behind it Colour white with a yellow tinge.
The auroral bands brighter and higher.
11 P.M. — Sixteen luminous bands of a steel grey to a silver
white colour, extending from as low down as I can see to within
20" of the zenith. The extremity of one of them is dose to
Canopus. Light of the Great Magellan cloud enfeebled. No
apparent convergence of the beams ; they seem to be quite
parallel
1 1.6 P.M. — ^The parallel bands are still seen. They cover the
greater part of the hemisphere, extending (at the meridian) to
about 72° above the horizon. On their eastern and western ex-
tremes there are patches of blood-red light, but none in the in-
termediate space. Some of the bands appear to be folded in a
direction from west to east.
1 1. 7 P.M. — ^Dyingaway.
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JMar. 14, 1872]
NATURE
393
1 1. 1 5 P.M.— A deep red glow from E. to W. by S. along the
horizon. Fourteen parallel bands of a silvery colour, with dark
bands beti^een tbem. They lie south and north, occupying
nearly the whole southern hemisphere as far as the eye can reach,
and are flanked at east and west by patches of blood and cherry
red.
11.24 P.M. — The bands have disappeared. There is a deep
red glare at KS.E. and a lighter one at W.S.W.
1 1. 28 P.M. — A few faint bands on either side of Canopus. A
red light on their western, but none on their eastern side.
1 1. 31 P.M.— A dark red glow at W.S. W., about 12" above the
horizon.
11.33 P*^' — Clouds gathering in the lower regions of the at-
mosphere.
11.37 P.M. — ^T wo parallel faint beams of whitu^h light 2** to
3" east of Canopus. A faint red glow at W.S. W., about 10"
above the horizon.
11.42 P.M. — Two broad bands of faint whitish light to west-
ward and three to eastward of Canopus. A patch of red light
still at W.S. W. near horizon.
1 1. 46 P. M. — Clouds gone. Aurora gone.
11.49 P'M. — A faint red glow at W.S.W. about 10'* above the
horizon, and a band of faint greyish light about 2° west of
Canopus.
1 1. 51 P.M.— The glow at W.S.W. is brighter and higher.
11.58 P.M. — Much fainter.
0.34 A.M. — A segment of dark red light from S.£. by S. to
W.S.W., and rising at its middle to about 45** above the horizon.
1.20 A. M. — A bright red glow from S £. to S. W. Intensest
below the Centaur. Soon died away. J. Mkldrum
Royal Alfred Observatory, Mauritius, February 6
GEOLOGY
Supposed Legs of Trilobites*
Mr. Henry Woodward, of the British Museum, in a reply
to the paper by the writer in vol i., p. 320, of the present series
of this Journal, supports the view that the supposed legs are real
legs. He says that the remark that the calcified arches were
plainly a calcified portion of the membrane or skin of the under
surface is " an error, arising from the supposition that the matrix
represented a part of the organism." But Prof. Vcrrill, Mr.
Smith, and myself, are confident that there is on the specimen
an impression of the skin of the under surface, and that this sur-
face extended and connected with the arches, so that all belonged
distiuctly together.
Moreover the arches are exceedingly slender, far too much so
for the free legs of so large an animal ; the diameter of the joints
is hardly more than a sixteenth of an inch outside measure ;
and hence there is no room inside for the required muscles. In
fact, legs with such proportions do not belong to the cla«s of
Crustaceans. Moreover the shell (if it is the shell of a leg in-
stead of a calcified arch) is relatively thick, and this makes the
matter worse.
We still hold that the regular spacing of these arches along
the under surface renders it very improlxible that they were legs.
Had they been closely crowded together, this argument would ht
of less weight ; but while so very slender, they are a fourth of
an inch apart Mr. Woodward's comparison between the usual
form of the arches in a Macrouran and that in the trilobite does
not appear to us to prove anything. We therefore still believe
that the specimen does not give us any knowledge of the actual
legs of the trilobite. Mr. Woodward's paper is contained in
vol. vii., Na 7, of the Gedogieal Magazine,
J. D. Dana
PHYSIOLOGY
Blood Crystals
An interesting volume has iust.been published by M. W.
Preyer on Blood Crystals. The literature of this subject,
which dates no farther back than 1840, is already extensive, no
less than 143 authors being quoted in the " Bibliography," some
of whom, as Bottcher, Hoppe-Seyler, Kiihne, Lehmann, Rollett,
Valentin, and M. Preyer himself, have written many separate
* From the American youmal of Science and ArU for March 187a.
essays on points bearing more or less directly upon the crystallisa-
tion of the blood. Though blood crystals were first observed by
Hiinefeld, the merit of discovering them is due to Reichert, who
first recognised their nature. The fact of the crystallisation of a
complex organic substance like blood was first received with some
amount of incredulity, but the corroborative testimony of mmy
microscopistssoon cleared away all doubt, and a variety of method i
were suggested by which the crystals could be obtained. The
best plan for obtaining them is thus given by M. Preyer. The
blood is received into a cup, allowed to coagulate, and placed in
a cool room for twenty-four hours. The serum is then poured
o(T, and a gentle current of cold distilled water passed over the
finely divided clot placed upon a filter until tne filtrate gives
scarcely any precipitate with bichloride of mercury. A current
of warm water (30" — ^40" Cent.) is now poured on the clot, and
the filtrate received in a large cylinder standing in ice. Of this a
small quantity is taken, and alcohol added drop by drop till a
precipitate falls from which an estimate may be made of Ihs
quantity required to be added to the whole without producing a
precipitate. The mixture, still placed in ice, after the lapse of a
few hours, furnishes a rich crop of crystals. The forms of the
crystals obtained from the blood of different animals do not vary
to any great extent, and are all reducible to the rhombic and
hexagonal systems. The vast majority are rhombic prisms, more
or less resembling that of man. The squirrel, however, with
several of the Rodentia, as the mouse and rat, and the hamster,
are hexagonal. The hsemoelobin of several corpuscles is re-
quired to form a single crystid. All blood crystals are double
refracting. The animals whose blood has been hitherto exa-
mined and found to crystallise, are — man, monkey, bat, hedge-
hog, mole, cat, lion, puma, fox, dog, guinea pig, squirrel,
mouse, rat, rabbit, hamster, marmot, ox, sheep, horse, pig, owl,
raven, crow, lark, sparrow, pigeon, goose, lizard, tortoise, ser-
pent, frog, dobule, carp, barbel, bream, rudd, perch, herring,
flounder, pike, ^arpike, earthworm, and nephelis. The spectrum
of blood-colounng matter when oxidised with its two al»orption
striee between D and £ of Fraunhofer's lines or in the yellow
part of the ordinary spectrum, and the single band of deoxidised
haemoglobin, are now well known. M. Preyer states he has not
been able to obtain a spectrum from a single blood corpuscle, but
that the characteristic bands are visible where certamly only a
very few are preient. The specific gravity of dry haemoglobin
he gives at about 1*3 — 1*4. The solubility of the crystals
obtained from different animals varies considerably. Those
of the guinea- p*g and squirrel dissolving in water with great diffi-
culty. Haemoglobin is insoluble in absolute alcohol, aether, the
volatile and fixed oils, in benzole, turpentine, chloroform, and
bichloride of carbon. It is easily soluble in alkalies ; acids
rapidly decompose it He calculates out for it the fearful formula
of Cjjoo H„o NiB4 Fe, S, O17,, as agreeing very accurately with
the percentfl^ results of its analysis. Its equivalent is 4444, 4.
Many pages of M. Preyer's work are occupied with an account
of the action of various reagents upon it The plates contain the
forms of the principal crystal, and thirty-two spectra lithographel
in colours. He descrities five crystallisable products of the de-
composition of haemoglobin, namely, haemln, haematosin, hasma-
toidin, haematochlorin, and haematolutein, and several uncrystal-
lisable, such as methsemoglobin, haematin, and haemathion.
H. P.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie, Septembei 1871. —
Kochlin has continued his researches on '' compounds of the
camphor group." By the action of nitric acid on camphor the
author has obtained a new body, CgH|,05, which he calls cam-
phoronic acid, and which has the property of forming salts in
which H, and H, are replaced by metals. Bv distillation with
potassic hydrate, butyric acid is produced ; witn bromine in pre-
sence of water camphoronic acid b oxidised, yielding oxy-cam-
phoronic acid ; this acid formi salts, in which H^, H^ and H,
are replaced by metals. — ^An important physiologico-chemical
paper follows by Hlasiwetz and Habermann on "Proteids,"
and a paper by Naumann on the length of time for the evapora-
tion and condensation of solid bodies," which, however, do not
possess much greneral interest — Bender contributes a paper on
the "hydrate of magnesic oxychloride." This substance, how-
ever, does not appear to be very stable, or to have very marked
properties. — Mulder has experimented on allantoin and bodi^*
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NATURE
\J\far. 14, 1872
derived therefrom ; by the tu:tion of nitric acid two substances
are obtained, allanic and allantaric acid. — An interestina; paper
on a newr series of aromatic hydrocarbons, by Zincke, follows ;
by heating together benzol, beazyl-chloride and zinc powder, or
finely divided copper, a reaction sets in with the evolution of
hydrochloric acid gas, and the partial formation of a metallic
chloride ; the principal reaction seems to be, however, C7H7CI
+ CgHg = CjjHia +HC1. Benzyl-benzol is a solid crystalline
body, melting at 26' — 27", and boiling at 261" — 262* ; by oxida-
tion it is transformed into Ci^H^qO, a crystalline body belonging
to the monoclinic system, which fuses at 26' — 26•5^ Benzo-
phenon, however, has the same composition, but crystallises in
the rhombic system, and fuses at 48'— 49'' ; the body obtained
above is therefore an isomeric benzophenon, it, however, easily
passes into the modification fusing at 48** — 49°. The composi-
tioa of benzyl-benzol will therefore probably be CjHg — CH, —
CgHj. — This number concludes with the translations of two
papers by Messrs. Friswell and Armstrong respectively, which
have already appeared in the English journals.
Thk Geological Magmine for January (No. 91) opens with a
paper on a subject connected with an important branch of
geology which is too much neglected in this country, and, indeed,
has but few cultivators anywhere, namely, the microscopic struc-
ture of the so-called igneous rocks. This is Mr. S. Allport's
notice of the microscopic structure of the pitchstones of Amn,
the appearance of the sections of which under the microscope is,
as described by Mr. Allport, exceedingly beautiful ; and it is to
be hoped that this paper and the illustrations accompanying it
may induce others to enter upon this most interesting and im-
partant line of research. — The Rev. O. Fisher contributes a note
on " Cirques and Taluses/'wich reference to Mr. Bonney's paper
in the December number of the magazine. Mr. Fisher ascribes
an essential part in the excavation of cirques to glacial action. —
Mr. D. Forbes communicates a severe criticism of some remarks
made by Mr. A. H. Green in his account of the geology of part
of the county of Donegal. — "The Age of Floating Ice in North
Wales" is the subject of a paper by Mr. D. Mackintosh ; and
Mr. James Geikie publishes the second part of his " Memoir on
Chanores of Climitc during the Glacial Epoch." — The number
includes the usual notices and reviews.
Memoires de la SociiU des Sciences Naturelles de Cherbourg,
Tome XV. (Deuxiime S^rie, Tome y.) 187a " On the Swell
and Roll of the Sea " by W. Bertin.— " Notes on the Comora
and Seychelles Archipelagos," by M. Jouan. These islands were
vbited in 1850; a very brief list of the flora and fauna is ap-
pended. The list of birds has been apparently overlooked in the
Zoological Record for January 1870. — '* Note< on the Tubercles
met with in CaUitriche autumnalis" by MM. KarelschtikofTand
Rosanofii; with a plate. — "On the Lophobranchs,^^ b^ M. Dumeril.
--"Notes of a Visit to Aden, Point de Galle, Smgipore, and
Tche-fou," by M. Jouan.—" On the Influence of Climate on the
Growth of some Resinous Trees," by M. B^k^toff.—" Geologi-
cal Essay on the Department of La Manche," by M. Bonissent
" Supplementary notes to a paper on the Swell and Roll of the
Sea,' by M. Bertin. — Works received by the Society from July
1869 to August 187a
Proceeding of the I^atural History Society of Dublin^ for the
Session 1869-70, 1870-71, vol. vi., part I tDublm 1871) con-
tains the following paoers by Dr. A. W. Foot : — i, Notes on
Irish Leptdoptera ; 2, On Goitre in Animals ; 3, On the Breed-
ing of some Birds from the Southern Hemisphere in the Dublin
Zoological Gardens ; 4, Notes on Animal Luminosity; 5, Notes
on Entomology ; 6, Notes on Irish Diptera ; 7, On some Irish
Hymenoptera ; and the following by Mr. William Andrews : —
I, On the Inhabitants of the Rock-pools and caves of Dingle Bay,
records, as new to the fauna of Ireland, Aiptasia couchii, Stom-
phia churchia^ Balanophyllia regia^ Cafnea sanguinea, and " a
deep-water species of stony coral, formea by hydroid animals, and
related to the Tabulate Madrepores, which is nearly allied to^
and indeed considered identical with, Millepora alcicornis of
Linnaeus ; " 2, Ichthyological Notes ; 3, On Orthagoriscus ob-
longus, with two plates ; 4, On some rare Crustacea from the
south-west of Ireland ; 5, On the Ichthyology of the south-
west of Ireland; 6, Notes on Hymenophylla, especially
with reference to New Zealand species ; 7, On some Iri»h Saxi-
frages ; also papers by Pro£ Macalister, on the mode of growth
of Discoid and Turbinated shells ; by G. H. Kinahan, on the Ferns
of West Connaught and the sonth-west of Mayo.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, March 7. — "On the organisation ot the
Foisil Plants of the Coal-measures. — Part III. Lycopodiacexc."
By Prof. W. C. Williamson, F.R.S. An outline of the subject
of this memoir has already been published in the Proceedings
in a letter to Dr. Sharpey. In a former memoir the author de-
scribed the structure of a series of Lepidodendroid stems, appa-
rently belonging to different genera and species. He now
describes a very similar series, but all of which, there is strong;
reason for believing, belong to the same plant, of which the
structure has varied at different stages of its growth. The speci-
mens were obtained from some thin fossiluerous deposits dis-
covered by Mr. G. Grieve, of Burntisland, in Fifeshire, where
they occur imbedded in igneous rocks. The examples vary from
the very youngest half-developed twigs, not more than ^th
of an inch in diameter, to arborescent stems having a circum-
ference of from two to three feet. The youngest twigs are com-
posed of ordinary parenchyma, and the imperfectly developed
leaves which clothe them externally have the same structure. In
the interior of the twig there is a single bundle, consisting of a
limited number of barred vessels. In the centre of the handle
there can always be detected a small amount of primitive cellular
tissue, which is a rudimentary pith. As the twig expanded into
a branch, this central pith enlarged by multiplication of its cells,
and the vascular bundle in like manner increased in size through a
corresponding increase in the number of its vessels. The hitter struc-
ture thus became converted into the vascular cylinder so common
amongit Lepidodendroid plants, in transverse sections of which
the vessels do not appear arranged in radiating series. Simulta-
neously with these changes the thick parenchymatous outer layer
becomes differentiated. At first but two layers can be distinguiahed
— a thin inner one, in which the cells have square ends, and are
disposed in irregular vertical columns, and a thick outer one con-
sisting of parenchyma, the same as the epidermal layer of the
author's preceding memoir. In a short time a third layer was
developed between these two.
When the vascular cylinder had undei^ne a 'considerable in-
crease in its size and in the number of its vessels, a new element
made its appearance. An exogenous growth of vessels took
1)Uce in a cambium layer, which invested the pre-existing vascu-
ar cylinder. The author distinguishes the latter as the vasculir
medullary cylinder, and the former as the ligneous zone. The
newly-added vessels were arranged in radiating laminas, separated
from each other by small but very distinct medullary rays. At
an earlier stage of growth traces of vascular bundles proceeding
from the central cyUnder to the leaves had been detectol These
are now very clearly seen to leave the surface of the meduUaiy
vascular cyUnder where it and the ligneous z>ne are in mutual
contact ; hence tangential sections of the former exhibit no traces
of these bundles, but similar sections of the ligneous zone present
them at regular intervals and inlquincuncial order. Each bundle
passes outwards through the ligneous zone, imbedded in a cellular
mass, which corresponds, alike in its origin and in its direction,
with the ordinary medullary rays, differing from them only in its
larger dimensions. At this stage of growth the plant is obviously
identical with the Diploxylon of Corda, with the Anabathra of
Witham, and, so far as this internal axis is concerned, with the
Sigillarict elegans of Brongniart The peculiar medullary vascu-
lar cylinder existing in all these plants u now shown to be merely
the developed vascular bundle of ordinary Lycopods, whibt the
exogenous radiating ligneous zone enclosing that cyUnder is an
additional element which has no counterpart amongst the living
forms of this group.
Though the central compound cellnlo-vascular axis continued
to increase in size with the general growth of the plant, it was
always small in proportion to the size of the stem. The chief
enlai^ement of the latter was due to the growth of the bark,
which exhibited three very distinct layers, — an inner one of cells
with square ends, and slightly elongated vertically and arranged
in irregular vertical rows, an intermediate one of*^ prosenchyma,
and an outer one of parenchyma. These conditions became yet
further modified in old stems. The exogenous ligneous zone
became very thick in proportion to the medulla^ vascular
cylinier, and the differences between the layers ot the bark
became yet more distinct These differences became the most
marked in the prosenchymatous layer ; at its inner surface the
cells are prosenchymatous, but towards its exterior they become
jet more elongated vertically, their ends being almost square,
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Mar. 14, 1872]
NATURE
395
whilst numbers of them of exactly equal length are arranged in
lines radiating from within outwards. These oblong cells often
pass into a yet more elongated series with somewhat thickened
walls, which become almost vascular, constituting a series of
bast-fibres. In the transverse sections these prosenchymatous
eels are always arranged, like the vessels of the ligneous zone,
in radiating lines. Yet more external is the sub-epidermal
parenchyma passing Jinto leaves composed of the same kind of
tissue. The petioles ofj the leaves nave been long, if not per-
manently, retained in connection with the stem, a character of
Corda's genus Lomatopfdoios.
Where young twigs branch, the vascular medullary cylinder
divides longitudinally into two parts ; the transverse section of
this cylinder now resembles two norse-shoes pointing in opposite
directions. The break in the continuity of each half of the
cylinder occasioned by the division is never closed by new vessels
Monging to the cylinder ; but when the stem develops exo-
genoiuly, the cambium-layer, from which the new growths
originated, has endeavoured to surround these openings in the
cylinder, and, by closing them, once more to separate the medul-
lary from the cortical tissues. Some beautiful specimens have
been obtained, which exhibit these new exogenous layers in
process of formation. The vessels of the young layers are not
half developed. At first they meander vertically through masses
of delicate cellular tissue ; but they soon arrange themselves in
regular radiating vessels and cells, becoming mere outward pro-
longations of the woody wedges and medulkry rays of the older
part of the stem. At mis stage of their growth, the walls of the
vessels are deeply indented by the contiguous cells, as if the
plastic issues of the former had been moulded upon the latter
structures. As the new vessels enlaxce, the superfluous inter-
vening cells disappear, until each medmlary ray finally consists of
a single vertical pile of from one to a small number of cells,
arranged in as many Conifera. The exceptional cases are those
where vascular bundles pass outwards to the leaves ; these bundles
have protected the contiguous cells above and below them from
the pressure of the enlarging ligneous vesseb and limited their
absorption. Both these and the smaller ordinary rays pass out-
wards in horizontal and parallel lines. The evidences of an
exogenous mode of growtn afforded by these young, half-deve-
loped layers of wood is clear and decisive.
The -Burntisland deposits are full of fragments of strobili, es-
pecially of torn sporangia and of macrospores. Several fine Lepido-
strobi have been obtained, like those to which the fragments have
belonged, and which the author believes to have been the fruits
of the stems described. The structure of these strobili is very
clear and of interest ; the primary branches from the central axis
subdivide, so that each sporangium rests upon a separate bract,
from the upper surface of which a vertical lamina arises, and,
extending the entire length of the sporaneium, ascends far into
its interior, where it bifurcates. The celhilar walla of the spo-
rangium blend with the bract along each side of this sporan^io-
phore. The microspores occupy the upper part of the Lepid<h
strobus^ and are usually triplospores, sometimes tetraspores. The
macrospores occupy the lowermost sporangia, are of large size,
and are very remarkable from having their external surfiices
clothed with numerous projecting caudate appendages, each one
of which is slightly capitate at its extremity. So far as the
author is aware, this is an undescribed form of macrospore.
Two new forms of Lepidodmdron are descnbed from the Old-
ham beds, in one of which the medullary axis attains to an un-
usually large size, even in the young shoots ; whilst the other is
remarkable for the magnitude of its leaves. It is obvious that
the plant which is the chief subject of the memoir is a true
example of Corda's genus Diploxylon, so far as its woody axis is
concerned ; whilst its bark and leaves are those of a Lomat<h
phloioSf and its slender twigs are Lepidodtndra. The author also
points out the probability that the plant had a tme Stigmarian
root.
The structure of these fossil types is compared with that of
recent Lyc<^oduue(B, The vascular medullary cylinder is shown
to be an aggregation of die foliar vascular bundles, so that the
vascular connection between the leaves and the stem is main-
tained exclusively by means of these vessels, which thus corre-
spond most dosely with the central vascular axes of living
Lycopods. On the other hand, the exogenous layers do not com-
municate directly with the leaves in any way ; but, on the other
hand, they are homologous with the corresponding layers in the
Stigmarian root, in which latter they receive the vasciuar bundles
from the rootlets. The medullary cylinder does not enter the
roots, but appears to terminate at the base of the stem, though
the pith is prolonged through them. Hence it seems probable
that the nutritive matters were taken up from the sou by the
Stigmarian rootlets, that it ascended into the Diploxyloid stem
through the exogenous layer, but that, in order to reach the
leaves, if conveyed by the vessels, and not by the cellular tissues,
it had to be transferred by endosmosis to those of the medullary
cylinder. The bark of the fossil plants is compared with those
of Lycopodium chamacyparissus, and Sdaginella Afariensii, which
two combined represent the former.
These discoveries necessitate some changes in generic nomen-
clature, since the several parts of the plant not onfy represent the
three genera above mentioned, but also several others. Mean-
while some other errors require correction. Corda erroneously
defined hb genus Diploxylon as having no medullary rays, and
Brongniart relied upon this distinction in separating Diploxylon
from Sigillaria ; but no difference exists between the ligneous
structures of the two genera, so far as SigUlaria is illustrated by
Brongniarfs S. elegans. Corda, Brongniart, and King all agree
in regarding Diploxylon (which is identical with Withain's
AnaSathra) as a Gyranospermous Exogen. The necessity for
abandoning this separation of the plants in question from the
Lycopodiacta, urged in the author s previous memoir, is now
made more obvious than before, the distinctions upon which the
great French botanist relied in his classification being now shown
to be such as mere differences of age can produce. The author
concludes from his own observations that me genera Diploxylon^
Anabathra, Lomatophlotos^ and Leptoxylon must be united.
Brongniart had already brought into one generic group Corda's
genera Lomatophloios^ Leptoxylon^ and dUamoxySn^ Goppert's
genus PachyphyUum^ and Sternberg's genus Ltpidcphloios, giving
the latter name to the whole. Hence no less than six obsolete
generic names are disposed of. The author finally follows
Brongniart in adopting the term Ltpidophloios, and temporarily
assigns to the plant described the trivial name of L, brevifolium.
The further relations of this genus to more ordinary forms of
Lepidodefidron require further investigation.
Linnean Society, March 7. — Mr. G. Bentham, president,
in the dudr. " Revision of the genera and species of &illea:" by
J. G. Bidcer. This paper oontamed technical details of the new
groups and genera proposed of this difficult tribe of Liliaceae in
contmuation of papers already presented to the society. — '* On the
Andraecium in CocMiostema^^ by Dr. M. T. Masters. In this
singular genus of Commelynaoese, from the Amazon regrSh, the
staminal arrangement is different to anything else observed in the
v^etable kingdom. There are three petaloid stamens, all
arrai^ied 'on t£e posterior side of the pistil, within which are
ti^ree spiral bodies constituting the anthers. Within these are
three staminodes, one of which is not developed till a con-
siderably later st^ than the other two ; they do not appear to
have any phyaiokigical value. The mode of fertilisation is
obscure ; the stamens and styles are both so completely obscured
that self-fertilisation seems impossible. — " On a supposed hybrid
between VacdniumMyrtiUusznd V. VitiS'Idaa^^* by Mr. Gaidner.
In the discussion which followed, the prevalent opinion was that
the plant was but a variety of V. Vitis-Idaa.-^** A. list of the
Marine Algae of St. Helena," by Dr. Dickie. These are twenty-
one in number, all dwarf, and, notwithstanding the remarkable
peculiarity of the terrestrial vegetation, only one species is pecu-
liar to the island. — ^" Catalogue oiiatwLeguminosa from Western
India," by N. A. Dalzell.
Chemical Society, March 7.— Prof. Williamson, F.R.S.,
vice-president, in the chair. — In the course of the ordinary
business of the society, the proposed changes in the officers
and coundl of the society for the ensuing year were
announced. — Dr. Debus, F.R.S., then read a paper "On
the reduction of ethylic oxalate by sodium anlalgam." In
1864 Dr. Friedlander described, as the result of this re-
action, the production of the sodium salt of a new add,
which he named glycolinic add. Although the author has care-
fully repeat«l Dr. Friedlander's experiments, and varied the de-
tails of the process in different ways, he has been unable to obtain
glycolinic acid, the only adds formed being glycollic and tartaric
A comparison of the crystalline form of a specimen of sodium
glycolinate, prepared by Friedlander, with that of sodium glycol-
late, would seem to indicate that it is identical with the latter. —
Two other papers were read, one "On metastannic add, and the
detection and estimation of tin," by A. H. Allen ; and the other,
" Note on the quantity of csesium contained in the water of the
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NATURE
[Mar. 14, 1872
hot springs found in Wheal Clifford," by Colonel Philip Yorlce,
F.R.S., from which it appears that a gallon of this water con-
tains 26 grs. of lithium chloride and one million parts 1 7 of
caesium chloride, or more than ten times as much of the latter as
the Diirkheim water, in which, it will be remembered, that
element was first detected by Kirchhoff and Bunsen in i860.
Zoological Society, March 5.— Mr. John Gould, F.R.S. ,
vice-president, in the chair. Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited
and made remarks on specimens of Fa/co barbanu and Cypsdus
palUdus^ obtained in Southern Spain, being the first recorded
occurrences of these species on the continent of Europe. — A
letter was read from Mr. Walter J. Scott, of Queensland, giving
some further Information respecting the supposed existence of an
undescribed large carnivorous animal in that colony. This letter
was accompanied by drawings of the impression of the foot of the
animaL — Mr. A. H. Garrod read some notes taken on the dis-
section of an ostrich, recently living in the Society's menagerie.
The examination of this bird proved that its death wa^ due to
copper poisoning, a number of copper coins and pieces of coin in
a much worn state having been found in its stomach. — Mr. E.
W. H. Holdsworth read a paper containing a catalogue of the
birds found in Ceylon, with remarks on their localities and geo-
graphical distribution ; and gave a description of two new species,
which were proposed to be called Zosterops ceylonensis and
Arrenga blight. The total number of Ceylonese birds included
in Mr. Holdworth's list was 323, of which 36 were stated to be
peculiar to the island. — A communication was read from Dr.
Hermann Burmeister, containing a list of the species of the
Lamellirostral birds of the Argentine Republic, with remarks on
their habits and times of occurrence. — A communication was read
from Dr. W. Peters, containing a list of a collection of small
mammalia recently made by Mr. J. J. Monteiro in Angola. — Dr.
J. E. Gray communicated some notes on a new species of tapir
( Tapirus laicogenys) from the snowy regions of the Cordilleras of
Ecuador, recently obtained by Mr. Buckley ; to which were
added some observations on the young spotted tapirs of Tropical
America.
Society of Biblical Archaeology, March 5. — Dr. Birch,
president, in the chair. — Mr. J, W. Bosanquet read a paper
"Concerning Cyrus, son of Cambyses, grandson of Astyages,
who took Babylon ; as distinguished from Cyrus, father of Cam-
byses, who conquered Astyages." In this paper, the learned
chronologist endeavoured to show that, contrary to the received
opinion of historians, Cyrus, son of Cambyses, though leader of
the Medes as early as the year B.C. 535, was contemporary with
the early part of the reign of Darius Hystaspes ; having taken
the throne of the Persian Empire after the death of his father.
This view he believed to be consonant with the results of recent
discoveries, and afforded a satisfactory explanation of the con-
fessedly difficult chronol(^ of Ezra and the Chaldee writers.
Mr. Bosanquet summed up his argument as having proved : —
(i) that Cyrus, father of Cambyses, who conquer^ Astyages,
neither conquered Babylon nor reigned in Babylon, as Ptolemy
assumes in his Babylonian Canon ; (2) that Cyrus, son of
Cambyses, King of Persia, grandson of Astyages, twice con-
quered Babylon ; but did not reign over Babylon till after his
father's death in B.C. 5x8; (3) that Ptolemy's Canon rests
upon no sound authority, either historical or astronomical, as
regards placing the reign of Cyrus at Babylon before the reign of
Cambyses; (3) that the alternative reckoning deduced from
Demetrius is to be preferred to that of Ptolemy, as resting upon
the dates of three solar eclipses.
Anthropological Institute, March 4. — Mr. G. Harris,
Vice-president, in the chair. — Mr. Charles F. Tyrrwhitt Drake
was elected a member. — Captain Richard F. Burton read his
third paper ''On Anthropological Collections from the Holy
Land." It contained accounts of the Hamath Inscriptions, fac-
similes of which were exhibited, and of skulls from Siloam. An
interesting discussion was raised on the high antiquity of the
Hamath Inscriptions. Dr. Carter Blake described the human
remains brougnt by Captain Burton from Siloam, and by M.
Ganneau from the " Tomb of Jesus," near that place ; the
former were stated to be undoubtedly Jewish, and the latter of
modem Turkish origin. Mr. J. Gould Avery read a paper ** On
Race- characteristics as related to Civilisation."
BOOKS RECEIVED
English.— Dr. Pereira's Elements of Materia Medica : Edited by Bentley
and Redwood (Longmans).— Sir John Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy,
xith editiop (Looigmans).— Science Primers: Chemistry, by Prof. H. £.
Roscoe : Physics, by ProC Balfour Stewart (Macmillan).— Astronomy and
Geology compared : Lord Ormathwaite (J. Murray) —The Higher Mmistry
of Nature : J. R. Leifchild (Hodder and Stoughton).
Foreign.— Annuaire de I'Acadfemie Royale de Bel|ique. 1871. (Through
Williams and Norgate.)-Lehrbuch der Botanik : Dr. O. W. Thome, «*€
Auflage.
DIARY
THURSDAY, March 14.
Royal Socikty, at 8 w. — Contributions to the History of the Opium Alka*
loids.— IV. : Dr. C. R. A Wright.— Further Investigations of Planetary
Influence on Solar Activity : W. DeLa Rue, F.R.S.. B. Stewart, F.R S.,
and B. Loewy. — The Decomposition of Water by Zinc in connection with a
more Negative Metal : Vir. Gladstone, F.R S., and A- Tribe.
Society op Antiquaries, at 8.^a — Stone Altar and Thurible from Syri.-i :
Capt. Burton. — Further Facts u the History of the Discovery of Australia :
R. H. Major. F.S.A.
Mathematical Socibtv, at 8.— Shall the Society apply for a Charter?
Royal Institution, at 3. — On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali
Manufaaure ; Prof. Odlmjc. F.R.S.
FRIDAY^ March 15.
Royal College op Surgeons, at 4.— On tbe Digestive Organs of the
Vertebrata ; Prof. Flower, F.R.S.
Royal Institution, at 9.— The Alphabet and its Origin : J. Evans, F.R.S.
SATURDAY, March 16.
Royal Institution, at 3.— Demonology : M. D. Conway.
Association of Medical Ofpicbrs op Health, at 7.30. — Mr. Stansfeld's
Public Health Bill: Dr. A. W. Barclav.— On the Crimbial Deaths of
Infants, as shown by the Records of the Coroner's Court of LivcriKK)! :
F. W. Lowndes.
MONDAY, March x8.
Royal College of Surgeons, at 4. — On the Digestive Organs of the
Vertebrata : Prof. Flower, F.R.S.
Anthropological Institute, at 8. — Comparative Longevity of Man and
Animals : George Harris. — Physical Condition of Centenarians : Sir
Duncan Gibb, Bart., M.D.
TUESDAY, March 19.
Royal Institution, at 3. — On the Circulatory and Nervous Systems : Dr«
Rutherford.
Zoological Society, at 9. — Report on additions to the Society's Mena-
grie in February, 187a : The Secretary. — On a specimen of the Broad-
>nted Wombat {Pkascolomys laiifrofts) : Prof. Macalister.
Statistical Society, at 7.45.
WEDNESDAY, March 20.
Royal College op Surgeons, at 4. — On the Digestive Organs of the
Vertebrata : Prof. Flower, F.K.S.
Geological Society, at 8. — On^the Wealden as a fluvio-Iacustiine Forma-
tion, and on the relation of the so-called "Pun field Formation" to the
Wealden and Neocomian : C- J. A. Meyer, F.G.S.— Notes on Atolls «r
Lagoon Islands : S. J. WhitnelL — On the Glacial Phenomena of the
Yorkshire Uplands: J. R. Oakyn. — Modem Glacial action in Canada:
Rev. W. BleasdelLM.A.
Society op Arts, at 8.— Notes from a Diamond Tour through Sooth
Africa;T. W. Tobln.
Meteorological Society, at 7.
THURSDAY, March at.
Royal Society, at 8.30.
Royal Institution, at 3.~On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali Manu-
facture: Prof. Odling, F.R.S.
Society op Antiquaries, at 8.30.
LiNNBAN Society, at 8.— On the Geographical Dutribution of Composils:
G. Bentham.
Chemical Society, at 8.
CONTENTS Pace
La Seine 377
Our Book Shblp 380
Letters to the Editor:—
The PUcental Qassification of Mammals. —Dr. Pyb-Sm ith, F.Z. S. 38 1
Potential Energy.— A. G. Grebnhill 383
Development of Barometric Depressions.— W. Clement Ley . . 38a
A Safety Lamp.— B. G. Jenkins 38^
Beautiful Meteor— Lord Rosse, F.R.S. ; J. Budd 38a
"Whin."— Rev. Wm. R. Bell 383
Cuckoo and Pipit , 383
Dr. G. E. Day 383
Ocean Currents. By W. Fbrrel 384
Fergusson's Rude Stone Monuments. By Sir John Lubbock,
Bart., M.P., F.R.S. {IVitk/llustrttiioMS.) 386
The Study and Teaching op Mechamics 389
Notes 390
Aurora Australis. By A. Meldrum, F.R.A.S . 393
Geology: Supposed Legs of Trilobites. By Prof. J. D. Dana . . . 393
Physiology : Blood Crystals 393
Scientific Serials 393
Societies and Academies • • • 394
Books Received 396
Diary 39^
NOTICE
We beg leave to state that we decline to return refected commumca"
tions, and to this rule we can make no exception, Comtnunica-
turns respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers^ NOT to the Editor*
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NA TURE
397
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1872
N'
THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL
INSTITUTION*
' O other Institution has been so closely associated
with the greatest discoveries of Chemical and Phy-
sical Science during the present century as that which
has its abode in the well-known building in Albemarle
Street. The names of Rumford, Banks, Young, Davy,
Faraday, Tyndall, will always add lustre to its annals ;
nor will it be forgotten that in its laboratory were made
the most famous discoveries of Davy and Faraday. Dr.
Bcnce Jones gives us in this very interesting volume a
sketch of the history of the Institution, derived from its
own record of proceedings, interspersed with biographical
notices of its founder, Count Rumford,and its most eminent
professors, Gamett, Young, and Davy. Of Faraday we
hear comparatively little, Dr. Bence Jones having sketched
his life in a separate biography ; and with regard to the
eminent men whose present connection with the Institu-
tion is adding fresh popularity to its courses of lectures,
he is altogether silent.
Probably few of the visitors who now attend the lectures
at the Royal Institution, or who crowd to its fashionable
Friday evening riunions^ are aware of the object with
which it was originally founded, as shown in the prospec-
tus drawn up by Count Rumford in 1799, from which the
following are extracts : —
"Proposals for forming by subscription, in the me-
tropolis of the British Empire, a public Institution for
diffusing the knowledge and facilitating the general in-
troduction of useful mechanical inventions and improve-
ments, and for teaching by courses of philosophical
lectures and experiments the application of science to the
common purposes of life : —
"The two great objects of the Institution being the
speedy and general diffusion of the knowledge of all new
and useful improvements, in whatever quarter of the
world they may originate, and teaching the application of
scientific discoveries to the improvement of arts and
manufactures in this country, and to the increase of
domestic comfort and convenience, these objects will be
constantly had in view, not only in the arrangement and
execution of the plan, but also in the future management
of the Institution.
" As much care will be taken to confine the establish-
ment within its proper limits as to place it on a solid
foundation, and to render it an ornament to the capital
and an honour to the British nation.
"In order to carry into effect the second object of the
Institution, namely, ' Teaching the application of science
to the useful purposes of life,' a lecture-room will be fitted
up for philosophical lectures and experiments, and a com-
plete laboratory and philosophical apparatus, with the
necessary instruments, will be provided for making
chemical and other philosophical experiments."
This basis was adhered to, and these eminently prac-
tical objects were steadily kept in view, as long as the
management remained with the original founders of the In-
stitution ; but it soon passed into the second stage of its
existence. Count Rumford had fixed his residence abroad
Dr.
• " Tho Royal Institution : Its Founders and its First Professors." By
r. Bence Jones, Honorary Secretary. (London : Longmans and Co. 1871.)
YOU V.
during the latter years of his life, the eminent men
whom he had collected around him, headed by his inti-
mate friend and ally, Sir Joseph Banks, withdrew from its
active management, and its control passed into the hands
of others, whose chief aim was to recruit its exhausted
funds by making the Royal Institution one of the most
fashionable places of resort in London. In this they suc-
ceeded ; but their success was mainly due to the extraor-
dinary interest which centred round the remarkable dis-
coveries of young Davy which signalised the early years
of the century. When we read the history of these dis-
coveries, following one another in quick succession — the
determination of the true constitution of the alkalies and
alkaline earths, potassa, soda, lime, magnesia, the decom-
position of ammonia— each a link in the chain of investi-
gation which produced a complete revolution in chemical
philosophy, we are disposed to query whether future dili-
gent workers in the fields of science will ever again be
rewarded by discoveries of similar gigantic importance.
The sketch of the life of Sir Benjamin Thompson,
Count Rumford of the Holy Roman Empire, as presented
by Dr. Bence Jones, shows a character full of strange
contradictions. A native of North America, during
the War of Independence an ardent Royalist, and
throughout his life imbued with aristocratic principles of
the strongest tinge, he yet spent all his energies in phy-
sical discoveries and mechanical inventions calculated to
ameliorate the condition of the masses, and to promote
the health and comfort of their lives. It was indeed for
the purpose of forwarding this object mainly, as we have
seen, that he projected the establishment of the Royal
Institution. A man of the warmest affections, he yet
compelled his second wife (Lavoisier's widow), to seek
relief from domestic unhappiness in a judicial separation.
With a remarkable power of attracting around him, and
moulding to his views, the most eminent men in various
branches of science, there were yet few whom he did not
estrange from him by his morbid jealousy, and by the
eccentricity of his conduct. The littlenesses of his cha-
racter will, however, be forgotten in the noble aims and
great results of his life.
We are glad to have recalled to us in this volume the
career of so disinterested a student of Science as Dr.
Thomas Young, and to find a full recognition of his
eminent position as the avant- courier of Davy and Fara-
day. Bom in Somersetshire in 1 773, he showed in his
school- boy days that precocity of intellect and power of
acquiring knowledge in almost any subject presented to
him, which does not always mark the future genius. After
spending the years from fourteen to nineteen as a private
tutor, he became in 1793 a student at Sl Bartholomew's
Hospital, presented during the same year a paper to the
Royal Society on the " Structure of the Crystalline Lens,"
and in 1794, at the age of twenty-one, was elected a Fellow
of that body. From 1799 to* 180 1 Dr. Young was carrying
on his remarkable series of experiments on Sound and
Light, and in the latter year was appointed Professor of
Natural Philosophy to the Royal Institution. His lectures
however were not considered sufficiently popular for the
audiences that then frequented it, and his connection with
it terminated in 1803. During the next twenty years of his
life he practised as a physician in London, being connected
with St. George's Hospital In 181 8 he was appointed
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superintendent of the " Nautical Almanack " and secre-
tary of the Board of Longitude, and in 1827, on the
resignation of Sir Humphry Davy, was spoken of as a
probable successor to his office of President. of the Royal
Society, Davies Gilbert, however, being chosen. He
died in 1829, at the age of 56, and his character was thus
drawn by his intimate friend Sir Humphry Davy : — " A
man of universal erudition and almost universal accom-
plishments. Had he limited himself to any one depart-
ment of knowledge, he must have been first in that
department. But as a mathematician, a scholar, and a
hieroglyphist, he was eminent ; and he knew so much
that it was difficult to say what he did not know.''
Sir Humphry Davy's brilliant career, and especially
that portion of it which contributed so greatly to the fame
and success of the Institution with which he was con-
nected, is drawn in detail by his biographer ; and the
failings in his character and in his life which obscured its
lustre to his contemporaries are in no way concealed.
The following contrast of the characters of Davy and of his
pupil and successor, Faraday, will be read with interest :
— " Whenever a true comparison between these two nobles
of the Institution can be made, it will probably be seen
that the genius of Davy has been hid by the perfection
of Faraday. Incomparably superior as Faraday was in
unselfishness, exactness, and perseverance, and in many
other respects also, yet certainly in originality and in elo-
quence he was inferior to Davy, and in love of research
he was by no means his superior." As early as 1 804, when
Davy was only twenty-six. Dr. Dalton consulted him as
to the best mode of preparing his lectures, and described
him as " a very agreeable and intelligent young man, the
principal failing in whose character as a philosopher is
that he does not smoke ;" and within two or three years
from that time he had made the discoveries which have
immortalised his name.
Dr. Bence Jones does not carry down the history of
the Royal Institution beyond 18 14, when it became as
closely associated with Faraday's career as it had pre-
viously been with Davy's. We have seen what were the
primary objects for the promotion of which the Institution
was founded ; and we know also the great work which
it effected during the first ten years of its existence.
These special purposes soon gave way to the effort, as
our author expresses it, after striving to be fashion-
able; and the fashionable element has continued to be
the most prominent feature in its subsequent life to the
present day. Something is, no doubt, gained by making
scientific subjects one of the ordinary topics of conversa-
tion in West End salons j the continuation of the History
of the Royal Institution, which will have to be written
twenty years hence, will show whether this object is com-
patible with the carrying on of original investigations
which will add to the sum of our knowledge of the laws
of Nature.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Une Experience relative d la Question de la Vapeur
V/siculaire, Par M. J. Plateau. (Brussels : F. Hayez.)
The elder Saussure, and after him De Luc, considered it
to be an established fact that clouds are formed of little
hollow globules, which Saussure designated vesicular
vapours, or vesicles. These vesicles, having a structure
similar to the soap bubble, were assumed to be capable of
floating in the atmosphere and of remaining suspended
in it so long as their physical condition was unaltered.
When they became resolved into drops of water they
formed rain. The same structure was assigned to the
cloud formed by the condensation of the vapour of boiling
water in air colder than itself. M. Plateau has endea-
voured to put this view of the vesicular constitution of
vapour to the test of experiment With this view he has
taken advantage of a method devised by M. Duprez, for
inverting a wide tube (20mm. in diameter) full of water,
so that the water may remain suspended in the tube. By
means of a narrow tube drawn out at one end, so as to
present an orifice of o'4mm. in diameter, he succeeded
in obtaining small hollow globules of water of less than a
millimetre m diameter, and transporting them under the
free surface of the water, suspended in the wide tube. As
soon as contact was established with that surface, the
little bubble became detached, and the air which it con-
tained penetrating into the liquid, mounted through it
The experiment, on being several times repeated, gave
always the same result. M. Plateau has applied this
method to the cloud formed when water is boiled in free
air. " Let us imagine," he says, ** that at a certain distance
from the surface of the water suspended in the wide tube,
a current of visible vapour of water arisc5. If this vapour
is composed of vesicles, each of them which comes into
contact with the liquid surface must introduce into the
water a microscopic bubble of air, which will immediately
begin to ascend, so that the whole will form in the water
of the tube a cloud which will rise slowly in it, and alter
its transparency." In making the experiment, no cloud
was produced, and M. Plateau concludes, in conformity
with the view now generally held by physicists, that the
vesicular state of vapour has no real existence. He dis-
cusses objections which may be raised to his experiment,
such as the possible solution of the bubbles of air in the
water, the bursting of the bubbles at the surface of the
water and the escape of the air contained in them, or
their rolling under the surface of the water till they reach
the margin of the tube and thus get away ; and shows
satisfactorily that these objections do not invalidate the
result at which he has arrived.
Chemical Notes for the Lecture Room, on Heat, Laws of
Chemical Combination, and Chemistry of non- Metallic
Elements. By Thomas Wood, PhD.. F.C.S. Pp. 181.
(London : Longmans, Green, and Co.)
On reading this volume the author's intention is plainly
manifest ; the book has been written principally for the
use of students preparing for the matriculation examina-
tion at the University of London. It has been written as
concisely as possible, rendering the task of *' cramming "
the subject more easy of attainment. For such a purpose
we certainly can recommend this book ; but for beginners
who wish to study chemistry we think it has several
faults. One of them is that such a comparatively large
amount of the book is devoted to the subsidiary subject,
Heat, almost a quarter of the text being thus occupied.
The article on thermometers, for instance, occupies no
less than nine pages, which strikes us as being rather out
of proportion to the remainder of the book. A second
fault is the almost complete absence of any such details
as would enable a student to repeat the experiments men-
tioned in the text This we think is a fault which would
tend to make the beginner get up his subject parrot-like,
a method which is certainly not to be desired. The
chemistry of the non-metallic elements only occupies
eighty-five pages of this volume ; the definitions and laws
of chemical combination occupy another thirty-eight
pages. The explanations, in the majority of instances, are
clearly expressed, die facts of the case being stated in as
few words as possible. A few of the definitions can
scarcely be considered good ; one, in particular, is ^'that
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NATt/RB
399
a compound of any non-metal with a metal is a salt of a
metal." This would, of course, include such bodies as
antimonetted and arsenetted hydrogen, hydride of copper,
and so on. The definitions of acids and bases, too, are
weak. It may almost be inferred that such is the case, by
the manner in which the author uses the term acid ;
N.O, is caUed nitrous acid ; I^Os iodic acid, and, in the
same line, HBrO, bromic acid ; B^Oa boracic acid, and
so on. There is one thing which the author tells us which
is a curiosity in chemical history. On page 38 it is
stated " some few of the elements receive their symbols
from the names given to them by the ancients — e.g. Iron
(Fe.) from Ferrum, Sodium (Na.) from Natrium?' We
certainly were under the impression that Sodium was
discovered in 1807 by Sir Humphry Davy. A number of
questions are appended to the book which will be found
very useful to those employed in teaching.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondeftts. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Ocean Currents
SuRBLY Mr. Ferrel must have misapprehended my arguments,
or he would not have advanced the case of the tides against me.
Undoubtedly the ocean will sink to its old level when the lifting
force of the moon is withdrawn, even though the height to which
the waters are raised may not exceed an inch. I agree also with
what he says in regard to the improbability of ocean currents
being caused by the heaping up of the waters by the winds. I
believe that this erroneous view of the matter has done more real
mischief to the wind theory than all the arguments advanced by
the advocates of the gravitation theory pat together. The notion
that because the winds are applied to the surface of the ocean
they can produce only surface drift is an error of a similar
character.
I shall shortly refer to an important point bearing on the in-
fluence of rotation overlooked both by Dr. Colding and Mr.
FerreL In my last paper in the Phil, Mag., October 1871,
p. 266, there is a trifling mistake to which I snail also refer.
Edinburgh James Croll
Science Stations
Allow me to say a few words in reply to vour editorial of
Feb. 29. It does seem to me to be a pity to run the risk of
spoiling a good work " by multiplying suggestions and urging
counter claims. It is not quite fair that when biologists start a
proposal for obtaining a necessary but costly aid to their studies,
the devotees of other sciences should exclaim, *'0h, we must
have one, too ! " If all speak at once in this way no one will
be heard, and we shall get no stations of any sort. Probably
the writer of the article is not aware of the expense and require-
ments of a zoological station, otherwise he would not propose
to increase the difficulty by thrusting a meteorological and astro-
nomical observatory on the backs ot its promoters, and then ob-
serve that " the outlay need not be heavy." It is notorious that
there are meteorological and astronomical observatories in almost
every part of the gk>be ; but there is nothing of the kind for
zoology. Under these circumstances it is to me a disappoint-
ment that the suggestion for zoological stations meets with what
looks like a somewhat selfish criticism, in place of unqualified
support, at the hands of phvsidsts.
As to the station in England, I do not gather from Dr. Dohm's
article that he proposes to separate teaching entirely, or
even partially, from the stations. He leaves it alone. " Teach-
ing '* can come or go just as those who deal in it may please ;
but that instruction in rudimentary zoology should be a chief
object of the station is a proposal of the same nature as would
be that to make use of Greenwich Observatory for giving lessons
in the outlines of astronomy, and is not entertained by him for a
moment. It no doubt would be a very good thing that students
from Cambridge and Oxford and London should spend some
time in a zoological station ; and it would also be good for others
of them to work' in a lead or copper mine, or pass a few nights
in an astronomical observatory ; but we cannot ui'ge the wants
of these particular students as any reason for the maintenance
of these three things. The primary object for which zoological
stations will be erected — one for which it is to be hoi)ed that
the Universities, as well as scientific societies and private indi-
viduals, will be ready to subscrib: money — is the prosecution of
science.
»- We claim for biology now a place of far higher importance in
the scheme of human knowledge than she has occupied hitherto.
She has proved her claim to the respect and most serious atten-
tion of men by the discovery of the principles and detailed laws
of evolution — ^a discovery which has more widely influenced
human thought than has any other product of modem science,
and must continue long so to do. We are no longer content to
see biology scoffed at as ** inexact," or gently dropped as "natu-
ral history," or praised for her relations to medicine. On the
contrary, biology is the science whose development belongs to
the day. At mis moment she is deserving of more attention,
more material aid, more assistance in her young growth, than
any other human science. Her youthful performances, her
hopeful stride onward^ promise more abundant results from
pecuniary aid given to her than can be hoped for from her older
sisters, who have ** settled in life." If b ology requires " stadons,"
she ought to be gladly supplied with them.
I must protest against the notion — urged in your article only,
I imagine, as a joke — that without " teaching " (whatever that
may mean) there would be danger of a zoological station be-
coming the home of a narrow zoological clique. The connection
is not explained, and I do . not think any of your readers will
see it Are observatories the homes of narrow astronomical
cliques ? Are telescopes without professors Hable to become the
resort of ambidous young persons, anxious chiefly to discover
hydrogen flames where nobody had found them before ? I do not
believe a bit in the narrow clique suggestion. Teaching bodies
breed them much more rapidly and naturally than do working
bodies. And as to the privat-docent, anxious to discover a
notochord, or the amateur astronomer hunting for hydrogen
flames, I would most gladly see them multiplied exceeding abun-
dantly. Would that we could obtain the institution of " privat-
docents" in English Universities ; by simply erecting a zoological
station, would that we could infuse some of their kind of ambi-
tion—one of the best a man can have^nto English students.
Naples, March 4 E. Ray Lankkster
[*»* The article to which our correspondent refers was written
by a distinguished biologist. — Ed.]
The Etymology of " Whin."
The following is from Jamieson ; — "Quhyn, Quhin-StaHC, s.
i. Green-stone ; the name given to basalt, trap, &c. . . .
Isl. hwijna, resonare, hwin, resonans, q. 'the resounding
stone.' " " Whin, whinstane, j. Ragstone or toadstonj."
Whin or gorse, the name given to Ulex eurotaus. common
furze, is from a different root, being traced to Welsh ehwynyn =
weed. A. Hall
Your correspondent, Mr. W, R. Bell, will find a derivation
given for "Whm" inJamieson*s "Scottish Dictionary," where,
under the name Qu/tyn or Quhin, it is referred to the ** I-landic
hivijnay resonare," " hwiUf resonans, q. the resounding stone,"
probably from the resonance emitted on its being struck. It is in
all likelihood the same as the word whine, and the root is present
in both Celtic and Teutonic tongues, e.g, : —
Welsh .... CivvnOy to complain
Irish .... Cutnead, mourning (?)
Islandic .... hwijna (as above)
Danish .... hvtne, to whistle
German .... weinen, to weep
Compare also the Latin hinnio, to neigh.
F. DE Chaumont
Oakland, Woolston, March 15
Webster, in his Dictionary (9th edition, 1862), says in ex-
plaining thi<« word, which b known all over England, that it means
ivceds, gorse, furze, waste growth, from the Welsh Chivy n. That
it is '*a provincial name given to basaltic rock, and applied by
miners to any kind of dark coloured and hard nnstratified rock
which resists the pick." /-^ t
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[Mar. 21,1872
There is also " whin-axe,** an mstrament for extirpating whin
from land.
The Scotch form of whin is quhyn.
March 16 John Jeremiah
The Aurora of February 4
This Aurora was seen throughout Europe, including Russia
and Constantinople, in £gyp^ in the Mauritius, and in India.
May not all auroras pervade the atmosphere around the entire
globe and be visible wherever night prevaUs with a sufficiently
clear sky ? And so may not the southern and northern aurora
belong to one and the same universal aurora ?
George Greenwood
Alresford, March 16
I SEE notices in the English papers of a great aurora seen in
all parts of Scotland, England, and even as far south as Alex-
andria in Africa. It may be interesting for your readers to know
that it was visible here on the same evening — Sunday, February
4. I saw it first at 6.30 p.m., and at various times after that
until 10.30, after which I did not look out of doors. There were
no streamers, and the peculiarity of the appearance was that it
was in all directions, and less in the north than in the west and
east It presented the appearance of a dull red fog, in shifting
masses, and more like the haze I observed here in 1861, when
the earth was said to have passed through the tail of the comet
of that year. Auroras are very rare in this latitude, but we have
had four or five displays in fifteen months : one so bright as to
excite the alarm of fire, and to call out the fire department.
George S. Blackie
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., Feb. 27
Barometric Depressions
By the introduction of parenthetical sentences between words,
which do to some extent represent my meaning, though they are
not mine, as the inverted commas would imply, and by the
omission of the main point of his own argument, Mr. Ley has
presented as mine certain propositions which may well appear to
him and to every one who reads them, not only irreconcileable,
but sheer nonsense. As these parenthetical interpolations are
Mr. Le/s own, and as the point m bis argument to which I took
exception was not the application of Buys Ballot's Law, but his
proposition — shortly stated — that revolving storms are caused by
neavy rain, I conceive that his version of my views, which miy
be funny but is certainly incorrect, is scarcely woith the serious
attention of any one.
As to the rest, it is a great thing, in any branch of science, to
establish points beyond the reach of further argument or doubt.
The depression of the barometer in summer over a great part of
Asia has hitherto seemed one of the most curious and difficult
problems in Physical Geography. We now know all about it
There is no more room for doubt It is " really due *' to the
rarefaction of the air. Mr. Ley says so. What, how, why,
when, or where, are details far too commonplace for him to enter
upon.
The whole subject of barometric changes, and their relation
to strong winds or storms, is one of extreme difficulty ; and, in
the present state of our knowledge, we can do little more than
guess at or discuss the probable solution of the many questions
that arise out of it From the off-hand way in which Mr. Ley
disposes of them, or wishes them disposed of, it would appear
that he has not yet arrived at even an appreciation of their diffi-
culty. This is the real point on which we are at issue ; the range
of his study has been too confined. A more general application
of his industry wHl, I hope — should he agsdn meet me in my
capacity of critic — relieve me of the necessity of makiog remarks
unpleasant for him to read, or for me to write.
J. K. L.
The Meteor of March 4
I HAVE been looking out for some corresponding notice of a
meteor seen here on March 4, but hitherto in vain. At first I
hoped that the interesting accounts from Ireland, published in the
last number of Nature, might have referred to the same
phenomenon ; but I loon found that the dates were discordant,
and I now beg to forward the following brief notice of the earlier
one: —
On the above-mentioned evenmg, about 7h.4om. p.m. railway
time, a brilliant meteor was noticed by my gardener Thomas
Wood. According to his account it appeared about 20* or 30*
above the N. horizon as a ball of red fire passing rapidly from
W. to E., about one-third as large as the full moon, with a tail
seven or eight times its diameter in length, the porti(Mi nearest
the head being reddish ; but changing at about one-third of its
length to green, which was especially distinct towards its tapering
point The head seemed to be surrounded by some spark?. It
threw such a light upon the ground as to show all the growing
wheat in the fidd through which the spectator was passing. The
course was rather descending, and it went out suddenly without
coming down to the horizon. I have heard of only one other
person in the neighbourhood who saw the light cast by the
meteor, and who described it as extremely brilliant It is
singular that it has not been more generally noticed. The
especial interest attached to it is the fact that, in common with
the one observed only four days later in Ireland, its coarse was
in the unusual direction of the earth's motion.
Hardwick Vicarage, Hay, March 18 T. W. Webb
THEODOR GOLDSTUCKER
■pOR the following particulars of the career of the late
■■• Prof. GoldstUcker we are indebted mainly to the
Academy and Triibner^s Oriental Record : —
By the death of Theodor GoldstUcker, at the early s^e
of fifty-one, philology has lost one of its greatest scholars,
and society, what it can still less afford to lose, one of the
noblest and most disinterested of men. Bom at Konigs-
berg, in Prussia, he began the study of Sanskrit, for the
profound knowledge of which he has since become so
famous throughout the world, under Prof. Peter von
Bohlen, at the University of that town. He continued
this study under Profs. August Wilhelm von Schlegel and
Christian Lassen at Bonn. He afterwards resided for
some time at Paris, where he enjoyed the friendship of
men of the greatest distinction, such as Bumouf, Letronne,
&c. He then resided at the University of Berlin, where
he began soon to display great scholarly activity. Alex-
ander von Humboldt formed already at that time a very
high estimate of the capacities of the young scholar, whose
aid, in several very difficult questions of Indian philosophy,
he gratefully acknowledged in his " Kosmos."
After the reaction of 1848-9, Goldstiicker came over to
England for the purpose of assisting Prof. Wilson in the
preparation of a new edition of his Sanskrit Dictionary.
For this new edition no material whatever existed save the
dictionary itself in its printed form. Goldstiicker, never-
theless, undertook its revision single-handed; and the
immense proportions which under his hand the first six
parts assumed (480 pp. without getting to the end of the
first letter) rendered the completion of the work by one
man or in one generation impossible. Many thousands
of notes and references for this and other works, the
result of an unremitting study of the MSS. treasures at
the India House, &c., are left behind ; and we are glad
to learn from the Academy that the report in some of the
newspapers that the deceased had left directions in his
will for their destruction is without foundation.
The earliest work undertaken by Goldstiicker was the
translation into German of the " Prabodha Chandrodaya,''
a theologico-philosophical drama, by Krischna Mi^ra, to
which Professor Rosenkranz wrote a Preface. In 1861
he published, as an Introduction to a Fac-simile Edition
of the " Manava-Kalpa- Sutra," an investigation of some
literary and chronological questions, which may be settled
by a study of Panini's work, under the title ot " Panini.
his place in Sanskrit literature.'' Goldstiicker also edited
the text of the " Jain^in»ya*nyiya-mil&-vistara," of which
work 400 pages in large quarto are in type.
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401
For the last two years be has been engaged in carrying
through the press, for the Indian Government, a photo-
lithographic edition of the " MahAbhdshya," of which 300
pages still remain to be done. By his decease, what may
be called the '' traditional " school of Vedic criticism,
which gives to the interpretations of native tradition the
preference over those derived from comparative philology,
ceases to have a European representative. His manu-
script of a Sanskrit grammar has long been finished, and
it is hoped that this work, which is likely to revolutionise
the teaching of Sanskrit in many respects, maybe allowed
to see the light. The great psychological value as an
educational instrument which he attached to the Sanskrit
language, if properly taught, was well known to his
friends ; and it was through his advocacy that a commit-
tee of the professors of University College, London, was
appointed to report on the desirableness of making Sans>
krit an integral part of all the degree examinations in the
University of London.
Of the philosophical literature of India, the "Mim&nsa,"
from its close connection with grammatical researches,
engaged his chief attention ; some fruit of his labours in
this field is a nearly finished edition, prepared for the
Sanskrit Society, of Midhava's " Jaiminiya-nyiya-m41d-
vistara''(i865).
It was however Goldstiicker's thdrough familiarity with
the legal and ceremonial literature of the Hindus which
rendered his advice of so much value to the Indian
Government. A paper recently published by him "On
the Deficiencies in the Present Administration of Hindu
Law** (Triibner, 1 871), contains an exposure of the frequent
failures of justice arising from the misunderstandings of
native codes, which disgrace our Indian administration.
Besides some papers in the Header and the Atkenamm,
Goldstiicker contributed an excellent essay on the ''Mahd.-
bhdrata" to the Westminster Review in April 1868 ; and
among his papers will be found a copy of the great Eastern
epic collated with the best European MSS. His library
is, we are glad to hear, to be kept together.
Dr. Goldstiicker was Professor of Sanskrit in University
College, London, President of the Philological Society, a
member of the Council of the Asiatic Society and of the
Association of the Friends of India.
REPORT OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR
THE IMPROVEMENT OF GEOMETRICAL
TEACHING
AT the Second Annual Meeting of this Association,
held at University College, London, on January 12,
Dr. Hirst, the president of the association, delivered the
following address : —
In opening the proceedings of this, the Second Annual
Meeting of the Association for the Improvement of Geo-
metricsd Teaching, I am glad to be able to congratulate
you on the decided progress which has been made during
the past year towards the realisation of your views. The
discussions recorded in English journals, and the recep-
tion given to recently published text-books on geometry,
unquestionably indicate that public opinion is far more
inclined now than it was a few years ago to entertain the
notion of an improved exposition of the elements of geo-
metry. We are no longer warned that to touch that edi-
tion of Euclid to which, for more than a century, we have
paid such literal homage, would be to ruin the teaching
of geometry. On the contrary, it is now generally ad-
mitted that, without departing from the admirable exacti-
tude and geometrical purity of Euclid's elements, we
ought to be able, by judicious revision and extension, to
bring them more into harmony with the scientific methods
and the habits of thought of our own day. I alluded last
year to the retrograde step that had been taken in Italy
on this question of the teaching of geometry. The an-
nouncement excited much interest in England, though
the true purport of the Italian movement was, I fear,
slightly misunderstood. I have, therefore, thought it my
duty to procure original documents, to make inquiries
into the success of the Italian movement of 1867, and also
to ascertain the present aspect of geometrical instruction
in that country. I hold in my hand the historically in-
teresting document which was issued by the Italian
Government in 1871. It contains instructions and pro-
grammes relative to the teaching of mathematics in their
Ginnasi and Licei,* Before quoting it I may observe
that the Ginnasio is essentially a classical school, mathe-
matics being studied only in its fifth or highest class, and
then only for five hours a week ; and that in the Liteo the
instruction is still to a great extent classical, though less
exclusively so. Here, as the pupil advances through its
three classes, mathematics, physics, natund history, and
philosophy become more and more prominent as subjects
of study. The instructions, as already observed, relate
solely to the teaching of mathematics in these classical
schools ; nevertheless, the following introductory remarks
on the objects of mathematical study are, I venture to
think, applicable to all schools in which the foundation
of a truly liberal education is to be secured : " Mathe-
matics should not be looked upon as a mere collection
of intrinsically useful propositions or theorems of which
boys ought to acquire a knowledge in order to be able to
apply them subsequently to the practical purposes of life.
The study should be regarded principally as a means of
intellectual culture, directed towards the development of
the faculty of reasoning, and to the strengthening of that
just and healthy judgment which serves as the light
whereby we distinguish truth from that which has but the
semblance thereof.**
After describing the course of instruction in arithmetic
and algebra best suited to the end in view, the document
before me proceeds thus :— " In order to give to the in-
struction in geometry its maximum intellectual efficacy,
and at the same time to bring the subject-matter within
reasonable limits, it will suffice to follow, in our schools,
the example of English ones by returning to the elements
of Euclid, universally admitted to be Uie most perfect
model of geometrical rigour." It would be a grave error
to suppose that it was the good results on geometrical
teaching of our adherence to the elements of Euclid that
induced the Italians to return to them. Although England
is made, in some measure, responsible for the step taken,
we know from sources alluded to in my address last year
that the main object in taking it was to purge from Italian
schools the many worthless books which private enter-
prise had succeeded in introducing, and by no other means
than the one adopted could the Italian Government, in
the opinion of their advisers, have achieved this end with
sufficient promptitude and impartiality.
The real motive of the order issued in 1867 is a little
more apparent in the following passage from the In-
structions, wherein allusion is made to the practice, then
prevalent, of striving after a deceptive facility of treatment
by the introduction of algebraical processes in place of
geometrical reasoning : " The instruction in geometry is
to extend to the first six, and to the eleventh and twelfth,
books of Euclid, and to be followed by lessons on the
most essential propositions of Archimedes relating to the
measure of the circle, of the cylinder, of the cone, and of
the sphere. Taught by the method of the ancients,
geometry is easier and more attractive than the abstract
science of number ; hence, instead of postponing geometry
to algebra, one part of the subject (the first book) is
assigned to the fifth class in the Ginnasio, and another
(the second and third book) to the first class of the Liceo,
The teacher is recommended to adhere to the method of
* In&truzione e Prognmxni, per I'lnsegnamento della Matematlca nei
Gtniusi e nei Licei, approvati con R. Decreto, zo Ottobre, 1867.
L/iyiiiiLcvj kjy
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402
NATURE
[Mar. 21, 1872
Euclid, as the one best fitted to establish in the youthful
mind the habit of thoroughly rigorous reasoning ; a6ove
all, he is not to impair the purity of the ancient geometry
by transforming geometrical theorems into algebraic
formulae, that is to say, by substituting in place of concrete
magnitude— such as lines, angles, superfices, volumes —
their respective measures ; on the contrary he is to ac-
custom his pupils to reason always on the magnitudes
themselves even when their ratios are under contempla-
tion. It is only after the propositions of Euclid and of
Archimedes, mentioned in the programme, have been
mastered that formulae are to be deduced for practically
determining the areas of rectilineal figures, the area of
the circle, the length of its circumference, and the magni-
tudes of the surfaces and volumes of prisms, pyramids,
cylinders, cones, and spheres."
The measures taken by the Italian Government in
1867 have, I am informed, fully answered the expectations
of the mathematicians who recommended them. A taste
for rigorous and purely geometrical methods has been
revived, and the ground has been cleared for further ad-
vances. That such advances were contemplated from the
first is obvious from the following passages, with which
the Professors Betti and Brioschi — ^two of the most dis-
tinguished mathematicians of Italy — concluded their
preface to the new edition (based on that of Viviani) of
the Elements of Euclid, with which classical schools were
supplied in 1867 • " Profoundly convinced that it is only
through the eminent qualities of precision and clearness
which distinguished Euclid's Geometry that we can hope,
in seeking to promote the intellectual development of our
youth, to secure those results at which all civilised nations
aim when they give to geometrical instruction so im-
portant a place in public instruction, we have undertaken
the publication of an edition of the elements with the
fixed intention of improving it whenever new foreign
publications and the experience gained in our own schools
shall have shown that improvements are desirable. We
trust that professors in Licet will help us in this work.
We shall gratefully accept their observations and sug-
gestions."
Experience, however, has gone further than was here
anticipated ; already there appears to be a demand for
something beyond a revision of Viviani's edition of Euclid's
' Elements. In the Gazzetta UfficiaU of the kingdom of
Italy, published at Rome, I find that on the 2nd of Decem-
ber last an announcement was made by the authority of
the Minister of Public Instruction, to the effect that in
1873 a prize of 2,500 life (about 100/) would be given to
the author of the best " Treatise on Elementary Geometry
which shall adhere rigorously to the method of Euclid,
and contain, besides the subject-matter in the programme
of 1867, those portions of the science, developed since
Euclid's time, which are now to be found in all elements
of geometry aidopted as text-books in the classical schools
of the most cultured nations." I forbear to attempt to
determine what would be the rank of England amongst
cultured nations if she were judged by this standard of
the introduction of post- Euclidean matter into school text-
books. I prefer to see in the announcement merely an
encouragement to proceed with our self-imposed task of
endeavouring to bring up the teaching of geometry and
the text-book we employ to the level of the science of our
day. In Italy this can be done more promptly than in
England Our Government cannot, with a stroke of the
pen, alter the entire character of the instruction given in
English schools. With us improvements are of slower
growth, and it is by operations less surgical in their cha-
racter that obstructions to their growth have first to be
removed. It is, in fact, the function of associations like
our own to endeavour to remove unreasonable prejudices
against changes in the English habit of teaching geometry
by bringing prominently forward the defects which we
find to exist, and the improvements which we desire to
see introduced. Let me now turn, therefore, to the work
done by this association during the past year. You will
recollect that members were invited to prepare pro-
grammes and syllabuses of text-])ooks on geometry in ac-
cordance with their own views. The primary object in
making this request was to ascertain what amount of
unanimity at present prevails amongst teachers. The in-
vitation was accepted by many, and the syllabuses received
were referred to two committees, one meeting at London
and the other at Rugby. Although the occupations of
many of us, and our distances asunder, rendered it very
difficult to secure concerted action, a report has at length
been prepared, and will be this day submitted to ycu.
With respect to the resolutions and recommendations
embodied in this report, I will for the present confine my-
self to the statement that the main object they are in-
tended to further is a practically useful degree of confor-
mity amongst teachers during the present transitional
state of matters. No attempt has been made to prepare
any detailed scheme or programme of elementary geome-
trical study. This last difficult task, however, although
postponed, is not, as you will hereafter see, abandoned.
Although the assertion may partake of the character of
a truism, it cannot be too often insisted upon, that how-
ever necessary it may be to have good text-books, it is far
more necessary to have good teachers ; that, in fact, good
text-books are useful principally by the aid they render in
forming good teachers and in furnishing students with an
accurate record of what they have been taught. In teach-
ing, one might say, there is vis viva — actual energy ;
whereas in a text-book, however good it may be, the dis-
ciplinal energry is at most potential. The text- book,
indeed, to be properly used, should always be subordinated
to the teaching ; but to do this it is absolutely essential
that the teacher should, by his own study, have risen not
merely up to, but above, the level of the text-book he em-
ploys. Until he has so mastered the subject that it has
become plastic in his hands, his teaching must necessarily
remain defective; for geometrical truth, it must be re-
membered, has, like all other truth, many sides, and no
text- book can present all, or necessarily the one which, to
individual pupils, is the most accessible. Alternative
methods of demonstration, inquiries into the interdepen-
dence of propositions, judicious variation of data, and
just discrimination between the contingent and necessary
properties of figures ; these and numerous other matters,
all essential to geometrical culture, can only be properly
supplied by the teacher ; no text-book could be weighted
with them. Above all, it is to him that we must mainly
look for the cultivation of that scientific method of inquiry
under whose guidance solely problem- solving can be
raised in character above what has been termed " exalted
conundrum guessing," and acquire its full educational
value.
The interdependence of geometrical propositions above
alluded to, as one of the subjects to which teachers should
habitually direct the attention of their pupils, is mainly
logical in character, but nevertheless most essential to
geometrical culture. Every one will admit the primary
importance of habituating the student to extract its full
logical significance from every proposition he establishes,
to recognise each proposition readily under different,
although logically equivalent forms of enunciation, and
thus to discriminate accurately between the cases where
mere logical deduction from antecedent propositions is
requisite, from those which require the introduction of
iyirther geometrical considerations. Obvious as this may
be, it is rarely sufficiently attended to by teachers, and
even in approved text-books, ancient as well as modern^
we not unfrequently find remarkable instances of the
absence of the discrimination to which I refer. The ninth
proposition of the third book of Euclid is now a well-
known case of the kind. Geometrical apparatus is there
employed to demonstrate, indirectly, what had virtually
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403
been already proved in the seventh proposition. Having
proved that from a point which is not the centre three
egi4al straight lines cannot be drawn to the circumference
of a circle ( Prop. 7), it was wholly unnecessary to prove
tbat the point from which three equal straight lines can
be dratun to the circumference must be the centre of the
circle (Prop. 9).
The two theorems are, in fact, contra-positive forms, one
of the other ; the truth of each is imphed, when that of
tlie other is asserted, and to demonstrate both geometri-
cally is more than superfluous ; it is a mistake, since
the true relation between the two is thereby masked.
There can be no better proof of this than the fact that
the above defect in exposition remained undetected for
centuries. Another, though less striking, example of the
same kind is presented by the i6th and 27th propositions
of the first book. Few intelligent boys fail on first read-
ing the 27th to note the oddity of giving to two parallel
lines a dagger-like shape in order to prove indirectly that
** if a straight line falling on two other straight lines make
the alternate angles equal to each other, these two straight
lines shall be parallel." It is certain, however, that few
of them ever discover that the proposition has vinually
been proved before, that it is in fact the contra-positive form
of the 1 6th, since the latter is obviously susceptible of
being thus enunciated : ** If two straight lines meet one
another, a straight line falling on them will not make the
alternate angles equal*'
The late Prof, de Morgan, to whose keen penetration we
owe the detection, not merely of the above defects in
£uclid, but of many others, strongly and justly insisted
upon the necessity of a more logical study of the elements
of geometry.
I do not advocate the introduction of more ^r»«<?/ logic
into elementary geometry, but simply the cultivation of a
logically severer habit of thought, and the more frequent
application of those simple rules of reasoning by means
of which tedious reiteration may be so often obviated,
and, as a consequence, clearness of insight promoted. As
an instance of such a rule I may mention that very useful
one according to which " the converse of. each of a series
of demonstrated theorems is necessarily true if of their
several hypotheses, as well as of their predicates, it can
be said that one must be true, and that no two of
Uiem can be so at the same time.'' A conviction
of the general validity of this rule is readily imparted,
even to your pupils, by first selecting familiar instances
and then generalising ; and, once imparted, they are put
in possession of the instrument whereby converse propo-
sitions in geometry are most frequently and satisfactorily
established.
In conclusion, I may observe that it is chiefly by the aid
of general rules, such as those just alluded to, that the
mechanical details ^of demonstration become sufficiently
subordinated to allow a complete grasp of the whole sub-
ject to be acquired ; they serve, in fact, as the thread on
which the isolated propositions of geometry, like beads,
have to be strung before they can be properly viewed.
THE YELLOWSTONE PARK
THE following, reprinted from the " Reports to Con-
gress" of the United States, will serve to show the
zeal displayed by the American Government for the im-
provement of the people. We regret that we are unable
to reproduce the accompanying maps : —
" The Bill now before Congress has for its object the
withdrawal from settlement, occupancy, or sale, under the
laws of the United States, a tract of land fifty-five by sixty-
five miles, about the sources of the Yellowstone and
Missouri Rivers ; and dedicates and sets it apart as a
great national park or pleasure-ground for the benefit
and enjoyment of the people. The entire area com-
prised within the limits of the reservation contemplated
in this Bill is not susceptible of cultivation with any
degree of certainty, and the winters would be too severe
for stock-raising. Whenever the altitude of the mountain
districts exceed 6,000ft. above tide-water, their settlement
becomes problematical unless there are valuable mines to
attract people. The entire area within the limits of the
proposed reservation is over 6,oooft. in altitude, and the
Yellowstone Lake, which occupies an area 15 miles by 22
miles, or 330 square miles, is 7427ft. The ranges of
mountains that hem the vallevs in on every side rise to the
height of 10,000ft. and 12,000ft, and are covered with snow
all the year. These mountains are all of volcanic origin,
and it is not probable that any mines or minerals of value
will ever be found there. During the months of June,
July, and August, the climate is pure and most invigorating,
with scarcely any rain or storms of any kind ; but the
thermometer frequently sinks as low as 26^ There is
frost every month of the year. This whole region was in
comparatively modem geological times the scene of the
most wonderful volcanic activity of any portion of our
country. The hot springs and the geysers represent the
last stages — the vents or escape-pipes — of these remark-
able volcanic manifestations of the internal forces. All
these springs are adorned with decorations more beautiful
than human art ever conceived, and which have required
thousands of years for the cunning hand of nature to
form. Persons are now waiting for the spring to open to
enter in and take possession of these remarkable curi-
osities, to make merchandise of these beautiful specimens,
to fence in those rare wonders so as to charge visitors a
fee, as is now done at Niagara Falls, for the sight of that
which ought to be as free as the air or water.
" In a few years this region will be a place of resort for
all classes of people from all portions of the world. The
geysers of Iceland, which have been objects of interest
for the scientific men and travellers of the entire world,
sink into insignificance in comparison with the hot springs
of the Yellowstone and Fire- Hole Basins. As a place of
resort for invalids it will not be excelled by any portion of
the world. If this Bill fails to become a law this session,
the Vandals who are now waiting to enter into this wonder-
land will, in a single season, despoil beyond recovery
these remarkable curiosities which have required all the
cunning skill of nature thousands of years to prepare.
" We have already shown that no portion of this tract
can ever be made available for agricultural or mining
purposes. Even if the altitude and the climate would
permit the country to be made available, not over fifty
square miles of the entire area could be settled. The
valleys are all narrow, hemmed in by high volcanic
mountains like gigantic walls. '
" The withdrawal of this tract, therefore, from sale or
settlement takes nothing from the value of the public
domain, and is no pecuniary loss to the Government, but
will be regarded by the entire civilised world as a step of
progress and an honour to Congress and the nation.
Department of the Interior,
Washington, D. C, January 29, 1872
Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your
communication of the 27th instant relative to the Bill now pend-
ing in the House of Representatives dedicating that tract of
country known as the Yellowstone Valley as a national park.
I hand you herewith the report of Dr. F. V. Hayden, United
States geologist, relative to said proposed reservation, and have
only to add that I fully concur in his recommendations, and trust
that the Bill referred to may speedily become a law.
Very respectfiilly, your obedient servant,
C. Delano, Secretary.
Hon. M. H. Dunnell, House of Representatives.
" The committee therefore recommend the passage of
the bill without amendment."
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NATURE
[Mar. 21, 1872
DR, LIEBRETCH ON TURNER AND
MULREADY
DYL R. LIEBREICH, in a lecture delivered at the
Royal Institution on Friday, the 8th inst, " On
the effects of certain faults of vision on painting, with
special reference to Turner and Mulready," successfully
vindicated the title of physical science to extend its
researches into the domain of art criticism by applying
optical laws to painting. The lecture may be said to
consist of three parts, the first of which demonstrates, by
the example of Turner, that there are certain condi-
tions of the eye which alter the appearance of nature,
whilst they leave the impression a picture produces upon
the eye unchanged. The second part of the lecture
proves, by the example of a French artist )ret living,
whose name, therefore, was withheld, that there is another
defect of the eye, which produces an incorrect impression
of the picture as well as of nature, the error, however,
being dissimilar, and affecting the picture and nature in
opposite ways. The third part of the lecture shows, by
the example of Mulready, that there is yet another
disease of the eye affecting colours in such a manner that
pigments used in painting are influenced by the disease,
whilst natural colours continue unaltered.
I.— Turner
Surprised at the great difference between Turner's
earlier and later works, said the lecturer, he examined
one of the great artist's later pictures from a purely scien-
tific point of view, and analysed it with regard to colour,
drawing, and distribution of light and shade.
It was particularly important to ascertain if the anomaly
of the whole picture could be deduced from a regularly
recurring fault in its details. This fault is a vertical
streakiness, which is caused by every illuminated point
having been changed into a vertical line. The elongation
is, generally speaking, in exact proportion to the bright-
ness of the light ; that is to say, the more intense the light
which diffuses itself from the illuminated point in nature,
the longer becomes the line which represents it on the
picture. Thus, for instance, there proceeds from the sun
m the centre ot a picture a vertical yellow streak, dividing
it into two entirely distinct halves, which are not connected
by any horizontal line. In Turner's earlier pictures the
disc of the sun is clearly defined, the light equally radiat-
ing to all parts ; and even where, through the reflection
of water, a vertical streak is produced, there appears, dis-
tinctly marked through the vertical streak of light, the line
of the horizon, the demarcation of the land in the fore-
ground, and the outline of the waves in a horizontal
direction. In the pictures, however, of which I am now
speaking (the lecturer proceeded to say), the tracing of
any detail is perfectly effaced when it falls in the vertical
streak of light Even less illuminated objects, like houses
or figures, form considerably elongated streaks of light.
In this manner, therefore, houses that stand near the
water, or people in a boat, blend so entirely with the
reflection in the water, that the horizontal line of demar-
cation between house and water or boat and water entirely
disappears, and all becomes a conglomeration of vertical
lines. Everything that is abnormal in the shape of ob-
jects, in the drawing, and even in the colouring of the
pictures of this period, can be explained by this verticsd
diffusion of light.
How and at what time did this anomaly develop itself.^
Till the year 1830 all is normal. In 1831 a change in
the colouring becomes for the first time perceptible, which
gives to the works of Turner a peculiar character not
found in any other master. Optically this is caused by
an increased intensity of the diffused light proceeding from
the most illuminated parts of the landscape. This hght
forms a haze of a bluish colour which contrasts too much
with the surrounding portion in shadow. From the year
1833 this diflusion of light becomes more and more verti-
cal It gradually increases during the following years.
At first it can only be perceived by a careful examination
of the picture ; but from the year 1839 the r^^ular vertical
streaks become apparent to every one. This increases
subsequently to such a degree, that when the pictures are
closely examined they appear as if they had been wilfully
destroyed by vertical strokes of the brush before they were
dry, and it is only from a considerable distance that the
object and meaning of the picture can be comprehended.
During the last years of Turner's life this peculiarity
became so extreme that his pictures can hardly be under-
stood at all.
It is a generally received opinion that Turner adopted
a peculiar manner, that he exaggerated it more and more,
and that his last works are the result of a deranged intel-
lect. I am convinced of the incorrectness, I might almost
say of the injustice, of this opinion. According to my
idea, Turner's manner is exclusively the result of a change
in his eyes^ which developed itself during the last twenty
years of bis life. In consequence of it the aspect of nature
gradually changed for him, while he continued in an un-
conscious, I might almost say in a naive manner, to re-
produce what he saw. And he reproduced it so faithfully
and accurately, that he enables us distinctly to recognise
the nature of the disease of his eyes, to follow its develop-
ment step by step, and to prove by an optical contrivance
the correctness of our diagnosis. By the aid of this con-
trivance we can see nature under the same aspect as he
saw and represented it. With the same we can also, as I
shall prove to you by an experiment, give to Turner's
early pictures the appearance of those of the later period.
After he had reached the age of fifty-five, the crystalline
lenses of Turner's eyes became rather dim, and dispersed
the light more strongly, and in consequence threw a bluish
mist over illuminated objects. In the years that followed,
as often happens in such cases, a clearly defined opacity
was formed in the slight and diffuse dimness of the cry-
stalline lens. In consequence of this the light was no
longer evenly diffused in all directions, but principally
dispersed in a vertical direction. At this period the al-
teration offers, VI the case of a painter, the peculiarity
that it only affects the appearance of natural objects,
where the light is strong enough to produce this disturbing
effect, whilst the light of his painting is too feeble to do
so : therefore, the aspect of nature is altered, that of his
picture correct.
The lecturer proceeded to demonstrate the truth of his
remarks by a series of experiments, which showed, for
instance, a natural tree, and then, by means of lenses pre-
pared for the purpose, changed it into a " Turner-tree ; "
likewise the artist's early picture of " Venice " was shown,
and, by means of lenses, changed into the " Venice " of
Turner's later period.
II.- Astigmatism
The optical state of the eye during its adaptation for
the farthest point, when every effort of accommodation is
completely suspended, is called its refraction.
There are three different kinds of refraction : firstly,
that of the normal eye ; secondly, of the short-sighted
eye ; thirdly, of the over-sighted eye.
1. The normal eye, when the activity of its accom-
modation is perfectly suspended, is adjusted for the
infinite distance ; that is to say, it unites upon the retina
parallel rays of light. (Fig. 1.)
2. The short-sighted eye has in consequence of an ex-
tension of its axis a stronger refraction, and unites,
therefore, in front of the retina the rays of light which
proceed from infinite distance. In order to be united
upon the retina itself the rays of light must be divergent,
that is to say, they must come from a nearer point. The
more short-sighted the eye is, the stronger must be the
divergency ; such an eye, in order to see distinctly dis-
tant objects, must make the rays from a distant object
more divergent, by aid of a concave glass. (Fig. 2.)
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NATURE
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3. The over-sighted (hypermetropic) eye, on the con-
trary, has too weak a refraction ; it unites convergent rays
of hght upon the retina ; paradld or divergent rays of
light it unites behind the retina, unless an effort of ac-
commodation is made. (Fig. 3.)
Hypermetropy, the lecturer explained, does not es-
sentially influence painting, and is easily corrected by
convex glasses. Short-sightedness, on the contrary,
generally influences the choice of subject as well as its
manner of execution.
Sometimes the shape of the eye diverges from its nor-
mad spherical form, aiM this is called astigmatism. This
has only been closely investigated since Airy discovered
it in his own eye. Figure to yourself meridians drawn on
the eye as on a globe, so that one pole is placed in front ;
then you can define astigmatism as a difference in the
curvature of two meridians, which may, for instance,
stand perpendicularly upon each other ; the consequence
of which is a difference in the power of refraction
of the eye in the direction of the two meridians.
An eye may, for instance, have a normal refraction
in its horizontal meridian, and be short-sighted in
its vertical meridian. Small differences of this kind
are found in almost every eye, but are not perceived.
Higher degrees of astigmatism, which decidedly disturb
vision, are, however, not uncommon, and are therefore
also found among painters.
I observed a very curious influence of astigmatism
upon die works of a portrait painter. He was held in
high esteem in Paris, on account of his excellent grasp
of character and intellectual individuality. His admirers
considered even the material resemblance of his portraits
as perfect ; most people, however, thought he had inten-
tionally neglected the material likeness by rendering in
an indistinct and vague manner the details of the features
and the forms. A careful analysis of the picture shows
that this indistinctness was not at all intentional, but
simply the consequence of astigmatism. Within the last
few years the portraits of this painter have become con-
siderably worse, because the former indistinctness has
grown into positively false proportions. The neck and
oval of the face appear in all his portraits considerably
elongated, and all details are in the same manner dis-
torted. What is the cause of this ? Has the degree of
his astigmatism increased ? No ; this does not often
happen ; but the effect of astigmatism has doubled, and
this has happened in the following manner :— An eye
which is normal as regards the vision of vertical lines,
but short-sighted for horizontal lines, sees the objects
elongated in a vertical direction. When the time of life
arrives that the normal eye becomes far-sighted, but not
yet the short-sighted eye, this astigmatic eye will at short
distance see the vertical lines indistinctly, but horizontal
lines still distinctly, and therefore near objects elongated
in a horizontal direction. The portrait painter, in whom
a slight degree of astigmatism manifested itself at first
only by the indistinctness of the horizontal lines, has now
become far-sighted for vertical lines, therefore he sees a
distant person elongated in a vertical direction ; the por-
trait he paints, on the contrary, being at a short distance,
is seen eidarged in a horizontal direction, and thus painted
still more elongated than the subject is seen ; so the fault
is doubled.
The lecturer proved these remarks by showing a picture
which he made to appear in its natural shape or distorted
by elongation, in either a vertical or a horizontal direc-
tion, by means of a lens which he held at various dis-
tances from the optical apparatus.
III.— MULREADY
The lens, continued the lecturer, always gets rather
yellow at an advanced age, and with many people the in-
tensitv of the discoloration is considerable. This, how-
ever does not essentially diminish the power of vision. In
order to get a distinct idea of the effect of this discolora-
tion, it is best to make experiments with yellow glasses of
the corresponding shade. Only the experiment must be
continued for some time, because at first everything looks
yellow to us. But the eye soon gets accustomed to the
colour, or rather it becomes dulled with regard to it, and then
things appear again in their true light and colour. This
is at least the case ^ith all objects of a somewhat bright
and deep colour. A more careful examination, however,
shows that a pale blue, or rather a certain small quantity
of blue, cannot be perceived even after a very prolonged
experiment, and after the eye has long got accustomed to
the yellow colour^ because the yellow glass really excludes
it. This must, of course, exercise a considerable influ-
ence when looking at pictures, on account of the great
difference which necessarily exists between real objects
and their representation in pictures.
These differences are many and great, as has been so
thoroughly explained by Helmholtz. Let us for a moment
waive the consideration of the difference produced by
transmitting an object seen as a body upon a simple flat
surface, and let us only consider the intensity of light and
colour. The intensity of light proceeding from the sun
and reflected by objects is so infinitely greater than the
strongest light reflected from a picture, Qiat the propor-
tion expressed in numbers is far beyond our comprehen-
sion. There is also a great difference between the colour
of light or of an illuminated object, and the pigments
employed in painting, and it must appear wonderful that
the art of painting can produce by the use of them such
perfect optical delusions. It can, of course, only produce
optical delusions, never a real optical identity ; that is to
say, the image which is traced in our eye by real objects
is not identical with the image produced in our eye by
the picture.
Returning to our experiment with the yellow glass, we
shall find that it affects our eye very much in the same
way as a yellow tint of light The small quantity of blue
light which is excluded by the yellow g-lass produces no
sensible difference, as the difference is equalised by a
diminution of sensibility with regard to yellow. In the
picture, on the contrary, there is found in many places
only as much blue as is perfectly absorbed by the yellow
glass, and this therefore can never be perceived, however
long we continue the experiment. Even for those parts
of the picture which have been painted with the most
intense blue the painter could produce, the quantity of
blue excluded by the yellow glass will make itself felt,
because its power is not so small with regard to pigments
as with regard to the blue in nature.
With aged people we often find the crystalline lens to
be of a yellowish tint. In pictures painted after' the
artists were over sixty, therefore, the effect of the yellow
lens can often be studied. As a striking example, the
lecturer mentioned Mulready. It is generally stated
that in his advanced age he painted too purple. A more
careful examination shows^ however, Uiat the peculiarity
of the colours of his later pictures is produced by an addi-
tion of blue. Thus, for instance, the shadows on the
flesh are psunted in pure ultramarine. Blue drapery he
painted most unnaturally blue. Red of course became
purple. If we look at these pictures through a yellow
glass all these faults disappear j—what formerly
appeared unnatural and displeasing is at once corrected ;
the violet colour of the face shows a natural red ; the
blue shades become grey ; the unnatural glaring blue of
the drapery is softened. It happens that Mulready has
painted the same subject twice, first in the year 1836,
when he was fifty years of age and his lens was in a
normal state, and again in 1857, when he was seventv-
one and the yellow discolouring had already conside«»Mv
advanced. The first picture was called when '
<< Brother and Sister ; or. Pinching the Ear ;" t
was called " The Young Brother," If we lo«
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NATURE
{Mar. 2 1, 1872
second picture through a yellow glass, the difference
between the two almost entirely disappears, as the glass
corrects the faults of the picture. The smock of the boy
no more appears of that intense blue which we may see
in a lady's silk dress, but never in the linen smock of a
peasant. It changes into the natural tint we 6nd in
the first picture. The purple face of the boy
Fig. 1
also becomes of a natural colour. The shades on the
neck of the girl and the arms of the child, which are
painted in a pure blue, look now grey, and so do the blue
shadows in the clouds. The grey trunk of the tree
becomes brown. Surprising is the effect upon the
yellowish green foliage, which, instead of appearing still
Fig. t
more yellow, is restored to its natural colour, and it shows
now the same tone of colour as the foliage in the earlier
picture. This last fact is most important to prove the
correctness of my supposition. The endeavour to explain
this fact became for me the starting-point of a series of
investigations to ascertain the optical qualities of the pig-
Fic. s
ments used in painting, and thus to enable us to recognise
them by optical contrivances when the vision of the naked
eye does not suffice to analyse the colours of a picture.
If it is the dispersion of light which, as in Turner's
case, alters the perception of nature, it can be partly recti-
fied by a kind of diaphragm with a small opening
(Bonder's sthenopeical spectacles).
In cases of astigmatism, the use of cylindrical glasses
will completely correct the aspect of nature, as well as of
the picture. Certain anomalies in the sensation of colour
may also be counteracted to some extent by the use of
coloured glasses ; for instance, by a blue glass, when the
lens has become yellow, as was the case with Mulready.
If science aims at proving that certain works of ait
offend against physiological laws, artists and art critics
ought not to think that, by being subjected to the material
analysis of physiologicsd investigation, that iHrhich is
noble, beautiful, and purely intellectual would be dragged
into the dust. They ought, on the contrary, to make the
results of these investigations their own. In this way art
critics will often obtain an explanation of the develop-
ment of the artist, and artists will avoid the inward
struggles and disappointments which often arise through
the difference between their own perceptions and that of
the majority of the public. Never will science be an im-
pediment to creations of genius.
Dr. Liebreich's lecture will appear in extenso in the
April number of Macmillan^s Magwm,
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF EASTERN
THIBET
DR. CAMPBELL, Superintendent of Darjeding, has
recently published a series of valuable papers on
Eastern Thibet in The Phcenix^ a monthly magazine for
China, Japan, and Eastern Asia, ably edited by the Rev.
James Summers, Professor of the Chinese Language in
King's College. As a journal of this kind must naturally
have only a limited circulation, and is not likely to be in
the hands of many of our readers, we have no hesitation
in abstracting from Dr. Campbell's contributions the
following notes on the Zoology and Mineralogy of a country
that at the present time is of special interest, both in a
geographical and a commercial point of view. The
following is a list of the animals of Eastern Thibet, the
native name being attached to each : — Goa^ an antelope ;
Gnow^ the Ovis ammon; Rigong^ the hare ; Kiang^ the
wild ass ; Lawa, the musk-deer ; Shaooy a large deer,
Cervus affinis; Cheu^ Antelope Hodgsoni ; Dong^ the
wild yak of Thibet ; Pegoo, the yak ; A small cow, whose
native name is not given ; Sauh^ cross between cow and
yak ; Ba Sauh^ produce of female yak by bull ; Look^
sheep ; Peu Ra^ Thibet goat ; Phdk^ the pig ; Cha^ the
common fowl ; Damjhar^ the duck; Damjhar Cheemoo^ the
goose (besides the duck and goose there are numerous
wild fowls, swimmers and waders, which migrate from
India in March, and return in October) ; Chun^oo^ a
reddish wild dog ; Koong^ a mottled civet ; Sik^ the
leopard ; Tagh^ the tiger ; Somb^ the bear (a red and a
black species) ; Nehornehu^ a large sheep, goat, or ante-
lope of various colours, four feet high, with enormous
horns four feet long, sloping backwar(&, and a tail fifteen
inches in length.
This completes Dr. Campbell's list of the indigenous
mammals and birds. With regard to the Dong or wild
vak of Thibet, he observes that it is the fiercest of all
known ruminants, and will rarely allow a man to escape
alive if it can come up with him. It is generally hunted
on horseback, the great aim being to detach one from the
herd. The horns of the full-grown buck are said to be
three feet long, and the circumference must be enormous.
They are used by the Grandees at marriage and other
feasts as gigantic drinking cups, and handed round to the
company. The horns so used are finely polished, and
mounted in silver or ^old and precious stones. A stuffed
"Dong" is common m Thibetan Lamaserais, standing in
front of the image of Mahdkkdli, at whose shrine the
animal is thus figuratively sacrificed.
Of Look or sheep there are four principal varieties — ist,
Chang Look or northern sheep, very large, with fine wool ;
flocks of from 400 to 1,000 tended by one man. 2nd.
Sok Look, rare, but greatly praised ; it is a heavy-tailed
sheep, coming from the province of Sok, east of Lassa ;
woolnot very fine. 3rd. Lho Look, a very small sheep
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NATURE
407
indeed, generally white but sometimes black, bred about
Lassa ; wool very fine and like the shawl wool . 4th.
Changumpo Look, abundant about Geroo and in Ding-
cham, generally very large ; the white wool very fine and
soft. The flesh of all these sheep is fine-grained and
good.
Of the Phdk or pig there are two varieties, the southern
pig, which is similar to the Indian village pig, and the
small Chinese pig. There are no wild hogs in Thibet.
The Chinese butchers at Lassa blow their pork so as to
give it a deceptively fine appearance.
Ducks and geese are not eaten by the Thibetans, but
are greatly used by the Chinese, for whom they are
specially bred in Lassa.
The lakes of Thibet are full of fish, of which only one
kind, named Choolap^ is described ; it grows to the weight
of 81b., and is a coarse food. It is, however, caught and
preserved largely ; the fish being glutted, split up, the tail
put in the mouth, and dried, wiUiout salt, m the open air.
Thus prepared they will keep for a year. The mode of
catching them is singular ; when the lakes are frozen over,
a hole is made in the ice, to which they rush in such
sibundance that they are pulled out by the hand.
There are no leeches or mosquitoes in Thibet, nor are
maggots or fieas ever seen there ; and in Dingcham or
Thibet Proper there are no bees or wasps.
Dr. Campbell gives us some very interesting information
regarding the food of the Thibetans. During the summer
months they use very Uttle fresh meat. They do not like
it boiled, and are not partial to it raw, unless it has been
dried. In November there is a great slaughter, and a
wealthy man, who has perhaps 7,000 sheep, will kill
200 at this time for his year's consumption. The animal
after being killed is skinned and gutted and then placed
on its feet in a free current of air. In a couple of days it
becomes quite hard and is then ready for eating. It is
kept in this way for more than a year without spoiling,
even during the rainy periods. When long exposed to
the wind of Thibet it becomes so dry that it may be
rolled into powder between the hands. In this state it is
mixed with water and drunk, and used in various other
ways. The Thibetans eat animal food in endless forms,
and a large portion of the people live on nothing else.
The livers of^ sheep and other animals are similarly dried
or frozen, and are much prized, but to strangers they are
very distasteful for their bitterness and hardness. The
fat is dried, packed in the stomachs, and then sent to
market or kept for home use.
With regard to edible vegetables, it is stated that wheat,
barley, and buckwheat sown in April or May and irrigated,
are reaped in September, barley in Thibet taking the
place of potatoes in Ireland, four-fifths of the population
living on it Besides these, the other crops are composed
of peas, turnips, and a little mustard. The grain is ground
in water mills. The bread is all unleavened, and cooked
on heated stoves or gridirons. The sweet pure farinaceous
taste of the fine flour equals the best American produce.
The staple food of the country is chamfia^ called suttoo
in India ; it is finely-ground flour of toasted barley. It
is much eaten without further cooking; mixed up with
hot tea it is called paak^ and when prepared with tepid
water it is known as siu. If any of our readers wish to
enter upon " pastures new " in the breakfast department,
they may try Tookpa^ which, to be properly appreciated,
should be taken at daybreak before any matutmal ablu-
tions. It is a sort of broth made with mutton, champa,
dry curds, butter, salt, and turnips.
Goats are also reared in considerable flocks, but for
their mQk rather than their flesh. The milk of yaks, cows,
sheep, and goats is used alike for making dried curds and
the various preparations of milk used by these people.
Mares' milk is not used in Eastern Thibet.
We now proceed to notice the mineral wealth of this
remarkable country.
Pen^ a carbonate of soda, is abundant south of the
Yaroo ; it appears in a whitish powder on the soil, never
in masses underground. It is not used for soap-tnaking
or otherwise in the arts^ but is always put into the water
when tea is made, and is much employed medicinally.
Chullay borax, is only obtained north of the Yaroo,
whence it is imported to other parts of Thibet, to India,
vid Nepaul, Sikkim, and Bootana, and thence to Calcutta
and Europe.
Sick A, sdtpetre, is abundantly manufactured in the
Cara Thibetan sheep«folds, where composts of sheep's
dung and earth are found to produce it.
Lencha^ common salt, occurs in commerce in three forms,
viz. : Sercha^ white and best ; Chdma^ reddish and g^od ;
and /'^/^Aa, yellowish and bad, containing soda or magnesia
and earthy matter. All the salt used in Eastern Thibet
is the produce of the lakes and mines north of the Garoo,
or comes from Lache, a district between Digarchi and
Ladak. According to the best information, all the salt is
the produce of lakes, while some assert that it is dug out
of the earth. It is certain that the salt- producing districts
are all but inaccessible, and can only be traversed by men
and sheep ; and that their elevation prevents the working
from being carried on except in the warmer part of the
year, from April to November. Thousands of sheep are
employed in carrying the salt to places accessible to yaks,
the former animals carrying a load of 2oib. to 241b. on
open places, or of 81b. to lolb. in the rugged vicinity of
the deposits, whose elevation is not less than 22,000
feet, while the latter are capable of bearing a load of i6olb.
Ser^ gold, is found in the sands of a feeder of the Garoo,
on its northern side, but the name of the river could not
be ascertained by Dr. Campbell. The Garoo itself does
not yield any gold washings. Most of the gold of Thibet
is the produce of mines or diggings.*
Pabea^ the yellow arsenic of commerce, is found west of
Lassa, near the borders of China.
There are no mines of iron, silver, copper, quicksilver,
lead, or coal in Thibet ; the latter substance is, however,
imported from China.
The turquoise, real or artificial, is universally worn in
rings, necklaces, &c., and large, amber-like beads are a
favourite ornament ; but it is uncertain whether they are
natural products of Thibet. The latter are apparently
composed of turpentine mixed with some hardening
material. Numerous imitations of turquoise are imported
from China ; and real but not valuable stones are sent,
vid Cashmere (but from what locality is not stated). The
only test of a real stone that is resorted to by the Thibe-
tans is to make a fowl swallow it ; if real it will pass
through unchanged.
In conclusion, we may add that Dr. Campbell's articles
in The PhoBnix contain much valuable matter on the
geography, the government, and army of Thibet, the
personal habits, customs, and ceremonies of the Thibetans,
their religious festivals, the seasons, soil, and agriculture
of the country, the wages of labour, and the most pre-
valent diseases. Amongst " Things not generally known,"
we tnay mention Goomtook, or The. laughing disease^ which
consists of violent fits of laughter with excruciating pain
in Uie throat It equally attacks men and women, and
often proves fatal in a few days.
ON THE CAUSE OF FIXED BAROMETRIC
VARIATIONS
THE chief difficulty in the way of explaining the an-
nual and diurnal variations of the barometer by the
heating and cooling of the air. appears to be the existcn*—
of a double maximum and minimum. To show ho
a double maximum and minimum might result fr
* Notices of the Thibetan Gold Bfines may be found in sevr
numbers of the "Prooeedingiof the Royal Geognpfaical Socieiy
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NATURE
[Mar. 21,1872
changes in the temperature of the dry air alone, is the
object of the present paper. I conunence with the diurnal
variation.
Let us suppose an atmosphere of dry air hardly absorb-
ing any heat from the solar rays, and therefore chiefly
heated and cooled by contact with the earth. Let us take
the moment when the earth first begins to be heated by
the 8un*s rays. (This will probably take place a little be-
fore sunrise, in consequence of the large amount of re-
flected or diffused heat which accompanies the morning
twilight) The earth then becomes heated at A, while at
B, a little more to the west, no heat is yet felt The earth
B
at A communicates its heat to the air in contact with it, and
the latter expands and becomes lighter than the air in
contact with the earth at B. (At C of course the earth is
more highly heated than at A, and therefore the air in
contact with the earth at C is still lighter.) The imme-
diate consequence is that the heavier air at B rushes into
the heated space A D (see fig.), driving out the lighter
air which occupies it; and A D becoming filled with
heavier air than before, the barometer at A rises. The
heating goes on however at A, which remains at
a higher temperature than B, until the epoch of
greatest heat arrives; and consequently during all this
time there is a flow of air from B towards A next the
earth, with . a flow in the contrary direction at a
freater elevation. It might at first sieht appear that the
arometer at A would go on rising all this time. But a
moment's reflection will show us that though it does so
at first, it could not continue to do so all through. For
as at the epoch of greatest cold (with which we com-
menced) C, A, and B were sensibly at the same tempera-
ture, so they will arrive at sensibly the same temperature
at the epoch of greatest heat ; and immediately after-
wards the direction of the under- current will be reversed,
C having become colder than A, while B is hotter. It
is therefore evident that during the whole time which has
elapsed between the epochs of greatest cold and greatest
heat, the two currents will have counter-balanced each
other, the under- current having carried exactly as much air
from B to A as the upper- current has carried from A to
B. Making a somewhat rough approximation, we may
assume that during the first half of this period the under-
current has been in excess, and the barometer at A has
risen, while in the latter half the upper-current has been
in excess, and the barometer at A has been falling. Im-
mediately after the epoch of greatest heat, the cooler and
heavier air at C will displace the air in the space A D,
causing the barometer at A to rise. The moment of
greatest heat will, therefore, correspond to a minimum
reading of the barometer, not a maximum ; and after it the
barometer will go on rising until half way between it and
the moment of greatest cold, when it wUl again fall until
the latter moment The barometer will, therefore, attain
its minimum height at the hours of greatest heat and
greatest cold, while the maximum heights will occur at
about halfway between these epochs. Now this result
appears to conform exactly to observation. It must be
recollected that the minimum of temperature occurs not
more than half an hour before sunrise, while the maxi-
mum is generally not reached for two or three hours after
noon. This will explain why the morning barometric maxi-
mum seems tobenearly an hour earlier than the evening one.
Indeed observation corresponds so exactly with the re-
sults anived at, that I think it will appear that they cannot
be seriously modified by the presence of aqueous vapour.
The mean of barometric pressures at diflferent latitudes
confirms these results. If the trade- winds extended to
the poles— which they probably would do were it not that
the parallels of latitude become so narrow before reaching
them — on the same principles we might expect a minimum
of pressure at the equator and the poles with a maximum
at a latitude of about 45°. For the second of these min ima we
must evidently substitute the limit of the trades, or rather
perhaps of the anti-trades, since the latter seem ultimately
to become the under-currents ; and our maximum will
be situated about halfiw^ay between this limit and the
equator. This agrees with observation. The phenomena
of the tides too are analogous. There is low water where
the moon's attraction is strongest and where it is feeblest,
while high water corresponds to the mean attraction.
Putting heat for attraction and the sun for the moon, the
diurnal variations of the barometer follow the same law.
This law, however, does not appear to hold so well for
the annual barometric changes. We can hardly trace in
this case a double maximtmi in May and Novembo*, with
minima in January and July. I think, however, that
this result may be in part at least explained by the
northern and southern shifting of the system of trades
and anti-trades. For example, if a place in the northern
hemisphere be near this limit (which corresponds to a
minimum), the southern movement of the system in
winter may cause the barometer to rise instead of falling
as we approach the coldest day (supposing of course that
it lies to the north of it). On the odier hand, at a locality
a little to the south of the limit, the northern movement of
the system in sununer may cause the barometer to rise at
the time of greatest heat. I should perhaps notice, how-
ever, that the results here arrived at suppose the three
points A, B, C to be situated on a horizontal plane, and
the specific heat and conductibility of the earth at each of
these points to be nearly identical Hence they cannot
be expected to hold for very elevated positions, or for
{>laces situated on the sea coast, or the shores of a large
ake. They will be found most accurate in the interior of
continents, where the land is level, and where the amount
of aqueous vapour in the air is comparatively small This
anticipation is also verified by observation, so far as my
knowledge reaches. W. H. S. Monck
REMARKS ON THE ADAPTIVE COLOURA^
TION OF MOLLUSCA*
'VTATURALISTS have long recognised the curious
•^-^ cases oftentimes occurring, of the resemblance
between the colour of an animal and its immediate sur-
roundings. It had been supposed that climatic influences,
or peculiarities of food, or greater or less access to light,
had something to do with these coincidences. Mr. Alfred
R. Wallace has shown that the varied phases of these
phenomena could not be explained by such agents, and in
a paper " On Mimicry and other protective resemblances
among Animals,'' published in the Wesiminsier Review^
July 1867, and since made widely public in his work on
'* Natural Selection," he shows that the singular resem-
blances between the colour of animals and their surroimd-
ings are mainly brought about by the protection aflbrded
them through greater concealment Many very interest-
ing examples are then cited from the Vertebrates and
Articulates in support of these views. Briefly may be
mentioned, as examples, the idmost universal sand colour
of those animals inhabiting desert tracts ; the white colour
of those animals living amid perpetual snows ; the re-
semblance seen again and again between the colour of
many insects and the places they frequent Among the
hosts of examples cited by Mr. Wallace as illustrating
plainly the views he advances, may be mentioned the
* From the Proceedinga of the Boston Society of Katural History, vol
«v., April s, X871.
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NATURE
409
many species of Cicindda, or tiger beetle. The common
English species, " C campestris^ frequents grassy banks,
and is of a beautiful green colour, while C maritima^
which is found only on sandy sea shores, is of a pale
bronzy yellow, so as to be sdmost invisible." He then
states that a great number of species found by himself in
the Malay Archipelago were similarly protected. '' The
beautiful Cicindela gloriosa, of a deep velvety green
colour, was only taken upon wet mossy stones in the bed
of a mountain stream, where it was with difficulty detected.
A large brown species (C. heros) was found chiefly on dead
leaves in forest paths ; and one which was never seen ex-
cept on the wet mud of salt marshes, was of a glossy
olive so exactly the colour of the mud as only to be dis-
tinguished when the sun shone, by its shadow. Where
the sand beach was coralline and nearly white, I found
a very pale Cicindela; wherever it was volcanic and black,
a dark species of the same genus was sure to be met
with."
But little attention has been given to adaptive colouring
among the lower invertebrate animals. Darwin, in his
last work on the '' Descent of Man," calls attention to the
statements of Haeckel that the transparency of the Medusse
and other floating animals is protective, since their glass-
like appearance renders them invisible to their enemies,
though Wallace also alludes to this same feature (p. 258).
Mr. Edward Burgess informs me of a species of Acaleph,
Polyclonia frondosa^ on the coast of Florida which lives in
the mud, and is brown in colour. Darwin, while admitting
that the transparency of these animals unquestionably
aids them to escape the notice of their enemies, yet doubts
whether the colour of moUusks affords similar protection.
He says, ^ The colours do not appear in most cases to be
of any use as a protection ; they are probably the direct
result, as in the lower classes, of the nature of the tissues,
the patterns and sculpture of the shell depending on its
manner of gro«7th" (vol, i. p. 316).
In glancing over our New England Mollusca, however,
it seems that we do have very clear evidences of protective
adai)tations among them, not only in their form, but more
particularly in their colour. It would seem strange indeed
if this were not so, since so many species of Mollusca form
an important portion of the food of many fishes,* and
also of certain species of birds.
In a general way, we recall the sombre colours of the
shells of most species, varying through different shades
of yellow, brown, and green, in this respect resembling the
sand, mud, and rocks, or seaweed, in or upon which they
live, and we then recall by groups the land snails of our
woods, with their almost uniform brown tints, like the
dead leaves or rotten wood in which they live.
The freshwater snails have similar shades to match
their peculiar habitats.
The freshwater mussels, coloured likewise brown, green-
ish, or black, accord with their places of lefuge.
Among the marine forms we notice the adaptive coloura-
tion of certain species very well marked The common
Littorina of the coast swarms on the bladder weed, the
bulbous portions of which are olive brown in colour, or
yellowish, according to age. The shells of the Littorina
found upon it, present in their varieties these two colours,
and are limited to these colours, though now and then
delicately banded specimens are seen.
Purpura lapillus^ which generally hides beneath over-
hangring ledges, or is conceaded under flat rocks, has gene-
* In an inlet near Salem the writer observed a school of minnows swimming
along the bottom, and as they approached a certain point jumped right and
left in great alarm. For some time the disturbing cause could not be found.
On closer examination, however, a Cottus was seen to open his large mouth
and Uke in several of the little fishes. The Cottus was so perfectly protected
by its colours that it was -only recognised when the capacious mouth opened.
nection it would be interesting to inquire into the food of fishes in respect to
their colours. Those fishes feeding upon Mollusca would certainly not re-
quire that protection for concealment as those living upon more active prey.
rally a dirty white shell, with, row and then, a specimen
bright yellow, or banded with brown. We are not aware
of any fish that feeds upon this species, though in the
almost universal white colour of the species an adaptive
colour may be secured in resembling the white barnacles
which oftentimes whiten the rocks by their numbers.
In pools left at low tide where the rocks are often
clothed with the red calcareous alga: we find the liltle red
Chiton. Certain M)tHi are green. The younj; of the
large M, 77iodiolus\i'\% a rough coat of epidermal filaments,
looking like the aborcscent growth of seme Alga or
Hydroid.
The few species common to the mud flats exposed by
the retreating tide are coloured black or dark olive.
Ilyanassa obsoleta has the shell black, while the soft parts
are quite dark. A related form, Nassa triviitata, lives in
more sandy places, and has a similarly coloured shell.
Rissoa minuta^ inhabiting mud fiats, has a shell dark
olive, or nearly black, while other species of Rissoa, are
much lighter in colour. The fronds of the lirge Lami-
narian are frequented by I acuna vincta &nd its variety
fusca. The first is greenish or purj^ish horn colour, with
darker bands, while the variety fusca is uniformly dark
brown or chestnut ; the colours in both cases quite match
the Laminarian upon which they are found. Another
species of the same genus. Lacuna neritoidea^ Mr. Fuller
has observed spawning on bladder-weed, and its yellowish
tinge accords well with its surroundings. Margarita
helicini I have found in numbers on the large Laminarian,
and on seaweed at low- water mark, and its colour is de-
cidedly protective ; while other species of Margarita^
dredged in deep water on shelly ground, are whitish,
pearly, or red.
The protective colouring of certain species is well seen
upon stones dredged in deep water, the various moUusks
adhering to them closely resembling the calcareous alga:!
and the stones themselves.
Species similar to sand beaches are of various sand-
coloured shades, as for example Machcera^ Mactra, Cock-
Iq^esma, Cyprina^ the little Solenomya, and Soltu. On
muddy ground we notice certain Tellinas and other species
with white shells. It has been supposed that those species
hidden from the light were generally white, and this would
seem to be the case when we recall My a, certain species
of TeredOy Tellina^ Photos^ and other species. Yet we do
have cases where the shell is oftentimes conspicuously
banded or marked. It might appear that in those species
living buried in the mud or sand, the shell was pro-
tected by a very thin epidermal layer, and that this
layer was eroded, thus exposing the white shell ; there
are certain species, however, living buried in the mud
or sand, which have an epidermal coat, very thick, and
dark brown or black : such examples are seen in i^o^
lenomya borealis and Glycymeris siiiqua.
It has been noticed that the same species occupying
different stations are differently coloured. Dr. A. A. Gould
noticed this in regard to Astarte castanea; those thrown
up from deeper water are darker coloured than those found
in quiet sandy places. In his " Report on the Invertebrate
Animals of Massachusetts," first edition, p. 78, speaking of
the shells found in the sandy harbour of Provincetown, he
says : " The colour of all the shells in that harbour is
remarkably light."
A very evident case of protective colouring- is seen in
the three species of Crepidula found on our coast. Cre-
pidulafornicata is drab, variously rayed and mottled with
brown, and it lives attached to stones near the roots of
the large Laminarian, or upon stones clothed with akac of
similar colours, or attached to the larg
pidula convexay a much smaller spec
roots of seaweed. Prof. Perkins recoi
on the black shell of Ilyanassa obsoleta
has a very dark brown shell, accordinj^j
colour of its various places of lo '
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4IO
NATURE
\Mar, 21, 1872
or unguiformis lives within the apertures of larger species
of Gasteropods, as Buccinum^ Naiica, Busycon^ and others.
The shell of this Crepidula is absolutely white.
There are many species that undoubtedly receive pro-
tection in allowing foreign substances to grow upon their
shells, and these species, oftentimes covered by a dense
growth of calcareous or other algse, are difficult of detec-
tion by the experienced collector.
There are also certain species that habitually accumulate
foreign substances upon their shells. The little Pisidium
Jerrugineum possibly finds greater immunity from danger
in its habit of accumulating a ferrugineous deposit on that
portion of the shell most conspicuous. Nucula delphi-
nodonta has likewise a similar habit. The delicate
Lyonsia arenosa^ with its habit of entangling particles of
sand in its epidermal filaments, undoubtedly finds pro-
tection in this peculiarity.
It was not the intention to go outside of New England
species in citing these examples, but in this connection I
cannot forbear mentioning the tropical genus Phorus,
The species are said to frequent rough botto-ns, and to
scramble over the ground, like the Strombs, and not to
glide evenly. This peculiar manner of moving would
render them very conspicuous, and it is curious to observe
that most of the species attach foreign substances to the
margins of their shells as they grow, so that when a shell
has attained its growth, it is almost completely concealed
by frajp^ments of shells large and small, spines of Echini,
bits of coral, and stones.
These few observations are offered (and they mi^ht be
multiplied) with the belief that if there is any truth m the
theory of protective colouring, as advanced by Wallace,
the various colours of Mollusca in many cases can be ex-
plained, and the occurrence of varieties in colour are also
accounted for by the same theory.
Edward S. Morse
SCIENCE AT THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD
PROF. J. J. SYLVESTER has issued his address
as candidate for election to the London School
Board for Marylebone in the room of Prof. Huxley.
The importance of having at least one representative of
Science on the Board induces us to print his Address in
full. It must be obvious that many subjects will come
before the Board wherein the opinion of a man of Prof.
Sylvester's scientific training will be of the highest value ;
and we heartily wish the Board may be fortunate enough
to obtain the additional strength which will be secured by
his election.
"Ladies and Gentlemen,— An influential body of
ratepayers have appealed to me as a man of science, to
offer my services on the London School Board.
"It has been represented to me, as the wish of your
treat constituency, that Prof. Huxley should be replaced
y one who, like himself, has made the scientific part of
education the chief business of his life. On this ground
I have ventured to place myself in your hands.
" My University career at Cambridge, added to my
experience both as Professor of Natural Philosophy
at University College, London, and subsequently as
Government Professor of Mathematics during a period
of fifteen years at the Royal Military Academy at Wool-
wich (from which I have recently retired), have given
me considerable knowledge of educational matters in
England. My position as Corresponding Member of
the Institute of France, as Corresponding Member
of the Royal Academy of Science of Berlin, as
Foreign Member of the Royal Academy of Science of
Naples, and other learned corporations, gives me an
early and accurate knowledge of what is passing in
the chief intellectual centres of the Continent. I have
ample leisure for the work that is to be done, not only in
attending the ordinary meetings of the Board, but also the
various sub- committees on which the general working of
the Act devolves, as well as the divisional and district
committees, on the efficiency of which the local benefit of
that Act depends.
" If you send me to the London School Board, I shall
be prepared, while looking forward to the gradual adop-
tion of a National system of Education, to adhere to that
wise and moderate compromise by which, without viola-
tion of principle, you may obtain the use of existing
school machinery.
'' I have the honour to be. Ladies and Gentlemen, your
obedient servant,
"J. J. Sylvester, LL.D.,F.R.S.
" Central Committee Room,
25, Great Quebec Street, Marylebone Road, W."
Dr. Sylvester has already received the promise of the support
of the following scientific men : — Sir Chas. Wheatstone, D.C.L. ;
Prof. Sharpey (Sec. Royal Society) ; Prof. Busk, Pres. Royal
Col. Surgeons ; Phillip H. Calderon, R A. ; William Heywopd,
C.E. ; E. H. Lawrence, F.S.A.; J. Norman Lodkyer, F.R S. ;
J. Geretenbcrg, F.RG.S. ; J. Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S. ;^icholas
Triibner, M.R.A.S. ; Prof. T. Hewitt Key, F.R.S. ; Dr.
Wilson; David Forbes, F.R.S. ; H. W. Bates, Sec Royal
Geog. Society ; Henry Holiday ; Henry Watts, F.R.S. ; Dr.
Pick; Thomas Woolner, A.R.A.; Professor Williamson,
F.R.S. ; Charles Brooke, F.R.S. ; Sir Henry Thompson;
Colonel Stuart Wortley ; Dr. Forbes Winslow, F.RS. ; Joseph
Durham, A.R.A. ; C. Murchison, M.U, F.RS. ; Prof.
Henry Charlton Bastian, F.RS. ; William Perkms ; Noel
Humphreys, F.S.A. ; T. Spencer Cobbold, M.D., F.R.S. ;
A. W. Bennett, F.L.S. ; Sir Julius Benedict-, Prof. W. War-
rington Smyth, F.R.S.; George Cruick?hank ; Prof. J.
Percy, F.RS. ; Geoi^e Harlcy, M.D., F.RS. ; Ncvil S. Mas-
kelyne, F.RS. ; W. S. Dallas, Sec. Geol. Soc ; Prof. G. C.
Foster, F.R.S. ; WUliam Chaffers, F.S.A. ; J. J. Stevenson,
F.RG.S. ; and J. H. Pepper.
NOTES
We congratulate the Science and Art Department on a resolu-
tion at which they have just arrived, in consequence of applica-
tions from science schools, to form collections of such specimens,
models, diagrams, &c., as are best adapted for teaching tlie
various branches of science which the Department aids by grants.
It is proposed that collections shall be sent on loan for short
periods to the local schools, to assist them in furnishing them-
selves with the necessary apparatus. The specunens and appz.
ratus already in the Educational Department of the South Ken-
sington Museum have been arranged for examination under the
different subjects of instruction, and a letter has been forwarded
to all the Examiners of the Department, requesting them to
inspect the collections, with the view of advising what portion
of them they consider may with advantage form part of the pro-
posed travelling collections ; what additions should be made, so
as to give the science schools an idea of what they would require
for a complete outfit ; and what are the best and cheapest forms
of apparatus, &c., for them to provide themselves with.
A FEW months ago we noticed the expedition to Moab which,
by the aid of the British Association, was organised by Dr. Gins-
burg and Dr. Tristram. We have now to announce the Sife
return of Dr. Ginsburg, and hope soon to be able to state some
of the results of the expedition, which we have reason to believe
are both numerous and interesting.
The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures,
and Commerce is about to organise examinations in the science
and technology of the various arts and manufactures of this
country, which shall be conducted by a Board of Examiners,
capable of testing the practical knowledge and skill required in
the application of the scientific principles involved^in each art 01
Mar. 21, 1872 J
NATURE
411
manufacture. We heartily commend this movement on the part
of the Society of Arts, and may probably recur to the subject at
some future time.
The Geologists' Association has made the following excursion
arrangements for March and April : — Thursday, March 21, a
visit to the Museum of Practical Geology, under the guidance
of Prof. Morris. Tuesday, April 2, an excursion to Maidstone,
under the direction of Mr. W. H. Bensted and Prof. Tennant.
Upon arriving at Maidstone the party will visit the Charles
Museum, and afterwards the fine sections of the Lower Green-
sand, exposed in the "Iguanodon Quarries." The Kentish
Rag is here well seen in situ. Subsequently the party will pro-
ceed to Aylesford, crossing the Medway at AUington Lock, and
the Gault, Lower Greeusand, and Valley Deposits yielding
Mammalian Remains, there exposed, will be inspected. Satur-
day, April 13, an excursion to Watford and Busbey, under the
leadership of Mr. John Hopkinson. The special object of
interest will be the sections of the Chalk, the Woolwich and
Reading Series, and of the London Clay (Basement Bed).
Saturday, April 27, excursion to Hampstead, directed by Mr.
Caleb Evans and Mr. S. R. Pattison. The party will visit the
shaft of the Midland Railway Tunnel, and afterwards proceed to
Hampstead Heath to observe the sections of the Bagshot Sands
here exposed, as well as the Physiography of the District.
The Annual Report of the Association for 1871 furnishes satis-
factory evidence of the prosperity and progress of this useful
institution. We have from time to time given so full a report
of its proceedings that we need not do more than congratulate
the Society on its success.
The Board of Directors of the Edinburgh School of Art have
appointed Dr. Robert Brown to the newly-created Lectureship
on Geology and Palaeontology, viewed more especially in the
relation of the science to landscape painting, sculpture, architec-
ture, and other fine arts and industries.
A LECTURE will be delivered for the Society of Telegraph
Engineers at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 25, Great George
Street, Westminster, on Wednesday, March 27, at 7.30 p.m., by
Captain P. H. Colomb, R.N., on " Telegraphing at Sea."
A LECTURE will be delivered at the London Institution,
Finsbury Circus, this evening (March 21) at 7.30 p.m., on
" How Plante are Fertilised," by Mr. A. W. Bennett.
Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. have in the press Captain
Butler's account of his connection with the Red River Expedi-
tion in 1869-70^ and of his subsequent travels and adventures in
the Manitoba country and across the Saskatchewan Valley as
civil agent for the Government.
One of the best papers on local geology which we have re-
cently come across was read by Mr. Thos. Beesley at the Annual
Meeting of the Warwickshire Naturalists' and Archaeologists'
Field Club on March 5, "On the Geology of the neighbour-
hood of Banbury." Mr. Beesley gave a detailed account of the
various strata represented in the neighbourhood, and the fossils
found in them, and he ably sustained the view, in opposition to
that held by Prof. Phillips, that the Inferior Oolite extends far
into Oxfordshire.
The Traveller ^ which has now been in existence nearly a year,
continues to contain excellent articles on travel and geographical
research, of special interest to English and Americans.
We have received the seventh Annual Report of the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology. It was established on the
principle that all the studies and exercises of the first and second
years should be pursued by the whole school. At the begiiming
of the third year, each student selects one of the following special
courses of study : — i. A course in Mechanical Engineering ;
2. Civil and Topographical Engineering ; 3. Geology and Mining
Engineering ; 4. Building and Architecture ; 5. Chemistry ;
6. Science and Literature ; 7. Natural History. These courses
differ widely, but certain general studies are common to them all.
It is intended to secure to every student, whatever his special
course of study, a liberal mental development and general culture,
as well as the more strictly technical education which may be his
chief object. The course in Science and Literature, and the
course in Natural History, differ from the others in having a less
distinctly professional character. The former offers a sound
education, based on the sciences and modem literature, and fur-
nishes, with its wide range of elective studies, a suitable prepara-
tion for any of the departments of active life, or for teaching
science. The course in Natural History affords an appropriate
general training for those whose ulterior object is the special
pursuit of Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, Zoology, or of Medicine,
Pharmacy, or Rural Economy.
Since the days of its foundation, the Federal School at Zurich
has, aLCCordingiothe Mining Afa^zineam/I^emeWf not only fulfilled
its object, but has even surpassed the most well-founded hopes.
In fact, each year the number of students has increased; the
most distinguished professors have been happy to accept the offer
of a chair in a college so flourishing ; and it has already pro -
duced a number of distinguished pupils, whose reputation has
placed it among the first establishments of the kind in Europe.
The Swiss pupils are surpassed in number by students drawn
from all the other nations of Europe, but chiefly from Russia,
Poland, and Hungary, while there is a fair proportion both of
Americans and Asiatics. All the cantons, however, are well
represented, and the French and Italian cantons, in spite of the
difference of tongue, send a very good contingent of their chil-
dren. So many candidates presented themselves for admission
in 187 1, that it was not possible to accommodate them all ; and
this has again brought to the surface the idea of a Federal Uni-
versity, which will no doubt be speedily realised.
The British Medical Journal says that the people of Rome
are very much interested just now in the fate of a poor fellow,
Cipriani, who has swallowed a fork in public, prongs down-
wards, and who is now suffering, in consequence, agonies which
are the subject of daily bulletin. Some comfort may be derived
by his friends from the record lately published of Mr. Lund's
patient at Manchester, who survived swallowing a dessert
knife six inches long ; and from the perusal of a recent article
in the Journal de Midecine et de Chirurgie^ in which instances
are cited where the alimentary canal has safely supported the
most unexpected foreign bodies— among others, lizards, a file, a
tea-spoon, a bat ; and, finally, from the whimsical but melancholy
instance of a man who, to amuse himself, swallowed successfully
and safely a five-franc piece, a closed pocket-knife, and a coffee-
spoon, but killed himself at last in the vain effort to digest a
pipe.
The Medical Times and Gazette of March 16 contains some in-
teresting remarks on Prof. Laycock's Lecture on Ears delivered
in Paris in 1862, a subject of special interest in connection with
the recent Tichbome trial. The woodcuts with which the article
is illustrated show the remarkable similarity between the square
lobeless ear, met with in cases of dementia, and the ear of the
chimpanzee.
During the last few days of December 1871, Adelaide, in
South Australia, was visited, according to the Gardener's
Chronicle^ by dense clouds of locusts. Dr. Schomburgk de-
scribes the visitation as a very remarkable one. He says the air
was quite darkened with them. They came from the north, and
devoured everything looking green. Nothing remained of the
fine kwns in the Botanic Garden bat the bare brown earth.
L/iyiLiiLcu uy
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415
NATURE
[Mar. 21, 1872
A RICH instance of the mode in which the phenomena of
nature present themselves to certain minds is furnished by the
following extract from the Prophetic News for March 1872, pub-
lished by G. J. Stevenson, 54, Paternoster Row : — ^" St John in
the Apocalypse has described his vision of the descent of ' the
city of the New Jerusalem ' into the air. . . . The Royal
city may at fiist appear as a come^, which astronomers may be
unable to understand, for its luminosity and stationary position
in the eastern hemisphere may at first be but just discoverable.
The news may then flash all over the globe by means of the tele-
graph. The unusual brilliancy of the aurora borealis seems a
fitting harbinger, together with the spots whuk appear in the sun,
of the approaching climax (Luke xxi. 25, 26), for through the
prophetical telescope alone can we realise the intention of these
wonderful phenomena. I shall be glad if some of your corre-
spondents who may have given their thought to these points
would avail themselves of the Prophetic News to help others to a
better understanding of so important a subject."
In the last year there was exported from Nicaragua 100 dols.
worth of the waters of Nejapa, reported to have the virtue of
curing drunkenness. This may be recommended to the Liquor
League as better than a Maine Liquor Law. In the neighbour-
ing State of Columbia, it is asserted by natives and Europeans,
that there is an Indian cure for drunkenness.
On the i6th of January two slight shocks of earthquake were
felt at Valparaiso at iO'20 P. M. The weather was intensely cold.
On the night of the loth of Januaxy several shocks of earth-
quake were felt in Arequipa, in Peru, but no damage was done.
It was observed they occurred a few hours after the new moon,
and coincided with one of the highest tides of the year.
On the 31st of January a severe shock of earthquake was felt
at Patna, in Bengal.
In the month of January there were frequent shocks of earth-
quake at Broosia, in Asia Minor.
On Jan. 14 and 15 three shocks of earthquake were felt in the
English hill-town of Darjeeling, in the Himalayas.
A SLIGHT shock of earthquake was felt in the middle of
October at Mcmeodsbad, in the Ahmedabad CoUectorate,
Bombay Presidency.
On the 23rd Jan. there was an earthquake at Guayaquil, in
Ecuador.
In January the heaviest fall of snow known for yeara took
place in the hills of the Deyrsh Dhoon.
Largb deposits of coal have been discovered at Cobquccura,
in the province of Itata, Chile.
Further important mineral discoveries are officially reported
Irom Bolivia, which are expected to produce great results. In
the Chaco on the road from La Paz to Fungas silver ore has
been found yielding 12,000 ounces per ton, or half silver. A
hundred claims were at once taken up. On the Llisa and Con-
dormanana hills, near San Andres de Mochaca, veins of gold
have been found, as well as in Vilaquil, eighteen miles from La
Paz, where ancient winnowing grounds have been recognised.
According to a report made by the Rev. Father Wo'f to
the Government of Koiador, there are extensive fossil remains
of the Tertiary and Quaternary epoch on the coast of Manabi
and near Panin. Besides the mastodon the fossil horse is found,
showing that in pre-historic times such animals were found there,
though they became extinct, and the present race was introduced
by the Spaniards.
In Bolivia has been discovered an ancient mine, known as
the Narango, twelve miles S. of Antofogasta, in the Mejillones
district, near the Pacific. The vein is reported as composed of
ochre-coloured ore, backed by a stratum, 24 in. thick, of copper
studded with gold, and containing about 20 per cent, of Uiis
precious metaL
A correspondent of the Ceylon Times draws attention to
the circumstance that that island is, as he believes, on the eve
of an Important change of climate, depending on the great cyc*e
of thirty or thirty- three years. The past thirty years have, he
maintains shown a complete contrast to the previous thirty
years, with manifestly different effects on animal and vegetable
life, from the much smaller amount of rain. The next cycle ot
thirty years will be, he thinks, above the average, wet.
A SUIT has lately taken place in .the High Court of Madras
respecting a two-mouthed cow, the value of which is estimated
at 1,000/., as large sums were made by exhibiting it. She had
been seized by the sheriff, as is alleged, on wrongful distraint.
The Ipecacuanha plants in the Neilgherries are flourishing.
Two have blossomed, but have yielded no seed. Twelve plants
in good condition were received at the Calcutta Botanic Gardens
from England in August
The English Vice-Consul at Ciudad Bolivar, on the Orinoco
River, Venezuela, reports that an old womin had applied an
efficacious remedy for yellow fever and black vomit. It is the
juice of the leaves of the vervain plant, which is obtained by
bruising, and is taken in small doses three times a day. In*
jections of the same juice are also administered eytry two hours
until the bowels are completely relieved of their contents. The
medical men have adopted the remedy, and the number of fatal
cases have been much reduced. The leaves of the female plant
alone are used.
The wild elephant which has lately destroye i fifcy-six lives in
the Central Provinces of India and committed such ravages, was
shot on November 15 by two officers of the Government. The
night before his death he killed ten persons.
A GOOD deal of attention has been excited among Egyptolo-
gists by the comparatively recent discovery in excavations made
at Tanis, on the eastern or Pelusiac branch of the Nile, of a
trilingual stone, somewhat of the character of the celebrated
Rosetta stone, but much more perfect, and believed to be of
about two hundred and fifty years' greater antiquity. This, which
is now deposited in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities at
Cairo, is a perfect stela, about six feet high, two and a half feet
broad, and one foot thick, the summit being arched.
PiTCHMURREE or Pachmari, in the central provinces of India,
is now to be marked on our maps as a to «ii ; this hill site having
been successfully established as a sanitarium for English soldiers
in 1870.
A SHOWER of stones is reported from Rosario, in December.
A great tempest was felt, ending in a shower of stones from
N.W. to S. W., and doing much damage. The shower lasted ten
minutes, and the stones were abundant and large, weighing from a
nut in size to a pigeon's egg. The com fields have severely suffered.
It is remarked the like occurrence had not been seen for many
years, so it is to be inferred such a phenomenon is not unknown.
As the Bemstadt colony was affected some European observa-
tions may be leceived.
Two new discoveries of gold are announced, the one in the
Transvaal distiict near Natal, where the gold is stated tb exist
in large quantities, and the other in Manitoba, in Canada.
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NATURE
413
THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY
A LECTURE under this title delivered at the Royal Artil-
•^^ lery Institution, Woolwich, by the Rev. Canon Kingsley,
has just been published, containing some admirable remarks on
the relation between the soldier and the naturalist, from which
we cannot foibear making the following extracts.
After some introductory matter, he proceeded: —
•' It seemed to roe, therefore, that I might, without imperti-
nence, ask you to consider a branch of knowledge which is
becoming yearly more and more important in the eyes of well-
educated civilians— of which, therefore, the soldier ought at least
to know something, in order to put him on a par with the general
intelligence of the nation
**I^t me, however, reassure those who may suppose, from the
title of my lecture, that I am only going to recommend them
to collect weeds and butterflies, ' rats and mice, and such small
deer.* Far from it. The honourable title of Natural History
ha?, and unwisely, been restricted too much of late years to the
mere study of plants and animals ; but I desire to restore the
words to their original and proper meaning — the History of
Nature ; that is, of all that is bom, and grows— in short, of
all natural objects.
" If any one shall say, by that definition you make not only
geology and chemistry branches of natural history, but meteor-
ology and astronomy likewise — I cannot deny it ; they deal,
each of them, with realms of Nature. Geology is, literally, the
natural history of soils and lands ; chemistry the natural history
of compounds, organic and inorganic ; meteorology the natural
history of climates ; astronomy the natural history of planetary
and solar bodies. And more, you cannot now study deeply any
branch of what is popularly called Natural History — tluit is,
plants and animals — without finding it necessary to learn some-
thing, and more and more as you go deeper, of those very
sciences. As the marvellous interdependence of al 1 natural objects
and forces unfolds itself more and more, so the once separate
sciences, which treated of different classes of natural objects, are
forced to interpenetrate, as it were, and supplement themselves
by knowledge borrowed from each other. Thus — to give a
single instance — ^no man can now be a first-rate botanist unless
be be also no mean meteorologist, no mean geologist, and — ^as
Mr. Darwin has shown in his extraordinary discoveries about the
fertilisation of plants by iosects — no mean entomologist
likewise.
"It is difficult, therefore, and indeed somewhat unwise and
unlair, to put any limit to the term Natural History, save that it
shall deal only with nature and with matter, and shall not pre-
tend— as some would have it do just now— to go out of its own
sphere to meddle with moral and spiritual matters. But, for
practical purposes, we may define the natural history of any
given spot as the history of the causes which have made it what
it is, and filled it with die natural objects which it holds. And
if any one would know how to study the natural history of a
place, and how to write it, let him read— and if he has read its
delightful pages in youth, read once again — that hitherto unri-
valled little monograph, White's ' History of Selbome ; ' and
let him then try, by the light of improved science, to do for any
district where he may be stationed what White did for Selbome
nearly 100 years ago. Let him study its plants, its animals, its
soils and rocks, and last, but not least, its scenery, as the total
outcome of what the soils, and plants, and animals have made
it. I say, have made it How far the nature of the soils and
the rocks will affect the scenery of a district may be well learnt
from a very clever and intcrtsting little book of Prof. Geikie'son
'The Scenery of Scotland, as alfected by i'S Geological Stmc-
ture.' How far the plants and trees affect not merely the
general beauty, the richness or barrenness of a country, but also
its very shape ; the rate at which the hills are destroyed and
washed into the lowland ; the rate at which the seaboard is being
removed by the action of waves — all these are branches of study
which is becoming more and more important.
" And even in the study of animals and their effects on the
vegetation, questions of really deep interest will arise. You
will find that certain plants and trees carmot thrive in a district,
while others can, because the former are browsed down by
cattle, or their seeds eaten by birds, and the latter are not ; that
certain seeds are carried in the coats of animals, or wafted abroad
by winds — others are not ; certain trees destroyed wholeude by
insects, while others are not; that in a hundred ways the
animal and vegetable life of a district apt and rtact upon each
other, and that the climate, the average temperature, the maxi-
mum and minimum temperatures, the rainfall, act on them, and
in the case of the vegetation, are reacted on acain by thenu
The diminution of rainfall by the destruction of forest", its in-
crease by re-planting them, and the effect of both on the healthi-*
ness or un healthiness of a place — as in the case of the Mauritius,
where a once healthy island has become pestilential, seemingly
from the clearing away of the vegetation on the banks of streams
— all this, though to study it deeply requires a fair knowledge of
meteorology, and even a science or two more, is surely well
worth the attention of any educated man who is put in charge of
the health and lives of human beings.
" You will surely agree with me that the habit of mind required
for such a study as this, is the very same as is required for success-
ful military study. In fact, I should say that the same intellect
which would develop into a great military man, would develop also
into a great naturalist I say, intellect The military man would
require — what the naturalist would not — over and at)ove his in-
tellect, a special force of will, in order to translate his theories
into fact, and make his campaigns in the field and not merely on
paper. But I am speaking only of the habit of mind required
for study ; of that inductive habit of mind which works, steadily
and by rule, from the known to the unknown — that habit of
mind of which it has been said : — *■ The habit of seeing ; the
habit of knowmg what we see ; the habit of discerning diffe-
rences and likenesses ; the habit of classifying accordingly ; the
habit of searching for hypotheses which shall connect and ex-
plain those classified facts ; the habit of verifying these hypo-
theses by applying them to fresh facts ; the habit of throwing
them away bravely if they will not fit ; the habit of ^enend
patience, diligence, accuracy, reverence for facts for their own
sake, and love of truth for its own sake ; in one word, the habit
of reverent and implicit obedience to the laws of Natiire, what-
ever they may be — these are not merely intellectual, but also
moral habits, which will stand men in practical good stead in
every affair of life, and in every question, even the most awful,
which may come before us as rational and social beings.' And
specially valuable are they, surely, to the military man, the very
essence of whose study, to be successful, lies first in continuous
and accurate observation, and then in calm and judicious arrange-
ment
" Therefore it is that I hold, and hold strongly, that the study
of physical science, far from interfering with an officer's studies,
much less unfitting for them, inust assist him in them, by keeping
his mind always in the very attitude and the very temper which
they require. ....
" I should like to see the study of ph3rsical science an integral
part of the curriculum of every military school I would train
the mind of the lad who was to become hereafter an officer in
the army— and in the navy likewise — ^by accustoming him to
careful observation of, and sound thought about, the face of
nature — of the commonest objects under hb feet, just as much
as of the stars above his head ; provided always that be learnt,
not at second-hand from books, but where alone he can really
leam either war or nature — in the field, by actual observation,
actual experiment A laboratory for chemical experiment is a
good thing, it is trae, as far as it goes ; but I should prefer to
Uie laboratory a naturalists* field club, such as are prospering
now at several of the best public schools, certain that the boys
would get more of sound inductive habits of mind, as well as
more health, manliness, and cheerfulness, amid scenes to remem-
ber which will be a joy for ever, than they ever can by bending
over retorts and crucibles, amid smells even to remember which
is a pain for ever.
" But I would, whether a field club existed or not, require of
every young man entering the army or navy — indeed, of every
young man entering any liberal profession whatsoever — a fair
knowledge, such as would enable him to pass an examination, in
what the Germans call Erd-kunde (earth-lore) — in that know-
ledge of the face of the earth and of its produces for which we
English have as yet cared so little that we have actually no
English name for it, save the clumsy and questionable one of
physical geography, and, I am sorry to say, hardly any readable
school books about it, save Keith Johnston's ' Physical Atlas '
— an acquaintance wiUi which last 1 should certainly require of
young men.
" It does seem most strange— or rather will seem most strange
100 years hence — that we, the nation of colonies, the nation of
sailors^ the nation of foreign commerce, the nation of foreign
milita]^ stations, the nation of travellers for travelling's sake, the
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414
MATURE.
[Mar. 21,1872
nation of which one man here and another there (as Schleiden
sets forth in his book, 'The Plant,' in a charming ideal conversation
at the Travellers* Club) has seen and enjoyed more of the wonders
and beauties of this planet than the men of any nation, not even
excepting the Germans — that this nation, I say, should as yet
have done nothing, or all but nothing, to teach in her schools a
knowledge of that planet, of which she needs to know more, and
can if she will know more, than any other nation upon it. ...
" Thus much I can say just now — and there is much more to
be said — on the practical uses of natural history. But let me
remind you, on the other side, if natural history will help you,
you in return can help her ; and would, I doubt not, help her,
and help scientific men at home, if once you look fairly and
steadily at the immense importance of natural history — of the
knowledge of the 'face of the earth.' I believe that all will one
day feel, more or less, that to know the earth on which we live,
and the laws of it 6jf which we live, is a sacred duty to our-
selves, to our children after us, and to all whom we may have
to command and to influence ; ay, and a duty to God likewise.
For is it not an act of common reverence and faith towards Him,
if He has put us into a beautiful and wonderful place, and given
us faculties by which we can see, and enjoy, and use that place —
is it not a duty of reverence and faith towards Him to use those
faculties, and to learn the lessons which He has laid open for us ?
If you feel that, as I say you all will some day feel, you will
surely feel likewise that it will be a good deed — I do not say a
necessary duty, but still a good deed and praiseworthy — to help
physical science forward, and add your contributions, however
small, to our general knowledge of the earth. And how much
may be done for science by British ofhcers, especially on foreign
stations, I need not point out I know that much has been
done, chivalrously and well, by officers, and that men of science
own them, and give them hearty thanks for their labours ; but
I should like, I confess, to see more done still. I should like to
see every foreign station, what one or two highly-educated
officers might easily make it — an advanced post of phvsical
science, in regular communication with our scientific societies at
home, sending to them accurate and methodic details of the
natural history of each district — details ^VV o^ which might seem
worthless in the eyes of the public, but which would all be
precious in the eyes of scientific men, who know that no fact is
really unimportant, and more, that while plodding patiently
through seemingly unimportant facts, you may stumble on one of
infinite importance, both scientific and practical.
" There are those, lastly, who have neither time nor taste
for the technicalties, the nice distinctions, of formal natural his-
tory ; who enjoy Nature, but as artists or as sportsmen, and not
as men of science. Let them follow their bent freely : but let
them not suppose that in following it they can do nothing
towards enlarging our knowledge of Nature, especially when on
foreign stations. So far from it, drawings ought al«vays to be
valuable, whether of plants, animals, or scenery, provided only
they are acctirate ; and the more spirited and full of genius they
are, the more accurate they are certain to be ; for Nature being
alive, a hfeless copy of her is necessarily an untrue copy. Most
thankful to any officer for a mere sight of sketches will be
the closet botanist, who, to his own sorrow, knows three-
fourths of his plants only from dried specimens ; or the closet
zoologist, who knows his. animals from skins and bones. And if
any one answers, ' But I cannot draw,' I rejoin, you can at least
photo^ph. If a young officer, going out to foreign parts, and
knowing nothing at all about physical science, did me the honour
to ask me what he could do for science, I should tell him,
learn to photograph ; take photographs of everv strange bit of
rock formation which strikes your fancy, and of every widely-
extended view which may give a notion of the general lie of the
cotm^. Append, if you can, a note or two, saying whether
a plain is rich or barren ; whether the rock is sandstone, lime-
stone, granitic, metamorphic« or volcanic lava ; and if there
be more rocks than one^ which of them lies on the other ; and
send them to be exhibited at a meeting of the Geological Society.
I doubt not that the learned gentlemen there will find in your
photographs a valuable hint or two, for which they will be much
obliged. I learnt, for instance, what seemed to me most valuable
geological lessons, from mere glances at drawings — I believe from
photographs — of the Abyssinian ranges about Magdala.
" Or apin, let a man, if he knows nothing of botany, not
trouble himself with collecting and drying specimens ; let him
simply photograph every strange tree or new plant he sees, to
give a general notion of its species, its look ; let him append,
where he can, a photograph of its leafage, flower, fruit, and send
them to Dr. Hooker, or any distinguished botanist, and he will
find that, though he may know nothing of botany, he will
have pretty certainly increased the knowlSge of those who do
know.
" The sportsman, again — I mean the sportsman of that type
which seems peculiar to these islands, who loves}toil and danger
for their own sakes ; he surely is a naturalist, ipso facto , though
he knows it not He has those very habits of keen observation
on which all sound knowledge of nature is based ; and he, if he
will — as he may do without interfering with his sport — can study
the habits of the animals^among whom he spends wholesome
and exciting days. . . .
"The two classes which will have an increasing, it may be
a preponderating, influence on the fate of the human race for
some time, will be the pupils of Aristotle and those of Alexander
— ^the men of science and the soldiers. They, and they alone,
will be left to rule ; because they alone, each in his own sphere,
have learnt to obey. It is therefore most needful for the welfare
of society that they should pull with, and not against, each
other ; that they should understand each other, respect each
other, take counsel with each other, supplement each other's
defects, bring out each other's higher tendencies, counteract each
other's lower ones. The scientific man has something to learn
of you, gentlemen, which I doubt not that he will learn in good
time. You, again, have (as I have been hinting to you to-night)
something to learn of him, which you, I doubt not, will learn in
good time likewise. Repeat, each of you according to his
powers, the old friendship between Aristotle and Alexander ;
and so. from the sympathy and co-operation of you two, a class
of thinkers and actors may yet arise which can save this nation,
and the other civilised nations of the world, from that of which
I had rather not speak, and wish that I did not think, too often
and too earnestly.
" I may be a dreamer ; and I may consider in my turn, as
wilder dreamers than myself, certain persons who fancy that
their only business in life is to make money, the scientific man's
only business to show them how to make money, and the sol-
diers only business to guard their money for them. Be that as
it may, the finest type of civilised man which we are likely to see
for some generations to come, will be produced by a combina-
tion of the truly military with the truly scientific man. I say, I
may be a dreamer : but you at least, as well as my scientific
friends, will bear with me ; for my dream is to your honour."
SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE FROM
AMERICA*
A LATE number of the College Courant, of New Haven,
•^^ contains a detailed account of the exploring expedition
under Prof. Marsh, which occupied the greater part of the
warm season of 187 1, and of which we have already furnished
occasional notices to our readers. The general plan, as already
stated, embraced excursions from several points, exploring as
many different fields, with special reference to the examination
of regions comparatively little known. The first starting-point
of operations was Fort Wallace, and from this post the creta-
ceous deposits of South-Westem Kansas and the region of the
Smoky River were investigated. The second proceeded from
Fort Bridger in Western Wyoming, to examine the ancient ter-
tiary lake basin previously discovered by Prof. Marsh. Salt
Lake City was the initial point of the third exploration, and the
party proceeded thence to the Shoshone Fall*, on Snake River,
and from there to Bois^ City, in Idaho ; thence they parsed over
the Blue Mountains to the head waters of the John Day River,
and followed down to CaHon City. On the route they made ex-
tensive collections of fossil fishes. They also explored two
basins, one of the pliocene and theother of themiocene age, andin
these remains of extinct animals were found in large numbers ;
the upper bed containing the bones of the elephant, rhinoceros,
lion, &c., with several species of the fossil horse ; the lower and
older basin was found to contain species of the rhinoceros, oreo-
don, turtles, &c. From this point the party proceeded to the
Columbia, and thence to Portland, Oregon, where they took a
steamer to San Francisco. Here the expedition divided, a por-
tion going to the Yosemite and elsewhere, while several, with
Prof. Marsh, sailed, vid Panama, for New York, reaching that
* Communicated by the Scientific Editor dl Harper* s Weekly.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Mar. 21, 1872")
NATURE
415
city on the 14th of January. We understand that the fxpedition
was thoroughly successful in every respect, securing the collec-
tion of large numbers of fossils, 9S also numerous skeletons of
recent animals, together with valuable antiquities, &c. The
expense of the exploration amounted to nearly 15,000 dols., ex-
clusive of the value of the services rendered by tlie Government.
This was defrayed entirely by the gentlemen composing the party;
and it is understood that the material results are to be placed in
the Museum of Yale College, which will thereby be rendered the
richest in America in this department of natural history. —
According to Dr. Petermann, the peak of Itatiaiossu, the highest
mountain in Brazil, was ascended during the past summer and
its altitude determined by Mr. Glaziou, the Director of the Im-
perial Parks in Rio de Janeiro. It proved to have an elevation
of 8,899 Knglish feet, being somewhat less than had been pre-
viously estimated. Many species of plants were found on the
mountain, and what is of great interest, a large number of Alpine
species, especially of Composita:^ were collected at from three to
seven hundred metres below tlie summit. — The report of pro-
gress for 1870 of the Geological Survey of Ohio, under the direc-
tion of Prof. T. S. Newberry, has just been published at Columbus,
forming a volume of nearly 600 pages, with a number of accom-
panying maps and sections. The volume contains, besides a report
of progress of 1870, a sketch of the structure of the lower coal
measures in North- Western Ohio, by Prof. Newberry ; the
report of labours in the second geological district, by Prof. E.
B. Andrews, and on the geology of Highland County, by Prof.
Orton ; the report of the Agricultural Survey of the State, by
Mr. J. H. Klippart ; a report of the chemical department, by
Prof. Wormley ; sketches of the geology of several counties, by
Messrs. M. C. Read and E. Gilbert ; a sketch of the present
stale of the iron manufacture in Great Britain, by W. W. Porter ;
and a sketch of the present state of the steel industry, by Henry
Newton. All these subjects are treated with great care, and the
whole volume bears ample testimony to the ability of the chief
geologist and the industry of i his assistants. This volume* is in-
tended as simply preliminary to the final report, which Prof.
Newberry hopes to have embodied in four volumes — two of
them devotea to geology and palaeontology, one to economi-
cal geology, and one to agriculture, botany, and zoology.
The materials for these volumes are in advanced stage of forward-
ness, and will embrace monographic treatises on the several
subjects, which will be of the utmost benefit in ascertaining and
developing the resources of the State. — A society was organised
in New York some time since under the name of the ** Palestine
Exploration Society," with the Rev. Dr. J. P. Thompson,
chairman, Dr. Howard Crosby, secretary, and James Stokes,
jun., treasurer, with a list of members including the principal
archaeologists of the Eastern States. Its first report was
published some time ago, embracing an account of the American
explorers in Palestine, and the proceedings of the English Pales-
tine Exploration Society, notic<8 of the late explorations in
Jerusalem, the Moabitic stone, &c., and concluding with an
appeal to all persons interested. for contributions of funds to aid
in carrying out the proposed researches of the society. The field
of investigation proposed includes the territory east of the Dead
Sea and the Jordan Valley, as also Hermon, Lebanon, and ^the
valleys and plains of Northern Syria. A simultaneous prosecu-
tion of researches in this field by two such bodies as the Ameri-
can and English societies will probably be productive of very
important results, especially if supported with proper official
documents from the Turkish Governments. As so much of what
is now on record in regard ^to the geography and condition of
Palestine is due to Americans, it is much to be hoped that the
work may be continuedby them toward a successful completion.
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Attftalen der Cfiemie und Pharmacu viiL Supplement band, 3
Hef>. Hesse has contributed a lengthy paper on the alkaloids of
opium. It is the most exhaustive essay on the rarer alkaloids
that has yet been published. He has examined minutely
the following : — Pseudomorphin, laudamine, codamine, narcotine,
papaverine, nitropapaverine, cryptopine, nitrocryptopine, proto-
pine, laudanosine, and hydrocatarine, and numerous salts of each
of the above. The author groups the alkaloids into four classes,
the morphine, thebaine, papaverine, and narcotine groups, and
gives the distinctive characters with which the members of these
groups dissolve in pure concentrated sulphuric acid. Marignac
follows with a long communication *'0n the specific heat,
density, and expansion of certain solutions." Bousingault has
made some experiments on the freezing of water. He took an
exceedingly strong steel cylinder, plac^ in it a small steel bullet,
and filled it entirely with water at 4* C, the cylinder was then
closed by means of a cap, so that it was absolutely tight ; the
cylinder was exposed to a temperature of- 24° for some time, but
the water iuiide was not frozen, as was proved by the mobility
of the bullet in the interior. Immediately on opening the cylin-
der and relieving the pressure, the water became a mass of ice.
The Geological Magazine for February (No. 92) opens with
some excellent notes on fossil phmts by Mr. Carmthers, illus-
trated with a plate and several woodcuts. The subjects here re.-
ferred to are tne Palaopteris hibernica, the presence of sporangia
belonging to the Hymenophyllece in coal, Osmundiies Dawkeri^
the genus Antholites^ a revision of the British forms belonging
to which is given, the coniferous wood of Craigleith quarry and
Potkociles grantoni.— lAx, S. R. Pattison communicates a note
on the pyrites deposits in the province of Huelva, in Spain, and
Mr. James Geikie the conclusion of his memoir on changes of
climate during the glacial epoch. The latter contains a compa-
rison of the glacial deposits of Scotland, Svritzerland, Scandina-
via, and North Amenca. The other articles in the number are
an abstract of the contents of Heer's "Flora Fossilis Arctica,"
by Mr.'R. H. Scott, and an early notice (50 years old) of the
occurrence and use of meteoric iron in Greenland.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Anthropological Institute, March 18. — Dr. Chainock|
vice-president, in the chair. M. Letoumeur and Dr. Haast
were elected corresponding members. Mr. Geo. Harris read a
paper on ''The comparative Longevity of Animals of different
species, and of Man ; and the probable causes which mainly
conduce to produce that difference." He cited several re-
markable instances of longevitv both in animals and man, and
alluded to the opinions on the subject, both of ancient and
modem writers. The influence of climate, air, and food were
discussed, and also of domestication and civilisation. The
theory of disease in connection more especially with con-
current decay and renovation was inquired into, and some
speculations were made as to the effect future scientific
discovery, as regards the medical properties both of plants
and animals, might have on the question at issue. —
Sir Duncan Gibb, Bart, M.D., read a paper on "The Physical
Condition of Centenarians." His remarks were founded upon
an examination of six genuine examples, in whom he found the
organs of circulation and respiration in a condition more ap-
proaching to the prime of life than old age. There was an ab-
sence of all those changes usuallv obsen^ in persons reaching
70, and in nearly all the special senses were unimpaired, the
intelligence perfect; thus showing, at any rate, the complete
integrity of the nervous system. The author's views were op-
posed to those held regarding the extreme longevity of centena-
rians.— Dr. Leith Adams exhibited and described a series of .<-tone
implements from the island of Ffeim ; and Col. Fox contributed
a note on some stone implements and pottery from, St Brienne,
Normandy.
Entomological Society, March 4, — Prof. J. O. Westwood,
president, in the chair. — Prof. Westwood exhibited living speci-
mens of the Acarus described by him at the last meeting as
Argas refitxus, from Canterbury Cathedral, and also another
species of the genus found by Dr. Livingstone in Central Africa,
whidi enters the feet of the natives between the toes, causing
pain and inflammation.— Mr. S. Stevens exhibited an apparently
new species of Phycila from near Gravesend, remarkable for its
pearly colour and Crambus-X^t form. — Mr. F. Smith read an
extract from a further communication from Mr. J. T. Moggridge
respecting the storing of grain by ants at Mentone. Mr. Mog-
gridge had confined a colony of the ants in a glass vessel so as to
observe their habits, and he was now able to state positively that
thev fed upon the grain. A detailed account of the observations
will be furnished by Mr. Moggridge upon his return to England.
— Mr. Miiller exhibited galJs formed by Acari^ of the genus
Pkytoptust upon the leaves of Cinnaviomium niHdum^ from Bom-
bay, being the first observation of the occurrence of those creatures
in India. — Mr. H. W. Bates exhibited a series of species of Cara*
L/iyiLi^cvj kjy
<f>^'
4t6
NATURE
\MAK. 2 1, 1872
Ifus from Britain and Eastern Siberia, and remarked upon their
afHnities. The exhibition represented five British species and
five corresponding Siberian forms, which differed totally specifi-
cally, though they might be considered representative species.
One species only, C. granulatus, was common to the two ex-
tremities of the vast district comprising Dr. Sclater's Palsearctic
Region, though there are at least fifty known European forms,
and fifty others from Siberia. One other species was common
to Siberia and Western North America. Mr. Bates was inclined
to doubt the advisability of separating the Paloearctic and Nearctic
Regions, and further he considered the partition of the globe,
from a zoological point of view, into great divisions, was, to a
considerable extent, based upon arbitrary evidence. He looked
rather to the later geological changes, and the present configura-
tion of land and sea, for dates upon which to ground theories of
geographical distribution. — Mr. Baly communicated a paper
**Ou new species of exotic CassUida.** — Mr. Kirby communi-
cated notes upon the butterflies described by Jablonsky and
Herbst in their " Natur>ystem aller bekannten Insekten." — Mr.
Dunning read an exhaustive memoir on the genus Acentropus^
and after a review of the writings of the various authors who
had treated upon this singular genus, he arrived at the conclusion,
now almost universally maintained, that the genus is truly Lepi-
dopterous, and further, that the evidence adduced failed to con-
vince him of the existence of more than one species, for which
he retained the name Accfttropus nivcus.
Photographic Society, March 12. — Mr. John Spiller, vice-
president, in the chair. Mr. Valentine Blanchard read a paper
on " Retouching : its use and abuse." While utterly condemn-
ing the frequent and elaborate retouching of negatives, such as
one sees every day, Mr. Blanchard pointed out that there were
occasionally some instances — for example, the correcting of false
lights — where retouching was not only allowable, but really de-
sirable, in order to render the picture more true to nature. The
camera was at times at fault in reproducing objects in their true
character ; and under these circumstances the retouching brush
or pencil might be fairly used.
Cambridge
Philosophical Society, February 12. — "Further Observations
on the slate of an Eye affected with a peculiar malformation," by
the AstronomerRoyal. In this paper the author showed by the
discussion of numerical results obtained duiing a period of several
years iliat the astigmatism had changed. — **The Comparison of
Measures h, traits with Measures h bouts^* by Professor Miller. A
method of comparing these measures without sinking. cavities in the
bar-, was described, and the various processes that had beea used
were commented upon.
P'ebruary 26. — ** On Teichopsia, a form of transient half- blind-
ness ; its relation to nervous or sick headache, with an explana-
tion of the phenomena," by Dr. Latham. The author considered
the cause of the affection to be contraction of the vessels of the
brain (probably the middle cerebral artery), and so a diminished
supply of blood, produced by excited action of the sympathetic ;
and that the subsequent exhaustion of the sympathetic caused
dilation of the vessels and consequent headache. — "A Machine
for Tracing and otherwise exhibiting curves in connection with
the theory of Vibration of Strmgs," by Mr. S. C. W. Ellis.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, March 4.— M. de Saint- Venant
read a continuation of his memoir on the hydrodynamics of
streams. — M. Guibal presented a memoir on a ventilator applied
to the aeration af mines. — M. II. Sainte-Claire Deville presented
a note by M. D. Gernez on the ab orption-spectra of chlorine
and chloride of iodine. — M. W. de Fonvielle communicated an
explanation of three cases of fulguration in which the lightning-
conductors proved to be insufficient — M. Sainte-CIare Deville
presented a note by M. E. H. von Baumhauer on the origin of
auro:a% in which the author called attention to an explanation
of these phenomena given by him in a work " De ortu lapidam
meteoricorum," published at Utrecht in 1844. The author
ascribes the production of auroras to the penetration into our
atmosphere of clouds of uncondensed cosmical matter, the pre-
sence of iron and nickel in which, he seems to think, may account
for their being attracted towards the magnetic poles of the earth.
— A note by M. H. Caron on crystallised or "burnt " iron was
read, in which the author treated of the brittle condition produced
in a bar of iron v hen heated to whiteness and allowed to cool iu the
air. He finds that this effect is not due to an absorption of oxygen
as has been supposed. He also states that good iron is not ren-
dered crystalline by exposure to intense cold.— M. Wurtz pre-
sented a note by M. G. Bouchardat upon the acetic sethers of
dulcite, in which the author describes the following compoondLs :—
diacetic dulcite, diacetic dulcitane, hexacetic dulcite, tctracetic
dulcitane, pentacetomonochlorhydric dulcite, and pentacetic dul-
cite.— M. Wuttz also presented a note by M. Reboul on the
hydrobromates and hydrochlorates of allylene, and a note on
pyruvine, by M. SchiagdenhaufTen. The latter is a glyceride of
pyruvic acid obtained by heating glycerine with, tartaric acid—
M. Fremy communicated a note by M. £. Landrin, on the recip-
rocal action of acids and alkaline bases when separated by a porous
partition. — ^M. L. Kessler forwarded a note on a. modification of
the processes for the determination of nitrogen in a free state in
the analysis of organic substances. — M. Decatsne presented a
note by M. J. E. Planchon, on Cratagus aronia (Spacb) and its
relations with C oxyacatUka and C azaro/us of jLinne. The
author regards C. aronia as a cross of the other two forms,
which are probably distinct races of the same species. — M. E,
Robert accounts for the renewed fermentation of vrines at the
period of the flowering of the vine, by the abundance of germs
oiMycoderma vini in the atmosphere at that period.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English. —The Year Book of Facts, 1879 : J. Timbs (Lock wood and Co.).
— An Elementaiy Treatise on Curve Traang : P. Frosi (Macxnillan and Co.).
— Monograph of the British GraptoUtids : U. A. Nicholson (Edinburgh
Blackwood and Sons).
Royal
DIARY
THURSDAY, March at.
OVAL SociBTY. at 8 M.—Ncw Researches on the Phosphorus Bases: Dr.
Hofmann, F.R.S.— On some Heterogenic Modes tA Origin of Flagellated
Monads, Fungus- Germs, and Ciliated infusoria: Dr. Bastian, F.K.S.
Society of Antiquaries, at 8.3a— Balbt for the Election of Fellows .
London Institution, at 7. — How Plants are Fertilised : A. W. Bennett.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On the Chemistry of Alkalies and Alkali Manu-
facture: Prof. Odling, F.R.S.
LiNNBAN Socibty, at 8.— On the Geographical Distribution of Composite:
G. Bentham.
Chemical Society, at 8.
FRIDAY^ March as.
Royal Collbgs op Surgeons, at 4.— On the Digestive Organs of tbe
Vertebrata : Prof. Flower, F.R.S.
Royal Institution, at 9.— On the Results of the last Eclipse Expediiioo ;
J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S.
QuEKETT Microscopical Club, at 8. •
SA TURD A K, March 23.
Royal Institution, at 3.~DemoQology : M. D. Conway.
MONDAY. March as
Royal Collbcb op Surgeons, at 4.— On the Digesdve Oiyans of tiie
Vertebrata : Prof. * lower, F.R.S.
Royal Gbographical Society, at 8.30.
WEDNESDAY, March w.
Royal Collbcb op Surcbons, at 4.— On the Digestive Ofgans o( thie
Vertebrata: Prof. Flower, F.R.S.
Royal Society op Literature, at 8.30.— On some Greek aod other in-
scriptions recently procured in the HaurAn : W. S. W. Vaux.
CONTENTS PAci
The History of the Royal Institution y)\
Our Book Shblp 39^
LsfTERs to the EDrroR:—
Ocean Currents.— J. Croll, F.G.S 599
Science Stations. — £. Ray Lankestbr 399
The Etymology of " Whin,"— A. Hall ; F. oe Chaumont: J.
Jeremiah 399
The Aurora of Feb. 4.— Col. G. Greenwood ; G. S. Blackib, M.D. 4«>
Barometric Depressions » . ^
ITie Meteor of March 4.— Rev. T. W. Webb, F.R.A.S 4W
Thbodor Goldstuckbr 4°°
Report op the Association for the Improvement of Geomb-
TRicAL Teaching 4"
The Yellowstone Park 4^3
Dr. Libbreich on Turner and Mulready ^^
The Natural History op Eastern Thibet 4<»
On the Cause ob Fixed Barometric Depressions. By W. H. S.
Monck 407
On the Adaptive Colouration of Mollusca. By Prof E. S.
Morse , . . . 4o8
Science at thb London School Board 410
Notes 4«»
The Study op Natural History. By Rev. Canon Kincslrv. F.L.S. a^
Scientific Intelugencb prom America 4M
Scientific Serials 4*5
Societies and Academies 4^5
Books Received 4'f
Diary 4"
Errata. — Page 379, sod col., lines id, 17, should read thus .—
Line 13 flora bottom, for " 4*6 per cent.'' read 44^degTees.
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NATURE
417
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1872
THE IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE
THE Third Annual Meeting of the Iron and Steel
Institute was last week held in London, under the
presidency of Mr. Henry Bessemer, and has been
numerously attended by representatives, not only of the
principal iron and steel works in the United King-
dom, but also by those of many of the most important
metallurgical establishments on the Continent, which in
several instances have sent special delegates to this
meeting.
It will perhaps be remembered that the Iron and Steel
Institute was founded barely three years ago, and that
upon the occasion of the Inaugural Address, delivered
by the first president (the Duke of Devonshire),
it had then only received the adherence of some two
hundred gentlemen connected with the trade ; whereas,
on this occasion, notwithstanding that the rules
of the society only allow the admission of those
either practically engaged in the manufacture or ap-
plication of iron and steel, or connected therewith by
their scientific attainments, it has increased so rapidly
in this short interval as to number at present about five
hundred members, including in this list nearly all the in-
fluence and talent associated with the iron and steel indus-
tries of Great Britain. It is self-evident, therefore, that
its establishment must be regarded as a complete success,
such as could not have been expected had it not supplied
a tacitly acknowledged previously existing want. That
this conclusion is one accepted not only here at home,
but also in every part of the world where the manufacture
of these metals is carried on, may be considered as
demonstrated on the occasion of this last meeting of the
Institute, by the attendance of gentlemen connected with
the iron and steel trades of France, Belgium, Germany,
Sweden, Russia, Spain, and the United States, several of
whom, although foreigners, have, we understand, been so
impressed with the good service which the Institute is
doing to these metallic industries, as to have enrolled
themselves on its list of members.
This unexampled success is no doubt in great part
due to the fact that the Council of the Institute have con-
scientiously adhered to the original programme, in not
allowing any of what may be termed trade or purely mer-
cantile considerations to interfere with the true objects for
which the Institute was from the first established ; fhese
objects being, the scientific and practical inquiry into and
the open discussion of all subjects bearing directly or in-
directly upon the production and working of iron and
steel, to provide the members with a means of inter-
communication of their ideas and practical experiences,
and to supply them with as accurate information as pos-
sible as to what is being done in the same direction in
foreign countries as well as at home. How far these aims
have been attained in practice, may best be judged of by
the rapid increase in members, and by referring to the
volumes of the Journal already published by the Institute,
which, both abroad as well as at home, have been uni-
versally admitted to sustain the high standard aspired to
vou V,
from the first by this young but vigorous institution, and
to stand alone in their]line, whether regarded from a purely
scientific or a practical point of view.
The two annual (London and country) meetings of the
Institute may be likened to those of a permanent technical
tribunal, before which everything new in connection with
iron and steel has to be brought forward, and judged upon
as to its merits, after having first passed through the ordeal
of cross-examination by the scientific and practical mem-
bers of the Institute, with the object, as the president
tersely expressed it, of sifting out the grain from the chaff ;
and short as the existence of the Institute has as yet been
it has still been long enough to prove how much the iron
trade in general, and inventors in particular, may gain by
the constitution of such a tribunal.
The roost interesting and important feature of the
present meeting has been the reports of the committee on
machine puddling. The operation of puddling in the
conversion of cast into wrought iron is one of so arduous
and trying a nature to the workmen that it is daily be-
coming, in great part owing to the spread of education
and the growing desire of men to better their position in
society, more difficult to find hands willing to engage in
such heavy work ; and as it requires long training to make
a good puddler, it has now become altogether impossible
to obtain a supply of such workmen sufficient to keep pace
with the increasing demand for the product ; for which
reason we find the manufacturer of wrought-iron com-
pletely at the mercy of these men, who, besides not rank-
ing very high in the scale of humanity, keep the iron-
masters in a perpetual state of terror by their frequent
strikes, which, as a rule, do not benefit either party, yet
always result in damaging the general iron trade of the
kingdom, by driving it abroad and otherwise. This state
of things has, as might naturally be expected, given rise
to numerous attempts to supersede manual labour in
puddling, by machinery, although it may be said, as yet,
unsuccessfully ; since, notwithstanding that attempts have
been made in all directions, and on the most opposite sys-
tems, no one of them, when carefully examined into by
the Puddling Conunittee of the Institute, has been con-
sidered to fulfil all the conditions requisite to insure its
general adoption. When, therefore, at the meeting of
the Institute last autumn, in Dudley, Mr. Danks (an
American, although bom in Staffordshire) declared that
he had successfully solved this problem, his announcement
was received with considerable incredulity, and he was
requested to explain his system before the Institute.
To the surprise, yet it may also be added gratification, of
all, his explanations, after having been submitted to a
severe cross-examination, were considered so far feasible
that the members of the Institute unanimously decided
upon taking up the matter, and at once sending out a
commission (at an expense of some two thousand pounds)
to test the system there, with the furnaces and machinery
already erected by Mr. Danks, at the Cincinnati Iron-
works, but taking with them sufficient pig-iron and other
materials from England and Wales to enable them to
thoroughly test the system on the large scale, and
thereby insure that the process is adaptable to the
products we have to treat in this country. After a
most patient and painstaking investigation, the three
gentlemen who composed this conunittee — Messrs.
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NATURE
[Mit^.n^^ 1872
Snelus, Jones, and Lester— reported the system as a
complete success, and well suited, for the treatment
of the iron of this country, an announcement which was
received with the greatest interest ; and steps were imme-
diately taken to erect similar appliances in England, so that
already in the month of February, one of Mr. Danks's
furnaces was at work with results which fully corroborated
the report of the commissioners, and left no doubt but
that the invention must entirely revolutionise this branch
of the iron manufacture, doing away with the severe, and
it might almost be called degrading, labour of manual
puddling altogether, and in other respects producing
wrought-iron of a more certain and superior quilityto the
product obtained from the same pig-iron by the old
system.
It is almost impossible to over-estimate the direct and
indirect benefits which must accrue to that greatest of all
metallic industries, the iron manufacture ; and as it might
have been years before this invention had asserted itself
had it not been taken up so energetically by the Iron and
Steel Institute, this may be mentioned as a striking in-
stance of the important results which may be expected
from the labours of such a society.
NICHOLSON ON THE GRAPTOLITES
Monograph of the British Graptolitida, By H. A.
Nicholson, M.D., &c. (Edinburgh : Blackwood and
Sons.)
IT is with no small degree of satisfaction that we
welcome the appearance of the first part of Dr. H.
A. Nicholson's Monograph ^f the British Graptolites,
the first English essay attempting a clear digest or
history of this very difficult and perplexing group of
fossils. Dr. Nicholson has, however, for years lived in
those regions whose rock masses, life contents, and struc-
ture were long since elucidated and rendered classical and
famous by the researches of Sedgwick in 1848; and
where these organisms are most abundantly distributed.
Patient investigation of the great stores of entombed
materials at his command, combined with requisite know-
ledge of zoology, has favoured the author in the prepara-
tion of this valuable contribution to our hitherto limited
knowledge of these extinct forms of life.
Much has been written upon the Graptolitidae, but in a
disjointed manner, by numerous writers since 1727 ; but
Linnaeus, in his ''Skanska Resa*' in 1768, first applied
the name " graptolithus " to some or certain allied forms
occurring in the Scandinavian rocks. Much controversy
has been carried on about this original scalariform type
of graptolite ; some writers believing it to have been a
monoprionidian, others a diprionidian genus. It signifies
little now save as matter of history. Since then eighteen
genera and ninety species have been established and recog-
nised in Britain alone, and these have been mostly obtained
from rocks of Lower Silurian age. Seven species out of
the ninety are only known in the Upper Silurian rocks, and
four of these are peculiar to that horizon, or do not range
lower. The authenticity then of the character of the one
and disputed Linnaean form, will do little more after
all than add to the literature of the group. This original
figure is sufficient to show us that it was a graptolite in
our acceptation of the genus, and doul>tless the form
looked upon and drawn by the illustrious Swede was otu
of millions contained in the black and slaty rocks over
which he travelled ; a form, with many others since
discovered, and now known to all students of those
Silurian rocks which belt the earth from Canada to
Britain, Scandinavia, Saxony, and Bohemia, and on to
Australia. The historical notice of the Graptolitidae
occupies seventeen pages, and forms a compilation oi
the bibliography of the group, for which all students will
gladly thank the author, from 182 1-2, when Wahlenberg
and Scblotheim advocated their alliance to the Cephalo-
poda, to Hopkinson's last paper in 1871 {describing the
reproductive capsules). We have, in fact, a well-digested
chronological history, enumerating about eig^bty notices,
and embracing the labour of thirty-five authors.
To study and examine the graptolites in situ, or as
they occur in the black paper like fiaggy shales oi tbe
Arenig, Llandeilo, and Caradoc beds, to which they are
chiefly confined in Wales, Westmorland, Scotland, and
Ireland, is no small pleasure ; but after their strati-
graphical position or succession in time is definitely
setUed in any area to the satisfaction of the physical geo-
logist or stratigraphist, the question of their zoological
affinities, or the position they hold in the animal langdom
with relation to modem and existing types becomes one
of high importance and value, yet one even now noi
satisfactorily determined or established. Were they free
swinmiing or floating bodies, in the old Silurian seas, or
were they attached like the hydroid Sertularidas of mcdem
shores and time ? These questions are dealt with by the
author under two heads : first, their mode 0/ existence^
and secondly, their systematic position and affinities. To
our mind the modes of existence of the Graptoh'tida?
have little weight in classification ; a knowledge of their
intimate structure alone must be the basis of their
zoological position in the animal kingdom.
It was natural that the older writers should have refierred
this extinct group to many divisions which themselves were
not then really understood ; and they have been placed
in no less than six divisions of the animal kingdom.
Modem systematists, however, have referred them to
three groups — the Hydrozoa, Polyzoa, and Actinozoa. In
1839 Sir R. Murchison, in his Silurian System, placed
them with the Actinozoa, assigning their position to the
Pennatulidae, and related to the Virgularia of the northern
seas. No real analogy however exists between the
tubular chitonous fibre of the graptolites, and the cal-
careous or sclerobasic'rod of Virgularia, whose casnosarc
secfetes no extemal envelope, and where the polypes are
not contained in, or protected by, special chitonous thecse.
All research also tends to show that the graptolites were
free bodies and perhaps oceanic ; the structure and con-
dition of the radicle or initial point is conclusive on this ,
point. With respect to their development we as ytX knon^
little ; but the fact that, as in other Hydrozoa, the repro-
ductive organs were outwardly developed processes of the
body wall, strongly allies them to the Hydrozoa. Hopkin-
son has of late added much to our knowledge of the
extemal reproductive sacs or gonothecse of Diplograpsus.
To Colonel Pollock is undoubtedly due the suggestior
of their sertularian affinities through Sertularia and Pium"
laria, but they certainly are not their fossil representativef .
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Mar. 28, 1872]
NATURE
419
The author wisely " regards them as a special group of
Hydrozoa" unrepresented by any living forms, and forms
them into a distinct sub-class.
Chapter II. is devoted to the form and mode of
reproduction. This, we think, would have been better
placed after the chapter on their special morphology, or
prior to Chapter VIII., which is devoted to their geological
distribution. We are prepared to admit, however, that-
much error has arisen from our want of clearly under-
standing their true history and the mode of their preser-
vation in rocks of such varied physical texture and chem-
ical condition.
Chapters III. and IV. are devoted to the general and
special morphology of the graptolites ; typical forms being
selected in Chapter III., in which the main anatomical
features and aspects are recognisable. For this purpose
the author has selected the well-known forms of G, Sagit-
tarius^ G, coloftus, and Climacograpsus teretiusculus^ and
devotes fifteen figures to the elucidation of the monopri-
onidian and dipriontdian type of structure.
Chapter IV. embraces thirteen pages and thirty -five
figures devoted to the special morphology of the grapto-
lites. We regard this chapter as a condensed history or
digest of the labours of European, American, and British
graptolithologists. The views and labours of Hall in
Canada, Geinitz, Nilsson, and Barrande in Europe, Salter,
Camithers, M*Coy, Hopkinson, Harkness, &c., and the
author in Britain, are embodied under the nature of the
solid axis^ common canal^ ccetiosarc^ cellules y and ornamen-
tation of the polypary.
Space forbids us to do more than notice that in Chapter
V. twelve pages and twenty-two figures are occupied by
the consideration of chief and special portions of the
graptolites, viz. the "radicle or initial point of Hall," and
the basal process, the funicle, or non-celluliferous connect-
ing process, largely developed in the Dichograpsi, and the
central disc of the Tetragrapsi. Whether these corneous
bodies find their analogue in the float of certain oceanic
Hydrozoa has yet to be determined.
The chapter upon reproduction and development con-
tains much important matter. The evidence of repro-
ductive organs, however, amongst a group so obscurely
preserved as the graptolites must be studied with much
care, and deductions received with much caution, but
since Hall, in 1858, first drew attention to what he
believed were ovarian capsules, Mr. Hopkinson in 1871
confirmed the discovery and description of pyriform gono-
thecae or ovarian capsules in Diplograpsus pristis.
Nicholson had, in 1866, noticed bodies which he
believed to be, and referred to, reproductive bodies, and
named them grapto-gonophores. He, however, had doubts
as to their analogy. Mr. Camithers differed from the
deductions of Nicholson, maintaining that these bodies
were accidental, or did not belong to the graptolites,
although associated or in juxtaposition with them.
Mr. Camithers first drew attention to and noticed the
existence of young forms of graptolites ; but Prof. Hall
appears to have been the first to make accurate obser-
vations upon their development (Grap. of Quebec group,
PI. B, p. 12 — 19). We, however, as yet know little about
this obscure question or point in their history.
The chapter upon the systematic or zoological position
of the graptolites is a vsduable one, the author taking
and adopting what we believe to be the right view,
placing them in the hydrozoa. This is the first and invari-
able question of the systematist ; the naturalist shirks the
question and waits.
It is quite impossible within the limits at our command
to discuss the interesting problem of the geological dis-
tribution of the graptolites. Although strictly Silurian as
regards age, and only occurring in rocks of that period,
yet their assignment to the special area which gave birth
to them, and from whence they became distributed in
space, is a problem yet to be worked out. We believe
this has been elsewhere attempted by the author. That
the Quebec genera and many species agree in the
main with the so-called Arenig or Skiddaw slate forms in
Britain is certain, and this is a fact of much interest as
a question of distribution. At present we know of no
species in the Tremadoc beds, omitting Dictyonema of
doubtful affinity ; and the statement that the lower
Llandeilo flags of Wales are the precise equivalents of
the Skiddaw slate of Westmoreland needs confirmation ;
neither should we hastily accept the generalisation that
the Potsdam group in America is upon the horizon of
the Skiddaw series, but rather perhaps refer the Quebec
and Chazy series to the Arenig or Skiddaw beds of the
lake country, where, or in the Llandeilo area in Wales, the
graptolites perhaps came first into existence, imless to
Canada we refer their birth-place. Homotaxically, however,
we require more data. Nine out of fifteen genera are
common to Britain and Canada ; and this though the Skid-
daw slates of Westmoreland, indeed the Skiddaw and
LlandeUo rocks and their equivalents, are the graptolitic
beds throughout Europe if not the world. The old
generalisation as to the diprionidian species occurring in
the Upper Silurian is confirmed and borne out by the
researches of Nicholson : the unsatisfactory genus Retio-
lipes alone being found. The sea which deposited the
Caradoc rocks saw the last of the compound species, and
the physical nonconformity was also a zoological one,
especi^y in hydrozooid life. Indeed only 140 species of
all groups of 1450 known Silurian species, or 10 per
cent, are common to rocks of Lower Silurian and Upper
Silurian time.
Chapter IX. deals with the generic characters of the
radiculate group, omitting those of doubtful affinity ; the
author follows the sectional grouping of Barrande, adopting
monoprionidian and diprionidian, &c., as modified by
Hopkinson.
We look forward with much interest to the part con-
taining full and detailed descriptions of the species. The
splendid volume by Prof. Hall and Sir William Logan
upon the Canadian species (Report of Progress of the
Geological Survey of Canada, 1 857, and figured descriptions
of Canadian organic remains Decade 2, Grap. of Quebec
group) we hope to see equalled if not surpassed by the
author of the present valuable memoir. R. E.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Observations upon the Climate of Uckfield, A Meteoro-
logical Record for the district from 1843 to 1870, &c.
By C. Leeson Prince, M.R.C.S., F.R.A.S. (London :
Churchill, 1871.)
We opened this work expecting to find in it a mere record
of the barometric and thermometric observations taken
L^iyiiiz-cju uy
<f>^'
420
NATURE
{Ma^r. 28, 1872
by an assiduous observer for twenty-seven years. It is
this, however, and much more ; and Mr. Prince must be
congratulated upon having written a very interesting and
readable book upon what we fear would, in the hands of
most men, be a very dry subject. The observations he
has collected show what valuable information might be
stored up by many country surgeons, clergymen, and
farmers, at little cost of time or money, by adopting a regu-
lar system. The parish of Uckfield, Mr. Pnnce tells us,
lies upon an undulatory tract of country situated about
midway between the South Downs and the highest point
of Ashdown Forest. The upper portion of £e town is
200 feet, and the lower 66 feet, above the level of the sea.
It is situated on the Horsted beds of the Hastings Sands.
The instruments were read every morning at nine o'clock.
The annual mean height of the barometer at Uckfield, as
deduced from observations extending over seventeen years,
was 29*982 in. Mr. Prince gives the mean temperature of
winter at Uckfield from all his observations at 38 '96 Fahr. ;
of spring at 47*'*66 ; of siunmer at 61 '''34, and of autumn at
5o°'45. The coldest winter was that of 1845 ; the warmest
that of 1869; the difference being 10^*99. The coldest
spring was that of 1845 \ ^^ warmest that of 1848 ; the
diflference, 5*''84. The coldest summer was that of i860 ;
the warmest that of 1859 ; the difference being 6°74. The
coldest autumn was that of 1867; the wannest that of
1857 ; the difference being 6'''22.
Mr. Prince points out that '* the mean annual tempera-
ture varies 5''3, viz. : from 5i''"93 in 1857 to46'-62 in 1845,
and although at first sight this difference may not appear
considerable, yet it is sufficient to exert an enormous in-
fluence upon the general character of the seasons, the
produce of the soil, and the health of the population. The
Registrar- General's interesting returns have fuUy estab-
lished the important fact that there is a very intimate
connection between temperature and mortality. Whenever
the mean temperature falls to 45', or thereabouts, the
number of deaths from diseases of the respiratory oigans
increases, and should it fall below 40'', death-rate from
such diseases is still higher. When a period of intense
cold prevails, so that the temperature scarcely rises above
the freezing point for two or three weeks, the number of
deaths will be found to exceed what takes place during an
epidemic of cholera or scarlet fever. But when the mean
temperature rises to 55", there will be an increase in the
number of deaths from diseases of the abdominal viscera,
and this number will fluctuate as the temperature fluctuates
between 55' and 65*. Hence we are informed that the
mortality from all causes is least when the temperature is
about 50°, which is very little above our mean annual
temperature." In this way Mr. Prince deduces important
conclusions from statistics, and renders his book much
lighter reading than might have been anticipated He
devotes a chapter to the general characters of tne months,
and then inserts a series of monthly remarks respecting
atmospheric phenomena from the year 1843 to 1870, both
inclusive. His fifth chapter treats of prognostics of atmo-
spheric changes, and includes a translation of the poet
Aratus' " Diosemeia." He remarks very sensibly that wiUi
reference to prognostics of seasons, Uiere are very few
upon which any reliance can be placeo. But the following,
of which we can only quote a few, need not, he thinks, &
altogether discarded.
From whatever quarter the wind blows at the quarter
days, there is a prooability of its being the prevalent wind
during the ensuing quarter. Whenever the latter part of
February and beginning of March are dry, there will be a
deficiency of rain up to Midsummer-day. When the
foliage ot the ash appears before that of the oak, we shall
probably have much rain the first half of the summer ; but
there will be a good harvest-time. When during the
spring more swifts than swallows arrive, expect a hot and
dry summer. Many other pn»[nostics of change of
weather are given, drawn from the habits of mammals,
birds, insects, and plants, some of which are very
curious.
The last chapter gives some vital statistics in regard to
the population of the country ; from which it appears that
Sussex is one of the most salubrious counties in England,
its death-rate being 1*82 per cent., in which it is surpassed
only by the extra-Metropolitan portion of Surrey, the
mortality of which is only 178 ; whilst that of Lancashire
is 278 per cent* Upon the whole we warmly recommend
Mr. Pnnce's book to our readers, and trust that some of
them may be induced to commence a similar series of
observations. A flora of the district, with the times of
flowering of the plants, would, we think, be an interesting
addition to Mr. Prince's work. H. P.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does noi hold himsdf reipoHsibU Jor opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Circumpolar Land
In a previous letter* I have endeavoured to show that the land
surrounding the North Pole is rising in a continuous and definite
area. I find that what I there said about the land north of
America is very scanty and unsatisfactoiy, and before proceed-
ing to the next p&rt of my subject, I wish to strenf^hen it some-
what Speaking of the eastern part of Melville Island, Captain
Parry says one of the HeckCs men brought to the boat a narwhal
hom, which he found on a hill more than a mile from the sea.
Seigeant Martin and Captain Sabine's servant brought down
to the beach several pieces of fir tree, wluch they found nearly
buried in the sand, at the distance of 300 or 400 yards from the
present high- water mark, and not jess than thirty feet above the
sea level (Parry's Vovage, 1819, 1820, p. 68). Affain, " in the
north of Melville Island, two pieces of drift wood were found,
ten or twenty feet above the present sea level, and both
partly buried m the sand " (p. 193). Again, speaking of west
of the same island, '* The land gains upon the sea, as it is called,
in process of time, as it has certainly done here, from the situation
in which we found the drift wood and the skeletons of whales"
(p. 235).
In Franklin's voyage in 1819, 20^ and 21, he mentions having
found much drift wood in the estuazy of the Copper Mine River.
He also picked up "some decayed wood far out of reach of the
water " (see his narrative, p. 357). In his second voyage along
the Arctic Sea, he describe the coast from the Mackenzie River
to the Rocky Mountains as very shallow, and foU of ^oals and
reefs. Inside some of the latter was brackish water, as was also
the water in pools at some distance inland ; piles of wood were
also thrown up far from the coast (see p. 134). While Franklin
surveyed the coast westward. Dr. Richardson did the same to the
east He says, " On the coast from Cape Lyon to Point Keats,
there is a line of large drift timber, evidently thrown up by the
waves, about twelve feet in perpendicular height above the or-
dinary spring tides. " He snortljr afterwards mentions that in the
Polar Sea, when cumbered with ice, such waves are impossible,
and as his journey was in the hottest season, and the sea was then
cro¥rded with hummocks^ the inference that the drift wood was
thrown up by the waves is inadmissible ; and the line of drift
wood twelve feet above the sea level is only a parallel to the
numerous cases we have mentioned. The vast sheet of shallow
and brackish water, 140 miles long and 150 broad, which is
separated from the Polar Sea by low banks and spits of sand,
and is called by Dr. Richardson Esquimaux Lake, formed, there
can be little doubt, very recently, as that traveller suggested, a
bay of the Polar Sea, and is an example of the formation of huge
brackish lakes by a sea which is constantly contracting, such as
are so familiar in the eastern borders of the Caspian.
It would be impossible, in the short space at my command, to
collect the many mstanoes of the same kind that are found in the
later Arctic voyages ; but I would especially commend tibe pages
of Captain Madure's and of Sir Edward Belcher's narratives, as
containing very striking ones.
The orthodox schoolof physical geographers generally speak
* See Natvxi^ vol. v., p; i6j.
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NATURE
421
of BehiiDg's Stniitf, and the shallow sea about the islands, as
an area of depression, but without any authority, so far as I
know.
Those barren and desolate islands, so well described by the
Russians, bear all the traces of having recently been underwater,
and the American Birkbeck has proved, beyond much doubt,
that the eastern coasts of Asia, including China and Japan, are
being upheaved. I find I was forestall^ by Pennant in the con*
lecture of the very recent junction of the White Sea and the
Baltic, and I am very glad to quote him as an authority. He
says the lakes Sig, Ondar, and Wigo, form successive links from
the Lake Onega to the White Sea. The Lake Saima almost cuts
Finland throagh from north to south ; its northern end is not
remote from I^e Onda, and the southern extends very near to
the Golf of Finland, a space of nearly 40 Swedish or 260 English
miles. These, probably, were part of the bed of ihe ancient
Streights {sic) which joined the White and Baltic Seas (Appendix
to Arctic Zoology, 23).
In regard to Uie rise of Spitzbergen, it is curious to find the
following passage so early as 1646 : — " These mountains (twenty-
two mountains of Spitzbergen) Increase in bulk every 'year, so as
to be plaiidy discovered bv those that pass that way. Leonin
was not a little surprised to discover upon one of these hills
about a league from the sea-side, a small mast or a ship, with
one of its pulUes still fastened to it ; this made him ask the sea-
men how tnat mast came there, who told him they were not able
to tell, but were sure they had seen it aS'long as they had used
that coast Perhaps, formerly, the sea micht either cover or
come near their mountain, where some ship or other being
stranded, this mast is some remnant of that wreck." (Account
of Greenland by M. La Peyrere in Churchill's Voyages, voL ii.)
Parry, in his account of his journey towards the Pole, 126, also
refers to the vast quantities of drift wood stranded on the Spitz-
bergen coasts above high- water mark.
Having strengthened my former paper by instances of upheaval
in other points, and I hope satisfied your readers of the justice
of the generalisation about the rise of drcumpolar land, it is
natural to ask if this remarkable fact is paralleled in any way
at the southern pole, — whether we can show that both in the
Arctic and Antarctic seas there is a bulging out of the land, and a
displacement of the sea at present in progress. Our knowledge
of the lands immediately about the southern pole is very scanty ;
but fortunately we have unmistakeable evidence at the various
points of those better known austral lands which approach the
antarctic seas, from which we may be justified in drawmg a sound
conclusion, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Tasma-
nia, and Southern Africa.
To begin with South America, I cannot quote a better autho-
rity than Mr. Darwin : —
" Everything in this southern continent has been effected on a
grand scale : the land from the Rio PlaU to Terra del Fuego, a
distance of 1,200 miles, has been raised in mass (and in Patagonia
to a height of between 300 and 400 fieet) within the period of
the now-existing sea sheUs. The old and weathered shells left
on the surface of the upraised plain still partially retain their
colours. .... I nave said that within the period of exist-
ing sea shells, Patagonia has been raised 300 to 400 feet ; I may
add that within the period when icebergs transported boulders
over the upper plam of Santa Cruz the elevation has been at
least 1,500 feet^* (Naturalists' Voyage p. 171). Again, "M.
d'Orbigny found on the banks of the Parana, at the height of
100 feet, great beds of an estuary shell now living 100 miles
lower down nearer the sea, and I found similar shells at a less
height on the banks of the Uruguay ; this shows that just before
the Pampas was slowly elevated into dryland the water covering
it was brackish. Below Buenos Ayres there are upraised be£
of sea-shells of existing species, which also proves that the period
of elevation of the Pampas was within the recent period" (p. 130).
So much for the East Coast. Now for the West. Speaking of
the Hacienda of Quintero, in Central Chili, he says :~*' The
proofs of the elevation of this whole line of coast are unequivo-
cal At the height of a few hundred feet old-looking shells are
veiy numerous.*' Again, speaking of Northern Chili, he says : —
" I have convincing proofs that this part of the continent of South
America has been elevated near the coast at least from 400 to
500 feet, and in some parts from 1,000 to 1,300 feet, since the
epoch of existing shells, and further izdand the rise may have
been greater." In Peru, about Callao, he also found evidences of
rising land ; but here we come to one of the horizons where rising
andsmking land meet If it be necessary to supplement the account
of Mr. Darwin, I have the authority of Mr. Baxendall for stat-
ing that he found numerous skeletons of whales and seals stranded
al^ve high-water mark on the coast near Africa, where a tide (as
is well known to be the case in all the Eastern Pacific) is almost
unknown.'
Having satisfied ourselves of the rise of the southern portion
of South America, we must now shortly state the reasons for
making it very recent Speaking of the earthquake of 1S22,
which caused a general upheaval of the land, Mr. Darwin sa]rs,
" The most remarkable effect of this earthquake was the perma-
nent elevation of the land ; the land round the Bay of Concep-
tion was upraised two or three feet, at the island of Santa Maria
(about thirty miles distant) the elevation was greater. On one
part Captam FitzRoy found beds of putrid mussel-sheUs still
adhering to the rocks 10 feet above high water-mark ; the in-
habitants had formerl;|r dived at low-water spring tides for these
shells" (p. 310). Again, two years and three-quarters afterwards
Valdivia and Chiloe were again shaken, and an island in the
Chonos Archipelago was permanently elevated more than 8 feet
At Valparaiso within the last 220 years the rise has been some-
what less than 19 feet, while at Lima a sea beach has certainly
been upheaved from 80 to 90 feet within the Indo-human period
{id, passim). Eighty-five feet above the sea level in an island in
the Bay of Callao he found on a sea beach some Indian com and
pieces of Indian thread, similar to those found in Peruvian
tombs, a parallel find to that made by Sir Charles Lyell in Scan-
dinavia, which I previously referred to.
Having examined the evidence for South America, we will now
turn to the other great southern continent, Africa. I will quote
a few passages. ** There cannot be the slightest doubt that the
upheaval of the country is still going on ; for along the whole
coast of South Africa from the Cape to Durham Bluff, and still
farther north, even as far as 2^nzibar, modem raised beaches,
coral reefs, and oyster banks may everywhere be seeiu At the
IzinhluzalMdungu Caves is such a point, where the rising of the
coast is plainly visible, recent oyster-shells are now 12 feet and
more above high-water mark. The same can be observed on the
whole line of the Natal Coast Van der Decken has observed
the same thing at Zanzibar, and is of the same opinion as myself,
viz., that the Eastern Coast is rising early in the present year
{Le.f 1870). I had the opportunity of observing at the Bazanito
Islands about ninety miles north of Inhambane, on the east coast
of Africa, a series of raised coral reefs round the island of Marsha
containing many living shells and quite recent oyster-banks."
(Griesbach, Geolo^ of Natal, Quart Joum. Geol. Soc. xxvii.
part ii p. 69. ) Mr. Griesbach also mentions that he saw imple-
ments of early man, which were obtained by Richard Thornton
and others in old raised beaches of Natal, near Inanda, and at
the mouth of the Zambesi River.
Mr. Griesbach is confirmed by Mr. Stow in his papers on the
Geology of South Africa in the same Tournal (see voL xxvii. p.
526 ei seq.)f where bones and teeth are found mixed with shells,
quite in a recent state, about Port Elizabeth, &c.
In regard to Tasmania, I quote the foUoiring from Mr. Wintle's
paper on the Geology of Hobart Town (Mine ybumal, vol. xxvii.
p. 469) : — '* Until a very recent period in the geological annals
of this island, a great portion of what now constitutes the site of
this city was under water. This is proved by the extensive
deposits of comminuted shells, all of recent species, which are
met with for miles along the banks of the Derwent Some of
these deposits are at an elevation of upwarxls of 100 feet above
high-water mark, and from 50 to xoo yards from the water's edge,
plainly showing thereby that a very recent elevation of the lamd
has taken place."
In New Zealand the evidence is the same. M. Reclus says
the port of Lyttelton has risen 3 feet since it was occupied by
the settlers. Mr. Forbes says that proofs of upheaving of the
land are even now obvious to any intelligent traveller. Some of
these changes have been witnessed by the present generation.
Again, in £e Middle Island upheaval of the land is observable
in a marked manner through the entire length of the westem
coast from Cape Farewell to Dusky Bay. home of the most
extraordinary changes in these regions have taken place within
the last few years.
This has been confirmed by Dr. Haast, who, however, found
some signs of depression at the north-western extremity of the
lands. In Australia our evidence b ample: — The north-east,
if not the whole of the east coast of Australia, is slowly rising, as
proved by the gradual shoaling of the Channel between Hinchin-
brook Island and the mainland, due to all appearance neither to
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NATURE
[Mar. 28, 1872
silting up nor growth of coral water- worn caves, now well above
high-water mark in the sandstone diSs of Albany Island, and
those of the mainland opposite, and in the existence along many
parts of the coast, especially towards the north of the peninsula,
of extensive tracts of level country now covered with sand dunes,
bearing a scanty vegetation, stretching inland 10, 15, and 20
miles 0S9 but which once bordered the sea" (Rattrav, Geology
of Cape York Peninsula, Australia, Mine Journal^ vol. xxv.
p. 297).
'* An immense portion of the continent of Australia is known
to be uprising. . . • The whde coast round to a distance of
several miles inland is covered with recent shells; the drainage of
the country is apparently altering. Lakes known to have been
formerly filled with salt water are now filling up with firesh or
becoming dry. The lagoons near the coast are filled with salt
and bradush water, and their banks are filled with marine shells
with their colours in many cases preserved. Reefs of rocks are
constantly appearing in places where there were none formerly.
At RivoU Bay the soundings have altered so much as to make a
new survey, requisite. A reef has lately almost closed this
harbour. Other reefs have appeared at Cape Jafia, &c. It
would appear that a vast movement is taking place in the whole
of the south of Australia. In Melbourne the obsenrations of
surveyors and engineers have all tended to confirm this remarkable
fact In Western Australia the same thing is observed at King
George's Sound, the same," &c., &c., and so on, for many pages.
(See Wood's Geological Observations . in South Australia,
135-207, wxA passim.)
The facts I have enumerated, which might be almost indefi-
nitely multiplied, are sufiident to prove the position that every
large mass of land near the South Pole which we can examine
shows signs of upheaval, and justifies the conclusion that the
circumpoiar land is rising at both poles, and that there is a
general thrusting out of the earth's periphery in the direction of
Its shorter axis.
I must modify the opinion expressed in a previous paper that
the 57th paralld is Uie southern limit of upheaval in the northern
hemisphere. The limit of upheaval is an irregular line. I
believe that the district intervening between the two projecting
poles, with its focus along the equator, is an area of subsidence.
This conclusion I believe to be of crucial importance in solving
both geologiod and meteorological problems.
H. H, HOWORTH
New Zealand Trees
I HAVE been greatly astonished by the perusal of a paragraph
on New Zealand timber trees, which appears on p. 14 of the
current volume of Nature (No. 105, Nov. 2, 1871). Almost
all that is said, either directly or inferentially in that paragraph
is so grossly inaccurate that I cannot understand how such state-
ments found their way into a periodical like yours. In the first
place, the Rimu [Dacrydium cupressinum), the Matai [Podocarpus
spicata), and the Totara {P. Mara), are spoken of as if peculiar
to the North Island, whilst the truth is that they are common to
all parts of New Zealand. These trees are never * ' cut down whole-
sale " for firewood, except perhaps now and then when bush land
is being cleared so far from other settlements that transport of the
timber to any market is a physical impossibility. The woods
enumerated are. Kauri {Damman's austra/is), and the white
pine {Podocarpus dacrydioides), the principal building timbers of
the colony. The Rimu is not " valuable for •furniture and all
ornamental work," although some choice sections of it look well
when carefully polished. Totara and Kauri look better when
polished, but their brittleness spoils their usefulness for
ordinary furniture work. When I deny that these timbers are
"valuable" for cabinet work, I mean that they have not, and
never will have, the value which attaches to mahogany,
rosewood, walnu^ and similar woods. That the Rimu, Matai,
and Totara "are none of them Coniferse," is news to botanists
on this side the world. All these trees are to be found in
horticultural collections in England and Scotland, and it
is to be regretted that the writer of this paragraph did not
acquaint himself with them before he undertook to instruct
others as to their botanical characteristics. But the most amaring
of all the statements in this paragraph is that about the Rata
{Metrosideros iudda). This appears to have been quoted from
somewhere. I should very much like to know who is responsible
for such a monstrous fiction. I can only conceive that its author
has oonfbied tlw Akakun {MtroHdifw tcandtm) with tho Rata
in his memory — ^he could never have conf^ised the«objects them-
selves when before his eyes. The whole story of the manner of
growth of the Rata is utterly without foundation.
I may take this opportunity of mentioning that the descriptioa
of M, lucida in Hooker's *< Handbook of the New Zealand
Flora " is inaccurate. The tree is there described as a small one,
whereas it grows in the South Island to the dimensions of a large
forest tree. Probably Dr. Hooker bad to depend on informa-
tion derived from North Island sources only. W.
Dnnedin, N. Z., January 13
Earthquakes in the Philippine Islands
In the middle of December, 187 1, the volcano Albay in the
S.E. of Luzon began to play, and threw out smoke, stones, and
lava for several weeks.
The following phenomena have also to be recorded : —
187 1. — Octobers and 9, at Pollok on Mindanao, snlphuroui
springs arose in the neighbourhood.
December 8 to 14, at Kottabato on Mindanao^ very hesvy
earthquakes, which destroyed all the houses.
1872.— January 29, at 7 p.m., at Manila, three slight shocks
firom £. to W., which I witnesed.
Manila, Feb. 5 A. B. Meykr
Height of Auroras
ALLOW me to suggest the following rules, to be attended to
by those who incline to make observations on the heights, of
auroras : —
1. Observations to be made at the exact hours and half hoars,
Greenwich mean time.
2. If there b an arch, the position of the apex of its central
Ime should be noted with reference to the stars ; or else its alti-
tude should be ascertained carefully, and its azimuth approxi-
mately. If the lower or the upper edge of the arch is well
defined, give similar particulars respecting it State the width
of the arch ; state whether it is regular or not. If it is some-
what irregular, instead of its actual position, give that of an
imaginary arch having itB average position.
3. If there is any other very conspicuous feature, its position
among the stars may be observed ; care being taken to describe
it sufficientiy for it to be recognised in any account from another
place. But the position of the corona, or point to which the
rays convei|;e, is of no value for determining the ^height of the
aurora, for it is merely an apparent phenomenon.
Observers must not consider themselves tied down to observe
on every occasion ; any observations, if made in accordance
with these rules, may be usefuL If they are sent to me, I will
endeavour to calculate the aurora's height from them, unless
some one else volunteers to take them in hand.
T. W. Backhouse
West Hendon House, Sunderland, March 20
Eccentricity of the Earth's Orbit
I SHALL feel obliged if some of your correspondents would
inform me if, with the exception of Grant's Physical Astronomy,
there is any treatise or encyclopaedic article on Astronomji
published in this country before 1864, where the superior limit
of the eccentricity of the earth's orUt, as determined by La-
grange or by Leverrier, is given ; or even any reference made to
the researches of these geometricians on the subject
Edinburgh, March 11 James Ellis
Barometric Depression
In Mr. Monck's article on barometric variations in Nature
of 2 1st inst there is a serious mistake about the theory of trade-
winds. He says the trade- winds would probably extend to the
poles were it not that the parallels of latitude become so narrow
before reaching them. The trade- winds are east winds ; and if|
as is certamly the case, the only motive power acting on the
earth's atmosphere is the sun's heat, it follows from the law of
the conservation of rotation that the totid force of the east and
west winds must exacUv balance each other. This must be the
case even were the earth of some other form than a sphere.
Joseph John Mu&fht
Old Fotge^ Dnnmuiryi March 25
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NATURE
423
FURTHER INVESTIGA TIONS ON PLANETARY
INFLUENCE UPON SOLAR ACTIVITY*
1. TN a previous communication by us to this Society,
■*• an abstract of which was published in the Pro-
ceedings, vol. xiv. p. 59, j- we showed some grounds for
believing that the behaviour of sun-spots with regard to
increase and diminution, as they pass across the sun's
visible disc, is not altogether of an arbitrary nature.
From the information which we then had, we were led to
think that during a period of several months sun-spots
will, on the whole, attain their minimum of size at the
centre of the disc. They will then alter their behaviour
so as, on Uie whole, to diminish during the whole time of
their passage across the disc ; thirdly, their behaviour will
be such that they reach a maximum at the centre ; and,
lastlv, they will be found to increase in size during their
whole passage across the disc These various types of
behaviour appear to us always to follow one another in
the above order ; and in a paper printed for private circu-
lation in 1866, we discussed the matter at considerable
length, after having carefully measured the area of each
of the groups observed by Carrington, in order to in-
crease the accuracy of our results. In this paper we ob-
tained nineteen or twenty months as the approximate
value of the period of recurrence of the same behaviour.
2. A recurrence of this kind is rather a deduction from
observations more or less probable than an hypothesis ;
nevertheless, it appeared to us to connect itself at once
with an hypothesis regarding sim-spot activity. "The
average size of a spot '* (we remarked) " would appear to
attain its maximum on that side of the sun which is turned
away from Venus, and to have its minimum in the neigh-
bourhood of this planet" In venturing a remark of this
nature, we were aware it might be said, " How can a com-
paratively small body like one of the planets so far away
from the sun cause such enormous disturbances on the
sun's surface as we know sun-spots to be?" It ought,
however, we think, to be borne in mind that in sun-spots
we have, as a matter of fact, a set of phenomena
curiously restricted to certain solar latitudes, within which,
however, they vary according to some complicated peri-
odical law, and presenting also periodical variations in
their frequency of a strangely complicated nature. Now
these phenomena must either be caused by something
within the sun's surface, or by something without it
But if we cannot easily imagine bodies so distant as
the planets to produce such large effects, we have equal
difficulty in imagining anything beneath the sun's sur-
face that could give rise to phenomena of such a com-
plicated periodicity. Nevertheless, as we have remarked,
sun-spots do exist, and obey complicated laws, whether
they be caused by something within or something
without the sun. Under these circumstances, it does
not appear to us nnphilosophical to see whether as a
matter of fact the behaviour of sun-spots has any re-
ference to planetary positions. There likewise appears
to be this advantage in establishing a connection of
any kind between the behaviour of sun-spots and the
positions of some one prominent planet, that we at once
expect a similar result in the case of another planet of
nearly equal prominence, and are thus led to use our
idea as a working hypothesis.
3. We have now a larger number of observations at our
disposal than we had in 1866. We had then only the
groups observed by Carrington, the positions and areas of
all of which we had accurately measured. We have now
in addition five years of the Kew observations, for each
group of which the positions and areas have been recorded
• By Warren De La Rue, D.CI^. F.R.S., Balfour Stewart, LL.D.,
F.R.S., and Benjamia Loewy, F.R.A.S. Read before the Royal Society,
March 14, 1879.
t See Natuiui, vol. ▼., p. i^e.
by US in our previous communications to this society.
We have thus altogether observations extending from the
beginning of 1854 to the end of i860, forming the series
of Carrington; and observations extending from the
beginning of 1866, forming the Kew series, as far as this
is yet reduced. We have, in fact, altogether a nearly
continuous series, beginning a year or two before one
minimum, and extending to the next, and thus em-
bracing rather more than a whole period.
We propose in the following pages to discuss the be-
haviour with regard to size of tiie various groups of these
two series, as each gjoup passes from left to right across
the sun's visible disc. Unfortunately for this purpose, a
large number of groups has to be rejected ; for, on ac-
count of bad weather, we have frequent blank days,
during which the sun cannot be seen, and on this
account we cannot tell with sufficient accuracy the
behaviour of many groups as they pass across the
disc. In our catalogue of sun-spot behaviour, we have
only retained diose groups for which, making the times
abscissae, and the areas ordinates, we had sufficiently
frequent observations to enable us to construct a reasonably
accurate curve exhibiting the area of the group for each
point of its passage across the disc. From these curves
a table was then formed denoting the probable area of
each non-rejected group at the following heliographic
longitudes (that of the visible centre of the disc being
reckoned as zero) : —
in fact, giving the area of the group for the ten central
days of its progress, and rejecting those observations that
were too near xht sun's border on either side, on account
of the uncertainty of measurement of such observations.
We have succeeded in tabulating in this manner 421
groups of Carrington's series, and 373 groups of the Kew
series up to the end of 1866, in all 794 groups. In this
catalogue the area is that of the whole spot, including
umbra and penumbra ; and in measuring these areas a
correction for foreshortening has always been made, as
described in a paper which we presented to this society,
and which constitutes the first series of our researches.
These areas are expressed in millionths of the sun's visible
hemisphere.
4. When we began this present investigation into the
behaviour of spots, we soon found reason to conclude
that in the case of sun-spots the usual formula for fore-
shortening is not strictly correct. Perhaps if a sun-spot
were strictly a surface-phenomenon, the usual formula
might be correct,' though even that is doubtftil ; for the
earth as a planet may not impossibly affect the behaviour
of all spots as they cross the disc, so as to render the
formula somewhat inexact However this may be, a spot
is probably always surrounded more or less bv faculous
matter, forming in many cases a sort of cylindrical wall
round the spot Now the effect of such a wall would be
to allow the whole spot to be seen when at or near the
centre of the disc, but to hide part of the spot as it
approached the border on either side. A spot thus
anected would therefore appear to be more diminished
by foreshortening than the usual formula would indicate ;
and we should therefore expect, if this were the case, that,
on the whole, after making the usual allowance for fore-
shortening, spots would nevertheless be found deficient in
area near the borders as compared with their area at the
centre of the disc. As a matter of fact we have some-
thing of this kind, as will be seen from the following
table, in which we have used the whole body of
spots forming the catalogue to which we have made
allusion.
In this table the first column denotes the heliocentric
longitude from the centre of the disc reckoned as zero ;
the second denotes the united areas at the various longi-
tudes of all those groups from both aeries, the behaviour
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424
NATURE
\Mar. 28, 1872
of which we have been able to obtain with accuracy ;
while the third column exhibits the residual factor for
foreshortening, which will bring the areas of the second
column into equality with each other.
Table I.
Longitude
observed.
United areas of all
groups at longitude
of coiunm x.
Residual factor for
foreshortening
necessary to
equalise the areas of
coiunm 3.
-63
-49
-35
— 21
- 7
+ 7
+ 21
+ 35
+ 49
+ 63
147,508
'l5'?58
168,697
176,417
178,990
181,336
178,638
175,747
171,140
162,541
1-229
II56
1075
I'028
1-013
I 000
I 015
I '032
1-059
[1-115
5. From the above table it appears that the average
behaviour of spots, as far as can be judged from the infor-
mation at present attainable, is not quite symmetrical as
regards the centre of the disc Without attempting at
present to enter into an explanation of this remarkable
phenomenon, we may point to it as a confirmation of our
view previously stated, that most spots are accompanied
by a wall-shaped surrounding of facula. Observations
show that on the whole the life-history of the facula begins
and ends earlier than that of the spot which it surrounds,
and that throughout a gradual subsidence of this elevated
mural appendage seems to be taking place. But such a
diminution of the wall discloses more of the spot itself,
and hence the spot-areas, measured on the eastern half
of the hemisphere, might be expected, cateris paribus^ to
be smaller than those observed in the western half, a fact
strikingly demonstrated by the above table.
Our present object, however, is not to account for the
average behaviour of spots, but rather to investigate the
causes or concomitants of a departure from this average
behaviour. We have, therefore, in all cases made use of
the factors given in the above table as those which,
judging by the average behaviour, tend to equalise the
areas that pass the various longitudes. We liave called
this earth-correction^ and have limited our discussion to
any well-marked behaviour that remains after the earth-
correction has been applied.
Let us now divide the whole mass of observations Into
four portions, depending upon the position of tlie planet
Venus with reference to the earth or point of view. First, let
us take each occasion on which the planet is in the same
heliographic longitude as the earth, that is to say, when
the earth and Venus are nearly in a line on the same side
of the sun.
Let us use five months' observations for each such
occasion, extending equally on both sides of it ; thus, for
instance, if the planet Venus and the earth had the same
heliocentric longitude on September 30, 1855, -we should
make use of sun-spots from the middle of July to the
middle of December of that year as likely to represent
any behaviour that might be due to this particular posi-
tion of Venus. Let us do the same for all similar occa-
sions, and finally add all the spots thus selected together.
We have thus obtained a mass of observations which may
be supposed to represent any behaviour due to this posi-
tion of the planet Venus with reference to the earth or
point of view.
Secondly, let us now take each oocasion on which
Venus is at the same longitude as the extreme right of
the visible disc, that is to say, 90° before the earth, and
do the same as we did in the previous instance, using five
months' observations for eacn occasion We shall thus,
as before, obtain a mass of observations which may be
supposed to represent the behaviour due to a position of
Venus 90° before the earth. Thirdly, let us obtam in a
similar manner a mass of observations representing the
behaviour of sun-spots for a position of Venus 180° before
the earth, Venus and the earth being now at exactly
opposite sides of the sun ; and fourthly, let us finally
obtain, in a similar manner, those observations represent-
ing the behaviour of sun-spots when Venus is 270° before
the earth, being now of the same heliocentric longitude as
the extreme left of the visible disc
These four series of five months each will in fact split
up the whole body of observations into four equal parts,
the synodical revolution of Venus being nearly twenty
months. The following table exhibits these series after
the earth-correction has been applied to each. It also
represents each series reduced so as to exhibit its charac-
teristic behaviour for an average size of spot ^ looa
Tablb II.
i
Sum of areas corrected for earth-effect.
Longitude.
(A)
Venus= Earth +o'.
(B)
Venus=Esirth+9o*.
(C)
Venus=Earth+ i8o".
Venus=Earth+a7o".
1000
1000
1000
1000]
-63
—49
4$^5
48385
475<^
+ 54
+ 42
60573
+ 56
+43
44031
44075
—16
-15
^^
— X18
-35
+ 23
60210
+49
43606
-25
30023
-84
—21
46203
— 4
59847
58493
+43
43974
-17
3 133 1
- 44
— 7
45026
-30
+ 20
45084
+ 7
32711
— I
+ 7
43603
-61
-15
47446
+ 61
33791
+ 31
+ 21
44134
—49
54867
—44
47768
+ 68
34547
+ 55
+ 35
45306
—25
54184
—55
46821
+47
35068
+ 71
+49
46476
+ I
54782
-46
43693
-^3
36285
+107
+63
48742
+49
54473
-51
40875
-^7
37143
+ 135
464288
lOOOO
573794
lOOOO
447373
lOOOO
327556
lOOOO
7. We may do the same for the planet Mercury as we
have done for Venus, that is to say, we may split up the
whole body of observations into four parts, representing
the behaviour of sun-spots when Mercury is in the same
four positions with respect to the earth as those which are
given for Venus in the above table. Only in this case we
must bear in mind that, owing to the eccentricity of
Mercuiys orbit, this planet will sometimes take a longer,
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Mar. 28, 1872]
NATURE
425
and sometimes a shorter time to go from one configuration
to another. Thus, for instance, we have
Mercury = earth + o" on March 24, 1854 ;
Mercury = earth + 90" on May 6, 1854 ;
and Mercury «» earth +i8o' on May 29, 1854.
We should therefore take the observations between April
15, 1854, and May 18, 1854, as representing the behaviour
of sun-spots due to a position of Mercury 90" before the
earth, and so on for other cases. The following table has
been!constructed on this principle, and it may be regarded
as exhibiting for Mercury precisely what the second table
exhibited for Venus,
Table III.
Longitude.
Sum of
areas corrected for earth-eflfect.
1
Mercury=
Earth +0"
Mercury= EartH+90'.
: 1000
(C)
Mcrcury= Eartli+ x8o'.
(D)
Mercury =Earth + 270*.
1000
1000
1000
-63
45298
+ 22
45555
44183
+ 85
40288
-84
50409
+ 0
—49
45492
+ 26
+ 52
"^
48996
— 10
—35
45978
+ 36 '^
41723
41398
- 7
42303
— 8
—28
— 21
43870
-II i'
—14
44554
+46
^5*53
—39
— 7
4^568
—40
41386
—15
45266
+ 62
48817
-31
+ 7
+21
a
—44
—33
41096
41460
—21
-13
45502
44817
+ 68
+ 52
49844
5134I
— II
+ 18
+35
44270
45780
— 2
40649
—31
42740
+ 3
53000
+ 51
+49
+ 32
40337
—39
41478
^%
51772
+ 27
+63
44922
+ 14
42157
+ 3
40122
-58
51562
+ 23
443+47
lOOOO
419944
lOOOO
426104
lOOOO
504062
lOOOO
8. The following ts a Uble constructed on a precisely similar principle with reference to the planet Jupiter :
Table IV.
Longitude.
Sum of areas corrected for earth- effect.
(A
Jupiter-E
farth+o'.
1000
Jupiter=EaTth+9o*.
1 1000
(C)
Jupt»er=Earth+ i8o".
; 1000
(D)
Jupiter=Earth+a7o'.
1000
-63
m
-34
35369
—20
48871 -25
42794
X%
—49
-57
35256
—24
501 18
— I
43163
—35
28836
-51
35*76
-25
51432
+ 26
40747
— II
—21
28623
~ 57
34962
-32
51029
+ 18
41318
+ 3
— 7
28779
-53
35739
— 9
5i"6
+ 20
40500
—17
+ 7
30321
— I
36494
+ 11
50360
+ 9
40599
-15
+ 21
31309
+ 31
37264
+ 32
50266
+ 3
40979
— 5
+35
31488
+ 36
36935
+ 24
50489
+ 7
40876
+ 9
+49
+ 63
32400
+ 67
36584 ' +13
49558
—II
— 7
34017
+ 119
37147 +30
47792
-46
39373
—44
303786
lOOOO
360926 lOOOO
1
501231
10000
41 1928
lOOOO 1
1
9. If we now examine the two Ubles for the planets
Venus and Mercury, we shall find in them indications of
a behaviour of sun-spots* appearing to have reference to
the positions of these planets, and which seems to be of
the same nature for both. This behaviour may be
characterised as follows:— the average size of a spot
would appear to attain its maximum on that side of the
sun which is turned away from Venus or from Mercury,
and to have its minimum in the neighbourhood of Venus
or of Mercury.
10. The apparent behaviour is so decided with regard
to Venus, that the whole body of observations will bear
to be split up into two parts, namely, Carrington's scries
and the Kew series, in each of which it is distinctly mani-
fest. The following treatment will serve to render this
effect more visible to the eye.
In Table II., column (A) (Venus — earth + o"), we have
ten final numbers denoting the behaviour of a spot of
average area »= 1,000 at ten central longitudes as follows :
+ 54 + 42 + 23 — 4 — 30 — ^i — 49 — 25 + I + 49-
Let us take the mean of the first and second of these,
the mean of the second and third, and so on, and we get
the following nine numbers : —
+ 48 + 32 + 10 — 17 — 45 — 55 — 37 — 12 + 25.
Performing the same operation once more, we obtain
the following eight numbers, corresponding to the eight
central longitudes : —
+ 40 + 21 — 3 — 31 — 50 — 46 — 25 + 7.
In Table V. we have exhibited the results obtained by
this process.
11. If we now refer to the table of Jupiter, we find
that we cannot detect the same kind ol behaviour that
we did in the case of Venus and Mercury. We cannot
say that such a behaviour does not exist with reference to
this planet ; but, if it does, it is to such an extent that
the observations at our disposal have not enabled us to
detect it.
12. The following evidence from a different point of
view goes to confirm the results we have now obtained.
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4^6
NATURE
[Afar. 28, 1872
We might expect, if there really is a behaviour of sun-
spots depending upon the position of Venus, and of the
nature herein stated, that the average area of a spot as it
passes the central longitude of the disc ought to be
greatest when Venus is 180° from the eaitli, and least
when Venus and the earth are together, and the same
ought to hold for Mercury and for Jupiter, if these planets
have any influence. Taking the mean of the four centni
Table V.
Longitude.
—49
-35
— 21
— 7
+ 7
+ 21
+ 35
+ 49
Venus
(whole series).
Venus
(Carrington's series).
Venus
(Kew series).
(A) (B) (C) (D)
+ 117 + 58—27—46
+ 47 + 58-3^-59
— 16 + 45— 3»— 52
— 74+13- 9—36
—113—29+45—20
-119-57 + 77+ 4
— 91—56 + 59 + 36
— 9—44+ 1 + 82
Mercury
(whole series).
(A) (B) (C) (D)
+ 40 + 48—18—118
+ 21+46—20— 82
— 3^-39-13-43
—31 + 17 + 15— 3
-50—14 + 49+ 29
—46—40+60+ 53
—25—50+34+ 76
+ 7 -50—22 + 105
(A) (B) (C) (D)
+ 8 + 30 — 10—160
+ 9 + 24— 5—95
+ 1+24+10— 37
—12 + 16+36+ 16
—23+ 2 + 53+ 58
—15—20+46+ 82
+ 4-45 + 13 +100
+ 14— 50— 40+118
(A) (B) (C) (D)
+ 28 + 45—50—12
+ 21+ 6— 6—26
— 6—12+36—34
—33—16+60—28
—40—18 + 63— 9
—28—20+43+19
— 1—28+ 7 + 36
+ 19—27—27 + 32
areas as giving the best value of the araea of a spot its
passes the centre, we have for Venus the following
results : —
Mean of 4 central areas,
(A) (B) (C) (D)
44741 57426 46068 3309s
and the number of groups for these are as follows : —
229 265 150 181
hence the mean area of one group will be,—
195 217 307 183
from which we get (A)= 195 ; mean of (B) and (D)=20o ;
(C) = 307 ; that is to say, A is least, and C is greatest.
Doing the same in the case of Mercury, we get
(A) => 204 ; mean of (B) and (D) =» 217 ; (C) = 246 ;
and finally, doing the same in the case of Jupiter, we get
(A) « 185 ; mean of (B) and (D) = 207 ; (C) =- 282 ;
it thus appears that in all these cases the same order is
preserved.
13. We leave it to others to remark upon the nature
and strength of Uie evidence now deduced as to a con-
nection of some sort between the behaviour of sun-spots
and the positions of the planets Venus and Mercury. We
think, however, it must be allowed, that the investigation
is one of interest and importance, and we trust that
arrangements may be made for the systematic continuance
of solar observations in such localities as will ensure to us
a daily picture of the sun's disc.
The influence of blank dajrs in diminishing the value of
a series of sun-observations is very manifest We have
been able to record the behaviour across the sun's disc of
421 groups of Carrington's series for a total number of
885 groups, and we have been able to record the same
benaviour for 373 out of 544 groups observed at Kew.
Thus, out of a total of 1^429 groups, we have only been
able to record the behaviour ol 794. Nor are the records
which we have obtained so perfect as we could wish, on
account of blank days, which make interpolations
necessary. It is therefore of much importance for the
future of such researches as the present tnat there should
be several observing-stations so placed that we may reckon
on having at least a daily picture of the sun's disc.
It will be easily seen that such observations are very
different from experiments which may be multiplied ad
libitum ; for in this case Nature gives us in a year or in
ten years a certain amount of information, and no more ;
while it depends upon ourselves to make a good use of the
information which she affords.
It is already universally acknowledged that we.ought to
make the best possible use of the few precious moments
of a total eclipse ; but such observations must necessarily
be incomplete unless they are followed up by the equally
important if more laborious task of recording the sun's
surface from day to day.
RHINOCEROSES
HTHE few species of Rhinoceros which now exist on the
-■• world's surface are divisible into two distinct groups,
one of which inhabits Africa, the other certain portions of
Asia. The Asiatic rhinoceroses are readily distinguishable
from their ^Ethiopian brethren by the presence of incisor
teeth throughout life, and by the remarkable folds of the
skin. In the African rhinoceroses the incisor teeth are
absent, or rather never cut the gums, and the skin is
smooth, or, at all events presents scarcely any appearance
of the peculiar folds which distinguish the Asiatic species.
Commencing with the Asiatic group, the great Indian
rhinoceros {Rhinoceros unicornis) is the largest, oldest,
and best known species. Of this animal the Zoological
Society's Collection contains two adult specimens — ^a
female, purchased in 1850, and a male, presented by Mr.
Grote in 1864. But long before the arrival of these
animals the large Indian rhinoceros was represented in
the Society's Collection by a specimen which died in 1849,
and which formed one of the subjects of Prof. Owen's
elaborate memoir upon the anatomy of this animal, pub-
lished in the Society's "Transactions," voL iv., p. 31.
The habitat of the large Indian rhinoceros is the
wooded district called the Terai, which lies along the foot
of the Himalayas from Nepaul to Bhotan, and thence ex-
tends into Assam.
The Sondaic rhinoceros {Rhinoceros sondaicus) appears
to be very like its larger brother in general conformation,
having but one horn on its nose, and the same compli-
cated folds of the skin. It is, however, much smaller ia
size, and, according to the best authorities, presents cer-
tain well-marked cranial characters, which render it easily
distinguishable. This rhinoceros was, until recently, sup-
posed to be confined to Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, in
which latter island, however, its existence in the present
epoch is somewhat problematical.*
Mr. Blyth, however, has recently shown that the one-
horned rhinoceros of the Malay peninsula is in all proba-
bility referable to this species, and that the rhinoceros
which occurs in the Sunderbunds of Bengal is most likely
the same animal.
Of the Sondaic rhinoceros, the Zoological Society has
• See Busk in Proc. Zo^l. Soc 1869, p. 499, and Fraser, ibid.^ p. 99.
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mmmm^m
wm
Jkfa^. 28, iSya]
NATURE
427
Tiot yet succeeded in obtaining a specimen, and I am not
a.ware that the animal has ever been brought alive to
flurope. It wotild be of great interest to jSace a living
example of this species by the side of its larger ally in the
Regent's Park.
The third Asiatic species of rhinoceros is a very dif
ferent looking animal from the two previously mentioned,
having two horns on its forehead, the smaller of which is
situated just above the eye, and the other still farther
forward. Its body is, moreover, covered with bristly
SUMATRAN RHINOCSKOS
hairs, and there is only one strong, well-marked cutaneous
fold of skin on the back, which renders it very unlike its
mailed brethren. This animal was until lately supposed
to be only found in the Island of Sumatra. Cuvier called
it Rhinoceros sunuUrensis from this circumstance ; and
our countryman, Sir Stamford Raffles, who obtained it in
that island about the same period, likewise proposed to
name it after the country to which he believed it to be
AFRICAN BLACK RHINOCEROS
confined. It has, however, been recently discovered that
theSumatran rhinoceros extends northwards along the
whole range of the Malay peninsula, at least as far as
Chittagong. The fine female specimen of this rhinoceros
now in the Gardens of tho Zoological Society of London
was captured a little way south of Chittagong about four
years ago. At the time of its capture, it is said to have
been quite young, perhaps two years old. Now, however,
it is about four and a half feet hieh, and has probably
nearly attained its adult stature ; this species being the
LviyiLi^du uy
428
NATURE
{Mar. 28, 1872
smallest of exbting rhinoceroses. Sinjoil^'ly enough, at
the time this anim^ was on its way to England, a second
specimen of the same species was received by the
Zoological Society of Hamourg, and is now living in their
gardens in that city. The Hamburg animal is likewise a
female, and is said by those who have examined both in-
dividuals, to agree in nearly every particular with that
belonging to the Zoological Society of London, but to be
about one-third smaller.
It must be observed, that although the Sumatran rhi-
noceros has two horns, it is by no means nearly related
to the African two-homed rhinoceros, but has the in-
cisor teeth and other cranial characters of the Indian
division of the group.
Of the African rhinoceroses, which constitute the
second division of the genus as explained above, many
nominal species have been made by naturalists who
delight in conferring names upon fragments of horns,
and imperfect skulls ; but we have not as yet certain
evidence of the existence of more than two species,
commonly known as the Black rhinoceros and the
White rhinoceros.
The Black rhinoceros {Rhinoceros bicornis of Lin-
naeus) has its upper lip long and prehensile. This organ,
in fact, forms almost a short proboscis, well fitted for
grasping the small branches of trees, upon which it
principally subsists. The two horns are not very dif-
ferent in size and length, although the front one is
usually longest. The Black rhinoceros is found in
Eastern Africa, as well as in the interior of the Cape
Colony. In his well-known work on the Nile tributaries
of Abyssinia, Sir Samuel Baker describes it as being not
unfrequcntly met with in Upper ^ Nubia. The young
male example of this animal obtained by the Zoological
Society in September 1868. was captured in this district
by the Hamram Arabs, ot whose prowess Sir Samuel
Baker tells us such wonderful stories. A living example
of the African Black rhinoceros has been since added to
the collection of the Zoological Society of Berlin ; but
these two specimens are, we believe, the only individuals
of this species that have been brought to Europe, since
the days when rhinoceroses were exhibited and slain in
the Roman amphitheatres.
The White African rhinoceros is immediately dis-
tinguishable from its black brother, apart from the
difference in the colour of its skin, by its short upper lip,
whence Dr. Burchell, the first scientific traveller who met
with it, proposed to call it Rhinoceros simus. It is a
grazing animal, feeding chiefly upon g^'^s, and inhabits
more open districts than /?. bicornis. But the most no-
ticeable distinction of the White rhinoceros is the enor-
mous length of the front horn, which in old individuals
reaches to three and a half, or even four feet in length,
and, after sloping forwards, curves gently backwards
towards the summit. The hinder horn, on the contrary,
idways remains smaU, and slightly developed. The range
of the White rhinoceros in Africa is not very perfectly
known. From the inner parts of the Cape Colony it ex-
tends probably on to the Zambesi and its affluents. How
much farther northwards it may p^o is uncertain ; but, ac-
cording to Sir Samuel Baker, it is not known in Upper
Nubia, where the Black rhinoceros is the only species
met with.
No specimen of the African White rhinoceros has yet
been brought to Europe, and few additions could be made
to the cofiection of the Zoological Society of London,
which would be more acceptable than a young male of
this rare and curious animal. P. L. S.
SCIENCE IN THE NAVY
IT is with great satisfaction that we learn, from a speech
made by Mr. Goschen in the House of Commons
last week, that the Government proposes a vote of 2,000/.
to Mr. Archibald Smith, Q.C., for great services rendered
by him to the Admiralty, not in his professional capadtr,
but as a man of science whose researches into matters
connected with magnetism had been of great service to
the Navy and the country. This grant was not proposed
as a compensation for Mr. Smith's very laborious services,
but as a small mark of the high appreciation tlie Oovem-
ment had of his eminent scientific services. Tliere was
another increase proposed also in aid of the expeditio*!
about to be organised under the auspices of tlie Royal
Society to make researches into the depth, temperature,
composition, circulation, and distribution of animal life in
the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The total caA
to the country, supposing the inquiry to extend over two
and a half years, would be about 25,000/., a sum which
would not be grudgingly paid in order to secure a vast
amount of important scientific knowledge.
The following announcement, with respect to tJie educa-
tion of naval officers, will be welcomed with great satis-
faction by the scientific public generally : —
" It was proposed that cadets should first go for two
years to a Naval College, to master some of the rudiments
of their profession, cruisers being attached, so that they
might begin to go to sea. At the expiration of or within
twelve months they would go out in a seagoing man-of-
war, with naval instructors, when they would have for
three years a much better education than they now
obtain, the same amount of sailoring experience being
retained. It would then be desirable that they should
have six months' teaching preliminary to their examina-
tion, when many young officers woiUd ascertain which
way their bent lay, and whether they should apply them-
selves to higher courses of study, for which arrangements
could be made, but which would not be entered upon till
they had passed the lieutenant's examination. . . The
question that the Government had before them in re-
ference to this subject was how to unite in one estahlish-
ment all the various branches of naval study which were
at present taught in the Royal Naval College at Ports-
mouth, and in the Naval School of Architecture at South
Kensington. At present the Royal Naval College con-
ducted their examinations themselves— that is to say, they
first taught and then examined, which was not at all a
desirable state of things. It was now proposed to com-
bine the scheme which he had described as regarded the
education of the young officers with one for the education
of the commissioned officer, and also to make better
arrangements for the education of the Engineer and
Marine officers. In order to carry out these objects it
was proposed to found a Royal Naval College at Green-
wich, where all branches ot a general naval education
would be taught, and to do so upon a scale which would
be calculated greatly to raise the tone of our naval officers.
In the first place there would be received in the College
sub-lieutenants, who would be kept there for six months
before their passing their general examination, and also
naval officers. It was proposed that after the sub-
lieutenants had passed their examinations and had been
a short time at sea, those who chose to avail themselves
of it should have an opportunity accorded to them of
pursuing a higher course of study, of which half-pay
officers might also avail themselves, and the establishment
being so near London they should be able to offer a better
course of study, under more able professors, than would
be possible to give at Portsmouth. But^ in addition to
thus offering an education of this description to the young
and to the commissioned officers who now went to Ports-
mouth, thev trusted to be able to make arrangements with
regard to the education of Engineer officers. At present
these latter officers were all brought up in our own yards,
which they entered at about fifteen or sixteen years of
age, and in which they remained for four or six years as
Engineering apprentices, and at the end of the ^fourth
year three were selected to go to the School of Naval
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Architecture at South Kensington. In the same way,
from a certain number of shipwrights' apprentices three
or four were also selected every year to go up and study
at the latter schooL As regarded the Engineers, it was
proposed .that not merely mree or four out of the thirty
should be sent every year to South Kensington, but that
all of them, after having been four years in the yards,
should have the advantage of going through a course of
one year's education at Greenwich, which should include
all the higher branches of engineering education, such as
metallurgy and chemistry. It was mrther proposed to
take a similar course with reference to the shipwright's
apprentices, but only as regarded a limited number, who
would have an opportunity of studying naval architecture
at Greenwich. The South Kensington School would be
removed to Greenwich. . . With regard to the cadets,
it was not proposed that they should go to Greenwich.
No definite arrangements [had as yet been proposed with
reference to them, but that there was no great hurry in
the matter, because in future they would not be taken
under fifteen years of age, and it would be as well to wait
untU those who had entered at '^thirteen had attained the
latter age before new arrangements were entered into with
regard to them.''
We heartily congratulate the Government on this com-
mencement of a higher scientific instruction of officers of
the Navy, and trust that the course thus commenced will
be persisted in.
NOTES
Thk Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction and the Ad«
vancement of Science have, we are informed, concluded their
inquiry into the scientific instruction afforded in training colleges
and elementary schools, and in the science classes of the Science
and Art Department.
Thbrx will be an election to a Natural Science Fellowship in
Exeter College^ Oxford, on Wednesday, June 19. The exami-
nation will be in Biology. The Fellow elected will be required
to reside and take part in the instruction of the CoU^^e. The
election will take place under the conditions of the special ordi-
nance of the College with regard to residence. The Fellow
elected under the ordinance will be subject in all other respects
to the Statutes of the College. The examination will probably
begin on Tuesday, June 11, and no person can be admitted as a
candidate who has not passed all the examinations necessary for
the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the University of Oxford, or
been incorporated as a graduate in the University. Candidates
are requested to make application by letter to the rector on or
before June i.
The examinations for Scholarships in Natural Science, which
have recently been held at Clare and at Emmanuel College^
Cambridge, have both terminated without an election being made.
The reason of this is that at neither of the colleges did candidates
present themselves, whose attainments, in the opinion of the
examiners, entiUed them to receive the distinction. The number
of competitors was but small in each case, in one three only.
Thb Vice-Chanoellor of the University of Cambridge has
promulgated the text of a memorial addressed to the Univerrity
upon the subject of higher education, and adopted at a public
meeting at Birmingham. It is similar to the memorials ad-
dressed upon the same subject from Rochdale, Leeds, Crewe,
and the Noxth of England Council for the Education of Women,
and the prayer of the memorial is that a Syndicate be appointed
to investigate the subject, and to inaugurate such means as would
produce — ^firstly, a standard of excellence in the departments of
literature, science, and art, fixed by some univerMlly recognised
authority, and attainable by students of this class, which would
secure for their studies the definiteness and thoroughness that
are so much needed ; secondly, an opportunity, offered to all
who might be inclined to take advantage of it, of bringing their
acquirements to the test of am examinati<m ; thirdly, the com
mand of teaching power of a high order for the benefit of those
who might wish to place themselves under instruction.
Prof. Huxlby is, we learn firom the Titnes^ the favourite
candidate for the rectorship of St. Andrew's University.
The following are the probable arrangements for the Friday
evening meetings at the Royal Institution after Easter : — April
12, Mr. John Morley, " On Rousseau's Influence on European
Thought;" April 19, Mr. Vernon Harcourt, F.R.S., "On the
Sulphurous Impurity in Coal Gas and the means of removing
it ; " April 26k Pro! Blackie, *' On the Genius and Character of
the Modem Greek Language." May 3, Wm. Spottiswoode,
Treas. R.S.; May lo, N. Story-Maskelyne, F.R.S., "On
Meteoric Stones ;" May 17, Prof. Abel, F.R.S.; May 24, Prof.
Clifford, " On Babbage's Calculating Machines ; " May 31, Mr.
E. J. Poynter, A.R.A. June 7, Prof. Odling, F.R.S. And
the following lecture arrangements are announced : — Dr. Wm,
A. Guy, F.R.S., Uiree lectures, "On Statistics, Social Science,
and Political Economy," on Tuesdays, April 9, 16, and 23 ;
Mr. Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., sue lectures, " On the Develop,
ment of Belief and Custom amongst the Lower Races of Man*
kind," on Tuesdays, April 30 to June 4;" Prof. Tyndall,
F.R.S., nine lectures, "On Heat and Light," on Thursdays,
April II to June 6 ; Mr. R. A. Proctor, five lectures, "On the
Star Depths," on Saturdays, April 13 to May 11 ; Prof. Roscoe,
F.R.S., four lectures, "On the Chemical Action of Light," on
Saturdays, Bfay 18 to June S.
Prof. Thiselton Dyer is about to deliver a course of
lectures on flowers .and fruits to the Ro}'al Horticultural
Society, with the following titles :— Thursday, April 11,
"Flowers: their common plan of construction." April 25,
Flowers: the variety in their forms, and how brought about."
May 9, "Flowers: their colours and odours." May 23,
"Fruits: their structure." June 6, "How seeds are sown in
Nature." June 20, "Flowers and Fruits under cultivation,"
The lectures will commence at 3 f.m.
M. ScHiMPXR, the celebrated botanist and paUeontologist, is
the only one of the old professors in the French University of
Strasburg who has consented to continue to hold his post under
the German rule. M. Schimper is a Frenchman by birth and
descent, and had been offered a superior position elsewhere by
the French Government
M. PftlLLiEUX, the French botanist, having declined to con-
tinue,an honorary Associate of the Lelpsic Leopold Academy of
Natural Science, some German professors call upon their country-
men to return the " brevets " they have received from French
scientific bodies. But it is satisfiictory to see Dr. Virchow
coming forward to warn his colleagues against imitating such a
bad example.
An ingenious patent is now being worked, by which leather
for the sides of boots and shoes is rendered impervious to wet
and damp by exhaustiiig the air from the pores of the leather,
and filling them up with a substance which unites with and ad-
heres to the fibre, thereby strengthening without impairing the
elasticity of the material. It is stated that the patent, known as
"Fanshawe's Waterproof Leather," is not only likely to be
largely employed for the purpose to which we have referred, but
that when asphalte pavement becomes more general, it will be
possible to ^oe horses with a material as hard as the asphalte
itself, and which will prevent them slipping.
A NOVEL and most interesting experiment in the field of
elementary instruction has just been resolved upon in Saxony.
Hitherto, as everywhere else, so in that small but highly-
developed kingdom, the youth of the lower orders, upon beinc*
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NATURE
\Mar. 28, 1872
apprenticed to a tiadey have been left at liberty to forget the
little they leamt at school. Attendance at Sunday schools and
evening instraction provided by the State and charitable societies
were perfectly optional. By a law just passed this liberty .is
abridged, and compulsory attendance at evening schools exacted
for a period of three years. This is, we believe, the first time
in the annals of the world that an attempt has been made by a
State to extend the education of the humbler classes beyond the
merest rudiments, and after they have entered upon the business
of life. Saxony, already the best taught portion of Germany,
will by the new law be more than ever in advance of her sister
States.
It has been necessary to remove the Parliamentary copies of
the Imperial standards, in consequence of the wall of the Palace
at Westminster, in which they were immured, having been pulled
down in order to form an entrance to the refreshment rooms.
On the 7th of March, 1872, in the presence of the President of
the Board of Trade and five other public functionaries, the
standards were deposited in their new resting place in the wall
on the right-hand side of the second landing of the public stair-
case, leading from the lower waiting-hall up to the Commons'
Committee Room. One alteration has been made. When the
standards were originally immured, a brass plate was fixed
upon the wall bearing the following inscription in old English
letters : — '' Within this wall are deposited standards of the
British yard and the British pound weight, 1853." The word
** measure" has now been inserted after ** yard."
In* another column will be found an article on the recent
meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute, referring, among other
matters of interest, to the new puddling machine. We learn
that an agreement has been entered into between Mr. Danks, the
inventor, and a combination of iron manufacturers representing
the different districts, whereby the latter undertake to have 200
ftimaces on his plan put up within six months, and in considera-
tion of his permission to do so, to pay him 50,000/. at that time,
whether the furnaces are in operation or not This step, which
adds something like 450 furnaces to our producing power, will
effect such a revolution as has never before occurred in the history
of this branch of industry, and it is the more to be wondered at
when it is remembered that, till July last, it was thought that
hand-puddling must for ever continue^ every machine to do
away with it having, before that, entirely failed.
The Swiss Times says that the late Professor Pictet-dela-Rive
has left the whole of his remarkable palseontological collection
to the Museum of Natural History, and the greater part of his
valuable scientific library to be divided between the Academic
Museum and the Library of the city of Geneva,
Ws learn with regret of the death, at his plantation, not far
from Vera Cruz, of Dr. Charles Sartorius, a gentleman well
known in the United States and Europe as a naturalist and
meteorologist. Few students of the zool(^ and botany of
Mexico have failed to become acquainted with the labours of the
doctor, as shown by the numerous specimens sent to the museum
of the Smithsonian; Institution and te the American Entomo-
logical Society, &c.
Thk French Minister of Agriculture and Commerce has
ordered the institution at the Central School of Arts and Manu-
fectures at Paris of a new course of lectures to be devoted to the
higher teaching of agriculture.
The Annual Meeting of French savants^ held at Paris under
the auspices of the Ministry of Public Instruction, will commence
on Monday, April i, at the Sorbonne, and continue on the three
following da3rs.
We regret to learn that the proposed Dredging Expedition
of the Noma is postponed, one of the party being seriously
ill, and her owner somewhat unexpectedly having to join
his regiment in May instead of autumn. He is anxious to
employ a vessel large enough to carry a good stock of fioiel
for a donkey engine, to save time and labour, and the N'ama
being small for this, and for carrying a steam launch, as is also
to be desired, Mr. Marshall-Hall will, in all probability, part
with her. If he is successful in organising the more extensive
undertaking now proposed, he fully expects to contribute very
interesting observations to marine science, 'and .to investigate
several chemical questions, besides the zoological work.
Prof. Pepper, who has done good service in working some
of the more popular and easily-illustrated departments of science
at the Polytechnic, is about to leave that Institution, and to start
an exhibition on lus own account at the Egyptian Hall, Picca-
dilly, in conjunction with Mr. T. W. Tobin.
Prof. Luther has discovered a new planet (No. 118) of the
nth magnitude. The discoverer suggests the name ' * Peitho. ' '
At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, held on
Monday evening last, Mr. W. Giffard Palgrave read a paper,
detailing a journey made by him during his late residence as
Consul in Asia Minor. He b^an by giving a rough account of
the general divisions of that region, confining himself more par-
ticularly, however, to that tract of country consisting of table-
land, formerly known as Armenian, and where, moreover, the
Tigris, Euphrates, and other important rivers take their rise.
Many observations made of phenomena in the neighbourhood of
the range of mountains known as the Kolat Tagh all tended to
show beyond doubt that at some period or other glaciers must
have/ormed and existed in large quantities in the immense tracts
of mountains, though at the present time the climate is too genial
to allow the snow to remain even on the ridges and peak
throughout the year. A short insight was afforded into the
volcanic features of the place, and also into the mineralogical
formation of the soil From this it appeared that mines, if only
persons were found enterprising enough to work them, might be
opened which would yield a surprising amount of lead and a
considerable quantity of nlver, and would most likely prove very
lucrative.
The educational importance of our large schools, not only to
their actual pupils but to the inhabitants of the surrounding
neighbourhood, is being happily illustrated at Taunton. An
able lecture on "The Theory of Musical Tone," was delivered
last week to a large audience in the College School Dining-hall
by Mr. E. B. Tylor, F.R.S. It was largely illustrated by ex-
periments, and the valuable apparatus was left behind him by
the lecturer as a present to the School It is hoped that other
lectures on Science, Art, and Literature, will succeed ; and that
gentlemen of eminence will be found to aid, by their presence
and teaching, so praiseworthy an attempt For some time past
the Botanical Lectures at the School have been attended not
only by the pupils, but by a considerable number of strangers ;
and a dass of forty students will present themselves for the
approaching South Kensington Examination in Botany. There
is already a small Botanical Garden, well furnished and laid out,
which will be largely increased when the funds of the School
permit. C7, si sic omnes !
Mr. Fairgribve, successor to Mr. George Wombwdl, is about
to sell by auction his well-known menagerie. The catalogue com-
prises 186 lots, and includes a large number of monkeys, ten lions
and lionesses of various ages, a tiger and tigress, a male and
female elephant, three boa constrictors, and a large number of
other animals, and appurtenances. The sale will take place at
Edinburgh, and will commence on April 9, unless the whole
menagerie is previously disposed of by private contract.
Gentlemen interested in the improvement of Geometrical
Teaching may obtain a copy of the Association's Second Annual
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Report (referred to in last week's Nature) on application to the
Hon. SecretarieSi King Edward's School, Birmingham, or to the
London Local Secretaries, Mr. C. W. Merrificld, F.R.S., South
Kensington, and Mr. R. Tucker, University College School.
Mr. I. LowTHiAN Bell read a paper at the Institution of
Civil Engineers on Tuesday evening, March 18, " On the condi-
tions which favour and those which limit the Economy of Fuel in
the Blast Furnace for Smelting Iron." A discussion on the
paper was taken at the following meeting on Tuesday evening
last.
Mr. Alfred Smee, F. R. S., has in the press a volume entitled
My Garden^ in which he gives a complete description of his experi-
mental garden at Beddington, in Surrey, and details the results
of his experience in the culture of flowers and fruit : of these
nearly 700 species and genera are desaibed. The volume also
treats generally of the natural history, geology, and antiquities
of the neighbourhood. It is illustrated with about i,cco viood
engravings,! executed expressly for the work. The volume
will be published by Messrs. Bell and Daldy.
ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF LONDON, FEB. 16, 1872
By J. Prestwich, F.R.S., President
TN looking at the labours of the Society during the past
^ year, it is satisfactory to notice the same activity, the same
wide range of subjects as ever, and the same independence
of researcn for truth's sake which there ever should be. But,
though good work has been done in special branches and the
technical details of Geology, not so much progress has been
made in its higher problems. I would, however, direct your
attention to the steps made in grouping our volcanic rocks, and
in the determination of the fauna of our Cambrian strata, which
proves to be so much larger and richer than was anticipated a
few years back. Both these subjects are in able hands, and can-
not fail to yield important results, the latter especially in aiding
to settle that interesting question — the true line of division
between the Silurian and the Cambrian formations. On the
subject of denudation and river-action, we have also had several
excellent papers, and look forward with interest to the further
development of the many original views which they have put
before us.
The great question of the history of our globe during the
Quaternary period seems also to be advancing towards more
completeness. Many able observers, both in and ou*^ of our own
Society, are engaged upon the subject, and various scientific
periodicals and publications of our local societies are rich in
contributions bearing upon this interesting subject. There is no
more wonderful chapter in the earth's history than that which
embraces the phenomena connected with the prevalence of great
and exceptional cold immediately preceding our time, — the first
dim appearance of man— his association with a race of great extinct
Mammalia belonging to a cold climate — the persistent zoological
characters of the one, so far as we have yet gone, in opposition
to the variable t3rpes presented in geological time by the others —
the search for connecting links, and the measure of man's anti-
quity,— all of which constitute theoretical problems of the highest
interest, and are now occupying the attention of geologists of all
countries. Allied also to this subject are the great questions
relating to the form of our present continents — the elevation of
the land— the origin of valleys and plains — and of all that which
prepared this globe for the advent of man.
But while treating of these abstract and philosophical ques-
tions, geology deals also with the requirements of civilised man,
showing him the best mode of providing for many of his wants,
and guiding him in the search of much that is necessary for his
welfare. The questions of water-supply, of building materials,
of metalliferous veins, of iron and coal-supply, and of surface-
soils, all come under this head, and constitute a scarcely less im-
portant, although a more special branch of our science than the
palseontologicalquestions comected with the life of past periods,
or than the great theoretical problems rekting to physical and
oosmical phenomena. Lookiae at this triple division of geology,
ixid seeing tluit the fint, or applied geology, is, as it were^ only
incidental to our general studies, and therefore not often the topic
of our discussions, notwithstanding its practical importance, I
propose on this occasion to say a few words in connection with
the two momentous subjects which, during the last few years,
have been made the objects of investigation by two Royal Com«
missions,* on both of which the geological Questions have re-
ceived much and careful consideration. I shall here restrict my-
self to the more special geological bearings of the subject,
extending them, however, in some directions beyond the scope
of the original inquiries, and refer you to the Reports and
Minutes of Evidence themselves for the many valuable economical
questions and practical details which are there discussed.
Our Springs and Water-supply.
The site of a spring or the presence of a stream determined
probably the first settlements of savage man ; and his civilised
descendants have continued, until the kst few years, equally de-
pendent upon like conditions — conditions connected first with the
rainfaU, and, secondly, with the distribution of the permeable
and impermeable strata forming the surface of the country.
Under ordinary circumstances, few large towns have arisen except
where there has been an easily accessible localised water-supply,
and where the catchment-basin on which depends the volume of
the rivers has been large, and permeable strata prevail. Take,
for example, London. Few sites could be more favourable in
every respect Beneath it are strata rich in springs, while at a
distance there is that large development of those massive per-
meable strata so necessary to maintain a sufficient and permanent
flow in our rivers. As the conditions exhibited in the London
basin afford all the illustrations we need for our subject, I will
confine myself in this address to that area alone.
London north of the Thames stands on a bed of gravel, varying
in thickness from ten to twenty feet in round numbers, and over-
lying strata of tenacious clay firom ico to 200 feet. The former being
easify permeable, the rain falling on its surface filters through it,
until stopped by the impermeable London clay, where it accumu-
lates and forms a never-failing source of supply to the innumer-
able shallow wells that have been sunk all over London from time
immemorial, and which for centuries constituted its sole water-
supply. Not only does it form an easily accessible underground
reservoir, alihough of limited dimensions ; but where the small
intersecting valleys cut dovm through the bed of gravel into
the London clay, a portion of the water in this reservoir escapes
at the junction of the two strata, and gives rise to several springs
formerly in much repute, such as those of Bagnigge Well, Ho'
well, Clerken-well, St Chad's Well, and others.
The early growth of London followed unerringly the direction
of this bed of gravel, eastward towards Whitechapel, Bow, and
Stepney ; north-eastward towards Hackney, Clapton, and
Newington ; and westp^ard towards Chelsea and Kensington ;
while northward it came for many years to a sudden termi-
nation at Clerkenwell, Bloomsbury, Marylebone, Paddington,
and Bayswater ; for north of a line drawn from Bayswater by
the Great Western station, Clarence Gate, Park Square, and
along the north side of the New Road to Euston Square, Burton
Crescent, and Mecklenburg Square, this bed of gravel terminates
abruptly, and the London clay comes to the surface, and occupies
all tne ground to the north. A map of London, so recent as
18 1 7, shows how well-defined was the extension of houses arising
from this cause. Here and there only beyond the main body of
the gravel there were a few outliers, such as those at Islington
and Highbury ; and there habitations followed. In the same
way, south of the Thames, villages and buildings were gradually
extended over the valley-gravels to Peckham, (Smberwell, Brix-
ton, and Clapham ; while, beyond, houses and villages rose on
the gravel-capped hills of Streatham, Denmark Hill, and Nor-
wood. It was not until the facilities were afforded for an inde-
pendent water-supply by the rapid extension of the works of the
great water companies, that it became practicable to establish a
town population in the day districts of HoUoway, Camden
Town, Regent's Park, St John's Wood, Westboume, and
Notting Hfll.
On the outskirts of London a succession of villages grew up
for miles on the great beds of gravel ranging on the east to
Barking, Ilford,and Romford— on the north, following the valley
of the Lea to Edmonton and Hoddesdon ; and on the West, up
the Thames-valley to Ealing, Hounslow, Slough, Hammersmith,
* Royal Ccmmission on Water Supply, appobted April 2867. Report of
the Commissioners and Minutes of Evidence and Appendix, June 1869.
P oval Commission on Coal Supply, appointed Time z866.
Reports of the Comminiooen, Hiiuites of SvUenoe^ Appendix, July X87X
L/iyiLiiLcvj uy
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432
NATURE
[Mar. 28, 1872
and beyond ; whereas, with the exception of Kilburn, hardly a
house was to be met with a few years since between Paddington
and Edgeware, or between Marylebone and Hendon ; and not
many even between the New Road and Highgate and Hamp-
stead. As a marked case of the excluding ^ects of a large
tract of impermeable strata close to a great city, I may mention
the denuded London-clay district extending from a mile north of
Acton, Ealing, and Hanwell, to Stanmore, Pinner and Icken-
ham, near Uxbridge. With the exception of Harrow (which
stands on an outlier of the Bagshot Sands), and Perivale, and
Greenford (on outliers of gravel), there are only the small villages
of Northholt and Greenford Green. In the earlier edition of
iht Ordnance Maps, there was a tract of ten square miles north
and westward of Harrow within which there were only four
houses. Yet the ground is all cultivated and productive. But
imm^iatelv eastward of this area, and .ranging thence to the
valley of the Lea, the ground rises higher, and most of the
London-ckv hills a e capped by gpivel (M an older age than that
of the Lonaon valley, and belonging to the boulder-clay series.
On these we have the old settlements of Hendon, Stanmore,
Finchley, Bamet, Totteridge, Whetstone, Southgate, and others.
There is yet another very common source of well-water supply
from beds of gravel directing population to low sites in valleys,
which is this. Everywhere on the banks of the Thames and its
tributaries there is a lower-ljring bed of valley-gravel or of rubble
on, and often passing beneath, the level of the river. This bed is
supplied with water both by rain falling on it, by springs thrown
out from the adjacent hills or by the drainage from those hills
and in places by infiltration from the river, when, from any
cause, the line of water in the gravel falls below that of the
adjacent river; whiles on the other hand, the surplus land-
BuppUes find their way direct and unseen, from the bed of gravel
to tne river. A great part of London south of the Thames, West-
minster, Battersea, and a number of towns up the Thames, as
Hammersmith, Brentford, Eton, Maidenhead, and others, to-
gether with Newbury and several villages on the Kennet, also
the towns of Ware and Hertford on the Lea, have this shallow
well-supply. A great manv towns and numberless villages along
most ot our river-valleys all through England, and on whatever
formation situated, are dependent on this superficial source of
supply, a supply much more permanent than the other shallow
well-supplies, in consequence of the outside aid from springs and
rivers. It is, however, only in case of exceedingly dry seasons
or of excessive pumping, that the supply requires to be supple-
mented by the nver-waters. As, in ground of this description,
the land- water is generally dammed back by the stream, the
level of the water in the wells, which are always shallow, varies
with the level of the water in the streams, rising and falling more
or less with them.
A few of the higher London-day hills in the neighbourhood of
London are also capped by outliers of the Bagshot Sands, as, for
example, Harrow, Hampstead, and Highgate, all of which are
sites of old habitations. The sands at these places attain a thick-
ness of from 30 to 80 feet, are very permeable, and afford a suffi-
cient water-supply by means of wells to alimited population. A num-
ber of well-known small springs are thrown out at the contact of the
sands and the clay on the slopes just below and around the
summit both of Highgate and Hampstead Hills. In some
instances, owing to the presence of iron in the sands, they are
slightly chalybeate. When the Baghshot Sands, further west-
ward of London, attain their fuller development of from 300 to
400 feet, the depth to the water-level at their base becomes so
great that the upper porous beds are left high and dry, and form
uncultivated virastes, such as Bagshot Heath, Frimley Heath,
and others ; but on the outside of this area, where the sands
become thinner, and the water-level more within reach, we find
a number of villages, such as finglefield Green, Sunnin^hill,
Brackwell, Wokingham, Alderstone, Esher, Weybridge,
Woking, &c. There are also some thin subordinate beds of
clay in the middle of the series which hold up a sufficient quan-
tity of water for small local supplies, and give rise to small
streams in the valleys of the Blackwater and of Chobham. The
running nature of portions of these sands, and the presence of
beds of ferruginous and green sands, often interfere much with
the construction of deep wells, and the quantity of the well-
water; and, externally, the mixed day-and-sand character
of the upper beds of the London clay fails to give any
good retaiiung-line for the water, which therefore rarely issues
as springs, but oozes out from the general surface of the inter-
mediate spongy mass.
The 70 to 100 feet of sands and pebble-beds bdongin^ to the
lower tertiary strata under the London day, and ovedjna^ the
chalk, are also very permeable, and being intercalated with some
beds of retentive clay, they give rise to one or two levels of
water, affording wherever these strata form the snrfifice, as at
Blackheath, &xley, Chisdhurst, and Bromley, a modermte
water-supply to shallow wells. Where these sands dip under
the London day, and only present a narrow bdt on the surface,
a small valley is commonly formed into which the London-day
hills drain on the one side, and on the other the chalk dammed
back by the Tertiary strata throws out its springs, and the sands
are thus kept charged with water up to a short depth from the
surface. As instances of the many places whose sites have been
determined by these favourable drcumstances, I may name Croj-
don, Beddington, Carshalton, Sutton, Cheam, EweU, the vilbiges
between Epsom, Ashstead, and Leatherhead, to Guildford, and
again between Old Basing and Kingsdere.
But besides furnishing a supply by ordinary wells to a number
of villages on their line of outcrop, the Lower Tertiary sands have
of late years contributed to the metropolitan supply, as well as
to the supply of those adjacent districts where the surface is
formed of^ tenacious clay, and water is scarce, by means of
artesian wells. For along the line of coimtry just named, and
along a more irregular bdt on the north of London, these sands
pass beneath the London clay, so that the water they receive
from rain and springs on the surface, passes underground, where
it is prevented from rising by the impermeable superincumbent
day ; consequently, as there is no outlet for the water below
ground, these sand-beds are filled with water along thdr whole
underground range, between their outcrop in Surrey and that in
Hertfordshire.
I need not dwell here upon the constructions of Artesian wells,
which have been explained by Hericart de Thury, Arago,
Degousee and Laurent, Bumdl, Hughes, mysdf, and others,
beyond offering a few explanatoiy remarks on this particular case,
which we shall also have to bring to bear upon the origin of
springs.
The surface of the ground at the outcrop, just referred to, of
the Lower Tertiary sands is about 100 fL above the level of the
Thames, whilst under London the sands are at a depth of from
100 ft. to 220 ft. below that level, thus forming the shell of a
btsin from 200 ft to 300 ft. deep, the centre 0? which is filled
with a depressed mass of impermeable clajr, There is, however,
a notch m the lip of the basin, where it is traversed by the
Thames, at Deptford and Greenwich, which is at a lower levd of
100 ft than the rest of the rim. Below this level, as there is no
escape for the water, the strata are naturally perpetually water-
lo^ed ; and if any water is withdrawn fi-om one part, it is,
owing to the permeability of the strata, at once replace from
adjacent parts of the same strata. Early in the present century,
bore-holes were made through the overlying London clay to
the sands at depths of from 80 ft. to 140 ft., and the water from
these deep-seated springs rose at once to a height of several feet
above the level of the Thames, where it tended to maintain
itself, and thus form, in the lower-lying districts, permanent
natural fountains. But the ease and fadlity with which this
abundant supply was obtained, led to the construction of so great
a number of such wells that a time soon came when the annual
rain outfall no longer sufficed to meet the demand, or, rather, it
could not be transmitted fast enough to the central area of ab*
straction to replace the out-draught The consequence was that,
after some years, the water ceased to overflow, and the line of
water-levd has gradually sunk at London, until it now stands
some 70 ft. or 80 ft beneath the surface levdL This, however,
is not the case at a distance from London ; and in many parts of
Middlesex, and more especially in Essex, where Artesian wells
are common, they have been found of very great service.
In order to supply the deficiency thus caused in the Lower
Tertiary sand, most of the Artesian wells in London have of
late years been carried down into the underlying chalk, which
also extends beneath London at depths of from 150 ft to 280 it
Both formations are permeable, but in different ways. On both
the rainfall is at once absorbed, but the transmission of it is
effected in different ways. Through the sands it filters at
once ; but not so with Uie chalk. A cubic foot of the latter
will hold two gallons of water by mere capiUary attraction ;
but it parts with this with difficulty. Stul in time it finds
its way through the body of the chuk, aided by the innumer-
able joints, £sures, and lines of flints by which this forma*
tion is traversed; and, when once under the line of satum-
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Mar. 28, 1872 J
NATURE
433
tion, the water in these fissares circnlates freely. This line of
saturation is govemed in this as well as in all other permeable
formations^ by the level of the lowest natural point of escape,
which is either the coast-line if near, or the nearest river-
valley. Below these levels permeable strata are alwavs
charged with water; consequently under London the chalk
is everywhere water-bearing ; but as the Lower Chalk is more
compact than the Upper, and b less fissured, especially when
covered by other strata, and as the more compact water -logged
chalk delivers its charge with extreme slowness, it is not until a
fissure is met with Uiat a free supply of water is obtained.
Further, as there is no law regulating the position of the fissures,
the depth to which the chalk has to oe traversed before meeting
with a free supoly of water is quite uncertain. It is a question
of probability depending upon meeting with a fissure sooner or
later — 10 to 15 feet have sufficed in some of the deep London
wells, whereas in others it has l)een necessary to sink to a depth
of from 100 to 200 feet or more before hitting on the necessary
fissures. Large ai this supply is, the same causes which have
operated in the case of the sands have told also on the chalk
supplies (and, no doubt, there is some community between the
two), and the great demands on it have occasioned a similar
lowering of the water-line. At the same time this line also re-
mains unaltered at a distance from London, and as with Tertiary
Sands the mass of the chalk beneath intersecting the level of
the river valleys remuns constantly chaiged with water. Ordinarv
wells, therefore, sunk below this line of saturation into the chalk
where it comes to or near the surface, are capable of yielding
very large quantities of water. More than seven million gallons
daily are in fact now so obtained from the chalk on the south-
east of London.
Numerous and useful as the London Artesian wells are, they sink
into insignificance when compared with the application of the same
system in Paris. Our deepest wells range from about 400 to 500 feet,
and the watercomesfrom the chalk hUls at a nearestdistanceof from
1 5 to 2^ miles from London ; whereas in Paris the well of Crenelle
is 1,798 feet deep, and derives its supplies from the rain-water fall-
ing in the Lower Greensands of Champagne, and travelling
aMve 100 miles underground before reaching Paris. The weu
of Passy, sunk also through the Chalk into tne Lower Green-
sands at a depth of 1,923 feet, derives its supplies from the same
source. The level of the ground above the sea at the outcrop
of the Lower Greensands in Champagne averages about 350 feet,
and the water at Crenelle well rises 120 above Uie surface^ which
is nearly the level of the Seine, there 89 feet above the
sea-leveL The water-delivery is large and well maintuned.
These r»ults were considered so encouraging, that in 1865 the
Municipality of Paris decided on sinking two Artesian wells of
unexampled magnitude. Hitherto the bore-holes of such wells
have been measured by inches, varying from 14 tO 4 inches, that
of Passy alone having been 4 feet at the surface and 2 feet 4
inches at bottom. But it was resolved to exceed even the larger
dimensions of this welL
One of these experimental welLs is in the north of Paris, at
La Chapelle, St. Denis, 157 feet above the sea-level. A shaft,
with a diameter of of 6^ feet, was first sunk through Tertiary
strata to a depth of 1 13 feet. At this point the boring was com-
menced with a diameter of 5^ feet, and carried through difficult
Tertiary strata to a depth of 450 feet, when the Chalk was
reached. A fresh bore-hole was here commenced in August 1867,
which in September 1870 had reached the depth of 1,954 feet
The works were stopped on account of the war until June 1871,
when Uiey were resumed, and the bore-hole has now reached the
great depth of 2,034 feet, with a diameter still of 4 feet 4^ inches.
It is now in the Grey Chalk, and it is calculated that the Lower
Greensands will be reached at a depth of about 2,300 feet.
The other Artesian well is at the Buttes-aux-Cailles, on the
south-east of Paris, at an elevation of 203 ft above the sea.
The Tertiary strata are there only 205 ft thick. This well is
not quite on so large a scale as the other, and is still, at the depth
of 1,640ft, in the White Chalk.
The discharge firom these great wells will probably be equal to
that of a small river. At Pas^, notwithstanding some defective
tubage, and the circumstance that the surface of the ground is
there 86 ft above the Seine, the discharge at the surface is equal
to 3^ millons of gallons daily ; and it hu been above 5 millions,
or enough for the supply of a town of 150,000 inhabitants.
The question may arise, and has arisen, why, with a like geo-
logical structure, should not like results be obtained at Loi&on
as at Paris ; and» to a certain extent, it has been answered. At
Kentish Town an Artesian well .was^ in 1855, carried thron^^
324 feet of Tertiary strata, 645 ft. of Chalk, 14 fl. of Upper
Greensand, and 130ft of Gault Instead of then meeting with the
water-betring Lower Greensands which crop out from beneath
the Chalk, lK>th on the north and south of London, unexpected
geological conditions were found to prevail, to which we shall have
occasion to refer presently ; and not only were these Green-
sands found to be absent, but likewise all the Oolitic and Liassic
series. The bore-hole passed at once from the Gault into a
series of red and grey sandstones, probably of Palaeozoic age,
and not water-bearing. The Chalk has more recently been
traversed at Crossness, near Plumstead, where its base was reached
at a depth of 785 ft, and the bore-hole carried 159 ft deeper
into, but not through, the Gault, when, owing to difficulties
caused by the small size of the bore-hole, the work had to be
abandoned. Although we were mistaken in our anticipations as
to the results of the first of these works, still it is evident — as
the Lower Greensands, with a thickness of 450 ft, pass beneath
the Chalk and the Gault in a line from Famham, Reigate, to and
beyond Sevenoaks — and they again occupy the same position
north of London, on a line from Leighton Buzzard to Potton —
that it is only a question of how fiir they may be prolonged
underground towards London. They have as yet been followed
only 4 miles from their outcrop under the Gault in Buckingham-
shire, and I mile in Kent ; and no attempt has been mauie to
follow them under the Chalk. It is therefore quite possible that
they may extend to under Croydon, or even to Sydenham, or
still nearer London ; but this depends upon the width of the
underground ridge of Palaeozoic rocks, which has not been deter-
mined. It is a matter for trial. As the sands are from 200 to
500 ft. thick, and show no sign of an immediate approach to the
old shore-line, there is every probability that in Kent and Surrey
they extend at all events some miles northward, and in Bucks
some miles southward, before they thin off against the under-
ground ridge of old rocks, so that they might still be found avail-
able, as a supplementary source, for the water-supply of Londoiu
Such is the geological structure of the ground on which this
large city is dependent for its first and inunediate water-supply
by means of wells. The highest seam of water, that in the
drift-gravel, extends almost everywhere under the streets and
houses of London, at depths of from 12ft to 25ft., forming what
is called ^und-springs. The Lower Tertiary sands, with their
greater thickness, and their larger and distant area of outcrop,
contain the second and larger underground body of water be-
neath London. The third underground reservoir is the Chalk,
^hich, from its large dimensions — 500ft to i,ooo(t thick — and
extensive superficial area, forms a still larger reservoir, and
source of water-supply.
With the increase of population, however, the. need for larger
quantities necessitated the recourse to river-supply; and this
supply, equally with the other, is regulated by geological con-
ditions, only that in this case the question concerns Uiose con-
ditions which affect the strata throughout the catchment-basin of
the river itself al>ove the town which needs its supply.
{To b€ continued,)
PROF. SCHIAPARELU'S RESEARCHES
nPHE following address was delivered by the president of the
^ Royal Astronomical Society, Mr. William Lassell, Feb-
ruary 9, 1872, on presenting the Gold Medal of the Society to
Signor Schiaparelli \-^
You will have learned from the Report just read, that your
Council have awarded the Gold Medal this year to Signor Schia-
parelli ; and I reeret to have to inform you that we shall be
deprived of the pleasure of presenting it to him in person ; as by
a letter received from him a few days ago, I learn that his duties
of Professor and Director of the Observatory at Milan will
prevent his being able to undertake so long a journey.
The first notice I find of Signor Schiapaielli's labours is his
discovery of the minor planet Hesperia^ at the Observatory of
Milan, on April 29, 1 861, an indication that, besides his. mathe-
matical attainments in Theoretical Astronomy, he possesses in-
dustry and practical skill as an ol^erver.
In the Astronomische NackrickUn of August 13, 1864 (No.
1487), ^is a purely mathematical paper by him, entitled
"Th^r^messur le mouvement de plusiers corps qui s'attirent
mutuellement dans Tespace." Of this pp^r, not bearing imme-
diately upon those labours of Signor Schiapardli which have
more especially called forth the award, I will only express the
opinion of a friend of high mathematical attainmentsi who
. by ^
434
i^ATURS
[Mar. r?d, 1872
characterues it "as an elegant and probably 'original contribution
to the theonr of the orbits of bodies moving freely in space, and
acted on only by their mutual attractions."
I come now to give some account of Signor Schiaparelli's
principal discovery of the law of identity of meteors and comets,
and of the observations and reflections which led him to that
result, as contained in a series of letters to Father Secchi in the
year 1866.
It appears from these that Signor Schiaparelli's study of this
subject received a great impulse from his own observation of the
meteors which fell on the nights of the 9th, loth and nth of
August, x866. He states that he was then confirmed in the
opinion expressed three years before, that, of the meteors which
usually fall on those nights, a great number are distinguished by
their starting nearly afi from one point And, from the spas-
modic fall of these meteors — ^more sometimes falling in one
minute than in the next quarter of an hour — ^he inferred that
Uieir distribution in space must be very unequal He also ob-
served that those stars proceeding from one point were all of a
fine yellow colour, ana left behind them a fugitive but very
sensible track ; whilst the other meteors, proceeding from various
points, offered every variety of colour and form. Hence he con-
cludes that the meteors form a namber of rings, and become
visible when the earth traverses their orbit, as if shooting forth
from one point in the sky. And he remarks that the observa-
tions of M. Coulvier-Gravier, and Professor Heis, and of our
own countrymen. Professor Herschel and Mr. Greg, have shown
that these radial points occur in every quarter of the heavens ;
therefore these rings or orbits must possess every possible degree
of inclination to the ecliptic.
He then proceeds to inquire how such a mass of cosmical
matter coula become accumulated in the Solar S jstem. This
system seems to consist of two classes — the planets, characterised
by but little eccentricity of orbit, slight variation of the plane of
the orbit, exclusion of retrograde motion, and a tendency to take
Uie form of a sphere (deviating from it only so much as is neces-
sary to preserve the equilibrium of the body) — these characteristics
applying also to the secondary systems, with the exception of the
satellites of Uranus. The second class consists of cometary
bodies, which are under no law as to the planes of their orbits,
or the direction of their motions. The point most remarkable
about them is the extreme elongation of their orbits, most of
which are described in stellar space ; which seems to show that
they did not form part of our system when that was first con-
stituted, but are wandering nebulae picked up by our sun.
Signor Schiaparelli further observes that the velocity of the
solar system through space has been shown by Otto Struve and
Airy to be somewhat similar to that of the planets round the
sun. Now if a nebulous body or comet in motion were to come
within the action of the sun, it would go round the sun at such
an immense distance from us, that it would remain invisible.
Two circumstances might bring it within our range of vision —
first, if the comet met the sun in almost a direct line ; and
secondly, if it were travelling in a direction parallel to the sun's
motion.
If we suppose a cloud of cosmical matter formed ot particles
so minute and so widely separated as to possess scarcely anv
mutual attraction, to be brought within the power of the sun^s
influence, each particle would pursue an elliptic orbit of its
own. Tliose particles which differed most in the planes of
their orbits would however possess nodes in common^ and,'in
consequence, the particles as they approached the sun would
necessarily approach each other, and when separating again,
after passing me node, would at their perihelion passage be
still very much nearer than they were when brought first
within the sun's attraction. Those particles which, lying in
the same plane, presented a wide angle with respect to the sun,
would form ellipses^ the planes of which would be identical ;
though the positions of the major axes would diverge, and, as a
result, the particles at their perihelion would pass m nearly the
same orbit, but at different velocities, the originally foremost
particle beins overtaken by those behind it. Again, those
particles which, being in the same plane^ were also in the same
line with regard to the jm^— their separation consisting in the
variation of their distance from the sun — would form ellipses in the
same plane, and having a major axis in the same direction, but
of different lengths,— the orbit of the particle nearest the sun
being described within that of the farthest particle, the result of
which would be a difference of speed, and an ever-widening dis-
tribution of the partides along the whole of the orbit. This
reasoning is illustrated, in the second letter to Father Secchi, l^
a series of diagrams and figures ; and then Signor S^iutparelii
proceeds to give a recapitulation or summary of Ills principa!
propositions thus: — Celestial matter may be divided into the
foUowing classes, 1st, fixed stars ; 2nd, agglomeratioiis of small
stars (resolvable nebulae) ; 3rd, smaller bodies invisible except
when approaching the sun (comets) ; 4th, small paxtides com-
posing a cosmical cloud. This last class probably' oocapies a
large portion of the celestial spaces, and the motioa of these
dust-clouds may be similar to that of the fixed sta.r5. MThen
attracted by the sun they are not visible unless they receiTe an
orbit which is an elongated conic section.
Whatever may have been the original form of the doad, it
cannot penetrate fzx into our system without assuming^ the ibrm
of an elongated cylinder passing gradually into a stream ot
particles. The number of such streams seems to be wery great
The particles are so scattered that their orbits may cross each
other without interruption, and may possibly be always changing
like the beds of rivers. The stream, after passing its perihelion,
will be more diffuse than before ; and, when passing a planet,
may be so violently affected as to separate or break up, and even
some particles may assume quite a new orbit and become inde-
pendent meteors.
Thus meteors and other celestial phenomena of like natore,
which a century ago were regarded as atmospheric phenomena
— which La Place and Olbers ventured to think came firom the
moon, and which were afterwards raised to the dignity of being
members of the planetary system — are now proved to belong
to the stellar regions, and to be, in truth, falling stars, Thcj
have the same relation to comets as the asteroids have to the
planets ; in both cases their small size is made up by their g;reater
number.
Lastly, we may presume that it is certain that falling stars,
meteors, and aerolites, differ in size only and not in composition;
therefore we may presume that they are an example of what the
universe is composed of. As in them we find no elements
forei^ to those of the earth, we may infer the similarity of com-
position of all the universe — a fact already suggested by the
revelations of the spectroscope.
Signor Schiaparelli further pursues the subject in another and
later paper, published in No. 1629 of the Astronomische A^ack-
richten. entitled " Sur la Relation qui existe entre les com^tes
et les etoiles filantes." In this communication he refers to the
letters to Father Secchi above referred to, in which he had endea-
voured to bring together all the arguments in favour of the
opinion of an analogy between the mysterious bodies known as
snooting stars and comets.
Signor Schiaparelli, in this paper, proceeds to state that he is
prepared to afford to this analogy a large amount of probability,
since there is no doubt that certain comets, if not all, furnish the
numerous meteors which traverse the celestial spaces. In proof
of this Signor Schiaparelli quotes from a paper of Prof. Erman,
in which he has pointed out the method of obtaining a complete
knowledge of the orbit described by a system of shooting stars,
when the apparent position of the point of radiation and the
velocity through space of the meteors is known.
Assuming from the necessity of the case that the orbit of the
August meteors must be an elongated conic section, Signor Schia-
parelli employs the method of Erman to calculate the parabolic
orbit of those bodies ; taking right ascension 44*" and north decli-
nation 56" for the position w the point of divergence, according
to the observations made in 1863 by Prof. A. S. Herschel. And
he proceeds to give the following elements, assuming the maxi-
mum of the display of 1866 to be August 10, 18 hours. Com-
paring these elements of the orbit of the August meteors with
those of the orbit of Comet II. 1862, calculated by Dr. Oppol-
zer, he exhibits the following remarkable coincidence in each
element : —
ElemenUof the Orbit
of the Aug. Meteors.
Elements of the Orbit
ofCometII,i86a
Perihelion Passage
23 July, 1862
22*9 Aug., 1862
Longitude of Perihelion 34J 28
Ascending Node 138 16
Inclination 64 3
Perihelion Distance 0*9643
Revolution Period 105 ? years
Motion Retn^grade
34441
0*9626
153-4 years
Retrc^rade
Although the time of revolution of the Au^t meteors is still
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Mar. 28, 1872]
NATURE
435
doubtful, Signor Schlaparelli, on reference to the catalogues of
Biot and Quetelet, deduces a hypothetic period of 105 years,
which introduces but small changes in the elementa — very inferior
to the uncertainty of some of the data on which this determina-
tion is built
In the letters above referred to, Signor Schiaparelli had given
an orbit for the meteors of November, assuming the point of
radiation as determined in America to be 7 Leonis, But later
observations made with much care in England have shown that
this position is erroneous by several degrees, so that that orbit
can only be termed a very rough approximation. Assuming,
then, that the point of radiation is longitude 143° 12' and latitude
10° x6' north — that the maximum of the shower was November
13, iih. G.M.T. — and that the period of revolution is 33 J years,
according to Prof. Newton — Signor Schiaparelli compare! the
foUowing elements of the meteoric orbit, which he compared
with those of the orbit of Comet I., 1866, calculated by Dr.
Oppolzer.
Elemeats of the OrUt Element of the Orbit
of Nov. Meteon. of Comet I, 1866.
Perihelion Passage Nov. 10*092, 1S66. Jan. ii'i6o^ 1866.
Longitude of Perihelion 5^ 25*9 60 28
Ascending Node 231 28*2 231 26*1
Inclination 17 44*5 17 18*1
Perihelion Distance 0*9873 0-9765
£ccentricihr 0*9046 0-9054
Semi-axis Major 10*340 10*324
Revolution Period 33*250 years 33*176 years
Motion Retrograde Retrograde.
The assumed position of the point of radiation of the meteors
is the mean of 15 determinations obtained by Prof. A. S. Her-
schel, and given in the Monthly Notices of our Society, vol.
xxvii. p. 19. If this point be advanced 2^ in longitude, and 145°
be taken in lieu of 143% the difference of 4' in the place of the
longitude of perihelion in the above elements will disappear.
Signor Schiaparelli then concludes his memoir in these re-
marluible words : — "These approximations need no comment —
must we r^^aitl these fiUling stars as swarms of small comets, or
rather as the product of the dissolution of so many great comets ?
I dare make no reply to such a question.'*
In venturing to offer a word or two of comment on this very
imperfect risunUoi the labours of Signor Schiaparelli, it appears
to me that we can scarcely speak of them too highly, or overrate
their importance. Granting that his hypotheses are correct, —
of which indeed there seems to be a very high probability, some
of the most difficult questions in the contemplation of the con-
stitution of the universe seem at once, and as it were/^r saltum^
to be solved. To have placed before our view so clear a history
of those mysterious bodies — nebulae, comets, and aerolites, and
their several and intimate relations pointed out — ^is an advance-
ment of Astronomical Science I at least Individually had not
ventured to anticipate. And a collateral advantage resulting
from this splendid discovery, is the encouragement given to the
careful and diligent observation of phenomena, even when the
prospect of a fruitful result is b^ no means apparent. Had it
not been for the patient, systematic, and intelligent observations of
Profl Heis, M. Coulvier-Giavier, Mr. Greg, and Prof. Herschel,
Signor Schiaparelli would have wanted many valuable data re-
quired in his investigations.
I may finally remark that an important confirmation of Signor
Schiaparelli's conclusions appears in a valuable ])aper of Prof.
Adams, in our Monthly Notues^ vol. xxviL p. 247, in which from
somewhat different data, including some observations of his own,
he calculates elliptic elements of the November meteors generaUy
very acc()rdant with those above given.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Geological Society, March 6. — Prof. Duncan, F.R.S.,
vice-president, in the chair.— <i.) ** Prognalhodus Giintheri
(Egerton), a new genus of fossil Fish from the Lias oi I^rme
Regis." By Sir P. de M. Grey-Egerton, Bart, M.P., F.R.S.
In this paper the author described a new form of fossil fish,
htving a broad premaxillanr plate somewhat resembling the
incisor tooth of a gigantic Rodent, a single auxiliary plate like
that of Callorhynchus^ and a mandibular dental apparatus
closely resembling that of Cochliodus. For this form he pro-
posed the establislunent of the new eenus JPropnaihcdus^ and
named the species P, Giinthiri, Ischyodus \Johnsom^ Agassis,
also probably belongs to this genus, as it agrees with P. Giintheri
in the characters of the premaxillary teeth. The author was
doubtful as to the exact position of tins genus, which had a head
extended in a horizontal instead of a vertical plane, suggesting a
resemblance to Zygoena^ but covered with hard plates like the
head of a sturgeon, and exhibited in the dental apparatus the
carious combination indicated above. — Dr. Giinther pointed out
the interest attaching to the dentition of this fossil fish as
proving the connection between the Ganoid and Chimar^roid
forms. The existence of three teeth instead of one on each side
of the jaw, as in Ceratodus and others, presented in it a generic
character; but the type was still the same. Mr. Etheridge
made some observations as to the horizon in the Lias in which
these fossil fishes occurred. He believed that nine out of ten
of the Lower Lias Species came out of the upper part of the
Bucklandi limestone series. Sir P. Egerton corroborated Mr.
Etheridge's views as to the localisation of species of fish,
and agreed with him as to the importance of recording the
exact position of all such fossils. — (2.) "On two speci-
mens of Ischyodus^ from the Lias of Lyme Regis." By Sir
P. de M, Grey-Eg:erton, Bart, M.P., F.R.S. In this
paper the author noticed a new example of the greatly de-
veloped rostrum of a male Chimeroid, an inch shorter, more
slender, and more attenuated at the apex, than that of Ischyodus
orthorhinus Egerton, having a projecting median rib along the
upper surface, and the tubercles of the lower part smaller and
fewer than in /. orthorhinus. For this form the author proposed
the name of /. Uptorhinus. Also a dorsal fin-spine, witn the
cartilages to which it was articulated, showing the mechanism of
its attachment very clearly. This spine difiers from that of /.
orthorhinus in being straighter and smoother, and having fewer
and smaller tubercles. The author regarded it as probably
belonging to /. leptorhinus — (3.) *< How the Parallel Roads of
Glen Roy were formed." By Prof. James Nicol, F.G.S. In
this paper the author endeavoured to explain, in accordance with
the marine Uieory of the origin of the Parallel Roads of Glen
Roy, the coincidence of tiie level of these terraces with that of
the different cols, and also how the same sea could have pro-
duced terrsces at different levels in different valleys. He as-
sumed that during the gradual elevation of the land, the gradual
closing of the straits between its separate masses by the elevation
of the cols above the surface would, by checking the eastward
flow of the tidal current, cause the sea-level in the western bays
to remain stationary relatively to the rising land ; and during
this period the marine erosion would take place along a line
corresponding in level to the col. Hence, in Glen Gloy, which
has only one col, the highest in the system, the highest road
only was formed ; and Glen Gloy remained unaffected bv the
stoppage of those cols which produced three roads at lower
levels in Glen Roy, the lowest of them also extending round
Glen Spean. Professor Ramsay entered into the historv of
the theories for accounting for the terraces, the first of which,
that of Professor Agassiz (in 1840), accounted for them by
a great glacier damming up the valley, and from time to
time declining in height. The glacial theory, on which this
view rested, had to some extent b^ doubted, but eventually had
been almost universally accepted even by its first opponents. He
next cited the works of the late Mr. Robert Chambers as to the
existence of old sea-margins, pointing to a gradual sinking of
the sea or a rising of £e land. There comd be little doubt
that a great part of Scotland and of the northern part of
England, had been at one time covered with glaciers, as had
also been the case in other parts of Europe. Unless the whole
country had been submerged, and then came up again by a
succession of jerks, it seemed impossible that such terraces
could have been formed by the sea and still have remained in
existence. If, however, there had been great oscillations in
temperature, it seemed possible that during the decline of some
transverse glacier the varying levels of the lake might have
left terraces, traces of which might still be preserved. Mr.
Gwyn Jeffreys renewed his protest against regardixig these
beds as marine unless marine remains were found in them.
In Prof. Nicol's former paper, mention, however, had been made
of rolled boulders. These occurred at Glasgow, and elsewhere,
covered with Balani, As, however, no marine remains had
been found in Glen Roy, he adopted the freshwater theory. Mr.
Evans regretted that no one else was present who would in any
degree advocate the author's views. He pointed out that if tne
surface of the rocks below the detritus in Glen Roy was glaciated,
the probability was in favour of the superficial drift being of
marine rather than of subaenal origin. He much doubted
L/iyiLiiLcv,! uy
<3''
436
NATURE
\Mar. 28,1872
whether Ben Nevis, or any of the mountains of the district,
offered a sufficient gathering-ground for any such glacier as that
supposed in the freshwater theory, assuming the cHmate to have
been such as would have admitted of a large lake in Glen Roy.
He suggested the possibili^ of the openings through which the
sea w^d gain access to the district havine at the time of the
last submergence been to some extent choked with ice, which
thus checked the tidal action inland from the present coast ; and
thought that possibly both glaciers and the sea had together
contributed towards the formation of the terraces. These, he
observed, were by no 'means confined to Glen Roy itself^ but
were to be seen on a large scale, and at a lower level in the
valley of the Speam, if not elsewhere.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, Biarch 11. — ^The following mathe-
matical papers were read : — On flattened curves, by Mr. ^ A.
Cayley, communicated by M. Chasles ; on the determina-
ion of the characteristics of the elementary system of cubics,
by M. H. G. Zeuthen, also presented by M. Chasles ; and
on a change of variables, which renders certain eauations
with partial derivations of the second order integrable, by
M. J. Boussinesq, presented by M. de Saint- Venant M.
de Saint-Venant also presented the oontinnation of his me-
moir on the hydrodynamics of water-courses. — Papers on
auroras were communicated by Marshal Vaillant, M. Vinson,
M. H. de Paxville, and M. H. Tarry. M. Vinson's communica-
tion, and two esctrmcts from letters read by Marshal Vaillant,
related to a magnificent Aurora Austrmlis observed at the Island
of Bourbon (Reunion) on the night of February 4-5.— M. C
Saint-Claire Deville presented a note by M. A. Honzean on
the projwrtion of ozone contained in the air of the country,
and on its origin. — M. W. de Fonvielle presented a note m
continuation of that read at the previous meeting on the
means of protecting habitations against the perils of light-
ning strokes induced by gas-pipes, &c — A report, by M.
Coumbaiy, on the prediction of earthquakes, was raid. --
M. £. Becquerel presented a note by M. A Cazin on the quantity
of magnetism of electro-magnets. — M. Delauiuiy communicated
a paper by M. A. M. Mayer describing some experiments, show-
ing; mat the translation of a vibrating body gives origin to a wave
of different length from that produced by the same vibrating
body in a fixed positioiL — A note by M. H. Resal on the geome-
trical theory of the movement of tne planets was also presented
by M. Delaunay. — ^A paper was read by M. Kolb on the densities
of hydrochloric add ; it contained some useful tables. — M. Blan-
chard presented a note by MM. P. Fischer and L. de Folin on
their dredging in the fosse of Cap Breton during the year 1871.
These dredgmgs were made at depths extendmg from 24 to
250 fathoms. The authors indicate the principal species of
animals obtained by them. — M. de Quatrefages communicated a
paper by M. £. Perrier containing a summary of his anatomical
mvestigation upon the earthworm, and M. Coste a note by M.
G. Pouchet on changes of colour produccxi in prawns to
accommodate them to the colour of surrounding objects. This
change of colour is prevented by removing the eyes of the
prawns. — ^M. A. Leymerie described some geological peculiarities
m the lower Pyrenees.
March 18.— M. Serret presented some remarks on the note
by Mr. Boussinesq, read at the last meeting of the Academy,
and stated that M. Bonssinescj was long since anticipated
by Lacroix in the transformation propoMd by him. — M.
Serret also presented some remarks by M. K Combescure,
upon an analytical memoir b¥ L^^endre, on the integra-
tion of certain equations with partial differences. — M. de
Saint-Venant read a continuation ot his memoir on the hydro-
dynandcs of water-courses. — ^M. H. Saint-Claire Deville com-
municated a note by M. D. Gemez, on the absorption spectra of
the vapours of sulphur, selenious add, and hypodilorous add.
The author finds tnat coloured vapours in general absorb rays of
irregularly variable refran^bility. Vapour of sulphur at first
produces a gradual extinction of the spectrum, except ^e red
part a little beyond line C of the of the solar spectrum ; with an
increase of temperature the rest of the spectrum reappears
with very distinct bundles of lines in the violet and blue, and
returning into the green. Vapour of selenious adds pro-
duces a veiy distinct system of absorption-bands in the violet and
blue^ and the absorption-spectrum of hypochlorous add is
identical with that of hypochloric and chlorous adds. — M. H.
Tarry presented a note on the extraordinair extension of ^e
zodiacal light, and its coincidence with the periodical reappearance
of auroras ; andtheauxoraof the 4th of February was the subject
of notes by MM. Denza, Mohn, aud Coumbaiy. — M. Tarry ani
M. Denza also noticed the sand rains of the South of Europe,^
Bi. C Sainte-Chdre Deville also presented some remarks ob a
note on the theory of auroras, read at the last meeting by Mar*
shal Vaillant. — ^The papers on chemical subjects were particiiUiiy
numerous. M. Chevreiu read a memoir on a phenomenon in tbs
crystallisation of a very concentrated saline solution. — A pape;
on the formation of chloral by MM. A. Wurtx and G. Vo^ vis
read. — ^The question of the preservation of wine by the i^pl*
cation of heat was further discussed by MM. de Vergi^e*
Lamotte and Pasteur. — M. Wurtz presented a note by M.^ C
Friedd and R. D. Silva, on the isomers of trichlorhydrine and
the reproduction of glycerine ; a note by M. G. Bonchardat <a
the transformation ot acetone into hydride of hexylcne (dipro-
pyle) ; and some facts with regard to diphenylamine by MM.
C. Girard and G. de Laire. — ^M. C. Robin presented some ob>
servatiotts by M. E. Ritter, on cotourless bQe, in which the
author stated that in] all cases where colourless bUe oocuned
the liver presented more or less fatty degeneration. — A note was
read by M. Dudanx on the influence of the cold of winter npoo
the seeds of plants. — M. Decaisne presented a note by M. £.
Bomet, on the gomdia of Lichens, in which the author supports
the curious opinion put forward by M. Schwendener, that the
lichens are complex organisms, fonned by the association of cer-
tain low algse with fung^ or other plants. He regards the coa*
nection as one|of parasitism. — A note was read by M. S. Meunier
on the discovoy of an abundant deposit of Hemirhymckus Da-
hayed in the Calcaire Grossier ofPuteanx. — M. C. Bemazd pre-
sented a note by M. OUier, on cutaneous grafts, and a note by
M. Gnibert on the benefiaal results obtained by the combioed
action of moq>hine and chloroform in surgery.
BOOKS RBCBIVBD
EMGUSH.—Spac* and Vision : W. H. S. Moock (Dublin, McGeeX— Prac-
tical Fhysiolory : £. T.ankr»trr ; 5th edition ( Hard wicke).— Moth aihd Ruat :
bjM. L.(W.TegK).
% F0KXICN.— Cono di Geologia, Vol. i. : A StopfMuii (MQan, Benuudoni).
DIARY
SATURDAY, MxacH 30.
Chemical SocnTv, at 8.— Annivenary Meetrng.
MONDAY, Apeil t.
Emtomological Socisty, at 7.
Royal Institution, at a.— General Monthly Meeting.
Victoria Institutb, at 8.— On Force : Dr. M'Cann.
TUESDAY, ApaiL a.
SociBTY OF Biblical Akcil«ology, at 8.|o.~Notice of a Curious Myth
respecting the Birth of Sannna, from the Assyrian Tablets containing an
Account of hit Life: H F.Talbot, F.R.S.L.— The Assyrian verbs " Basu,"
to be, *' Qabah," to say, and '* Isu," to have, identified as variant forms of
verbs having the same significauons in the Hebrew language : R. Call,
F.S.A.— On the Origin of Semitic CtviUaation, diiefly upon Philoloncal
Evidence: Rev. A. K.Sayce,M. A. ^ *^ *
WEDNESDAY, Aful 3.
SoctBTV or AsTS, at 8.
Microscopical Socibty, at 8.
Pharmaceutical Socibty, at 8.
THURSDAY, Apru. 4.
Linnsan SoasTY, at 8. —On the Geographical Distribution of Compositse :
G. Bentham, Pr»dent (oondudedX
Ckbmical Socixty, at 8.
CONTENTS Pag.
Thb Iron and Stbsl Institutb ; . . 417
KtCROLSONfON THB GnAPTOUTBS 41S
Our Book Shblp 419
Lbttbrs to thb EorroR:—
Qrcumpolar Land.— H. H. Howorth 420
New Zealand Trees ^n
Earthquakes in the Philippine Islands.— Dr. A. B. Mbybr ... 493
Height of Auroras.— T. W. Backhousb 4*3
EccentridtyoftheEarth'sOrbit— J. Ellis 433
BaxometricDepression.— J. J. Murphy, F.G.S 4*3
FuRTHBR Invbstigations ON Planbtary Inplubncb upon Solar
Activity. ByWARRSN Db La Rub, D.CL., K.R.S. ; Balfour
Stbwart, LL.D.. F.RS. : and Benjamin Lobwy, F.R.A.S. . . 431
Rhinocbrosbs. {With Illustratictu,) 4^
SCIBNCB in thb KaYV 4^
NOTBl .••..••...• ••••• 439
Annual Addrbss to thb Gbological Socibty op London, Fbb.
16, 187*. ByJ. Prbstwich, F.RS 431
Prop. Schiaparblli's Rbsbarchbs 433
SoaBTIBS AND ACADBMIBS 435
Books Rbcbiybd 436
DJary 436
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NATURE
437
THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 1872
THE FOUNDATION OF ZOOLOGICAL
STATIONS
II.— The Aquarium at Naples
WHEN I wrote the first article on the " The Founda-
tion of Zoological Stations,"* I desired to bring
before the general public the idea of extending the principle
of co-operation in Science in general, and in Biology in
particular. I now propose to give a sketch of the in-
ternal organisation of a zoological station as it presents
itself to my mind. It is natural that in doing this I give
more or less a picture of what I intend to produce at
the station which is at present being erected under my
superintendence at Naples.
The building occupies an area of 7,000 square feet, and
is situated at a very short distance — looft. — ^from the sea.
It forms a rectangle looft. long and 70ft. broad, with
a height of 40(1. The building is divided into two parts,
the lower part being occupied by the tanks of the great
aquarium, which is to be open to the public ; the upper
part containing twenty-four rooms of different sizes for
laboratories, a library, and collections, and for lodging the
three or four zoologists who will be constantly occupied in
managing the station.
I will not speak here of the manner in which the
technical parts of the aquarium are to be arranged, as
this would scarcely interest my readers. What I should
like to specialise a little relates more to the facilities for
scientific study which the station will afford.
Let me speak first of the lower part of the building,
the great public aquarium. It will contain fifty-three
tanks of different sizes, one of them 32ft. long, loft.
broad, and 3ft. to 6ft. deep ; twenty-six 6ft. 6in. long,
and equally broad ; and twenty-six others 3ft, long and
3ft. to 6ft. broad. These tanks will contain marine animals
of all kinds, either isolated or more or less mixed, accord-
ing to the investigations that are to be made.
I imagine now that in one of these tanks a number of
Medusae and Salpae are together, and the problem is
to know how they will behave in so close a union. This
can be solved only in such a tank, and it will be a very
easy study, as the naturalist has only to occupy a mov-
able chair, which is placed before the tank, and which
hides him and the tank by special precautions completely
from the general public. At a certain moment you can
put into the tank some rapacious fishes, or some of the
swift and warlike Crustaceans of the Palaemon tribe,
and wait for the movements and actions of the Me-
dusae as well as the Salpa*. You may repeat these obser-
vations, and add other different species ; and if you have
patience enough, you cannot fail to discover facts about
the general habits of the animals in question, and the
functions of their organs, which were unknown before,
and which may yield, perhaps, valuable arguments to
establish a theory on the manner in which they origi-
nated from other animals. As it is, we hardly know
anything about the life of Medusae or Salpae, and our
ignorance of the habits of other marine animals is
equally great
♦ Naturs, vol. Y. p. 277.
VOL. V.
Let us take another example. I was present when halt
a dozen stone crabs {Lithodes Maya) were brought from
Norway to the Hamburg Aquarium. Mr. Lloyd, at that
time the Director of the Aquarium, distributed them in
several tanks. It happened that one of them found itself
in company with a number of Crerilabrus norwegicus.
a swift and clever little fish. These at once began to
attack their new companion. With considerable skill
they tried to hurt the eyes of the crab, which on their
long stalks presented, of course, the most vulnerable part
of the clumsy and spinous animal. After half an hour's
continued attacks the fishes actually succeeded in tearing
out one of the eyes. This fact made me investigate at
once the mode of protection with which Nature had fur-
nished the eyes of Crustacea, and I collected a considerable
number of observations, which, if completed and worked
out, would possibly form a very interesting chapter in our
knowledge of the progress of Natural Selection.
I shall adduce a third instance for the necessity of
facilitating observations of this kind. In his excellent
refutation of some of Mr. Mivart's objections to
the theory of Natural Selection, Mr. Darwin relates
("Origin of Species," 6th Edition, p. 186) some observa-
tions made by Malm on the way in which the eyes of
the Pleuronectes get both on one side of fish. The fol-
lowing are his words ; —
" The Pleuronectidae, whilst very young and still sym-
metrica], with their eyes standing on opposite sides of the
head, cannot long retain a vertical position, owing to the
excessive depth of their bodies, the small size of their
lateral fins, and to their being destitute of a swim-bladder.
Hence, soon growing tired, they fall to the bottom on one
side. Whilst thus at rest they often twist, as Malm
observed, the lower eye upwards, to see above them ; and
they do this so vigorously that the eye is pressed hard
against the upper part of the orbit The forehead between
the eyes consequently becomes, as could be plainly seen,
temporarily contracted in breadth. On one occasion
Malm saw a young fish raise and depress the lower eye
through an angular distance of about seventy degrees.
We should remember that the skull at this early age is
cartilaginous and flexible, so that it readily yiel(b to
muscular action. Besides, Malm states that the newly-
hatched young of perches, salmon, and several other sym-
metrical fishes, have the habit of occasionally resting on
one side at the bottom ; and he has observed that they
often then strain their lower eyes so as to look upwards ;
and their skulls are thus rendered rather crooked. These
fishes, however, are soon able to hold themselves in a
vertical position, and no pennanent effect is thus produced.
With the Pleuronectidae, on the other hand, the older they
grow the more habitually they rest on one side, owing to
the increasing flatness of their bodies, and a permanent
effect is thus produced on the form of the head and on the
position of the eyes."
I think observations of this kind ought to speak so
much in favour of a great observatory for marine animals,
that it would be superfluous to add any more instances
for its necessity. I hope the Naples Institution will
rapidly produce a great number of similar observations ,
and thus render one of the most important services to
the still utterly neglected knowledge of the animal life
of the ocean.
Let us now ascend the staircase from the lower part of
the future Zoological Station to the upper floor. We pass
through a series of rooms on the north side, the first of
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JtfATURE
\April ^,\%1i
which is occupied by the chief zoologist. Before the
window a table for microscopical work is placed, sur-
rounded by small tanks for breeding eggs and keeping
alive larvse and other smaller animals. Each tank is fur-
nished with a continuous current of fresh sea- water, which
can be weakened or strengthened, or completely stopped,
as it pleases the zoologist. The rest of the room is re-
served for the business matters of the station. Next to it
comes the library-room, large enough to keep a library of
25,000 volumes. Two tables for microscopical work
placed near one another occupy the place near the
window, some tanks of different sizes, completely fur-
nished with tubes, &c., are placed at the disposal of
those who occupy the tables. Next follows the great
laboratory. In the centre of the room we find at least
twenty to thirty tanks of different sizes, each of them
with its own current of sea-water ; the two great front
windows afford light for four working tables placed near
them. The walls may be occupied by physiological in-
struments and by other apparatus which wUl be required.
Galleries on the walls and across the centre of the room
yield enough space for placing all sorts of collections and
other things on them without hindering the free passage
in the laboratory. The last room on this northern side
will be occupied by the first assistant zoologist, and be
furnished, like that of the chief zoologist, with working
table and tanks. Both the comers of the house are occu-
pied by towers, and these towers contain two small
chambers of nine feet square ; they are also to be fur-
nished with tables and some tanks, so that in all ten
zoologists may, at the same time, find complete accom-
modation for their work.
The south side of the upper part of the station will
be occupied by four rooms, sufficiently large to allow the
collections to increase for many years, and the laboratory
to take possession of double the space it will occupy at
the begiiming. The west and east side afford some
private rooms for the use of the naturalists employed in
the management of the station. Under the roof eight
other smaller rooms complete the whole disposition of the
space inside the building.
Now let me say some words on the functions these
organs of the Zoological Station are to exhibit in future.
There are first to be noticed the great advantages which
will be offered to the single student. Whoever works
with marine animals will be painfully acquainted with
the difficulty of preserving them alive longer than two
or four days. They almost invariably die, and decom-
pose very soon. If one now considers that anatomical
and stil more embryological problems are only to be
solved diuing weeks or months of undisturbed and
indefatigable exertion, it is quite evident what enormous
advantage must result from the possibility of keeping
these aninlals alive during weeks. And this will be
effected by the help of tanks with a continuous stream
of sea-water. The sea being always in motion, caused
either by the waves or still more by the vast number
of currents, makes the constant alternation of fresh
and aerated sea-water necessary for the life of the
animals. The imitation of these ctirrents and the arti-
ficial injection of air into the tanks will render it pos-
sible to keep even embryos and larvae alive, which
formerly could never be studied on account of their
early death.
Besides, everybody knows how often fishermen bmg
eggs or larvae which are completely unknown to the
zoologist They are, perhaps, highly interesting ; perhaps
belonging to animals whose eggs have never been seen
before, as they deposit them far off in the open sea or os
the bottom. The single zoologist in his small room in a
Naples Hotel, with some bottles or basins at his disposal^
puts them into a tumbler, changes the water regularly,
and thus succeeds in keeping them alive for a week, but he
forgets the chang^ing once, and to-morrow they arc dead.
A good many will even not live in spite of the changing
of the water, because they require the constant stream
running over them. The single zoologist in the station,
on the other hand, puts them into a tank, sets the stream
in motion, and has nothing to do but to watch their
development, and the final disclosure of the embr)'0,
or the metamorphoses of the larvae, and may completely
succeed in getting a key to their nature and their re-
lation to other animals.
Considering now the all-importance of embryology and
development in the present state of zoology, it is easy to
recognise in the continuous stream of the sea-water in
the station a fundamental novelty in the conditions ioi
the progress of scientific zoology. Go a little further. It
is rarely advisable to work with one subject alone when
on the sea-coast. There are so many incidents that
change the conditions of the work you have in hand,
that you are much wiser to have, whilst working at one
chief problem, one or two smaller ones with it. But
chance is often a paradoxical thing ; it will entirely inun-
date you one day with excellent material for all these
problems, and cause you great embarrassment as to what
to take first ; and another day it will yield you nothing
whatever, so as to force you to idleness. Now again
with a series of tanks and streaming sea-water you can
pursue everything quite at your leisure, stop one investi-
gation when you like, or take up another, or drop
them both, and work for one day with some interesting
novelty, without being afraid of spoiling the material of
the old objects, and losing the opportunity of getting
through it. And everybody knows what a consolation it
is to be always capable of taking your principal line oi
work up again, whilst you are not forced to deny yourself
the chance of taking some notice of new arrivals, if i^
even were only for a little instructive side glance of some
hours.
These are some illustrations of the gfreat facilities and
advantages of the station, yielding thus in future to scien-
tific workers immense economy of time, money, and pover.
But this is not all that the station will do. Every well-
instructed biologist is aware of the great step anatomical
science made when first Cuvier created and afterwards
Johannes Mtiller reformed Comparative Anatomy. The
description of the different types, the organs and their
homologies, their histological constitution, similarity and
dissimilarity, became well worked out, and extended the
range of our insight over almost all living animals.
Physiology ought to have gone the same length, follow-
ing exactly the lines of anatomical research, to tell us
something about the functions of aU the organs and
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NATURE
439
Structures through the whole range of animal life. But
physiology did not do so ; it got into another line, investi-
gating widi the utmost care, and also with splendid success,
the nervous functions of the higher vertebrates, develop-
ing theories on the physical agency of these functions,
and trying to verify these theories by experiments. It went
also into chemical researches, trying to get clear insight
into the chemical processes of digestion and the nourish-
ment of the body of the higher vertebrates. In consequence
of this one- or rather two-sidedness, it has happened that
physiology appears to be very indifferent to the great
overthrow of our views reg^arding the organic world,
caused by the doctrine of evolution. Indeed, celebrated
physiologists even go so far as to deny the truth of that
doctrine altogether. Now nothing can be a stronger proof
that there is something amiss in the state of physiology,
and this something consists in the complete want of Com-
parative Physiology. If we cannot understand the ana-
tomical constitution of men and the higher animals with-
out the study of comparative anatomy and embryology,
we can equally as little understand their physiological
components if we do not follow them up through the
whole series of animal life. It is utterly deplorable that
so very little has been done in this inunense department
of Science. What do we know of the functions of such
all-important organs as the so-called segmental organs of
Annelids, which in the further development of other
classes of the animal kingdom grew into some possess-
ing the highest functions ? Nobody doubts that Amphioxus
is a Vertebrate ; but has any one yet tried to make physio-
logical experiments with that animal, though it is one of
the most hard-living of all marine animals? And is
there in any way a 'base laid for the physiology of fishes,
which must yield results of the utmost importance ? Does
the academical physiology of modern times do the least
to unveil the mysteries of generation, of growth, of
degeneration ? Are these departments, perhaps, less
interesting,^ less important, less accessible than Nervous
Physiology or the Physiology of Digestion ? There is ap-
parently a lack of idea in this great department of Biology,
an overgrowing influence of Physicists, and a want of
morphological knowledge among Physiologists. What
would have been the fate of Physiology if, unfortunately,
Johannes Miiller had not died in the same year when the
"Origin of Species" came out? He was the man to
create at once the study of Comparative Physiology, and
his spirit must again come over physiologists to enable
them to perceive the immense field of action before them,
and the neglect with which they treat it.
Now, I can only say that it is one of the great objects
of the Naples station to do all in its power to carry
on a fair commencement of Comparative Physiology.
Whatever money may be spared, whatever pains bestowed,
it wiU willingly be given to so important a duty, and it
would be considered a great good fortune should a
thoroughly instructed physiologist make up his mind to
accept a post in the station in order to establish and carry
on a Physiological Laboratory.
To all the possible advantages of the station for the
intermittent action of single naturalists alluded to above,
unite now the great advantage from the fact that such
isolated action will be quite superseded. A station like
that of Naples wants at least three well-trained zoologists
to conduct it properly. One of the greatest privileges for
these zoologists will certainly be that teaching forms no
essential part of their duties. Whoever knows by expe-
rience what a loss of energy and of time is caused to all
those original workers who are bound to teach daily on
elementary topics, what great relief vacations form in the
life of university professors and privat-docents (who gene-
rally proceed with original work daily during their vaca-
tions), will be aware of the exceeding value of paid places
where teaching is no necessity, and is only admitted for
single and special puposes. The comfortable system of
English fellowships, granting money to young gentlemen
who are supposed to merit special rewards by having un-
dergone some examinations, will, in fact, be united to the
principle of Continental academies, of paying men of
scientific reputation, that they may go on at their leisure
with original scientific work. The zoologists in the
stations will be selected from the number of young pro-
fessors or privat-docents, who, as a matter of course, are
supposed to be ambitious to do some good things in
science, even at the risk of sacrificing comfort and agree-
able social life. They will be sufficiently paid, and their
payment even raised so as to equal that of a moderately-
paid German university professor; though perhaps not
approaching the level of the payment of a young
Oxford or Cambridge Fellow. Nevertheless, they will be
put in a position to balance that inferiority by making
themselves known as workers, and adding to the store-
house of science facts and observations which may secure
to them, if not a comfortable position in life, yet at least
applause and respect from the eminent men of their
science.
And these zoologists, having at their disposal a labora-
tory of the perfection and extent of the future Naples one,
being aided by the possession of an all but complete
biological hbrary, and having before their doors the
immense storehouse of the Mediterranean Sea, cannot
fail to effect a great step in organising the progress of
biological work. Let us suppose the question arose
whether Cephalopods preceded in geological time other
Molluscs, or were a higher developed offspring of them.
The problem would be completely insoluble to University
zoologists. But the three zoologists of the station at
Naples would at once proceed with a solution in working
out the embryology of the seven or eight species
occurring in the Gulf, conmiunicating and controlling
each other's observations and conclusions. Some foreign
zoologists might join their labours for half a year, and
Science would be at once in possession of some thoroughly
worked out contributions to the Comparative Embryology
of the Cephalopods. Apply the same system of co-opera-
tion to other problems, for instance to one the solution
of which is so much longed for, as the Embryology of
Sharks. Years will not enable a single worker to go
through that enormous task, with the sole aid of his
individual opportunities. But suppose the leading
zoologist of the station got the plan into his head to
carry out the solution of this problem. He invites some
excellent zoologist who completely understands the
problem to come to Naples, to bring with him two or three
assistants who have already beforehand been made ac-
quainted with the object of the inquiry and the chief
difficulties of the observation, and to set to work from
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the very first day of their arrival. He himself will do all
in his power to procure every day fresh material of all
kinds ; by the help of the small steam yacht of the station
he may succeed in carrying over to the station sharks
which were taken two hours before, so as to secure the
life of the embryos without any danger of destruction.
Then he can isolate and feed them, and make them live
as long as he wants. Any one who knows the fauna of
the Mediterranean knows also what a large number of
different species of rays and sharks arrive in it, and all
these could be readily placed at the disposal of the em-
bryologists, thus enabling them to overcome at once
immense difficulties which have hitherto been almost
completely unassailable.
The station will have several people, fishermen or
guards, who by-and-by will be completely acquainted
with the fauna of the bay, and will be able to collect
whatever is necessary. As very often rare or much-
wanted animals come in with some current in great quan-
tities and disappear even the next day, such animals
may at once be taken in great numbers and distributed
through a great number of tanks, so as to keep them
alive for future time.
Very often zoologists from the Universities have just
four or six weeks' leisure, and would very much like to
do some original work on the shores of the Mediter-
ranean. But to go there for so short a period, to lose
so much time in getting up all the necessary arrange-
ments, and spend so much money for so small and uncer-
tain scientific profit, is rather inadvisable for those who
have to live on small incomes. But suppose the station is
ready, zoologists announce some weeks beforehand their
intention to come to Naples, and to work with this or
that object, what is easier and what more comfortable
than to arrive at the fixed dale, to find lodging, labora-
tory, library, and material all ready and in the very best
state, and to go over a ground of scientific work in six
weeks, which otherwise would, perhaps, have occupied
three months.
And will not the establishment of the Naples Station
enable even those to come and work there, who (like many
of the very best German and foreign zoologists) do not
command means large enough even for a stay of two or
three months at their own expense ? Will not the constant
presence and the collected experience of the station-
zoologists save the foreign naturalists all the trouble and
annoyance which inevitably result to every one who is
not well acquainted with the ways and modes of life and
customs of a place so complicated, and in every way
so strange, as Naples ? And, on the other side, will not
the presence of the three station zoologists guarantee
Science that it shall not lose the fruits of all that work which
was begun but could not be finished by foreign zoologists,
since their teaching duties forced them to go home and
leave it uncompleted behind? Easily enough one of the
station zoologists takes it up and carries it on to a point
where it may be fit for publication, thus preserving the
labour and energy spent on it.
But I could continue preaching and preaching on a
chapter which ought to be clear to every one who under-
stands the progress of Science. I trust that what has
been said is sufficient to procure the assistance of all
those who think it a pity that whilst millions and
millions are accumulated for the pleasure of individoals
who very often do not care a bit for the welfare or ths
progress of their fellow creatures, schemes like the pre-
sent, so evidently adapted for throwing open new lines of
inquiry into the mystery of the universe, and by that
means adding to human progress and happiness, should be
abandoned to chance and to isolated individual goodwill
and effort
Naples, March 9 Anton Dohrn
SCROPE ON VOLCANOS
Volcanos, By G. Poulett Scrope, F.R.S., &c. Second
Edition revised and enlarged. With Prefatory Rt
marks. (London : Longmans, 1872.)
THE subject of volcanos is one which possesses &
popular as well as a purely scientific interest, and
the more so of late years, since it seldom happens that
the foreign mails come in without bringing us tidings of
volcanic outbursts or earthquake shocks, often fearfully
disastrous, which have occurred in some one or other part
of the globe ; so that it is but natural to expect that the
appearance of a revised and enlarged reissue of the second
edition of the well-known work on volcanos by the dis-
tinguished and veteran geologist Mr. Poulett Scrope, will
attract the attention, not only of geologists, but of the
scientifically inclined public in general.
It is not saying too much, when we express our opinion
that no geological library can be considered complete
without Mr. Poulett Scrope's work ; but at the same
time it is fairly open to question as to whether this
volume in its present form can in 1872 be regarded
as an improvement upon what it was before in 1S62;
since, with the exception of a list of the earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions which have occurred since the year
1S60, the additional matter, introduced into it as a sort of
postscriptum preface, is of a purely discursive and theo-
retical character, and for various reasons not likely to
meet with that general acceptance, from those posted up
to date in the subject, which the mass of excellent
observational and descriptive matter embodied in the book
itself is fully entitled to.
To render full justice to Mr. Poulett Scrope as a vul-
canologist, we must, however, carry ourselves back nearly
half a century, to the time when the first edition of this
work appeared in print ; for it is only by so doing that we
can be enabled to thoroughly appreciate the importance
of his labours in the study of these wonderful phenomena,
or to understand how largely they contributed to bring
about the substitution of sounder doctrines concerning
the formation and structure of volcanos, instead of the very
erroneous, yet all but universally received hypotheses,
which at that time were taught in the schools of natural
science.
If now we proceed to analyse the contents of the
volume before us, its perusal will soon show that it de-
votes itself exclusively to the consideration of the subject
treated only from a purely physical and geographical point
of view, and as such, it must be admitted to be a most
elaborate digest of what is known relating to what may be
termed the mechanics of volcanos, their physical struc-
ture, and their local distribution over the surface of the
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til ; ^whilst at the same time the very excellent descrip-
ns of the phenomena attendant on volcanic outbursts in
:ir different phases, and the building up of cones and
>iintain chains, are of the greatest value to the student,
d the more so from their being, in many instances,
anded upon the personal experiences of the authon
lose accuracy as an observer in the field can only be
lly appreciated by those who, like the writer of this
notice, have had an opportunity of following in his foot-
steps, and examining on the spot localities which Mr.
Poulett Scrope has so well described in his memoirs.
In the present volume, the illustrations which are so
necessary to a work of this character are not only ample,
but are in many instances particularly well selected, so as to
express exactly what the author intends to convey. As an
example, the following woodcuts, Figs, i and 2, borrowed
S^^'^-.^v
Fig. I.— View of Strom doli, from the North
from page 31 of the volume, which represent, in elevation
and plan, the volcanic Island of Stromboli, or so-called
Lighthouse of the Mediterranean, convey to the mind at a
glance the main features of a volcanic cone with its crater,
of n^hich, as is so common, the one side of the lip
has given way. We may also refer especially to two
other woodcuts, Figs. 60 and 61, page 232, as an instance
of the extremely happy way in which a comparison is made
visible to the eye between the principal features of a
region of terrestrial volcanic activity, and those of a por-
tion of the visible surface of the moon, in order to point
Pig 3.— Plan op the Island op Stromboli
out in the words of the author (p. 231) that " the analogy
is so close, that it is impossible for a moment to doubt the
volcanic character of the lunar enveloping crust."
The perusal of this volume, however, also shows that
the mineralogy or petrology of volcanos is but barely
touched upon, and that the work in reality treats only of
one half of the subject under consideration, giving only
the purely physical or mechanical, whilst it leaves out of
consideration the other half, or equally important chemi-
cal one, in which so much has been done during the last
twenty years,and without the due consideration of which, it
is self-evident that no confidence can or ought to be placed
in conclusions drawn as to the causes, probable seat of, or
many other questions relating to volcanic action, or to the
nature of the interior of the earth itself, which is so in-
timately connected therewith ; and it is on this account
that we have purposely abstained in the present notice
from criticising the theoretical views and deductions of
the author.
In conclusion, whilst we, for the reasons before
mentioned, heartily recommend Mr. Poulett Scrope's
" Volcanos" to the mature consideration of every English
student in this branch of geology, we at the same time
advise that it should be studied in connection with the
admirable memoirs of Bunsen, v. Wallershausen, and
others, which have of late years thrown so much light
upon the nature of volcanic phenomena, in order that by
making himself conversant with the two great forces in
Nature, physical and chemical, he may be the better en-
abled to arrive at sound conclusions.
David Forbes
OUR BOOK SHELF
Quarterly Weath$r Report of the Meteorological Office,
Part 111. July to September 1870. (Stanford, 1872.)
This, the new number of the Quarterly Weather Report^
is in point of care the equal, in some minor details of
execution the superior, of all former numbers. The
method of showing the wind's velocity by a shaded curve,
which has been adopted since the first part of this series,
adds much to the ease with which the graphic representa-
tion can be read^ and is a decided improvement ; so is
the introduction mto the margin of the miniature charts of
barometric pressure during strong winds. The engraving
too is clearer and finer than in some of the past numbers,
and is perhaps as nearly perfect as can be. After a few
years the accumulated numbers of these reports will form
a most valuable record. There are many students of
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[April 4, 1872
meteorology still impressed with the idea thkt, with a
correct knowledge of what has been, we may be able to
form an opinion of what is to be. It seems to us by no
means improbable that with more accurate information,
such as this now being stored for future use, we may
before long arrive at the power of foretelling the general
character of seasons, in regard to their being wet or dry,
hot or cold, stormy or gentle ; but we sec no reason to
believe that any amount of study of the past will ever
enable us to predict in detail for any length of time in
advance, though it may and must lead us to a better
capability of rightly interpreting the atmospheric changes
going on, of detecting them at their earliest beginning, of
judging their probable effects, and thus of extending the
period for which "storm warnings" may be made
available. With increased experience new power will be
gained, new methods will be learned and proved. Even
now, the spectroscopic observations by Commander
Maclear, to which he called our attention in these
columns only a fe^ weeks ago, seem to point hopefully
towards a new path in meteorological research ; for it is
not only in the widely different climate of the Bay of
Biscay, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean, that he
observes the differences in the spectrum which he has
spoken of in the article just referred to ; he informs us
that his later observations lead him to believe that the
changes in the atmospheric humidity distinctly correspond
to changes in the solar spectrum ; that, for instance, an
increasing humidity manifests itself by a shortening in of
the blue, and by a well marked development of aqueous
bands in the red and yellow. Whether further examina-
tion will confirm this belief or not it is at present impos-
sible to say, but the spectroscope has done so much
towards teaching us the constitution of other atmospheres,
that we may fairly entertain a hope that the time has
come for it to teach us something about the distant and
outlying parts of our own. J. K. L.
Index of Spectra, By W. M. Watts, D. Sc. (London :
Henry Gillman.)
All workers with the. spectroscope must have felt the
great inconvenience arising from the employment of num-
berless different scales in the mapping of spectra. It is
to be hoped that at some future time there will be more
uniformity, and that authors, when publishing original
memoirs, will reduce their measurements to a definite and
recognised system. It is clear that such a method must
be perfectly independent of the spectroscope and its con-
comitant parts ; the position of each line can therefore
only be expressed by its colour, or, in other words, by the
length of the wave of light which produces this colour.
Dispersion spectra, obtained by the use of prisms of
different materials, vary greatly in the relative breadth of
the respective colours ; thus in the spectrum from crown-
glass the red end is larger and the blue end shorter than
m the spectra obtained from flint-glass, carbonic disul-
phide, and by diffraction. It is therefore necessary in
spectroscopic researches to record the positions of
numerous well-known lines as observed in the instrument
that is used. In a diffraction spectrum, however, the
position of the lines is dependent solely on their colour,
and is precisely the same by whatever method the spectrum
is obtained. For the results of different observers to be
accurately comparable, the readings obtained by dis-
persion must either be expressed in wave-lengths, or the
spectra must be obtained by diffraction. The wave-lengths
of the Fraunhofer lines of the sun have been accurately
determined by several observers. The author has adopted
as the. basis of his work the measurements made by
Angstrom, as these appear to exceed in accuracy all
similar measurements at our disposal When the wave-
lengths of a number of lines are known, it is easy to cal-
culate the wave-lengths of the lines of any new spectrum,
either by the interpolation formula given by W. Gibbs
PhiL Mag, [4] xl.157) or by the method of graphical inter-
polation, both of which methods are explained in tlie volozae
before us ; all that is required is to have the wave-
lengths of two known lines, between which the lise to be
measured falls. By the aid of Angstrom's measuremests
the author has reduced the measurements of the bhgk
lines of all the elements whose spectra have been carefidlT
investigated, and also of air lines as mapped by Thaler^
Huggins, and Plucker. These tables will therefore assia
materially in the work of reduction, by serving as land-
marks from which to calculate the wave-lengths of nev
lines. The attention that the author has l^stowed oa
this work is the best guarantee of the accuracy of the
numbers given. In the lithographic plates at the end <^'
the tables, a drawing of the spectrum of each dement b
given on the plan proposed by Bun sen, in which the in-
tensity of a bright line is indicated by the height of the
line representing it ; a chromo-lithograph is given of the
double spectra of nitrogen, sulphur, and carbon, and
another plate, showing two spectra obtained by Wiilner
from aluminium, and three from hydrogen at different
powers. Dr. Watts is deserving of the l^st thanks of all
those interested in spectroscopic work, for it is to be
hoped that his *' Index of Spectra " may contribute to
the adoption of a uniform scale of measurement, and thus
facilitate the advance of the science. A. P.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himsdf retpotuible ffr opinions express^
by his eorrespondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
The Adamites
Philologists will notioe with r^ret a paper bearing the
above title in the late number of the j^rnal of the Ani/tropo-
logical Institute, The author appears to have taken up, without
proper study, that difficult and dangerous line of argument, the
comparison of historical names, and has naturally fallen into the
network of delusive fancy which in past generadons entangled
Jacob Bryant and Godfrey Higgins. Modem philology has
abundandy proved that slight, loose, and occasional correspon-
dences in proper names are deceptive as evidence, even among
languages of the same family, much more among languages of
different families. It is a fair sample of the present paper, that
it arnes an affinity between the peoples of the Old and New
Worlds on the basis of a connection between various names of
the Deity, among which are the Russian Bog^ the Mantchoo
Ab-ka, and the Hottentot Teqoa, The speoied purpose is to
prove that nations are shown by their names to trace descent
from an ancestor called Ad — ** Adam^ or Father Ad.** Thus
** the great Hamitic race of Akkad" is interpreted by the aid of
Welsh ach — root, lineage," so as to mean "sons or lineage of
Ad ; " and the name of Ta-ata, tbe Polynesian First Man, is
" that of the mythical ancestor of the Adamites, reversed, how-
ever, and with the addition of ata (aka), spirit " ! It ia obvious,
though unaccountably overlooked in the paper, that two of the
clearest cases of the theory may be found near home. The
descent of two nations from Father Ad is perfectly recorded by
ourselves, when we call the representative of one a Paddy, dearly
Ap'Ad (from Ap, " used in the sense of son *'), while the other's
Adamite ancestor is commemorated by calling his descendant a
Ta-fy,
It is not necessary to give the name of the author of this un-
lucky paper. Everybody is liable to slips, great or small ; and a
man may have done work worth doing in one line, but turning
suddenly to another, may come to grief utterly. But the CouncU
of the Anthropological Institute should have consulted their own
interest and that of their contributor by declining to print the
present essay. It is the duty of a learned society to examine
even a hasty and ill-considered idea brought forward by one of
its members, but not to put it on public record against them-
selves and him. M. A. I.
The Segmentation of Annulosa
In the extract from his Address to the £ntomol(^cal Society,
given in Nature, February 29, Mr. Wallace remarks that Mr.
pencer's views have not been so much as once alluded to in the
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discussion of the Origin of Insects. The genend question of the
Annulosa obviously includes that of Insects, and I therefore
desire to correct this statement, and to refer your readers to a
paper by me on Choetogaster and yEolosoma, published in the
" Linnean Transactions,*' vol xxvi. (read Dec 1867), in which
I have more than alluded to Mr. Spencer's views, and have
offered some suggestions on the morphology of the head, and as
to the unisegmental Annulose ancestor. Mr. Wallace quotes
from this paper in reference to Choetogaster, though from the
context it would appear that he is quoting from Professor Owen.
Since the researches which have rendered Mr. Wallace's name
one of the first among living zoologists have not led him into
practical anatomical and embryologi^ studies, I may venture to
add one or two strictures upon his statements relating to such
matters. In the first place, those who are engaged in the study
of insect embryology are not ignorant of Mr. Spencer's or
similar views ; the wide-spread study of his works in England
and America, and of Haedcers general morphology in Germany,
is sufficient guarantee of this. But even if it were as Mr.
Wallace supposes, he has not, in the extract given in Nature,
shown at all how Mr. Spencer's views on aggrmtion are to
influence the study of the embryology of insects. Of course, the
general theory of somites has immense importance in all studies
relating to the Annulosa, but in what way the particular form of
it, due to Mr. Spencer, can influence conclusions drawn from the
observation of the manner in which insects develop from the
egg» Mr. Wallace does not explain. Whether, admitting or
denying the truth of Mr. Spencer's or Prof. Haeckel's views, it
would be equally conceivable, did the observed facts point in
either direction — that the ancestry of insects is to be traced to a
simple nauplius-form or to a multi-segmental Annelid-like pro-
genitor, the question of segmentation is not finally settled,
though it is largely elucidated by the doctrine of Mr. Spencer.
It is no doubt an instructive point of view to take — that seg-
mentation is an arrested production of zooids, but it is equally
true that the production of zooids is an exaggerated segmenta-
tion. We have no grounds for assuming the one more than
the other as the essential process ; they are both phases of the
same process. The fact appears to be that in certain masses of
organised matter, on their reaching a certain limit of growth,
''polarities," which were hitherto held in one system, break up
into two and so on. The simplest case of this is cell-division,
but whether the systems separate entirely, as in simple fission, or
remain associated, as in the cleavage of Uie egg and in the seg-
mentation of the Annulosa, depends on anotte- factor, a cohe-
sive or integrating force proper to the growing mass.
In the present state of knowledge upon the subject, the assump-
tion adopted and held of so much importance by Mr. Wallace —
that the Vertebrata do not exhibit a segmentation of the same
kind as that of the Annulosa, is by no means justified. Though
much of their jointed iterative structure may probably be due to
that kind of adaptation which Mr. Spencer so justly distin-
guishes as '* superinduced segmentation, '' yet that there is a fimda-
mental bud-segmentation, or segmentation of growth identical
with that of Annulosa, is in the very highest degree probable.
And even as to the Chiton, which Mr. Wallace quotes from Mr.
Spencer as quite certainly an example of superinduced segmenta-
tion, I think that had he examined the grounds for making such
a statement, he would have hesitated. The larva of Chiton is
identical with that of an Annelid, and its segmentation makes
its appearance in the same way. Why should there not be seg-
mented molluscs? It is necessary most constantly to bear m
mind, when considering this matter of segmentation, the possi-
bility of the partial or complete obliteration of segmental
characters due to tertiary aggregation, and their modification in
most various ways in the evolution either of an individual or of a
group.
Further, as to Mr. Wallace's expressions with regard to the
segmentation of insects. From what was said above as to the
relation of segmentation and zooid production, it foUows that
the conception of segmentation is erroneous which leads to
ascribing to insects peculiar physiological or psychical properties
on account of their beixig composed of "a number of mdivi-
dualities fiised into one. " This expression should not be allowed to
Ittd to wider conclusions than those it formulates. As a matter
of fact, insects are not a number of individualities fused into one^
but rather one individuality partially (and as a reminiscence
rather than actually) broken up into many, this partial breaking
np being due to the mechanical properties of its tissues at a certain
period of development.
If, by the "spiracles" of Annelids, Mr. Wallace means the
segmental oiigans, it should be clearly stated that the identity of
these with the tracheae of insects has not yet been in any way
proved. The comparison of the mode of development of these
two sets of organs is just one of the points upon which embryo-
logists are now at work.
Lastly, the researches of the last fifteen years do not, I venture
to submit, lead to the conclusion adopted by Mr. Wallace, that
the parthenogenesis of the higher Annulosa is analogous to or
identical with gemmation as opposed to sexual reproduction or
digenesis, but to the conclusion which is exactly opposed to this,
namely, that it is identical with digenesis in all particulars but
the ab^nce of the male element.
Naples E. Ray Lankbster
Adaptive Coloration, Phosphorescence, &c.
No one who has watched a very young hare stealing from a
green covert to brown soil, and observed its cunning movements
there when alarmed, can for a moment doubt the vuue of colour
as a protection to the higher animals.
The remarks by Mr. £. S. Morse in Nature of last week
bring to my recollection a ^ood instance (among invertebrates)
which occurs on the reddish granite of Cobo Bay, Guernsey.
There Trockus lineatus especially abounds on the bare parts of
the rocks between tide-marks ; and every observer must be at
once struck by the remarkable fitness of the moUusk for its
peculiar site.
Mr. Darwin in truth says,* "It would not, for instance, occur
to any one that the perfect transparency of the Medusae or jelly-
fishes, was of the highest service to them as a protection ; but
when we are reminded by Hackel that not only the Medusae, but
many floating moUusca, crustaceans, and even small oceanic
fishes, partake of this same glass-like structure, we can hardly
doubt that they thus escape the notice of pelagic birds and other
enemies ; " but he makes no mention of the gorgeous colouring
of some of these swimming jellies, nor b there any allusion to
their remarkable property of phosphorescence. The transparency
of the British Salpae does not prevent their being attacked by
sea-birds, which hover in multitudes over them, masses of
Medusse and other Hydrozoa, and a few minute fishes.
If instead of promulgating the visionary idea that the abysses
of the ocean depended for tbeir light on phosphorescent aninuds,
the dredgersf in the Porcupine had applied the notion that the
various luminous marine animals used their light to attract each
other, so that the most luminous might have a better chance of
continuing the race, they would have been able to sav more in
its favour, without, at least, running counter to established facts.
Murthly, March 26 W. C. McIntosh
The Aurora of February 4 X
An aurora of a very unusual splendour for the latitude was
seen here on Sunday evening February 4, 1872. The dcy,
extending in azimuth over 197° ft-om N.E. to nearly W.S.W.,
was generally illuminated. The brilliance of the glow varied
considerably in different directions from time to time during the
night. On the south horizon there was a bright bluish segment
of light, whose position in arimuth and brilliance varied slightly
from time to time. The streamers were well seen, and their
convergence towards the point to which the south pole of a
magnet is directed could be most distinctly traced. The streamers
extended at about nine o'clock to the constellation Orion, and
Sirius was well within the auroral glow. With a spectroscope I
saw one bright line in the spectrum of the auroral light, but the
spectrum was too faint to allow of any successful attempt to de-
termine the refinangibility of the light. Unfortunately our mag-
netical equipment is such that I can give no information respect-
ing the extent of the magnetical disturbance at the time. The
aurora was seen as far norm as Bloemfontein, latitude 29° 8' south.
A faint aurora was seen here in Octobor 1870, but no such
aurora as that of Febraary 4, 1872, appears to have been visible
for at least fifty years. The aurora was well seen over a large
portion of the colony, and considerably frightened the natives.
E. J. Stone
Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope^ Feb. 19
• " Descent of Man," vol. i., p. aaa.
t Not, however. Mr. Jefixeys
t Communicated by the Astronomer Royal.
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{April /^, 1872
Sreing your account of the aurora of February 4 in Nature '
of the 22nd4 leminds me that on the evening of the 4th I was
riding from Cambridge to Coldweli, in Ohio, and between six
and seven o'clock saw a most brilliant display of auroral light in
the southern quarter of the sky. Brilliant streamers shot up
past the zenith, while the whole southern portion of the sky was
brightly illuminattd with a corruscating rose-coloured light
Marietta, Ohio., March 15 " A. J. Warner
\
Morse on Terebratulina
I HAVE just read the very kind notice of my paper * in the
lages of your journal from the pen of Mr. E. R. Lankester.
hasten, however, to remove one impression conveyed in the
following sentence, respecting the opinions I hold as to the Anne-
lidan affinities of the Brachiopods: —
" We are not sure whether Mr. Morse adheres to this startling
proposition."
I trust the long delay in publishing the results of my studies
on this intereslin^j class will lead no one to suppose that I have
yet seen reason to modify the position I took two years ago re-
garding their position in the animal kingdom. On the contrary,
continued investigation has brought out many new points of in-
terest, and now 1 hope, ere my paper is published, to present the
embryology of some one of them.
I had studied our native Terebratulina, its structure, as well
as its early stages, and through the kindness of Prof, VerriU,
had studied Dtscina Levis (upon which I hope soon to publish).
Mr. Lankester, as the author of many valuable memoirs re-
quiring much skill and patient labour, will fully appreciate the
time and care necessary in work of this kind.
As to my being unduly impressed at the sight of living Lin-
gulx, I may say, in justice to myseK, and my friends will testify
to it, my opinions were fully formed before I ever saw Lingula
at all With the cau*ion that is requisite for every one, if he
does not wish to supplement his paper with a correction of
errors, a way of doing things altogether too frequent in this
country, I deemed it important to study living Lingula before
publishing. It was impossible for me to go half-way round the
world for it And as three specimens of another s()ecies have
been found on the coast of North Carolina, I determined to go
there. A trip of nearly a thousand miles brought me to its
waste of drifting sands.
Thoroughly convinced as to the correctness of my views, and
these views of sufficient strength to convince my co-labourers,
Mr. Lankester will understand my enthusiasm when, after a
week's fruitless search under a blazing sun, and an almost hope-
less task, I found Lingula, not as we have always supposed
attached by its peduncle, but living in the sand, precisely like
many tubicolons worms, building a true sand tube, and when
liberated from it crawling and burrowing by means of its setae,
and with all these welcome characters it should greet me with
red blood Not that I lay great stress on any one of these
characters, but having made my deductions from the most com-
mon form, Terebratulina, one can readily understand the bearing
of such unexpected characters in this little Lingula.
Mr. Lankester will admit that the Vcrmian lumber-room has
some orderly compartments ; into one of those I place the
Brachiopods far away from all Molluscan odours.
The distinguished naturalist, Prof. Steenstrup, informs me that
he has long taught his classes at the University of Copenhagen
that the Brachiopods were true Annelids, and that my views are
thoroughly endorsed by him. To him, therefore, and not to me
as had been supposed, belongs the priority of this discovery.
I only ask a little patience till my complete pai)er is pub-
lished on the Brachiopods as a divi&ion of Annelida, in which I
shall give appropriate figures, and my reasons in full for the
position I have taken. Edward S. Morse
Salem, Mass., U.S.A., March 14
On the Colour of a Hydrogen Flame
When hydrogen and oxygen are burned together, it is well
known that the flame produced is almost non-luminous ; it
always, however, exhibits an unmistakeably blue tinge.
Tee small illuminative power is generally referred to the *• ab-
sence of solid particles. '* This view, it appears to me, draws a
too rigid line of demarcation between the atoms of carbon in an
ordinary gas-coal flame and the atoms of hydrogen in that of
* <* Early Stages of TerebratoUiuu''
the oxyhydrogen. The cause of the phenomenon does not de*
pend so much on the solidity as it does on the time of osciliatioa
of the particles which constitute the flame. Water panicles b
all their states of aggregation preserve the same time of oscilla-
tion— extra red ; hence a hydrogen flame should be perfectly
invisible whatever may be the solidity" or density of ii>
particles.
But the flame is not invisible, and, what is still more remark-
able, the colour which it does eschibit is found to belong to the
most refrangible end of the spectrum. To explain this strange
phenomenon, it appears to me that it is necessaiy to invoke a
state in the ether particles similar to that which Helmholu has
shown to exist in air ; and which is this : — A toninff-fork
*' yigoronsly struck against a pad emits the octave of its &iida-
mental note." Now, the first overtone of a tuning fork is pro-
duced by vibrations about 6^ times as rapid as the fimdainentai ;
the octave, therefore, is not an overtone of the fork — it \& pro>
duced solely in consequence of the fact that the initial distur-
bance is great in proportion to the distance of the air particles
from one another, secondary waves being produced whose periods
are twice as rapid as those of the fundamentaL
The amplitude of the particles in a hydrogen flame is known
to be very great, and hence it seems probable that an effect may
result from the disturbance thus created in the ether, analc^ous
to that in the case of air, 1./., associated with the fundameaULl
vibrations of the hydrogen flame we have their octave^ which
would obviously be within the visual range, and correspond Tczy
cloacly, if not exactly^ with the colour actually observed.
Should this surmise prove correct we have plainly an easy
means by which we can determine the wave-length of those
extra-red rays which are absorl>ed by water.
A. G. MuzK
Hartley Institution, Southampton, March 26
P.S. — May not the great actinic ^^ec of the electric light be
due in a great measure to the secondary waves produced by the
magnitude of the disturbing force ?
VESTIGES OF THE GLACIAL PERIOD IN
NORTH-EASTERN ANATOLIA
ATTENTION was drawn to this subject in a lec-
ture given on March 25 at the Royal Geographical
Society by the Eastern traveller Mr. W. Gifford Palgrave,
at present British Consul for the northern coast of Asia
Minor. The facts which he mentioned had been princi-
pally observed by him during a tour on duty to the interior
about two years ago ; and the line of route lay frooi the
town of Trebizond on the sea coast to that of Erzinghian
on the Upper Euphrates.
The phenomena themselves were divided into two
classes : the one referable to the highlands which he had
then traversed, the other to their marginal region.
These highlands are situated on or near the 40th
parallel of latitude, and extend between the 37th and 44th
of longitude, east and west ; their average breadth being
about fifty miles, and their elevation varying from 3,000 to
9,000 feet above the sea. They constitute the great
watershed of Eastern Anatolia ; the rivers to the south
of them flowing into the Persian Gulf, and those to the
north into the Black Sea. To the west is the basin of
the Halys, to the east that of the Caspian.
Theroad leading across this plateau towards Erzinghian^
mounts up to it by a defile named " Ketcheh-Dereh," or
" Goats' Valley." Here, at a height of about 5,400 feet
above the sea, Mr. Palgrave came on the lower extremity
of a large moraine, piled up to a height of more than
twenty leet, and broad in propoition. Following it for a
distance of nearly half a mile, he found that when it had
reached between 400 and 500 feet higher up the slope, it
forked into two lesser branches, continued each a good
way further into the rising undulations of the table-land.
The plateau itself bore every mark of having lain under
a thick ice-coating ; its eminences and irregularities all
bearing the '* moutonn^e" character impressed by glacia.
action ; while it was also frequently strewn with detached
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boulders and pieces of rock, scratched and scored with the
unmistakeable lines that glaciers alone produce. These
phenomena he observed to be repeated, or rather continued,
throughout the highland, which he crossed three times at
intervals, including above 100 miles of its length.
About the midmost of the plateau stands a solitary,
dome-like eminence, nearly 8,000 feet above the sea level,
and rounded off in every direction. On the west side of
this mountain, now known as "Yelish Dagh," near its
base, Mr. Palgrave found a second moraine, consisting
of a single stone bank five or six hundred yards in length,
stretchiug down to a valley below : its higher extremity
was at about 6,500 ft. And lastly, at the great cleft about
fifty miles distant, called the Cherdakh Pass, and leading
downwards from the plateau into the Euphrates valley,
he observed a third moraine, larger than either of the two
former, and extending over a slope of fully 2,000 ft., its
base being only about 4,500 ft above the sea.
From these and similar indications, Mr. Palgrave con-
jectured that during the glacial period an ice-cap of fifty
miles in average breadth, and many hundred in length,
must have covered this table-land from a height of
6,000 ft. or rather less, upwards ; while some of the more
advanced glaciers may have reached to a far lower level,
seemingly 4,000 ft.
Such were the most remarkable surface-phenomena of
the plateau itself. But on its margin, whether north or
south, and connected with it, were other indications of an
analogous character. These consisted in the traces
afforded by broad and deep ravines and neighbouring
river beds, much too wide for the streams that flow
through them ; all affording evidence of a past epoch
when the water supply was on a far more copious scale
than it is now. Thus the valley of the Euphrates itself,
which takes its rise in this very plateau, is, in its evenly-
scooped extent of three and even four miles across, out of
all proportion with the comparatively little and feeble
stream that now meanders along it ; and the same must
be said of most of the aqueous modifications imprinted in
the lower mountain ranges, and in the plains at their feet.
But of all the phenomena of this kind none is more
remarkable than that inspected by Mr. Palgrave near the
sea-end of the great valley by which the river, once
Pyxartes, now •• Deyermend-Dereh," or " Mill Stream *
enters the Euxine, close by Trebizond, This river,
whose waters are derived from the central table land, is
now so shallow as to be readily fordable at almost every
season of the ^ear, and brings down with it just enough
pebble and soil to form a litSe bar at its mouth. Half a
mile, however, from Ae present beach the river valley,
here about a third of a mile in width, is in its greater part
crossed by a huge bar of rolled stones, at least forty feet
in eight, and eighty or a hundred yards in thickness at its
base, evidently formed here by Uie joint action of river
and sea. The stones, many of which are of great size,
belong to Jurassic or Plutonic formations, such as com-
pose the plateau inland, whereas the coast-rock is entirely
volcanic. But the flood of water requisite to bring them
from such a distance is now wholly wanting. Nor can its
diminution be ascribed to the extirpation of forest wood,
for the mountain chain is still as densely clothed with
trees as it could ever have been in remote times ; nor yet
to an alteration in the course and dip of the valleys that
unite to send their supplies hither, tor there is no trace of
any great geological cnange hereabouts within the epoch
to which the bar itself is referable. One only cause there
could have been capable of furnishing so impetuous a
stream, namely, the periodical melting of great masses of
ice and snow on the mountains behind, now unusually
bare of snow from June till November, and absolutely
denuded of anything approaching to a glacier. When
these icy reservoirs ceased the abundance of the river
ceased also, leaving the bar alon^ as a monument of its
fonner strength. T* P*
THE INHABITANTS OF THE MAMMOTH
CAVE OF KENTUCKY
Crustaceans and Insects
THE following account of the inhabitants of the Mam«
moth Cave of Kentucky is abridged from the
American Naturalist To the courtesy of the editors of
that journal we are further indebted for the accompanying
illustrations :— >
After the adjournment of the meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, held at
Indianapolis in August last, a large number of the mem-
bers availed themselves of the generous invitation of the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, to visit this
world-renowned cave, and examine its peci^iar formation
and singular fauna.
The cave is in a hill of the subcarboniferous limestone
formation in Edmondson County, a little to the west and
south of the centre of Kentucky. Green river, which rises
to the eastward in about the centre of the State, flows
westward, passing in close proximity to the cave, and
receiving its waters, thence flows north-westerly to the
Ohio. The limestone formation in which the cave exists is a
most interesting and important geological formation, cor-
responding to the mountain limestone of the European
gemogists, and of considerable geological importance in
the determination of the western coalfields.
We quote the following account of this formation from
Major S. S. Lyon's report in the fourth volume of the
" Kentucky Geological Survey," pp. 509, 510 : —
'' The sinks and basins at the head of Sinking Creek
exhibit in a striking manner the eroding effects of rains
and frost — some of the sinks, which are from 40 ft. to
190 ft. deep, covering an area of from 5 to 2,000 acres.
The rim of sandstone surrounding these depressions is,
generally, nearly level ; the out-cropping rocks within are
also nearly horizontal. Near the centre there is an open-
ing of from 3 ft. to 15 ft. in diameter ; into this opening
the water which has fallen within the margin of the basin
has been drained since the day when the rocks exposed
within were raised above the drainage of the country, and
thus, by the slow process of washing and weadiering, the
rocWs which once filled these cavities have been worn and
carried down into the subterranean drainage of the coun-
try. All this has evidently come to pass in the most
(]uiet and regular manner. The size of the central open-
ing is too sxnall to admit extraordinary floods ; nor is it
possible, with the level margin around, to suppose that
these cavities were worn by eddies in a current tnat swept
the whole cavernous member of the subcarboniferous
limestone of western Kentucky ; but the opinion is pro-
bable that the upheaving force which raised these beds to
their present level at the same time ruptured and cracked
the beds in certain lines : that afterwards the rains were
swallowed into openings on these fractures, producing, by
denudation, the basins of the sinkhole countrv, and further
enlarging the original fractures by flowing through them,
and thus forming a vast system of caverns, which sur-
rounds the western coalfield. The Mammoth Cave is at
present the best known, and therefore the most remark-
able."
So much has been written on the cave and its wonders,
that to give a description of its interior would be super-
fluous in this connection, even could we do so without
unintentionally giving too exaggerated statements, which
seems to be the natural result of a day undergroimd^ a.t
least so far as this cave is concerned, for, after reading
any account of the cave, one is disappointed at finding the
reality so unlike the picture.
We are indebted to Prof. Alexander Winchell, of the
University of Michigan, for the following abstract of his
views concerning the formation of the cave : —
" The country of the Mammoth Cave was j
land at the close of the coal period, and nas remaine
L/iyiii^cvj L^'y
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446
NATURE
\April 4, 187:
such, with certain exceptions, through the Mesozoic and
Cxnozoic ages, and to the present. In Mesozoic times,
fissures existed in the formation, and surface waters found
Fig. z.— Anthomyia.
their way through them, dissolving the limestone and con-
tinually enlarging the spaces. A cave of considerable
dimensions probably existed during the prevalence of the
FiG. 2. — Anophthalmus Tellkamp&i.
continental glaciers ever the northern hemisphere. On
the dissolution of the glaciers, the flood of water which
iwcpt over the entire country, transporting the materials
Fig. s— Hadenoecus subterraneus.
which constituted the modified drift, swept through the
passages of the cave, enlarging them, and leaving deposited
in the cave some of the same quartzose pebbles which
characterise the surface deponts from Lake Superior ic
the Gulf of Mexico. Since the subsidence of the watrrs
of the Champlain epoch, the cave has probably undergone
comparatively few changes. The well, 198 ft. deep, at tl^
farther end of the cave, shows where a coasiderab'r
Fig. 6.— Canpodea.
volume of the excavatory waters found exit The Mam-
moth Dome indicates probably both a place of exit and a
place of entrance from above. So of the vertical passages
m various other portions of the cave."
We believe that the views of Prof. Winchell are in har-
FiG. 7.— Anthrobia monmouthia.
mony with those of the other eminent geologists of the
party ; and when it is considered that the geologists of
this excursion stand in the front rank of the most eminent
scientific men of the worid, their views upon this interest-
ing subject are well worthy of attenticn.
Fig. 9.— Spirostrephon Copei.
With these general remarks on the cave, we give a brief
account of its interesting fauna, comprising representa-
tives of the insects and crustaceans. No molluscs or
radiates have as yet been discovered ; but the lower
forms of life have been detected by Tellkampf, who col-
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NATURE
447
lected several species belonging to the genera Monas^
Chilomonasj and (?) Chilodon,
Representatives of all the g^nd divisions of the in-
sects and crustaceans have been found in this cave, and if
no worms have yet been detected one or more species
would undoubtedly reward a thorough search.
We will enumerate what have been found, beginning
with the higher forms. No Hymenoptera (bees, wasps,
and ants) or Lepidoptera (moths) are yet recorded as
being peculiar to caves. The Diptera (flies) are repre-
sented by two species, one of Anthomyia (Fig. i), or a
closely allied genus, and the second belonging to the
singular and interesting genus Phora (Fig. 2.) The species
of Anthomyia usually frequent flowers ; the larvae live in
decaying vegetable matter, or, like the onion fly, attack
healthy roots. It would be presumptuous in the writer
to attempt to describe these forms without collections of
species fiom the neighbourhood of the cave, for though
like all the rest of the insects they were found three or
four miles from the mouth, yet they may be found to
occur outside of its limits, as the eyes and the colours of
the body are as bright as in other species.
Among the beetles, two species were found by Mr.
Cooke. The Anoptkalmus Tellkampfii of Erichson, a
Carabid (Fig. 3), and Adelops hirtus Tellkampf (Fig. 4),
allied to Catops, one of the Silphtdae or burying beetle
family. The Anopthalmus is of a pale reddish horn
colour, and is totally blind \* in the Adelops, which is
greyish brown, there are two pale spots, which may be ru-
dimentary eyes, as Tellkampf and Erichson suggest. No
Hemiptera (bugs) have yet been found either in the caves
of this country or Europe. Two wingless grasshoppers
(sometimes called crickets) like the common species
found under stones {Cmthophilus maadata Harris), have
been found in our caves ; one is the Hadenoecus subter-
ramus (Fig. 5 nat. size) described by Mr. Scudder, and
very abundant in Mammoth Cave. The other species is
//. f/y§7a Scudder, from Hickman's cave, near Hickman's
landing, upon the Kentucky river. It is closely allied to the
Mammoth Cave species. According to Mr. Scudder the
specimens of H, stygia were found by Mr. A. Hyatt "in
the remotest corner of Hickman's Cave, in a sort of a
hollow in the rock, not particularly moist, but having
only a sort of cave dampness. They were found a
few hundred feet from the sunlight, living exclusively
upon the walls." Even the remotest part of that
Fig. 8 — Acanthocheir armata.
cave is not so gloomy but that some sunlight pene-
trates if.
The other species is found both in Mammoth Cave, and
in the adjoining White's Cave. It is found throughout
the cave, and most commonly (to quote Mr. Scudder)
" about * Martha's Vineyard " and in the neighbourhood
of * Richardson's Spring ' where they were discovered
jumping about with the greatest alacrity upon the walls,
where only they are found, and even when disturbed,
clinging to the ceiling, upon which they walked easily ;
they would leap away from approaching footsteps, but
stop at a cessation of the noise, turning about and sway-
ing their long antennae in a most ludicrous manner, in the
direction whence the disturbance had proceeded ; the
least noise would increase their tremulousness, while they
were unconcerned at distant motions, unaccompanied b^
sound, even though producing a sensible current of air ;
neither did the light of the lamp appear to disturb them ;
their eyes, and those of the succeeding species (//. stygia),
are perfectly formed throughout, and they could appa-
rently see with ease, for they jump away from the slowly
approaching hand, so as to necessitate rapidity of motion
in seizing them."
The Thysanurous Neuroptera are represented by a
species of Machilis, alUed to our common Machilis
variabilis Say, conunon in Kentucky and the middle and
southern States. So far as Tellkampf 's flgure indicates, it
is the same species apparently, as I have received nume-
rous specimens of this widely distributed form from
Knoxville, Tennessee, collected by Dr. Josiah Cunis.
It was regarded as a Crustacean by Tellkampf, and de-
scribed under the name of Triura cavernicola.\ He mis-
took the labial and maxillarv palpi for feet, and regarded
the nine pairs of abdominal spines as feet The allied
species, M. variabilis Say, is figured in vol. v. pL i, flgs.
8.9.
• In Erhardt's cave, Montsromery Co., Virginia. Pro*". Cope found "four
or five spedraens of a new Anop(hAlmus the ^. ^usio of Horn, at a dis-
tance of not more than three hundred feet from it» mouth. The species is
small and all were found together under a stone. Their movements were
slow, in considerable contrast to the activity of ordinary Carabidae." Proc.
Amer. Phil. Soc. 1869. p. 178.
t Prof Agassiz, in his brief notice of the Mammoth Cave animals, does
not criticise Telllcampfs reference of this animal to ihe c'-u<<tacea ; and so
eminent an authority upon the aiticulates as Schi5d>e remuks, ^hile
" Mr. Tcllkampfs account aflTords us no means of formm^ any conclu ioa as
to its proximate relations," that, however, it ** appears to bel 'ngto th^ order
of Amphtpoda, and to have a moit remirkable Ktrncture " rdik^mpfs
figure of Machilis is entirely wrong in representing the bbial and maxillary
palpi as ending in claws, thus givmg the creature a crusucean aspect, and,
mdeed, he describes them as true feet I
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NATURE
{April 4, 1872
An interesting species of Campodea^ of which the accom-
panying cut (Fig, 6) is a tolerable likeness, thoueh de-
signed to illustrate another species {S, staphylinus
Westw.) was discovered by Mr. Cooke. Both the
European and our common species live under stones in
damp places, and the occurrence of this form in the water
is quite remarkable. The other species are blind, and I
could detect no eyes in the Mammoth Cave specimen.
A small spider was captured by Mr. Cooke, but after-
wards lost ; it was brown in colour, and possibly distinct
from the Anthrobta monmouthia Tellkf. (Fig. 7), which is
an eyeless form, white and very sn^all, being but half a
line in length. The family of Harvest men is represented
by a small white form, described by Tellkampf under the
name of Phalongodes armata (Fig. 8), but now called
Acanthocheir armata Lucas. The body alone is but half
a line long, the legs measuring two lines. It should be
borne in mind that many of ue spiders, as well as the
Thysanura, live in holes and dark places, so that we could
natur^y find them in caves. So, also, with the Myriopods,
of which a most remarkable form (Fig. 9 front of head)
was found by Mr. Cooke three or four miles from the
mouth of the cave. It is the only truly hairy species
known, an approach to it being found in Pseudotremia
Vudii Cope. It is blind, the other species of this group
which Prof. Cope found living in caves having eyes. The
long hsdrs arranged along the back seem to suggest that
they are tactile organs, and of more use to the thousand
legs in making its way about the nooks and crannies of a
perpetually dark cave than eyes would be. It was found
Dy Mr. Cooke under a stone.
Prof. Cope has contributed to the '* Proceedings of the
American Philosophical Society" (1869, p. 171} an in-
terestine account of the cave mammals, articulates, and
shells of the middle states. He says that " myriopods are
the only articulates which can be readily found in the
remote regions of the caves (of West Virginia) and they
are not very common in a living state." The Pseudo-
tremia cavernarum which he describes, '^ inhabits the
deepest recesses of the numerous caves which abound in
Southern Virginia, as far as human steps can penetrate.
I have not seen it near their mouths, though its eyes are
not undeveloped, nor smaller than those of many living in
the forest. Judging from its remains, which one fmds
under stones, it is an abundant species, though rarely seen
by the dim light of a candle even after considerable
search. Five specimens only were procured from about
a dozen caves." The second species, P, Vudii Cope, was
found in Montgomery Co., and he thinks it was not
found in a cave. Prof. Hyatt informs me that he saw
near the " Bottomless Pit" in Mammoth Cave, a brownish
centipede-like myriopod, over an inch in length, which
moved off in a rapid zigzag motion. Unfortunately, he
did not capture it.
A. S. Packard, Jun.
(7Ie7 he continuid)
NOTES
Ws have received information of a most mttnifioent act on
the part of that veteran in Geological Science, Sir William
£. Logan, in supplementing, by the handsome gift of i8,ooodol8.,
the sum of 2,000 dola. given by him and his brother, Mr. Hart
Logan, last year towards the endowment of the Chair of Geology
in M'Gill University, Montreal. The "Logan Chair of Geology"
will be at once a commemoration of Sir William*s name in con-
nection with the higher education of our colonists, and a means of
perpetuating the teaching of the Science for which he has done
so much, as well as of securing the training of a succession of
young men who may worthily follow up his investigations in
the wide field of Canadian Geology. Principal Dawson, who at
present occupies the Chair of Geology, will be the first " Logan
Professor," and it it intended that the endowment shall, as aora
as possible, be made the means of relieving him from the
teadiing of some other portions of natural sdence, in order thii
he may more fully devote his time to Geology and Palaeontology.
Prof. Huxley is now on his way home to England, havii^
been last heard of from Naples. His health is very greatly re>
stored by his absence from work, and the effects of the Egyptiia
dimate.
Dr. M<Nab, Profiessor of Botany and Geok)gy at the Royal
Agricultural College, Cirencester, has been appointed Professor
of Botany to the Royal College of Science and Art, Dnblin, in
the pkce of Profl Thisdton Dyer. The appointment is a good
one, on which we congratulate the Science and Art Department
The lectureship at the Cirencester College is now vacant.
Ths death of the Swiss palaeontologist, M. Pictct de la Ri^
Professor in the Academy of Geneva, which we noticed last
week, took place on the 15th ult at the age of sixty-two, and
was occasioned by fever induced by a severe accident
Dr. Georgb Burrows, F.R.S., has been re<«lected Presi-
dent of the College of Physicians.
Prof. Huxlky was defeated by a small majority by Lord
Neaves in the election for the Rectorship of St Andrew's Uni-
versity. Profl S^vester was also, we regret to say, tmsaocessfal
in his candidature for the School Board for Marylebone. We
understand, however, that there will shortly be another vacsmcy
on the Board, when we trust Science will once more put in its
claim.
Ths Brighton Aqnariom was formally opened to the public on
Saturday last
It has been decided to give a private view and evening re-
ception in the Picture Galleries of the London International
Esihibition of 1872 before the ist of May, to which distingaished
foreigners and holders of season tickets will be invited.
At Rugby Mr. Wilson and Mr. Seabroke have tried the ex-
periment of giving regular lectures on Astronomy to a class con-
sisting of vohmteers from the school and residents in the town.
Note-books were shown up and corrected, and an examination
held at the end. About seventy attended, twenty being mem-
bers of the school ; thirty showed up note-books, and eighteen
presented themselves for examination. Advocates of women's
education will be pleased to learn that the two best note-books
were written by girls, and that in the examination, which was a
stiff one (we have seen the paper), girls held the second, third,
and fifth places. The proceeds are for buying books for the
Temple Observatory.
An organisation, entitled the Bloomington Scientific Associa-
tion, was instituted at Bloomington, Illinois, in 187 1, having for
its object the diffusion and popularising of science in that
State. The officers are Prof. B. S. Perry, Mr. R. H. Holder,
Dr. Vasey, and Mr. J. A. Jackman. The society has already a
large number of members, and meets frequently.
The great depression of temperature during November and
the early part of December, was followed by an extraordi-
narily long period of more than three months' remarkably
mild weather. For the ninety-seven days from December 13
to March 18, Mr. Glaisher's Greenwich tables, recorded
weekly in the Gardener's Chronicle, show that the temperature
was above the average on eighty-nine, and below the average
on only eight days, the mean excess for the whole period
being 5°'i. During the whole of this period the thermometer
fell below the freezing point on four nights only, viz., January
15 and 16, and March 10 and 11 ; the lowest temperature re-
corded being 28° 3 Fahr. on the first and last of these dates.
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449
February, it will be seen« was entirdjr free from frost, the
minimum for that month being 32**4, on the 28th. The
warmest period was from March i to 8, when the maximum tem-
perature ranged each day from 57*'i to 6o°*8. It will be interest-
ing to know whether so long a period of exceptionally high
temperature^ including fifty-three consecutive days entirely free
from frost, has ever been recorded before in the depth of
winter. On March 19 the average temperature of the day fell
below the mean, and continued so for nine days, till the 27th.
The minimum temperature for March was on the 21st, 26** '2
Fahr., being the lowest recorded nnce Dec. 9. There were nine
frosty nights in March, against the twro in the whole of the two
preceding months. For the week ending March 26 the mean
temperature was 34^, or 16* lower than the mean for the week
ending March 7.
A COKRESPONDSNT of The Blue strongly urges the desirability
of the formation of a Natural History Society at Christ's Hos-
pital ; and the editor of that magazine promises his assistance to
the proposal We heartily wish it success.
The proposed Act for appropriating the Yelloia'stone Park for
public purposes (to which we recently referred), has passed the
Congress of the United States. The following are extracts from
the Bill :—'* That the tract of land in the territories of Montana
and Wyoming (as already described) is hereby reserved and
withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of
the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park
or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.
That said public park shall be under the exdnsive control of
the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be^ as soon as
practicable, to make and publish such rules and r^ulations as
he may deem necessary or proper for the care and management
of the same. Such regulations shall provide for the preserva-
tion from injury or spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits,
natural curiosities, or wonders within said paric, and their reten-
tion in their nsUural condition. The Secretary may, in his dis-
cretion, grant leases for builaing purposes for terms not exceeding
ten years, of small parcels of ground, at such places in said park
as shall require the erection of bmldings for the accommodation
of visitois ; all of the proceeds of said leases, and all other re-
venues that may be derived from any source connected with said
park, to be expended under his direction in the management of
the same, and the construction of roads and bridle paths thereiiL
He shall provide against the wanton destruction of the fish and
game found within said park, and against their capture or de-
struction for the purposes of merchandise or profit" Such a
step in the interest of science deserves more than a passing
recognition firom this side the water.
The British Medical Journal prints the following admimble
reply to the extraordinary article which appeared in the Saturday
Review oi the i6th ult., on Dr. Liebreich's lecture on "Turner
and Mulready," which we gave last week: — *'It is not, of
course, always to be expected that Saturday Reviewers should
have a very profound knowledge of their subjects ; but it might
be thought advisable that an analysis of an optical argument
should not be publicly undertaken by a gentleman who is igno-
rant of the first rudiments of the subject, and ifo little acquainted
with even the alpha^tt of its language as the gentleman who
discusses, in the last Saturday Review^ the visual defects of
Turner and Mulready. He prouounces a 'verdict of not
proven ' on Mr. Liebreich's argument ; and his fitness for ap-
preciating a discussion of the effects of yellow discoloration of
the lens, occurring with advancing old age, on Mulready's per-
ception of colour, may be estimated by the following sentence :
* Let us suppose a person to put on a pair of yellow s^^cctacles.
Tlie effect is assumed to be, and we thii<k correctly y that the
ydloii? in a landscape or in a picture, unless extra strong, would
be scarcely recognised ; and that the blues also^ unless very
decisive, would be neutralised. The consequence seems to
follow, that the painter would throw ultra force into both yellow
and blue: though against this supposition it must not be for-
gotten that the spectacle or the crystalline lens, as the case may
be, would discolour precisely in the same degree the tones in
nature and the pigments on the palette^ The italics are ours.
There is scarcely a word in this astonishing statement which is
not entirely a mistake. It was not assumed, but it is known,
that, seen through a yellow glass, the yellows in a landscape are
seen relatively more strongly, while the blues are partly neutra-
lised. It was not assumed that the effects of viewing a landscape
and a picture through a yellow lens or glass are the same ; but,
on the contrary, it was stated, as the result of experiment, that
they are entirdy different The retina becomes presently so £u:
accustomed to the yellow medium, that the strong lights reflected
from blue surfaces in nature overpower the yellowness of the
medium, and the blues of a landscape are presently but little
neutralised. The reflections from pigments^ poor imitations as
as they are, at the best, of nature, have not the same power ; a
large part is neutralised by the yellow glass or lens : and to
produce with pigments, on a canvas, blues which satisfy his eye
as comparable with those which he sees in nature, the painter —
who in old age has the pigment-yellowness of senile change in
the lens — employs much deeper blues than he would have done
in youth, or than impress youthful eyes as representing the
natural tints truthfully. That is why, on Liebreich's theory,
Mulready, in painting the same picture in old age which he had
painted in middle life, introduced ultramarine into the flesh tints
— ^painted a linen smock of the brilliancy of a glittering silk ;
and that is the key which he afibrds to the prevailing excess of
purple tints which the official catalogue describes as characteri-
sing the latest works of this great artist The great master him-
self was, in his later life, dissatisfied for this reason with the
colour of his earlier works ; he thought them too brown, and
used to warn his pupils to paint with stronger blues, especially
in the grey shadows.'
In a letter addressed by von Heuglin to Middendorff, of the
St. Petersburg Academy, we find the fullest details of the explo-
rations instituted by that eminent traveller during the past
summer in the Nova Zembla seas. In this he remarks that the
original plan included a visit to the mouths of the Obi and
Yenisei, perhaps even extending to the island of New Siberia.
This, however, was found to be impracticable on account of un-
seasonable weather, as it was not till the 6th of August that
they reached the Straits of Matotschkin. Up to that time they
had met with no ice ; but after passing the straits to the east
there was very much drift ice from the sea of Kara so as almost
to bar their way. Finding that the northern coast of the island
was entirely embargoed by ice, they turned to the south, and in
passing visited the Straits of Kostin and the Nechwatowa, then
Waigatsch, and finally arrived at the Straits of Jugorsky on the
1st of September. Here the expedition did not make any better
progress than in the Straits of Matotschkin, and fearing that
ihey might be shut in by the ice for the winter, they returned to
their starting-place. Among the more important results of the
vo3rage were numerous soundings and measurements of deep-sea
temperatures, as also various geographical determinations ; while
large collections of specimens of natural history were brought
together. Among these the most interesting was the discovery
of two different species of lemming in Nova Zembla, and it wss
thought possible that in Southern Nova Zembla still a third
species might be met with. The same animal was also found in
Spitzbergen. Numerous birds were obtained in Nova Zembla
and Waigatsch ; am«jng them the Mandt's Guillemot. Of fishes,
some spe.iesuf cod, coitus, and salmon were obtained, and about
one hundred species of plants.
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NATURE
[April 4, 1872
Indian papers give the following additional accounts of the
aurora of Febmary 4: — Such a phenomenon has not been
observed in the Punjab, or perhaps in India, within the memory
of man, and in consequence the remarks made by the natives
and others bom in the country were rather curious. A curious
circumstance took place at Raikote. About icx) Kooka families
tamed out in the most excited state, and commenced those wild
demonstrations from which the name Kooka is derived. The men
tore off their turbans, unloosed their hair, and began dancing
and waving their arms about, and shouting that this was a token
that Ram Singh had retumed to his home. They were much
disappointed to leam that they were mistaken. At Sealkote
many thought that the red in the sky was the reflection of the
blaze of some hill forest on fire, and one individual at Jhelum
suggested that it must be caused by some volcanic eraption in the
Himalayas. In another place a commissariat officer was thrown
into an agony of terror, thinking it was his haystacks on fire.
A correspondent, writing from Madhopore, says : — " On the
night of the 4th instant, between 11 and 12 o'clock, there
appeared in the sky a clear bright light, like fire, which lasted
about fourteen minutes. It was so bright that we were ablelto
see even the minutest objects ; owing to its red colour the river
appeared as though it were blood. The atmosphere for days
has never been dear of clouds, and it seems as if a storm were
portending. The lightning injured some natives on the 5th inst."
A CORRESPONDENT suggests that the memory of Dr. Priestley
will not be so worthily honoured by a bad statue as by a thoroughly
well-appointed School of Science to be called " The Priestley
Institution," or whatever other name be thought fitting. Science
is much needed to supplement the technical skill employed in the
industries of the Black Country, and is not in that. district so
well provided for as to render the establishment of such a school
unneedful. Or if that undertaking be thought too vast, he pro-
poses the endowment at the Newcastle College or elsewhere of a
scholarship of Physical Science, to provide young aspirants from
the Midland Counties with opportunities of scientific practice and
culture. Or if this suggestion do not find favour, possibly the
ingenuity of the committee can devise some scheme of a similar
sort, so that thus the funds subscribed for this memorial may be
used for science.
We note the proposed formation of a National Swimming
Baths Company (Limited), to provide good and cheap swimming
baths in the Thames.
According to a communication to the Geological Society of
Hungary, the remains of a man, associated with post-tertiary
remains of mammalia, together with a stone hammer, have lately
been discovered in the loess deposits of Hungary, in the neigh-
bourhood of Bmx, in Bohemia. These were in nearly a com-
plete condition. The cranium strongly resembles in its
characteristics the well-known fragment from the Neanderthal,
although differing in certain peculiarities mentioned m the article.
The skeleton was found lying with the head raised, in a sand-bed
of diluvial age, at a depth of tNO feet from the surface.
In making an excavation on the banks of the Amoor River,
. Harpet^s Weekly states that a stone axe of nephrite, or jade, and
beautifully finished, was found at a depth of about three feet
This fact is the more interesting as it bears upon the question in
regard to the celebrated stone-tipped arrows which were used by
the primeval inhabitants of Mantchuria as late as the twelfth
century. It was with arrows winged with eagles' feathers and
tipped with nephrite points that this people paid their tribute to
China while they were under its dominion. The precise locality
of nephrite in Mantchuria is unknown, although it is stated by
some to have b^en on a mountain to the north-west of that
coiintrjr,
The Perthshire Society of Natural Science held its Amml
Meeting on March 7, when Colonel H. M. Dmminond Haywzi
elected president in the room of Dr. Buchanan White, who h2s
held the office for five years. This enterprising society must k
congratulated on the work it has done in the exploration of ik
natural history of the county, and in the commencement of tk
publication of so valuable a work as the Fauna JPertAemis^ cid
the promotion of so useful a periodical as the Scottish JVatMrn:Lt
Botany seems, however, up to the present time, to have bee
neglected by the Society, which is to be regretted in a cossty
with so rich and interesting a flora. The Society has also held "a
meeting for investigation into the qualities, as articles of food, c4
certain Perthshire animals," commonly known as a "Frog-
supper." Among the articles of the bill of fiire were — Fi:-.
d'Ecureuil, Matelot de Grenouille, Alouette k la CrapaudiK,
Ecureuil au naturel.
An Act passed by the Governor-General of India in Coccd
in October last, with a view to provide for the ultinaate adoptif^
of a uniform system of weights and measures of cgpauaty through-
out British India, has been laid before the House of Commoii'.
The Act directs that the unit of weight shall be a ** ser," cq^a!
to the French kilogramme, and the unit for measures of capadtj.
a measure containing one such ser of water at its manmam
density, weighed in a vacuum. Other weights and measures < f
capacity, to be authorised under this Act, are to be integn!
multiples or sub-multiples of their units, the sub-divisions to he
expressed in decimal parts unless otherwise ordered. Whe^
proper standards have been provided for verification of tbest
weights and measures to be used by any Government o&ct,
municipal body, or railway company, the Govemor-Gcncnd
in Council may direct that the weights and measures as
authorised shall be used in dealings by such office, body, or
company. The local Government may prepare tables of tbe
equivalents of other weights and measures in terms of the
weights and measures so authorised.
Dr. W. Lauder Lindsay announces as in prepaiatioo,
"Mind in the Lower Animals," a popular exposition of those
traits in the habits of animals that illustrate their possession
of the higher as well as the lower faculties of mind, as it
exists in man. Dr. Lindsay has already written extensively o&
the subject in the youmal of Mental Science and the BH^^:^
and Foreign Medico-Ckirurgical Review.
Ths second enlarged and improved edition is published oi^-
O. W. Thome's " Lehrbuchder Botonik," intended especiallffof
elementary classes of botany in gymnasia and public schools.
Although some portions of the work, especially the systemstii:,
are open to exception, yet it presents the elements of the different
departments of botanical science in a more compact form, aixi
at a lower price (jj.) than probably any other work. It is illus-
trated by nearly 900 woodcuts.
Mr. Shirlky Hibberd has in the press a volume entitl&i
"The Ivy, a Monograph, " which will shortly be published by
Messrs. Groombridge and Sons.
A USEFUL catalogue is published at Ghent, entitled,
'* Nomenclature usuelle de 550 Fibres Textiles, avec indicatioti
de leur provenance, leurs usages," &c., by the conservator of
the commercial-industrial museum in that city.
Messrs. Groombridge and Sons are preparing a new
edition, with coloured plates, of Mr. Lambton J. H. Young'^
'< Sea Fishing as a Sport"
Mr. B. S. Lyman, mining engineer to the Public Works De-
partment of the Government of India, reprints from the " Trans-
actions of the American Philosophical Society" an account of the
Punjab Oil Region, accompanied by a geological and .topo-
graphical map.
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451
ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF LONDON, FEB. 16, 1872
By J. Prestwich, F.R.S., President
{Coniinued from page 433. )
IT has' been already mentioned that below a certain level perme-
able strata are necessarily always saturated and water-logged,
and that any additional quantity added to this constant quantity
cannot be held permanently. It follows that wherever, in all
water-bearing strata, afier allowing for any abstraction, usually
but comparatively small, by wells, the surplus rainfall must,
when the stratum b full, find its escape by natural means, tV.,by
means of springs. The power and size of the &e are necessarily
dependent upon the dimensions of the strata by which they are
supplied. In the gravel they are small, in the Lower Tertiary
sands moderate ; while in the Chalk they are very large. The
permanence of the spring depends on the lithologlcal character
as well as on the dimensions of the strata. Thus, in sands, where
the water can permeate the mass, the stores are large, and the
delivery moderately quick ; in Limestones, where the water is
confined to cracks and fissures, the delivery is quick and not
lasting, though often large; in rubbly Oolites, which arc also
practically porous, the springs are well maintained; while in
Chalk, owing to the characters before named, the water-delivery
is slow, and the springs are large and very permanent
At the same time the storage-capacity increases with the re-
sistance. Taking the extreme case of the Chalk, the trans-
mission of the rain-water is so slow, that, on the chalk hills, it
takes four or six months to pass from the surface to the line of
water- level at the depth of 20ofL to 30ofL, so that the
heavy rainfall of winter is not felt in the deep springs until the
summer, and Mr. Beardmore estimates that the minimum effect
of a hot dry summer and autumn is not reached until at the end
of about sixteen months, or that the storing-power of the chalk
is of sixteen months' duration. To estimate this power, we have
to take die height and extent of the hills, and to note the litho-
loglcal characters of the permeable strata. If these latter are
underlaid by impermeable strata at above the level of the
rivers in two adjacent valleys, then the base of the under-
ground water-store will be coincident with the level of the im-
permeable strata, and its surface-line will rise, as it recedes within
the hill, in proportion to the resistance offered to the water's
escape by the character of the permeable strata, and it will thus
form a curve between those two points, the height of which will
vary in proportion to the rainfall. When, on the other hand,
the permeable strata continue down to a greater or less depth
beneath the surface of the adjacent rivers, then, as there is no
underground escape for the stored water, the line of water-level
in those permeable strata will rise to, and be always maintained
at, the level of the rivers, and therefore all the additional sup-
plies furnished by the rain must, after traversing the interior of
the hills, find an escape along the bottom of the valleys, and by
the side or in the bed of those rivers. In the dry upland valleys
of the Chalk and Oolites, the underground water, dammed back
by the streams in the nearest river-valley, passes under those
valleys at depths varying with the resistance offered by the
lithological character of the formation, and by the gradient of the
valley as it runs into the hills.
When again, as in the case of the chalk downs and oolite
hills, the exterior outcrop of the permeable strata rests on im-
permeable strata at a height above the river-levels, and in the
other direction inwards they pass below similar levels, then the
springs partake of the same divided character— the one smaller
set fiowing out on the sides of the hills, anil the stronger and
more lasting springs issuing, as it were, at the foot of the incline
on the level of the rivers. In any case, it b the distance between
the two points of escape that gives us one measure of storage.
If the distance is reckoned by miles, then the rise of the water-
level may be measured by tens of feet It is highest when both
the distance from the adjacent river-valleys, and at the same
time the height of the hills is greatest. In some instances, the
crown of the arch formed by it will rise to a height of from 60 ft.
to Soft above its chord.
This curve is subject to great fluctuation, varying according to
the seasons and amount of rainfall. Mr. Clutterbuck has shown
that, in the chalk hills of Hertfordshire, its height varies as
much as 30 ft or 40 ft From the crown or centre of its summit
it decreases at a rate varying generally from 3 ft. to 30 ft, or
even more^ per mile to all parts of the drcomference. The
height of the arch and the breadth of the base-line, taken to*
gether, give therefore the head of water supplying the large springs
of the Chalk — such as those of Chadwcll, Hoddesden, Otter,
Carshalton, Leatherhead, Ospringe, and others. But, besides
these, tht-re are innumerable smaller ones, not so easily seen,
flowing out on the sides or in the beds of the rivers traversing the
great permeable formations, as the many along the Thames from
Greenhithe to Faversham, on the Upper Lea and its tributaries,
and on the Medway and the Darent, where they traverse the
chalk hills. This class of springs has especial geological
bearings, which we shall hereafter have occasion to dwell upon.
The same general roles govern the springs of all the more
varied strata of the upper part of the Thames basin, where, in
place of the Cretaceous and Tertiary series, we have a series of
Jurassic and Liassic strata. Omitting the drift or gravel beds,
the following: are the average dimensions, character, and super-
ficial areas of each of these formations in that area : —
Strata of the Thames Basin above Wallingford
Area.
Average Thickness.
Square Permeable Impermeable
miles. strata. strata.
Chalk (above Kingston 1047) 60 ... 1000 ... —
Upper Greensands 62 ... 100 ... —
Gault 129 ... — ... 130
Lower Greensands 23 ... 200 ... —
Purbeck and Portland beds 46 ... 60 ... —
Kimmeridge Clay 132 ... — ... 300
Coral Rag and grit 103 ... 40 ... —
Oxford Clay 307 ... — ... 4OO
Great and Inferior Oolites... 327 ... 450 ... —
Fuller^ 5 Earth 16 ... — ... 40
Zfbx ... ... ^ 170 ... — ... 500
But although many of these water-bearing strata are of large
dimensions and well stored in the upper part of the Thames
basin, none of those below the Gault, except the Lower Green-
sand, are available for a well-supply at London. The Upper
Greensand, so important in Wiltshire, is reduced to a few feet of
compvatively impermeable argillaceous sands under London.
The Oolitic series, so rich in springs in the district of the Cots-
wold Hills, have been ascertained to thin off as they range east-
ward ; and Mr. Hull has shown that the inferior OoUte and
underlying sands in particular die out, in all probability, under
the Oxfoid clay about the centre of Oxfordshire. Even apart,
therefore, from the discovery made at Kentish Town, we should
now have excluded the Oolitic series as a possible source of supply
to deep wells in the London district ; although, as . sources of
springs' supplies, they contribute so important a share to the
maintenance of the Thames. Few of those strata are, how-
ever, so homogeneous as the Chalk and the London Clay. The
permeable formations often contain subordinate impermeable
clays — seams which form water-levels of more or less importance,
whilst the impermeable clays sometimes contain subordinate
beds of sand or of rock which constitute small local water-
bearing beds. It is for the geologist to assign its relative value
to each of these subordinate features, and to distinguish the
minor from the major sources.
Taking the Thames basm above Kingston, there is, according
to Mr. J. D. Harrison, an area of Iy233 square mUes of im-
permeable strata, and of 2,442 miles of permeable strata, and
the mean annual rainfall in that district amounts to about
27 inches. From the impermeable strata the rain flows off immedi-
ately as it &lls, and is carried at once to sea ; whereas a large
portion of that which falls on the permeable strata is, as we have
shown, stored for a greater or lesser time, and discharged in
perennial springs. It is these which give permanence to our
rivers. The evidence taken before the Commission showed that
the daily discharge of the Thames at Kingston, even in the
driest season after weeks without rain, never falls below
350,000,000 gallons, while the average for the year gives, ac-
cording to Mr. Simpson and Mr. Harrison, 1,353,000^000
gallons, or, according to Mr. Beardmore's longer observa-
tions, 1,145,000,000 gallons daily, the mean of 1,250,000,000
gallons being equal to a fall of about 8 in., or rather less
than one-third of the annual quantity, the other two-thirds
being lost by evaporation and absorbed by the vegetation.
This seems the proportion usual under the like general con-
ditions in these latitudes. M. Belgnmd has shown, in "La
Seine," that in the upper basin of the Seine there are
19,390 square kilometres of impenpeable, and 59,210 of per
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NATURE
[April ^, 1872
meable strata ; and careful measurements have proved that the
discharge at Paris is also equal to about one-third of the rainfall.
The exact proportion of the rainfall passing into the different
permeable strata, and given out again in the form of springs, has
yet to be accurately determined. Mr. Harrison estimates it in
the Thames basin at about one-sixth of the rainfall.
In districts where impermeable strata predominate, the total
water delivery, therefore, will be greater ; but it follows close
upon the rainfall ; whereas, where the permeable strata pre-
dominate, a lar^e portion of the rainfall is stored in the hills,
and its delivery is thereby spread over a greater or lesser period
of time, according to the dimensions of those hills. This is well
exemplified in the case of the basins of the Thames and the
Severn, which latter is formed in large part by the slate rocks of
Wales. The former has an area above Kingston of 3,670 square
miles, with an annual rainfall of 27 inches ; whereas that of the
ktier above Glouc^^ter has an area of 3,890 miles, with an
average rainfall of probably not les; than 40 inches, and the mean
daily discharge for the year is for the Thames of 1,250,000,000
gallons, and tor the Severn about 1,600,000,000 gallons. Yet
the summer discharge of the Thames averages 688,700,000
gallons datly, against 297,599,040 gallons of the Severn ; and
while ihe minimum discharge of the Thames in the driest seasons
never falls below 350,000,000 gallons, that of the Severn falls
below 100,000,000 gallons. Again, in the case of the Lea,
where there is a still larger proportion of permeable strata, the
daily discharge at Broxboume for the year is, according to Mr.
Beardmore, 108,000,000 gallons, while for the summer months
it remains as high as 71,000,000, and in the driest seasons does
not fall below 42,000,000 gallons.
Let us now look at one of the geological questions dependent
upon the solvent action of the water on the strata it traverses.
The analyses, made for the Commission by Drs. Frankland and
Odling, of the waters of the Thames aftd its tributaries in the
00 iiic and Chalk area, show that every 100,000 parts or grains
of rainwater has taken up a quantity varying from 25*58 to
32 '95 grains of solid residue, or an average of 29*26, which
is equal to 20*48 parts or grains per gallon ; another analysis
of the Thames water at Ditton gives 20*78 grains per gallon
of solid residue. It was also shown by Drs. Letheby and
Odling and Prof. Abel that the unfiltered waters of the Thames
Companies, which take their supplies above Kingston, con-
tained 20 82 of solid residue, If from the average of 20*68 we
deduct I *68 grain for organic and suspended matter, we have
19 grains of inorganic residue for every gallon of water flowing
past Kmgston. This is of course apart from the sediment
carried down in floods. The ordinary monthly analyses, con-
ducted by the same eminent chemists during the course of several
past years, show that this quantity is liable to very little varia-
tion, the only difference being that it is somewhat larger in
winter and less in summer.
Some general estimates have already been made by Profs.
Ramsay and Geikie of the quantity of mineral matter carried
down in solution by the Thames ; but the more exact da^a sup-
plied to the Commission enable us to make some additions to
previous results. Taking the mean daily discharge of the
Thames at Kingston at 1,250 million ga!lon«, and the salts in
solution at 19 g ains per gallon, the mean quantity of dissolved
mineral matter there carried down by the Thames every twenty-
four hours is equal to 3,364,2861b?. or 1502 tons, or 548,230
tons annually. Of this daily quantity about two-thirds, or 1,000
tons, consist of carbonate of lime, and 238 tons of sulphate of
lime, white limited proportions of carbonate of magnesia, chlo-
rides of tiodium and potassium, sulphates of soda and potash,
silica and traces of iron, alumina, and phosphates, constitute the
rest. If we refer a small portion of the carbonates, and the
sulphates and chlorides chiefly, to the impermeable argillaceous
formations washed by the rain water, we shall still have at least
10 grains per gallon of carbonate of lim-, due to the Creraceous
and UoUtic strata and Marlstone, the superficial area of which,
in the Tnames basin a^ove Kingston, is es imated by Mr Har-
rison at 2,072 square miles. I'herefore the annual quintity of
CJirbonat-t of lime carried away from this area by the Thames is
29 • 905 tons, or 797 tons daily, which gives 140 t ms removed
ye>i.> fr m each square mle j or ex'en I'ng the cil>:u ation to a
1 entu y we have 14,000 tons r*-moved Tom each mile of su'-fac*?.
Taking a ton of c lalk as equal to 15 »u »ic feet, t'ds is equal to
a remoA.l of ^-§7^ of an inch from the suriac< in the cmrse of a
crn'.u \', <o th.it in the course c#f 13.200 y< ar.> a qnantity equ*l to
a thickness of about one foot wouid be removed from oar Chalk
and Oolitic districts.
I had some faint hope that this wear might furnish us with 1
rough approximate measure of time in reference to some of tk
phenomena connected with the Qoatemary period ; bat we irt
not in a position to apply it. Those curious funnel-shaped caviiiciv
called sand and gravel pipes, so common in many chalk-dLstric-js,
are the result of slow solution of the chalk by water at parties V
spots, whereby the superincumbent sand and gravel have bta
let down into the cavity so produced. Some of tt^gm are b&t 1
few feet deep, while others attain dimensions of 80 feet in depd
by 15 to 20 feet in diameter at top, tapering iiT^;iilarly to a
point at bottom. It is, however, evident from the variatxcn ui
size that the wear has been unequal ; and it is also dear that the
surface-waters have been conducted through these pardcihr
channels, where they existed, to the undeiground water-level, b
preference to passing through the body of the chalk, so that the
ratio of wear at these paints is in excess. Nor can I see at pre-
sent how otherwise to apply this measure. If it were possible
to find a spot where the exposed surface of the chalk hzs bca
worn uniformly, and, from the quantity of flints leil after tk
removal of the chalk and the known distance apart there of the
seams of flint, to determine the number of feet or inches re-
moved, we might have a base to proceed upon, provided all the
quantities remained constant But such is not the case. Akot,
although the annual rainfall in the Thames now averages 27
inches, and has probably not varied much from this amouii:
during the present period, it was evideniy much greater during
the Quatemarv period ; for I have elsewhere shown that, in the
South of England and North of France the rivers of those areas
with the same catchment-basins were of much greater size
than at present ; and Mr. W. Cunnington had before pointed
out the same fact in the upper part of the basin with respect
to some of the rivers of Wiltshire. M. Belgrand has made
an attempt to estimate this quantity with reference to the
Seine and its tributaries, and he arrives at the conclusicsi
that, during the Quaternary (or, as he considers it, the Glacial)
period, the rainfall was so heavy, that the discharge of the
river was from 20 to 25 times greater than at present I do
not altogether concur in this view, but I can conceive that
our rivers formerly were of five or six times the size they
now are. This is an important element to be considered in
all questions bearing on the denudation of land- surfaces.
There is yet another point which, although not in our direct
field of research, yet depends so essentially upon the geological
conditions we have discussed, and is one, in a pabiic point
of view, of such paramount importance, that I will, with your
permission, say a few words on the subject In an uninhabited
country, the rain passes through the soil and issues as springs,
bearing with it a certain proportion of mineral matter, and only
traces of such oxganic matter as existed on the surface. This
would be solely of vegetable origin, and the proportion would be
in most cases very small. As man appeared, those condidoos
would be at first but little altered, for animal matters exposed on
the surface rapidly decay and pass away in a gaseous form ; but
with increasing civilisation and fixed residences the necessity of
otherwise getting rid of all refuse would soon be felt I have
shown how population followed the range of shallo^r permeable
strata and the course of valleys, so as to obtain readily that in-
dispensable necessity of life, a sufficient water supply. But with
the art of well-dtgging it soon became apparent that, let the well
be carried down but half way to the level of ground-springs, it
would remain dry, and that then, so far from holdmg water, any
wa'.er now poured into it would pass through the porous strata
down to the water-level beneath, keeping the shallower well or
pit constantly drained. So convenient and ready a means of
getting rid of all refuse liquids was not neglected. Whilst on
one side of the house a well was sunk to the ground-springs, at
a depth, say, of twenty feet, on the other side a dry well «-as
sunk to a depth of ten feet, and this was made the receptacle of
house-refuse and sewage. The sand or gravel acting as a fih'er,
the rain jr solid matter remained in the dry well, wbUe the major
liquid portion passed th ojgh the permeable stratum and went to
feed the underlying springs. What was done in one house was
d ne in the manv ; and what was done by our rude ancestors
Centuries back hAs contmueJ to be the practice of their more
culivatei descendants 10 tie pre>unt day, with a persistency in
tnc method only to be attiibuiea to the ignorance ol the exiiiience
of such a state t«f thin^js among the masses, and to the ignorance
uf he 'eal conditions and actual results ot perpetuatiitg &uch au
evil — an tvil common alike to the cottages of the pour and, wiih
few exceptions, to the mansions 01 the rich.
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Instances occur from time to time to point out isolated con-
sequences of this pernicious practice, but I believe no one who
has not gone into the geological question can realise its magni-
tude. It is not confined to one district or to a few towns or
villages. It is the rule, and only within the last few years have
there been any exceptions. The organised supply of water now
furnished by companies in all large towns has, to a great extent,
done away with the evil in those situations (though the root of
the mischief has too often been left unextracted) ; but in villages
and detached houses, great or small, it remains untouched and
unchecked. Not a county, not a district, not a valley, not the
smallest tract of permeable strata, is free from this plague-spot
It haunts the land, and is the more dangerous from its unseen,
hidden, and too often unsuspected existence. Bright as the water
often is, without objectionable taste or smell, it passes without
suspicion until corrupted beyond the possibility of concealment
by its evil companionship. Damage, slight in extent, or unim-
portant possibly for short use, but accumulative by constant use,
may and does, I believe, pass unnoticed and unregarded for
years. Nevertheless the draught, under some conditions, is as
certain in its effects, however slow in its operation, as would be a
dose of hemlock. Go where we may, we never know when the
poisoned chalice may be presented to our lips. The evil is self-
generating ; for the geolo^cal conditions supplying our neces-
sities lend themselves to its maintenance and extension. The
knowledge necessary to remedy it is of very slow growth, and the
too frequent want of that knowledge, or disregard of the subject,
even amongst able architects and builders, is such that, without
legislative enactment, I do not see how the evil is to be eiadi-
cated for many a long term of years.
Thb also is only one form of the evil— it is that where the
water-bearing strata are thin and the wells do not exceed a depth of
thirty feet It was the one which prevailed in London, and in
towns similarly situated, up to a very few years back. It even
still lingers on in some private wells, and is moreover fostered
among us by the bright-looking and cool water of too many of
our public pumps ; for not only does the ground still suffer from
the effects of the original contamination, but also from much,
almost inevitable, obnoxious surface-drainage, much gas escape,
much rainfall on old open churchyards, which find their way to
the one level of water suppljring in common all these shallow
wells. The evil still exists also, although to a less extent, in
towns where the wells have to be carried to much greater depths ;
its effects varymg according as the depth, and as the volume of
the springs is to the sewage-escape ; it is, however, only a ques-
tion of degree.
But even our deeper and apparently inaccessible springs have
not escaped contamination. As before mentioned, the under-
ground water will, when tapped b^ artesian wells, rise to or above
the surface, according to the relative height of the surface of the
ground at the well, and of the outcrop of the water-bearing bed
or beds, so that if the former is higher than the flatter, or if by
artificial means the line of water-level in a given area becomes
lowered, then the surface of the water belonging to those great
underground natural reservoirs will be established accordingly at
a certain fixed depth beneath the surface. As each well deriv-
ing its supply in a stratum of this description represents a column
of water communicating with one common reservoir, it follows
that any cause permanently lowering the level of one well will
tend to lower the level in the other wells in proportion to their
number and distance. Further, it has been discovered that a well
of this class can absorb a quantity of water equal to that which it
can furnish ; and as these wells give greater supplies than shallow
wells, the absorbing wells of the same class are alike powerful in
proportion to the others. The perverse ingenuity of man has
here, again, taken advantage of these conditions to get rid of
offensive waste waters by diverting them into such deep wells,
whence they pass away in hidden underground channels, unseen
and unsuspected, and mingle with those deep-seated water-sources
feeding the artesian wells dependent upon them for their supply.
In Paris, where there are several alternating beds of permeable
and impermeable strata, and the depth to reach them is not
very great, this system of absorbing wells connected with fac-
tories became, until regulated by the municipality, very common,
to the great injury of many of the underground springs. From
this and the other causes before alluded to, a great number of
shallow wells have there become so contaminated as to necessi-
tate their abandonment. Our own system of surface-drainage is
generally too good, and the depth to the lower water-bearing
strata too great, to have rendered the use of such wells here
equally advantageous ; nevertheless, I have reason to believe
that they do exist, and that the sources even of our deep well-
water supply in the Lower Tertiary Sands and in the Chalk are
thus to some extent polluted and injured.
Nor do the great and perennial springs supplying our rivers
altogether escape the evils ari&ing from these obnoxious practices.
On die high Oolitic ranges and amongst the undulating Chalk
hills, the line of water-level is often so deep below the surface,
that only in few cases are wells made — the population being
generally dependent on rainwater for their water-supply. But
this does not prevent the construction of dry wells for the dis-
posal of sewage and refuse. It is true that the population in
these hills is sparse — here and there a farm, a few cottages, and
scarcely a village. Still as the ground is everywhere absorbent,
and there are no streams even in the valleys (I am now speaking
of the higher districts), every dwelling contributes its quota ; for
the rain and all liquid matter absorbed in these strata necessarily
pass down to the great underground reservoirs of water feeding
the springs thrown out in the deeper river-valleys. In these
cases, however, the thickness of strata through which any liquid
has to pass before reaching the line of water-level is such as to
produce a more or less efficient filtration and complete decom-
position ; and as the injury caused is in proportion to the relative
volumes of the water-sources and to the artificial additions, the
great extent and dimensions of these water-bearing strata and
the scanty population of such districts reduce it to a minimum.
Owing to these conditions, great as the evil is, experience
teaches that it has, in some cases, its vanishing-point. It may
be considered at its maximum in some of the wells of Paris ; our
own London shallow-well pumps follow next in order ; in our
river-waters away from towns it is but slight ; in some of the
springs of the Chalk and Lower Greensands it is hardly appre-
ciable, while in the deep well-waters, especially those of Caterham
and Grenelle, it sinks to the, minimum attained by any potable
waters, .with the exception of rain-water. It is also a fortunate
circumstance that the wonderful powers of oxidation possessed by
air and water, and the powers of absorption and decomp>osition
by soUs and earths, are such as, even in the surcharged gravel-bed
of London, to remove all the more offensive characters, and leave
its spring-waters at all events limpid and bright ; whilst the
quick eduly, the moving ripple, the bright sunshine, the brisk
breeze, the living organisms, are ever at work in our rivers de-
stroying the almost inevitable accompaniments of the presence of
man, and restoring the waters to that original state of purity so
essential to his health and welfare.
It was on considerations of quantity of supply thus dependent
on geological conditions, and of quality as dependent jointly on
geoTogicfd and artificial conditions, that the Commission was
mainly so long and assiduously engaged. With regard to the
character of waters as dependent on the geological nature of the
strata, while the evidence showed that the waters flowing off
hard and insoluble rocks were, from their much greater fre^om
from mineral matter, more economical for many domestic and
manufacturing purposes, yet that for drinking purposes, waters
such as those derived from our Chalk and Oolitic districts were,
on the whole, as good and wholesome as those from any other
sources ; while as regards quantity and permanence, the condi-
tions presented by a lar^e catchment-basin of a varied geological
structure presented the most favourable conditions for the lar^e
and maintained supply so essential for a great city. And if,
from any 'cause, it should at some future time be thought desir-
able to have a supply of a yet more assured and undoubted
quality than a river supply, the large springs of the chalk and
the Ix>wer Greensand, or the great underground reservoirs of
the most efficiently filtered water stored in those formations in
Surrey and Hertfordshire, might, I believe, be resorted to with
advantage, by means of ordinary and artesian wells, as auxiliary
sources of supply for domestic and drinking purposes, supposing
the engineering difficulties connected with a aouble water-supply
could be overcome — ^a difficulty which it, however, seems to me
would possibly be less one of construction to our engineers than
of cost to the public. But in a great health-question there are other
considerations than these which are of more primary imponance.
{To be continued.)
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Journal of the Franklin Institute^ November 1871. — The
editorial notes in this number are as usual very instructive ;
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NATURE
{April \, \%Ti
amongst them we most notice Young's catalogue of the bright
lines observed in the chromosphere of the sun, which have
already reached a goodly number. Under Civil and Mechanical
Engineering there are several useful and interesting articles, such
as " On Woodworking Machinery," " On the Flow of water in
rivers and canals,** &c. — Prof. Cooke contributes the first of a
series of papers "on the chemical theory of the Voltaic Battery."
The present communication, however, deals with preliminary
matters ; it discusses molecules, atoms, and the quantivalence of
elements. The paper which follows is " On some improvements
in reflecting Telescopes," by J. A. Hill. The author proposes,
in the first instance, to reflect the light from a movable plane
mirror placed in the axis of the speculum, which receives the
reflected rays ; the convergent beam from the speculum passes
through an aperture in the centre of the plane mirror, and can
be received in a suitable eye-piece ; no tubes are used, so that by
this method it would be as easy to handle a mirror of i,ooo feet
focal length as one of the same size of 50 feet focal length. The
observer, too, would remain stationary, and need not be hoisted
into mid-air. — Prof. Young continues his Spectroscopic Notes ;
this month's contribution is "on the construction, arrangement,
and best proportion of the instrument, with reference to its
efficiency. Under this head come the best angle and material
for the prisms, the means of testing for flatness of surface
and homogeneity of substance, and the number and arrange-
ment of the prisms ; there are also two other sections, '* on
dispersive efficiency and on luminous efficiency." A sugges-
tion of a new form of chemical spectroscope is given, the
dispersive part of this consists of two prisms, which are each
concave on one side, and are cemented to the convex object-
glasses of the collimator and observing telescope. By this it is
hoped to save both material and light
The Geological Magazine for March (No. 93) opens with a
new species of Rostellaria {R. Prieei) from the Grey Chalk of
Folkestone, by the editor, Mr. H. Woodward. — Mr. A. H.
Green communicates a paper on the method of formation of the
Permian beds of South Yorkshire, in which he discusses the
general arrangement and palaeontology of these beds, and de-
duces from them a confirmation of Prof. Ramsay's theory that
the Magnesian Limestone and associated beds of this part of
England were formed in part by chemical precipitation in an
inland sea. — Prof. H. A. Nicholson records the occurrence of
the Cephalopod Endoceras proteiforme Hall, in Britain; the
specimen described and figured was discovered by the author in
the mudstones of the Coniston series near Ambleside, a set of
rocks in which scarcely any fossils, except Graptolites, have
hitherto been found. — Mr. James Geikie gives a fourth paper on
Changes of Climate during the Glacial Epoch, in the conclusion
of which he sums up his views as to the sequence of climates
at this time as follows : — I. A succession of alternate glacial
and temperate conditions, but associated with the great Con-
tinental ice-sheets ; 2, a temperate climate, with removal of the
ice-sheets from low grounds; 3, a period of subsidence, with tem-
perate climate, and much denudation of moraines ; 4, a period
of emergence, with arctic conditions, floating ice dispersing
erratics, and deposition of clays with arctic mollusca ; and, 5, a
period of local glaciers in Britain and Ireland, with gradual
amelioration of dimate. In future papers the author proposes
to discuss the cave-deposits and older river-gravels of England.
The post-glacial geology and physiographv of West Lancashire
and the Mersey estuary, form the subject of an interesting paper,
by Mr. T. Mellard Reade ; and Prof. T. Rupert Jones and Mr.
W. K. Parker give us the corrected nomenclature of the Fora-
minifera from the English Chalk, figured by the Rev. Henry
Eley in 1859. — The number also contains an abstract of an
address on subsidence as the effect of accumuktion, read before
Uie Liverpool Geological Society, by Dr. Charies Rlcketts.
The Journal of Botany for March contains only one original
article bearing specially on British Botany, Notes on the British
Ramalina (a genus of Lichens) in the Herbarium of the British
Museum, by the Rev. Jas. Crombie. We find also, " On Symea,**
a new genus of triandrous Liliacea from Chili, by Mr. J. G. Baker,
with a plate ; recent researches into Diatomacea, by the Rev.
E. O'Meara ; and Castanea vulgaris grown in Southern China,
by Dr. Hance. Mr. Carruthers contribu^e<i his important Review
of the Contributions to Fossil Botany published in Britain in
187 1 ; and the editor commences in this number a valuable list
of the articles contained in the German botanical journals for
January.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, Feb. 29.— -"On the Relative Power ci
Various Substances in arresting Putrefaction and the Develop-
ment of Protoplasmic and Fungus Life;" by Dr. F. Crace-
Calvert, F.R.S.
March 14. — " Contributions to the History of the Opium Alka-
loids," part iv. ; by Dr. C. R. A. Wright—" The Decomposition
of Water by Zinc in conjunction with a more Negative Metal ; "*
by J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., and Alfred Tribe, F.CS.
March 21. — "On some Heterogenetic Modes of Origin of
Flagellated Monads, Fungus-germs, and Ciliated Infusoria,"
by Professor H. Charlton Bastian, F.R.S. In tlds ccm-
munication Dr. Bastian announces results which, whilst confirm-
ing the previous observations of MM. Pineau and Ponchet,
considerably extend our knowledge concerning the heterogenetk
changes liable to take' place in the pellicle (composed of aggre-
gated Bacteria) which forms upon an infusion of hay. He de-
scribes all the stages by which certain Fungi, Flagellated Monads,
and Ciliated Infu^ria are produced, as a result of changes taking
place in the very substance of the pellicle. Most of the olxci-
vations were made under a magnifying power of 1,670 diameters,
and, although more extensive, are confirmatory of others pub-
lished in Nature, No. 35. Dr. Bastian says, '* I now wish to
describe other allied processes, and the means by which I am
enabled to obtain, almost at will, either animal or vegetal forms
from certain embryonal areas which are produced in the pellicle."
The simplest mode of origin of Fungus-germs and Monads
is thus described :— " The pellicle which formed on a filtered
maceration of hay during frosty weather (when the temperature
of the room in which the infusion was kept was rarely above 55^
F., and sometimes rather lower than this) presented changes of a
most instructive character. On the third and fourth days the
pellicle was still thin, although on microscopical examination all
portions of it were found to be thickly dotted with embryonal
areas. Nearly all of them were very small ; but a few areas of
medium size were intermixed. The smallest were not more than
viAnr" of an inch in diameter, and these separated themselves
from the pellicle as single corpuscles ; slightly Uiger areas broke
up into two or three corpuscles ; and others, larger still, into
4 — 10 corpuscles. In most of these small areas, the oorposdes
were formed with scarcely any appreciable alteration in the re-
fractive index of the matter of which they were composed ; this
simply became individualised, so that the corpuscles separated
from the surrounding pellicle and from their fellows, stdl pre*
senting all the appearance of being portions of the pellicle, and
exhibiting from 4 to 10 altered Bacteria in their interior. In
some cases the products of segmentation soon developed into actual
flagellated Monads in a manner presently to be described ; whilst
in others they seemed to remain for a longer period in the con-
dition of simple motionless corpuscles. Other solitary corpuscles
or small areas began to form in the pellicle in precisely the same
manner, though they speedily assumed a highly refractive and
homogenous appearance. Why some should tmdergo such a
change, and not others, seems quite impossible to say. One can
only assert the fact, and add that these highly refractive ovoid
corpuscles were, for the most part, more prone to produce Fungus-
germs than Monads. Many of them soon grew out into dis-
sepimented fungus filaments, which rapidly assumed the Pem^
citlium mode of growth. The spores, which were abundantly
produced in terminal chaplet-like series, were, however, small,
homogeneous, spherical, and colourless " In other cases Monads
and Fungus-germs are produced from the pellicle in precisely the
same manner as that by which they arise within the terminal
chambers of certain Algae or Fungi — that is to say, they result
from the s^mentation of a mass of homogeneous protoplasm.
In speaking of such a mode of origin of Monack, Dr. Bastian
says : — " Contrasting with the very pale fawn-colour of the
evenly granular pellicle, there were numerous areas of a whitish
colour, refractive, and more or less homogeneous. These areas
differed very mndi in shape and size ; some were not more than
•niW\ whilst others were as much as ^§7" '^ diameter. Their
shape was wholly irr^ular. As in the instances previously
recorded, the first appreciable stage in the formation of an em-
bryonal area in the pellicle was a local increase in the amount
of gelatinous material between the units of this portion of ihe
pellicle, so that they became more distinctly separated from one
another than in adjacent parts . Gradually these partides became
less sharply defined, and at last scarcely visible, in the midst of
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a highly refractive protoplasmic mass which began to exhibit
traces of segmentation. Masses of this kind were seen, which
had been resolved by such a process of segmentation into a
number of spherical corpuscles about -a^Vt" i^ diameter. These
-were at first highly refractive, though they gradually became
rather less so, and revealed the presence of two or three minute
granules in their interior. In other adjacent areas, a number
of densely-packed, pliant, and slightly larger corpuscles were
seen actively pushing against one another. When they sepa-
rated, they were found to be active ovoid specimens of Monas
lens, about TiW" i» length, and provided with a vacuole and a
rapidly lashing flagellum."
In other cases embryonal areas of the same nature were
formed, which went through similar processes of segmentation ;
although the units produced, instead of developing into Monads,
-were seen to become transformed into brown vesicular bodies,
which subsequently -germinated into Fungus filaments. Whilst
affirming that he is now able to determine pretty surely the oc-
currence of either one of these phenomena. Dr. Bastian says : —
" Experience has shown me, that, if an infusion ha? been
heated for a time to 212" F., the pellicle which forms on its
surface very frequently never gives nse to an embryonal area. If
the infusion has been prepared ata temperature of 149° — 158" F.,
the embryonal areas which form will give origin to Fungus germs ;
whilst in a similar infusion prepared at 120** — 130°?., the em-
bryonal areas, which seem at first to be in all respects similar,
break up into actively moving Monads."
Dr. Bastian then proceeds to give an account of the origin of
Paramecia^ laying stress upon the fact that, in order to obtain
such organisms, it is necessary to employ a filtered infusion made
with cold water. His observations on this subject were, in the
main, confirmatory of those of M. Pouchet. Thousands of egg-
like bodies, varying in size from y^" to -s^" were seen develop-
ing throughout the whole substance of a thick pellicle. He says :
" It seemed to me that the differentiation took place after a man-
ner essentially similar to that by which an ordmary ' embryonal
area' is formed. The small embryos did not appear to represent
the earlier stages of large embryos ; and it seemed rather that
spherical masses of the i>ellicle of different sizes began to un-
dergo molecular changes, which terminated in the pn^uction of
Paraftucia of a correspondingly different bulk. Just as in the
previously described embryonal areas masses of different sizes
began to exhibit signs of change, so also here, spherical portions
of the pellicle^ differing within the limits above mentioned, b^an
to undergo other heterogenetic changes. This was first indicated
by an increased refractiveness of the area (especially when seen
a little beyond the focal distance) ; and almost simultaneously
a condensation of its outer layer seemed to take place, whereby
the outline became sharply and evenly defined. At this stage
an actual membrane is scarcely appreciable, and the substance
of the embryo (when examined at the right focal distance)
scarcely differs in appearance from the granuUir pellicle of which
it bad previously formed part So far as it could be ascertained,
the individual embryos did not increase in size, although they
went through the following series of developmental changes.
The contained matter became rather more refractive, and the
number of granules within diminished considerably, whilst new
particles after a time seemed gradually to appear in what
was now a mass of contractile protoplasm. These new par-
ticles were at first sparingly scattered, though as they were
evolved they continued to grow into biscuit-shaped bodies, which
sometimes attained the size of nr^inr"- All sizes were distinguish-
able ; and many of them moved slowly amongst one another,
owing to the irregular contractions of the semi-nuid protoplasm
in which they were embedded. Gradually the number of homo-
geneous biscuit-shaped particles increased ; and at last a large
vacuole slowly appeared in some portion of the embryo. It
lasted for about half a minute, disappeared, and then, after a
similar interval, slowly reappeared. Much irregularity, however,
was observed in this respect. The next change that occurred was
the complete se[>aration of the embryo from the cyst which it
I filled, and the conmiencement of slow axial rotations. These
' rotations gradually became more rapid, though they were not
always in one direction. The mass became more and more
densely filled with the large biscuit-shaped particles, and at last
the presence of cilia could be distinctly recognised on one por-
tion of the revolving embryo. Then, as M. Pouchet stated,
the movements grew more and more irregular and impulsive, so
as at last to lead to the rupture of the thin wall of the cyst —
when the embryo emerged as a ciliated and somewhat pear-
sh.iped sac, provided with a large contractile vesicle at its
posterior extremity. . . . On emerging from the cpX^ all
the embryos, although differing somewhat in size, were of the
same shape. This closely corresponded with the description
given of Paramecium colpida in Pntchard's ' Infusoria,' namely :
— 'Obovate, slightly compressed; ends obtuse, the anterior
attenuated and slightly bent like a hook.' Cilia existed
over the whole lx>dy, though they were largest and most
numerous about the anterior extremity. No trace of an actual
buccal cleft could be detected ; and (except in the posterior
portion of the body, where a large and very persistent vacuole
was situated) the organism was everywhere densely packed with
the large, homopeneous, biscuit-shaped particles. For many days
these most active Infusoria seemed to undergo little change,
though afterwards the number of the contained particles gradusdly
began to diminish, whilst the body became more and more re-
gularly ovoid, and a faint appearance of longitudinal striation
manifested itself, more espedaUy over its anterior half. At the
same time a very faint and almost imperceptible mass ('nucleus')
began to appear near the centre of the organism ; and when
examined with a magnifying power of 1,670 diameters, a lateral
aperture (mouth) t^' "^ £ameter was seen, which was fringed
by short active dlia, arranged like the spokes of a wheel. These
peculiarities correspond very closely with those of an embryo
Nassula, Very many were seen with similar characters ; and
multitudes existed in all conditions intermediate between this
stage and that of the shnpler organism which first emerged from
the cyst"
Dr. Bastian conclndes by saying : —
" It will, of course, be seen that the phenomena which I have
described as taking place in the ' prohgerous pellicle ' may be
watched by all who are conversant with such methods of investi-
gation. We do not require to call in the aid of the chemist ; we
need exercise no special precautions ; the changes in the pellicle
are of such a kmd that they can be readily appreciated by any
skilled microscopist.
"Just as I have supposed that living matter itself comes into
being by virtue of combinations and re-arrangements taking place
amongst invisible colloidal molecules, so now does the study of
the changes in the ' pellicle ' absolutely demonstrate the fact that
the visible new-bom units of living matter behave in the maimer
which has been attributed to the invisible colloidal molecules.
The living units combine, they undergo molecular re-arrange-
ments ; and the result of such a process of heterogenetic biocrasis
is the appearance of larger and more complex organisms ; just as
the result of the combmation and re-arrangement between the
colloidal molecules was the appearance of primordial aggregates
of living matter. Living matter is formed, therefore, after a
process which is essentially similar to the mode by which
higher organisms are derived from lower organisms in the pellicle
on an organic infusion. All the steps in the latter process can be
watched ; it is one of synthesis — a merging of lower individuali-
ties into a higher individuality. And although such a process
has been previously almost ignored in the world of living matter,
it is no less real than when it takes place amongst the simpler
elements of not-living matter. In both cases the phenomena are
essentially dependent upon the * properties ' or * inherent ten-
dencies' of the matter which displa3rs them."
Mathematical Society, March 14. — W. Spotliswoodc,
F.R.S., president, in the chur. — The President made a sute-
ment to the effect that it had been desirable to apply for a
Charter, and that he bad taken the requbitc steps for ascertain-
ing the right mode of procedure. The proposal made by the
President being unanimously agreed to, the matter dropped. — A
vote of thanks was passed to Mr. S. M. Drach for his present to
the Society of two early and interesting works by Vieta and
Ubaldi respectively. — ^The papers read were : — Prof. Clifford,
" On a new expression of Invariants and Covariants b^ means
of alternate numbers ;" Hon. J. W. Stmtt, " On the Vibrations
of a gas contained within a rigid spherical cone." The former
paper was concerned with methodsgiven in " Vorlesungen liber die
complexen Z^ahleu und ihre Functionen," by Dr. Hermann Han-
kel (1867). In the latter paper the problem discussed was one
referred to in a paper on the "Theory of Resonance," Phil.
Trans., 1871. It is the only case of the vibration of air
within a closed vessel which has hitherto been solved with com-
plete generality. A result arrived at was that the pitch is
about a fourth higher for the sphere than it is for a closed cylind-
rical pipe, whose length is equal the diameter of the sphere.^
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NATURE
\ April 4, 1872
Mr. A. J. Ellis, P\R,S., communicated a question which had
been forvrarded to him by Prof. Haldeman, of Columbia, Penn*
syivania, U.S., "The number of lines in a rhymed stanza
being given, hoW many variations of rhyme-distribution does
it admit of^ suppose no line to be left without a rhyme? ''
Victoria Institute, March 18.— Mr. Charl<^s Brooke. F.R S.,
in the chair. — Dr. Bateman on "Darwinism tested by recent
Researches as to the Localisation of the Faculty of Speech,"
Having called attention to Mr. Darwin's statement, that the
difference between man and the higher animals was only one of
degree, and not of kind, he proceeded to show that such
could not be the fact, and instanced the faculty of articulate lan-
guage, a distinctive attribute of which there was no trace in the
ape or other animals. After defining articulate language, he de-
monstrated that it was exclusively man's prerogative, and there
was no analogy between it and the forms of expression common
to the lower animals. He then stated that it had been thought
that a particular part of the brain was the seat of language, and, if it
were so, the Darwinian might contend that, as there was a certain
similarity between the brain of man and of the ape and other
animals, that they had the germs of the faculty. He then cited
many cases which had be^n brought under the notice of German,
French, American, English, and other surgeons, to show that
even where various portions of the brain had been injured or
destroyed, the faculty of speech remained. He concluded by
stating that the faculty of articulate speech seemed to be an
attribute, the comprehension of which was at present beyond us.
Glasgow
Geological Society, February 8.— Sir William Thomson,
LL.D., was elected president; Messrs. E. A. Wiinsch, John
Young, and James Thomson, F. G. S. , vice -presidents. — Professor
Young, the retiring president, delivered an address on " Rode
Formations in relation to Geological Time." He concluded by
ex|>ressiiig the pleasure he felt in resigning the chair to one so
eminent in the walks of science as Sir William Thomson, whose
contributions to theoretical geology had been of the utmost im-
portance.— ^The President, in taking the chair, briefly thanked
the members for the honour they had conferred upon him, and
hoped he might be of some service to them in the prosecution
of geological inquiry.
Dublin
Natural History Society, March 6.— Professor E. Perceval
Wright, president, in the chair. — The President delivered his
inaugural address. He gave an interesting account of the histor}*
of the society from its commencement in 1838, when their meet-
ings were held in Suffolk Street, and the opening address delivered
by Mr. O'B. Bellingham. *'There were then 104 members, and in
1840 the number had increased to 150. In 1844 the museum so
increased that Mr. M'Coy was appointed curator, and he in 1845
laid a catalogue of the Irish animals in the museum before the
society. This catalogue was printed and appended to the report
for I £(45-46. During these years many records of species new to
Ireland were made. Very many valuable and interesting papers
on zoological subjects were read. Many of these are to be found
in full in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. It is
strange in looking over some of these to be reminded how
great has been the development of some branches of natural sci-
ence since they were written. Friends of many of us here — ^friends
still living— many of them by no means yet full of days, yet
wrote before the developmental stages of the Crustacea were
known, and could write of Spongillaa^ undoubtedly allied to die
Diatomaceae. About 1 851 a few students in college, including
inyself, determined to form the Univenity Natural Science Asso-
ciation, which is now amalgamated with the present society.
Ere ceasing to speak of the College Society, let me pay a passing;
tribute to me memory of those who were our strong support, and
who freely and generously held out to us that helping hand, and
who have now left us for ever — Robert Ball, W. H. Harvev, A.
H. Haliday, and A. Furlong ; nor would it be seemly to forget
all the encouragement and assistance given to us Inr the authori-
ties of the College and the Regius Professor of Physic, or the
loss we sustained when Allman, our ProfesM>r, counsellor, and
friend was, by ahard fate, moved tosucceed Forbes in Edinburgh. "
PAMPHLETS RECEIVED.
English. — The Dolmen Mounds and AmorpboHtHic Monuments of
Brittany : S. P. • Hiver, R.N. Remarks on the successive Mining Schools
of Cornwall: J H- Collins — ^The Unity of Man's Being: A. Diesterwes. —
Modem Examples of Road and Railway Bridges, Part I. : Maw and Dredge
•-Transactions of the Institution of Engineers aud Shiphoilden in Scotland
— Quarteriy Weather Report of the Meteorological Offi-e, Juh-S*T« . tS-::-
— Annual Report < f the Geol<Mpsts' Association, 1871.1 — Mode'v Sc3et>cc i.' l
the Bible .* iheir Positive and D.rect Antagonism. •The Study- of Ec&crs
Botany: Jas. Collins.— Lord Derby on the United Kingdom AUiasc?-
Statistics of the Liquor Traffic : Rev. D. Bums.— tgch Repon o( the Ft*--,
live Conunittee of the United Kingdom Alliance.— T^ Deviation of •>'^
Compass in Iron Ships : W. H- Rosser.—Procredings of tbc Geolorv
Association.— Report of the Conunittee on Ships of War. — Report of the t:>
of H.M.S-Af^iirm —Journal of the Iron and Suel Institute, F'efarvarr —
Catalogue of Microscopical Preparations of theQuelctt Micro .^»p«^ C .■
—On the Mec^ anical (mpo^bility of the Descent of Glaciers by th«ir Wet^^
only: Canon Moscley — Krench Karraer** Seed Fund Heponic. — Ea«>cKxjt.?
Natural History Society Report.— Journal of the Ro^ I>ubl]n Sooctr.
No. 4a— Quarterly Journal of^the MeteoroloKtcal Society.
AMBKiCANftCoi^NiAU—Hinrichs' School Laboratory oTPhrsica] Soerr e-
Nos. sand 4.— Experimental Steam Boiler Explosions: Prof Thurstoo. — C»"-
servations on Encke's Comet : Prof. C. A Young. —The Phoenix, for Janaar-. •
1873. — Smithwnian Contributions to Knowledge: Converging series ejcprcsscc
the ratio between the diamater and circumference of a circle : W. FctkI —
7th Annual Catalogue of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. — Tt^
Lens, Na i.— Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. July-Dec
1871.— Lecture on Water: C. F. Chandler.— Inaugural Lecture of the De>
oaitment of Practical Science in M*Gill University: G. F. Armscraeg.—
Lectures delivered at the Industrial and Technical Museum at Melbovrns
during the Autumn Session of 1871.
Foreign.— Bericht der Kaiseriiche Akademie der Wiaaenschalten zn Wiea.
—Bulletin de I'Acad^mie ImpfriaJe de* Sciences de St PctersbourE.— Kans
der Alpen in 8 koorirten Bl&ttem : Mayr u Berghaus.— Die Centia'cs
Ortler-Alpen ; nebst einen Anhange zu der AdameUo-PzeanncIla-Alpea
J. Payer.
DIARY
THURSDAY, Apwl 4.
LiNNjAN Society, at 8. -On the Geographical Distributkm of CooqMsicc ;
G. Bentham. President (concluded^
Chemical Society, at 8.
FRIDAY. April 5.
Geologists* Association, at 8.— On the Excavatioos on the Site of t&e La«
Courts : Wilfrid H. Hudfeston. and F. G. H. Price. -On CoSminrBLaiL
John Curry.
Abcilaological Institute, at 4.
MONDAY, AwiL 8.
Royal Unitbo Sehvice Institution, at 8.30.— H.M.S. A^incnrt on
and off. the Pearl Rock : Commander R. H. Boyle^ R. N. ^^""""^^ «•
ANTHaoFOLOCiCAL INSTITUTE, at 8. Notes on the Hair of Oceanic Races •
Dr. B. Davis— Note on the Hair of a Hindottanee : Dr. H. filaac— On
the Descent of the Esquimaux : Dr. Rink.
TUESDAY, April 9.
Royal Institution, at 3.— Sutistics and Social Science : Dr. Guy
Photographic Society, at 8 — M. Merget's Meioiry Process.
WEDNESDAY, April 10
Geological Society, at 8.— NoUce of some of the Secondary Effects of the
Earthquake of xoth January, 1869. in Cachar: Dr. Oldham, CaJcuttn, and
Robert Mallet. F.R.S.-Notes on Atolls or Lagoon Island.: S- J. Whnnea
On the GlacuU Phenomena of the Yorkshire Uplands : J. R. Dakvn.—
Modem Gladal Action in Canada : Rev. W. BleasdeU, M JL
Society op Akts, at 8.
THURSDAY, April 11.
Royal Society, at 8.3a
SooETY OP Antiquaries, at 8.30.
Royal Institution, at 3.- Ueat and Light : Dr. Tyndall.
Mathematical Society, at 8.— On the Mechanical DcecriMion of 1
Sextic Curves : Pirof. Cay ley, V.P., F.R,S. ^^
CONTENTS
Pace
44»
44^
The Foundation of Zoological Stations. XL— Tlie Aquarium at
Naples. By Dr. Anton Dohrn
ScROPE ON VOLCANOS. By D. FORBES, F.R.S. (lYitk /tlustnUiJms.')
Our Book Shelp
Letters to the Editor:—
The Adamites
TheSegmentationof Annulosa.— E. Ray LANKEvrER. *. ! * *
'^t^^'e* ^^^^'^''on. Phosphorescence, &c— Dr. W. C. MclNTt>SH,'
F.L S. .••.....
The Aurora of February 4.— E,
MorseonTerebratulina.— i^^f ] ...w..— . . .
On the Colour of a Hydrogen Flame —A. J. Mebzb 444
Vestiges op the Glacial Period in NoRrH-EASTSRN Anatoua 444
The Inhabitants op the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.- Crus-
NotS" "***^ ByA.S. Packard, Jun. {With lUusimtiints.) 445
Annual Address to the Geological 'Society* of London.* Feb'. **
iS, xZ-jt (CoMtimued), By J. Frbstwich, F. R. S 451
Sciemtific Serials '„
Societies and Academies 454
Pamphlets Recxiybd 'lea
D'ARY : , . 456
• . 441
— E^. Stone, F R S.: A. J. Waehbe 443
rv»f K S. Morse 444
NOTICE
IVehcg leave to state thai we decline to return refected etmrnunua-
tions, and to this rule toe can make no exception, Communica^
turns respecting Subscriptums or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers^ not to the Editor.
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NATURE
457
THURSDAY, APRIL ii, 1872
NEWSPAPER SCIENCE
WHETHER some knowledge of Science or some
love for scientific truth will ever penetrate the
masses, may well be questioned when we read such an
article as the following, which appeared in the daily
paper boasting the largest circulation in the world, and
which we reprint almost entire as a curiosity of newspaper
literature : —
" What is a Joule ?— or who is he, if a Joule is a human
being, and not a vegetable — a weapon of offence, or some-
thing to drink, or a Phantom ? And if Joule be humUn,
why did he not consider that human reason is fallible,
and human patience exhaustible, when he penned, or got
somebody else to pen, a maddening article which has
appeared in the Nautical Magazine, from which we
gather that the transformations of energy are in their
nature similar to the operations of commerce ; but with
this difference, that in thermodynamics the relative
values never vary. This, it seems, is the universal theorem
of a Joule ; and a red-hot poker must always bear the
same relation to sixpence as the contents of a tea-kettle
at boiling point bear to a five-pound note. . . . Under
the new dispensation the sovereign, ' to which all other
forms of energy can be referred,' is to be an unit of heat.
On the obverse is stamped ' Joule's equivalent,' and on
the other side is inscribed 772 foot-pounds. One unit of
heat is the amount required to raise the temperature of
one pound of water one degree, and the equivalent for
this coin is 772 foot-pounds of work — that is, the work
required to be expended to raise one pound weight 772
feet . . . But what is the new 'Joule's equivalent '
to be made of .?— cobwebs, leather, or fresh butter 1 — and
who wants to raise a pound weight 772 feet? As a
problem of proportion, the theory is, of course, philoso-
phical enough ; but it would be just as easy to fix a unit
of cold as well as a unit of heat ; and, under any circum-
stances, until Joule comes into the open and tells us who
he is, what he means, and when his equivalents are to be
put into circulation, society, we fear, will decline to re-
cognise a sovereign as a Joule, or thirty shillings as a
Joule and a half."
Now, with the mental condition of the man who could
pen such an article as this we have nothing to do ; he
may go on writing according to his lights every day of
the week, and no one but his own friends need interfere to
stop him. But there are one or two considerations which
arise from the perusal of it not without their importance.
In the first place, bearing in mind the contempt for
Science so often apparent in the public utterances of men
of high calibre — instances occur to us as we write, and
probably will to our readers, of men of the highest culture
in literature or art, who never allude to scientific work
or to scientific teachers without a. scarcely disguised sneer
at the inferior part which they play in the national
economy — we may, after all, be content that Science is
alluded to at all in a paper possessing so large a circula-
tion. The next consideration is one to which we attach
the highest importance.
Surely it is now time that scientific men themselves
should take a little more trouble than they do — we know
it is asking a good deal from them — in the matter of
bringing their own work, and the importance of it to the
community, before such audiences as the daily papers
afford. Were they to do this, the labours of our great
VOL, V.
scientific teachers — our Huxleys, Tyndalls, and Carpen-
ters—would be enormously lightened. If we hear of an
attendance of several thousands at a penny lecture by
Huxley at Manchester, or a Sunday afternoon lecture
in St George's Hall by Carpenter, we fancy a love of
science is spreading with rapid strides ; but the fact is
that the strides are not so rapid as they might be, because
the labourers on whom progress depends are so few and
the area of their lecture work is restricted, whereas many
newspapers, on the other hand, number their readers by
hundreds of thousands. Until scientific men do this, we
must be content with the present state of things. It is
in no spirit of invidious comparison that we may remind
our readers of the frequent extracts which appear in our
columns from Harper's Weekly, a political and general
paper of very large circulation in the United States, the
scientific department of which, containing information of
the highest value, is edited by one of the most eminent
scientific men of America. But what is the present state
of things with us ? In the main it is one in which the
public is informed of scientific work by others than the
doers of the work ; and the labour of classifying these
writers is not difficult
In the first place we have, we are thankful to say, a
small though gradually increasing number whose labours
leave nothing to be desired, who, being men of scientific
culture themselves, take a pleasure in their work, and to
whom the friends of Science in this country cannot be too
grateful. As an illustration of the labours of this class
of writers, designed to present to the non-scientific public
an account of remarkable scientific phenomena, in popu-
lar and yet accurate language, we may refer to one
of the most recent publications of this class, an article
entitled " A Voyage to the Sun" in the March number of
the Cornhill Magaziney which we commend to the notice
of all aspirants after scientifico-literary fame. The play
of fancy which invests with an attractive grace a subject
that would appear dry to many, is combined with a happy
art of describing scientific phenomena in clear and exact
language, in a manner that we have seldom seen equalled.
It is impossible to overrate the labours of these gentlemen
in the present condition of Science in England.
Secondly, we have a still larger class where the intention
is good, but in which the culture, scientific and otherwise,
is not so high. In the writings of these Science is apt
to run wild : accuracy gives place to imagery, and the
would-be learners, after an hour's attempt at gaining know-
ledge, rise from it, knowing rather less than they did
before, and looking upon Science as a fearful and wonder-
ful thing with which Uie less they have to do the better.
We have next a third class, composed of writers as
widely different as the poles, but we place them together
because the harm they both do is incalculable. The
writer who is anxious to know what a " Joule" is may be
taken as the type of one division. Grossly ignorant of all
kinds of Science, it is nothing to him that he should bring
it into discredit ; he is doubtless paid for his work, and
we need say no more about him. In the second division
we find sometunes high culture, but the writing is not
written for Science' sake. It is entirely a personal affair.
The advancement of Science gives way to that of the
individual and his friends, and any subject wxilten upon
is seen through a fog of personality an'*
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IfATUkJ^
[April 11,1872
On the whole we prefer the author of " What is a Joule ?"
to such a man as this, because we believe he does less
hamii and is less likely to mislead '' able editors."
There is one grain of comfort even in the imbecilities
and inanities of would-be humorous writers in news-
papers, that at least they have woke up to the idea that a
scientific discovery is worth laughing at. This is a step
gained. Twenty years ago, even ten years ago, the name
of even so distinguished a scientist as Dr. Joule would
have been utterly unknown to the herd of newspaper
writers. We must be thankful for even this much ; and
look hopefully forward to the good day coming when
Science will take her place by the side of her sisters, Art
and Literature, as equally deserving of popular culture.
GR/SEBACIPS VEGETATION OF THE
GLOBE
Die Vegetation der Erde nach ihrer klimatischen Anord-
nung: ein Abriss der vergleichenden Geographie der
Pfianzenj von A. Grisebach. 2 vol. (Leipzig : Engel-
mann, 1872.)
'"PHIS important contribution to a branch of the science
J- which, since the publication of A. de Candolle's
"Geographie Botanique" and the promulgation of the
Darwinian theories, has been daily acquiring greater
value in the minds of philosophical naturalists, is the
result of long study and persevering accumulation of
data on the part of the learned author. Prof. Grisebach
had already, in the "Linnaea" for 1838, given his first
views on the limitation of natural floras by climatological
influences ; and since 1840 he has, in his periodical reports
on the progress of geographical botany, entered more or
less into the principles and conclusions which he has
successively entertained or matured. He now supplies us
in these volumes with a methodical digest of the facts he
has collected, and of the conclusions he would draw from
them. The result is a rich store of materials, which future
investigators of the subject must necessarily have re-
course to, and the arrangement adopted is perhaps the
one best calculated to illustrate that branch of it which is
more especially indicated by the title, the influence of
climate and physical conditions on the stations and areas
of species. But to the general naturalist the value of the
work as a book of reference is much diminished by two
great deficiencies ; there is no summary of the conclu-
sions he would draw from the facts he has detailed, and
no index to enable the reader to turn to any individual
fact, argument, or deduction, which may have struck him
in the perusal of above 1,200 closely printed pages.
The question of the Origin of Species is not entered
into, for the author believes that acknowledged facts
prove nothing more than the production of varieties
through climatological or other influences, but that " how-
ever interesting speculations on the genetic connections of
organisms may appear, we abandon the territory of facts
when we indulge in conjectures on the origin of more
widely separated forms or races, of species, genera, or
families of plants or animals." " That the limits between
a species and a variety are not always to be strictly de-
fined, is no reason," he observes, " why we should ascribe
to both an identical process of formation, or that we
should regard the forces by which the gradual variations
of forms are effected as the only ones by which ths
multiplicity of nature has been produced.''
As far as we have been able to collect the professor's
views, his idea seems to be that, whatever may have bes
its origin, every species now existing on the globe was a:
some given (or uncertain) time "produced" in oae
particular spot, the centre of the species, from whence t
has, from the natural tendency to multiplication inhcrai:
in every organised race, spread in every direction where
its progress has not been checked by extraneous causts,
generally by climatological or other physical opposing in-
fluences, sometimes by the mere struggle with compedng
races. Wherever a considerable number of species appear
to have had their centres within a limited area, that arei
is termed a centre of vegetation {yegetaitons-centrum) \
where the migration of plants from one or more centres is
limited by physical obstructions, by mountain chaini.
seas, adverse climate, &c., the space thi^s enclosed is the
province {Gebiet) of a natural flora. For the " centres ^
vegetation," the author had originally made use of lbs
term " centres of creation " {Schopfungs-centren)^ whicli
he has now abandoned on account of the objections made
to it as expressing some definite process of production.
" I, at least," he adds, " under an act of creation, nc-cr
understood anything else than the operation of certain
laws of nature, the further knowledge of which is, as yet,
withheld from us. Bentham prefers for the term * centres
of vegetation' that of 'areas of preservation,' when they
remain in their original state, as in oceanic is'an<'s, a
mode of expression to which we might well be reconciled"
(p. 523). With regard to the term Gebiet ^ the natnni
translation would be region^ but in this instance, with the
facility enjoyed by Germans of adopting words of foreign
languages, the word " Region ^ is made use of for areas
limited by altitude within the Gebiet.
The twenty-four botanical provinces of natural floras
which Grisebach had already sketched out in Petermann s
Mittheilungen are here necessarily taken in detail, investi-
gating under each one— (i) the climate ; (2) the prevailing
plant-forms ; (3) the prevailing plant-formations ; (4) ^^
regions, chiefly as to altitude ; and (5) the centres of vege-
tation included in the province. For the " plant-forms '
he has carried out a classification founded on that of
Humboldt, distributing plants under seven Jieads —(0
woody plants ; (2) succulent plants ; (3) climbers ; (4)
epiphytes ; (5) herbs j (6) grasses— including sedges,
reeds, &c. ; (7) cellular plants : each one subdivided into
minor groups. The "plant-formations" are tracts of
country whose general aspect is characterised by their
vegetation, such as forests, heaths, scrubs, deserts, culti-
vated tracts, &c.
The two provinces worked out with the greatest c^^^
and for which the materials here collected are perhaps the
most deserving of study, as being the most ample, and ia
both cases checked by the personal experience of the
author, are the Forest-province (Waldgebiet) of the eastern
continent (the greater part of Europe and temperate Asia),
and the Mediterranean region ; the one characterised hy
its vast uniformity, the other by its broken diversity; i^
both of which the complicated influences of climate, con-
figuration, and soil, have been more carefully observed,
recorded, and studied, than in any other quarter of the
globe. The Mediterranean region is particularly instnic-
L/iyiLizLCJU kjy
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Aprt7 ii,xS72]
NATURE
459
tive, not only from the richness of the flora, but from the
large number of endemic monotypes (monotypic genera
or sub-genera, or widely distinct species), confined to very
restricted areas, and of disjointed species — identical species
in widely dissevered areas. With regard to the species of
narrowly confined stations, Prof. Grisebach believes that
the considerations he has brought forward tell decidedly
in favour of the conclusion " that monotypes and other
rare organisms are not—or, at least, are not generally—
to be regarded as the surviving remains of earlier crea-
tions, but as evidences of the productive power of the
localities where they are now to be found, and from
whence no means of migration are within their reach *'
(p. 364). He can, however, scarcely have paid attention
to the various proofs recorded of the gradual reduction
of the areas of several Mediterranean species, even within
historical times, and still more since an immediately
preceding geological epoch— that of the formation of the
tufas of the south of France. He does not, indeed, seem
to be aware of the instructive memoirs on this subject of
Gustave Planchon (see Nat. Hist Review, 1865, p. 202).
The "disjointed " species, on the other hand, appear to
have puzzled Prof. Grisebach, as they have done and will
continue to puzzle all speculators on Geographical Botany.
Grisebach endeavours to reduce their number as much as
possible ; sometimes by the discovery of intermediate
stations ; then, again, by presumed colonisation through
man or other agencies; or by showing that supposed
identical forms in distant areas are really distinct species,
and, therefore, beyond the scope of inquiries limited to the
age of now-existing species. But yet, in the Mediterra-
nean as in the Japanese provinces, he is obliged to admit
some which occupy two limited areas separated by
enormous intervals. Thus, although he supposes that the
appearance of Rhododendron ponticum on the coast of
Portugal may have been the result of introduction by the
Arabs, that Geum keterocarputn^ now only known from
the mountain regions of S. Spain and of Elborus in
Persia, may yet be found in intermediate localities ; yet
such suppositions, he admits, can in no way account for
the disseverence of the Cedar in the Atlas, the Lebanon,
and the Himalaya, or of the Pinus excelsa in the moun-
tains of Macedonia and the Himalayas. Unwilling to
admit that these and other instances (far more numerous
than acknowledged by Grisebach) of widely dissevered
stations may be the remains of once continuous areas,
he suggests the possibility of the transference of seeds by
winds, birds, &c. Birds are, indeed, probably powerful
assistants in the migrations of plants. But the effect
of winds has been much overrated, as shown for
instance by Kemer in a paper recently published in
the Zeitschrift des Deutschen Aipenvereins^ and is
made more of perhaps by Grisebach in the present
work than by any other observer, and not always on the
safest data. Thus he attaches (p. 389) great importance
to an ^^ unpublished memorandum of Berthelot's," that is
to a label to a specimen of Erigeron ambiguusy bearing
the words " cette composde, qui a quelques rapports avec
les Conyza, est devenue trds-commune sur toutes les
c6tes de T^n^riflTe aprds le dernier ouragan," This memo-
randum is amplified into " On the Canary Islands whose
flora was so well known to him, this traveller saw, imme-
diately after a violent hurricane, an annual Synantherea
{Erigeron ambiguus) which is generally dispersed over
the Mediterranean flora, suddenly germinate and take
permanent possession of the soil in the most diversified
stations," the amplification thus including some half-a-
dozen statements not contained in the original memo-
randum, adding especially the propter hoc to the post
hoc, Erigeron ambiguus is one of those plants of which
a single individual will produce seed enough to cover a
considerable tract of country in the next following season,
if favoured by a suspension of those counteracting influ-
ences which annually destroy all but one out of thousands,
either in the state of seed or of the infant plant ; and in
Berthelot's memorandum we find no evidence either that
the plant was not in the islands before the storm, or that
the seed was actually brought by the storm, or that if so
brought its germination and early growth were so excep-
tionally rapid, as to show the plant in an observable stage
** immediately" after the storm. The inquiry, however,
into the causes of the disseverance of areas, whether due
to the gradual extinction of old races, or to the colonisa-
tion of new ones, remains one of the most interesting
problems for solution in Geographical Botany.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Consumption^ and the Breath Rebreathed. By Henry
MacCormac, M.D. (London: Longmans, 1872.)
This work is written con amore by an enthusiastic
physician, who has satisfied himself of the truth of the
theory he advances, and is now desirous of convincing
the rest of the world. The theory broached by Dr. Mac-
Cormac is that phthisis or pulmonary consumption, as
well as tubercle generally, is always and exclusively the
result of the breathing of air that has already been vitiated
by respiration. It is well known that air that has once
passed through the lungs has undergone important
changes. Its oxygen is reduced in quantity, a nearly
corresponding amount of carbonic acid has been added,
and it also contains certain organic compounds the nature
of which has not been very satisfactorily determined, but
which are undoubtedly of an effete nature, and analogous
in their composition to the disintegrated organic com-
pounds eliminated from the body by the other excretory
organs. The extremely deleterious action of the re-
introduction into the system of the materials discharged
by the intestines is now verjr generally kndwn, from
the inquiries that have been instituted into the nature and
origin of typhoid fever; and Dr. MacCormac is perfectly
justified from analogy in attributing serious results to the
re-introduction into the system by the lungs of the air
which has once passed through it, and which is con-
sequently charged with decomposing substances. The
carbonic acid alone is bad enough, but even if this were
removed as fast as formed and replaced by oxygen, while
the animal still continues to breathe the air it has already
expired, there can be little doubt that it would speedily
feel the effects of the other impurities with which expired
air is charged. Under ordinary circumstances the only
means of avoiding these effects is to permit free access of
air to all and every apartment in which man is confined
either by day or night ; and so far we cordially endorse
the views and recommendations of the author of the work
before us. But when Dr. MacCormac states that tubercle
is exdusively the result of breathing expired air, we think
he carries his theory too far. We cannot put aside in the
facile manner he adhpte tile influence of hereditary pre-
dispositteoi ttHUlHPlflfcCts of exposure to damp and
cold, y^^ '" '•♦h n sufficient food. Imperfect
ventil' 'hat it is almost always as-
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46o
NATURE
[April 11, lip
sociated with the other probable causes of tuberde, and
it is difficult to give instances where tubercular con-
sumption has made its appearance whilst perfectly pure
air is continually breathed. But, we think, various con-
siderations render Dr. MacCormac's views untenable. We
will not refer to Iceland or to the inhabitants of the
elevated plains of the Andes, or of the Steppes of Asia —
aU of which are sad stumbling-blocks in his way — because,
as he says, they are so far off, and our facts in regard to the
frequency of tubercle in these regions are perhaps not quite
satisfactorily ascertained. But we may call attention to the
circumstance that the disease is more common in England
than in almost any other country — than in France, for
example ; yet, surely, the hygienic relations in regard to
ventilation are superior in England to those existing on
the other side of the Channel.
If air that has been breathed is so certainly the cause
of tubercle, the poor population of London and other
large towns should not only be decimated, but should be
swept off en masse, for they all breathe through the night,
and through a great part of the day, air so contaminated.
Once more, how is it that one member of a household
belonging to the upper class is attacked and dies, though
all the rest, notwithstanding their being exposed to the
same conditions, are preserved? Looking at animals,
again, any Indian medical officer will tell Dr. MacCormac
that monkeys kept in confinement, though they have
never had a roof over their heads and have consequently
never breathed air a second time, will die with their lungs
stuffed with tubercle. Lastly, the evidence is very strong in
favour of VirchoVs view, that tubercular matter is originally
composed of cells resemblin^^ the white corpuscles of the
blood, which are either modified white corpuscles, or, as
Virchow himself maintains, proceeds from the prolifica-
tion of connective tissue corpuscles. Whilst disagreeing,
therefore, with Dr. MacCormac in regarding the breathing
of air imperfectly freed from the products of previous
respiration as the exclusive cause of tubercle, we may
fully endorse his views upon the desirability of thorough
and complete ventilation, especially in our sitting-rooms
and sleeping apartments. The exigencies of modem
civilisation seem to lead unavoidably to the close herding
of mankind ; but we confess it is with a sigh of regret that
we see year by year long lines of close-packed houses,
springing up on what were but recently green fields on
every side of this great metropolis. To reach green fields
and breathe fresh gir is now a day's work.
H. Power
Theory of Friction. By John H. Jellett, B.D.^ P.R.I.A.
(Dublin : Hodges and Co. ; London : Macmillan )
This book is, to a certain extent, of the character of a
supplement to ordinary treatises on mechanics. It deals
with the question of friction by the use of analytical
expressions very general in the possibility of their applica-
tion, on which account perhaps some of the significance
of their physical character may be apt to escape the
general reader, and the book is thus, perhaps, rather more
suitable for advanced than for junior students.
The author brings well into prominence the radical
difference between problems in statical and dynamical
friction, namely, that the latter are determinate, whereas
the former are not necessarily so. He says : —
'' When a system of material particles, each of which
rests on a rough surface, is subject to the action of ex-
ternal forces, it will in general be found that, of these
particles, some will be in a state of motion and others in
a state of rest. Everything connected with the moving
particles, namely, their positions, their velocities, and the
forces, geometrical and frtctional, which act upon them, is
fully determined by means of the dynamical and geo-
metrical equations. The geometrical and frictional
forces which act upon the quiescent particles will also be
determinate^ unless it be possible to form by elimination
one or more equations between the co-ordinates of tbe
quiescent particles only. If this be possible, the geo-
metrical force replacing every such equation will be inde-
terminate in intensity."
The character and cause of the analytical indetcr-
minateness in the case of statical friction is enunciated in
the following words, which obviously apply also to forces
not frictionsd : —
"If any one or more of the forces acting upon tbe
particles of a system be not determinate functions of the
co-ordinates, the number of the unknown quantities will
exceed the number of equations, and there will be ia
general an infinite number of positions satisfying the
conditions of ec]^uiUbrium, disposed in one or more groiiiK,
in each of which these positions succeed one another
continuously."
There is an interesting chapter on the distinction
between necessary and possible equilibrium, arising, so
far as friction is concerned, from the fact that the co-
efficient of dynamical friction is less than that of statical
friction, so that ** if the system be disturbed from its posi-
tion of equilibrium by the communication of infinitely
small velocities to its several points, when the friction at
each point will, of course, become dynamical, a finite
force tending to augment Uie displacement may at ona
be developed at some or all of these points." The whole
point of distinction between this and ordinary unstable
equilibrium, when friction is not taken into account, con-
sists in the fact of the infinitely small velocity calling into
play a finite force, which it would not do in the case of
ordinary unstable equilibrium, in the lapse of a finite time.
Without questioning the analytical excellence and interest
of the investigation, we may hesitate in adopting the
change from statical to dynamical friction as a consequence
of the assumption of an infinitely small velocity. We
would point to the following proolem (page 170) as a
good example of the concrete application of tbe principles
of the treatise :— '* Two rods, AB, CD, firmly jointed
together at B, rest so that A presses against a rough
vertical surface, and CD lies on a rough peg in the same
vertical ; find the limiting positions and the nature of the
equilibrium.''
At the end of the book there are several problems
worked out, namely, the well-known problem of a top
spinning on a rough plane, the problem of "friction
wheels," and one or two problems connected with tbe
driving wheels of locomotives. J. S.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The EdUor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressd
by his eorrespondefits. No notice is taken of anonynwui
communications, ]
The Adamites
I SHOULD not have noticed the letter of " M. A I.," which
appeared in the last number of Nature, with reference to my
paper on " The Adamites," were it not that my nlence might be
mterpreted as an acknowledgment of the justice of the remarks
of the anonymous writer. If I had been silent, however, I trust
your readers would have had more sense than to accept the
dictum of a writer, anonymous or otherwise, who thinks to oqga-
tive the conclusions of a paper, written at least in a tnilv sden-
tific spirit, by such nonsense as the reference to Paddy taa TafY'
One looks for reasoning in the criddsms which appear in such
a journal as Nature, and not for a misleading statement of an
opponent's position, supported by reference to general con-
clusions and the use of weak satire. When ** M. A. I." conde-
scends to advance an argument, I shall be happy to consider it ;
and if it should be unanswerable, I shall not hesitate to admit it
to be so. Doubtless I ought to feel thankful for the tenderness
with which he has trodden on my toes, but I have scant regard
for mere courtesy where miestions of science are at stidce ; and
in the interests of truth I would rather that the errors c^ 07
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April 11, 1872]
NATURE
461
"unlucky paper " should be openly exposed, than that I should
be *' damned with faint praise.
Hult, Aprils ' C. Stan I LAND Wa KB
The Aurora of February 4
Thb Scottish Meteorological Society has just received the
schedules of its observers in Iceland and Faro for February last.
At Stykkisholm, on the north-west of Iceland, auroras were seen
on each of the nights of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th, and at Tborshavn
an aurora of a remarkably red colour was observe! in the S.E
and S. in the evening of uie 4th« It was also observed at North
Uist, Shetland, of a very red colour, and over all the S. E. of the
sky ; at Monach, the most western island of the Hebrides, and
at nearly all the 150 stations which report to the Society, appear-
ing at some places as early as 5 p.m., and continuinf^ visible at
others till half-past one on the morning of the 5th. Major
Stuart, die Society's observer at Janina, Ureece, also reports an
aurora on the 4th from 6.30 p.m. to midnight
On the evening of the 4th much thunder and lightning occurred
in Monach, South Uis% Skye, and others of the Western Isles,
and on the mainland of Scotland adjacent, even as far inland as
Corrimony, fifteen miles west of Loch Ness.
The weather preceding and following this aurora was very re-
markable. At Stykkisholm, 22° 43' W. long., the mean height
of the barometer from the 30th of January to the 5th of Feb-
ruary was only 28798 inches, and the wind N.£. through-
out, except on one of the days, when it was £. At this same
place a ^torm of wind, with snow showers, began at i A.M. of
the 30th of January, and continued without intermission for 102
hours, or till 7 A.M. of the 3rd, on which day and on the 4th the
weather was fine and seasonable and the ^ ind light
At Monach, 7^34' W. long., a storm of wind began at 6 a.m.
of January 30 and continued to blow from W.S. W., S.W., and
S. till 2.30 A.M. of February 5, having thus lasted about 140
hours.
On the west of Scotland and the Western Isle^ a heavy storm of
wind from S. or S. W. was blowing during the evening of the
4ih, the sky being generally clear, and the aurora, consequently,
well seen. But at some places the sky presented a strange lurid
appearance, as the aurora appeared through the opening clouds
as they drifted pa-t Shortly after the disappearance of the
aurora, the wind moderated and fine weather followed.
But in ihe east of Scotland the storm from the south, accom-
panied with drizzle and mist, did not break out till the morning
uf the 5 h, or some time after the aurora had disappeared. It
was to have been expected that an aurora extending over so much
of the earth's surface would be preceded, accompanied, and
followed by very different weather in different regions ; and we
have seen it coming thirty-six hours after a protracted period of
stormy weather in Iceland, closing an eciually protracted period
of stormy i^eather in West Hebrides, and preceding a storm of
wind and rain in the cast of Scotland.
Alexander Buchan
Scottish Meteorological Society, Edinburgh, April 8
Having seen an account of the aurora borealis which was
visible in England on the night of February 4, I think that you
or some of your scientific friends might like to know that a very
brilliant display of aurora was visible here and in other parts of
the West Indies on the same night.
On the night of February 4, I was going from Porto Rico to
Puerto Platein, roughly speaking, lat 19' N., long.. 48" W. The
aurora was first seen at 8.30 P.M., was most brilliant at 10 P.M.,
and gradually di«l away by midnight ; the corresponding times
at Greenwich would have been I A.M., 2.30 A.M., and 4.30 a. M.,
February 5.
I have several times seen auroras off the Western Islands, but
only remember havirg seen one several years ago in the West
Indies.
There were no pillars or points of light in this aurora, but a
bright flush in the northern sky, which surged up and died away
again every now and then, and was brightest about 10 p.m.
Stephen Dix
H.M.S. Mersey, St. Thomas, March 14
The aurora of February 4 was visible at this point, but seems
to have been unobserved, except by a very few. My position
was on the deck of a steamboat on the river going from this
point to one 23 miles miles higher up. The aurora was first
noticed by me at about 7 P.M., naneing over the woods to the
north- east, and was mistaken by the Captain for a large fire, a
common occurrence in our pine forests. Soon after, the glow,
which was a very deep red, extended to the zenith, shading off
there, whilst a much fainter red light appeared in the north-
west
My last observation was made at 8.30 p.m., and the light was
then still very strong in thenortheast. — Being then upon a train,
and passing through an unbroken pine forest, I could not note
the time of disappearance of the display. I saw no streamers.
There was no aurora whatever to the SDuth at any time visible
from at least sunset to 8.30 p.m. The facilities for observing
the sky in that direction were peculiarly favourable from the
position upon the river. F. G. Bro^kerg
Mobile, Alabama, U.S. A , March 23
On the Colour of a Hydrogen Flame
A CORRESPONDENT to your last number has troubled himself
to propound an elaborate theory, to account for the blue tinge
which he states is always exhibited by the flame of hydft)gen.
There are also several text-books on chemistry which assert that
hydrogen burns with a characteristic faint blue flame. It is easy
to prove, however, that the flame of pure hydrogen has no blue
tinge whatever. The blueness so frequently associated with the
flame of hydrogen is really due to the presence of sulphur, as is
shown in a little paper I published in the PhUosophical Magazine
for November 1805.* It is possible that the facts mentioned in
that paper may be turned to a practical end by some of your
readers, and therefore it may not be altogether useless if I put
down — for such disposal as you deem proper — one or two in-
teresting phenomena associated with the combustion of hydrogen.
There must I imagine be some people who write text-books
on experimental science without having verified any of the facts
they state. Otherwise one cannot account for some obvious
errors which are propagated from one writer to another. The
bluenes; of a hydrogen flame is one such error, and anoiher still
more g'aring can be traced back through several high authori-
ties. The fact is stated that a rod of iron, or a sewing needle,
remains suspended in the centre of a helix of wire through which
an electric current is passing. So long as the helix is animated
by the current the iron is said to behave like Mahomet's colfin,
and hang^ in the air without the least contact with any solid body.
But this is ttoi the case, however strong the current, or small the
iron, or however the helix may be disposed.
More serious errors than these are to be met with in some of
the little books on science for school use, that are now cropping
up like mushrooms. Heads of schools cannot exercise too much
caution in the introduction of text- books on science, for they
know how a poor class book once in a school is a most difficult
thing to eject It is therefore impossible to over-estimate the
value of books for boys written by men like Profs. Huxley,
Roscoe, and Balfour Stewart. An extraordinary impulse to
scientific teaching has been given by the manuals of these and
other eminent authors, and of the gladne»s with which such
books are received by elder boys I, like others, can testify.
And now, as a teacher, permit me. Sir, to tender to the same
authors not only my own gratitude, but the genuine and hearty
thanks of younger boys for their simply delightfol Science
Primers. W. F. Barrett
International College, Spring Grove, W.
[We hope to give in our next number a summary of the ex-
periments to which our correspondent alludes. — Ed. J
Barometric Depressions
I HAVE only just seen Mr. Murphy's criticism on my paper,
which appeared in your columns on the 21st ult I intended
that paper as a continuation of one which appeared last year.
The former aimed at showing that the ordinary variations of the
barometer could not be explained by aqueous vapour ; the latter
at proving that they were accounted for by the heating and cool-
ing of dry air. Into this question of air ^^ersus vapour the earth's
rotation did not enter, and I consequently took no account of it
* A year or two ago I was surprised and amused to read this investigation
repeated in the pages of the Com^tes Rendus. I forget the name of the
French chemist who •^ntributed it to the Academy, but he was doubtless
unawar« of anything I had written on the subject*
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462
NATURE
{April 11,1872
in my leasomngs. The castud remark, however, which Mr.
Murphy fastens on as inrolving " a serious mistake in the theory
of the trade winds/' was almost copied from Article 211 of
** Tyndall on Heat ; " and as to the matter of fact, I think it is
Mr. Murphy, and not Prof. Tyndall or myself, who has fallen
into error. Even if I saw any reason why east and west winds
should exactly balance each other on the earth's surface, I could
not accept Mr. Murphy's position, that if the earth were of any
other shape the trade winds could not proceed from the medial
line to the extremities. He assumes that the trade winds are
east winds, independently of the shape of the earth, whereas it is
just the shape of the earth that makes them east winds. If the
earth were a cylinder revolving on its axis, the trade winds (if
they could arise under the circumstances) would move directly
north and south, and would not be east winds at all ; and I can
see no reason why they should not extend to the extremity of
the cylinder. See " TyndaU," loc, cU,
Trinity Collie, Dublin, April 3 W. H. S. MoNCK
Height of Cirrus Cloud
It would be interesting if any of the readers of Nature could
give some information respecting the usual height of cirrus
clouds. Mr. Clement Ley, in his work, "The Laws of the
Winds," states — "The time occupied by these clouds in passing
from the zenith to 45°, or the contrary, furnishes us with a stan-
dard of measurement which is both convenient for simultaneous
observations, and also possesses this obvious advantage, that
whenever the altitude of the cloud station is at all determinable,
none but the simplest of calculations is required in deducing the
actual from the apparent velocity." Granted; but it would
have been advantageous had he shown by an example what he
means. For, he goes on to say, " The ordinary range of the
actual rapidity of this current is about twice as great as that of
the rapidity of the surface winds, for while the latter, at stations
most fully exposed to their violence, rarely attain, in Europe, a
velocity of 60 or 70 miles an hour, the most elevated clouds not
uncommonly traverse a distance of 120 miles an hour, and occa-
sionally much more." Coupling this with the next statement —
" I have only once or twice observed an actually motionlesi cirrus
cloud, and it is on rare occasions that an hour is occupied in
passing from the zenith to 45*'," let me ask, what would be the
vertical height of such a cloud ? R. Strachan
Low Conductivity of Copper Wire
As one of very numerous instances which have come under
his notice, Sir William Thomson desires to make known the
following case of the employment of inferior copper wire in the
construction of electrical apparatus. He received lately from a
Glasgow bell-hanger a large quantity of cotton-covered copper
wire, which was being largely used for the coils of electric bells,
and upon having it tested very accurately by means of his new
Multiple Arc Conductivity Box, its resistance per metre-gramme
was found to be no less than 0*439 of a B. A. unit ; that of
ordinarily good copi^r wire for such purposes being about o' 16
of a B. A. unit. J. M.
A Pelagic Floating Fish Nest
Among- other rarities which I have been fortunate enough to
procure since my arrival in tiie Bermudas, is a pelagic fish nest,
similar in most respects to that which Agassiz has so recently
described, and which was obtained by the American Expedition
in the Gidf Stream in December last, while on the voyage to
the West Indies. As I am very busy at present preserving and
packing specimens, and the mail steamer nearly due, I have
only time to send you (by way of St Thomas) a brief description
of my nest, which has been preserved in diluted alcohol. It was
taken from a mass of gulf weed {Fucus natans) blown ashore
about a month ago. This weed, by-the-bye, has been especially
abundant about tiie Bermudas during the present winter,
thousands upon thousands of tons having been cast ashore by
the waves during the stormy weather which has prevailed. The
size of the whole mass is about eight inches by five as it hangs
suspended, the former measurement being its depth. The weal
is thicker at the top, and is woven together by a maze of fine
elastic threads, afibrding a rafk, from which depends the cluster-
ing mast of eggs, which I cannot illastrate better than by asking
your rnders to imagine two or three pounds of Na 7 shot
grouped together in bunches of several grains, and bell ia
position by the elastic tliread-work previously mentioned. These
threads are amazingly strong, especially at their terminal bases
on the fucus sprays, where several are apparently twisted togeihc
like the fibres of rope, and are admirably adapted to hold tk
mass in a position where it must always be subject, more or less
to violence, from the continued agitation of the waves in thoe
stormy latitudes. The sea-weed is not only on the siunmi% be
sundry sprays are interwoven with the mass of eggs, thereby
rendering the fabric still more solid and secure. It is traly i
wonderfS specimen of Nature^s handiwork ; a house built wiih>
out hands, resting securely on the bosom of the rolling deep.
J. Matthew Jones
"An Odd Fish"
Some short time ago I observed in one of the daily papen aa
account of " an odd fish " which had been captured, and described
by Prof. Agassiz as a denizen of the Gulf weed, on which it h
said to walk with legs, and not to swim as other fishes da
From the above account I suppose that I most have caoght
the fish in question in July last, during the homeward voyage of
H.M.S. Charybdis, in lat somewhere about 15'' N., and from
the Gulf weed, as described by Prof. Agassiz. The preparation 1
shall be happy to present to the British Museum if it should torn
out to be a species of which no specimen exists in that instita*
tion.
It will be observed that the pectoral fins are develo})eJ in!o
arms, and the ventrals into legs, though less perfect in form th^fi
are the arms.
Sir Philip Egerton has seen it, and pronoinces it tobei
species of blenny, a shallow water fish ; and Capt. Spratl has
lundly informed me that it recalls to his mind a theory enter-
tained by the late Prof. Forbes, that the Gulf weed is the pro-
duct of a shallow water, such as existed before the subsidence of
the Miocene formation ; and that it may contain a shallow sea
fauna, although found in latitudes where the ocean is deepest.
It is a curious fact if such be the case, and one which wojl'i
appear to have i*s counterpart in the deepest holes from which
Forbes dredged molluscs, which have continued to live therein,
and to have survived their congeners of former geological epochs.
J. E. Meryon
The Law of Variation
In Mr. A. W. Bennett's notice of the sixth edition of ihc
"Origin of Species,*' he calls attention to the insufficiency of
the theory of " Natural Selection " to explain original variations
and says, " If it is admitted that important modificitions are due
to * spontaneous variability,'" &c Now is there no cause for
primary, or spontaneous variability ?
Is it not presumed under the law of inheritance thaf, in order
that the offspring may be the exact type of the parent fonn,
all the conditions of generation and life, and all the forces that
affect life, whether generating or external, must be prechdy /^'
same ? Strictly speaking, under the varying circumstances of life.
this is never the case ; hence slight individual variations ; for 00
individual force can operate as a cause without its effect. These
caused variations may sometimes be wide, and may be helpful
or hurtful ; if helpful, " Natural Selection " would take them
up and preserve them and improve them. A. J. Warner
Marietta, Ohio, March 14
Actinic Power of the Electric Light
Mr. Meezb says in Nature of the 4th, " May not the great
actinic power of the electric light be due in a great measure to
the secondary waves produced by the magnitude of the disturb-
ingforce?"
This may be true, but there is a cause for the hct which is
known to exist, namely, that the electric light is bluer than solar
light, that it is to say, it contains a greater proportion of the
shorter and more refrangible waves, which have the greatest
actinic power. This is due to the absorption of more of the
shorter than of the longer waves — ^in other words, absorption
rather at the blue than at the red end of the spectrum— which
takes place* in the sun's atmosphere. In the magnesium lig^t
also, great actinic power is associated with a blue tint.
JosiPH John Murphy
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NATURE
463
Protective Mimicry
In Naturk, No. 126, for 28th ult., at p. 436, M. G. Ponchet
is recorded to have stated in a paper react before the Academy
of Sciences, first, that prawns accommodate their colour to that
of surrounding objects ; second, that removing their eyes pre-
vents this change of colour.
Of the truth of the fint assertion I presume there is no doubt ;
but of the second I should much like to learn further, for when
we speak of Protective Mimicry in all the lower forms of life,
we do not assume that there is any ratiocioative mimicry. Yet
if this power of protective mimicking in the prawn is dependent
upon eye-sight, i>., upon the power of conveying impressions
upon the optic nerve to the brain, does it not cease to be
"mimicry " as generally understood, and pass into the order of
mental volition? If so, how vast and interesting is the con-
sideration \
I hope that Mr Darwin, Mr. Wallace^ or some other of your
scientinc contpbutors will enlighten through your columns
March 31 ^ Ignoramus
CRANIAL MEASUREMENTS
WH I L£ engaged in the investigation of another matter,
I was induced to make a series of cranial mea-
surements, and these I wish to record under the impres-
sion that they may be of use in the hands of some future
worker, though by themselves they are not of much value.
The measurements were made at Wakefield, in York-
shire, during 1868-9, ^^^d are those of the working-classes
of the town and neighbourhood. Careful inquiry was
made as to the birthplace and parentage of each subject,
and no measuren .ents are g^ven save of those belonging to
the basin of the rivers Calder and Aire. The type of the
people is pre-eminently Saxon, and the results may there-
fore be take a as pretty accurately representing the con-
figuration of the crania of modem Yorkshire.
Attached are also the average height and weight for
each decade, and a calculation of the average cephalic
index.
The measurements of the head were taken by large cal-
lipers, and aresin^ply the greatest bi-parietal and occipito-
frontal diameters, and the measurement of the face is from
the tip of the chin to the root of the hair on the forehead.
The average cephalic indices of the whole would show
men to be slightly more brachio-cephalic than women (by
75), while the result of the whole is decidedly eurycephalic.
The cephalic indices of each decade of age would lead us
to believe that dolicho-cephalic people have a better chance
of life than the brachio-cejjhalic people, unless we believe
that the form of the cranium alters between thirty and
forty years of age.
The entire table leads me to believe that there is not
much value to be placed in such cranial measurements for
the purposes of racial distinction ; certainly not in isolated
skulls ; for see the curious variations of measurement in
couples of the same sex taken from the same decade, as
shown in the table below :-—
Age.
Length of
head.
Breadth of
head.
^
DiflTerence in
Cephalic Index.
Years.
InchcH.
Inches.
3
3
7'2S
6as
S'aS
5SO
u:j;}
15*59
14
14
7«2
712
537
6'oo
^•i;}
8-55
:i
VI
5"7S
5*75
«
884
32
5-87
612
104-26^
26*12
35
1 i:~
5*75
8a' X4
38
6-75
84-37)
19-89
43
47
8-00
700
600
775
75<»\
110-71/
3S'7i
5a
7'7S
6-00
V.^
,
52
7-25
6*oo
5 34
S5
69
700
7x2
5*50
6-25
P$i
9-ai
For the purpose of contrasting the results I have
obtained in the measurements of height and weight, I
add a translation of Quetelet*s tables ; —
Men.
Age.
Size.
Weight.
Ft
In.
Lbs.
Birth
7*527
7*052
X
3*401
22*040
2
7*377
26-448
3
9-858
29*115
4
0*692
33'2i4
2*776
36807
6
4964,
39*760
7
7*779.
44*433
8
io*o68
49*061
9
0307
53*094
10
2*473
57*569
II
4*484
61*381
12
5*504
68324
13
7*234
77*846
M
xo-543
89262
15
1*378
102*288
16
3*386
II7-672
17
5*748
126-510
28
6-684
135018
19
7*164
139*558
20
7*356
143-261
25
7*788
150*512
30
7-788
151857
40
7*440
151 658
50
5*904
X48-66I
60
4*524
144*363
TS.
3*888
138-919
3*404
134*930
Age.
Women.
Size.
Birth
»3
M
15
16
17
18
»9
20
25
30
40
50
60
70
80
Ft. In.
X 7'oo8
a 3*136
2 6708
2 9456
2 ii'oao
2340
4*620
7*152
8832
11*2*4
1-128
2*196
4*236
6*364
8964
10068
11*032
1*176
1-488
5 1-800
5 2*076
5 2-i6o
5 1*212
5 0*423
4 11673
4 11*604
4 11*294
Weight.
Lbs.
6-413
20*497
25*125
27*440
31*253
34*162
36-905
40*644
43683
49*458
53*425
57-855
67-320
75079
83*973
91-026
97946
108*175
117.003
(not given)
120*030
121-397
121*529
124857
128-826
125*034
118-400
112*551
MALES.
K^ '
No. of
Individuals.
Height.
Weight
Length of
head.
Breadth of
head.
Face.
Cephalic
! Index.
Feet. In.
Lbs.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
3 to 4 months . . .
8
1 II'OO
12-00
5*12
4*12
3*94
80-47
6 to 12 „ ...
8
a 2-50
21-ia
5*69
462
4*50
8i'ao
12 to 18
10
2 4-50
22-50
5*50
500
4*75
g:§l-
18 months to 2 years .
20
2 5*25
23-25
6*33
.5*12
5*00
2 to 3 years . . .
»4
2 950
25-25
6*75
5"20
5*33
77-04
3I0 5 1. • • •
17 -
3 S*oo
3617
6*6a
5*37
5*37
8X*I2
510 7 „ ...
9
3 750
39*89
6*87
5*7S
5*8i
83-70
7 to 10 „ ...
17
4 3*25
56*75
7*09
5*75
6*12
8i'xo
10 to 15 „ ...
40
4 776
78*50
7*25
5*75
6-50
79*3»
IS to 20 0 • • •
22
5 5*57
120-33
7*50
6' 00
7-12
80-00
20 to 25 0 ...
^l
5 7*67
152*00
7*50
600
7 33
80-00
25 to 30 „ ...
18
5 7*25
149*50
7*50
6*00
7*67
80-00
30 to 40 „ ...
29
5 700
»46*33
7'i["
6-00
7-00
7^*63
40 to 50 „ ...
37
5 2-50
148*00
783
6*00
6*oo
50 to 60 „ fc . .
47
5 8-ia
«39*50
7SO
5*87
7*50
78-27
60 to 70 „ ...
ao
5 8-12
126-00
7-40
5*75
7*33
77-70
83J years
I
S 10-00
174-00
7*87
6*oo
687
7624
Total
330
Average
. 80*04
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464
NATURE
[April II, 1872
Age.
No. of
Individuals.
10 weeks
I
6 to 12 months . . .
9
12 to 18 „ ...
xc
18 month* to 2 years .
8
2 to 3 years . . .
9
3»o 5 .. • • • •
»3
5 to 7
»7
7 to 10 „ ... .
7
10 to IS ,
35
15 to ao „ . . . .
49
20 to 25 „ . . . .
24
25 to 30 „ . . . .
44
301040 „ . . . .
59
40 to 50 ,
64
50 to 60 „ . . . .
46
60 to 70 ,, . . . .
»7
70 to 80 „ . . . .
5
Tou
408
FEMALES.
Height.
Weight.
Length of
head.
Inches.
Breadth of
bead.
Face.
CeohaUc
Index.
Feet. In.
Lbs.
Inches.
Inches
I 6'oo
xo'oo
487
387
3-6a
79'44
83*9
a 157
1629
5'7i
475
^■'1
a 456
19-50
6-25
487
♦'^
779a
2 587
2394
639
50s
508
7903
a 794
2544
6-35
5*35
537
8425
2 xi'6a
30*3»
\'n
5"25
535
7778
3 4-9'
3903
6-86
5*37
557
7®'!f
3 "'75
51 50
6-8l
S'4«
579
79*68
4 2-50
7574
559
6-39
81-35
5 o'94
no* 14
708
567
6-65
80-08
5 695
xai'oo
6-57
^^i
6-44
8387
5 196
119-45
6-99
6-66
841a
5 1*43
134-74
7aa
5-36
6-71
74*24
5 270
132*34
7*31
^'V
6-37
78-93
5 a-66
13517
7*32
580
6-44
79*79
5 »-94
133 »9
693
5*1'
664
7965
5 210
123-50
727
S-8a
• 6-47
80^
Average . 7930
Lawson Tait
ONE SOURCE OF SKIN DISEASES
OBSCURE affections of the skin of the face of men
especially are well known to specialists to be widely
spread. They are commonly classed as ekzema^ and
while causing great discomfort especially at night, show
nothing, or almost nothing, to the eye, if the patient be
otherwise in pretty good health. Skin specialists fre-
quently ask patients whether they have been using any new
sort of soap, but no one seems hitherto to have traced any
distinct communication between soap and this trouble-
some disease.
As 1 have been able pretty distinctly to do so in refer-
ence to myself, probably a brief notice of the facts may
not be out of place in Nature, where it is likely to
be of more popular benefit than if committed to the pages
of a medical journal, in which the inferences of " mere
laymen " are not greatly reputed. It is a fact but very
little known to the multitude of both sexes who use th^
" Prime Old Brown Windsor Soap " of the perfumers'
shops, that by far the largest proportion of it is manu-
factured from " bone - grease" Few more beautiful
examples of chemical transformation are to be found
in the whole range of chemical manufacture than this
one. At one end of a long range of buildings we find a
huge shed heaped up with bones, usually such as are of
little value to the bone-turner or brush-maker, in all
stages of putrefaction as to the adherent or inherent
portions of softer animal matter attached to them, the
odour of which is insupportable.
These are crushed and ground to a coarse powder, ex-
posed to the action of boiling water under pressure, some-
times of steam, until the grease and marrow are ex-
tracted.
We need not here pursue the subsequent treatment of
the rest of the material from which bone glue and
"patent isinglass " arc prepared, the latter of which we
often eat in the soups and jellies of the pastrycooks, and
finally to the " bone dust," or phosphate of lime, nearly free
from animal matter, which is produced for the use of the
assayer and the china manufacturer, &c., as well as for
other purposes in the arts.
But let us follow up the bone-grease, which is of a dark
tarry brown colour, and of an abominable odour.
By various processes it is more or less defecated,
bleached, and deodorised, and is separated into two or
three different qualities, the most inferior of which goes
to the formation of railway or other machinery greases,
and the latter is saponified, and becomes, when weU manu-
factured, a hard brown soap, still, however, retaining an
unpleasant smelL It is now, after being remelted,
strongly perfumed, so that, like the clothes and persons
of the magnates of the Middle Ages, its own evil odour
is hidden by the artificial perfume.
This is the " Fine Old Brown Windsor Soap " of most
of our shops. The natural brown colour of the grease
gives it the right tint in the cheapest way, without the
colouring by caramel, which was the original method of
manufacture.
Like all other things, there are cheap and dear Wind-
sor soaps ; and for the production of the former little is
done beyond saponifying and casting into blocks or bars.
Were we to rely upon the many experiments that have
been made as to the degree of elevation pf temperature
at which putrescent or other contagious matter is de-
prived of its morbific power, we might conclude that
boiling and saponifying had made this hithertp putrescent
grease innocuous.
It seems, however, more than doubtful that such is the
fact in this case, for the soap thus made seems to be
capable of communicating skin diseases when rubbed on
the face for use in shaving.
But another promoter of irritation is not unfrequently
also found. Whether it be that it is more profitable
to the soapmaker to have a liberal proportion of the finer
particles of the ground bone made up with the soap, or
that these are difficult to separate completely, the fact
is that bars of this '* Brown Windsor Soap " are to be
bought containing a rich mixture of those small sharp
angular fragments of bone which before boiling was putrid.
When a piece of such soap is rubbed hard to a man's face,
the skin is more or less cut and scored by these bony par-
ticles held in the soap like emery in a head " lap,^ and
thus the skin is placed in the most favourable state to
absorb whatever there may be of irritant, or contagious,
or putrid in the soap itself. The existence of the bone
fragments is easily verified by solution of the soap in
water or alcohol, and examination of the undissolved par-
ticles with a lens ; and I can readily, if need be, send you
a piece of such soap for examination.
Now, without occupying too much of your space, I may
just state that I have while using such shaving soap thrice
suffered from ekzema of the face. On the first occasion
I derived no benefit from treatment by the two most cele-
brated dermal surgeons in London, and at last the disease
went away of itself after giving up shaving for a time. I
had by me a quantity of this brown soap, and through
inadvertence took to using it again, for a time without
effect ; but when dry and hot weather came, with it came a
recurrence of the skin disease, which also again, after some
months of discomfort, went away. Curious to make sure
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April II, 1872]
NATURE
465
whether or not the soap was the real cause, I a third
time employed the soap deliberately to see if the ekzema
was due to it< I was in excellent health, and in about
three weeks I found the disease reestablished, so that I
think the soap must be viewed as found guilty. Good
white unscented curd soap is now my resource, and with
no ill-effects.
Ekzema is always a dbtressing complaint even when
affecting those in the most robust health. With those
of bad constitution or lowered health, however, it seems
to degenerate into bad or intractable skin diseases, so
that probably this notice may not be deemed useless or
uncalled for. R. M.
THE SCHOOL OF MILITARY
ENGINEERING
THERE are few educational establishments, in this
country at any rate, that fulfil their object so aptly
and so well, as the School of Military Engineering at
Chatham. When we remember the many sciences and
technical accomplishments with which the officers of the
Royal Engineers are conversant, and the practical use
that many of them are recjuired to make of their acauire-
ments, it is very obvious indeed that, to be successful, the
system of education must be a most complete and sub-
stantial one. It is, in truth, necessary that a man entering
either of the scientific corps of the army — the Roy^
Artillery or Royal Engineers — should not only be in-
tuitively Quick and clever, so as to grapple with the multi-
farious subjects of study, but it is moreover quite as indis-
pensable that he should be at the outset sufficiently strong
and healthy to withstand the wear and tear of so much
hard work. To become a Mr. Toots would, we fear, be the
fate of many young gentlemen, were they passed through
the Woolwich Academy, and into these departments of
the Army, without first undergoing a rigid medical exami-
nation ; for the severe and lengthy curriculum is such as
would certainly jeopardise the health of any but the
strongest constitutions. Commissions in the Royal Ar-
tillery and Royal Engineers, be it remembered, have for
many years past been obtainable only by open competi-
tion, the successful candidates being admitted into the
Royal Military Academy, whence they are passed into
the Army when found properly qualified. But to com-
pete successfully for admission to the Academy in the
first instance, involves already a knowledge of mathe-
matics, of experimental and applied sciences, of languages,
and other suojects too numerous to detail, such indeed as
is scarcely possessed by other well-educated professional
men ; and this, bear in mind, is but the startmg-point of
the scientific soldier's education. At the Academy, where
the course of special instruction sometimes continues for
three years, he has to pass from a lower to an upper sec-
tion, and when successfully through the exammations
that beset him at every turn, he receives his commission
in a provisional sort of way only. The successful Acade-
micians highest on the list are sent to Chatham, to com-
mence instruction in their duties as Royal Engineers,
while the remainder complete their education at Woolwich
and Shoeburyness, as lieutenants in the Royal Artillery.
And if, after all this, there are yet dissatisfied spirits,
who still exhibit a craving for more, then there is the
staff college, the advanced class, instruction certificates,
and other ends to be attained, enough in all conscience to
satisfy the most ambitious.
It is to the School of Military Engineering that the
young lieutenants of Engineers are sent for instruction in
their various duties, and it is only after passing through a
two years* course at this establishment that their commis-
sions are actually secured to them. The professors, or
instructors, ^ th^y af<e termed, are all officers of some
ye^s' standing in the CQn)S| ^ppoii^ted by reason of their
intimate acquaintance with the special subjects that they
teach. These subjects are not only very various, but are,
moreover, always increasing, as our system of warfare
continually improves. Thus, besides the subjects of sur-
veying, construction, estimating, fortifications, telegraphy,
and other more ordinary, though not less practical,
matters, there have been added of late years, chemistry,
photography, army sipn^alling, torpedo service, &c., all of
which the Royal Engmeer must know something about.
It is evident that mere theoretical instruction in matters
like these would be of little use to men who occupy such
practical appointments as are filled by most Engineer
officers, and it is in this respect that the School of Mili-
tary Engineering may claim superiority over kindred
establishments. The studies, workshops, laboratories,
and demonstrating schools are of the most complete de-
scription, while the outworks and broken ground upon the
Chatham lines and around the Brompton Barracks afford
ample scope for the practical prosecution of those studies
which require a wide field of operations. It is this practi-
cal manner of going about one's duties that is calculated
above all things to impart a thorough knowledge, and to
inspire officers with true confidence in their abilities.
Fortifications are designed, parallels drawn, mines pre-
pared, bridges constructed, and other siege duties executed
by the students themselves, to render them conversant
with their duties practically as well as theoretically,
while the appointment of temporary telegraph stations,
the experimental application of explosive and torpedo
charges, the actual exercise of signalling, both by day and
night, impart experience which could not, of course, be
gained by teaching or lectures in the schools.
But it is not only the officers who benefit by the Engi-
neering School at Chatham. The non-commissioned
officers, also, are -required to attend instruction in field
works, and can, indeed, if they desire it, pass through the
entire system of study, a course imperative on all those
desirous of promotion to " foremen of works," or to other
similar positions. The sappers, too, are well acquainted
with at least one trade, or calling, and as every company
of Engineers is made up from a due proportion of all
trades, it is obvious such a complete and intelligent
body of men is ofttimes invaluable. Thus it is that, in
the Colonies, in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,
and other stations where detachments of Koyal Engineers
have been sent, their services have been found so
truly valuable, every available talent being at once at
hand for the carrying out of the engineering and other
kindred duties necessary to be fulfilled in the occupation
of a rough untravelled country. As an instance of this,
we need point merely to the recent Abyssinian Campaign,
which may justly be caUed a triumph of engineering — a
gigantic piece of road-making in fact — rather than a vic-
tory over half-naked Africans ; for here we have in some-
thing like six months, a rough tract of country surveyed
and mapped out, four hundred miles of road made, a line
of railway laid down, telegraph communication established,
wells suT^ and all this over and above the transport of a
large body of men and war material.
The subject of torpedoes and submarine mines was so
recently discussed in these columns, that we need not
again refer at any length to this latest military science
just now under specisd investigation at Chatham. But
before concluding these few remarks, we may make men-
tion of some experiments upon an extensive scale that
were not long since made with these terribly destruc-
tive machines. The charges were fired from the shore
by means of electricity, the signal for their discharge
being given from the distance almost of a mile ; and to
show the control and certainty exercisable in the system
employed, there was, in one instance, a steamer made to
pass harmlessly over one of the charges, which immedi-
ately afters aras, at a 'given signal, blew into fra;jments
a launch following in tow. H. B. P,
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466
NATURE
\ April II, 1872
LYELLS PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY
n^HE appearance of a new edition of the " Principles
•*• of Geology " would mark a fitting time to pass in re-
view the state of Geologic Science, to count up what has
been added to the treasury of truth, and inquire in what
direction and by what methods the pioneers of Science
encourage us to search for new facts. Within the limits
of a short review, however, it is impossible to do more
than call attention to a few of the more striking points
which seem to illustrate the principles which we should
apply to the examination of the phenomena of the crust of
the earth.
We have before us the first edition of the " Principles
of Geology," published in 1830, and that just issued in
1872. It is a remarkable fact that any work on a science
which has made such rapid progress as Geology has
within the last forty-two years, should, while maintaining
the foremost place, have remained so little altered during
that period. Almost all the passages which lay down the
principles remain word for word as they were originally
given to the world ; the chans^es made from time to time
being chiefly in the introduction of better illustrations or
the consideration of new questions which the progress kA
research has raised ; but to all we find the same methods
applied, and from all the same conclusions drawn as to
the operations of nature in the production of the visible
crust of the earth.
What, then, are the principles laid down ? Thoroughly
to understand this, we ought to follow our author thrcn^h
the interesting outline he gives of the progress of geolo-
gical inquiry, in order to realise fully the opinions which
prevailed when he first entered the arena. But we will
only refer to the views of Hutton, which most nearly ap-
proach those of Sir Charles Lyell, who points out that
** the characteristic feature of the Huttonian theory was
the exclusion of all causes not supposed to belong to the
present order of nature. . . . But Hutton had made
no step beyond Hooke, Moro, and Raspe, in pointing out
in what manner the laws now governing subterranean
movements might bring about geological changes if sufli-
cient time be allowed. He therefore requir^ alternate
periods of general disturbance and repose ; and such he
believed ha3 been and would for ever be the course of
nature" (ist cd. p. 63, nth ed. p. 76).
The views which Hutton and his eloquent illustrator
Fig. r.— Dwarf's Tower (Zwergli-Thubm) near Virsch in the Canton op Valais.
{From a Sketch by Lady Lyeii, taken September 1857.)
Playfair taught were far from meeting with general recep-
tion, and Lyell had to combat the catastrophic views of
their opponents, and also to carry Hutton's uniformitarian
principle further than Hutton himself allowed, and show
by an appeal to observations in regions which are and
have recently been in a state of volcanic activity that
local catastrophic action is not inconsistent with con-
tinuity of causation. " There can be no doubt," says Sir
Charles, "that periods of disturbance and repose have
followed each other in succession in every region of the
globe, but it may be equally true that the energy of sub-
terranean movements has been always uniform as regards
the whole earth. The force of earthquakes may for a cycle
of years have been invariably confined as it is now, to
large but determinate spaces, and may then have gradually
shifted its position, so that another region which had for
ages been at rest became in its turn the great theatre of
action " (ist ed. p. 64, i ith ed. p. n).
Our author places before us a vast array of facts
collected by himself and others all over the world, which
* " The Principles of Geology, or the Modern Changes of the Earth and
iU Inhabitanu considered as illustrations of Geology." By Sir Charles
Lyell, Bart, nth and entirely revised editioo. (London : J. Murray, 1872.)
show the ceaseless waste going on by rain, rivers, sea,
frost, and ice.
The hills are shadows, and tliey flow
From form to form, and nothing stands.
He explains how all the land must in time be carried
away and one vast ocean roll all round the world were
there no compensating forces. But then he points out to
us that nature does provide a compensating action in the
accumulation of volcanic ash and lava thrown out
during eruptions, in the upheaval of large tracts of land
from below the sea, and still further, that it is part of
nature's plan to shift the scene of action.
We will select a few examples from the facts addu:ed
in proof of the gradual waste of the land.
Speaking of the effect produced by rain, our author
says :— " It is not often that the effects of the denuding
action of rain can be studied separately or as distinct
from those of running water. There are, however, several
cases in the Alps . . . where columns of indurated
mud varying in height from 20ft. to looft , and usually
capped by a single stone, have been separated by rain
from the terrace of which they once formed a part, and
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467
now stand at various levels on the steep slopes bounding:
narrow valleys" (p. 329). "This mud, which is very hard
and solid when dry, becomes traversed by vertical cracks
after having been moistened by rain, and then dried by
the sun. Those portions of the surface which are pro-
tected from the direct downward action of the rain by
a stone or erratic block, become gradually detached
and isolated." "The lower part of some of these
ancient columns . . . has acquired new capping
stones by the wearing out at the surface of blocks origi-
nally buried at great depths" (p. 332).
There they stand, a measure of the mass of drift that
has been carried away by rain, as workmen sometimes
leave a pillar of brickearth or clay here and there over a
field to measure the depth of the earth they have removed.
They remind us also of the small pedestals of lime-
stone which large boulders have sometimes preserved for
themselves in the same way, and of the ice pillars where
the thick stone cap had to keep off the sun instead of the
rain.
By the courtesy of the publisher we are able to subjoin
a sketch given by our author of an isolated stone-capped
column seen by him near ViesCh (Fig. i).
In considering the action of rivers, Sir Charles notices
how the clearing of forests increases the erosive power of
the rain water. Speaking of a ravine in Georgia, he says.
"before the land was cleared it had no existence, but
when the trees of the forest were cut down, cracks three
feet deep were caused by the sun's heat in the clay, and
during the rains a sudden rush of water through the prin-
cipal crack deepened it at its lower extremity, from whence
the excavating power worked backwards till, in the course
of twenty years, a chasm measuring no less than 5sft. in
depth, 300 yards in length, and varying in width from 20ft.
to 1 80ft., was the result" (p. 339).
In many parts of France the destruction of the woods
has proved a source of very great injury, as they caught
the rain and parted with it slowly, the roots all the while
protecting the soil. But, now that the woods have been
cut down, the water runs off at once, scouring away the
earth from the slopes of the hilh, and in the valleys
causing sudden floods which sweep everything before
them.
In America it is especially interesting to watch the
effect produced by man in this way upon climate an 1
water supply.
We are shown the power of rivers, especially in flood,
to tear away and transport to long distances the broken
masses they find in their p\th. The glacier and ice-
sheet, too, are for ever grinding and wearing the solid
rocks away. But space will not allow us to give more
than one other example, and we will select the formation
Fig. 9.— Cranitb Rocks to tub South of Hillswick Nkss, Shstlakd.
of a pinnacle of solid rock by the action of the sea, which
it will be interesting to compare with the column of in-
durated mud, of which we have given a sketch above.
In considering the waste of sea cliffs, our author quotes
Dr. Hibbert's account of a passage forced by the waves
through rocks of hard porphyry, where the sea tears large
masses of stone from the sides and forces them along,
sometimes to a distance of no less than 180 ft, and adds :
— ** Such devastation cannot be incessantly committed
for thousands of years without dividing islands, until they
become at last mere clusters of rocks, the last shreds of
masses once continuous. To this state many appear to
have been reduced, and innumerable fantastic forms are
assumed by rocks adjoining these islands, to which the
name of Drongs is applied, as it is to those of similar
shape in * Feroe'" (p. 512). (Fig. 2.)
By such illustrations we are taught how ceaseless and
how powerful are the destroying agencies of nature. But
where is all this matter transported to? Sir Charles
Lyell takes us out into mid- ocean, where he points out to
us the icebergs carrying their load far and wide, and
dropping it here and there over the sea bottom in warmer
climes. On the shingle beach we see it travelling, and
in the deep blue sea, says Dr. Tyndall, we see finely-
divided matter still travelling on. With our author we
examine the deltas of the great rivers, the Nile, the
Ganges, and the Mississippi ; and he shows us that some
of the material is for a time arrested there. He tells us
of the most recent discoveries in mid- Atlantic, where a
chaJky mud is being deposited over an area wider than
that over which the ancient chalk sea has been traced ;
where swarms of little creatures live and die, and drop
their tiny shells in such countless millions that the mud
is in a great measure made up of them ; where they
Sow
The dust of continents to be,
and give to us the explanatio?i of the conditions under
which that great deposit known as the Chalk was forme<^.
Sir Charles Lyell refers to this in the following passage : "A
fallacy which has helped to perpetuate the doctrine that the
operations of water were on a different and grander scale
in ancient times, is founded on the indefinite areas over
which homogeneous deposits were supposed to extend.
No modern sedimentary strata, it was said, equally iden-
tical in mineral character and fossil contents, can be
traced continuously from one quarter of the globe to
another. But the first propagators of these opinions
were very slightly acquamted with the inconstancy in
mineral composition of the ancient formations, and
equally so of the wide spaces over which the same kind
of sediment is now actually distributed by rivers and
currents in the course of centuries. The persistency of
character in the older series was exaggerated ; its extreme
variability in the newer was assumed without proof. In
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NATURE
\April\\, 1872
the chapter which treats of river deltas and the dispersion
of sediment by currents, and in the description of reefs
of coral now growing over areas many hundred miles in
lengthy I shall have opportunities of convincing the
reader of the danger of hasty generalisations on this
head. I may also mention in this place that the vast
distance to which the White Chalk can be traced east and
west over Europe as well as north and south, from Den-
mark to the Crimea, seemed to some geologists a pheno-
menon to which the working of the causes now in action
present no parallel But the soundings made in the At-
lantic for the submarine telegraph have taught us that
white mud formed of organic bodies similar to those of
the ancient Chalk, is in progress over spaces still more
vast" (p. 109).
The teaching of Sir Charles Lyell is that all the rocks
have been formed from pre-existing rocks as far back as
we can trace them, in the same manner as they are
being formed now, and that those which we see pre-
served are such as from their nature or surrounding cir-
cumstances were fittest to survive the various denuding
forces to which they would from age to age be subjected.
Surely this is the true theory of evolution applied to
geology. It does not, on the one hand, hold that the
world has been going on always just as it is— that after a
long period, during which all the varied forces of nature
have been in full activity, the earth could be found in the
same state as it was at the commencement. Nor, on the
other hand, does it teach that the earth has been deve-
loped according to any original tendency or impulse, but
that by the uniform action of forces such as we see now
in operation it has been evolved out of previous states.
Nor is the objection valid that there is any "weakness
or logical defect " in the teaching which would limit the
inquiry to the period of which we have a record in the
crust of the earth. If the true methods are employed, it
is no objection to the methods themselves that their appli-
cation is not more extended.
What were the possible or necessary first combinations
out of a chaotic mass is a fair subject for investigation ;
but an author is no more to be censured for excluding
it from a work treating of the visible crust of the
earth, than a philosophic writer on the history of Eng-
land is to be blamed tor not including in his inquiry the
conditions of that part of the earth now represented by
our island previous to its last emergence from below the
sea. T. McK. Hughes
{^To be continued,)
NOTES
Prof. Huxley's friends will be rejoiced to hear that he has
returned to this country', ^^dth his health and strength fully re-
cruited by his absence from work ; and that he has already
resumed his lectures at the Government School of Mines.
The Examiner prints the following extract of a letter from
M. Elisee Reclus, dated Zurich, March 18:— "lam able at
last to tell you that I am free. After having been kept for a
long time in prisons, and sent from one prison to another, I left
Paris for Pontarlier, escorted by two police agents, who left me
on the free soil of Switzerland. While breathing and enjoying
the pure air of liberty, I do not forget those to whom I am indebted
for my freedom. Having been claimed by so many Englishmen
as a student of science, I shall work on more than ever to show
them my gratitude by my works and deeds."
The Astronomer Royal will hold his first reception, as
President of the Royal Society, on Saturday evening, the 27th
inst
It will be seen from our report of the Proceedings of the
Chemical Society that Prof. Cannizzaro has been selected by the
Council to deliver the Faraday lecture on Thursday, May 30.
The Council of the Society of Arts has invited members of
the Society to forward to the secretary, on or before April 29,
the names of such men of high distinction as they may think
worthy of receiving the Albert Medal, instituted to reward " dis-
tinguished merit in promoting arts, manufactures, or commerce."
The recipients of the medal since its foundation, in 1864, have
been Sir Rowland Hill, K.C.B., the Emperor of the French,
Prof. Faraday, Sir W. Fothergill Cooke and Sir C. Wheat-
stone, Sir Joseph Whitworth, Baron von Liebig, M. de Lesseps,
and Mr. Henry Cole, C.B.
Mb. H. E. Armstrong has been appointed Lecturer on
Botany and Vegetable Physiology at the University of Doriiam
College of Medicine, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
A NUMBER of gentlemen connected with the Iron and Steel
Institute, from the different parts of the Kingdom, and also from
the Continent, assembled last week to the number of 200 or 300
at the Teeside Works, Middlesborough, belonging to Messrs.
Hopkins, Gilkes, and Co., to witness the first public trial of the
rotary puddling machine of Mr. Danks, to which we have re-
cently referred. The machine has been in work for two or three
weeks, and realises all that has been claimed for it by its inven-
tor, and all that has been stated of its practicability by the Iron
and Steel Institute Commission, which was sent to the United
States to investigate the working of the machine. On Friday
the gentlemen present saw the machine charged two or three
times with molten metal, and generally the heat took about an
hour, with all the different preparations, from the time of draw-
ing the heat till the introduction of another. The quantity
puddled at one time was between 5 and 6 cwt generally, but as
high as i,ooolb8. have been put into the furnace at one charge.
The iron, after leaving the furnace, was hammered, and then
re-heated and rolled into bars, the quality of which was stated
to be very superior. They were all produced from No. 4, Cleve-
land pig iron. The "fettling" consisted of American ore and pot-
tery mine. The important adjunct of a " seezer," which b part
of Mr. Danks's invention, is not yet built, so that the operation
was not complete. An unexpected occurrence happened later
in the day, an opinion having been received from counsel that
Mr. Danks's patent was not valid. A meeting was held
between Mr. Danks and most of the gentlemen who had entered
into the provisional arrangement to pay him by the loth of April
50,000/. for the right of 200 of his furnaces, to which we have
aheady alluded, and he was informed that the arrangement
would not be ratified. The question remains open, and is
entrusted to a committee of the gentlemen interested, who will
report to a future meeting.
The establishment is announced of a Meteorological Obser-
vatory at the top of the mountain of Puy-dc-D6me. The
original cost of i,ooofr. will be borne one-half by the State,
one-fourth by the town of Clermont, and one-fourth by the
Council-General of Puy-de-D6me. The annual cost of its
maintenance will devolve on the town of Clermont
Captain H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, K.G.,' has
signified his intention of becoming a vice-president of the Insti-
tution of Naval Architects.
Under the new management and direction of the Royal
Polytechnic Institution, it has been determined to re-establish
the scientific department of the Institution, and Mr. Edward V.
Gardner has been appointed Professor of Chemistry. We
understand that the Institution is about to arrange a well-
organised laboratory, proper chemical accessories for lectures,
classes, analyses, &c., of which due notice will be given in the
papers when the arrangements are completed.
The Council of the Literary and Philosophical Society of
Leicester have received from Mr. John Bennett the sum of 20g8.,
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NATURE
469
for the purpose of oiTeriiig prizes to students of Natoral Science,
and as an induoement to the useful occupation of that leisure
'which is afforded hy shortened hours of labour. Mr. Bennett's
prizes will be awarded immediately after Easter Week, 1873,
accordmg to the following plan : — I. Geology — Three prizes will
be given of the value of 3gs., 2gs., and ig. for the best collections
of the Rocks of Leicestershire, named, and with the localities
given from which they were obtained. 2. Botany — Three prizes
will be given of the value of jgs., 2gs., and ig. for the best
collections of dried specimens of the Flowering Plants of
Leicestershire^ properly mounted, with the name, locality, and
date of gathering attached to each ; and classified according to
the natural system. The scientific name must be given to each
plant, and the popular name or names when it has any.
3. Freshwater life, animal and vegetable— Three prizes will be
given of the value of 3gs., 2gs., and ig. for the best aquaria,
containing not more than two gallons of water, stocked with
animal and vegetable life from the ponds, brooks, and rivers of
Leicestershire, accompanied by a list of the specimens, with
their scientific and popular names, and the locality and date of
collection.
Mr. James Chambkrltn, of Norwich, announces that,
with the idea of improving the breeding of pheasants, he will
award ten prizes varying in value from i/. to 5/. for the best
brace raised during the present year, on conditions which may be
learned on application.
It is intended to form early in May a class for the study of
Botany in the field belonging to the series of Church of the
Saviour Science Classes. The object of the class is to enable
Science students and others to obtain a practical knowledge of
Systematic Botany, and to famllitrise themselves with the form,
structure, and habits of the principal flowering plants of the dis-
trict. A^ the class will be limited in number, the names of in-
tending students should be sent at once to the teacher — Mr.
Joseph W. Oliver, 35, Cannon Street ; to Mr. W. T. Bulpitt,
Albert Road, Aston ; or to the secretary, Mr. W. H. Hemming ;
when arrangements will be made for a preliminary meeting.
Da. Fraser will deliver two lectures on April 19 aod 26 at 8
P.M., before the Fellows of the College of Physicians, on "The
connection between the chemical properties and the physiological
action of active substances ;" and on "The antagonism between
the actions of active substance*. "
The third course of Cantor Lectures of the Society of Arts
for the season will be by Pro^ Barff, on " Silicates, Silicides,
Glass, and Glass-painting," and will be delivered on Monday
evenings, from April 8 to May 13.
We underitand that at the request of the executors of the late
Sir James Y. Simpson, his friend, Prof. Duns, has undertaken
to vrrite his biography.
The Journal of Botany mentions the appearance of a new
botanical journal, under the title of Journal de Botaniquf, pure
et appliquie^ edited by M. G. Huberson, to appear fortnightly.
It will contain, besides original communications, translations,
extracts, and abstracts of botanical papers presented to the
Academic des Sciences.
The Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester has
just published the tenth volume of its " Proceedings," containing
an unusual number of papers of great value and interest.
We have received a copy of the lectures delivered at the Lec-
ture-room of the Industrial and Technological Museum, Mel-
bourne, for the autumn session of 1871. They deal with such
subjects as Geology and Palaeontology in their application to
useful purposes, Respiration, Radiant Energy in relation to the
spectrum. Forest culture in its relation to industrial pursuits, and
various branches of manufacture. How long will it be before
our Home Government undertakes such work ?
A very useful addition has been made to the series of publi-
cations issued by order of the Secretary of State for India in
Council, in the form of "A Continuation of Maps of the
British Provinces in India and other Parts of Asia, 1870."
Dr. Stolicszka, the palaeontologist of the Geological Sur-
vey of India, has, during his stay on deputation in Kutch,
made, according to the Times of India^ an extremely valuable
collection of zoological and fossil specimens. The doctor, it is
said, anticipates that fully one-half of the latter are new to
science.
The sale of Wombwcll*s Menagerie, to which we referred a
few weeks since, took place at Edinburgh on Tuesday last.
Among the prices realised were the following : — ^Tasmanian devil,
3/. 5J. ; Diana monkey, 7/. ; mandrill, 30/. ; ditto, 5/. ; Anubis
baboon, loL lor. ; ditto, 8/. lar. ; condor, 15/. ; emeu, 7/. ;
pelicans (two), 6/. 15J. each ; nylghau, 26/. ; ditto, \6l, lOr. ;
lama, 15/. ; boomer kangaroo^ 12/. ; ocelot, 6/. lor. ; African
porcupines (three), 5/. lor. eadh ; wombat, 7/.; Polar bear, 40/.;
brown bear, 7/. ; performing leopard, 20/. ; performing leopardess,
20/. ; ditto, ditto, 20/. ; performing hysena, 3/. 5 j.; lion, " Wallace,"
7i years old, 85/. ; royal Bengal tigress, in cub, 3 years old, 15$/*;
lion, "Duke of Edinburgh,'* 3 years old, 140^.; lionesses,
"Princess "and "Alexandra," about 3^ years old, 80/. each;
lioness, " Victoria," 4 years old, in cub, 105/.; black-maned lion,
" Hannibal,** 6^ years old, 270/.; lion, "Nero," 7J years old,
140/. ; lion, " Prince Arthur," x8 months old, son of " Hannibal,"
90/.; lion, "Prince Alfred," 18 months old, son of " Hannibal,"
90/.; spotted hyaena, 15/.; Burchell sebra, 50/.; gnu, 85/.; male
tusked elephant, 7 feet 6 inches high, nearly 8 years old, 680/.,
bought for the Zoological Gardens, Manchester; female elephant,
5 feet 6 inches high, 145/.; two boa constrictors, 6/. each; Mala-
bar squirrel, 5/. ; male Bactrian camel, 7 feet high, 12 years old,
19/.; female diito, in calf, 6^ feet high, 10 years old, 30/.; ditto,
ditto, in calf, 6^ feet high, 5 years old, 23/. ; male ditto, 5 feet
high. Hi years old, 14/; female ditto, in calf, 5 feet h^gb, i}
years old, 14/. ; male dromedary, 7^ feet high, 5 years old, 30/. ;
female ditto, 6^ feet high, 14 years old, 21/.; male camel calf,
bom February 6, 1872, 9/. lOr. The sale produced nearly 3,000/.
The severe frost of March 21 has done an incalculable amount
of damage to the fruit crop. Apples, pears, and cherries appeir
to have suffered most severely. It is a remarkable circumstance
that although the majority of the flowers have been killed in the
bud, the central part being turned perfectly black, }et the
flowers expand and present externally a perfectly uninjured ap-
pearance. The Garden estimates the damage done to the potato
crop in Jersey by the spring frosts at many thousands of pounds.
Although the Brighton Aquarium has been formally opened
to the public, it is still in a very unfinished condition, owing to
a disagreement between the proprietors and the contractor, and
the severe illness of the engineer. At the time of its inaugu-
ration by Prince Arthur, on Easter Monday, biit one tank was
supplied with fish. When completed, the collection will by no
means be confined to marine animals, a portion of the buildbg
being devoted to fresh* water tanks.
The Senate of the University of Bombay has recently been
engaged in investigating a scandal in connection with the
Matriculation Examination, the passages set in Latin being
taken entirely from books which one of the examiners had
during the previous term made the special subject in his own
class.
The Engineer states that the oxyhydric light has not proved
a success in Paris, and that it hsis been discontinued in the
public lamps on the Boulevard des Italiens. ^^ ^
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470
NATURE
[April II, 1872
ifBSSKS. Watbrlow AND SoNS, of 66, London Wall, an-
nounce that the invention of an entirely new method of producing
a number of copies of the same manuscript without the use of
ink, by a veiy simple process which they term printing by elec-
tricity, and to which we have already referred, may now be seen
in operation on their premises.
We have received a ci oular from the Secretary of the Phila-
delphia Philosophical Association, containing a statement of its
leading principles, and an outline of the method pursued in
carrying them out These principles are stated to be : — i. That
force is persistent ; 2, That all knowledge is relative ; 3, That
philosophy is the synthesis of the doctrines and methods of
science ; 4, The critical attitude of philosophy is not destructive,
but constructive ; not sceptical, but dogmatic ; not negative, but
positive. The Association appears to have been established in
November 1871, and proposes to select a number of suitable
papeis, or parts of papers, for publication in a Quarterly Journal.
A CORRESPONDENT at Brighton describes a solar phenomenon
visible on the afternoon of April 8, at 5.35 p.m. The sun being
just within the upper part of a mass of light douds, through
which it shone with a white glare, there appeared a distin^ belt
of colours, in order and apparent width exactly like those of an
ordinary rainbow, but apparently flattened above. Half a
minute afterwards a second belt appeared, equally bright, and
with no interval between the two. At the same time a fainter
belt appeared to the right, but not forming a part of the same
circle as the others. The three were visible together, but did
not last above a minute. After the unusual appearance was first
noticed, the sky above was tolerably clear, with a few light upper
clouds. After the prismatic lines had &ded, there was that
diffused white glare round the sun which is commonly said to
l>etoken windy weather.
There is now every prospect that the getting of coal by
machinery will be more generally adopted than hitherto. At
present it has only been adopted at a few places, but a new
machine, patented by Messrs. Gillott and Copley, has just been
tested at the WhamclifTe Silkstone Colliery, near Bamsley, in
the presence of a number of mining engineers from various parts
of the kingdom, and with most satisfactory results. In 136
minutes a bank of coal, 58 jrards long and four feet eight inches
thick, was cut to a depth of three feet one inch. The quantity
of coal so cut would be about 80 tons in the time stated. In
connection with coal machinery a hydraulic coal breaker,
patented by. Mr. Clubb, of London, has just been very success-
fully tested at the Oaks Colliery, Bamsley.
An Indian paper prints the following interesting account of a
fight between a hyaena and a man :—*' About five days ago a
party of six natives coming towards Deyra through the Mohun
Pass, were attacked by a hyaena; it made straight at one of
them, and flew at his throat. The poor devil stretched out his
hands to keep off his assailant, on which the hyxna bit them
severely ; his companions, instead of coming to his aid, took
refuge in some adjoining trees ; the man, finding himself thus
deserted and his hands in a mutilated state, pluckily turned on
his enemy, and seized his nose with his teeth, roaring out in the
best way he could for assistance. By this means he secured the
animal, and his companions, taking courage, came down from
their secure position, and belaboured the beast to death with
sticks. I saw the unfortunate man at the dispensary, where he
had gone to have his wounds dressed, and was shown the head
of his enemy having his teeth marks on the nose. I believe this
is almost an unprecedented instance in the annals of natural
history, as a hyoena is well known as a most cowardly brute, never
venturing to attack man, but preying chiefly on dogs, carrion,
and young children."
ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF LONDON. FEB. i6, 1872
By J. Prestwich, F.R.S., President
(Continued from page 433.)
Our Coal-measures and our Coal-supply
... q^»te .
the original cause of settlement. The existence of coal has
created new wants, developed vast energies, enormous resources,
and has established great industries dependent upon it for their
maintenance and prosperity. Natural causes, unceasing and
ever renewing in their action, maintain our supplies of water in
a condition of constant and unfailing operation. They are
physical and geological aeents, equally in force in the past as
in the future of the earth's history. Not so with coal, which
is a store of the past, and of which we can look for no renewal
Our Coal Measures, great as they are, have defined limits, where-
as our wants seem to have no bounds. With the increasing
magnitude of the latter our fears of the extent of the former have
increased, and have given rise to much speculation and much
discussion. At first the estimates of the duration of our coal-
fields were little more than guesses ; but the subject has of late
vears been treated in a systematic manner, and in all its various
bearings, in the able works of Hull, Jevons, and Warington
Smyth. To obtain more precise data on these important ques-
tions, the Royal Commission of 1866 was appointed, with your
President-elect, the Duke of Argyll, at its head. On the prac-
tical and economical questions different members of the Com-
mission and separate committees have made valuable reports. I
wish on this occasion merely to direct your attention to some of
the more special geological bearings of the questions discussed
in one of the committees, of which the Lamented Sir Roderick
Murchison was chairman, the object being " to inquire into the
probabilitv of finding cosd under the Permian, New Red Sand-
stone, and other superincumbent strata."
On the evidence laid before this committee regarding England
north of the Bristol coal-field, Prof. Ramsay was deputed to re-
port, while the south of England was relegated to myself. The
one district embraces all the unproved older secondary tracts be-
tween the different well-known coal-fields of the central and
northern portions of England. The other district takes in that
occupied by the later Secondary and the Tertiary strata, already the
subject of a valuable paper in oiur Journal for 1856, by Mr.
Godwin- Austen. The excellent mapping of our coal-districts by
the Geological Survey, and their accurate sections through the
several coal-fields, furnished Prof. Ramsay with data which have
enabled him to prolong these sections across the intervening
tracts with a degree of certainty which pves them very great
xalue. He has presented us with 32 such sections, which, when
published, will, with the text already before the public, show
how great has been the task, and how successfully it has been
accomplished.
The area of the exposed coal-measures of England may be
estimated at about 2,840 square miles. To these Mr. Hull had
added 932 square miles of coal-measures overspread by newer
formations. The investigations of Prof. Ramsay lead him now
to conclude that this latter total of unproved coal-measures may
be increased to 2,988, to which mav be added 153 miles of the
Bristol coal-field, making a total of 3*141 square miles of Coal-
measures under the Permian, New Red, and Triassic strata of
central and northern England, or of 301 square miles more than the
area of all our exposed coal-fields. Tbis branch of the inquiry
embraces curious questions of variations in the mass of the coal-
measures, in the thickness of the strata, and in the number and
persistence of the coal-seams. The extent and magnitude of the
faults bounding so many of our ONd-fields, is idso a point of
great difficulty, especially when it is complicated hj denudations
of pre- Permian and of pre-Triassic age ; and in this intricate in-
quiry it must be borne in mind that it is only a question of super-
position and faulting, but one also of removal and replacement,
involving a number of important geological problems. Espe-
cially b it necessary to distinguish steep old-surface and sub-
manne valley denu&tions from fiiults.
The other inquiry relating to the possible range of the coal-
measures under the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary strata ot
the south-east of England, involves questions of a mudh more
hypothetical chmracter, and can, in the abienee of positive in-
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NATURE
471
formatioiit only be treated on purely abstract geol<^cal reasoning.
Still it is one essentially within the range of inquiry, and the
collateral geological data we possess are sufficient to guide and
direct those inquiries. There are two primary points to be de-
termined : — First, how much of the area under mvestigation re-
mained dry land during the Carboniferous period, and was
therefore never covered by Coal-strata. Secondly, supposing
the Coal-strata to have spread over a portion of that area, how
much of them escaped subsequent denudation? With regard to the
first question it is comparatively easy, where the Palaeozoic rocks
now form the surfacr, to determine the antiquity of that surface,
but where the old rocks are covered by great masses of other
strata it becomes very difficult to determine tke original con-
ditions. Mr. Godwin-Austen has ingeniously sought to estab-
lish the position of the old coast-lmes of the Carboniferous
and other periods, the area of the old coal-growth, and the
great features of the ancient physical geography of this period
in Western Europe. I have given more especial attention to
relations of the Secondary and Palaeozoic formations to one
another and to those points which depend upon physical condi-
tions connected with the nature and age of old disturbances and
denudations, the direction and position of the great anticlinal and
synclinal lines, to the correlation of certain strata, and the dimen-
sions of the overlying strata.
The great lines of disturbance traversing Central and North-
eastern England are subsequent to the Carboniferous period, and
the many detached coal-basins separated by the Penine chain
and the Derbyshire hills, together with the Mountain Limestone
forming those ranges, are held to be portions of one great
Carboniferous formation, which, in its entirety, spread from the
south of Scotland to central England, and, as we shall observe
presently, probably still farther south. This great Carboniferous
deposit was originally bounded on the north either by the
uplands of the Scottish-border counties, or, possibly, by the
Grampians ; on the west by the high lands of Cumberland and
Wales ; while on the south we find no old exposed land-surfaces
of older Palaeozoic age until we reach Brittany and Central
France. With respect to the deposits going on during the
Carboniferous period in this area. Professor Phillips was the first
to show that the lower Carboniferous series puts on, as it trends
north from Derbyshire, more sedimentary conditions — that the
Mountain Limestone there begins to show traces of the proximity
to land, which increase rapidly in proceeding northwards, — beds
of shale and sandstone and subordinate b^s of coal gradually
setting in in the limestone series, and increasing in importance
as they approach the older border land. In the same way the
approach to an old barrier-land on the south and west is supposed
by Professor Ramsay to be indicated in the overlying Coal
Measures by the increase in number and thickness of the beds of
sandstone in the south of the StafToidshire and Shropshre coal-
field, and Mr. Hull connects that old land with the Cambrian
and Silurian rocks of Leicestershire.
If such were the case, the question arises, did this form a
barrier which cut off the Carboniferous deposits from extending
over the south of England, or was it only a partial barrier which
in no way prevented the extension southward of the Carboniferous
rocks?
It has been supposed that during the Carboniferous period a
spur from the Silurian district of Wales extended eastward from
Herefordshire into central England, dividing the coal-fields of
Shropshire and Staffordshire from those of Gloucestershire \ and
that against this old Silurian tract the Coal Measures of South
Staffordshire die out. If carried farther eastward it would limit
tiie southern prolongation of the Coal Measures of Leicestershire,
and dien pass under the Oolites of Northamptonshire and the
Cretaceous series of Norfolk ; and so great an expansion has
been given it southward, that it would equally exclude the Coal
Measures from the area of the south-east of England. We have,
however, no sufficient evidence of the continuous extension of
these old rocks eastward of Staffordshire. Palaeozoic rocks
show, it is true, in Leicestershire ; but there the Coal Measures
wrap round them, and the older rocks seem merely to be an
island in their midst. At those spots in the southern counties
where they have been proved underground, I imagine they were
raised by disturbances of a later date than the Coal Measures,
and did not form part of the land surface of the Carboniferous
period. As just mentioned, the older Carboniferous rocks show
deeper-sea conditions as they trend from north to south, and the
same deep-sea conditions existing in Derbvshire are found to
prevail in the Moontaln Limestone of Bdgium, while, at the
same time, similar slight indications of distant land, in the
presence of intercalated shales and imperfect coal, reapp>ear and
increase westward in their range into the district of the
Boulonnais, in France. There is nothing to show but that the
spur of old land stretching eastward from Herefordshire was
merely a promontory ending in Warwickshire, and round which
the Carboniferous sea passed and extended southward uninter-
ruptedly to Belgium and the north of France, and westward to
Somersetshire and South of Wales, spreading over all this wide
area first the Mountain Limestone and then, in due order, the
Coal Measures. Of the existence of these formations over the
south-western and southeastern portions of this area we have
proof in Wales, Somersetshire, and Belgium. The intermediate
area is covered by Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary formations,
which hide from us the older rocks whose position it is our
object to determine.
Just as with the disturbance which at a later period caused the
Mountain Limestone of the Penine chain to break through the
great expanse of Coal Measures originally spread over the central
and northern counties of England, and brought up to the surface
the disturbed and disjoint^ coal-strata, of wl^ich, after subse-
quent denudation, we have the isolated portions remaining in the
existing coal-fields, so was the area of Southern England
traver^ by the earlier axis of Palaeozoic rocks of the Ardennes
and Mendips, bringing up the Coal Measures in like manner
along their northern flanks in separate basins and troughs, some
of which are uncovered by newer strata, while other basins not
exposed on the surface may still possibly exist beneath the newer
strata of the south-east of England. They have in fact been
proved to exist under considerable portions of those newer strata
of north-western France and of Belgium, and under some of the
older Secondary strata in the south-west of England.
The probable continuation of this great range of Paheozoic
rocks from the Rhine to South Wales, passing underground in
the s«uth of England, was shadowed out by Buddand and
Conybeare in 1826, commented on by Dufresnoy and Elie de
Beaumont in 1S41, by M. Meugy in 185 1, and more fully
investigated and discussed by Mr. Godwin- Austen in 1855.
These views having been controverted, the subject was fully dis-
cussed by the Commission, and again in the separate report
drawn up by myself.
All geologists are agreed upon the age of this great east-and-
west axis of disturbance. It took place after deposition of the
Coal Measures, and before the deposition of the Permian strata.
Its effects, all through its range, are singularly alike. It was not
so much a great mountain-elevation, as a crumpling up and
contortion of the strata for a breadth of many miles, and along
a length of above eight hundred miles. The Silurian and
Devonian rocks are tl^own up by it into a number of narrow
anticlinals, and the flanking coal-strata are tilted, turned back
on themselves, squeezed and contorted in the most remarkable
manner, — the same type of disturbance being apparent whether
in Westphalia, Belgium, France, Somerset, or Pembroke. These
great flexures have also resulted in throwing the Coal Measures
into deep narrow troughs, having a length of many miles and a
width of but very few.
In France, these disturbed old strata are covered transgressively
by Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary strata, and in Somerset by
Pennian, Liassic, and Jurassic strata ; they sink beneath the
Oolites at Frome, and reappear in Belgium from beneath the
Cretaceous strata. What becomes of them in the intermediate
area ? It is not to be supposed that a line of disturbance of
such great magnitude could have been intermittent. The coal-
trough has, in fact, been followed from near Charleroi, where it
passes under the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata, to Mons,
Valenciennes, and Bethune, a distance of eighty-six miles. Along
the whole of this line, the Chalk and overlying beds extend, with
a thickness varying firom 500 to 900 feet around Mons, decreasing
to from 250 to 300 near Valenciennes, and increasing again
towards Bethune. At Guines the Chalk was found to be
670 feet thick, and at Calais 762 feet. On the other side, the
coal-trough of Somerset passes eastward under the older
Secondary rocks, which in their turn pass under the Cretaceous
and Tertiary strata of Wiltshire ; but no attempt has been made
to follow Coal Measures beyond a distance of six miles from their
outcrop, where the overlying strata have been fotmd to attain a
thickness of about 450 feet.
The original supposition that the Secondary strata maintained,
in the main, their regular sequence, and, to a certain extent, their
thickness over Jaige areas ha« long been proved to be erroneous *
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472
NATURE
[April 11, 1S72
but we were hardly prepared nnttl lately to learn how rapid the
variation in their thickness is. Mr. Hall has now shown that
the Great and Inferior Oolites thin out from a thickness of
792 feet in Gloucestershire to 205 feet in Oxfordshire, and the
Lias and Trias from 1090 feet to 400 (?) feet ; while in like
manner the Tr'as decreases from 5600 feet in Lancashire and
Cheshire, to 2000 in Staffordshire, and 600 feet in Warwickshire.
We also know that on the northern flank of the Mendips, the
Trias, Lias, and Oolites tail off, although their dimensions in
Gloucestershire are so considerable. It would appear that all
the Secondary rocks, except those of the Cretaceous series, show
a distinct thinning-out in toeir range southward, which is doubt-
less due to the existence of an old pre-Triassic land on the
south— such as would have been formed by the prolongation of
the Palaeozoic rocks of the Ardennes and Mendips through the
south of England. It has been ui^ed, on the o her hand, that
this thinning-out is a proof of the existence of a still older land in
that area ; but as the argument is based on the evidence of rocks
of post-Carboniferous agre, it is clear that, whether the land were
of Cambrian and Silurian, or of Devoniui and Carboniferous
age, the result, as affecting the Secondary rocks, would be the
same.
This thinning- out of the Secondary strata has now been proved
not to be merely hypothetical. At three points, on or near the
presumed line of the old underground range, the Tertiary and
Cretaceous strata have been traversed in well-sections, and
Paloeozoic rocks found to underlie them at once, without the
intervention of any Triassic, Liassic, or Oolitic strata. Thus at
I^ndon the presence of red and grey Sandstones, apparently of
Palaeozoic age, has been proved under the Chalk at a depth of
1. 1 1 4. feet. Again, at Harwich and at Calais, strata of early
Carboniferous age iiave been found also immediately under the
Chalk, at depths respectively of 1026 and 1032 feet There is
therefore reason to believe that the underground ridge of the
Mendip<$ and the Ardennes pas<tes i t a line from Frome through
North Wiltshire, Berkshire, Middlesex, North-east Kent, and
between Calais and Boulogne, at a depth beneath the Secondary
strata of not more than from 1000 to 1500 feet, while the coal-
troughs, which may flank this range on the north would, judging
frooi the analogy of the structure and relitions of the same rocks
at Mons and Valenciennes, be met with at depths very little, if
at all, greater.
To tn^ north of this area it is probable that the thickness of
the overlying rocks is greater ; but we have no m ;ans of knowing
exactly. la Northamptonshire the Great and Inferior Oolites
and the Lias have been found not to exceed together 880 feet, at
which depth the New Red Sandstone was reached ; but its
thickness was not proved beyond 87 fc-et ; while at Rugby, the
Lias was found to be about 905 feet thick, below which 136 feet
of beds of New Red Sandstone were parsed through. Looking
at the proved thinning out from north to souh of the New Red
and Permian strata, there is no reason to suppose that they
would be found of any very great thickne<ts in the southern
counties. Even immediately to the smth of the known coal-
fields of the Midland counties, the trials for coal have not yet
proved any very great thickness of these rocks. It would seem,
in fact, that tht extensive tracts of Chalk, Oolites, and Trias,
forming tiie substrata of our Midland and Southern counties,
constitute but a comparatively shallow crust filling up the plains
and valleys of Palaeozoic rocks, the great framework of which
stretches apparendf at but a moderate depth under our feet, and
of which the highest ridges only, such ai those of the Ardennes
and Mendips, now rise a->ove ground.
It is clear, therefore, that in any search for coal, the relation
of the Secondary and the Palaeozoic groups of rocks to one another
being perfectly independent, the latter must be considered
entirely on their own internal evidence, and apart from the
boiring of the newer rocks covering them and forming the pre-
sent surface, except possibly in a few cases where old lines of
disturbance have proved points of least resistance, and yielded
again, as suggested bv Mr. Godwin- Austen, to later movements,
^ich have equallv affected the overlying formations.
It may be asked if any correlation can be established between
the coal-measures of Bristol and South Wales and those of
France and Belgium. So far as the identity of any particular
bed of coal or of rock, it is impossible, and we should not ex-
pect it ; for the variation in all the beHs of any coat-basm is well
known to be so great and rapid, that in the different parts of the
same basin it is often difficult, and sometimes impossible, to
establish any correlation ; while in adjacent basins, such as those
of Wales and Bristol, or of Hainaut and Li^ge, such attempts
have, with few exceptions, hitherto utterly failed. There are,
however, more general features whidi serve to show, at all
events, some relationship. The great dividing^ mass of from
2,000 to 3.000 feet of rock called Pennant exists in both the
Wel^ and Bristol coal-field ; and the total mass of coal-mea-
sures is not very different, it being 10,000 to 11,000 feet in the
one, and from 8,000 to 9,000 in the other, and there being in
Wales 76, and in Somerset 55 workable seams of coal. In the
Hainaut (or Mons and Charleroi) basin, the Measures are 9,400
feet thick, with no seams of coal ; in the Li^e basin 7*600
fee% with 85 seams; and in Westphalia 7,200 feet, with 117
seams. On the other hand, none of our central or northern
coal-basins, with the exception of the Lancashire field, exceed
half this thickness, and more generally are nearer one fourth.
Further, the marked difference which exists between the northern
coals and those of Wales and Somerset, the preponderance of
caking-coals in the north, and of anthracite, steam» and smiths*
c lal in the south, equally exists between our northern coals and
those of Belgium, which latter show, on the other hand, close
affinities with those of Wales and Bristol. I am informed by
two experienced Belgian coal-mining eneioeers and good geo-
logists, who have twice visited our coal-districts, that the only
coals they found like those of Belgium were the coals of Soudi
Wales and Radstock — there was the same form of cleavage, the
same character of measures, and the same fitness for like econo-
mical purposes. Organic remains help us but little, but too
little is yet known of their relaive distribution. The plants are,
as usual, the same ; so also are shells of the genus AntAracosut^
and a number of small Entomostraca ; while there is a scarcity
of miny of the marine forms which are more common in some
of our central and northern fields. That, therefore, which b^st
indicates the relation between the coil-fields of the south-west
of England and those of the north of France and Belgium, i^
the similarity of mass and structure, uniformity of subjection to
like physical causes, and identity of relaticn to the underlying
older and to the overlying newer formations.
It was in the north that the conditions fitted for the formation
of coal first set in. The common Stigmaria ficoida and various
Coal Measure plants appear at the base of the Carboniferous or
in the Tuedian series of Northumberland, which there overlies
conformably the Upper Old Red Sandstone ; and productive
beds of cou exist low down in the Mountain- Lime& tone series.
These disappear in proceeding s )uthward, and the great produc-
tive coal-series becomes confined to beds overlying the Millstone
Grit. If the coal -growth set in earlier in the north, it reems to
have been prolonged farther south, under more favourable con-
ditions, to a later period. What those conditions were — whether
the proximity of a greater land-surface, of a 1 jng r and greater
subsidence, with more ntunerous rests — we cannot yet pretend
to say.
Of the prolongation of the axis of the Arde.ines under the
south of England there can be little doubt ; nor can there be
much doubt that the same great contortions ili the strata, which
in Belgium placed the crown of the anticlinal arch at a height of
four or five miles above the level, of the base of the accompany-
ing synclinal trough, to the bottom of which the Coal Measures
descend, and was the cause of similar folds in the Coal Measures
of Somerset and Wales, were continued along the whole line of
disturbance, and that the preservation of detached portions of the
same great supplementary troui>h is to be looked for under-
ground in the immediate area, just as it exists above ground in
the proved area ; for the minor subordinate barriers dividing the
coal-basins can, I conceive, in no way permanently affect the
ereat master disturbance^ by which the presence of the Coal
Measures is ruled« Whether, however, admitting that the Coal
Measures were originally present, they have been removed by
subsequent denudation is another question.
(To be continued,)
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Annalen der Chemieund Pharmacies December 187 1. A con-
siderable part of this number is occupied by a valuable paper
" On valeric acids from different sources," by Erlenmejrer and
HelL They prepared isobutyl iodic add, and from this the corre-
sponding iodide, which they treated with alcoholic potash to con-
vert it into potassic valerate ; the valeric add from these reactions
had no action on polarised light They prepared valeric add
from valerian root, and this also had no rotating action on a
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NATURE
473
polarised ray. A series of experiments was made on the valeric
adds obtained from active and inactive amylic alcohols, and also
on the acid obtained from leucin ; this latter is found to rotate
a ray of polarise i light to the right, bat not to so great an ex-
tent as the add which is obtained from the left-handed amylic
alcohol. The acids from isobutyl cyan'de, from valerian root, and
from inactive amylic alcohol, show very great similarity ; whilst the
acids from the active alcohol and from leudn agree in most of
thdr properties. The valeric add made from inactive amylic
alcohol is almost certainly isopropacetic add, and that from the
active alcohol is probably methethacetic acid, although the
authors consider that the latter acid might possibly be a molecular
compound of two isomeric acids, such as isobutylformic and
methethacetic acids. Besides this communication, there are
several important physiologico-chemical papers, together with
translations of two others from foreign periodicals.
The American Naturalist for February commences with an
exhaustive account of the Mountains of Colorado by Dr. J. W.
Foster, read before the Chicago Academy of Sdences. Mr. £.
L. Greene, in a short paper on the Irrigation and the Plora of
the Plains^ shows how a gradual alteration is going on in the
character of the flora of those parts where a system of irrigation
has been established, Typka and other marsh and water plants
supplanting the original inhabitants of the drier plains. Mr.
Jonn G. Henderson, on the former range of the buffalo, brings
forward evidence to show that the buffalo was at a not very remote
period extremely abundant over almost the whole of the Northern
United States, while he thinks that it is doomed in a short time
to become extinct like the great Irish dk, the mastodon, and the
dodo. The remainder of the number is occupied with reviews
and short notes.
A CONSIDERABLE portion of the Canadian Naturalist, vol. vi..
No. 2, is occupied with a report of the Edinburgh meeting of the
British Assocution. Prof. Dawson continues his note on the
Post -pliocene Geology of Canada. ProC H. A. Nicholson (late
of £dinburp;h) contributes an article on the " Colonies " of M.
Barrande, in which the best account we have yet seen is given of
the celebrated theory of the French palaeontologist. Dr. J. W.
Anderson has a short artide on the Whale of the St. I^wrence ;
Mr. S. W. Ford some notes on the Primordial Rocks in the
vicinity of Troy, N. Y. ; and Mr. E. S. Billings a paper on some
new spedes of Palaeozoic Fossils belonging to the classes
Pteropoda and Bracbiopoda.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, March 21.— "New Researches on the Phos-
phorus bases," by Dr. A. W. Hofmann, F. R. S. Ten years since
the author presented to the Royal Sodety a series of papers on the
remarkable group of phosphorus compounds first discovered b^
Thenard in 1847. These researches were devoted to the investi-
gation of the tertiary and quartaxy derivatives of phosphoretted
Eydrogen, exclusively accessible by the methods then known.
Smce then numerous attempts have been made to prepare the
primary and secondary phosphines, but with no result until the
present time. The author wishing to obtain pure phosphoretted
hydrogen for lecture experiments, was led to prepare it by the
action of water or soda on the beautiful compound of phos-
phoretted hydrogen and hydriodic add. The ease with which
this body decomposed led the author to think that it might be
made available for the production of the missing compounds.
For this purpose it was necessary to liberate phosphoretted
hydrogen in tlie presence of an alcohol iodide under pressure.
This could be done by heating together the phosphonium iodide
and alcohol iodide in presence of some substance capable of
slowly decomposing the former body, such as zinc oxide. This
process yields the idcoholic phosphines, easily giving rise to the
formation exclusively of primary and secondary phosphines. A
further simplification ot the process was tried, namely, by
utilising the hydriodic add from the phosphonium iodide m the
formation of the alcohol iodide to be acted on by phosphoretted
hydrogen. This was accomplished by digesting the phosphonium
iodide with the alcohol ; by this method it was found that only
the tertiary phosphines and the quartarv phosphonium com-
pounds already known were produced, but which were more
easily and plentifully obtained by the new than by the old
method. The reactions by wluch the yarious gronps of phos-
phines are produced from phosphonium iodide aie as follows,
the reaction being assumed to take place in the methyl
series : —
Primary Phosphines
2 CH,I + 2 (Hj P. HI) + Zn O - 2 f (CHj) H^P . Hi] +
Zn I, + H,0
Secondary Phosphines
2 CH,I + H,P. HI + Zn O = (CHg), HP + Zn I, + H,0
Tertiary Phosphines
3 (CH,. HO) + H,P. HI = (CHj)j P. HI + 3 H,0
Quartary Phosphonium compounds
4 (CH,. HO) + H, P. HI = (CHj)4 PI + 4 II3O
The primary and secondary methylic derivatives of phospho-
retted hydrogen are prepared by placing together in a sealed
tube 2 molecules of methylic iodide, 2 molecules of phospho-
nium iodide, and i of zinc oxide. The mixture is heated to
100" for six or eight hours, when the reaction is complete ; on
cooling the tube contains a white crystalline solid, and also a
considerable amount of compressed gas. The crude product of
the reaction is first treated with water, which decomposes the
salts of monomethylphosphine, liberating it as a gas, which is
collected in concentrated hydriodic acid ; and secondly with
potash, which decomposes the salts of dimethylphosphine, and
liberates the dimethylated phosphine as a liauid. The whole
process must be conducted in an atmosphere of hydrogen, as the
two bodies are powerfully acted on by the oxygen of the air.
Methyl phosphine CH. H, . P, is a colourless and transparent
gas of a most overwhelming odour, which, by cooling aud by
pressure, can be condensed to a colourless liquid fi9ating on water.
It boils at - 14° under a pressure of 07585 metre. At o* it
began to liquefy at i J atmospheres pressure, and at 2| atmospheres
it was entirely liquefied. At 10** liquefaction commenced at 2^
atmospheres and was completed at 4 atmospheres pressure, and
at 20** under a pressure of 4 and 4^ atmospheres. The volume
weight of the gas was determined by decomposing a known weight
of me iodhydrate over mercury. Experiment gave the number
24*35, ^^c theoretical value being 24. Methylphosphine is nearly
insoluble in water free from air ; if it contain air the gas disap-
pears, owing to oxidation ; it is rather soluble in alcohol, more
especially at low temperatures; ether dissolves but little at ordinary
temperatures, but at 0° one volume of ether dissolves in less than
70 volumes of methylphosphine. When genUy heated in contact
with air it takes fii«, as it does also in pressure of chlorine or
bromine. By its union with adds it forms a remarkable series of
salts, distinguished by the remarkable property of being decom-
posed by water.
The dilorhydrate is obtamed by mixing methylphosphine with
gaseous hydrochloric acid, the gases at once condense to beautiful
tour-sidedf plates ; the iodhydrate CHo PI is obtained by passing
the gas into a concentrated solution of hvdriodic add ; it can be
ctystallised in plates, which may be easily sublimed.
Dimethylphosphine (CH,), HP, obtained as above, is a transpa-
rent colourless liquid which is lighter than water and insoluble in
it ; readily soluble in alcohol and ether. Its boiling point is 25°.
In contact with the air it instantly takes fire, and bums with a
powerfully luminous phosphorus flame. It unites easily with
acids, all its salts bdng exceedingly soluble. The chlorhydrate
furnishes with platinum perchloride a fine crystalline salt
Methylphosphine passed into fuming nitric acid is absorbed
and oxidised, with the formation of a new acid, small quantities
of phosphoric acid bemg also produced. The excess of nitric
acia b removed bv evaporation in a water bath, and the phos-
phoric add by boiling with lead oxide, which forms the lead salt
of a new acid which is soluble in acetic acid, and lead phosphate
which is insoluble. The lead salt is decomposed by sulphuretted
hydrogen, and the acetic acid removed by evaporation, which
leaves the new add as a crystaUine mass resembling spermaceti,
melting at 105°. Its composition is found to be CH, H, PO,,
and may be cadled methylphosphinic acid. It forms two series
of salts, in which H^ and H, are replaced by metals. The
primary silver salt crystallises in beautiful white needles which,
m contact with water, are converted into the secondary salt The
lead and barium salts of this acid have also been obtained.
Methylphosphinic add has the same composition as methyl-
phosphorous acid, but they are two absolutely difTerent bodies.
Methylphosphorous add is an uncrystallisable ephemeral com-
pound, decomposing at a gentle heat into phosphorous add and
methyl alcohol, whilst methylphosphinic add may be distilled
without decomposition. __ ^^
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NATURE
[April 11, 1872
Dimethylphosphinic acid, obtained in a nearly similar manner
to the above, is a wliite crystalline solid, melting at 76% and may
be distilled without change. Its composition is (CHj), H PO, ;
the silver, lead, and barium salts have been obtained, but do not
crystallise so well as the salts of the last*named acid.
Phosphoretted hydrogen, on treatment with nitric acid, fixes
four atoms of oxygen yielding tribasic orthophosphoric acid,
whilst trimethylphosphine fixes only one atom of oxygen yielding
trimethylphospmne oxide, a body which is no longer capable of
forming saline compounds. We have thus a series of three
bodies which may be looked on as derived from orthophosphoric
acid by the replacement of hydroxyl by methyl : — (H0)3 PO,
orthophosphoric acid; (CHj) (HO), . PO, methylphosphinic
acid; (CHj) HO, . PO, dimethylphosphinic acid ; (CH3)3 PO,
trimethylphosphine oxide. An analogous series of bodies is
known in the arsenic group.
The primary and secondary ethylic derivatives of phosphoretted
hydrogen are prepared in a precisely similar manner to toe methyl
compounds, except that the tubes containing ethyl iodide, phos-
phonium iodide, and zinc oxide, must be heated to 140** — 150" for
six hours.
Ethylphosphine (C, Hg) H, . P, b a transparent mobile liquid,
powerfully refractive, lighter than water, and insoluble in it It
boils at 2$^, and has an overwhelming odour. Its vapour bleaches
like chlorine ; caoutchouc placed in it becomes transparent, and
loses its elasticity. It is inflamed by chlorine, bromine, and
nitric acid. It is isomeric with dimethylphosphine previously
described. With acids it forms salts which are crystalline and
are decomposed by water.
Diethylphosphine is a colourless transparent liquid, insoluble
in water and lighter than it. Its odour is very penetrating and
persistent. It boils at 85% and forms corresponding salts to
dimethylphosplune which are not decomposed by water.
The primary and secondary ethyl phosphines, on oxidation by
nitric acid, yield precisely corresponding products to the methyl-
phosphines already described.
By the action of benzyl chloride, phosphoniam iodide, and
zinc oxide at 160**, the author has succeeded in obtaining the
benzyl phosphine in a similar manner as before described.
Benzyl phosphine, (C7 H7) H, P, is a liquid boiling at 180°,
attracting oxygen with great avidity ; it forms a beautifully cry-
stalline lodhydrate, and also other salts corresponding to those
obtained from methylphosphine.
Dibenzy I phosphine, (C7 Hy), H P, is a ciystalline body melt-
ing at 20$°, which does not oxidise in the air, nor does it form
salts with acids like the corresponding dimethyl and diethyl-
phosphines.
The author has likewise obtained the phosphorus compounds
in the propyl, butyl, and amyl series, the details of which will be
shortly communicated.
Geological Society, March 20—" On the Wealden as a Flu-
vio-lacustrine Formation, and on the relation of the so-called ' Pun-
field Formation ' to the Wealden and Neocomian." By C. J. A.
Meyer. In this -paper the author questioned the correctness of
assigning the Wealden beds of the south-east of England to the
delta of a single river ; he considered it more probable that they
are a fluvio-lacustrine rather than a fluvio-marine deposit, and
attributed t^eir accumulation to the combined action of several
rivers flowing into a wide but shallow lake or inland sea. The
evidence adduced in favour of these views was mainly as follows :
— ^The quiet deposition of most of the sedimentary strata, the
almost total absence of shingle, the prevalence of such species of
mollusca as delight in nearly quiet waters, the comparative
absence of broken shells such as usually abound in tidal rivers,
and the total absence of drift-wood perforated by mollusca in
either the Porbeck or Wealden strata. This Wealden lacustrine
area the author supposed to have originated in the slow and
comparatively local subsidence of a portion of a land-surface
just previously elevated. He considered that during the Purbeck
and later portion of the Wealden era the waters of such lacus-
trine area had no direct communication with the ocean. The
changes from freshwater to purely marine conditions, which are
twice apparent in the Purbeck beds, and the final change from
Wealden to Neconjan conditions at the dose of the Wealden,
were attributed to the sudden intrusion of oceanic waters into an
area bdow sea-levd. The anthor then pointed to the traces o
terrestrial vegetation in the Lower Greensand as evidence of the
continuance of river-action after the close of the Wealden period.
In the concluding portion of his paper the author referred to the
relation of the Punficld beds of Mr. Judd to the Neocomian and
Wealden strata of the south-east of England. From the se-
quence of the strata, no less than onpalaeontological evidence,
he considered the whole of the so-called " Punfield formation **
of the Isle of Purbeck to be referable to the Lower Greensand
of the Atherfield section. Mr. Godwin-Austen did not agree
with Mr. Judd in calling the bed at Punfield the Punfield
''formation ; " it was merely a bed intercalated between beds of
a different character below and above. Prof. Ramsay thought
that the Purbeck strata were connected with lagoons in con*
tigaity with a large river rather than with inland lakes. These,
from time to time, owing to the oscillations of level, were
covered with marine deposits. He did not think that the
absence of gravelly deposits offered any serious difficulty in re-
garding the Wealden strata as marine. It seemed to him more
probable, however, that the sands and clays of the Wealden
were due to some ancient rivers on a large scale, and deposited
at their mouths, though in some spots the beds were subject to
the action of fresh and salt water alternately. He regarded the
Neocomian as, to some extent, a marine representative of the
Wealden, though of later date. Mr. Etberidge recalled the fact
that Mr. Judd had correlated the Punfield fossils with those of
the north of Spain, twenty-two species found in each being
absolutely identicaL He argued from this that the extent of the
beds may have been far larger than might be supposed. Prof.
T. Rupert Jones remarked that the Purbeck- Wealden lake theory
had not only been intimated by several previous writers, but had
been illustrated by maps by Messrs. Godwin- Austen and Searles
Wood, Jun. The Chairman, alluding to the pseudomorphs of
salt mentioned by the author, stated that they had been some-
what compressed, and thus modified in form. They had also
been found in other beds in the Wealden. He commented on
the extension of the Wealden strata even to the south of Moscow.
In the Oxford and Buckinghamshire area there was evidence of
great denudation of the Purbeck and Wealden beds prior to the
deposit of the Neocomian, so that great changes would seem to
have taken place, giving rise to a great amount of denudation
towards the close of the Wealden period. Mr. Meyer agreed
with Mr. Godwin- Austen and other speakers as to there haN-ing
been a certain amount of denudation of the Upper Wealden beds
prior to the deposit of others upon them, but this he regarded as
merely local. It was the absence of shingle rather than of gravel
to which he had alluded in his paper. He thought that there
was a distinction to be traced between the Neocomian of the
north of England and that of the soutli, and that the middle
beds of one were equivalent to the lower beds of the other.
Zoological Society, March 19.— John Gould, F.R.S., vice-
president, in the chair. The secretary read a report on the ad-
ditions that had been made to the Society's collection during the
month of February 1872, amongst which were specimens of the
Sumatran rhinoceros, two-watUed cassowary, and other rare
animals. — Mr. R. B. Sharpe exhibited some specimens of blue
rock thrushes from Europe and Eastern Asia. After tracing the
different plumages through which Petrocossyphus cyanus passed,
he came to the conclusion that the Eastern blue rock thrush, P,
solitariuSf eventually becomes entirely blue like the European
species, and that the birds usually called P, tnanill^nsis and P.
affinis are merely stages of plumage of P. solitarius, — Major
Godwin- Austen exhibited a skin of Ceriornis blythii, which had
been obtained by Mr. Roberts, of the Indian Topographical
Survey, in the Naga Hills, — Mr. Sclater exhibited and made re-
marks upon a specimen of the American yellow-billed cuckoo
(Coccyzus americanus) which had been obtained near Buenos
Ayres. — A communication was read from Profl A. Macalister, of
the University of Dublin, containing notes on a specimen of the
broad-headed wombat (Phazcolomys latifrons), — A communica-
tion was read from Mr. W. E. Brooks, of Etawah, India,
containing remarks on the Imperial eagles of India, AquUa
crassipes and A, bi/asciata. — A paper by Dr. J. E. Grav, F.R.S.,
was read, containing observations on the genus Chuymys^ and
its allies, from Austoalia.— Sir Victor Brooke, Bart., read a paper
on Hydropotes inermis and its cranial characters, as compared
with those of Moschus moschiferus and other Cervine forms. —
Major Godwin- Austen read descriptions of new land and firesh-
water shells which he had recently met within the Khisi, North
Cachar and Ndgi Hills of N.E. Bengal. — Mr. Howard Sanndeis
read some notes on the introduction of Anser albahu of Cassin
into the European avifauna, and exhibited two examples of that
species lately shot near Wexford in Ireland.
Chemical Society, March di. — Dr. Odling, F.R.S., vice*
president, in the duUr. — ^The chairman annonnced tiiat the
Digitized by
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April II, 1872"!
NATURE
475
Faraday lecture would be delivered by Prof. Cannizzaro on
Thursday, May 30. — A commuDication from M. Maumcne, of
Paris, was then read by the secretary, in which he denied the
existence of the hyponitrous acid recently discovered by Dr.
Divers (Proceedings of the Royal Society, xix. 425), on purely
theoretical grounds, unsupported by any experiments or analyses.
Dr. Divers, who was present, explained M. Maumen^'s theory.
— An interesting discussion took place on theoretical points con-
nected with some remarks made by Dr. Debus, in which he
stated that no organic compound existed, in which the number
of atoms of hydroxy 1, H O, was greater than the number of carbon
atoms.
March 30. — ^The President delivered the annual address, in the
course of which he commented upon the comparatively small
number of papers communicated to the Society. The apathy
and lethargy from which chemical science in this country is at
present sunering, he believed to be due to a great extent to our
system of .university education. After the officers and council
for the ensuing year had been elected, and the usual votes of
thanks propos^, the meeting was adjourned.
April 4. -Dr. Frankland, F.R.S., president, in the chair. —
Dr. Schorlemmer, F.R.S., delivered a very interesting lecture
**On the Chemistry of the Hydro-carbons," defining organic
chemistry as the chemistry of hydro-carbons and their deriva-
tives. The characteristic properties of the paraffin, olefine, and
acetyline series, and their relations one to another, were dis-
cussed, also those of the great aromatic group, the speaker point-
ing out the great assistance derived from the atomic theory in
dctennining both the constitution of isomeric compounds, and
also the relations existing between the various members of the
aromatic series.
Entomological Society, March 18, 1872.— Mr. F. Smith,
vice-president, in the chair. — R. Meldola was elected a member.
— Mr. Higgins exhibited beautiful species of Cctoniida from Java,
including some apparently new. — Mr. Bond exhibited a dimor-
phic exzmpie of Aero fty eta Uporina^ one side of which was coloured
and marked as in typical examples, the other side as in the variety
bradyporindj the two forms having at one time been con-
sidered distinct species. — Mr. Smith said that the remarks on
Siberian insects at the last meeting had induced him to make a
minute examination of specimens of the hornet ( Vespa crabro)
from Europe, Siberia, and North America, and he found that
individuals from these districts presented no appreciable varia-
tion. The Asiatic V, orienialis was, however, quite distinct. —
Mr. Miiller read notes on Serropalpus sfna/us, which beetle he
considered to be a wood-feeder, and especially attached to fir-
wood; hence its occurrence in a hose -warehouse at Leicester
could only be considered as accidental — The Secretary read a
long account of the ravages of locusts in South Australia in De-
cember 1 87 1, as related in the Sou(/t Australian Register for
January 2, 1872. The insects were described as coming in
swarms that darkened the air, eating every morsel of vegetation.
It was found that those individuals that had partaken of leaves
of the castor-oil plant were immediately killed thereby, and
larkspur seemed also inimical to them. — Mr. Home related his
experiences of locusts in India. The castor-oil plant had cer-
tamly no injurious effects upon Indian species, though they were
affected by the leaves of the tamarind-tree.
April I. — Professor Westwood, president, in the chair. — Dr.
A. S. Packard, Jun., of Salem, United States, was present
as a visitor. — Professor Westwood exhibited a large spongy
oak-gall found on the ground under an oak, which Mr.
Miiller considered to be the work of Cynips radicis. He further
alluded to the differences existing in the genital apparatus of
various species of the genus Cynips, and exhibited drawings
illustrating his remarks. Also, he sdluded to the different struc-
ture exbting in the antennae of various species of fleas, and main-
tained that these insects formed a distmct order, Apkaniptera,
Finally he produced drawings, sent to him by a correspondent,
of a minute Hymenopterous insect of the genus Coccophagus,
parasitic upon the common Coccus of the orange ; ana he re-
marked that now is the best time for finding the males of Coccus,
and especially of that infesting espalier pear trees. — Mr. Miiller
read notes on the larva; of Anaspis maculata, which he had ob-
tained from the excrescences or outgrowths on a trunk of birch.
— Mr. Butler read additional remarks on the Pericopides,
especially referring to species recently described by Dr. Boisdu-
vad. — Mr. McLachlan read a paper on the external sexual
apparatus of the males of the genus Acmtropus, and exhibited
drawings of this apparatus made from microscopic examination
of individuals from various parts of England and the Continent
Although there were minute differences, he could find nothing to
indicate, on these characters alone, that more than one species
existed.
Geologists* Association, March i.— Prof, Morris, vice-
president, in the chair. ' * On the Geology of Hampstead, Middle-
sex," by Mr. Caleb Evans. The author described the deposits
which had been exposed from time to time during the last few
years in and near Hampstead. The principal excavations
noticed were the several drainage works near Child's Hill, on
Hampstead Heath, and in Frognal Lane, and the tunnel on the
Midland Railway under Haverstock HilL It appeared from
these sections that the Lower Bagshot Sand which caps the hill
passes downwards into a dark sandy clay about 50 feet thick
abounding with fossils, especially Voluta nodosa and Pectunculus
dccussaius. The Pectunculus bed passes down into the London
Clay of ordinary character, which forms the lower part of
Hampstead Hill. The author noticed the great changes in
physical geography which must have taken place during the
time that intervened between the deposition of the Wodwich
series and that of the Lower Bagshot Sand. He considered
that remains of the glacial deposits probably exist on the north
side of the hill. The position of these deposits on an eroded
surface of the London Clay showed the large amount of
denudation that had 'taken place prior to the Glacial epoch.
The author, in conclusion, directed attention to the existing
valleys around and to the north of Hampstead, which he con-
sidered had been formed by means of the springs issuing from
the water-bearing Eocene sand and Uie glacial gravels. Mr. A.
Bell thought the leaf-beds of the Middle Eocene indicated fnesh-
water conditions. Mr. H. Woodward considered the presence
of Zanthopsis in these beds evidence of Marine or £fstuarine
origin. He pointed out the great value of the maps and sections
exhibited by Mr. Evans. Prof. Morris spoke of the foreign
equivalents of the London Eocenes, during the deposition of
which great changes of level took place. Though there are no
traces of the Woolwich beds in the Belgian area, these deposits
are represented near Epernay in France, while the London Clay
forms a considerable area in Belgium. The patches of London
clay on Salisbury Plain indicate the extension of the Lower
Eocene sea over that area, and Bracklesham species are found at
Chertsey. With respect to the Glacial deposits the Professor con-
sidered their importance in Middlesex very considerable, and
thought it not improbable that the towns of Bamet, Hendon,
and Finchley owed their origin to the presence of these deposits.
The physical features of the country north of Hampstead are
different from those south of that place, and thb difference is
due to the glacial deposits. Though the valleys of the district
have been formed as we now see them by the rivers, their forma-
tion commenced during the rise of the land from the sea. — " On
a recently exposed section at Battersea," by Mr. John A. Coombs.
This was a brief description of a section exposed at the works of
the London Gas Company now in progress near Battersea. The
Thames Valley gravels are cut through and several feet of the
London Clav is exposed. The gravds, which show much false
bedding, yield mammalian remains, but the Cyrcna fiuminalis
has not been found. Several species of MoUusca have been
found in the clay, but the most abundant fossil is a species of
Echinodermata, the Pentacrinus sub'basalti/ormis, Mr. Hudle-
ston noticed that at the Law Courts site in the Strand the gravels
were much more ferrusinoos than those at Battersea, and the
clay immediately nndenying the gravels was altered in colour
and character to a much greater depth at the former than at the
latter locality. — Mr. A. Bell thought the Cyrena fiuminalis
would never be found in these beds at Battersea, as it belongs he
considered to beds of a different age.
Victoria Institute, February 4.— Mr. C. Brooke, F.R.S.,
in the chair. " Prehistoric Monotheism, considered in rel lion
to Man as an Aborigmal Savaee," being a reply to certain state-
ments made by Sir John Lubbock in his work on Primitive
Man. The paper combated the statements made by that writer,
that man in bis original state was a savage and without reli-
gious knowledge, from the results of investigations into the pre-
sent condition of savages, from the earliest authentic records to
be found in various countries, and from the writings of Aristotle,
Herodotus, and others. Mr. Prichard stated that so far as
his inquiries had extended, they confirmed the view taken in
the paper, and the Rev. G. Percy Badger, who gave similar
testimony, in alluding to an apology made by the author of the
L/iyiiiiLcvj uy
<3^'
476
NATURE
{April 11,1872
paper, for not quoting Scripture as an authority, stated that
it was perhaps judicious, as it enabled him to refute Sir John
Lubbock's statement on his own ground, though it seemed strange
that the latter should prefer the authority of such as Herodotus,
whose writings betrayed ignorance on several points, for instance,
where he reuses to believe in snow existing in a land so hot
that the inhabitants were bUck, — to the writings of Moses,
which, as writings even, were of a much higher order.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, March 25. — M. Senet presented a
note by M. A. Mannheim, containing geometrical investigations
upon the contact of the third order of two surfaces. — General
Morin read a memoir on the simultaneous employnient of elec-
trical induction apparatus and apparatus of deformation of solids,
for the study of the laws of the movement of projectiles, and of
the variation of pressures in the bore of guns. — A memoir was
also read by M. V. Albenque, relating to the theory of rifled
artillery, and treating of the effects of the resistance of the air
upon a solid of revolution animated by a simultaneous movement
of rotation. — M. Phillips presented a note by M. Bresse on the
determination of brachistochrones. — A note from Father Secchi
was read, giving an account of injury done at Alatri by lightning
striking a lightning-conductor, and passing from it to large
water pipes. — A note by M. G. Volpicelli, on the use of the
proof-plane in the investigation of electrical conditions, was read.
— M. Wurtz communicated a note bv M. G. Salet, on the ab-
sorption spectrum of the vapour of sulphur, in which the author
claimed to be the first describer of this spectrum, which was
noticed by M. Gemez at the meeting of the Academy on March
18. He stated that the most perceptible dark lines coincide with
the luminous bands in the spectrum of sulphur in the flame of
hydrogen. — A letter from M. Donati to M. Delannay, on
auroras and their cosmical origin, was read. The author
considers these phenomena to depend on an exchange of
electricity between the sun and the planets. — M. De&unay
announced the discovery at Bilk by M. Luther on the night of
March 15-16 of a new planet of the eleventh magnitude. The
discoverer proposes to name it Pdtho. — The miserable dispute as
to the priority of the invention of the preservation of wines by
heat was continued by MM. Vergnette-Lamotte, Pasteur, and
Thenard. — M. Wurtz presented a note on a new class of com-
pounds of dulcite with the hydracids bv M. Bouchardat. These
compounds are crystallisable, but rather unstable. — M. Fremy
presented a note by M. Prinvault on the action of bromine upon
protochloride of phosphorus, by which he has obtained some
curious and unexpectea compounds. — A note by M. £. Jannetaz
on a new type of idiocyclophanous crystals was presented by M.
Delafosse. — M. C. Robin communicated a note by M. V. Feltz
on the properties of the bones, in which the author stated that
matters injected into the spongy tissues of the bones in the living
subject are absorbed as rapidly as if they were introduced
directly into the veins, from which he in'^erred that this spongy
tissue is in direct connection with the veins, and must be r^^uded
as forming a system of sinuses. — M. Champouillon, in a note
presented by M. Larrey, stated that putrefaction is much more
rapid in the dead bodies of alcoholised subjects than in those of
comparatively sober individuals. — M. C. Robin presented a note
by MM. Legros and Onimus containing an account of some ex-
periments on spontaneous generation, in which the authors de-
scribe the production of fermentation within an epg penetrated
with sugar by endosmotic action, and afterwards immened in a
fermenting solution of sugar. —A note by M. A. Gris containing
general considerations upon the structure of the bark in the
Eridneae was communicated by M. Brongniart. — M. A. Baudri-
mont read a paper on the existence of mmeral matter in plants,
which contains some interesting results as to the amount of solid
matter in fleshy plants. — M. Roulin presented a note by M.
Triana on the Gonohbus cundurango^ a South American plant,
reputed to furnish a remedy for cancer. — A paper by M. I*
Vaillant on the fossil Crocodiles of Saint- Gerand-le-Puy was
communicated by M. Milne-Edwards. The author described
three species, two belonging to the subgenus Diplocynodon {D.
Ratdli Pomel, and D, gracilis n. sp.), and a true Crocodile allied
to the African species {Croc, aduinus n. sp.)
DIARY
THURSDAY, AraiL xi.
Royal Society, at 8 3a— Researches on Solar Physics —Part 1 II. : W. De
La Rue, FRS., B Stewaut, F.RS, and B. Locary.— The Action of
Oxygen on Copper NitnUe in a Staie of Tension : Dr. Gladstoae, F.K S.,
and A. Tribe.
SociBTV OP Antiquariss, at 8.30.— On some of the Stone Remains of
Brittany : Sir H. £. L. Dry den, Bart.
Matmbmatical Socibty, at 8. — On the Mechanical Description of certata
Sextic Curves : Prof. Cay ley, F.R.S.
Royal Institution, at 3.— Heat and Light : Dr. Tyndall.
London Institution, at 7.30. — On the Distribution of Coal in the Briti&h
Islands, and its probable duration : R. Etheridge, F.R.S.
FRIDAY^ Apkil la.
Astronomical Socisty, at 8.
Royal Institution, at 9 — Rousseau's Influence on European Th )ught :
J. Morley.
QuBKBTT MiCROSConcAL Club, at 8.
SATURDAY^ hx%\\. XI.
Royal Institution, at 3.— -The Star-Depths : R. A Proctor.
GovERNMBNT ScHOOL OP MiNBS, at 8.— On Geology : l>r. Cobbold.
Ji7Ar/>i4K, April 14.
Sunday Lbcturb Society, at 4.-^n iCcher : the Evidence for iu Exist-
ence, and the Phenomena it explains ; Prof. W. K. Clifford.
MONDAY, April 15.
Victoria Institute, at 8.— On the Rationality of the Lower AnimaU ;
Rev. J, G. Wood.
TUESDAY, April 16.
Royal Institution, at 3. — On Statistics, Social Science, and Po!itica
Economy : Dr. Guy.
Zoological Society, at 9.— On the Mechanism of the Gizzard of Birds :
A. H. Garrod. — On a supposed New Monkey from the Sonderbunds to the
East of Calcutta : Dr. John Anderson.
Statistical Socibty, at 7.45.
WEDNESDAY, April 17.
Society op Arts, at 8.— On the Great Central Gas Company's Works :
A Angus CrolL
Royal Society op Literature, at 8.30. — On the Trade of Phoenicia with
Ophir.'Tarshiih, and Briuin : W. S. W. Vaux.
Meteorological Society, at 7.
THURSDAY, April x8.
Royal Society, at 8.3a
Royal Institution, at 3.— On Heat and Light: Prof. Tyndall, F.R S.
Society op Antiquaries, at 6.3a
LiNNEAN Society, at 8 — On Begonitlla, a new genus of Begoniacea: : Prof.
Oliver.— On three new genera of Malayan plants: Prof. ij\rier. — On
Camellia scottiatui and Tertutreemia coriacta : Prof. Dyer.
Chemical Society, at 8.— Notes from the Laboratory of the Andersonian
University ; On a Compound of Sodium and Glycerine ; and On Bcnxyhso-
cyanate and Isocyanurate : £. A Letts.
BOOKS RECEIVED
English .—On Bone Setting: W. P. Hood (Macmitlan and Co.)— The
Natural Hutory of the Year : B. B. Woodward (S. W. Partridge).--The
Journal of Menul Science, No. 45 (Churchill).
CONTENTS Page
Newspapbr Science 457
Grisbbach's Vbgbtation op the Globb 458
Our Book Shblp 459
Letters to thb Editor:—
The Adamites.— C. S. Wak^ ^^
The Aurora of Feb. 4.— A Buchan ; S. Due ; F. G. Bromkbrg a^^
On the Colour of a Hydrogen Flame — ^W. F. Barrett .... 4^'
Barometric Depressions.— w. H. S. MoNCK 4^>
Heigtitof Cirrus Qoud.-R.STRACHAN 4^^
Low Conductivity of Copper Wire 4^^
A Pelagic floating Fish Nest.— J. M Jones 4f>*
••AnOddFi5h."-LieuL J. E Mbryon, R.N 46^
The Law of Variation. -A. J. Warner 462
Actinic Power of the Electric Light.— J. J. Murphy, F.G.S. . . 4^2
Protective Mimicry 463
Cranial Mbasukbmbnts. By LawsonTait, F.R.C.S. 4^3
One Source op Skin Diseases 464
The School op Military Engineering 465
Lyell's Principles op Geology. By T. McK. Hughes. F.G S.
{IVith Illustrafifffu.) ^iS
Notes 46S
Annual Address to the Geological Society op Lonix>n, Feb.
it, x%j» (CoHtiHiud). By J. PRBSTWICH, F.R.S. 470
Scientific Serials 47'
SoaETiBS and Academies 473
Books Rbcbivbo 41^
Diary 476
NOTICE
We beg leave to state thai we decline to return refected communtca'
tions, and to this rule we can make no exception, Communica-
turns respecting Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed
to the Publishers^ NOT to theEdstor.
L/iyiii^cvj kjy
ioogle
NATURE
477
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1872
THE SECOND REPORT OF THE ROYAL COM^
MISSION ON SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTION
AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE
THE Commission has just issued its Second Report,
dealing with the scientific side of the instruction
given in Training Colleges and National Schools, and in
the Science Classes at present conducted by the Science
and Art Department. The report is so long that it is im-
possible to give it injxtenso. It can, however, be easily
obtained, and it should be read by all interested in one of
the most important questions for England just now. Both
with reference to elementary education and the Science
Classes the present condition of things is fully stated,
and this condition is criticised where, in the opinion of
the Commissioners, criticism is necessary. The provi-
sions of the new code we may refer to as a case in point.
The Report concludes with the following recommenda-
tions : —
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTION IN TRAINING COLLEGES AND
ELEMENTARY DAY SCHOOLS
I. We recommend, as regards the elder children in the
elementary schools, that the teaching of such rudiments
of physical science as we have previously indicated should
receive more substantial encouragement than is given in
the regulations of the new code.
II. We recommend, as regards the younger children
that Her Majesty's Inspectors should be directed to
satisfy themselves that such elementary lessons are given
as would prepare these children for the more advanced
instruction which will follow.
III. We recommend that the mode of instruction of
pupil teachers, the conditions of admission to training
colleges, the duration of the course of study in them, and
the syllabus of subjects taught, should be so modified as
to provide for the instruction of students in the elements
of physical science.
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE CLASSES UNDER
THE SCIENCE AND ART DEPARTMENT
IV. We reconmiend that the instruction in Elementary
Science Classes under the Science and Art Department,
be so arranged as to work in complete harmony with the
general system of public elementary education, but, at the
same time, we consider it important that the Education
Department and the Department charged with Instruction
in Science shall continue to be co-ordinate.
V. We recommend that a more efficient inspection of
Elementary Science Classes be organised, and that the
inspectors should advise the local committees and report
on : —
{a) The apparatus of instruction.
{b) The state of the discipliue and methods.
{c) The general efficiency of the arrangements.
VOU V.
VI. We recommend that teachers who have already
qualified by passing the May examination in either of
the advanced classes shall continue to be recognised as
qualified to conduct Elementary Science Classes, with
the title of Elementary Science Teacher, and to earn the
grants awarded by the Department of Science and Art
on the results of the examination of their scholars ; but
that this qualification and title shall in future only
be attainable by passing in the first of the advanced
classes.
VII. We recommend that should such arrangements as
are hereinafter set forth for conducting the practical in-
struction of teachers, and for providing for them practical
examination at several centres, be adopted, all elementary
science teachers shall, after such practical instruction, be
admissible to a further examination, which, in all suitable
subjects, shall be practical We recommend that success
in this examination shall entitle a teacher to a certificate
of Second Grade Science Master.
VIII. We recommend that, as an inducement to
teachers to prepare for and pass this further examination,
payment for results in the case of a Second Grade Science
Master be made at a somewhat higher rate than in that
of the Elementary Science Teacher.
IX. We recommend that an examination, both by
papers and by practical tests, in any group of allied subjects
defined by the Department which the candidate may
select, shall be open to all those teachers who have passed
in the advanced classes, or who have been otherwise
admitted as Science Teachers; and that success in
this examination shall entitle the candidate to receive
a certificate of First Grade Science Master in that
group.
X. We recommend that a greater capitation grant be
payable in respect of the scholars of a First Grade Science
Master teaching in any group of allied subjects with or with-
out assistance, than in respect of the scholars of a Second
Grade Science Master, provided that the Inspector report
that the apparatus is sufficient, and that practical instruc-
tion has been given in each suitable subject.
XI. We recommend that, with a view of maintaining
uniformity of standard in these examinations, they shall
be conducted at the several local centres by the staff of
Examiners acting under the Science and Art Department.
XII. We recommend that the more systematic training
of the teachers of science referred to, be provided for —
{a) By the adoption of special arrangements for this
purpose in the Science School which has been
referred to in our First Report ; and by the
recognition by the Department of similar arrange-
ments for the instruction of this class of students
in any University or College, and in Science
Schools as hereinafter described.
{b) By giving to the students of Training CoUeges the
opportunity of remaining a third year, during
which scientific instruction may either form a
principal part of the curriculum of such Colleges,
or be accessible in some adjacent College or
School of Science approved as efficient for that
purpose.
XIII. We recommend that the Science and Art Depart-
ment be at liberty to dispense with the preceding exami-
L/iyiiiiLcu uy
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478
NATURE
[A/m7 iS.iZ'ji
nations, and to accord the privilege of | First and Second
Grade Science Masters in consideration of University
Examinations in Science, or of a satisfactory course of
study in colleges in which science is taught, as well as in
other cases of obvious scientific qualification.
XIV. We recommend that in schools recognised as
Science Schools, as hereinafter set forth, facilities for the
employment of assistant teachers be afforded as an ex-
periment on a limited scale, some addition being made to the
emoluments of the teacher in consideration of the instruc-
tion afforded ; provided the Department be satisfied, on
the report of an inspector, that such assistant teacher has
received practical instruction in subjects in which it is
prescribed, and that he has been actively engaged in
teaching.
To encourage the more advanced scholars to become
assistant teachers under first grade masters in such
schools, a small stipend, rising in successive years, might
be granted on condition that a like sum was raised locally,
subject to such conditions as the Department might deem
expedient. The proportion of assistant teachers should
not exceed one for every fifteen successful scholars in any
science school, and no scholar should be recognised as an
assistant teacher until he has passed in the first division
of the elementary class in the May examination.
XV. We recommend that, with a view of training First
Grade Science Teachers, exhibitions of sufficient value
and in sufficient numbers be offered to elementary science
teachers and to assistant teachers who have served three
years, and passed in the first division of the advanced
class in the May examinations ; and that such exhibitions
should be tenable in any University, College, or Science
School recognised in Recommendation XII.
XVI. We recommend that the grants made by the
Science and Art Department for buildings be extended,
under sufficient guarantees, so as to embrace institutions
for scientific instruction, although they may not be built
under the Public Libraries Act, or be in connection with
a School of Art.
XVII. We recommend that grants similar to those
now made for apparatus be given for laboratory and
museum fittings under proper guarantees.
XVIII. We recommend that whenever the arrange-
ments for scientific teaching in any institution shall have
attained a considerable degree of completeness and effi-
ciency, such institution be recognised as a Science School,
and be so organised as to become the centre of a group
of Elementary Science Classes ; and to provide the assist-
ance of First Grade Science Masters, the loan of apparatus
and specimens, and the means of instruction in the labo-
ratories and museums to the more advanced students of
the group.
XIX. We recommend that assistance be given for the
formation and maintenance of such Science Schools by
special grants, the conditions of which shall be determined
by regulations to be framed by the Science and Art De-
partment.
XX. We recommend that when laboratories are at-
tached to second grade grammar schools in the schemes
issued by the Endowed Schools Commissioners, the
trustees of such schools be encouraged and enabled to
invite the formation of elementary science classes to be
taught therein.
AMERICAN WAR'OFFICE REPORTS
Report on Barracks and Hospitals^ with Descriptions of
Military Posts. War Department, Surgeon-General's
Office, Washington, December 5, 1870 ; pp. 525.
Approved Plans and Specifications for Post Hospitals,
Surgeon- General's Office, Washington, July 27, 1871 ;
pp. 14.
T^HESE two documents are intended to fulfil for the
■*- United States army the same purpose as the Re-
ports of the Royal Commissions of 1857 and 1863 on the
sanitary state of the British and Indian armies, and the
Report of the Barrack and Hospital Improvement Com-
mission were intended to fulfil for Her Majesty's troops
serving at home and abroad.
The first document contains an excellent general report
by Assistant- Surgeon Billings, followed by a digest of reports
from the posts of the United States army scattered all
over their territory. These reports, besides dealing with
the general sanitary condition and diseases of troops, are
full of interesting general information regarding local
topography, surface geology, hydrography, meteorolog)',
and natural history, having reference to 15 1 points and
districts of the country extending from the lakes to the
mouths of the Mississippi, and from the east of Maine to
the far west of Oregon and California. The reports are
illustrated by topographical plans, showing the outlines of
the more important localities, and also by plans and de-
tails of barrack and hospital arrangements.
The most common diseases to which troops are liable
are malarial fevers, catarrhal affections, diarrhoea, and
dysentery. Malaria appears to exist more or less in all
the military ** departments,** while in Arizona it produces
results of more importance to efficiency than this pest
does in India.
The purely medical details are of more interest to pro-
fessional readers, but it is evident that most of the officers
who have supplied the local information have been fully
alive to the importance of scientific questions generally,
and hence these reports maybe advantageously consulted
by persons interested in the physical geography of this
division of the American continent. In Mr. Billing's re-
port the general results of these district inquiries are given,
and the principles of local improvements are discussed.
Those referring to post hospitals are embodied in the
•* approved plans and specifications," which show simple,
efficient, and economical, methods of erecting hospitals oi
the denomination required. The plans are generally the
same as those proposed by the Army Sanitary Conmiittce
in this country, but they contain one or two of those in-
genious adaptations of principles for which our trans-
atlantic cousins are famous. One of the great difficulties
in American climates is to keep apartments sufficiently
heated and yet to preserve the air from contamination.
In improved barracks and hospitals at home this has
been effected by a peculiar form of fire grate, contrived by
Captain Galton, which, while retaining the advantages of
the open radiating fire, supplies the room with a large
body of fresh air warmed to about 60° F., the chimney
draught being used as a means of removing foul air from
the room. A modification of this contrivance for burning
wood is figured in the report on the Sanitary Improve-
.,.,., ..u by Google
April 18, 1872]
NATURE
479
ment of Indian Stations, drawn up by the Army Sanitary
Committee.
The American contrivance produces the same result in
duplicate by one fire-place intended to be fixed in the
centre of the ward. There are two open fires, one facing
each way. The fresh air to be warmed is passed under
the floor to the space between the backs of the two fires,
and is thence admitted in the room. The arrangement is
simple, and ought to be effective.
It is evident from the reports generally, that much im-
provement is required in existing barracks and hospitals
in the United States, and that overcrowding, defective
ventilation, and other disease causes, still exist there as
they used to do with us. It is a great step towards im-
provement to have an honest statement of defects. We
must congratulate the Surgeon-General's department on
the production of these reports, and express our hope
that the executive authorities may make as good a use of
them as the reporters have done of their opportunities of
acquiring information regarding the stations.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Scottish Meteorology^ from 1856 to 1871. Being a con-
tinued monthly and annual representation of the more
important mean results for the whole country, deduced
at the Royal Observatory. Edinburgh, from the sche-
dules of observation by the Observers of the Scottish
Meteorological Society, for the purposes of the Regis-
trar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Scot-
land. (Edinburgh Astronomical Observations, voLxiii.)
In the Introduction to this work, the Astronomer Royal
for Scotland tells us that it was undertaken at the request
of Government, the application being to deduce from the
observations taken under the auspices of the Scottish
Meteorological Society, "certain monthly and general
results for each and all of the stations, results supposed to
be important for medical climatology and its influence on
population and national welfare." The ways of statisti-
cians are mysterious ; it is difficult to understand what
advantage either to medical climatology, to agriculture,
or, broadly, to national welfare, is to be derived from the
means here printed, means not only of barometric pres-
sure, but of temperature, rain, and hours of sunshine,
including as they do the observations at some 55 stations
scattered over all Scotland, from the Shetland Islands to
Dumfries, from Aberdeen to Islay— places with peculiari-
ties of climate as distinct as could anywhere be found
within anything like equal distances. We suppose, how-
ever, that there is a use for them ; and, that being the
case, they could not be put before the reader with more
beautiful simplicity and clearness than we here find ; but
as we reflect on the enormous amount of skilled labour
which the reductions must have cost, we cannot help
regretting that meteorology can derive no advantage
from it. With this report for "the purposes of the
Registrar- General" is sewn up one of a very different
and highly interesting character, the detailed observa-
tions of the storm which passed over the North of Scot-
land on October 3, i860. These observations describe very
fully a storm of extraordinary intensity, bursting almost
with the suddenness of a meteor on the northern coasts ;
with such suddenness, indeed, that at several of the
stations where the barometer was registered only at in-
tervals of twelve hours, the whole fall, amounting, it would
seem, to about i'8in., and the subsequent rise, passed
quite unnoticed. One point which has been often, though
not verv closely, observed in tropical cyclones, comes out
most (ustinctly — the remarkable rise of the barometer
beyond the limits of the storm, before and after it, in Scot-
land, in England,and France, about the time of itsmeridian
passage. The lowest barometric reading anywhere ob-
served was 28 5 ; this leads us to remark that, in tabulat-
ing the conclusions, the force of the wind has been unin-
tentionally much exaggerated, owing, it appears to us,
to a confusion common to all non- nautical minds between
the land scale, which numbers from o to 6, and the Beau-
fort, or sea scale, which numbers from o to 12 ; for the
one is not to be converted into the other by simply
doubling ; and the shore 6, far from being the equivalent
of the Beaufort 12, is more nearly represented by 9 to 10,
or at the outside by 10, which may be considered as cor-
responding to a velocity of about 80 miles an hour. In
the discussion of the observations of this storm, many
points of great interest arise : amongst others, the rela-
tionship between wind and pressure, the howling of the
wind, and the ascensional motion of the air near the
centre. The curt, able, cautious, and suggestive treatment
of these is such as we might expect from the high standing
of Prof. Smyth, and leaves little to be wished for except
time for meditation. J. K. L. .
The Deviation of the Compass in Iron Ships considered
practically for Sea Use, and for the Board of Trade
Examinations, By W. H. Rosser. ("London : Long-
mans.)
In this small treatise the Deviation of the Compass in iron
ships is professedly dealt with as a matter of observation,
and distinct generally from magnetic science and the
mathematical mvestigations based thereon. Mr. Rosser's
long experience both as a " teacher " of officers in the
mercantile marine, and an adjuster of compasses for the
stfips of that service, has enabled him to produce a work
calculated to give those with whom he has been so long
associated good practical information. The articles on
the compass equipment of ships and the heeling error are
judiciously given, and rightly occupy a prominent place.
Whilst, however, thus commending the work, it must be
regarded as meeting only a present and passing want ;
for from the absence of many theoretical, but not neces-
sarily abstruse, details, the subject even as presented from
a practical point of view cannot be considered as grasped
with that entirety which certainly belongs to it. Those
theoretical deductions which have been practically con-
firmed are further requisite in the advanced examinations
instituted by the Board of Trade, and are, moreover, to
be found in the several manuals compiled under the Ad-
miralty and Board of Trade auspices.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[The Editor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Error in Humboldt's Cosmos
I BEG to call the attention of geometers to what appears to
me to be an inaccuracy in a work, which is, perhaps, the last
which one would suspect to be capable of error— the " Cosmos "
of Humboldt.
In vol i. p. 293, he sajrs, **l have found by a laborious in-
vestigation, which, from its nature, can only give a maximum
limit, that the centre of gravity of the land at present above the
level of the ocean is, in Europe, 630 ; in N. America, 702 ; in
Asia, 1,062 ; and in S. America, 1,080 French feet (or 671, 748,
1,132, and 1,151 English feet) above the level of the sea." Sir
Jolm Herschcl in his "Physical Geography" (Encylop. Britt.)
quotes these numbers of Humboldt as giving the height of the
centre of gravity of these continents ; and adds, *' whence it fol-
lows, that the mean elevation of their surfaces (the doubles of
these) arc respectively 1,342, 1,496, 2,264, and 2,302." Herschcl's
conclusion is, of course, just, if Humboldt meant what he seems
to say. But at the risk of being thought most presumptuous, I
submit that Humboldt meant the height of the centre of gravity
of the surface of the land ; in other words, the mean hoght of
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<3^'
48o
NATURE
{April i8. 1872
the land ; and by thus misleading Sir John Herschel he has by
a coup deplume doubled all our continents.
1. In the first volume of his '* Asie Centrales" p. 165, writing
on " la hauteur moyenne des continents," Humboldt says, "en
cherchant 4 ^valuer 1' elevation moyenne de la hauteur des divers
continents, c'est ^ dire la position du centre de gravity du volume
des terres ^lev^es audessus du niveau actuel des eaux. . . /'
It thus appears that Humboldt used the words " hauteur mo-
yenne," and "hauteur du centre de gravity du volume," as
equivsdent expressions, which I submit they are not Had he
said "centre de gravity de la surface," he would have been
right, for that height is the mean height.
2. But though inaccurate in expression, Humboldt could never
be other than right in principle. Fortunately in the "Asie
Centrale " he describes with much detail the process by which
he arrives at his so-called "centre de gravity du volume" ; and the
process legitimately leads to the mean height He divides the
continent mto great areas, which I shall call a^ a^, a^ . . .
finds the mean height of each 5^, d^, ^3, . . • by taking the
mean of several ; and then the mean height is
ai di + a^ d^ + a^ d^ . . .
«i + a, + flj . . .
A range of mountains he r^ards as a triangular prism ; and
to find its mass he multiplies me area of the base by half the
mean height, and then computes how much this would raise the
whole country if spread over it ; and the former number thus in-
creased is, as is plain, the mean height.
3. Arago, in his " Astronomic Populaire," cites the labours of
Humboldt with approbation, goes over all the details, adds a
vast number more, and deduces numbers approximately the
same for the mean height of land. Arago, it is to be observed,
invariably uses the phrase "hauteur moyenne." Like Humboldt,
he considers that the mean of all the continents lies between 900
and 1,000 feet
4. Humboldt (Note 360, " Cosmos ") apologises for difTerpg
from La Place, who, he says, made the mean height of conti-
nents more than three times too great Now La Place's estimate
was 3,078 feet.
I conclude, therefore, with the greatest deference, that Hum-
boldt's "centre de gravite du volume" is an inaccurate ex-
pression, and that he meant "centre de gravity de la surface," or
mean height If this be so. Sir John Herschel has Jbeen led
into the error of doubling our continents, which he estimates
at a mean- elevation of 1,800 feet
It is a matter of some importance ; for Sir Charles Lyell
computes that the continent of N. America will be utterly
washed away into the ocean by the ordinary processes of de-
gradation in four and a half millions of years. If, indeed,
this ]>eriod is to be doubled, we can take a more cheerful
view of the future of that continent But I greatly fear with
Sir Charles that it is limited to four and a half millions of
years, unless some upheaval of the land shall protect its short
span of existence. John Carrick Moore
113, Eaton Square, March 28
Conscious Mimicry
The idea of mimicry in animals being induced through the
sense of sight appears to me to deserve more than a passing
notice of M. G. Pouchet's statement that changes of colour in
prawns, to accommodate them to the colour of surrounding
objects, are prevented by removing the eyes of the prawns.
In 1869 I expressed my belief that such was the case, and
endeavoured to embrace a lax^e class of phenomena, as well as
mimicry, within the same instrumentality. I allude to the
asserted cases of the human or other foetus being affected through
the sense of sight of the mother. But on ascertaining the views
of many able medical men, as well as of scientific naturalists,
I found opinions so divided on the matter that I did not think it
desirable to pursue further inquiries, nor publish my memoranda
made at the time. I could not bring myself to see that natural
selection alone could produce mimicry. If it were of rare
occurrence it would be called a remarkable coincidence, and
might reasonably be due to selection, but what is really very
general becomes a law, and must be traced to some far more
" regular " influence than nUural selection.
In basing the idea of mimicry in general upon the supposed
act of the toetns being susceptible tluough the mother's «ense of
sight, one is aware of the critical nature of the ground adopted,
and that possibly nine-tenths of the cases recorded must be pat
aside as worthless ; but I have strong leasoai for believing the
one- tenth at least to have been true.
On the other hand, the experiments of Mr. Leslie on the
caterpillars of Pontia Rapa, which when enclosed, some in black
and others in white boxes, produced chrysalises respectively
modified to suit the colour of the box {Sc. Gossips 1867, p. 261),
appear to support my view, as also do those of Mr. Robert
Holland {lb. p. 279), in which the cocoons of the Emperor
moth spun in white paper were white, while those on soil or ia
dead grass were brown. G. IIenslow
The Adamites
Mr. C. Staniland Wake objects to my remarks on hb paper
on the " Adamites," which paper he protests is "written at least
in a truly scientific spirit" This, I venture to say, is just Mr.
Wake's error. He does not seem to be aware that comparative
philology has a scientific method, and that words have to be
compared by sound and structure according to fixed and even
strict principles. Mr. Wake comes upon a Sanscrit word pita^
father, and finds in it a primitive root /a, which he compares
with another syllable ta got by cutting in two in the same way
an Arabic verb, *ata. Had he looked into the structure of San-
scrit, he would have found ih2Xfita is the nominative case, and
precisely the one that does not show the real crude-form of the
word, which ispitar, the tar being a suffix. If it is lawful (0
compare languages by cutting words up anyhow and finding re-
semblances among the bits, of course connections may be found
between any languages whatsoever. In the same easy way Mr.
Wake finds a relation in Polynesian mythology between a divine
being called Taata (by the way, he should have taken the name
in one of its fuller forms, such as Tamata or Tangata), and
another divine being called Tiki. But these are two different
gods with different attributes, why should their names be altered
to make them into one ?
Mr. Wake thinks it nonsense for me to have set up an imaginary
derivation iox Paddy and Taffy, as commemorating the same
ancestor Ad or Ta, from whom he traces Akkad and Taata. Bat
of all ways of testing methods, one of the most useful is to try
whether they can be made to prove transparent nonsense. If
they can, it is evident that the method wants correction. As for
my communication to you being anonymous, it was so for much
the same reason that Mr. Wake's name was not mentioned in it,
viz. , that it is best to keep the personal element in the background
in such matters, and the paper itself is the thing to be judged by.
M. A. L
If your correspondent, " M. A. I.," instead of endeavouring
to negative the conclusions of Mr. Wake's paper "by such
nonsense as the reference to Paddy and Taffy," as the author of
the paper justly observes, had brought forward the word Adam
itself, and shown that, by dividing it into Ad and am, and prefix-
ing its consonant in each case, we obtain Dad and Mam, father
and mother, he might have been held to have been critical, as
well as satirical.
I believe, however, that Mr. Wake is wholly wrong in his
conclusions, simply because his premisses are wholly wrong.
The word Adam has nothing of the meaning o\ father in it
The Ad, which Mr. Wake has so ingeniously made so much of,
should for his argument be the Hebrew Ab, Arabic Aba, a
father. To suppose that the word Adam has anything of the
meaning oi father in it shows a complete disregard ot its root-
meaning. In Hebrew the verb adam means he toas redox brmvn,
and the substantive Adam means a red or a brown man. The
word Edom is from the same root, and means the Red land, pro-
bably because Red Sandstone constitutes its principal geological
formation, and even adamah, the ground, is so called because ol
its reddish or dark brown colour. The Scripture narrative of the
origin of man is that the Creator formed " the Adam (or man)
of the dust of the adamah (or ground)."
If Mr. Wake's object had been to show that the Adamites
were derived from the earth or earth-'honi, he would have found
little difficulty both by internal and external evidence ; he might
have instanced the autochthones of the Greeks, the homines
{humus, the ground), of the Latins, the jrellow-earth men of the
Chinese, and the red-day men of the North American Indians.
April IS B. G. Jewkins
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April li, 1872J
NATURE
481
On the Colour of a Hydrogen Flame
Accepting, for the time being, the experiments of Mr.
Barrett as sufficient proof that a pure hydrogen flame does not
exhibit a blue colour, my "elaborate theory" must, I suppose,
seek refuge under the actinic power of the electric light
Mr. Murphy refers thisactmism to the fact "that the electric
light is bitter than solar light" the blue rays of the sun's li^ht
having been abstracted by absorption. This is a bare fact, and
deals solely iwith the relative proportions of the different coloured
rays which reach ns from the two sources — it conveys no clue to
the reason why the blue rays have an entity in the first instance.
I would not have it understood that I consider all the high
refrangible rays to be due to secondary waves ; but I think it
possible that some, at least, of those emitted from sources of a
very high temperature may owe their existence to this cause.
Considering for the moment the electric light, we have a centre
of the most intense commotion sending off waves in all direc-
tions— a condition necessary, and at the same time eminently
favourable, for the production of secondary waves.
With respect to Mr. Barrett's experiments, I irtend to repeat
them as soon as I can command the time. The absence of the
higher refrang.ble rays in a hydrogen flame does not, however,
affect the mechanical possibility of the existence of secondary
waves ; although it would be reasonable to expect their presence
in a pure oxy-hydrogen flame, the amplitude of the disturbed
particles being necessarily very great. A. G. Mkeze
Hartley Institution, Southampton, April 15.
Another Aurora
A MAGNIFICENT aurora, scarcely inferior to that of February
4, was observed here on the evening of the loth inst., between
S'' 30" and Qh 3o°».
The display was at its greatest beauty about 9^ o", when the
creamy- white streamers attained an altitude of at least 60° above
the N. horizon, and formed a fine contrast with a pale rose-pink
background. The streamers appeared to proceed from behind a
dense mass of stratus cloud wnich, although a moderate breeze
was blowing from the S.W., remained almost stationary and un-
altered during the display. The N. horizon was lighted up with
a glow as intense as tne early twilight on an evening in June.
With a small direct- vision spectroscope by Browning, I could
see the line in the green near F, but no others. It was remark-
ably bright and sharply defined.
Bedford, April 12 Thos. Gwyn E. Elgkr
Brilliant Meteor
Yesterday afternoon, whilst standing on the lawn of the
Observatory with my back to the sim, which was brightly
shining, I saw a splendid meteor fall in the south-east. The
sky at the time was of an intense blue and cloudless, with the
exception of a few drri in the north and north-west, and the
meteor as seen against it presented the appearance of polished
silver. The flight of the meteor was almost vertical at an altitude
of about 30**, its extent was about 10°, and the trail which seemed
to hang in the air and fade away like the trail of a rocket, was
at the instant of explosion probably 3** in length. There was no
report accompanying its disruption, or it would certainly have
been heard, the neighbourhood being veir still at the time.
Immediately on its disappearance I looked at my watch, it
was ^ 36' P.M. G.M.T.
Had the fall occurred after dark I have no doubt but that the
meteor would have exhibited a magnificent spectacle, for its
brilliancy far exceeded that of the moon as seen by daylight.
During the aurora on the evening of the loth I observed at
9.16 P.M. a peculiar well-defined patch or short band of bright
red light, the position of which, as seen from here, was N.N.E.
altitude 40** to 45". Perhaps other observers may have noticed
it, and their observations will give data which may serve to
assist in determining the true height of the auroral discharge.
The magnetic disturbance on the loth commenced abruptly at
2 P.M., and was ereatest durinjg the hours of daylight, so it is
extremely probable, the sky being but partially clouded, that if
the aurora was visible before night, some ol»ervers may have
seen Ir. I cannot say I have ever seen it myself in the daytime,
although I have repeatedly seen cirrus clouds assuming a form
very similar to auroral streamers. However, on looking at the
masnets and finding them undisturbed at the time, I have con-
cluded that no aurora was taking place.
Kew Observatory, April 13 G. Mathus Whipple
Tide Gauges
The subject of the tides is now one in which much interest is
taken by the committee of the British Assiociation, and it would
be a great boon to many who are in a position to give attention
to it, if some of your readers would supply a description of a
self- registering gauge for recording the heights, which should do
its work effectively and not very expensively. Many plans are
suggested ; the difficulty is to know which is the best.
Vicarage, Fleetwood, April 11 James Pearson
NOTES ON THE RAINFALL OF 1871
'T^HE following are a few particulars of the rainfall of
-■' the past year, deduced from daily observations with
G!aisher*s (HaiVs improved) rain gauge* at Fulwell,+
near Twickenham, Middlesex, the place of observation
being in lat 51** 26' o" N. long, o^ 20' 53^ W.
The orifice, or receiving surface of the gauge, which is
placed horizontally, is 800 inches in diameter (50'26 in
area), the height of the same above the ground being one
foot, and, as determined by spirit levelling from Ordnance
B.M., 47 feet above mean sea-level.
^ The results of the observations have been calculated in
the imperial system, and metric equivalents are placed in
brackets, the use of which (brackets), for the sake of
distinction, has been avoided in ^1 other formulae ; they
have, in each instance, been calculated to two or three
places of decimals, but are here given, so far as is practi-
cable, in whole numbers ; the nearest integer, in each
instance, having been taken ; they have further been
calculated upon the hypothesis that the rain/all was equally
distributed.
In the following table : —
a = depth of rainfall in inches ) Total fall
/3 = depth in centimetres j per month,
number of gallons ) Equivalents
= number of hectolitres J per acre.
I
January .
February
March .
April
May . .
June . .
uly . .
August .
September
October .
November
December
/3
203
SI56
I 00
2540
108
2743
352
0*62
8941
1*575
321
8153
300
7620
093
2362
420
IO-668
I'lO
2794
054
"•372
119
3023
45,675
22,500
24.300
79.200
13,950
72,225
67,500
20,925
94.500
24.750
12.150
26,775
2,074
1,022
1,105
3,596
633
3,279
3.065
950
4,291
1,124
1,216
The total depth during the year was 22*42 in., or 56*947
centitnetres.
The rainfall on a square mile during the year was
22,500 X 640 X 22*42 = 322,848,000 gallons (-!-22*o24 =
14,658,918 hectolitres), or 640 X 4840 X 9 X 2242 -f- 12
= 52,086,144 cubic feet (-i- 35*31658 = 1,474,835 cubic
metres).
A cubic inch of distilled water at a temperature of
62' Fahr. (i6*66 C.)isa standard of weight ; this quantity
has been determined to weigh 252*458 grains, of which
437*5 make one ounce Av. ,% therefore, a cubic foot weighs
! YM* Scientific opinion^ Vol. iii., pp. 499, 44Q (May x8, 1870).
t Although the ohscrvftiions refer eftpeaally to this locality, they will
probably be scarcely the les» interesting.
I Practical Mete0r»hgy, by John Drew, PhJ>.,^e^ 197, p. X90|
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NATURE
{April \%,\%Ti.
252'4s8 X 1728 „ 997'i37 oz. Av. ; hence we may as-
sume that the entire weight of water which fell on one
square mUe was 52,086,144 X 997-137 ^ ,,449,^36 tons,
(-J. -984 — 1^72,699 milliers). Some idea of this enor-
mous quantity will be afforded by the following illustra-
tions.
The Thames at London Bridge is, at low water, nearly
700 feet wide,* and from 12 to 13 (say 12 5) feet deep.
We will, for the sake of argument, assume the sectional
area throughout to be 7<» X 12-5 = 8,750 square feet.
The amount of rainfall on a square mile was equivalent
to a volume of water corresponding in sectional area to
the Thames at London Bridge, and extendingg-^^-^^=
1*127 miles in length ; in other words, it would extend
from London Bridge, past Cannon Street (Railway), South-
warkandBlackfriars (Railway and Road) Bridges, to about
Somerset House, or nearly to Waterloo Bridge.
The same quantity of water would equal the contents
of a river or canal having an uniform width of 20 feet, and
depth of 5 feet— the sectional area being too feet — extend-
ing nearly 99 miles, or 159 kilometres in length.
The cubic contents of a sphere are f of that of a cylinder
of the same diameter and altitude. But the altitude being
equal to the diameter, and % of 7854 being '5236, the con-
tents may be expressed as 1 have arranged it in the follow-
ing formula. Calling A the diameter, and x the cubic
contents required, we have
A^ X -5236 = X,
or the reverse, calling C the cubic contents and x the
diameter required.
3/ C
— X,
</
'5236
By these formulae I have determined that the rainfall
on a square mile — ^under the conditions mentioned in
paragraph 3— was equivalent to a globe of water 463 ft.
m diameter (approximate), a height exceeding that of the
top of the cross surmounting the dome above the pave-
ment of the churchyard of St Paul's Cathedral (370 ft.t)
by 93 ft.
The same quantity of water was equivalent to the fol-
lowing : —
A circular column of water 144 ft. in diameter (corre-
sponding to that of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral — in-
terior surfacfet). rising to a height of 3,198 ft.; in other
words, it would be upwards of 8J times the height of the
cross before-mentioned.
Or, with regard to specific gravity : —
A circular column of lead (cast)§ of the same diameter
(144 ft. — a cubic foot being taken as 7 10 lbs., or 1 1,360 oz.)
containing 4,571,921 cubic fL, and rising to a height of
278 ft,
A circular column of granite (Aberdeen) of the same
diameter, a cubic foot being taken as 2,690 oz.,|| containing
19,307,443 cubic feet, and rising to a height of 1,184 ft.
But perhaps the most remarkable illustration will be
afforded by comparing the weight of this quantity of water
to a corresponding weight contained in, say, a num-
ber of railway coal waggons. Railway coal waggons
are constructed to carry, on an average, from eight to ten
tons. Let us assume it as the former of the two, and
the average length of a number of waggons as 16 feet
* I quote this from a paper "On the Ratnbll of Devonshire," by W.
Pengelly, Esq., F.R.S., ScietUific Opinion^Voi. i.p. 137. (From the Trans-
actions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, 1868.)
TTie depth is confirmed in the Encycloj^dta Brtttanica, Vol xxi p. 163.
t EHcyclopadia Britinnita, vol. xiii. p. 670.
X From the Cathedral authorities.
I '* Sprague's Pocket Tables (Architects and Surveyors)/' p. 9.
each from buffer to buffer. It would require no less than
181,142 such waggons to carry a corresponding weight of
coal (or 3,623 heavy trains of fifty waggons each) which
would, when close coupled, i.<f., buffer to buflfer, extend
over a distance of nearly 549 miles (883 kilometres)
represented very nearly by the distance from London
(Euston Station) to Aberdeen vid Rugby, Stafford, Crewe,
Carlisle, Glasgow, and Perth (London and North Western
and Caledonian Railways). An express train, travelling
at an uniform speed of sixty miles per hour, would take
upwards of nine hours to run this distance, in other words,
to pass this number of waggons ; or, if I may indulge in
another illustration, this number of waggons would, if
travelling at an uniform rate of twenty-five miles per
hour — which is about the average rate of goods trains-
be nearly twenty-two hours in passing any given point,
such, for instance, as a station. (Aberdeen is upwards
of 130 miles N.N.E. of Edinburgh by the Caledonian
Railway — Eastern route from London.)
Such a means of illustration as the one I have here
set forth may not be considered in all respects strictly
scientific ; it has nevertheless this advantage, it enables
us to comprehend something of the truth and magnitude
of the subject — although deeding with hypotheses — where
mere abstract figures would fail to produce anything like
a similar result. JOHN James Hall
ON CERTAIN PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED
WITH A HYDROGEN FLAME
PHENOMENA of much interest and possibly of
future usefulness are associated with the combustion
of ordinary hydrogen.
L To study these phenomena free from disturbing
causes three things should be attended to, although the
effects to be described can be obtained without any special
precaution.
{a) The gas must be stored and purified in the ordinary
way, namely, by passing into a gas-holder through a
solution of potash, and then through a solution of per-
chloride of mercury or nitrate of silver.
{b) From the holder the gas must be led through red
or black india-rubber tubing to a platinum, or better, a
steatite jet.
(c) And then the gas should be burnt in a perfectly
dark room, and amid calm and dustless air.
II. In this way the fiame gives a faint reddish brown
colour, invisible in bright daylight. Issuing from a
narrow jet in a dark room, a stream of luminosity, more
than six times the length of the fiame, is seen to stretch
upward from the burning hydrogen. This weird ap-
pearance is probably caused by the swifter flow of the
particles of gas in the centre of the tube. The central
particles as they shoot upward are protected awhile by
their neighbours ; metaphorically, they are hindered from
entering the fiery ordeal which dooms them finally to a
watery grave. Dr. Tyndall has shown that the radia-
tion from burning hydogen is hugely ultra-red, and
moreover, that it has not the quality of the radiation from
an elementary body like hydrogen, but practically is found
to be the radiation from molecules of incandescent steam.
So that, except at its base, a hydrogen flame is a hollow^
stream of glowing water raised to a prodigious heat
III. Bringing the flame into contact with solid bodies,
in many cases phosphorescent effects are produced. Thus
allowing the flame to play for a moment on sand paper
and then promptly extinguishing the gas, a vivid green,
phosphorescence remains for some seconds. The ap-
pearance is a beiutiful one, as a luminous and perfect
section of the hollow flame is depicted. Similar phospho-
rescence is produced by the flame on white writing paper,
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April 18, 1872]
NATURE
483
or on marble, or chalk, or granite, or gypsum^ &c. But
no such effect is produced by coal gas, or olefiant or
marsh gas. It is evidently a question of temperature, as
oxygen g^ven through coal gas shows the phosphorescence
well.
IV. Far exceeding in generality the effect just noticed
is a really magnificent blue intake of the flame that starts
up on almost every substance wiUi which the flame is
brought into contact. I have already drawn attention to
this effect in the Phil. Mag. for November 1865, and in
my letter of last week pointed out how the same effect
has more recently formed the subject of a memoir, pre-
sented through M. Wurtz to tne Paris Academy of
Sciences, the author of that paper evidently being unaware
that the subject had already been investigated by myself.
The appearance is as follows: When the hydrogen
flame is brought either vertically or sideways, say, upon a
white plate or a block of marble, there instantly appears a
deep blue and glowing impression of the exact size and
shape of the hoUow flame. The moment the gas is extin-
guished, or the flame removed to the slightest distance
from the solid, the efiect as instantly ceases. If the flame
be brought successively to the same spot on the solid, the
effect grows fainter and finally vanishes, but instantly re-
appears upon an adjoining portion.
Other combustible gases, such as carbonic oxide, or
marsh gas, or olefiant, or coal gas, do not yield this effect,
nor does any lamp flame, luminous or otherwise ; nor is
it obtained in the oxidising flame of an ordinary blow-
pipe ; but it is imperfectly produced in the reducing flame
when coal gas is used ; it is not seen when oxygen is driven
through coal gas, imless the latter be in excess, and it is
poorer and vanishes more quickly with the oxyhydrogen
flame than with hydrogen alone. This blue luminosity is,
therefore, not a question of heat, but some property de-
pending either on (a) the chemical nature of hydrogen, or
on (/3) the physical effect of its radiation. At first I
thought it was the latter, and that it was a new form of
fluorescence, so closely did it resemble those phenomena.
But after a week's incessant experimenting, the true cause
was hunted down, and found to be dependent on the
former effect (a), and in every case ultimately due to the
presence of sulphur, A chemically clean body, or a
freshly broken surface, did not show the blue coloration ;
but after exposure for a short time to the air of London,
the substance invariably yielded the blueness ; this, how-
ever, was not the case when the clean surface was
covered by a shade, or exposed to the air of the open
country. The combustion of coal gas and coal fires
yields sulphate of ammonia, a body often deposited
in acicular crystals in the glass tubes in a labora-
tory. Sulphate of ammonia is decomposed by a hydro-
gen flame, and when that salt is brought into contact
with burning hydrogen, it permanently yields the blue
colorescence. Hence this body is probably the main
source of the blueness seen whenever a hydrogen flame
comes into contact with glass tubes or a dirty surface.
This effect must repeatedly have been seen by every one
who has experimented on singing flames.
When the blueness, as is so often the case, is seen tinging
the flame itself, without contact with anybody, the sulphur
is derived either from the vulcanised tubing, the dust of
which is taken up by the passing gas ; or if the hydrogen be
burnt from the bottle generating it, the blueness is due to
the decomposition of the sulphuric acid spray, as will
be shown further on.
As a chemical re-agent for detecting sulphur, the deli-
cacy of a hydrogen flame is extraordinary. This fact was
estimated as follows :— Pure precipitated silica yields no
blueness with the flame ; 500 grains of silica were inti-
mately mingled with one grain of milk of sulphur. Less
than a jiffth of a grain of this mixture was thrown on the
surface of pure water or placed upon chemically clean
platinum foil. The water is best, but in either case the
blue colour (absent before) now shot forth on bringing the
hydro^n flame down. Tried again and again with fresh
portions, the effect was very evident, but quickly vanished.
The sulphur in a similar portion of the mixture could not
be detected chemically by nitro-prusside of sodium. The
wonderful sensitiveness of the flame may be still better
seen in another way. Immediately after washing, the
fingers show no colour when brought for a moment into
the flame, but if a white india-rubber tube be touched
ever so lightly, the fingers not only show a vivid blueness,
but for some time any clean object touched by them, such
as platinum foil, shows traces of sulphur by the appearance
of the blue coloration with the flame. A block of melting
ice continually weeps itself free from dust, and thus presents
an excellent surface upon which to try the foregoing experi-
ment. Or a plate of platinum, after heating to redness, may
be written over with a stick of sulphur. If kept covered,
the invisible letters may long after be traced out by sweep-
ing the hydrogen flame over the surface of the platinum.
Examined through a prism, the blueness derived from
any source shows blue and green bands, similar to the
spectrum of sulphur, but I have noticed also a red band.
This mode of obtaining a sulphur spectrum suggests fur-
ther inquiry. White marble smeared over with a bit of
sulphur, or with vulcanised rubber tubing, is a convenient
source for obtaining the effect at pleasure.
Some sulphates and sulphides show the blueness with
the flame, and are evidently decomposed by the hydro-
gen. Thus sulphate of soda gives no blue appearance,
whilst sulphate of ammonia, or alum, does.
V. Vanous liquids were tried in contact with the flame.
Sulphuric acid was very notable. Here a magnificent
blue effect was observed. For persistence and brilliancy
of the colour, this experiment leaves nothing to be desired ;
the spectrum is very fine. If the liquid is in a glass dish
when the flame is brought vertically down, the blueness
lights up the glass in a lovely manner.*
VI. But the presence of sulphur is by no means the
only body that a hydrogen flame reveals. The least trace
of phosphorus is detected by the production of a vivid
green light It is striking to notice the wonderful sub-
division of matter in these experiments, and how an
immeasurable trace of an element can evoke pronounced
and apparently disproportionate effects.
Might not this ready detection of minute quantities of
sulphur and phosphorus be of use in the manufacture of
iron ; and might not hydrogen introduced into the molten
metal be employed for the removal of these great enemies
of the iron worker t I speak ignorantly.
VII. Among the range of substances I have tried, tin
was found to yield the most conspicuous effect, after the
bodies named. A fine scarlet colour is almost instantly
produced when the hydrogen flame is brought into con-
tact with tin or any alloy of tin. Tin is somewhat
volatile, and its spectrum is rich in red rays. The tin
must be clean ; or the sulphur blue, which is much brighter,
will mask the effect. A charming experiment may be
made by partially scraping a soiled surface of tin ; the
blue and the scarlet colours mingle, and a lovely purple
is the result. When a trace of phosphorus is present
there may be obtained a green belt encircling a rich blue,
then a purple zone, and finally a glowing scarlet at the
root of the flame. These colours, it must be remembered,
are not imparted to the flame, but reside on the surface
of the body which the flame touches. And where the
combustion of the hydrogen is complete, as in the upper
part of the flame, or in the luminous stream referred to
(I I.), these effects are not produced, they are bestdeveloped
at the root of the flame.
VIII. Passing from liquids and solids, I next tried
gases in contact with the flame of hydrogen. Many gases
imparted a colour to the flame, but here the effect was
* With all liquids, but best with mercurvt m fine mutical note can be ob-
tained by causing the jet to dip juu below tht soHkoe of the liquid.
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484
NATURE
\April 1 8, 1872
different to that previously noticed. The whole flame was
tinged with the colour imparted to it. A mere ti^ce of
hydrochloric acid gas imparts a reddish brown to the
flame; ammonia gas gives a yellow, and bums freely.
It is striking to note the combustion of ammonia gas
rising from an unstopped bottle that contains the usual
solution and which is placed below the flame.
But carbonic acid gas yields the most striking result in
contact with the flame. A pale lilac tinge is instantly
produced by a stream of this gas. This, I imagine, is
due to the decomposition of the carbonic acid by the
hydrogen, and the production and combustion of carbonic
oxide. For it is at the lower part of the flame that the
effect is most marked. One per cent, of pure carbonic
acid admitted to a jar of air, can be detected on holding
the jar over the flame. The breath, of course, shows the
effect most strikingly.
IX. Here, then is an eminently practical method of noting
the presence of vitiated air in rooms or public buildings.
A continuous hydrogen apparatus mignt be employed
with a wash bulb attached. The flame might be burnt
from a brass burner or lava jet, placed within a blackened
tin cylinder. Opposite the flame a hole might be pierced
in the cylinder, and closed by a lens for better viewing
the flame within. As soon as the atmosphere in a room
becomes unpleasantly vitiated the flame would indicate
the fact by its changed colour. A similar apparatus
might likewise be employed by miners : in metal mines as
a warning against impure air, and in coal mines as a de-
tector of fire damp. In this latter case the ends of the
cylinder could be covered with wire gauze.
To this practical aspect of the question I am now giving
such little leisure as I possess.
The results thus briefly described demonstrate —
1. That the combustion of hydrogen exhibits some
physical peculiarities, and produces phosphorescence on
many substances with which it comes in contact.
2. That the blueness so often seen in a hydrogen flame
is due to the presence of sulphur, derived either from the
vulcanised rubber tubing^ or from atmospheric dust, or
from the decomposition of^ the sulphuric acid spray from
the generator.
3|. That a flame of hydrogen forms an exceeedingly
delicate re-agent for the detection of sulphur or phos-
phorus, and possibly also of tin.
4. That many sulphates, and also carbonic acid, are
apparently decomposed by a hydrogen flame.
5. That a hydrogen flame is further a test for the pre-
sence of some gases, notably carbonic acid.
6. That these results are capable of practical applica-
tion. W. F. Barrett
International College, Spring Grove, W.
THE INHABITANTS OF THE MAMMOTH
CAVE OF KENTUCKY
Crustaceans and Insects
(Concluded from page 448)
NEXT to the blind fish, the blind crawfish attracts the
attention of visitors to the cave. This is the Cambarus
pelluctdus (Fig. 10, p. 486, from Hagen's monograph of the
North American Astacidae) first described by Dr. TeU-
kampf. He remarks that " the eyes are rudimentary in the
adults, but are larger in the young." We might add that
this is an evidence that the embryo develops like those of
the other species ; and that the inheritance of the blind
condition is probably due to causes first acting on the
adults and transmitted to their young, until the produc-
tion of offspring that become blind becomes a habit. This
is a partial proof at least that the characters separating
the genera and species of animals are those inherited from
adults, modified by their physical surroundings and adap-
tations to changing conditions of We, inducing certain
alterations in parts which have been transmitted with
more or less rapidity, and become finally fixed and
habituaL Prof. Hagen has seen a female of Cambarus
Battonii from Mammoth Cave, '' with the eyes well de-
veloped,'' and a specimen was also found by Mr. Cooke.
Prof. Hagen remarks that " C pelluctdus is the most
aberrant species of the genus. The eyes are atrophied,
smaller at the base, conical, instead of cylindrical and
elongated, as in the other species. The cornea exists, but
is small, circular, and not faceted ; the optic fibres and
the dark-coloured pigments surrounding them in all other
species are not developed." It seems difficult for one to
imagine that our blind crawfish was created suddenly,
without the intervention of secondary laws, for there are
the eyes more perfect in the young than the adult ^ thus
pointing back to ancestors unlike the species now ex-
isting. We can now understand, why embryologists
are anxiously studying the embryology of animals to
see what organs or characteristics are inherited, and what
originate de novo, thus building up genealogies, and form-
ing almost a new department of science, — comparative
embryology in its truest and widest sense.
Of all the animals found in caves, either in this country
or Europe, perhaps the most strange and unexpected is
the little creature of which we now speak. It is an Isopod
crustacean, of which the pill bugs or sow bugs are ex-
amples. A true species of piU bug {Titanethes albus
Schiddte) inhabits the caves of Camiolia, and it is easy to
believe that one of the numerous species of this group may
have become isolated in these caves and modified into its
present form. So also with the blind Ntphargus stygius
of Europe, allied to the fresh water Ganmoarus so abun-
dant in pools of fresh water. We can also imagine how
a species of Asellus, a fresh water Isopod, could represent
the Idoteidae in our caves, and one may yet be found;
but how the present form became a cave dweller is diffi-
cult of explanation, as its nearest allies are certain species
of Idotea which are all marine, with the exception of two
species : /. entomon^ living in the sea and also in the
depths of the Swedish lakes, as discovered by Loven, the
distinguished Swedish naturalist, while a species repre-
senting this has been detected by Dr. Stimpson at the
bottom of Lake Michigan. Our cave dweller is nearly
allied to Idotea, but differs in being blind, and in other
particulars, and may be called Cacidotea stygicu* (Fig.
1 1 side view, enlarged ; Fig. 1 2 dorsal view ; b^ inner
antenna ; r, ist leg.) It was found creeping over the fine
sandy bottom, in company with the Campodea, in a shal-
low pool of water four or five miles from the mouth of the
cave.
This closes our list of known articulates from this and
other caves in this country, the result of slight explora-
tions by a few individuals. The number will doubtless be
increased by future research. It is to be hoped that our
western naturalists will thoroughly explore all the sinks
and holes in the cave country of the western and middle
states. The subject is one of the highest interest in a
zoological point of view, and from the light it throws on
* Generic characters. Head larse, much thicker than the body, and
as long as broad ; subcylindrical, rounded in front. No eyes. First an-
tennae slender, 8-jointea (and antenna: broken off). Abdominal se{rineots
consolidated into one piece. Differs chiefly from Idotea, to which it is
otherwise closely allied, by the 8-jointed (instead of ^-jointed zst (inner)
antennae, the very large head, and by the absence of any traces of the
three basal segments of the abdomen usually present in Idotea. Specific
characters, 'body smooth, pure white : tejiumcnt thin, the viscera ap-
pearing through. Head as wide aA succeeding segment, and a little more
than twice as long. Inner antennae minute, slender, the four basal joints
of neariy c<}ual length, though the fourth is a little smaller than the basal
three, remaining four joints much unaller than others, being one-half as
thick and two-tnirds as long as either of the four basal joints ; ends of
last four ^mnts a little swollen, giving rise to two or three hairs ; terminal
joint ending in a more distinct knob, and bearing five hairs. Segment of
thorax verv distinct, sutures deei)ly ind-ed : edges of segments pilose :
abdomen flat above, rounded behind, with a very slight median projec-
tion ; the entire pair of gills do not reach to the end of die abdomcA«
and the iimer edges diverge posteriorly. Legs long and slender, ist pair
shorter, but no smaller than the tecond. Length '95 inch.
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April 18, 1872]
NATURE
485
the doctrine of evolution. Prof. Schiddte, the eminent
Danish aoologist, has given us the most extended account
of the cave fauna of Europe, which has been translated
from the Danish into the Transactions of the Entomolo-
gical Society of London (new series, vol. i., 1851).
A pertinent question arises as to the time of the forma-
tion of these caves and when they became inhabitable.
As previously stated, the caves of the western and middle
States are in lower Carboniferous limestone rocks, though
the Port Kennedy cave explored by Whealley and Cope *
is in the Potsdam limestone. They could not have been
formed under water, but when the land was drained by
large rivers. This could not have occurred previous to
the Triassic period. Prof. Dana in his ''Manual of
Geology*' shows that the Triassic continent spread west-
ward from the Atlantic coast " to Kansas, and southward
to Alabama ; for through this great area there are no
rocks more recent than the Palaeozoic." " Through the
Mesozoic period (comprising the Triassic, Jurassic, and
Cretaceous periods) North America was in general dry
land, and on the east it stood a large part of the time
above its present level" Though at the close of these
periods there was a general extinction of life, yet this was
not probably a sudden (one of months and even years),
but rather a secular extinction, and there may be plants
and animals now living on dry land, which are the lineal
descendants of Mesozoic and more remotely of Carbo-
niferous forms of life. So our cave animals may possibly
be the survivors of Mesozoic forms of life, just as we find
now living at great depths in the sea remnants of Cre-
taceous life. But from the recent explorations in the
caves of Europe and this country, especially the Port
Kennedy cave, with its remarkable assemblage of verte-
brates and insects, we are led to believe from the array
of facts presented by Prof. Cope that our true subter-
ranean fauna probably does not date farther back
than thebeginnmg of Uie Quaternary, or post-Pliocene,
period. We quote his ''general observations" in his
article on the Port Kennedy fauna : —
" The origin of the caves which so abound in the lime-
stones of the Alleghany and Mississippi valley regions, is
a subject of much mterest. Their galleries measure many
thousands of miles, and their number is legion. The
writer has examined twenty-five, in more or less detail, in
Virginia and Tennessee, and can add his testimony to
the belief that they have been formed by currents of
running water. Tliey generally extend in a direction
parallel to the strike of the strata, and have their
greatest diameter in the direction of the dip. Their
depth is determined in some measure by the softness of
the stratum whose removal has given them existence,
but in thinly stratified or soft material, the roofs or large
masses of rocks fall in, which interrupt the passage be-
low. Caves, however, exist when the strata are horizon-
tal Their course is changed by joints or faults, into
which the excavating waters have found their way.
" That these caves were formed prior to the post- Plio-
cene fauna is evident from the fact that they contain its
remains. That they were not in existence prior to the
drift is probable, from the fact that they contain no re-
mains of life of any earlier period so far as known, though
in only two cases, in Virginia and Pennsylvania, have
they been examined to the bottom. No agency is at
hand to account for their excavation, comparable in
potency and efficiency to the floods supposed to have
marked the close of the glacial epoch, and which Prof.
Dana ascribes to the Champlain epoch. An extraordinary
number of rapidly flowing waters must have operated
over a great part of the Southern States, some of them
at an elevation of fifteen hundred feet and over (perhaps
two thousand) above the present level of the sea. A cave
r • A notice of the animals found in this cave will b«j found in the Proc.
Amer. Phil. Soc., April 1871. The insects there enumerated would prob-
ably not come under the head of cave insects.
in the Gap Mountain, on the Kanawha river, which I ex-
plored for three miles, has at least that elevation.
" Thata]territory experiencing such conditions was suit-
able for the occupation of such a fauna as the deposits
contained in these caves reveal, is not probable. The
material in which the bones occur in the south is an im-
pure limestone, being mixed with and coloured by the red
soil which covers the surface of the ground. It is rather
soft but hardens on exposure to the air.
" The question then remains so far unanswered as to
whether a submergence occurred subsequent to the de-
velopment of the post-pliocene mammaHan fauna. That
some important change took place is rendered probable
by the fact that nearly all the neotropical types of the
animals have been banished from our territory, and the
greater part of the species of all types have become ex-
tinct. Two facts have come under my observation which
indicate a subsequent submergence. A series of caves or
portions of a single cave once existing on the south-east
side of a range of low hills among the Alleghany moun-
tains in Wyth:^ Co., Virginia, was found tQ have been
removed by denudation, fragments of the bottom deposit
only remaining in fissures and concavities, separated by
various intervals from each other. These fragments
yielded the remains of twenty species of post-Phocene
manmialia.* This denudation can be ascribed to local
causes, following a subsidence of uncertain extent. In a
cave examined in Tennessee the ossiferous deposit was in
part attached to the roof of the chamber. Identical
fossils were taken from the floor. This might, however,
be accounted for on local grounds. The islands of the
eastern part of the West Indies appear to have been
separated by submergence of larger areas, at the close of
the period during which they were inhabited by post-
Pliocene mammalia and shells. The caves of Ajiiguilla
include remains of twelve vertebrates,t of which seven
are mammalia of extinct species, and several of them are
of large size. These are associated with two recent
species of molluscs. Turbo pica and a Tudora near
fupaformis. I As these large animals no doubt required
a more extended territory for their support than that re-
presented by the small island Anguilfa, there is every
probability that the separation of these islands took
place at a late period of time and probably subsequent
to the spread of the post-Pliocene faima over North
America."
I think the reader will conclude from the facts Prof. Cope
so clearly presents, that the subterranean fauna of this
country does not date back beyond the Quaternary period.
These species must have been created and taken up their
abode in these caves (Mammoth Cave and those of Mont-
gomery County, Virginia) after the breccia flooring their
bottoms and containing Uie bones of Quaternary animals
had been deposited ; or else migrated from Tertiary caves
farther south, which is not probable, as it has been pre-
viously shown that those blmd animals inhabiting wells
immediately die on being exposed to the light. (British
Sessile-eyed Crustacea, i. p. 313- Though this is true of
the Gammandse, Mr. Putnam tells me that a blind craw-
fish lived several days in a bottle of water exposed to the
light, and is thus as hardy as any crustacean.)
* See Proceed. Amer. Ph'd. Soc, 1869, 171. ^ . . ^
t Loc. dt. 18^ 183 : 1870, 608. A fourth speoes of gisantic ChinchiUid
has been found by Dr. Rijgersma, which may be called Zaxtfm^lMs\/uad-
rans Cope. It is lepresented by portions of laws and teeth of three mdtvi-
duals. It is one of the largest spedes, equalling the /.. iatidtnst and has
several marked characters. Thus the roots of the molars are very short,
and the triturating surface oblique to the shaft. The roots of the second
and fourth are longer than those of the first and third. The last molar has
four dentad columns instead of three as in the other Loxomyli, 1 ud is tri-
angular or quadnmt-shaped in section ; the third is auadrangular in section,
and has three columns. The second is the smallest, being only "dthe length
of the subtriangular, first. Length of dental series m. *o6« or sj inches.
Palate narrow and deeply concave. There is but little or no lateral owstric-
tion in the outlines of the teeth ; the shanks are entirely strai|;ht la iu
additional dentinal column, this spedes approaches the gtous Amhhtrkita,
The huge Chinchillas of AnguillA are as ft&flWS. ttUMf^lM hng^iifeis, L
latid€fu.L. gwuirum, and Ambtyrfisa ^iM-t-*-*
; See Bland, Pvooeed. Amer. FbU. S^y
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486
NATURE
[April \Z, 1872
Assuming, on the principles of evolution, that the cave
animals were derived from other species changed by
migration from the outer world to the new and strange
regions of total darkness, it seems evident that geolog^-
cadly speaking, the species were suddenly formed, though
the changes may not have been wrought until after several
thousand generations. According to the doctrine of natural
selection, by which animal species pass from one into
another by a great number of minute variations, this time
was not sufficient for the production of even a species, to
say nothing of a genus. But the comparatively sudden
creation of these cave animals afifords, it seems to us, a
very strong argument for the theory of Cope and Hyatt, of
Fig. \o,~Cambarus pellucidta,
creation by acceleration and retardation. The strongly
marked characters which separate these animals from
their allies in the sunlight, are just those fitting^ them for
their cave life, and those which we would imagine would
be the first to be accjuired by them on being removed
from their normal habitat.
On introducing the wingless locust, Ceuthophilus macu-
latus into a cave, where it must live, not under stones, but
by clinging to the walls, its legs would tend to grow longer,
its antennae and palpi would elongate and become more
delicate organs of hearing as well as touch,^ and the body
would bleach partially out, as we find to be the case in
* After wridn^ this article, and without the knowledge of his views, we
turned to Darwin's " Orifin of Species " to learn what he had to say on the
origin of cave animals. He attributes their loss of sight to distise, and re-
marks : — ' ' By the time an animal has reached, after numberless generations,
the deepest recesses, disuse will on this view have more or less perfectly ob-
Hadenacus subterranetus and stygius. The Carabid beetle,
Anopthalmus, extending farther into the cave, would lose
its wings (all cave insects except the J)iptera have no
wings, elytra excepted) and eyes, but as nearly all the
family are retiring in their habits, the species hiding under
stones, its form would not undergo further striking modi-
fication. So with the blind Campodea, which does not
differ from its blind congeners which live more or less in
the twilight, except in its antennae becoming longer. The
blind Adelops, but with rudiments of eyes, does not greatly
depart in habits from Catops, while on the other hand the
remarkable Stagobius of the lllyrian caves, which according
to Schiodte spends its life in crawling ten to twenty feet
above the floors over the columns formod by the stalactites
Fig. II.— Ctrcidotea stygia (side vitfw). »
to which unique mode of life it is throughout perfectly
adapted, is remarkably different from other Silphids. Its
legs are very long and inserted far apart (the prothorax
being remarkably long), with surprisingly long cla¥^, while
the antennae, agsun, are of great length and densely clothed
with hairs, making them most delicate sense organs.* So
also are the limbs of the false scorpion, and the spider and
pill bug (Titanethes) of remarkable length.
Fig. xa. — C<tcidoiea stygia (dorsal view).
But the modifications in the body of the Spirostrephon
are such that many might deem its aberrant characters as
of generic importance. It loses its eyes, which its nearest
allies in other, but smaller, caves possess, and instead
gains in the delicate hairs on its back, which evidently
form tactile organs of great delicacy ; the feet are remark-
literated its eyes, and natural selection will often have effected other chan8;es,
such as an increase in the length of the antennae or palpi, as a compensation
for blbdness." fsth Amer. Edit, p. 143.) We are glad to find our views as to
the increase in the length of the antennae and palpi compensatixig for the loss
of eyesight, confirmed by Mr. Darwin.
* Schi5dte remarks that " it is diffiailt to understand the mode of life of
Stagobius troglodytes^ or how this slow and defenceless animal can escape
being devonred by the rapid, piratical Arachnidans, or find adequate support
on columns, for inhabiting which it is so manifestly constructed. We are led
in this respect to consider the antennae. Whatever significance we attach to
those enigmatical organs, we must admit that they are organs of sense, in
which view an animal having them so much developed as Stagobius, must
possess a great advantage over its enemies, if these be only Arachnidans. Its
cautious and slow progress, and its timid reconnoitring demeanour, fully in-
dicate that it is conscious of life being in perpetual danger, and that it endea-
vours to the utmost to avoid that danger. Darkness, which alwavs favours
the pursued more than the pursuer, comes to its aid, especially on the uneven
excavated surface of the columns.'*
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NATURE
487
s\Ay long, as also the antennae, Theseare not new forma-
"^ons, but simply modifications apparently, by use or dis-
xise of organs present in the other species. The aberrant
myriopod and Stagobius are paralleled b^ the blind fish,
sin animal so difficult to dassity, and so evidently adapted
for its abode in endless darkness. And as an additional
proof of the view here taken that these cave animals are
modified from more or less allied species existing outside
of the caves, we have the case of the crav^fish, whose
eyes (like those of the mole), are larger in the young than
in the adult, indicating its descent from a species endowed
with the faculty of sight, while in the adult the appendages
are modified as tactile organs so as to make up for its loss
of eyesight, in order that it may still take its prey.
We thus see that these cave animals are modified in
various ways, some being blind, others very hairy, others
With long appendages. All are not modified in the same
way in homologous organs ; another argument in proof of
their descent from ancestors whose habits varied as those
of their out-ofndoor allies do at present. Had thev been
specially created for subterranean life, we should have
expected a much greater uniformity in the organs adapting
them to a cave life than we actually find to be the case.
Another fact of interest in this connection is the circum-
stance that these cave species breed slowly, being remark-
ably poor in individuals ; they are nearljr all, except the
wingless grasshoppers, extremely rare. Did they breed as
numerously as their allies in the outer world, the whole
race would probably starve, as the supply of food even for
those which do live is wonderfully limited.
It is now known that animab inhabiting the abysses of
the sea are often highly coloured : light must penetrate there,
for we know that were the darkness total they would be
colourless like the cave insects.
In view of the many important questions which arise in
relation to cave animals, and which have been too imper-
fectly discussed here, we trust naturalists the world over
will be led to explore caves with new zeal, and record their
discoveries with minuteness, and the greatest possible
regard to exactness. The caves of the West Indian
Islands should first of all be carefully explored. Also
those of Brazil, those of the East Indies, and of Africa,
while fresh and more extended explorations of our own
Mammoth Cave should be made, perhaps by a commission
acting under Government or State authority, in order that
the most ample facilities may be afforded by the parties
owning the cave. A. S. Packard
PROPOSED GRAND AQUARIUM FOR
MANCHESTER
THE Manchester Examiner and Times of April 2 gives
a long account of a Grand Marine Aquarium which
it is proposed to build at Manchester, and which shows the
interest which is felt in scientific studies in the northern
capital. From this article we have made the following
extracts, as showing the complete scale upon which every-
thing is proposed to be carried out
The funds are to be raised by a company started
under the superintendence of a number of gentlemen
resident in the city who are interested in marine zoology,
and desire to promote scientific education in all its
branches. The building will contain all the recent im-
provements shown to be necessary at the Crystal Palace
and Brighton Aquaria, and will be rectangular in shape,
120 ft. long and 70 ft. wide. This space will be divided
into two side galleries, each 120 ft long and 15 ft wide,
separated from the central saloon by a light screen.
Running along one side of each of these galleries will be
a series of tanks, about eighty in number, forty in each
gallery, varying in capacity from 300 to 3,000 gallons, and
me roofs will be so arranged that the light will pass
through the water at an angle of about forty-five degrees
to the spectators, thus rendering distinctly visible the
living inhabitants and plants contained in the grotto-like
tanks. The grand saloon will be also 120 it. long by
40 ft wide, supporting on light iron columns an open
panelled roof. All the windows will be so arranged as to
admit only the exact quantity of light required, as it is
found that an excess of light acts upon the higher marine
plants and animals in a manner directly contrary to its
action upon terrestrial life. It blanches them in a similar
manner as ordinary plants are blanched by being earthed
up. The most brilliant coloured marine plants are those
which live in comparative darkness. The grand saloon
will contain two tanks— the largest that have yet been
constructed — one at each end of the room, 30 ft. long,
I oft wide, and 8 ft deep, capable of containing each
iStOoo gallons of water, and in which the largest speci-
mens offish found in the British seas will find ample room
to display themselves. These tanks will have also a
polished plate-glass frontage of great strength, through
which the animals can be well seen.
In order to accommodate the inhabitants of what is
called the littoral zone round our coasts, a series of shal-
low tanks, varying in capacity from 20 to 200 gallons, will
be erected, in which the animals can be seen either from
the surface of the water or through the transparent fronts,
and by an ingenious contrivance the supply of water will
be so regulated as to afford in every respect tidal currents.
Besides these there will be other tanks at the back of the
exhibition tanks for reserve stocks, and in the basement
cisterns to hold a reserve supply of 60,000 gallons of sea
water.
Such are the contemplated arrangements for marine,
animal, and vegetable life ; but in Edition to these the
inhabitants of our brooks, ponds, &c., will not be for-
gotten, and a series of table aquaria will be provided :
while the larger inhabitants of our rivers and lakes will
swim in an ever-flowing river and pond supplied by foun-
tains, and placed in the centre of the grand saloon. Such
is a brief description of the proposed Manchester Grand
Aquarium, which, it is hoped, will both be a success in a
scientific, as well as a pecuniary point of view. Mr. B.
Hooper, a well-known naturalist, has been engaged as
curator of the Aquarium. A site for the Aquarium has
been obtained in the vicinity of the Alexandra Park, and
it is proposed to open it on Saturdays and Mondays at an
admission fee of id, ; on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Thursdays, at (>d. ; and on Friday, which will be a stu«
dents' day, at is.
NOTES
Thb following lectures in Natund Sciences will be deliTered
in Trinity, St. John's, and Sidney Sussex Colleges, Cambridge,
during EasterTerm, 1872 :— ''On Light and Heat" (forthenatural
sciences tripos), by Mr. Trotter, Trinity College ; Mondays, Wed-
nesdays, and Fridays, at 10, commencing Wednesday, April 17.
** On Heat " (for the special examination for the ordinary de-
gree), by Mr. Trotter, Trinity College ; Tuesdays, Thursdays,
Saturdays, at ii, commencing Tuesday, April 16. " On Chemis-
try," by Mr. Main, St John's College ; Mondays, Wednesdays,
Fridays, at 12, in St. John's College Laboratory, commencing
Friday, April 19. Instruction in Practical Chemistry will also
be given. Attendance on these lectures is recognised by the
University for the certificate required by medical students pre-
vious tp admission for the examinafion for the degree of M. 6.
"OnPalasontology" (the Molluica), by Mr. Bonney, St John's
College ; Wednesdays and Fridays, at 9, commencing Friday,
April 19. **On Geology" (for the natural sciences tripos.
Stratigraphical Geology), by Mr. Bonney, St John's Colle^ ;
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 10, commencing Thurs-
day, April 18. There will be excursions every Saturday. " Ele-
mentary Geology " (for the special examination) ; Wednesdays
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488
NATURE
{April \%, 1872
and Fridays, at 11, commcnciDg Friday, April 19. "On
Botany," by Mr. Hicks,\Sidney College ; Mondays, Wednes-
days at I P.M., and Fridays, at 12, beginning Monday, April 15.
The lectures this term will be chiefly on Cryptogamic Botany,
the movements of plants, and the principles of classification.
••On Embryology," the Trinity .Prselector in Physiology (Dr.
M. Foster) will deliver a thort course at the new museums,
beginning Mcnday, April 22, at 11 o'clock. The Physiological
Laboratory is open for practical instruction in Physidogy to all*
those who have gone through the elementary course.
We have to record this week the death oli JaeiU prirueps the
most eminent of yegcUble physiologists, Prof. Hugo von Mohl,
which took place on April I at Tubingen. Von Mohl was bom
at Stuttgart in 1805, and in 1835 was appointed Professor of
Botany and director of the Botanic Garden at TUbingen, a posi-
tion he has held ever since. Conjointly with Schlechtendal,
and since his death with Prof, dc Bary, formerly one of his pupils,
he has been editor of the weekly "Botanische Zeitung" since
its commencement in 1843. He was one of the foreign members
of the Linnean Society, having been elected as long ago as 1837.
Von Mohl has been a copious and most accurate writer on sub-
jects connected with vegetable anatomy and physiology, of
which he may be said to have laid the secure foundation in his
early investigations of the true relations of cell-membrane and
contents. Among his original observations we may especially
mention his essay on the Structure of Endogens, published by
von Martins in his " Historia Palmarum," and on the Stem-
structure of Cycads in the ** Vegetable Cell," which appeared in
Rudolph Wagner's ••Handworterbuch;" on the Origin and
Structure of Stomates ; on Cuticle 5 on the Structure of Cell-
membrane ; on the Structure and Anatomical relations of Chlo-
rophyll ; on the Multiplication of Plant-cells by division, and
numerous other essays collected in his «• Vermischte Schriften."
Astronomy has sustained a heavy loss in the death of M. P.
A. E. Laugier, which took place at Paris on the 5th inst., in the
50th year of his age. M. Laugier was a member of the French
Academy and of the '' Bureau des Longitudes," and examiner
to the naval school at Brest He was a pupil of Arago, and
the following account of his various researches is furnished to
the Rhme ScienHfytu by M. G. Rayet :— In 1841 he presented a
memoir to the Academy on Solar Spots, and was the first to
determine their proper motion. The discovery and calculation
of a telescopic comet in 1842 won for the young astronomer the
Lalande gold medal. At the request of Humboldt he was
engaged for some years in the improvement of the construction
of astronomical clocks. In 1853 he made an exact determina-
tion of the latitude of the Paris Observatory, estimating it at
48"* 50' I i"'i9, differing considerably from the earlier determina-
tion of Arago and Mathieu. In 1857 he published a catalogue
of the declination of 140 stars, having previously issued one of
53 nebulae. M. Laugier was associated with Arago in a number
of his researches on the physics of the globe, and in his magnetic
and photometric labours ; and has for long made the observa-
tions on the declination and inclination of the magnet for the
••Bureau des Longitudes." M. Rayet speaks of his death as a
source of great grief to the Academy, which had formerly
elected him president, and to his colleagues, by whom he was
beloved for the moderation of his character, and his affable
At the meeting of the French Academy of Sciences on the ist
inst. the Abb^ David and M. Ledieu were elected correspondents
of the Section of Geography and Navigation, in the room of M.
d'Abbadie, who has been elected a member of the Academy,
and of the late Prince Demidoff.
Thx Museums and Lecture Room Syndicate have presented
their sixth Annual Report to*the Senate of the University of
Cambridge. It includes separate reports from Mr. J. W. Clark,
superintendent of the Museum of Zoology and Comparative
Anatomy, and from Profs. Humphry, Newton, Babington,
Miller, Challis, Liveing, and Sedgwick. In response to an
appeal from the venerable Prof. Sedgwick, the Woodwardiaa
Museum has acquired during the past year (the purchase money
having been raised by subscription) the veiy valuable collection
of fossils made by Mr. Leckenby of Scarborough. Prof
Sedgwick considers the present geological collection of the
University to be one of the noblest collections, as far as regards
British geology, that exists in England, and for study and
practical use, to be inferior to none existing in the island. In
order to supply facilities for the practical study of Comparative
Anatomy, and to supplement the lectures of Prof. Newton, Mr.
J. W. Clark has commenced a class for practical work, l<xs
which, however, no sufficient accommodation is at present pro*
vided by the University. Mr. G. R. Crotch has been engaged
for nearly the last twelvemonth in determining and arranging the
extensive collections of insects, both British and exotic, con-
tained in the Museum. The collection includes long series of
those insects which were peculiar to certain localities in Cam-
bridgeshire and the adjoining counties, and whidi, from increase
of drainage in the fens and other causes, are either extinct or
likely to become so in a few years.
Tub discovery of two new planets is recorded. The elements
of the first. No. 119, discovered by M. Paul Henry at Paris,
are : —
April9, ii»», ParisM.T. R.A.= 13b i8™59s. D. =t — 8' 40' 23"
The first position is approximate oxdy. The horary movement is
— 1*75 R- A., -I- 25" declination. It is of the 1 xth magnitude.
The second was discovered by M. BoreUy, and has the follow-
ing elements : —
April 10, I2»» 16" 32«, Marseilles M.T. R.A. I2i» o™ 55«*38,
Polar distance, 95*" 2' 44" '9.
April 10, I3»» 14°* 36*, MarseUles M.T. R.A. 12^ o™ 53*63,
Polar distance, 95** 2' 41 " '4.
It is between the nth and 12th magnitude.
Thb next lecture to the Crystal Palace School of Science will
be delivered this evening by Dr. W. B. Carpenter on "Re-
searches in the Deep Sea."
Dr. Liebreich will deliver his lecture on "Turner and
Mulready" at the London Institution, Finsbury Circus, on
Thursday evening next, the 25th inst., at 7.30 p.m.
Thk following paragraph, copied verbatim d lUeraiim from an
evening contemporary, is a striking comment on our remarks
last week on "Newspaper Science : " — " M. Agassiz has been
finding out some more curious creatures in the deep-sea dredgiags
near Rio. It would really seem that if we only go deep enough
we shall eventually reach the beginning of all things. Dr. Car-
penter found living at the bottom of the Atlantic crustaceans of
the same kind as those whose bodies now lie in our chalk hills,
only seeming slightly degenerated, as if the family had once 'seen
better days.* And now Prof. Agassiz tells his friend Prof.
Peircei, of Harvard, in a long letter published in the American
papers, how at 500 fathoms -down he has fished pectens, and also
other creatures, who are henceforth to bear the fearful but doubt-
less honourable appellation of Tomocaris Peircei, which resemble
nothing living, only fossils of some of the earliest formations.
The Tomocaris, in particular, is strongly suspected of being —
we blush to name it — no better than a Trilobite ! We shall not
disturb our readers by quoting all the array of terrible words —
maxillipeds, pygidiums, phyllopods, and the like — ^with which
Prof. Agassiz's letter bristles ; nor his interesting controversy
v;ith Prof. Milne Edwards concerning the Simulus, which
L/iyiLIZLCJU \J^
<f)'^
April i8, 1872]
NATURE
489
Animal's 'cephalo thorax' is so remarkable that 'the fimctioii
of chewing is derolved upon the legs.' We only advise our
friends who may be intensely anxious about these points to consult
his leUcr in exUnso, " Is the author of ** What is a Joule ? " the
special scientific correspondent of all the daily papers ?
Wk learn from the Journal of the Society of Arts that King
Victor Emmanuel has presented to the Geological Museum of
the University of Rome a collection of Peruvian antiquities —
silver vases, curious musical instruments, a coloured garment
made from the bark of trees, and arrows and lances. The
articles were discovered in a guano bed, and are antiques. The
lances are notched, ornamented with feathers, and have wooden
heads, showing that they were made before iron was used.
A REPORT of the meeting of delegates of the French departme n-
tal learned societies, hdd on the 4th inst , under the presidency of
M. Jules Simon, is given in Les Mondes, The following medals
were awarded : — Gold ; to Grenier, of Besan9on, botanical re-
searches ; Grandidier, scientific travels in Madagascar ; Houzeau,
of Rouen, researches in ozone. Silver : to Boussinesq, of Gap,
mathematical mechanics; Tourdes, of Strasbourg, legal medicine;
Faivre, of Lyons, vegetable physiology ; Fromontel, of Gray,
palaeontology ; Reboul, of Besan9on, chemistry ; Cailletet, of
Ch&tillon-sur*Seine, agricultural and industrial chemistry;
Mazore, of Bar-le-Duc, agriculture; Chautard, of Nancy,
meteorology ; Coquelin, of Beauficel, meteorology ; Crova, of
Montpellier, phy»ics ; Raoult, of Groioble, physics ; Mussy, of
Montlu9on, a geological map of Ari^ge.
Prop. Haydbn has applied to the Congress of the United
States for a grant of 75,000 dols. for the purpose of continuing
for another year his most important geological survey of the
territories of the United States. He proposes making a thorough
series of astronomical, topographical, meteorological, geological,
and chemical observations, which cannot but be of the utmost
value in developing the material resources of the country. The
application has the cordial support of the Secretary of the Interior.
SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE FROM
AMERICA*
TVl AJOR POWELL has returned from the cailons of the
^^ Colorado, haying left lus party in the field in charge of
Prof. Thompson. Since the party started in April last, it has
passed through the cafions of Green River and the cafions
of the Colorado to the mouth of the Paria, at the head of
Marble CaSon. Here the Major left his boats for the winter,
and he expects to return as soon as there is a favourable stage
of water, and embark for the second trip through the urand
Cai&on. On the way down the party explored the region to the
west of the Green and Colorado, Itracin^ the courses of the
larger streams emptying into the two great nvers to their sources in
the Wasatch Mountains and Sevier Plateau, and examined the
geology of the great mesas and difis. Early in the winter a
base fine 47,000 feet in length was measured on a meridian
running south from Kanab, and the party is now engi^ed in ex-
tending a system of triangles along the clifis and peucs among
lateral ca&ons of the Colorado. During the past season the party
has discovered many more ruins of the communal houses once
occupied by the prehistoric people of that land. Many of these
houses stood upon the cli& overhanging the cailons, and many
more are found in the valleys among the mountains to the west.
Stone implements, potterv, basket-ware, and other articles were
found buried in some of the ruins. The Major found a tribe of
Utes on the Kaibab Plateau who still make stone arrow-heads
and other stone implements, and he had an opportunity to ob-
serve the process of manufacturing such tools.— Mr. Joseph Sulli-
vant, of Columbus, Ohio, a well-known naturalist, publishes an
account in the Ohio State yournal of the capture of the Bassaris
astuta^ or ring-tailed cat of the Rio Grande region. It was
* Commtuucited by th« Sdeatific Editor of Harpn't Weekly.
taken in Fairfield County, Ohio, and was said to be accompanied
by a second specimen. The occurrence of tlus animal so far
north is very remarkable, and it may l>e a question whether it
had not been brought from Mexico or California, and escaped
from confinement It is an animal very much sought after as a
pet, being clean in its habits, and readily becoming very tame
and affectionate ; indeed, it would seem to be quite a desirable
animal to domestidnte and keep about the house as a protection
against rats and mice. Some years ago a specimen of this same
animal was brought into the Smithsonian Institution, having
been captured in a hen-coop near the dty. It was in capitid
condition and in full fur ; but it had evidently escaped from cap-
tivity, as shown by the marks of the rubbing of a collar round
the neck.— The greatest depth between the west end of Cuba
and the ooaat of Yucatan found by the Coast Survey steamer
Bibb is 1,164 fiUhoms, as reported to Prof. Peircc by Captain
Robert Piatt, commanding the surveying vessel. The lowest
temperature observed is 39*5* F. at the bottom ; surface, 81"* ;
strongest current, two knots ; direction, north. Dr. Stimpson
reports the bottom from Cape San Antonio to Yucatan very
barren of animal life. A few rare shells were found.— In a
paper by Prof. Cope upon the Pythonomorpha^ or Python-like
fossil saurians of the cretaceous formation of Kansaf , presented
to the Academy of the American Philosophicid Society of
Philadelphia, he shows that America is the home of this group,
four species only having been described from Europe. Forty-
two North American species are already known, of whidi
fifteen belong to the Greensand formation of New Jersey, seven
to the Limestone region of Alabama, seventeen to the Chalk of
Kansas, and three to other locaUties. Of the Kansas species six
are described as new by Prof. Cope in the paper referred to. —
A new fossil reptile, from the cretaceous strata of Kansas, has
just been described by Prof Cope under the name of Cynocercus
incisus. The peculiarity of this reptile consists in having the
articular faces of the vertebrae deeply excavated above and below,
so as to give them a transverse character. A new crocodilian
from the same region was also described, under the name of
Hypostturus webbii, — Prof. Cope has shown, in a paper read to
the American Philosophical Society, that the greater number of
the fossil fishes of the cretaceous strata of Kansas belong to three
families, namely, the Saurodontida^ the PachyrhizodofUida^ and
the Stratodontidet, Of the first familv four genera and ten species
are described in his paper, some of them (as those of the genus
Portheus) being among the most formidable of marine fishes.
Of the second fiunilv one genus and four species are introduced,
and three genera and seven species of the third. The Stralodus,
a genus of the Stratodoniiaa, is provided with multitudes of
minute shovel-headed teeth. He nnds a great resemblance be«
tween this Kansas fauna and that of the English Chalk, no less
than six of the eight Kansas genera having been found in the
latter. — Some of our readers may remem^ the letter written
by Prof. Agassiz to Prof. Peirce in December 1871, just before
starting upon the Hassler expedition, in which he announced
beforehand the general nature of the discoveries that he expected
to make. His ability to make these predictions with any degree
of certainty was much questioned by those who were not familiar
with the method of research in natural history, and of the almost
mathematical nature of the inferences to be derived fi-om certain
given premises. We now have a second letter addressed to
Prof. Peirce, written at Pemambuco on Jan. 16, giving an ac-
count of experiences up to that date, which go far toward show-
ing that the Professor really knew of what he was speaking in
the first instance. Owing to various adverse influences, among
them the necessity of hastening with all possible despatdi to reach
the Straits of Magellan at the earliest possible date, only four
hauls of the dredge were made in water of any great depth, those
beine at depths of firom 75 to 120 fathoms off Barbadoes. The
results of these were in the highest degree satisfactory, however,
**the extent and variety of material obtained being enough to
occupy," in the Professor's words, "half a dozen competent
zoologists for a whole year, if the specimens could be kept fresh
for tlut length of time." As anticipated by the Professor in the
letter referred to, the most interesting discoveiies were certain
forms of animals, the allies of which had previously been known
in greater part or entirelv as fossils of older formations. Among
these may be mentioned a remaikable sponge, a crinoid very
much like Rhisccrinus, a living Pleurotomaria, only three having
been previou^ known, although a great manv are described as
fossil, &c The crinoid, especially, is one of the very few living
representatives of what was originally the prevailing character of
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NATURE
[April 1 8, 1872
the marine £iuna of the silurian and other epochs ; and while now
they occur only in the very deepest water, they were formTly
found crowded in the shallower seas. The inquiry, tli refore,
suggested itself to the Professor as to the reason of this difference,
and he makes the suggestion that in the progress of the earth's
growth we may look to such displacement of conditions favour-
able to maintainii^ certain low types as may recall most fully
the adaptation to former ages, and that the deeper waters of the
present constitution of our globe possibly approximate Uie con-
ditions of animal life in the shallow seas of former ages as nearly
as anything can in the present order of things on the earth. The
depth of the ocean alone, he thinks, can place animals under
the high pressure which the heavier atmosphere of the earlier
period afforded. But as such pressure cannot be a favourable
condition for the development of life, it is to be expected that
the^ lower forms only will occur in the deep seas. Other causes
acting in the same direction are the decrease of light in the
greater depths, the smaller amount of free oxygen, the reduced
amount and smaller variety of nutritive substances, &c. He does
not think, however, that facts warrant the conclusion that any of
the animals now living are lineal descendants of those of the
earlier ages, nor that we may justly assume that the cretaceous
formation is still extant, notwithstanding the similarity of forms.
It would be just as true to nature to say that the tertiary period
is exhibited in the tropics, on account of the similarity of the
Miocene mammalia and those of the torrid zone. — The ninth
number of the illustrated work on the butterflies of North America,
in course of publication by Mr. William H. Edwards, has just
made its appearance, and we are informed that the tenth num-
ber, to appear very shortly, will conclude the first volume. This
number, like its predecessors, is accompanied by a great many
quarto plates in the highest style of pictorial excellence, depict-
ing some extremely beautiful species and varieties of butterflies.
Among these are three varieties of Papilio Ajax, namely, IValshii^
telamonuies, and Marcdlus. Mr. Edwards, in his paper,
makes some judicious remarks upon the uncertainty that exists
in regard to the true character of many butterflies which some
naturalists consider as perfectly distinct species, and others as
mere varieties. He takes the ground that the only way of coming
to a satisfactory conclusion is to breed them, and ascertain
whether the eggs from the same female develop similar larvse or
not, and whether these, even if different, produce the same per-
fect insects or different ones. The attempt at discriminating
from the perfect insect alone he considers extremely unsatlsfac-
tory.
ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF LONDON, FEB. 16, 1872
By J. Prestwich, F.R.S., President
(Concluded from /. 472.)
TT has been urged as a fatal objection to the discovery of coal
-'' in the south-east of England, that the Coal Measures become
unproductive and thin out under the Chalk, as they range from
Valenciennes towards Calais, and, therefore, that the coal-
trough or basins end there. It is perfectly true that the Coal
Measures do thin out between Bethune and Calais, but not in the
sense of their dying out owing to their deposition near the edge of
a basin. In that case, each seam, each stratum, would gradually
become thinner and disappear ; but such is not the fact. None
of the beds of the Belgian coal-field are thick. The average
does not exceed 7\ feet At Valenciennes it is the same;
whereas M. Burat states the mean thickness of the beds actually
increases westward of Bethune to more than z\ feet. With re-
spect also to the extreme end of this basin, the lower beds there
brought up correspond with the bottom beds of the Hainault
basin, where the lower 650 feet consist of unproductive measures.
The thinning-out is, in fact, due to denudation, just as the
Bristol coal-field thins out at Cromhall to resume in the Forest of
Dean, or the coal-field of Li^e thins out at Nameche to resume
at Namur in the great field of Charleroi and Mons.
The deterioration of the coal in the small coal-field of Hardin-
ghen, near Boulogne, has also been adduced against the occurrence
of workable coal in South-Eastem England, but Mr. Godwin-
Austen has shown that this Hardin^hen coal-field is one of those
small local developments of coal-bearing strata intercalated in
the Mountain Limestone, and is of older date than the great
Belgian coal-field. It has, therefore, no bearing on this part of
the question.
Another objection to which much weight has been attached is
that the coal-field of Bath and Bristol forms an independent
basin, cut off both on the east and on the west by ridges of
Millstone Grit and Mountain Limestone^ so that there is an end
of the eastern extension of the Coil Measures. This is quite
correct as far as regards the western edge, and is probably the
case on the eastern, although as the edge of the basin is there
covered by Secondary rocks, some uncertainty still exists about
the disposition of the Palaeozoic rocks under them. Admitting,
however, the basin to be complete and isoUted, that is no proof
that the older Paheozoic rocks prevail exclusively to the east ;
for the Coal Measures of the Somerset basin maintain their full
development to the edge of the bisin, and are there cut off by
denudation, and are not brought to an end by thinning out.
They form really part of a more extended mass, of which we
have there one fragment ; while on the west another portion
exists in the Welsh basin, and another in the newly discovered
small basin of the Severn valley.
This last basin is entirely covered by the New Red Sandstone ;
and as the Welsh basin is bounded on the east and the Bristol
basin on the west by Mountain Limestone, the same arjgument
as the one above might have been used to show the impossibility
of coal occurring in this intermediate area.
But the fact is, it is the very nature of this great line of dis-
turbance to have minor rolls and flexures of the strata at, or
nearly at, right angles to it, and so causing breaks in the coal-
trough, which would otherwise flank it without interruption ;
thus the Aix-la-Chapelle coal-field is separated by older rocks
from that of Li^ge, which is attain separated by a ridge of Moun-
tain Limestone from that of Hainaut So in the case of south-
western England, we have the several basins of South Wales,
Severn Valley, and Bristol, separated by tracts of Mountain
Limestone and Old Red Sandstone, the extremes of the inter-
vening belts of older rocks being two miles at Nameche and
eighteen mUes in Wales. These barriers are clearly only local,
and the division of the Coal Measures into separate basins ap-
pears to be their ordinary condition along this great line of
disturbance. The length of the two known portions of the axis
included between Pembrokeshire and Frome, and between
Calais and Westphalia, is 472 miles, and in this distance we find
eight separate and distinct coal-fields. The combined length ol
these eight coal-fields is about 350 miles, leaving about 122
miles occupied by intervening tracts of older rocks ; so that
nearly three-quarters of the whole length is occupied by coal-
strata. I consider that a structure which is constant (so far as
the axis of disturbance can be traced above ground) is, in all
probability, continued under ground in connection with the range
of the same line of disturbance ; and I see no reason why the
coal-strata should not occupy as great a proportionate length and
breadth in the under-ground and unknown, as in the above-
ground and explored area.
With respect to the possibility of denudation having removed
the intervening Coal Measures, enormous as the extent of df-
nudation must have been previous to the deposition of the Per-
mian strata, we cannot admit its exceptional action in this case.
Denudation has removed from the crest of the Mendips a mass
of strata possibly equal to two miles or more in height, and
from that of the Ardennes as much as three or four miles, and
it has also worn extensive channels between many of our coal-
fields, so that the power of such an agent cannot be denied.
But it is a power of planing down exposd surfaces rather than of
excavating very deep troughs. Notwithstanding its immense
planing-down action on the Mendips and Ardennes, deep troughs
of Coal Measures ;are left flanking their northern slopes. These
troughs descend to more than a mile beneath the level of the
sea ; and I do not think it probable that those underground in-
termediate portions of the trough where the axis is lower, would
have suffered more than those on the higher levels, unless \i
were to the extent caused by the later denudation which pre-
ceded the Cretaceous period. But this would not affect the main
bulk of the Coal Measures. The 'Belgian coal-field, which was
exposed to the action of both these denudations, still retains
vast proportions.
I may remark that the pre- Cretaceous denudation was ver)'
irregular in its action. At one place near Mons the Chalk and
Tertiary strata are above 900 feet thick ; whilst at another, on
about the same level, and at but a short distance, they are no(
100 feet thick — an old under-ground ^ hill of highly inclined
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NATURE
491
Coal Measures causing this difTerence, and rising in tbe midst
of the nnconfonnable newer strata. This shows that in the
English Chalk area we may possibly find irregtdar old surfaces of
this kindy so that the Coal Measures may exist at places nearer
the surface than we have estimated.
We have alluded before to the great length and narrow width
of the Belgian coal-fields. That of Liege is forty* five miles
lon|;, with a mean width of less than four miles, whilst that of
Hamaut and Valenciennes is 119 miles long, with a width
scarcely greater. The presence of lower Cart>oniferous rocks
nnder Harwich, and the wider range north and south of the
Bristol coal-field, renders it possible that the trough in the inter-
mediate area may have a greater expansion than in Belgium ;
but we have nothing else to guide us, unless it be that the lateral
pressure in the intermediate grotmd was probably less than in
the Ardennes and the Mendips, where it has exercised its maxi-
mam elevatory force. In that case the coal-trough in this inter-
mediate area would be less compressed and more expanded ; so we
might consequently here look to find larger coal-basins than either
those of Somerset or Li^. The ]>osition of these basins I am
disposed, for reasons given in my Report, to place farther north
than Mr. Godwin- Austen, and shotUd therefore' look for them not
in the valley of the Thames, or on the line of the North Downs,
but under South Essex, Middlesex or Hertfordshire, Oxford-
shire, and North Wiltshire.
The strata on the south side of the Li^ge coal-field rise abruptly
against highly inclined and faulted Devonian rocks, and the
north side they rise at a less angle beneath Cretaceous or Ter-
tiary strata. In the Hainaut coal-field the overlying have a
greater extension. Under these strata the Coal Measures are
succeeded by the Mountain Limestone, and then by Devonian or
Silurian strata; but with one or two limited exceptions their
outcrop is hidden by the newer strata which stretch uninter-
ruptedly northward over the rest of Belgium. The Palaeozoic
strata have, however, been met with near Brussels, under
Tertiary strata, at a depth of about 600 feet, and at Ostend at a
depth of 985 feet, of which 682 consisted of lower Tertiary
strata, 210 feet of Chalk, and 93 of coloured marls. It appears,
therefore, not improbable, that the Tertiary and Cretaceous
strata of all Belgium may repose directly on a floor of Palaeozoic
rocks ; and as there is reason to suppose that all these rocks have
a strike parallel with that of the Ardennes, folds in the strata
may bring in some under-ground coal-basin or basins in parallel
lines to the north, in the same way that small troughs of Coal
Measures are brought in again in the Ardennes to the south of
the great coal-trough. On the other hand, the great Palaeozoic
axis of the Ardennes, consisting of Silurian and Devonian rocks.
Mountain Limestone, and CoalMeasures, passes westward under
the Chalk of the north of France, and has been followed under
ground as far as to Calais, where it lies at a depth of 1,032 feet ;
while in the direction of Boulogne it keeps nearer the surface,
outcrops from beneath the Chalk downs surrounding the Boulon-
nais, and disappears westward under an unconformable series of
Jurassic and Wealden strata.
We may, I think, look for a prolongation of this old Palaeo-
zoic surface of highly inclined, contort^, and faulted rocks at
no very great depth under the same Wealden, Chalk, and
Tertiary area of the south of England. For, although the old
Palseozoic surface descends rapidly firom about 300 feet above the
sea-level in the Boulonnab to 1030 feet below it at Calais, it
rises at Ostend 47 higher than at Calais, and crossing the
Channel, it is found at Harwich within a few feet of the same
depth as at Calais, from which it is eighty miles distant in a
northerly direction. Passing westward from Calais, we find
the Palaeozoic rocks under Ix>ndon 105 miles distant, and 102
feet higher than under Calais, and 106 feet higher than at
Harwich. Allowing for irregularities of the old surface as
evinced by the well at Crossness, near Plumstead, which was
still in the Gault at a depth of 944 feet, or some 14 feet below
the level of the Palaeozoic rocks at Kentish Town, we may still
consider that in the area between these ihree points, and pos-
sibly throughout the south-east of England, the Palaeozoic rocks
will probably be found not to be more than fipom 1,000 to 1,200
feet beneath the sea-level
Projecting the line another 100 miles westward, we reach the
nei^bourhood of Bath and Frome, where the Coal Measures
are, as before mentioned, lost at a depth of about 450 feet,
beneath Liassic and Jurassic strata. In the inrermediate area
between that place and London no trial-pits and no wells have
been carried to a depth of anything like 1,000 feet beneath the
sea-level. The deepest well with which I am acquainted is one
near Ch >bham, in Surrey, through Tertiary strata and Chalk
to a depth of about 800 feet, or of 550 feet beneath the sea-level.
There are, hu^vever, in all this area certain indications of the
proximity of old land and of pre-Cretaceous denudation, in the
presence of qu irtz and Lydian pebble-stones, accompanied by
Secondary ro. k fossils in ihe Lower Greensands of Surrey, and
in the like old rock pebbles, with the addition of slate pebbles,
in that form aion in North WUtshire ; while the banks of shingle,
Bryozoa, and sponges of the same age at Farringdon, point to
s! ill and sheltered waers, probably of no great depth, and to
a-ljacent dry land. Agam, oa the north of London, we have in
the Lower Greensand of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire
shingle beds consisting almost entirely of fossils derived from
Jurassic strata, with a remarkable collection of larger quartz,
quartzite, and other rock-pebbles, derived probably from tne old
Palaeozoic axis.
On the south also of the great Mendip and Ardennes axis
coal strata may possibly be found just as they are fuund on both
sides of the Pennine chain ; for in either case the measures are
cut off and broken through by these chains of hills. In South
Wales certain folds of the older strata seem to render it probable
that the Coal Measures may pass under the Bristol Channel,
forming a trough which prolonged eastward would pass along the
south side of the Mendips. Trials in the latter area, have, how-
ever, shown that the New Red Sandstone, Lias, and Oolitic series
attain an infinitely greater thickness than on the north flank of
that ranee, so that it is not likely that the Coal Measures would
lie at a less depth than from i,$oo to 2,000 feet
On further consideration of the subject, it seems to me a
question whether we should not take a still broader view of
this great east and west aids, and assign to it a width varying
from thirty to eighty miles or more, looking at the Mendips and
Exmoor hills as the bounding flexures north and south of the
same line of disturbance in South-western England, while the
ridges of the Ardennes, the Eifel, and the Hui^sruck (in part ?)
are exhibitions of the same parallel series of anticlinals. in that
case the great coal-basins of South Wales and Somerset would
represent the synclinal trough en one side of the axis of dis-
turbance, and on the other side we should have the Lower Calr-
boniferous or Coal Measures of Devon ; while on the Continent
the deep, narrow synclinal trough of the Li^e and Aix-la-
Chapelle basin may be considered as lyin^ on one side of the
arch, and the great coal-basin of Saarbruck on the other. This
important coal-basin has already been followed under the New
Rwl Sandstones of the Vosges for a distance of from twenty-four
to thirty miles in the direction of Metz, still on the strike of the
Ardeimes. Further westward, a trial for coal near Doncherry
led to the discovery of Palaeozoic rocks, at a depth of 1,090 feet
under that thickness of Lias and Infralias ; but the line of the
coal-trough should, I think, pass a few miles to the south of this
spot Thence this underground coal-trough would range in an
irregular east and west line, keeping parallel, or nearly parsQlel,
with the Mons and Valenciennes troughs, under the north of
Champagne, Normandy, the Channel, l^tween the Isle of Wight
and Cherbourg, Dorset, and cropping out again in North Devon.
The only deep sections that I know of on this line are those
furnished by a well sunk many years since, nine miles east of
Dieppe, to a depth of 1,092 feet in the Kimmeridge clay and
other strata ; and another by a boring at SotteviUe, near Rouen,
through a thin capping of Cretaceous strata, to a depth of 1,050
feet in the same Kimmeridge clay — ^in either case without reach-
ing the Palaeozoic rocks. At Paris no Palaeozoic rocks have been
reached at a depth of 2,000 feet
In this country the newer strata, overl]ring the Palaeozoic rocks
on our presumed anticlinal line, have been sunk through, with-
out result in the lowest beds of the Wealden at Hastings to a
depth of 486 feet, in the upper beds at Earlswood, near Reigate,
to a depth of about 900 feet and, on the presumed synclinal
line of Carboniferous rocks, through Chalk at Chichester, to a
depth of 945 feet, and at Southampton, through Tcniary strata
and Chalk to a depth of 1,317 feet
To the south of all the area we have now described, there
existed during the Carboniferous period, the ranges of the older
Palaeozoic strata of the Hunsdruck andVosees — ot the old crystal-
line rocks of Central France, fringed on the east and north with
small outlying coal basins of the old Palreozoic rocks of Brittany —
and of the Silurian rocks of South Cornwall — forming the old
land-surface, fringerl by the great coal -growths subtended north-
wards through Northern France, Western Prussia, Belgium, and
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NATURE
{April i8, 1872
England, to the Silaruin uplands of Central Scotland on the
north, and those of the Welsh and Cambrian highlands on the
west, and possibly to thone of the Scandinavian hills on the
north-east After the formation and consolidation of the Coal-
strata, the southern area of this great Carboniferous basin was
then subjected to that remarkable disturbance which, for a dis*
tance of above 800 miles, exercised that excessive lateral pressure
by which the older underlying strata were squeezed and forced up
into the series of sharp antidinals forming the axis of the Men-
dips and Ardennes, while portions only of the Carboniferous
series were preserved from the denudation which followed, in
deep synclinal troughs flanking the main axis.
The central and northern portions of the great Carboniferous
basin, which were not raised by this disturbance, were then over-
spread by strata of the Permian series ; after which the northern
section of the original coal area was traversed by that other great
disturbance at nearly right angles to the former one, by which
fresh portions of the Coal Measures were brought up in our
central and northern counties, still leaving other deeper ^seated
portions to be afterwards covered by Triassic and Jurassic strata.
At a much later period the emerged southern area of Palaeozoic
rocks, including the westward prolongation of the greU coal-
trough of Belgium, or portions thereof, was submerged and
covered over by the several formations of the Greensands, Chalk,
and Lower Tertiaries now forming the surface of the south- east
of England.
The trials to discover these possibly productive coal-basins
must necessarily be attended witii considerable uncertainty. We
shall have to feel our way. Of our hope of their ultimate suc-
cess I have given you the reasons. Nor could such trials near
London scarcely fail of some important results ; for, even if we
did not hit at nrst upon the Coal Measures, it is probable that
the Lower Greenland would at some spots be reached, so that
the inestimable additional benefit of a large and steady supply
of pure water might also be obtained, and, with proper care to
prevent undue interference, might be maintained for all time.
And now, gentlemen, in retiring from the chair, which I have
had the honour to occupy durim^ the last two years, allow me to
express the sincere satisfaction I have experienced in witnessing
tlie continued prosperity of the Society, and the unanimity and
oneness with which its labours are carried on. It was a post I
long hesitated to accept, but which your kind forbearance and
the friendly co-cperation of your officers, has not only rendered
easy, but as pleasant as it has been gratifying. I feel assured of
the continued prosperity and usefulness of the Society when I
resign my trust into the hands of a nobleman so distinguished
as a statesman, so able as a writer, and so long known amongst
us an active and zealous geologist, as the Duke of Argyll
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
The LenSf a quarterly journal of microscopy and the allied
natural sciences, with the Transactions of the Slate Microscopical
Society of Illinois, edited by S. A Brigg*. No. I, January 1872.
Chicago, U.S. This long- promised journal has at length made
iis appearance, and we learn from its first number that it was
printed and ready for the mail when the great fire occurred.
With the exception of a few copies, the whole edi'ion was de-
stroyed, and on recovery from that disaster had to be reprinted.
We have cause, therefore, to ongmtulate the publishing com-
mittee on recovering themselves so speedily as to issue their first
number with the new year. Amongst its contents we note the
following : — ** Connpectu* of the families and genera of the Dia-
tomaceae," by Prof. H. L. Smith. This is an artificial key, and
like alUuch efforts has its good and bad sides. As a help &uch
guides arc useful, but ihey are seldom satisfactory. A table of
synonyms is promised in the next number. — "The Flora of
Chicago and its vicinity," by H. II. Babcock, is hardly such a
subject as we should expect to find in a microscopical journal,
since the list of Phanerogamic plants, with localities, here com-
menced, contains no single note of microscopical observation.
To the local botanist it will probably make amends for this by
its practical utility. — "Onthr preparation and preservation of
sections of soil ti«*sues," bv Dr. |. N. Danforth, conuins practi
cal obbcrvations on the preparation of morbi.l animal tissues
without artificial hardening.- -** Microscopical Memoranda for
the use o» Prac itioners of Medicme/'by Dr. J. J. Woodward,
U.S. Army, is the first portion of a more elaborate treatment of
the same subject, wnich is to be contained in succeeding num-
bers. Dr. Woodward's reputation on this side the Atlantic
as a practical microscopist is a sufficient guarantee for these
memoranda. — "A new fossil Echinus," by O. S. Wescott, is
named by the author OUgoporus Groveri^ and found in the lime-
stone region of Hancock County, IHinois. — "The Diatomacese
of Lake Michigan,*' by S. A. Btiggs, is simply a list of species.
— " A New Method oi^ Illuminating Opaque Objects under high
powers," by Dr. H. A. Johnson. This new method consists
m sending a beam of light down the oblique body of the bi-
nocular upon the prism, bymeansof a plane mirror or rectangular
prism ; by this arrangement objectives as high as ^ in. have
been used successfully by daylight and lamplight — A reprint
from the Monthly Microscopiccd Journal and some notes com-
plete the present number. The losses which the Academy of
Sciences of Chicago sustained by the late destructive fire are
detailed, in so far as the natural history collections and library
are concerned. All British naturalists will sjmnpathise with those
of Chicago at their irreparable misfortune in such losses as the
Smiihsonian collection of cmstacea, which filled 10,000 jars,
and the invertebrates of the U.S. North Pacific Exploring Ex-
pedition, besides the thousands of specimens, zoological, botani-
cal, and mineralogica), in the genend collection.
Journal of the Chemical Socidy, Jan. 7, 1872.-— Dr. Gladstone
has continued his experiments on various essential oils ; amongst
others he has examined four new oils, those of citron, lign aloes,
pimento, and vitivert; the author has separated the hydro-
carbons contained in most essential oils into three polymeric
groups to which ihe formulae CioHi,, CigHi^, and C^^H,,, have
been assigned. The two bodies first mentioned have the vapour
density required by theory, the third has not been examined, the
three bodies also differ in their solubility in alcohol, and in their ex-
pansibility by heat. The physical properties and chemical compo-
sition of several oils have been studied in detail, and are here de-
scribed. Dr. Armstrong contributes a third paper on the nitrochlor-
phenols, the results obtained, however, are not suitable for useful
abstraction. Amongst the abstracts there is one by £. Budde
*' on the action of light on Chlorine and Bromine." The author
has exposed chlorine to the action of various parts of the solar
spectrum, he f«iund that when the bulb of gas was exposed to the
violet and ultra-violet rays, there was from six to seven times as
great expansion as took place in the red and yellow part of the
spectrum. An ordinary differential air thermometer and also one
cnarged with carbonic anhydride and ether, placed in the blue
and violet parts of the spectrum, showed no increase in tempera-
ture. The author is of opinion that the hypothesis which he
has advanced in explanation "that the chemically active L'ght
actually decomposes the chlorine molecules into chlorine atoms "
is not a little supported by the fact that the rays which cause the
expansion of chlorine coincide with those which are known to
render it chemically active. The author believes that the light
causes the separation of the molecules into atoms, and that the
isolated atoms combine again with the production of heat, and
thus lead to an increase of temperature which would accoont for
the expansion of the gas as observed.
The articles of most general interest in the Journal of ihe
Franklin Institute for January are by Mr. F. A. Genth, on
the Mineral Resources of North Carolina ; and by Mr. G. W.
Baird, U.S.N., on the Absorption of Gases bv Water, and on
the organic matters contained therein. The latter contains a
series of experiments on the volume of different gases capable
of being dissolved in a unit volume of water, and on the amount
of oxygen necessary to oxidise the organic matter contained in
the »ater. — The editorial notes contain descriptions of a number
of novelties in mechanics and physics. — Mr. J. Farrand Henry
continues his series of papers on the Flow of Water in Rivers and
i.:anal8. and Mr. J. H. Cooper his article on Brlting Facts and
Figures. — There is also a report by Mr. W. M. Henderson on
some experiments on the explosion of steam-boilers, carried out
by a committee of the Franklin Institute at the instance of the
engineers of some of the American railways.
The American Journal of Science and Art for February is mainly
geological. It commences, however, with some observations by
Pro*. C. A. Young on Encke's comet, at the Dai'tmouth ColI^c
Observatitry, accompanied by drawings. He identifies the spectran
with that of Comet II. 1868 (Wmnccke's comrt) described by
Mr. Huguins in the Philosophic Transacticms for that year.—
Prof. J. D Whitney has a note on the occurrence of the •* Primor-
dial Fauna" of Nevada, which he considers indicates most un-
equivocally the Potsdam period of the Silurian age, and carries
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NATURE
493
the Primonlial Fauna mach farther west than it had been found
before. — Prof. Dana's notice of the address of Prof. T. Sterry
Hunt, before the Anierican Association at Indianapolis has
already appeared in extenso in oar columns. — Prof. Roland Irving
on the age of the Quartzites, Schists, and Conglomerates of
Sauk Co., Wisconsin, holds them to be unquestionably islands
ia the Potsdam Sea, famishing beautiful illustrations of wave
action on a rocky coast. — Prof. Hayden gives an extremely in-
terestiog account, illustrated by maps, of the hot springs and
Geysers of the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers, the result of the
recent Government exploration of that district. Prof. T. Sterry
Hunt continues his notes on granite rocks, and Mr. A. S. Verrill
his contributions to Zoology from the museum of Yale College.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Royal Society, April 11. — " Researches on Solar Physics."
—III. By Warren De La Rue, F.R.S., Balfour Stewart,
F.R.S., and Benjamin Loewy.
The authors present in this paper the third instalment of the
determination of the areas and heliographic positions occupied
by the sun-spots observed by the Kew photoheliograph, com>
prising the years 1867, 1868, and 1869. They announce that
the fourth and last instalment is in active progress, and will be
precede l^ the final discussion of the whole ten-vearly period,
during which the photoheliograph has been at work. This final
discussion will contain the determination of the astronomical
elements of the sun on the basis of photographic observations,
and this work they anticipate will not only settle the Question of
rotation for a considerable time to come, but wiU also throw
light upon many ]>oints which have only recently been brought
under Uie consideration of scientific men. The results in gene-
ral, they believe, will prove the superiority of photographic sun-
observations over previous methods. The second question
which will be discussed is the distribution of sun-spots over the
solar surface. The facts already brought out indicate that the
progress of the inquiry may lead to some definite laws which
regulate the distribution ; there appear to exist centres of great
activity on the sun, and the different solar meridians seem to
have various but definite intervals of rest and activity. ^ In con-
clusion the authors point out the necessity of devoting in future
greater attention to the study of the foculse, and express a hope
of seeing photographic sun-observations carried on in this
country on a more extended system, connecting from day to day
solar phenomena with terrestrial meteorology and magnetism.
Correction to Messrs. De La Rue, Stewart, and Loewy's
papers " On some recent Researches in Solar Physics, &c."
The erroneous date given in our paper for one of Professor
WolTs maxima has already been corrected by us, and we give in
the subjoined little table the corrections of the few numerical
data whidi are necessitated by the error of fixing the date of
maximum at 1846*6 instead of 1848*6.
Prof. Wolfs ratio ^ (p. 86).
EfToneoas figures given previously.
DiScrenoet.
Cotrected figures.
Differences.
+0-283
1728 I '265)
I '478 > Mean 1*548 +0^)73
L 1-265)
IL 2-615 > Mean 2*093 +0*522
IIL 2*400 ) +0*307 I -900 ) +0352
The differences derived from our own results are respectively
+0'o6i, and —0*047, that is, they are still much smaller, and
agree singly better with the mean, than if Prof. Wolf's ratio
were adopted ; hence our conclusion is quite unaffected by this
correction.
The remark made by us with reference to this maximum
will remam in force even with the corrected date. We sUted
there that this particular maximum showed alone an appreci-
able difference from the dates fixed by ourselves, for it will
be found that Prof. Wolfs date differs still by about three-
quarters of a year from ours.
" Contributions to the History of the Opium Alkaloids." —
Part V. By Dr. C. R. A. Wright.
•* The Action of Oxygen on Copper Nitrate in a state of
Tension." By Dr. J. R Gladstone, F.R.S., and Alfred
Tnbe, F.C.S.
In our expeiimenti on the action between copper and nitrate
of silver in solution, we frequently noticed that the tips of the
silver crystak became red, as though coated with a thin layer of
metallic copper.
This apparent deposition of a positive on a more negative
metal of course raised our curiosity, and led us to look closely
into the circumstances under which it occurred. We found that
it took p!ace only when the nitrate of silver was exhausted, and
only on those silver crystals which remained in metallic connec-
tion with the copper. We found, too, that the cupreous coating
formed most readily where air had the freest access ; and, in
fact, that it would not form at all in vessels from which oxygen
was excluded, nor on those white crystals which were far below
the surface of the liquid, though they might be in immediate
contact with the copper plate. When an inverted jar wat filled
with nitrate of copper solution and silver crystals resting on
branches of copper, and the liquid was displaccxi by oxygen gas,
it was found that the tips of the crystals became red, and the
solution gradually filled the jar again by the absorption of the
gas. In the same way the oxygen was absorbed from air, or
from its mixtures with hydrogen or carbonic anhydride. This
action vras further studied by employing plates of the two metals
instead of copper covered with silver crystals. When the two
plates, connected by a wire, were partially immersed in an ordi-
nary aqueous solution of copper nitrate, it was found that a
slight yellowish deposit made its appearance speedily all over the
silver plate, and went on increasing for a day or two, while at
the air line there was a thicker deposit, which gradually grew
and extended itself a little below the surface. This deposit
changed from yellowish to red, and under the microscope pre-
sented a distinctly crystalline appearance. Thinking that this
sUght crust all over the silver plate was due to the air dissolved
in the solution itself, we took advantage of the reaction to pre-
pare copper nitrate absolutely free from dissolved oxygen. An
ordinary solution of the salt mixed with some silver nitrate was
placed in a narrow cylinder, with a long piece of copper foil
arranged somewhat spirally so as to retain the deposited silver
on its surface, and allowed to rest for twenty-four hours.
The solution thus obtained was ^exposed to the action of the
conjoined copper and silver plates, but even after some hours
there was no diminishing of the lustre of the silver plates, except
at the air line, which was sharply defined. The same solution
shaken for some time in the air produced a yellowish deposit on
the white metal in three minutes.
The colour and general appearance of this crust, together
with its formation only where oxygen can be absorbed, showed
that it was not metallic copper, but the suboxide.
This was further proved by the action of diluted sulphuric
acid, which resolves it at once into red metallic copper and cop-
per sulphate. There is also another curious reaction which can
only be properly observed under a microscope.
When treated with a solution of silver nitrate, this cupreous
deposit does not give the ordinary crystals of the white metal ;
in fact, it is only slowly acted upon, but presently there shoot
forth thin threads of silver which run through the Uquid, often
twisting at sharp angles, while the yellowish crystals change to
black. This also was found to be a property of the suboxide of
copper. This deposition of oxide on the silver is accompanied
by a corresponding solution of copper from the other plate.
Thus, in an experiment made with nitrate of copper solution
that had been exposed to air, and which was allowed to con-
tinue for four days, there was found —
Gain of silver plate, 0*016 grra.
Loss of copper plate, 0*015 S^™-
The copper necessary for the production of 0'oi6grm. of
suboxide would be a little above 0*014 S"°*
The wire connecting the two plates in this experiment is
capable of deflecting a galvanometer. The current takes place
from copper through the liquid to silver, that is, in the same
direction as if the cop]>er had been dissolved by an acid, and
hydrogen evolved on Uie silver plate.
If the two plates have their sides parallel, the suboxide is
deposited not merely on that side of the silver plate which faces
the copper, but after about a minute on the other side also,
showing that in this, as in other cases, the lines of force curve
round.
It became interesting to consider what started this electric
current. The original ot>servaiions convinced us that it was not
due to the action of oxygen on the copper ; but to make the
matter more certain, bright copper and silver plates in conjunc-
L/iyiLi^cju kjy
<3^'
494
NATURS
{April i8, 187^
tion were immersed, the copper in a pure, i.e, deoxygenised,
solution of nitrate of copper, the silver in an oxygenised solu-
tion ; the two liquids communicated through the diaphragm of
a divided cell. In half an hour the silver plate was covered with
a reddish film, while not a trace of oxidation was perceptible on
the copper. On continuing this experiment for three hours, it
was found that the copper pkte lost o-0O3grm., and the silver
plate increased proportionately. On cleaning the plates and re-
versing their position, the cop]>er was covered with a film of
oxide, while tne silver remained free from cupreous deposit
We believe, therefore, that through the simultaneous action of
Uie two metals the dissolved salt is put into such a state of ten-
sion that oxygen brings about a chemical change which other-
wise would be impossible, and that this change is initiated in
close proximity to the more negative metal.
lliough we have examined only this reaction, we have satisfied
ourselves that it b not an isolated fact Each of the elements
concern^ may be replaced by others : thus the sulphate may be
substituted for the nitrate of copper, or platinum may be used
instead of silver. Chlorine may take the place of oxygen with
the production of the subchloride instead of the suboxide, and
zinc may be employed as the positive metal with zinc chloride as
the salt in solution, in which case copper may be taken as the
negative metal, and on its surface will form a deposit of oxide of
zinc.
Linnean Society, March 21 and April 4. — Mr. Benthamread
the continuation and conclusion of his notes on Compositse,
comprising their History and Geographical Distribution. The
ancient history of the order is more purelv conjectural than that
of many oUier large groups of plants. The geological record is
remarkably scanty. The only renuuns that can be plausibly
referred to Compositae are the impressions of achenes with their
pappus fiigured by Oswald Heer from the up]>er Miocene deposits
of central Europe, which, supposing, as is probably the case, that
Uie identifications are correct, would only show that at that ter-
tiary epoch Compositae existed in Europe of the same general
character as those which are there now to be met with ; and that
they had thus already attained that highly differentiated charac-
ter they now possess, and consequently must already have been
of an old date. In the absence, therefore, of direct evidence,
we are left to judge of the antiquity and origin of Compositae in
general, as well as of the subordinate races they comprise, from
their comparative structure and geographical distribution. The
paper then proceeds to pass in review in great detail the thirteen
trit>es of Compositae, and the several subtribes and principal
genera into wtuch they are divided ; after which some conjec-
tures are put forward, as derived from the data thus supplied,
as to the comparative antiquity of the principal races of Com-
positae. Concurring with the arguments which have been
Drought forward by French and other botanists, to show that the
great consolidation and uniform structure of the essential oi^gans
of fructification in Compositse are evidences of their greatest
perfection and consequent comparatively recent origin, it is
shown that this consolidation and uniformity is least marked
in Helianthoideae, especially in the small subtribe of Petrobieae,
and most so in Cichoraceae ; and this conjecture that the
former represent the most ancient, the latter the most recent,
races of the order, is confirmed in some measure by the pecu-
liarities of tiieir respective geographical distribution. The
study of the various details given would further lead to the sup-
position that the primitive form of Compositae had regular
gamopetalous flowers with an inferior ovary, the calyx, corolla and
uniseriate stamens isomerous and probably pentamerous, the pistil
bicarpellary, but the ovary already internally reduced to a single
cell with a single erect anatropous ovule, and the seed exalbu-
minous, enclosed in an indehiscent pericarp, and containing a
straight embryo with an inferior radicle ; and that it is in the
gradual course of subsequent consolidations that the bracts have
crowded round the condensed flowers and usurped the functions
of the calyx-limb, which has become obliterated or transformed
so as to be better adapted to its new duties ; the corollas have
become contracted, or the outer ones variously developed in
forms and colours adapted to assist in the process 01 cross-
fertilisation ; the anthers, brought into dose contact by the com-
pression of the flowers, have become united, and their styles
modified so as to assist them in the discharge of their pollen,
and the conversion from hermaphroditism to unisexual ity may
in various races have variously preceded or followed some or all
of these changes, and produced those numerous diversities
observed in the order. We might be further led to imagine that
several of these changes had tidcen place at a very eariy period
previously to the disruption of or stoppage of communication
between the tropical regions of the gl(^, that, bestdea the
parent forms above supposed to be represented in some Helian-
thoideae, and perhaps a few Cotuleae, Composites then existed,
showing several important modifications, such as — (i) the regu-
lar and uniform tubular development of the corolla, accompanied
by more or less of suppression of the iimer bracts^ and of the
normal calyx-limb, with a substitution of a pappus in the latter
case ; (2) the reduction of the corolla limb, attended fre-
quently by a sexual dimorphism and occasional oblique
development of the outer female flower ; and (3) perhaps at a
later period, the uniform unilateral development of the whole of
the corollas, accompanied usually by a suppression of the inner
bracts and conversion of the calyx limb into a pappus. From
the first of these modifications would have sprung tne Eupato-
riaceae in America, the Vemoniaceae in the New and the Old
World, the Cynaroidese in the northern, and the Mntisiaoeae in
the southern hemisphere. From the second modification woiild
have arisen — ^first, Uie more slightly altered Helianthoideae chiefly
in America ; secondly, the Helenioidese in America, and the
Anthemideae in the Old World, with the thinly paleaceous
modification or total suppression of the inner bracts and calyx
limb ; and thirdly, the cosmopolitan Senecionidese, Asteroidex,
and the majority of Inuloideae, with an almost universal suppres-
sion of the iimer bracts and conversion of the calyx limb into a
setose pappus. The third general modification, with a very few
slight exceptions, has settlra down into those Cichoraceae whose
absolute uniformity had been already pointed out. In the third
and concluding portion of the paper the present Regions, or chief
centres, or areas, of the prindpal races of Compositae are passed
in review. The position of^ these preat centres is evidently
influenced by the prevalent constitution of the order, and the
consequent effects of dimatological and other physical causes on
the gradual migrations of its species. Rarely arborescent and
gregarious, still more rarely aquatic, Compositae are, in a great
measure, excluded from the vast forest-clad lowlands of the
Amazon region of America, or of eastern tropical Asia, and the
species are few in the swampy bogs of the northern hemisphere.
Their favourite haunts are trSess or thinly-clad mountain
r^ons, and especially the lower or broken grounds, rocky ridges,
or open camposof warmextratropicalorsubtropical districts. They
ma^ be met with, it is true, at the highest utitudes or latitudes
which will bear phzenogamic vegetation as well as in the warmest
tropical deserts, and a few species, as ready colonists, are per-
fectly ubiquitous in the traces of man ; but there are large
tracts of open countiv especially abounding in highly diflferentiated
races of very limited areas, others again where Composite genera
and species are as numerous and ilUdefined in their subordinate
races as wide and vague in their geographical range. These
tracts of country sevendly constitute Uie centres of differentiation
or areas of preservation, of which the definition is attempted as
Regions of Compositae. After alludine to the difficulties arising
from the interchange of races across the frontiers of adjoining
regions, or from the occasional reappearance of identical genera
and species at enormous distancesi, as well as from our imperfect
acquaintance with the Compositae of certain districts, these
regions are severally passed in review, in a series of tables of the
genera they contain, either endemic or common to other regions,
followed by such general observations as the comparisons may
have suggested, commencing with the primary division into the
New and the Old World, the former including the Sandwich as
well as the more nearly placed Pacific Islands, whilst the Atlantic
islands, Australia and New Zealand, are comprised in tlie Old
World. After a general table of the genera of and estimated
number of species m each division, a series of tables shows — (i ) the
connections between the tropical regions of the two divisions, as
exemplified by identical genera ; (2) the same connections in
identical species ; (3) the northern, and (4) the southern cormections
of the New and Old Worlds. Generally Composite are nearly
equally divided between the two, about 430 genera in the New
and 410 m the Old, with at least 4,700 species in the former,
4,400 in the latter ; new discoveries being likely to add more to
the latter. Of these numbers about 75 genera are common to
the two divisions, but the identical species are under 70 out of
at least 9, 100. These common species are chiefly Arctic, or
high northern, the tropical ones being very few and mostly very
generally diffused, and ready colonists, such as EcUpta aiba^
AgeratumconyzoideSf AdencsUmmazntcosum, SUgesheckiaariaUalis,
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April i8, 1872]
NATURE
495
In the separate distribution of Compositse in America and the
Old Worid there is one striking difference in the two divisions
^ith regard to the extratropical or subtropical races which form
the great bulk of the order. In America the northern and
southern tribes are the same, although in different proportions,
and there are a considerable number of identical genera and
even species in the north and. in the south. In the Old World
on the contrary two large northern tribes, Cynaroldex and
Cichoraceae, are all but absent from the south, whilst the southern
,^jretotidese, as well as seveial subtribes of other tribes, are
-wanting in the north. The genera common to the Mediter-
ranean and South African regions (except such cosmopolitan
genera as Senecio) are very few, and the common species scarcely
any. This great difference in the two divisions of the globe
may be due in a great measure to the direction of the great chain
of mountains which in America, running north and south,
iacititates or has facilitated means of intercommunication to races
of the constitution of Compositse, to which the east and west
mountain ranges plains seas and deserts of the Old World
only oppose oostades. The regions of which the Composite
are sevmlly tabulated and commented upon are, in America : ( i )
the Mexican region including California, a portion of Westem
Texas and Centnd America north of Veraguas, remarkable for
the large number of endemic genera, 135 out of 240, and the
SDudl average number of species ; (2) the United States region,
comprising the general area of North America from the Oregon
and Texas eastward and northward, with about 118 genera, out
of which only 25 are endemic, or nearly so, but the average
number of species more than double that of the Mexican genera ;
(3) the West Indian region, of which the three principal islands,
Cuba, St. Domingo, and Jamdca, have 13 endemic genera of
one to three species each ; and three South American r^ons, the
Andine, the Brazilian, and the Chilian, not so distinct from
each other, nor showing any such remarkable contrasts as the
two northern ones. In the Old World six regions are distin-
guished— (i) the Mediterranean, extending from Spain to Affgha-
nistan, with at least I40genera, morethanhalf of them endemic, and
an average of nearly 10 species to a genus ; (2) the great Europaeo-
Asiatic region, extending from Westem Europe to Eastern Asia,
with a large number of species, but only 10 endemic genera out
of 87 ; (3) the Tropical African, with 18 endemic genera out of
i09 ; (4) the Tropical Asiatic, with only 9 out of 78 endemic or
nearly so ; (5) the South African, the smallest in extent but the
richest in endemic highly differentiated genera and species, 100
out of 148 genera being limited to that locality, and out of about
1,400 species not above a dozen common to other regions ; and,
lastly, (6) the Australian r^on, with 39 out of 83 genera endemic,
and, notwithstanding its isolation, nearly 60 species common
to other countries, chiefly tropical Asia and New Zealand. The
Compositse of the principal Oceanic islands are also separately
tabulated and considered ; after which, in the general summary,
it is conjectured that Africa, Western America, and possibly
Austndia may have possessed the order at the earliest re-
cognisable stage, Africa showing the greatest variety of indi-
vidual isolated remnants of extinct races ; Andine America, and
some of the scattered Oceanic islands, exhibiting a few of what
may be deemed the nearest approach to the previously men-
tioned conjectural primitive form of the order ; that at this early
period there must have been some means of reciprocal inter-
change of races between these regions ; that since the disruption
of this intercourse between the two great divisions of the globe,
there must have been for a time a certain continuity of composite
races from north to south across the tropics— a continuity which
was probably further prolonged in America than in the Old
"World ; that as Composite b^an to disappear from these tropi-
cal regions which thenceforth opposed to them impassable
barriers, they became rapidly differentiated to the northward and
southward, with greater structural divergences in the Old than
in the New World, owing to the isolation being more co^iplete
in the former than in the latter ; and that those forms, those more
or less differentiated races, which had reached and accommo-
datol themselves to high northern latitudes or mountain altitudes,
retained some means of communication and interchange between
the Old and the New World, long after it was broken off in the
warmer parts of the globe. Finally the homes where Compositae
now flourish in the greatest luxuriance of specific variety and
individual numbers, appear to be tropical America, exclusive of
the great alluvial low grounds and forest regions, the United
States, South Africa, the Mediterranean region. West Central
Asia, and extra-tropical Australia.
Geologists' Association, April 7. — The Rev. J. Wiltshire^
F.G.S., president, in the chair. "On the Excavations at the
Site of the New Law Courts," by W. H. Hudleston, F.G.S.,
and F. G. H. Price. The auUiors commenced with a general
description of the area in question, which faces the Struid for
500 feet, and is in shape a rough square of some seven acres in
extent. The floor of the excavation is about 33 feet above
ordnance datum line at the south-east comer. Four varieties of
beds are recognised, (i) Brick rubbish, &c.; (2) gravels and
sands ; (3) red clay ; (4) blue clay. The nature of Uie changes
which the London clay undergoes in its upper portions was
noticed, and the chemical agencies acting upon the clay and its
included septaria pointed out. The clumges from blue to red
were thus summarised : — Conversion of dyad iron, existing partly
as carbonate partly as as a basic element of the silicate, into
trjrad iron, oxidation of the included pyrites, removal to a con-
siderable extent of the resulting sulphuric acid and diminution of
the carbonate of lime and magnesia. The several sections care-
fully examined b^ the authors showed that on the north side the
gravels have a thickness varying from 9 to 13 feet, and thin out
and disappear before the Strand is reached. The contour of
the London clay is irregular, one line of 30 yards giving a varia-
tion of 7 feet in the thickness of the overlying graveS, due to
this cause. Deposits of oxide of manganese and sulphide of
iron occur in the gravels ; the former, it was contended, due to
natural causes, while the latter was probably owing to sewage
contamination. The bones of Bos^ Capra^ and Equus^ were
found in the gravels, and in the tmderlying clay twenty-three
species of mollusca, including Ftisus bifascuiius and Pyrula
smiihii, characteristic, in the opinion of Mr. C Evans, of a line
of the London clay 130 feet above the base. The gravels belong
to the west London block of the Middle Level gravels, the as-
certained thickness of which at various points was compared with
the thickness of the Lower Level gravels at South Kensington,
Battersea, and Westminster. These latter the authors concluded
were double the thickness of the westem block of the Middle
Level gravels. In conclusion the authors drew attention to the
results of the operations of the existing river, and several ac-
curate measurements of the bed of the Thames were given in
illustration. — Mr. E. Charlesworth brought before the notice of
the Association some sharks' teeth from the Red Crag, having
certain perforations which, should they be proved to be the
result of human agency, would seem to carry the advent of man
on the earth back to Pliocene times.
Society of Biblical Archsology, April 2. — Dr. Birch,
F.S.A., president, in the chair. "Notice of a Curious Myth
respecting the Birth of Sargina, from the Assyrian Tablets con-
taining an account of his Life." By Henry Fox Talbot In
this paper Mr. Talbot showed that Sargina the First was a very
ancient king of Babylonia. The date of his reign is uncertain,
but it may be roughly estimated at fourteen or fifteen centuries
before the Christian era. He was a legislator and a conqueror,
and Ins arms appear to have reached the distant Mediterranean.
He fixed his capital at Agani, in Babylonia, a dty whose site
has not yet been discovered. His history, like that of other
ancient conquerors and legislators, has become partially involved
in fable. An account of his birth and infancy, preserved on a
tablet in the British Museum, offers a great similarity to that of
the infancy of Moses, as related in the second chapter of Exo-
dus. This account agrees very closely with the conduct of
Sargina's mother as described by the Assyrian tablet *' In a
secret place my mother had brought me forth. She placed me
in an ark of bulrushes ; with bitumen she closed up the door.
She threw me into the river, which did not enter into the ark.
The river bore me up, and brought me to the dwelling of a kind-
hearted fisherman. He saved my life, and brought me up as
his own son," &c The inscription appears to have been a long
one, but only a small portion of the banning has been well
preserved. — **0n the Rise of Semitic Civilisation, chiefly
considered upon Philological Evidence." By the Rev. A. H.
Sayce. The author stated that comparative grammar has
shown that the Semitic language belongs to a late period in the
history of the development of speech, and presupposes a parent-
language, possibly connected with the old Egyptian and the sub-
Semitic disUects of North Africa. Many objections, however, lie
against Uie biliteral theory, and most of the biliteral roots are
probably of foreign origin. This is Accadian, also the source,
it would seem, of the early Semitic traditions. Thus two at
least of the rivers of Paradise are Babylonian, and the Sisuthms
Digitized by
Google
469
NATURE
\April 18, 187a
of Berosus (the Biblical Noah), is the Accadian Susru or Na
( Anu). Like the traditions, a large proportion of the words in
the Semitic languages which express the objects of cirilised life
are borrowed from the Accadian— the ordinary terms for " city,"
"weighing," "measures," "ciphers," &c, come from this
source. We are thus enabled to gau£e the primitive civilisa-
tion of the Semitic nomads, and to determine that their home
had no great rivers or mountains, like the deserts of Northern
Arabia.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, April i. — M. Serret presented a con-
tinuation of M. A. Mannheim's geometrical researches upon the
contact of the third order of two surfaces. — A paper was read
by M. C. Decharme on the spontaneous siscensioiud movement
of liquids in capillary tubes. The author here stated as the re-
sult of his experiments that each liquid possesses a proper ascen-
sional velocity, which he proposes to call its " capillary velocity,"
and he indicated the peculiarities presented by certain liquids as
r^ards the relation between this velocity and the lenc^th of the
column, &c An aqueous solution of hydrochlorate of ammonia
has the greatest capillary velocity, and next to it chloride of
lithium ; both these have a greater velocity than pure water. — A
note by M. de la Rive on the theory of polar auroras was read ;
the author maintains the atmospheric nature of the phenomenon. —
The second part of a paper by M. A. Crova on the phenomena of
interference produced by parallel nets was read. — Nf. Faye gave
a long account of an association recently founded in Italy under the
title of " Societa dei Spettroscopisti Itaiiana," and also presented a
meftioir on the hypothesis of persistent winds on the sun. — In a
second communication on the history of fermentation, M. E.
Chevreul described in some detail the chemical labours of Stahl,
and especially his theories of fermentation and combustion,
which tne author r^arded as physical rather than chemical —
M. Joseph Boussingault presented a note on sorbite, a saccharine
material allied to mannite, obtained from the juice of the berries
of Sorbus aucuparia. — A note vras read bv M. A. Clermont, on
some metallic trichloracetates, and M. Balard presented a note
by M. E. Reboul on the identity of the brominated hydrobromate
and hydriodate of propylene, with dihydrobromate and iodohy-
drobromate of allylene, and on the dihydrobromate of acetvlene.
—A note by M. Duval-Jouve, on the anatomy of the dissepi-
ments presented by the leaves of certain species of yuncus, was
communicated by M. Duchartre.
April 8. — M Serret presented a note by M. K Combescure
on a peculiar system of equations with partial differences ; and
a paper entitled " Investigations upon substitutions," by M. C.
Jordan, was read. — M. Le Verrier communicated two notes by
M. Diamilla-MUIler, one on terrestrial magnetism, the other on
the cosmieal origin of auroras. In the latter he claimed priority
in having put forward the notion of these phenomena being due
to solar influences. — ^M. T. Silbermann read a continuation of his
memoir on the laws of atmospheric tides ; and M. C. Sainte-
Claire Deville commimicated a note bv M. O. Silvestri, giving
a chemical and microscopic analysis of the sand-shower whi^
fell in Sicily on March 9, 10, and 11 in the present year.— M.
Chevreul read a second note on the crystallisation of barytic
salts, the acids of which originate from the miceration of dead
bodies. — A memoir on the alteration of the sulphnrotu waters of
£au-Bounes in contact with a limited atmosphere, bvthe late M.
Louis Martin, was read. — M. H. Sainte-Clare Deville presented
notes bv M. A. Ditte on the apparent volatilisation of selenium
and tellurium, and on the dissociation of their hydrogenated
compounds ; by M. B. Renault, on the reducing properties of
hydrogen and vapours of phoiphorus, and on their application
to the reproduction of drawings ; by M. de Tommasi, on a com-
pound of binoxide of chrome anipotassic dichromate, kalichromic
dichromate [(CrO*)» (CrC)' K*0] H«0 ; and by M. L. Gran-
deau, on the function of the organic materials of the soil in the
nutrition of plants. — M. Cahours presented a note by MM. S.
Cloez and 6. Guignet on the chemical composition of the
Ctiinese green (lokao). — An interesting note on the poljrm irphism
of Mucor muceiOf by MM. P. Van Tieghem and G. Lie Meunier,
was communicated by M. Decaisne. — M. A. Vulpian read a
memoir on the alteration of the muscles produced under the in-
fluence of traumatic or analogous lesions of the nerves, and on
ths trophical action of the nervous centres upon the muscular
tissue ; and M. Gauthier de Claubry presented some observa-
tions on M. Champouillon's recent remarks as to the rapid
d c »«T>;.o>'.on of the bodies of alco'ioli^ed subjects. He
Adduces facts which seem to show that the difference in the rate
of putre&ction may be otherwise accounted for. — M. A. dt
Lapparent read a note on the date of the elevation of the district
of Bray.
BOOKS RECEIVED
Encush.— History of the Birds of New Zealand. Part i. : W. L Bute
(Van Voorst).— The Teeth, and How to save them: L. P. Mcmfii)
(W. TeggX
Fomncw.— Verhandhingen der k. k. sootogisch-botaniachen GcseOschaft a
Wien. Band at. — Die Grundlagen der Vogelschut^esetxes (Kittcx' ▼. Frasa-
feld). — Die Pflege dcrjungen bei Thieren (Ritter t. Franeafe'dX — Ueber die
WeuenverwQsterin Chloropt taeniopos: Prof. Max Nowidd — La Fhai»
graphie appliau^ aux ^des geographiques : Jules Gtrafd.^Thro«ffb
WiUiamsand Norgate.)-Die Metanwrphose der SquOliden : Prof. C QaM.
DIARY
THURSDAY, AnuL x8.
Royal Socistv, at 8.30. ^-On the Coiuiectioo between EnlosaoDi in Coal
Mines and Weather: R. H. Scott, F.R.S., and W. GaUowmjr.* Ota ihc
Fossil Mammals of Australia. Part VII. Genus Phasoolom) a. Spedei
exceeding the existing miesin sise : ProC Owen« F RS.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On Heat and Light: Prot Tyndall, F.R.S.
Soamr op Antiquakibs, at 8.3a— Test ofX^rtJun Centorial Scooes : H.
C. Coote.
Linnban Socimr, at 8.— On BtgonulU, a new genus of Bcgomaces : ProC
Oliver.— On three new genera of Malayan plants: ProC obver.^-Oa
Camullia scottiana and Temttraemim coriacea : Prot. Djrer.
Chemical Soamr, at 8.— Notes Irom the Laboratory of the AiwtnmwBM
UntYersitj; On a Compound of Sodium and Glycerine ; and On BairyliM»-
cyanate and Isocyanurate : £. A. Letts.
FRIDAY, Apkil 19.
Royal lMSTrrunoN{ at 9.~On the Sulphurous Impurity in Coal Gaa and
the means of removuag it : A. V. Uarcourt, F.R.S.
SA TURD A Y, AraiL so.
Royal iNsriTtrriON, at 3.— The SurDepths : R. A. Proctor.
Govbbnmbnt School op Mines, at 8.— On Geology : Dr. Cobbold.
SUNDAY, ArtiiL9u
Sunday Lbcturb Socibtv, at 4.— On the Hindiit— AiicientamlModena(->
their Manners, Customs. &c. : Dr. F. J. MouaL
MONDAY, Apml 9Z.
Royal Gbogkaphical Socibty, at 8.30.— Letter from Dr. Kirk oa the
Movements of Dr. Li^gstone. — On Recent Exploratioas ot the Noftk
Polar Regions : Capt. Shcrard Osbom, R.N. <.^
ANTHaopoLOGiCAL Institittb, at 8.— On the Hair and some other pecaliar>
ities of Oceanic Races : Dr. J. B. Davis, F.R.S.— On the Hair oc a. Hjo-
dostanee : Dr. H. Blaoc— On the Descent of the KsninwaiiK : Dr. Rink.
— LeSette Communi: Dr. R. S Chamock.
TUESDAY, Afwl ay
Royal iNSTrrvriON, at 3.— On Statistics, Soda! Science, aad IVaScical
Economy : Dr. Guy.
SociBTV op Antiquabibs, at s.^Anniversary Meeting.
WEDNESDAY, Apbil t4.
Geological Souety, at 8.— Notes on the GeologY of the Colony of Queens-
land : R. Daintree ; with ^Descriptions of the Fossils, by R. Ethendgc,
F.R.S.— Notes on AtoUs or Lagoon Islands : S. T. WhitneU.
k— On Nuts; their Produa
Society op Abts, at 8.-
duoe and U«
P. U
Royal Society op Litexatubb, at 4.30.— Anniversary Meeting.
London Institution, at xa.— Anniversary Meeting.
THURSDAY, Afbilss*
Royal Society, at 8.30.
Royal iNSTiTtrriON.at 3 •On Heat and Light : Ptof. Tyadall, F.R.S.
London Institution, at 7.3a— Turner and Mulready: Dr. liebreich.
CONTENTS Fags
The Second Rbpokt op the Royal Commission on SciXNTinc
Instruction and thr Advancement op Science 477
American WAK-On^icE Reports 47S
Our Book Shblp 479
Letters to the Editor:—
Error in Humboldt's Cosmos.—!. Carrick Moore 479
Conscious Mimicrv.— Rev. G. Henslow, F.LS 4to
The Adamites.— B. G. Jenkins 480
On the Colour of a Hydrogen Flame— A. G.MEE7E 481
Another Aurora.— T. G. E. Elger 481
Brilliant Meteor.— G. M. Whipple, F.R A. S. 481
Tidal Gauge«.^Rev. Jas. Pearson 48 c
Notes on the Rainfall op 1871. By J. J. Hall, F.R.S. ... 481
On Certain Phenomena Associated with a Hviirogen Flame.
By W. F. Barkett, F.C.S., Head Science Master at the Interna-
tional College , 48^
The Inhabitants op the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. — Oias>
caceansand IvaitxXi (Concludtd). By A. S. Packard, Jun. {.With
IllHstratioHS.) 484
Proposbd Gkanu Aquarium for Manchester 487
NOTEt . . . 487
bctsNriFic Intblligence prom America 489
Annual Aodrb^ to the Geological Society of London, Feb.
x^^^T I {(Concluded). By J. Prbstwich, F.RS 490
SciBNTiH, >EK1ALS 49a
SoaBTlKS ANU ACAUEMIBB 49.
Books Received 40$
DiAEV 496
Digitized by VjOOQIC
NATURE
497
THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1873
A PHYSICAL OBSERVATORY
AT the last meeting of the Astronomical Society, a
paper was read by Lieut.- Colonel Strange on '* The
Insufficiency of existing National Observatories." The
title is perhaps suggestive of an attack on Greenwich, but
this idea the paper at once dispels, the Royal Observa-
tory, and the administration of its eminent director, being
spoken of throughout in terms of the strongest approval,
in which all astronomers must join.
The aim of the writer was to show that, though Green-
wich provides most efficiently and amply for the elder
Astronomy, it is now time for us to consider whether her
younger sister should not also be permanently provided
for. When Greenwich was founded the Physics of Astro-
nomy, which now attract so much attention, had no exis-
tence. This department of science is entirely of modem
growth ; but it has already attained such wide proportions
and so deep a significance that it cannot any longer with
propriety be left to the chance cultivation of individual
zeal. In putting forward these ideas, Colonel Strange has
only given expression to what has been for some time in
the thoughts of every one interested in astronomy and its
correlated sciences. He is right in pointing out to the
Astronomical Society that in this direction its influence
can and ought now to be exerted. And he gives two very
cogent reasons why this should be done at once. First,
that the system of photoheliography, which has for some
years been carried on at Eew by the zeal of individuals,
and partly maintained by private means, has now been
brought to a close. Second, that the Royal Commission
on Science being now at work on the question of the ad-
vancement of science, the present opportunity is very
favourable for bringing this matter forcibly before Govern-
ment through that body— an opportunity which will pro-
bably not recur in a generation.
The discussion on the paper, as might be expected,
was prolonged and animated. The Astronomer Royal,
who spoke several times, was doubtful whether the ob-
ject for which such an observatory was sought to be
founded was sufficiently ''secular" to ensure success;
but on its being urged with great force and truth by
Mr. De La Rue and Captain Toynbee — ^both connected
officially with the Meteorological Office— that the study
of the sun, as had been insisted on by Colonel Strange
in his paper, must greatly aid meteorological research,
Mr. Airy candidly admitted that if that pretension can
be made good, there will exist a claim on behalf of
Meteorology for the establishment of a Physical Ob-
servatory, similar to, and as '' secular" as, that on
behalf of Navigation on which Greenwich was founded.
It is certainly a little disheartening to find a great
leader in science insisting so much on direct utilitarianism
as the sole basis of national science, and withholding his
testimony to the enormous moral and intellectual benefits
of philosophical research, and even omitting all considera-
tion of the indirect material results which have invariably
followed vigorous and systematic study of natural phe-
nomena of whatever kind. The average Englishman is
prone enough to hug what in his untaught stupidity he
VOL. V.
calls '' practical ideas," and will not be improved by
being told by one of the first of living philosophers
that such ideas are the standard by which he should
measure every proposal for advancement. But it is im-
possible to suppose that these are the ideas which the
Astronomer Royal will on mature reflection apply to the
question before us, when deliberately presented to him
with a view to action.
It is to be hoped, indeed, that the late discussion will
be followed by action. Our Royal Astronomical Society
should be the acknowledged head of modem astronomical
activity. It has higher functions to perform than those
on which its energies have been rather too exclusively
exercised — ^the reading, discussing, and publishing of
detached dissertations. It should from time to time take
stock of the territory it occupies, in order to see what
encroachments need fencing off and what expansions
are required. And, above all, it should constitute itself
more than it does the guide and encouraging counsellor
of the Government in matters which it must understand
better than they. We hope to see it awake to its moral
obligations in regard to the most important matter which
has been so opportunely submitted to it We do not
hesitate to say that if by its interposition a well-equipped
Observatory for Physical purposes should be established,
this will be the greatest service it will have ever conferred
on Astronomy, and not on Astronomy only, but on a vast
sphere of scientific inquiry, not obviously, but still indis-
putably, connected therewith.
In Meteorology such an observatory would ultimately,
if not unmediatdy, create a revolution. Instead of the
dreary columns of thermometer readings piled upon us
by well-meaning but aimless industry, we shall see men of
thought labouring to refer to the great source of all energy,
the great maintainer of all harmony, the great exciter of
all variation — to the sun itself— those phenomena, at
present the most difficult in the universe to interpret,
which hitherto it has been assumed that any one with 5/.
to spend on ''a complete set of meteorological instru-
ments " can help to elucidate.
Should the want now spoken of be made apparent to
those who can supply it, tiiere will be several important
preliminary questions to deal with, such as (i) What
should be the scope of such an observatory ? (2) Should
it be engrafted on Greenwich, or be independent.^
(3) Should Meteorology and Magnetism be engrafted on
it and severed from existing connections ? (4) Should
a system of sun observations — the primary, though, of
course, not the sole object of such an observatory— be ex-
tended to India and other British possessions, so as to
ensure that continuity of facts on which Messrs. De La
Rue, Balfour Stewart, and Loewy have laid so much
stress in their striking memoirs on Solar Physics recently
communicated to the Royal Society ?
LANKESTER'S PHYSIOLOGY
Practical Physiology ; being a School Manual of Health^
&^c. By Edwin Lankester, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. Fifth
Edition. Pp. 152. (London : Hardwicke, 1872.)
THE new title adopted by Dr. Lankester for this little
work is somewhat misleading. It has nothing to
do with Practical or Experimental Physiology, the sub«
L/iyiLi^cvj kjy
""S-
4Q8
^ATUkE
{April 2$, 1872
ject on which interest has lately so much revived in this
country, and on which we hope before long to sec a
treatise by competent hands. Nor would it be fair to
compare this '^ School Manual" with the admirable
''Lessons in Elementary Physiology" of Prof. Huxley.
The latter, though intended for boys' and girls' schools,
is only of use in the few instances in which dissection
and microscopic anatomy are taught ; and its chief value
is for University men who do not specially take up
Biology, and as the best introduction to the subject for
medical students. But Dr. Lankester addresses the
wider circle of the general public. He shows in the In-
troduction how an elementary knowledge of the functions
of the body and of the rules of health may be taught in
primary schools ; and proceeds to demonstrate the advan-
tage of this knowledge to statesmen, clergymen, lawyers,
architects, newspaper writers, common councilmen, and
artisans. Perhaps the most important part of this intro-
duction is that in which the author urges the importance
of some knowledge of what is necessary to health for
women in all stations of life. A skilful teacher would be
able to teach girls of average intelligence a large part,
and that the most valuable, of the contents of this
ManuaL They would probably learn it more readily
than boys, and when all memory of the tissues and
their names had passed away, it may be hoped that the
dogmatic injunctions and prohibitions on food and air
and drains and clothing would, at least in part, survive.
The first chapter contains a fair sketch of the con-
stituents of the human body ; the second deals with food,
and gives sensible advice on many points ; but here
there are marks of imperfect adaptation of Liebig's theories
to more recent facts. The third chapter, on Digestion,
is also clear and practical The next on the Circulation
is too technical for the purpose of the book, and might,
we think, be relieved of many anatomical terms. The
two which follow on Respiration and the Skin, are chiefly
sanitary, and might be read with advantage even
by those ignorant of physiology. In the seventh
chapter, on Movement, Dr. Lankester gives a
very uncertain sound on the subject of boat-racing
(pp. 76 and 77), in the former passage going so far as to
assert that "in all gymnastic exercises competition in
feats of strength should be avoided." The public have
been already frightened as much as they are likely to be
by certain letters on the dangers of boat-racing, which
appear at intervals in the Times newspaper. It may be
said of this, as of other athletic sports, that when com-
petition is avoided gymnastics will cease to be practised.
It is surely better to attempt wisely to regulate these
contests than to condemn what are just as valuable or as
injurious as competitive examinations in mental athletics.
The last two chapters of this manual, which deal with
the difficult subjects of the nervous system and the
senses, are pleasantly written, and give much useful in-
formation ; but there are more errors here than in the
rest of the book. Thus the decussation of nerve fibres is
made to take place in the corpus callosuM^ the arachnoid
is described as a '' spongy membrane," and the pathology
and causes of apoplexy given on the same page are not
correct. Again, the physical cause of short sight is not
the cornea being too rounded, but the whole eyeball being
too long, and if the reader '' looks into a living human
eye, through the pupil," as directed in p. 104, he wiD be
disappointed of the promised result In these as in other
particulars the work would have been better if the writer
had taken more pains. Beside a number of curious mis-
prints, there are several minor inaccuracies scattered
through the book, which a competent physiologist would
correct in looking through it. Only two lines of poetry
from Shakspeare and Milton occur, and both are mis-
quoted. Similar inaccuracies are to be found in the
classification of the animal kingdom printed at the end of
the volume, with which it appears to have no very close
connection. The glossary, on the other hand, and the
questions for examination, will probably be found of prac-
tical use. The tables of the ultimate and proximate con-
stituents of the body, also given in the Appendix, are too
exact to be correct, and the same may be said of that
showing the daily supply and waste. Moreover, lalb. of
fat would make but -a meagre man ; and 310Z. of water is
more than there is reason to suppose that the lungs
excrete. The woodcuts which have been added to the
present edition are taken from well-known, chiefly French,
sources ; they are roughly reproduced, but answer their
purpose well enough.
In a future edition, which we hope will be called for, it
would be well to restore the original title of the work,
and correct some of the inaccuracies we have referred to.
It might also be desirable to give fuUer directions on the
choice and preparation of food, and especially of the food
suitable for infants and invalids. A chapter on the general
management of a sick-room as to warming, ventilation
(now often carried to injurious excess), feeding, disinfec-
tion, &C., would also be a valuable addition. A short and
admirable pamphlet, issued a short time ago by T>x,
Bridges (" A Catechism of Health, adapted for Primary
Schools," 1870), contains just those points of sanitary
knowledge which are most important, and Dr. Lankestei's
experience as a coroner would be of great service (as it
has already been) in enabling him to enlarge upon these
most pressing topics, and to illustrate them by well -chosen
examples. P. S.
OUR BOOK SHELF
Jahrbuch der kaiserlich-kdniglichen geologischen Reich^
sanstalt^ xxi. Band. Nro.4 ; October, November, Decem-
ber. (Vienna, 1871.)
Dr. Neumayr occupies the greater portion of this num-
ber of the " Jahrbuch " with toe third part of his elaborate
" Jurastudien." In this paper he describes what he calls
"der penninische Klippenzug," a name derived from
Penninberge, near Szczawnica, on the borders of Western
Galicia and Hungary. The structure of this region is
treated of at considerable extent. A long list of some
two hundred and fifty papers, notices, &c., accompanies
the memoir. Herr Franz Toula gives some account of
the Randgebirges, near Karlsburg and Rodaun ; and the
work done in the Chemical Laboratory of the Institute is
described hj Karl Ritter v. Hauer. The mineralogical
conununications which accompany the "Jahrbuch" con-
tain, amongst other papers, one by C. W. C. Fuchs, on the
mechanical and chemical changes which lava undergoes in
passing from the fluid to the solid state ; and another by
G. Tschermakon the problems of mineralogical chemis-
try. We have also descriptions of various minerals by
Prof. Zirkel, Victor v. Lang, and Richard v. Drasche, and
a number of miscellaneous " notice^." ^
April 25, 1872]
MATURE
499
T^hc Higher Ministry of Nature : viewed in the Light of
Modern Science, ana as an Aid to Advanced Christian
Philosophy, By John R. Leifchild. (London: Hodder
and Stoughton, 1872.)
Mr. Leifchild is already known as a careful writer on
matters connected with economic geology ; he now appears
before the public in the avowed character of ambassador
between the opposing forces of Theology and Science.
This bulky volume of upwards of 500 pages appears to be a
kind of commonplace-book of thoughts which nave occurred
to him in solitary wanderings ; the title means to express
that the author concerns himself with subjects higher than
those which " subserve our present individual and collec-
tive interests.** We must acknowledge that works of this
kind, endeavouring to reconcile in detail the conflicting
theories of theologians and men of science, are little to
our taste ; we suppose, however, they have their public ;
and in the case of the volume before us, the large type,
wide margins, and handsome binding, are all in its favour.
With this preliminary objection, that portion of Mr. Leif-
child's work which comes within our scope-^for the greater
part does not— seems treated with considerable care and
knowledge, and with a higher degree of impartiality than
is usually to be met with in such works. The Darwinian
doctrines of evolution and natural selection of course
come in for some severe criticism ; we are surprised that
Mr. Leifchild should reiterate the superficial and often re-
futed objection that geology has not yet revealed a single
fossil in transitu from one species to another, as if it were
possible that geology should reveal anything but the suc-
cessive connecting and connected links, which it has done,
and is doing every day. Those who delight in specula-
tions on the border-land between the natural and the
supernatural will find much to interest them in the
volume, and to such we commend it.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[ The Editor does not hold himsdf responsible for opinions expressed
by his correspondents* No notice is taken of anonymous
communications, ]
Spectroscopic Nomenclature
Your columns were not long since opened to a discussion,
rather long drawn out, on a point of nomenclature. They aie
now, as ever, open to all reasonable discussion on that most in*
teresting aspect of Nature presented by the spectroscope. I
cannot help thinking; that some advance might be made if the
facul ties exhibited m the one were now brought to bear on the
othe.. There seems to be a lamentable tendency in zealous but
disorderly minds to pay as little attention as possible to those
aids to reasoning — those signs of ideas, which ought to be cur-
rent coin.
I do not in the least propose to mjrself to attempt to mount
the breach just now. But I would fain challenge attention, and
urge a fair amount of consideration, on some few points in which
I luive noticed very diverse methods of expressing the same thing.
And in so doing I may find it necessary to give my voice in
favour of one or the other. But it is not my object to advocate
so much as to indicate.
Observations have recently been made of the sun during
eclipse of a kind which, if not so novel as some think, is in*
tensely interesting, and must be constantly referred to. I mean
with a free prism. Now it occurs to me that it would be easy
to reserve the spectroscope for that instrument which we have
been accustomed to call such and to characterise these other
observations 9A prismatic^ as distinct from spectroscopic. It would
then be known at the very outset that there was no slit. This
would not prevent a juvenile disciple of Newton from repeating his
prismatic examination of a chink, and getting his linear spectrum ;
it would only keep before him the origin and constitution of that
spectrum in a way which the sole use of the spectroscope appears
not to do. The prismatic and the spectroscopic methods of ex-
amining a luminous object are totally distinct Thus Uie Poodo-
cottah observations were of one kind, those at Dodabetta of the
other ; those at Bekul, of both. It is of no consequence, for
this matter, where the prism is, it is the ahsence of the slit that
makes the difference. Thus, for the purpose of illustration, I
may allude to the planetary nebula seen frismaticatty unaffected
in the midst of a star cluster turned mto streaks. And the
prominences seen in an open slit are to all intents seen prismati«
cally. It is obvious that there is here a distinction of idea which
may be advantageously fixed by a distinctive use of words. Let
the spectroscope mind its own business, which is to make and
examine linear spectra. The moment it ceases to do so it ceases
to be a spectroscope.
This brings me to the next point. Since the prism does not
require a slit,— on the contrary, is a very valuable tool, as we have
seen, without, — it ought never to see lines, except as it sees other
forms, f>., out lines. There is a confusion of ideas — rather, I
should say, a contraction of ideas — in settixig a prism to look
for Unes. It is the spectroscope which sees lines, tne prism sees
images, forms. It is an accident of the case if the form happens
in any of its parts to be at the same time linear, and having its
linear portion in a certain direction. Thus, when in a prismatic
examination of the solar crescent immediately before eclipse, the
cusps become linear — ^albeit curvilinear — there is a failure of
grasp in speaking of the dark cusp-images as dark lines ; or,
at any rate, there is an opportunity lost of exemplifying Uie
principle which pervades the whole of the phenomenon, and of
fixing the prismatic idea.
The same kind of misuse of terms I have had occasion to
point out on the occasion of the first prismatic examination of
an eclipse, when what are now called, happily, zones, were un-
happily and mistakenly called by the technical term " bands."
I now pass on to the confusion which exists in Uie nomenda*
ture of lines. The subject fully treated would embrace the
whole range of spectral analysis ; but I must confine what I
have to say to solar spectra.
In the early days of solar examination with the spectroscope^
I made my venture, in the direction which I am now pursiUng,
and it failed. Ignorant that I was already distanced — no matter
how or why — I suggested certain symbols for certain lines, fore-
seeing somewhat of what has come to pass. Aiming to avoid
an affiliation which further knowledge might prove false, but
admitting the great probability that the lines at C, F, 2796 (K)
were really due to hydrogen, I would have called these solar
bright lines a, /3, 7, the hjRln^n lines being already known as
Ho, H/8, H7 ; that which U now variously called "D„" «*D»,"
" near D," or sometimes plain " D,'' I would have had known,
in the same category, as 8. And other Greek letters expressed, and
would have sufficed to eicpress, as many more as the memory
would require to hold. The venture failed, as I say ; and con-
sidering that no little confusion has resulted, I cannot help
thinking it a pity that it did. Soon after appeared a work on
spectrum analysis, in which H7 is ignored, and the bright
solar line which corresponds with 2796 (K) and with H7 is per-
sistently called and identified with G, to the great scandal of^the
ghost of Fraunhofer and (I doubt not) the living Pliicker. The
blunder has often been repeated since, indeed I have seen it in
Nature more than once m the last few days. If it vras not to
have a Greek letter, at least it had a better right to be known as
" 2796 (K) " than has the coronal line to be called " 1474 (K)."
Failing that, it has been paraphrased, the shortest form being
" near G." Surely it is time this were put right
And now we have " 1474.'' No one knows what the true
position of that line is. The line 1474 (K) is an iron hne, and it
is to the last degree improbable that the coronal line is identical
with it. The misnomer has carried with it, naturally, the idea
that the source is iron. As this is an improbability of a higher
order still — because there is eridence a^nst it in the absence of
a few hundred other iron lines — a false idea is in process of being
fixed.
And all this arises, and much more will follow, from the lazi-
ness of mind, if I may so call it without offence, which adopts
a name belonging to something already, instead oif first reserving
judgment, and giving it an independent standing with a name <»
its own.
Then there is the confusion of idea, and uncertainty in under-
standing exactly what is intended in speaking of the extension of
the spectrum, and of position in it, as right and left, or left and
right, as the case may be ; or the conf&on is avoided bjr the
precise but cumbersome reference to degree of refrangibility,
This is quite unnecesnry. This'is so exact an analogy between
the degree of refrangibUity and the degree of heat that no one
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NATURE
{April 25, 1872
ought to experience the least difficaltv in using the simple adjec-
tives "higher" or "upper" and "lower" &r the parts of the
spectrum, and the simple prepositions "above" and "below,"
where required. There is no possibility of misconception, and
no explanation is needed.
Probably we have got beyond the stage in which misconcep-
tion is likely to arise from the careless use of words expressing
continuity or otherwise in a spectrum ; but I would suggest the
word "diffuse" where it is not intended to express anything
precise. Thus the coronal spectrum is diffuse until we know it
to be solar. M. Janssen testifies to dark lines seen in the (diffuse)
spectrum. J. Herscuel
Camp Nandair, Hyderabad, March 19
Tamer's Vision
I HAVE been waiting since the appearance of a report of Dr.
Liebreich's lecture in Nature of March 21 expecting that an
animated discussion would be provoked, affording me an oppor-
tunity of slipping in obscurely as a minor combatant, the subject
being one on which I am bat very indifferently qualified to speak,
although thirteen years ago I did incidentally siiggest an explana-
tion ofthe peculiarities of Turner's later pictures which, simple
as it is, still appears to me sufficient. On page 67 of " Through
Norway with a Knapsack," published in 1S59, spealdng of some
of the peculiar midnight sunset effects of the North, I said that
" Turner, like an eagle, has dared to face the sun in his full
flare, and to place him in the middle of his pictures, showing us
ow we see a landscape with sun-dazzled eyes, when everything
is melted into a luminous chaos, and all the details blotted out
with misty brightness."
In all these peculiar pictures that I have seen the sun is thus
placed in the middle of tne picture, and just sufficiently above the
horizon (from about 10' to 20% or at most 25°) to pour his rays
about perpendicularly to the curvature of the eye-ball, when the
face is in position to contemplate a landscape. 1 have frequently
repeated the experiment of contemplating a landscape under such
circumstances, and on every occasion of submitting to such tor-
ture have seen all the effects of even the most extravagant of
Turner's later pictures, which are so well described bjr Dr.
Liebrelch. I have seen the "vertical streakiness, which is
caused by every illuminated point having been changed into a
vertical Ime," with an <•' elongation, generally speaking, in exact
proportion to the brightness of the light," and that "there pro-
ceeds from the sun, in the centre ofthe picture, a vertical yellow
streak." These appearances may arise from an affection of the
crystalline lens of my eye similar to that attributed by Dr.
Liebrdch to Turner, or it may be due to something else much
simpler, and which is more or less common to all human eyes.
If the simpler explanation based upon normal conditions covers
the facts, it certamly must be the more acceptable.
My explanation of the vertical streaks is this. When we thus
look full faced at the sun, the dazzle produces slight inflammation
or irritation, and a flow of tears. The liquid accumulates, and
rests UDon the lower ^elid, forming a little pool, the surface of
which nas a consideraole vertical curvature, i.e, tiie lower part of
Uie retained tear curves upwards from the surfiue of its base at
the root of the lower eyelashes to its summit contact with the
conjunctiva. Thus in a vertical direction it must act as a lens of
very short focus, it must refract and converge the rays of light in
a vertical plane, and thus produce a vertical magnifying effect,
the definition of which wilt of course be very confiised and ob-
scure, on account of the irregular curvature, and the fact that the
eye is focused to the distant objects. This want of directive
focusing will limit the distortion to the bright objects whose verti-
cally magnified images will be forced upon the attention.
To test this explanation let any one select a bright afternoon,
and at about 6 p.m. or a little later, at this season, gaze sunward
upon any landscape free from London smoke or other medium of
solar obscuration. At first, if his eyes are not very sensitive, he
will see a circular sun, but presently, as the tears accumulate,
the vertical elongation of the sun and general " vertical streaki-
ness" will appear. When I tried the experiment last week the sun
appeared like a comet with abrilliant vertical conical tail, the point
of which rerted on the horizon. But I was then slightly troubled
with what is called "a cold in the head," and my eyes watered
very vigorously, and thus the conditions for producing fine
Turneresque effects were highly favourable. On carefully dry-
ing my eyes these effects were, for a moment, considerably
I have adopted another method of testing this explanation.
Having caused the eyes to become somewhat suffused, I bring
the upper and lower eyelids so near together that the liquid shall
occupy a sensible depth, f.^., from the conjunctiva to tlie base of
both upper and lower eyelashes, and by compression be bulged
or cumvd outwards in the vertical direction. On lookiag
through thb tear-fiUed chink at a gaslight, the vertical elonga-
tion is remarkably displayed, and it extends upwards or down-
wuds or both according to the position of the liquid. When
looking at the sun and landscape with the eyes fuUy opened
(which \% very painful), the elongation is chiefly downwards,
and obviously connected with the tear on the lower eyelid ; but
if the eyelids be nearly closed to diminish the intensity of the
light, an upward elongation is also commonly visible.
The other phenomena represented by Turner are, I think,
simply a faithful copying of the effects of glare and suffusion
produced by painful sun-gazing and the looking at a landscape
where the shadows are, so to speak, nowhere, or all behind
one's back. W. Mattieu Williams
The Adamites
As " M. A. L" prefers to keep his incognito, I shall not seek
further to induce him to reveal himself. He has now, however,
pointed out what he conceives to be errors in my paper, and I
will reply to his criticism.
In the first place, as to the word pi-ta^ I neither said nor inferred
that the final syllable is not a suffix. My remark was that it
retained a primitive root, /d, which is found also in the Semitic
'o/d, and I submit still that I am perfectly correct The suffix
tdr in Sanskrit denotes nouns of agency, as Bopp shows in his
" Comparative Grammar," and I am quite justified, when I find
in various other languages a root word similar both in sound and
sense, in inferring mat the Sanskrit suffix was originally of the
same character. I have hitherto been under the impression that
comparative philology had established that suffixes were at one
time independent w(»ds, but it appears that I am wrong. To
show, however, that I have erred in good company, I would refer
to Prof. Max Mailer's "Stratification of Language" (p. 32),
where it is said, " suffixes and affixes were all independent words,
nominal, verbal, or pronominal; there is, in fact, nothing in
lan^age that is now empty, or dead, or formal, that was not
originidly full, and alive, and material " I must plead guilty of
ignorance of "M. A. I.'s" scientific method.
As to Taa/a, when it is shown that Tamata or Tangala was
the original form of the Poljmesian deity's name, I shall be
better able to reply to ^our correspondent's criticism. In any
case, the final syllable is evidently the word denoting "spirit,"
and I see no difficulty in Ta becoming either Tarn or Tang as
the result of phonetic change. The mere fact that Taata and
Tiki are different gods with different attributes reallv amounts to
nothing, since such a division of personality and characteristics
is a common fate of the divinities of heathen mythologies. I see
no reason to change my opinion that the name of the Polynesian
great ancestor has preserved the same primitive root as that which
is to be found in the name ofthe first man, Adam, of the Semite^ or
rather of the Akkad forerunners.
While replying to "M. A. I.," it maybe well to notice the
criticism of his advocate, Mr. Jenkins, for whose explanation
of the meaning of the word Adam I am much obliged,
although, if he will take the trouble to read my paper, he
will see that I was not ignorant of what he states. But the
acceptance of the Hebrew meaning of the word as the
original one docs not lead me to place much reliance on Mr.
Jenkins's judgment. If the Old Testament narrative proves any-
thing beyond a knowledge of the tradition as to Adam, it is that
the narrator was a bad philologist, and that finding the Hebrew
word adamahf he forthwith inferred that the first man was mad:
of ground-dust, which gave to him its red colour. For my part,
I entirely ignore the authority on such a point of the Hebrew
writer, and in justification I bq? to refer to tne statement made by
the Rev. A. H. Sayce before the So ciety of Biblical Arehaeology,
as reported in the last number of Nature (p. 495), that the
early Semitic traditions are derived from an Akkadian source, as
are also most of the biliteral roots of the Semitic language. If
the traditions are taken from that*source, the probability is that
the proper names they enshrine have had the same origin ; and I
submit, therefore, that I am quite justified in tracing the meaning
of the word Adam to the old Chaldean tongue, in which, as Mr.
Norris's Assyrian dictionary shows, and as my paper asserts, Ad
signifies "a father."
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In conclusion, I may add that there is nothing improbable to
my mind in peoples even so distant from each other as the
Polynesian Islanders and the Gauls retaining in their traditions a
name which had been applied to their mythical common ancestor,
nor unreasonable in supposing that they and other peoples men-
tioned in my paper were a£ke derived from some region in
Central Asia. My argument is simply cumulative, ks there are
many facts of a different kind pointing in the same direction.
I am sorry my communication has reached such an inordinate
length ; but having replied to **M. A. I.'s" objections, which,
after his first letter, forcibly remind me of the mountain in labour
bringing forth a mouse, I shall not trouble you with further corre-
spondence on a subject which I fear is far from interesting to a
majority of your readers. C. Staniland Wakb
Meteor
As I was going along the road towards Gre^stoke Castle at
half-past eight p.m. on Friday last, April 1 9, I noticed a very
fine meteor in a south-east direction. It was about the size of a
common hand-ball, its centre being of an exceedingly brilliant
white colour, surrounded by a circle of a bluish tinge, while
short flickering radiations were distinctly visible on its circum-
ference in all directions, reminding me of the sphero-stellate
spicube of certain sponges. It was falling in a perpendicular
direction, but I was not fortunate enough to see it at the begin-
ning of its coarse. Its downward motion was slow and quite
gradnal, apparently not swifter than an ordinary india-rubber
ball would fall by the gravity of its own body. There was no
trail whatever left behind in its course. After two or three
seconds it suddenly disappeared, before reaching the ground,
without any explosion or expansion of its body. The night was
very close and still, a muddiness covering the whole sky, inter-
spersed here and there with long stratus clouds^ and a beautiful
halo surrounding the moon. Thomas Fawcett
Blencowe School, Cumberland, April 22
A Waterspout
On Saturday last, April 16, whilst fishing in the river £lw}t
at a point about two miles above the well-known Cefn caves,
and five from St. Asaph by the river, I witnessed a very singu-
lar phenomenon. My attention was suddenly called up-stream
by a remarkably strangle hissing, bubbling sound, such as might
be produced by plunging a mass of heated metal into water.
On turning I beheld what I may call a diminutive waterspout in
Uie centre of the stream, some forty paces from where I was
standing. Its base, as well as I could observe, was a little more
than two feet in diameter. The water curled up from the river
in an unbroken cylindrical form to a height of about fifteen
inches, rotating rapidly, then diverged as from a number of jets,
being thrown off with considerable force to an additional eleva-
tion of six or seven feet, the spray falling all round as from an
elaborately arranged fountain, covering a large area. It re-
mained apparently in the same position for about forty seconds,
then moved slowly in the direction of the right bank of the river,
and was again drawn towards the centre, where it remained sta-
tionary as before for a few seconds. Again it moved in the
ioxmts direction, gradually diminishing and losing force as it
neared the bank, and finally collapsed in the shallow water.
Strange to say, its course was perpendicular to the bank and not
with the current.
At the time of the occurrence the river was still high, from
the recent heavy rain, though the depth of water at the spot
where I first observed it was not more than four feet The
current, of course, was stronger than usual, but presented a com-
paratively smooth surface. The day was fine and sunny, with
a 8li|;bt breeze from the S.E. The event occurred about 12. 15,
and lasted seventy or eighty seconds, as well as I could judge.
The atmosphere in the immediate vicinity seemed, from Sie
way in whicn the spray was scattered, to be somewhat agitated ;
but my impression was that such agitation was the result of the
phenomenon, rather than its cause. I had fished over the spot
a fiew minutes previously, and examined it afterwards with great
care, but saw nothing to account for the wonder.
St Beuno's College, St. Asaph, April 9. J. Gray
Cuckoo's Eggs
The discussion raised by Prof. Newton on the coloration of
cuckoos' eggs has been rexy interesting doubtless to many readers
of Nature ; a mite of information from New Zealand, concern-
ingone species of the Cuculidse, may not be out of place.
The German theory that " the tgg of the cuckoo is approxi-
mately coloured and maiked like those of the birds in whose
nest it is deposited, that it may be less easily recognised by the
foster parents as a substituted one," does not hold good in respect
to our Chrysococcyx lucidus^ Gml., pipiwharaupa, the whistler or
small cuckoo.
The dupe is the piripiri, or gray warbler, Guygoneflavivcniris^
Gray, its eggs are white, dotted with red spots; the egg of the
whistler of much larger size, is of a greenish dun.
However, I think it should be stated that the nest of the dupe
is somewhat of a pear-shaped structure, firmly and thickly built,
with a small entrance near the middle, well sheltered with
feathers. Here discrimination betwixt eggs may be difficult for
the foster parent, if it possesses the faculty and uses it In the
Trans. N. Z. Institute (vol. iL pp. 58 and 65) reasons have been
advanced by the writer for the selection of the warbler's nest by
our brightly plumed cuckoo ; may "thedim obscure" of its interior
supply another reason ? Thomas H. Pons
Ohinitahi, Feb. 5
Sun-spots and the Vine Crop '
As the connection of stm-spots with terrestrial phenomena is
now laigely occupying the attention of scientific men, the follow-
ing facts may be of some interest The years in which the
wine crop in Germany was unusually good seem (in this century,
at least) to have returned at regular mteivals. The close coin-
cidence of these years with the years of minimum sun-spots is
shown by the following table : —
Minimuin
Minimum
of Sun-spots.
Wine-years.
of Sun-spots.
Wine-years.
1784-8 ..
1784
1833-8
1834
17985
(?)
18440
1846
1810-5
18232
1811
1822
1856-2
$1857
1858
1867-2
1868
I may add that the gentleman who first remarked the regular
recurrence of wine-years at intervals of about eleven years was
not aware of the periodicity of the sun-spots, and could not there-
fore have been in any way prejudiced. The years given in the
above table are the only ones known in Germany as good wine-
years.
These facts agree with the results of Messrs. Piazzi Smjth and
Stone, who found that the mean temperature on the surface of
the earth was subjected to a period of eleven years.
Arthur Schustkk
Owens College, Manchester,' April 23
Tide Gauge
In Nature of the 1 8th is a letter from Mr. Pearson re-
specting Tide Gauges. As very little appears to be known of
such instruments, we beg to inform you that we have made them
for many years, and have now two finished, one for the Indian
Government, and the other for the Australian Government, and
we shall be happy to show them to any one wishing to see them.
We think they could be made self-acting at a muoi less cost if
the ijcact time of high water is not required.
449, Strand, W.C, April 19 Elliott Brothers
Colour of the Hydrogen Flame
In a communication from my zealous science-master, which I
find in your issue of Thursday the i ith, it is stated that pure
hydrogen has no tinge of blue m its flame (that colour being due
to the presence of sulphur), and he concludes his note with a
gushing tribute of his own, and the younger boys' gratitude for
Sie •* smiply delightful Science Primers of Profs. Huxley, Roscoe,
and Balfour Stewart.*' Let me call his attention to the fact that
on page 26 of his Chemistry Primer, Prof. Roscoe distmctly states
that '* Hydrogen is inflammable, and bums with a pale blue
flame." A Gratsful Pupil of Mr. Barrett
The " Cheironectes pictus "
Since I conununicated to yon an account of a fish which I
caught in the Gulf weed during the home^nurd voyage of H. M. S.
Charybdis, I have seen, in the February number of me American
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NATURE
{April i<^,\%T^
Journal of Science and Arts, a description of a fisli-nest which
Prof. Agassiz obtained from the seaweed of the Sargasso Sea in
December last. .......
In this interesting paper Pro£ Agassiz identifies the embryos
which he acquired from the nest as the young of the Cheironectes
pictus^ which, as its name implies, has fins like hands. From the
description given I have no doubt but that my specimen is the
Cheironectes, and I lose no time in forwarding to you the result of
my reading. J. E. Meryon
H.M.S. Duke of Wellington^ Portsmouth
OCEAN CURRENTS
IN the Philosophical Magazine for October 1870 and
1 87 1 I have examined at considerable length the
argaments which have been advanced in favour of the
theory that Oceanic Circulation is due to differences of
•pecific gravity between the ocean in equatorial and polar
regions. Since then a point in reference to the infl uence
of the earth's rotation has suggested itself to my mind
which appears to be wholly irreconcilable with the gravi-
tation theory of currents.
It is one of the properties of a fluid that the resistance
which it offers to motion is equal in all directions. It
follows, therefore, that when an ocean current is flowing
in any particular direction, the forces acting on the moving
water must be greatest in the direction of motion.
According to the theory that oceanic circulation is due to
difference of specific gravity, resulting from the difference
of temperature between the equatorial and polar waters,
the direction of motion at the surface of the ocean is from
the equator to the poles, and at the bottom from the poles
to the equator, subject to a deflection caused by the
earth's rotation. According to this theory gravity tends
to impel the water from the equator towards the poles
along the line of meridian ; while rotation tends to deflect
the water towards the east. If the total amount of work
performed on the moving water by these two forces were
equal, then the water on the northern hemisphere would
twe a north-easterly direction, and that on the
southern hemisphere a south-easterly direction. But
owing to the way in which the two forces vary in relation
to each other, the path taken is not a straight line but a
curve, the particular character of which has been deter-
mined with great labour by Mr. Ferrel.
But whatever view we may adopt in regard to the in-
fluence of rotation on the moving waters, whether it be
that advocated by Dr. Coldin^ and others, or that pro-
pounded by Mr. Ferrel, it is evident that if we assume the
amount of the impelling energy of gravity to be not
greater than the deflecting energy of rotation, we shall be
led to the conclusions that there can be no such general
interchange of equatorial and polar water in the Atlantic
as Dr. Carpenter maintains. For under such conditions
water leavmg the equatorial regions for the Arctic seas
would move as rapidly eastward as northward, and would
consequently be deflected against the western coast of the
old continent, and arrested in its progress before it reached
even the latitude of England.
I need not, however, dwell further on this pointy for I
do not suppose there are any advocates of the gravitation
theory who will not freely admit that the impelling energy
is at least equal to the deflecting energy, and it this be
admitted, it is all that is necessary for my present argu-
ment.
What proportion then does the impelling energy of
gravity bear to the deflecting energy of rotation ?
The velocity of rotation at the equator is about 1,526
feet per second, and at lat. 60°, about 773 feet per
second. Were water frictionless, and did it offer no
resistance to motion, then a pound of water flowing
from the equator in the direction of the pole would,
on arriving at latitude 60°, have, according to hitherto re-
ceived ideas, an easterly velocity relative to the earth's
surface of 763 feet per second. Mr. Ferrel has, however,
shown that the relative velocity would be much greater.
But not to run the risk of over-estimating the velocity, I
shall be content to take it at 763 feet Water flowing
from the equator towards the poles, instead of having an
actual velocity of 763 feet per second on reaching latitude
60^, has, at the utmost, a velocity not over one or two feet.
If we suppose the velocity to be, say, 3^ feet per second,
then 760 feet per second of velocity derived from rotation
is consumed by friction and other resistances in the pas-
sage of the water from the equator to that place. A
pound of water moving with a velocity of 760 feet per
second possesses in virtue of that velocity*9,025 foot-pounds
of energy. This enormous amount of energy is all con-
sumed, not in impelling the pound of water from the
equator to latitude 6o% but in simply deflecting it to the
east during its motion. Consequently 9,025 foot-pounds
is the amount of energy required to perform the work of
deflection. But since the resistance offered by a fluid to
motion is equal in all directions, the resistance oflfered to
the impelling force must be as great as that offered to the
deflecting force. It is, I trust, admitted that in the pas-
sage of the pound of water from the equator to latitude
60**, the distance traversed by the water under the influence
of the impelling force is as great as the distance traversed
under the influence of the deflecting force, or, in other
words, the distance from the equator to latitude 69°,
measured along the meridian, is as great as the distance
to which the water is deflected to the east during its pas-
sage. Then, if this be the case, 9,025 foot-pound[s of
energy of the impelling force must be also consumed in
overcoming the resistance to the motion of the pound of
water ; that is, the impelling force requires to perform 9,025
foot-pounds of work before it can convey a pound of water
from the equator to latitude 6o^ Can gravitation, there-
fore, be the impelling force ? Can gravity, according to
Dr. Carpenter's theory, perform 9,025 foot-pounds of work
on a pound of water m impelling it from the Equator to
latitude 60°.?
Takmg Dr. Carpenter's own data as to the temperature
of the ocean at the poles and equator, and the rate at
which the temperature at the equator decreases from the
surface downwards, I have shown* that 9 foot-pounds is
the greatest amount of work which gravity can perform
on a pound of water (placed under the most favourable
circumstances) in cariying it from the equator to either
pole. Assuming the slope from the equator to the poles
to be uniform, 6 foot-pounds will be the total amount of
work that gravity can perform upon a pound of water
in its passage from the equator to lat. 60°. But this is
only ^^xi psuft of the amount of energy required. Hence,
if there is any circulation of water between the equatorial
and polar regions, it must be produced by a cause 1,500
times more powerful than the one to which he appeals.
But in reality the amount of energy impelling the
water must be far more than 1,500 times greater than
what can be derived from gravity, for the water moves
more in the direction of the impeding force than in the
direction of the deflecting force, thus proving that the im-
pelling force is greater than the deflecting force.
Aithougrh it will be admitted that the resistance offered
by fluid friction is equal in all directions, yet it may be
urged that, owing to the influence of the winds or some
other cause or causes which I have not taken into account,
the actual resistance to motion may be greater in some
directions than others. This no doubt may be the case,
but it cannot possibly affect the conclusion at which I
have arrived, unless it be shown that the resistance to
pole-ward motion is 1,500 times less than the resistance
to eastward motion.
But these results are as conclusive against the theories
of Maury, Colding, Ferrel, and in fact against every pos-
sible form of the gravitation theory, as against the theory
of Dr. Carpenter. And I need hardly add that they are
equally fatal to the theory that ocean currents are caused
* PhiL Mag., Oct. 187*. t
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NATURE
503
l3y the heaping up of the water by the winds ; for any
amount of power which could possibly be derived from
such a source must fall enormously short of that required.
It may be noticed that we nave here a means of
making a somewhat rough estimate of the absolute
amount of resistance offered to oceanic circulation, a
rather obscure point. It shows that the resistance to
motions arising from friction is far greater than was
hitherto supposed. The amount of the work of the re-
sistance to a pound of water passing from the equator to
lat 60'' cannot be less than twice 9,025 foot-pounds.
It follows also that if the resistance to motion in the
waters of the ocean be as great as it has thus been
proved to be, then there is no warrant for the generally
received opinion that a force such as that of the winds
acting on the surfaice of the ocean cannot produce motion
extending to any considerable depth. For if the resistance
to motion be as great as the foregoing consideration
shows it to be, it is impossible that the upper layers of the
ocean can be constantly pushed forward m one direction
without dragging the underlying layers after them.
The inadequacies of the gravitation theory may be
shown in an even still more striking manner. Conceive,
a column of water in any part of the ocean extending from
tiie surface to the bottom. Suppose the column to be a
foot square, and the depths of the ocean to be four miles.
We have in this case a column a foot in thickness, and
four miles in height measured from its base. According
to Dr. Carpenter's theory, gravity tends to move the water
forming the upper part of the column in the direction
from the equator to the pole, and the water forming the
under part from the pole to the equator. What then is
the amount of force exerted by gravity on the entire
column ? In the next part of my paper on Ocean Cur-
rents in the Philosophical Magazine I shall demonstrate
by an exceedingly simple and obvious method, that the
total amount of force exerted by gravity on the whole
mass of water constituting the column is only ^^ of a
grain. That is, ^^ of a grain on 600 tons of water.
Edinburgh, April 15 James Croll
THE FOSSIL MAMMALS OF AUSTRALIA
THE substance of this communication was given
orally at the meeting of the Royal Society, April
18, 1872.
Prof. Owen commenced by alluding to the series of
fossils brought in 1836 by the then Surveyor-General of
Australia, Sir Thomas Mitchell, from the bone caves dis-
covered by him in Wellington Valley, New South Wales.
The determination of these remains required study of the
osteolc^ and dentition of the existing marsupial animals,
which formed the subject of papers in the " Transactions
of the Zoological Society * (vol li., 1838, and vol iii., 1845).
In these papers indications were given of a second
species of hving wombat, distinct from the type peculiar
to Tasmania, such indications being yielded by a skull
sent from Australia. In 1853 the author published, in his
" Osteological Catalogue of the Museum of the College of
Surgepns," the cranial characters of a third living species
of Phascolomys, also from a skull, which, like that of the
second species, was from the continent of Australia.
These materials seemed to some naturalists inadequate
for the acceptance of a Phascolomys latifrons and a Phas-
colomys flatyrhinus^ in addition to the first discovered
Tasmanian Phatcolomys vombatus; and Gould in the
part published in 1855 of his great work, '' The Mammals
of Australia,'' containing the fine figure of that species,
hesitated to admit more, although a drawing which he had
received of the head of a wombat killed in South Australia
*' afforded good reason for concluding that the continental
animal is really distinct." In 1859 this distinguished
• " On th« FoasU MamfluOs of Australia ." No. VIII. : Genus Pka$C0hmy;
species exfeedincthe present in sise, by ProC Owen, F.R.S.
naturalist was able to publish in Part XL of his work a
figure of a wombat from the southern parts of the conti-
nent of Australia, which he recognised as distinct from the
small wombat of Tasmania, and referred to the Phasco-
lomys latifrons; it was, however, the larger bare-nosed
species, Phascolomys piatyrhinus.
In 1865 and i860 specimens were received at the
Zoological Gardens of London, of both the conti-
nental Australian wombats, which the able Prosec-
tor, Dr. Murie, showed to have respectively the
cranial characters of Phascolomys latifrons and Phase,
piatyrhinus. The Ph, latifrons had the nose or muzzle
clothed with hair. This confirmation greatly encouraged
the speaker in the investigation and comparison of the
cranial and dental characters of the fossil remains of the
genus ; and in November 1 871, he felt that he had grounds
for submitting to the Royal Society such characters of
four other species of wombat, not exceeding in size the
largest of the existin|^ kinds, which four species appeared
to have become extmct on the continent of Australia.
The differentiation of the actual platyrhine and latifront
species from some of the extinct forms was not the less
interesting and instructive ; though it seemed small in
degree, it was, however, definite, in comparison with other
fossil remains which could not be distinguished from the
existing Phascolomys platyrhinus zxid. Ph, latifrons.
The determination of the species propounded on cranial
and dental characters in the present paper was much
easier and more decisive, by reason of the marked
superiority of size of the fossils. These large and gigan-
tic wombats were differentiated, not only by bulk, but by
modifications of the skull and proportions of certain teeth,
notably the incisors and premolars.
On these grounds the author characterises a Phasco-
lomys mediuSf which, although markedly larger than
Phascolomys piatyrhinus, was intermediate in bulk be-
tween the two now known extremes of size in the genus.
Next followed a Phascolomys tnagttus^ and finally a Phas-
colomys gigas. Of the latter species a restoration was
given in a diagram of the natural size, which was that of
a tapir or small ox. The dental and certain cranial
characters were illustrated by highly finished drawings of
the fossils.
With respect to the large extinct wombats described
in his present paper, the author remarked that it was not
likely they could have escaped detection if still existing
in any of the explored parts of the Australian Continent.
The knowledge that such species have existed may excite
to research and help to their discovery, if any of them
should still be in life, in the vast tracts of the northern
and warmer latitudes of Australia.
The author exhibited in a tabular view the localities of
the known existing and extinct Australian wombats as
follows : —
Where found
By whom found
Breccia Cave, Wellington ValleyA Sir Thomas Mitchell,\j,^.^, ,. .
N.S. Wales / CB..1836 iMitcMh
Species of "t
Phascolomys.
Lwnistrine Bed, Victoria | ^isis!!!'^!!"*.^'^::
Drift Deposite, Queensland ...{ ^l.^"86i !!?*^.L'}^'^*''^'
/*. King's Creek, Darling Downs S. Turner, 1847
Parvus. Mediut
lb. Cowrie, lb.
/*. Eton Vale, /^
lb St. Jean Sution, /^.
lb. Drayton, Queensland
••{ ^^bIsi^^III*' .!.*^!:}^'^^'''
Ed. S. HUl, 1865
\PlatyrkiHMt^ Med-
atyrki ,
'jiuSf MagnuStGigas.
M SatcheSt. Jean.j^,^^
ZOO4 • • :»}
Sir Danl. Cooper, '^x.XTfMtntonit Medius
1865 1 Magnus^Gigtts
^7f!r'!!.^' .?""»." ^.""'} **• Nicholson, 1866 ,,)Gigas
Caves" Wellington Vaiiey,' N.S. \ Professor Thomson,G.\-«f<VcA^//«, Krefftt^
Wales / Kiefft, 1867 j Lati/nmt
The author then touched upon some generalisations
suggested by the present stage of discovery. The dis-
appearance of the larger species was explicable on the
principle of the " contest of existence." as applied by him
to the problem of the extinction ot the fossil birds of
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NATURE
[April 25, 1872
New Zealand (Trans. Zool. Soc, vol. iv., 1850), and sub-
sequently by Darwin to the incoming of new species, as
" the battle of life." He next entered upon the relation
of the present discoveries in Australia to the law of Geo-
graphiod Distribution in the new Tertiary or Quaternary
penods of extinct and existing animals.
The wombat was a more characteristic Australian form
of mammal than the kangaroo, for the latter is repre-
sented by species in New Guinea ; and species of
Phalanger range farther from Australia, though still
bound to the same great natural, and mainly submerged,
division of the earth's surface. But no kind of wombat,
recent or fossil, has been detected out of Australia and
Tasmania. The present Continental kinds, and species
near akin to them, existed in Australia during a very long
period, reckoned by the terms of historical time, if we may
judge from the state of petrifaction of the fossils, and the
great depths at which some have been met with in well-
digging ; where, after 30 ft. or 40 ft. of black rich soil have
been bored through, such fossils occur at 100 ft lower
down in sandy drift, which has been accumulated to that
or greater vertical thickness beneath the loam. On the
assumption that air-breathing animals perished in a
genersu deluge some 5,000 years ago, and that their dis-
persion then began anew from the exceptional few indi-
viduals preserved in the Ark, we must suppose the
wombats then living in Austrsdia to have contributed
miraculously their pair or pairs to the Asiatic menagerie,
and to have been as miraculously restored to their proper
continent on the subsidence of the Noachian flood.
It is neither creditable nor excusable that so great a
divergence should still be maintained, chiefly through
theological teaching, in the ideas of the majority of men
" of ordinary culture '' as to the cause and conditions of
the distribution of living species over the globe, from those
suggested by the clear and multiplied demonstrations of
Science. On this topic the author referred to a paper in
" Annals and Magazme of Natural History," 1 850, '' On
the Gigantic Birds of New Zealand, and on the Geo-
graphical Distribution of Animals."
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN COLLIERY
EXPLOSIONS AND WEATHERS
AFTER a preliminary reference to previous papers on
the subject, and especially to the diagrams published
by Mr. Joseph Dickinson, and by Mr. Bunning, of New-
castle-on-Tyne, the authors of the paper referred speciaUy
to Mr. Dobson's paper, published in the reports of the
British Association. They showed that the periodicity
alleged by him to exist in these explosions had no resd
foundation in fact ; for, on plotting the dates of the ex-
plosions for the last twenty years in two ten-year periods,
very slight resemblance was seen between the two curves.
The number of accidents (all fatal ones)ron which the
statement was based was 1,369.
In the progress of this inquiry it had come out that the
number of serious accidents, involving the loss of ten lives
or more, had materially increased during the last five
years, the numbers being : —
1851-55 . . 13. 1856-60 . . 15.
1861-65 . . 12. 1866-70 . . 21.
These numbers appear to be well worthy of remark.
For the special purpose of the paper, the continuous
records from Stonyhurst, one of the observatories in con-
nection with the Meteorological Office, were taken, and
the curves for the barometer and thermometer were
plotted for the three years, 1868-70. The records of fatal
explosions were obtained from the published reports of
the inspectors, while the dates of the non-fatal accidents
were obtained from the inspectors themselves, who, almost
* *' On the Connection between CoIUery E3q>Ionons and Weather," by
Robert H. Scott, F R.&, and Mr. W. Gallowar. Read at the meeting of
the Royal Society, April x8, iSja.
without exception, replied to the communications ad-
dressed to them, and furnished the desired information.
Mr. Dobson, in his paper, having spoken of the explo-
sions occurring principally at the commencement of a
storm, the authors showed that it was not, in some cases,
until two or three days after the barometer had reached its
lowest point that the accident happened. They showed
also why, during a period of contmued violent oscillation
of the barometer, the passage of each successive baro-
metrical minimum is not characterised by an equal num-
ber of explosions, the largest groups of accidents being
reported when a serious break occurred after a period m
calm weather.
The effect of a high temperature of the air in interfering
with ventilation, and especially with natural ventilation,
was also explained, and it was shown how the first hot
days in spring were marked by explosions.
The actual dates of the explosions for the three years
in question were then compared with the meteorological
records, and it was shown that out of 550 explosions—
266, or 48 per cent, might be attributed to the state of
Uie barometer ;
123, „ 22 „ to the state of the thermometer ;
161, „ 30 „ remained unaccounted for on me-
teorological grounds.
The next point touched upon in the paper was the
action of a more or less impure ventilating current in in-
creasing the explosive character of the air in all parts of
the pit, and possibly in causing an explosion in a place
which would have remained safe had the ventilating
current itself remained pure. It was shown how, when
an explosive mixture had been formed in places and under
conditions similar to those described, some time, possibly
several days, must elapse before the contents of such an
accumulation of dangerous gases shall have been rendered
innocuous again.
The effect of warm weather in stopping natural ventila-
tion was explained. The natural temperature of a mine
of the depth of 50 fathoms being 55", that of one of the
depth of 200 fathoms 70', and so on (speaking generally),
it was shown that if the temperature of the air rose 10
55° natural ventilation must cease in shallow pits, and
similarly in other cases. Accordingly, if a warm day
occurs in the cold season of the year, and the furnaces
are not in action, an explosion is very likely to occur.
These statements were illustrated by one instance of
a fatal explosion, the cause of which had been declared
by the inspector to be inexplicable, the pit having " strong
natural ventilation." It appeared, however, that the ex-
plosion occurred on a warm day, while the inspector
visited it twice on colder days after the explosion ; so
that the state of ventilation which he witnessed had no
reference to that which must have prevailed when the
accident happened.
The paper concluded by stating that it appeared that
the evidence fairly justified the view that meteorological
changes are the proximate causes of most of the accidents,
it being remembered, as has before been observed, that
the records contain no account of the number of times
when the pits have been too dangerous for the men to go
down, and so explosions have not happened.
Whatever be the meteorological changes, it is absolutely
necessary to keep a most careful watch over the amount
of air passing through the workings.
Thirty years ago George Stephenson said, in a letter to
the South Shields Committee, referring to explosions r—
'' Generally speaking, there has been some fault in the
ventilation of the mines when accidents have occurred /
and the same opinion is held by many of iht most ex-
perienced authorities at the present day. In this matter
the one cry, whether we look to security against explosion,
or to the affording to miners an atmosphere which they
can breathe without injury to health, is '' More air !"
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THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SURFACE
OF THE SUN
IT will be recollected that Messrs. M. E. Vicaire and
Sainte-Claire Deville read some papers before the
Academy of Sciences at Paris last January, showing that
the temperature of the solar surface does not exceed that
produced by the combustion of organic substances.
Their reasoning being based on the law of radiant heat
established by the investigations of Dulong and Petit. I
have in the meantime instituted a series of experiments
on a comparatively large scale, in order to test the cor-
rectness of the said law. Accordingly, the dynamic
energy developed by the radiation of a mass of fused
iron weighing 7,000 pounds raised by " overheating " in
the furnace to|a temperature of 3,000' F., has been care-
fuller measured.
Sir Isaac Newton assumed that the quantity of heat
lost or gained by a body in a g^iven time is proportional
to the difference between its temperature and that of the
surrounding medium. Some eminent scientists, how-
ever, accepting Dulong's conclusions and formula, assert
positively that the stated assumption is incorrect In so
doing they apparently overlook the conditions inseparable
from the Newtonian doctrine, namely, that the conducting
power of the radiating body shoula be perfect ; that at
every instant the temperature pervading the interior mass
should be transmitted to the surface.* It needs no demon-
stration to prove that if the conducting power of a body
be so perfect that the temperature of the centre is at aU
times the same as that of the surface ; in other words,
that the fall of temperature at the centre, occasioned by
radiation, is as rapid as the fall of temperature at the sur-
face, the rate of cooling of such a oody will be very
different from that observed by Dulon^f and Petit. The
investigation instituted by those expenmentalists has in
reality established only the degree of conductivity of the
radiators employed, under certain conditions, but by no
means their true radiant energy at ^ven temperatures.
M. E. Vicaire and Sainte-Claire DeviUe, therefore, com-
mit a serious mistake in assuming that the quantity of
heat transmitted by the radiation of incandescent bodies
at high temperatures has been determined. It may be
observed that the relation between the time of cooling
and the quantity of heat transmitted by radiation which
Dulong and Petit established, also misled Pouillet re-
garding the temperature of the solar surface, which he
computed at 1461** C, or at most 1,761^ C. It will be
well to bear in mind that Pouillet had himself ascertained
with considerable accuracy the temperature produced by
solar radiation on the surface of the earth ; and also the
retardation suffered during the passage of the rays through
the terrestrial atmosphere. He was therefore able to de-
monstrate that the dynamic energy developed by solar
heat amounts to nearly 300,000 thermal units per minute
for each square foot of the surface of the sun. Consider-
ing the imperfect means employed by Pouillet, his
" pyrheliometre,*' the exactness of his determination of
solar energy is remarkable. The truth is, however, that the
near approach to exactness was somewhat fortuitous, the
eminent physicist having underrated the energy of radiant
heat on the surface of the earth, while proportionately
over-estimating the retarding influence of the terrestriad
atmosphere. The true dynamic energy developed by
* The writer has just completed a set of experiments with a spherical
radiator, 9*75111. in diameter, compoaed of very thin hammered copper,
chaxjsed with water kept in motion by a wheel applied within the sphere, re-
volving at a rate of 30 turns per minute, the centnnigal action of which brings
the paitides of the central portion of ttie fluid so rapidly in contact with tbt
thin sphoical shell, that the apparently absurd condition of perfect conducti
vity has been practically fulfilled. The result of carcfuUv conduaed experi
ments with this radiator, enclosed in an exhausted vessel kept at a constant
temperature, has established that Newton's law relating to radiant heat, up
to a diflerential temperature of too* Falu\(beyond which the investigation
has not extended), is rigorously correct The subject will be fuUy discussed
in a fiiture article.
radiation at the surface of the sun, exclusive of the ab-
sorption of the solar atmosphere— no doubt exceeding^
small — determined by the solar calorimeter mentioned in
a previous article, is 312,500 thermal units per minute
upon an area of one S(|uare foot It will be proper to
notice that this amount is not a mean result of a number
of observations, but the greatest energy developed at any
time during observations continued upwards of three
years, namdy February 28, 1871. It will be proper to
add that this result has been withheld from publication
until it could be verified by a second observation indicating
an equal energy. Fortunately the sky at noon, March 7,
1872, proved to be as clear as on the previous occasion
referred to, the indicated energy differing only a few
hundred units from that developed February 28, 1871.
Temperature being a true index of molecular and
mechanical energy, conclusively established by the exact
relation between the degree of heat and the ex)>amsive force
of permanent gases under constant volume, it is surprising
that Pouillet old not perceive that an intensity of 1,461° C.
or 1,761** C, could not possibly develop on a single square
foot of surface the enormous energy represented by
300,000 thermal units per minute. M. Vicaire, adopting
like Pouillet Dulong's formula, states in the paper pre-
sented to the French Academy that ** an increase of 600° is
sufficient to increase the radiation a himdred fold ;'' and
that Pouillet has verified Dulong's law to more than 1,000^.
" Supposing," he observes, " that beyond this temperature
the law ceases to be true, it cannot be absolutely remote
from the truth for the temperatures of from 1,400** to 1,500^
which we deduce by adopting the law." Sainte-Claire
Deville concludes his essay on solar temperature thus :-;-
** In accordance with my first estimate I believe that this
temperature will not be found far removed from 2,500° to
2,800^, the numbers which result from the experiments of
M. Bunsen, and those published long agb by M. Debray
and myself." The French savans then agree that the
temperature of the surface of the sun does not exceed the
intensity produced by the combustion- of organic sub-
stances, their grounds for this assumption bemg, as we
have seen, Dulong's formula relating to the velocity of
cooling at high temperatures. But Dulong and Petit did
not carry their investigations practically beyond the tem-
perature of boiling mercury ; hence their formula relating
to high temperatures is mere theory, the soundness of
which we have now been enabled to test most effectually
by measuriug the radiant power of a mass of fused metal
raised to a temperature of 3,000° F., 30 inches in depth,
presenting an area of 900 square inches.
Before describing the means which have been employed
in measurinjg^ its radiant power, let us briefly consider the
condition of the fused mass during the experiments. In
the first place, the temperature has been sufficiently high
to produce an intense white light, luminous rays of great
brilliancy being emitted by the radiant surface during the
trial ; (2) the bulk of the fused mass being; adequate, the
intensity of radiation has been sustained without appreci-
able diminution during the time required for observation ;
(3) the temperature being higher than that which the
French investigations assign to the surface of the sun,
while the bulk, as stated, is sufficient to maintain the tem-
perature of the fttsed mass, it may be reasonably asked,
why an area of one square foot of our experimental rad'a-
tor should not emit as much heat in a given time as an
equal area on the solar surface, if its temperature be that
assumed by Pouillet ? It may be positively asserted, more-
over, that an increase of the dimensions of our radiator to
any extent, laterally or vertically, could not augment the
intensity or the dynamic energy developed by a ghren
area. Again, Dulong's formula, as applied by scientists
shows that the emissive power of a nutallic radiator raised
to a temperature of 3,000% reaches the enormous solar
emission computed by Pouillet
Let us now briefly examine the calorimeter constructed
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NATURE
[April 2^,1^72
for ascertaining the mechanical energy developed by the
radiation of the fused mass under consideration. Fig. i
represents a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a perspective view,
^i is a cylindrical boiler, having a flat bottom, composed
of thin sheet-iron o'oi2 inch thick, coated with lamp-
black. The cylindrical pirt of this boiler is surrounded
by a concentric casing b, the intervening space being filled
with a fire-proof non-conducting substance. A horizontal
wheel, c r, provided with six radial paddles, is applied
within the boiler, attached to a vertical axle, d. An open
cylindrical trunk, g, is secured to the perforated disc which
supports the paddles. The vertical axle passes through
the top of the boiler, a conical pinion being secured to its
upper termination. By means of a vertical cog-wheel, k,
attached to the horizontal axle ky and geared into the coni-
cal pinion, rotary motion is communicated to the paddles.
The centrifugal action of the latter will obviously cause a
rapid and uniform circulation of the water contained in
the boiler— indispensable to prevent the intense radiant
heat from burning the bottom. The boiler and mechanisnki
thus described are secured to a raft, / /, composed of fire-
bricks floating on the top of the fluid metal By this means
it has been found practicable to keep the bottom of the-
boiler at a given distance, very near the.smface of the-
fused mass, while by moving the raft from point to point,
during the observation, irregular heating resulting from
the reduction of temperature of the surface of the metal,
under the bottom of the calorimeter, has been prevented.
The radiant heat being too intense to admit of the axle k
being turned directly by hand, an intervening shaft, eight
feet long, provided with a crank handle at the outer end,
has been employed for keeping up the rotation of the
paddle-wheel during the trial It is scarcely necessary to
observe that, the intervening shaft should be coupled to
the gear work by means of a " universal joint," to admit
of the necessary movement of the raft The esqteriment,
repeats! several times, has been conducted in accordance
with the followmg explanation. Theboikr being charged.
the paddle wheel should be turned at a moderate speed
while observing the temperature of the water, the ther-
mometer employed for this purpose being introduced
through an opening, w, at the top of the boiler. The tem-
perature being ascertained, the instrument should be
quickly placed on the raft, and the time noted. As soon
as vapour is observed to escape through the opening at
w, the instrument must be instantly removed, the time
again noted, and the temperature of the water within the
boiler ascertained. It will be well to keep the paddle-
wheel in motion until the last observation has been con-
cluded.
The ten\perature of the fused metal having been as
high during our experiments as that of the solar surface
pomputed by Pouillet and his followers, while the thin
substance composing the bottom of the calorimeter has
been brought almost in contact with, and consequently
received the entire energy transmitted by, the radiant
^rCace, the reader will be anxious to learn what amount
of dynamic energy has been conmiunicated in a given
time, on a given area. The desired information is con-
tained in the followine^ brief statement : — The necessary
corrections being made for heat absorbed by the mate-
rials composing the paddle-wheel, &c., the instituted test
shows that the temperature of a quantity of water weigh-
ing 10 pounds avoirdupois has been elevated 121° F. in
164 seconds (273 minutes), the area exposed to the radiant
heat being 63 square inches. Hence a dynamic energy
'^ ^ ^^' X ^ = 1013 thermal units per minute, has
273 63 -^ r ,
been developed by the radiation from one square foot of
the surface of the fused metal maintained at 3,000"^ P.,
against 312,500 units developed by the radiation of one
square foot of the solar surface, the teniperature of which,
agreeably to the calculations of the French savansy is
less than that of our experimental radiator.
Having thus ascertained practically the amount of
dynamic energy developed by the radiation of a metallic
body raised to the high temperature of 3,000% we have
only to show in a similar manner the amount of energy
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April 25, 1872]
NATURE
507
developed by a metallic radiator of a low temperature, to
be enabled to demonstrate the correctness or fallacy of
Dulohg's formula. Numerous experiments have been
made tor this purpose with apparatus of different forms,
the results having proved substantially alike. The device
mo9t readily described consists of a spherical vessel
charged with water, suspended within an exhausted
spherical enclosure kept at a constant temperature. Re-
peated trials show that, when the differential tempera-
ture is 65% the enclosure being maintained at 60°, while
the sphere is 125^ the dynamic energy transmitted to the
enclosure by a sphere the convex area of which is one
square foot, amounts to 5*22 thermal units per minute.
The accuracy of this determination is confinned by the
£ict that durmg the summer solstice at noon, when the
sun's differential radiant intensity is 65"*, the solar calori-
meter indicates a dynamic energy of 5*12 units per minute
on one square foot of surface.
Our practical investigations, then, show that a differen-
tial temperature of 3,000" developes by radiation a dynamic
eneiigy of 1,013 thermal units per mmute upon an area of
one square foot ; and that a differential temperature of
6 s** develops 5*22 units per minute upon an equal area.
The ratio of radiant energy at the first mentioned inten-
sity will therefore amount to -^ =» 0*337 units for each
degree of differential temperature ; while for the low in-
5*22
tensity it will be ^^ = o*o8o unit for each degree of
differential temperature. Consequently, the ratio o the
radiating energy will be Q.^g^ = 4*2 1 times greater at
3,000* than at 65*. Now, M. Vicaire, on the authority of
D along, states that the ratio will be a hundred fold
greater for an increase of only 600*. According to New-
ton's theory, based on dynamic laws, the proportion
between the differential temperature and the radiant
energy of bodies is constant ; while Dulong and Petit,
basing their conclusions upon an erroneous estimate of
the time of cooling, assert that the ratio of energy increases
several thousand times when the temperature is increased
from 65* to 3,ooo^ Newton, then, as our experiments
prove^ is incomparably nearer the truth than the French
expenmenters ; and possibly future research will prove
thatTliis law, when properly applied, will be found abso-
listdy correct It should be mentioned that the result of
our experiments with the fused metal, compared with the
result of other experiments with solid metals at various
temperatures, show that the emissive power of cast iron
is relatively greater in a state of fusion than when solid,
or merely mcandescent. This observed increase of emis-
sive power, now being thoroughly investigated, will no
doubt account for the deviation from the Newtonian law
indicated by the preceding comparison, which, let us
recollect, is based upon the difference of radiant energy
of fused metal at 3,000*", and solid metal at 65**. Con-
sidering this extreme range of temperature, and the totally
different conditions of the radiators, the observed discre-
pancy is not too great to admit of satisfactory explanation.
The fallacy of Dulong's formula relating to high tem-
peratures having been conclusively shown, it will not be
necessary to examine the calculations of Messrs. M. £.
Vicaire and Sainte-Claire Deville, presented to the
Academy of Sciences at Paris. Besides, the question of
solar temperature cannot be properly investigated without
considering the leading points connected with the propa-
gation of radiant heat through space — a subject of too
wide a range to be discussed in this article. It should,
however, be mentioned that the result of the measure-
ment of solar intensity March 7, 1872, before referred to,
proves the correctness of our previous demonstrations,
showing that the temperature of^ the surface of the sun is
at least 4,036,000 F. J. Ericsson
THE CYCLONE IN THE WEST INDIES
A CORRESPONDENT in your number of October
-^"^ 12, 1 87 1, expresses a wish for an article to appear
in your paper, on the Cyclone which passed over Antigua,
and several other of the Leeward Iskmds in the West
d^^
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NATURE
\Apnl 25, 1872
Indies, on the 21st of August last If no other better
qualified person has complied with that wish, I beg leave
to tender the following account.
Perhaps a few preliminary observations in reference to
the working of the barometer in these parts of the Tropics
are necessary. A well-regulated mercurial barometer, at
or about the sea level, imder all ordinary conditions of the
atmosphere, with the trades blowing from the cast, stands
at 30*00 or 30' 10. A south-east wind, and the approach of
heavy rains, will cause the barometer to fall, at times, to
2980. At other times a N.£. trade wind, if not a storm
wind^though it may bring occasional heavy showers —
will cause the barometer to rise to 30*30. Thus the range
of the mercury in these islands, when no cyclone is pass*
ing, is limited to five-tenths of an inch ; but the variation
seldom exceeds three-tenths. The atmospheric tide (if I
may so call it), which causes the barometer to rise and
fall half-a-tenth twice in the twenty-four hours, is very dis-
tinctly marked in these islands. The barometer being
the highest at 10 A.M. and 10 p.m., and the lowest at 4 a«m.
and 4 P.M. Any variation from this rule during the hur-
ricane season calls for vigilance.
The following observations of the movements of the
barometer during the late cyclone were taken at an eleva-
tion of about twenty-five feet above the sea-level
The hurricane season of this year was preceded by a
long dry season, and though the months of June and July
were very hot, and sometimes oppressive, we had very
little thunder and lightning. Durmg the month of July
we had some very squally weather, but the barometer was
not much influenced by it. During the latter part of July
and the first weeks of August, the wind onen shifted
towards the north, which is quite unusual at that time of
the year, the barometer at the same time falling below
30*00. These indications caused some anxiety in the
minds of those who were accustomed to observe the state
of the weather.
The first indications of the approaching storm were
noticed at zo o'clock on the morning of the 20th. A light,
but unsteady, wind was blowing at the time from E.N.E.,
the barometer had not risen after 4 a.m. as usual, and
though standing at 30*00, the surface of the mercury was
concave, indicating a fall. During the day the wind con-
tinued to blow moderately, but in gusts ; the barometer
slowly falling. Between 4 and 5 o'clock p.m. there was a
heavy squall of wind and rain from N. by £., followed by
a comparative calm. The appearance of the sky at sunset
was most remarkable and alarming to those who under-
stood anything of the indications of an approaching
stonn. A pale, sickly light, of a coppery hue, was spread
over every object, and continued some time after sunset ;
and at the same time there was the appearance of a wind-
gale in the east At this time I sent a notice of the ap-
proaching storm to those living on the North-east coast,
a part of the island likely to be very much exposed to its
fury. Some persons .did the best they could to secure
their houses ; but because there was no heavy swell in the
sea, the fishermen disregarded the warning, and conse-
quently lost their boats.
It is a singular fact, that about 6 p.m. the barometer not
only ceased to fall, but a slight rise was perceptible, which
at nrst led to the supposition that the storm might be only
passing, and not approaching, the island. This hope was
soon dissipated by the increasing force of the gusts of
wind, with another squall of wind and rain about 9 p.m.
with a falling barometer.
At midnight the barometer had fallen to 29*50, or about
half an inch. Between two and three o'clock A.M., the
wind shifted more towards the east, blowing with in-
creased violence, breaking off the branches from the trees,
and stripping shingles from the houses ; but up to this
time no great damage had been done. About 3*30 a.m.,
a singular circumstance occurred— one which I have never
witnessed before, though, during a residence of thirty-three
years in these islands, I have experienced many cyclones.
The barometer ceased to fall for half an hour ; the mer-
cury standing firm at 29*30. This, for the time, led to the
conclusion, which soon proved to be erroneous, that the
centre of the storm was then passing, and that we had ex-
perienced the worst of it At 4 A.M., the barometer again
began to fall, at first slowly, and afterwards rapidly, until
at 6*40, it stood at 28*57, having fallen about an inch and
a half below its usual height
As the barometer fell, the gusts of wind became more
violent, shaking large and strongly-built houses to their
very foundations, tearing off verandahs, spouting, and
wmdow-shutters, and, in some instances, carrying them
to great distances. Between 5 and 6 A.M. we experienced
the full force of this fearful storm, and it was about this
time that a large number of houses, both in town and
country, with churches, school-rooms, and estate works,
were destroyed.
It was soon after 5 a.m. that the writer was able, from a
sheltered position, to have a full view of the awful
grandeur of the storm. Low, black clouds, like dark
ocean billows driven rapidly overhead ; the driving rain
like sheets of water \ the trees whirled round and beaten
nearly to the earth, until rooted up or broken off ; the
constant flashing of intensely red lightning, with the heavy
crash of thunder, mingling with the roaring of the wind
— altogether, formed a scene grand and terrific in the
extreme \ but which was well worth the risk to witness.]
About 7 A.M. the centre of the storm passed the south
of the island ; the barometer began to rise, and the wind
changed to S.E. and S. The storm had entirely passed
over by 10*30 A.M.
The centre of this storm just touched the extreme
south of Antigua ; passed directly over St Kitts, where
a calm of twenty minutes was experienced, before the
wind burst from the opposite quarter ; and also over
St. Thomas andjTortola. From thence it passed over the
southern islands of the Bahama group. After that I
have not been able to trace its course.
Antigua was the first island over which the hurricane
passed. Being a comparatively level island — all the
high land being situated at the extreme south — it suf-
fered the most severely. Nevis and St Kitts having
mountains from 2,000 to 3,000 feet high, which broke
the fury of the storm, only suffered severely in certain
parts, principally on the north and east coasts. As the
destruction caused by this hurricane has been fully de-
tailed by the newspapers, I need |not dwell on that
subject in the present paper, but will proceed to state
some interesting particulars in reference to the movements
of this cyclone.
Its course appears to have been nearly from £. by S.
to W. by N. As there was no heavy sea on the shores of
Antigua, within a few hours of its arrival, it is evident
that It originated within 200 or 300 miles of the island,
and during the first hours of its existence was by no
means a violent storm.
Its progressive movement was also very slow at first
The first circles struck Antigua soon after 4 p.m. on
Sunday, but the centre did not pass until 7 A.M. on
Monday ; whilst the last half of the storm was only three
hours in passing over. It is also evident that from 3*30
to 4 A.M., during the time that the barometer ceased to
fall, its progressive movement was altogether suspended,
though the rotary motion continued.
After 4 A.M. it began to move with great rapidity, and
travelled at a speed, which, as far as I know, has not been
eaualled by any previous hurricane among these islands.
The centre of this cyclone passed Antigua at 7 A.M., and
arrived at St Kitts at 9 A.M., having travelled at the speed
of thirty miles per hour. In that island the lofty rangt of
mountains not only broke the force of the rotary motion,
but also impeded its progress ; so that between St Kitts
and St Thomas, a distance of 160 miles, it travelled at a
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April 25, 1872]
NATURE
509
speed of a little more than twenty-two miles per hour, the
centre arriving at St. Thomas about 4 p.m. on the 21st.
What was the speed and force of its rotary motion, I have
no means of correctly ascertaining ; but there is no doubt
that near the centre it very greatly exceeded that of its
progressive motion. The diameter of the storm was
about eighty miles, the outer circles taking in at the
same time Montserrat in the south, and Barbuda in the
north ; but was not felt beyond those islands. In its pro-
gress towards the west and north it may have extended
itself, as is frequently the case with these storms.
On the afternoon of September 25, we again had indica-
tions of an approaching cyclone, though not so marked and
distinct as on the former occasion. The gale set in about
10 P.M., from N. by E., and continued till 10 A-M. on the
26th, the wind changing to N.N.W. and S.W. The
centre just touched the north of the island at 4 a.m. on
the 26th. The force of the wind was at no time very
great, and did not prove destructive on land— though
causing much anxiety and alarm during its progress. The
barometer did not faill on this occasion more than half-an-
inch. G. W. Westerby
Antigua
PROFESSOR S. F. B. MORSE
INTELLIGENCE has aheady been received in this
country of the death of Samuel Finley Breese Morse,
the eminent electrician, who died at New York on the 2nd
inst. at the age of eighty-one. Prof. Morse was the son
of the Rev. Jedediah Morse, well known as a geographer,
and was bom at Charlestown, Massachusetts, on the 27th
of April, 1 79 1. He was educated at Yale College, but,
having determined to become a painter, he came to
England in 181 1, formed a friendship with Leslie, and in
1 813 exhibited at the Royal Academy a colossal picture
of "The Dying Hercules.*' He returned to America,
and for a few years followed the profession of a portrait
painter. In 1829 he again visited England, and on his
return voyage was accompanied by Prof. Jackson, the
eminent American chemist and geologist, through whose
influence he turned his attention to the conduction of
electricity through metallic wire, a subject in which the
chemical tastes displayed by him while at College gave
him additional interest, and to which he now devoted the
whole powers of his mind.
Between 1835 and 1837 Prof. Morse invented several
machines which more or less foreshadowed the electric
telegraph ; and obtained from Congress a vote of 30,000
dollars, with which to make an experimental essay be-
tween Washington and Baltimore. The first electric
telegraph completed in the United States was the line
between these cities, which was finished in 1844. Since
that time the Recording Electric Telegraph of Morse has
been adopted over the whole country, and at the time of
his death there were not less than twenty thousand miles
of electric wires, stretching over the States between the
Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.
Prof. Morse received during his life recognition of his
services to science from a large number of foreign Govern-
ments and scientific societies, not the least remarkable
bein^ the one inspired by the late Emperor of the French.
At his suggestion delegates from France, Russia, Sweden,
Belgium, Holland, Austria, Sardinia, Tuscany, the Holy
See, and Turkey, met at Paris, and voted an award of
400,000 frs. to Prof. Morse as a testimonial of appreciation
of his services.
A record of Prof. Morse's scientific career would not,
however, be complete, without referring to a controversy
which some yearsago occupied the attention of the scientific
world in the United States, in which he was engaged with
Prof. Henry, now President of the Smithsonian Institution
at Washington. So much personal matter was introduced
into the dispute that a special conunittee of the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution was appointed to
investigate the matter, the report of which now lies before
us. The result of this investigation is summed up as
follows : —
'' We have shown that Mr. Morse himself has acknow-
ledged the value of the discoveries of Prof. Henry to his
electric telegraph : that his associate and scientific assis-
tant, Dr. Gale, has distinctly affirmed that these dis-
coveries were applied to his telegraph, and that previous
to such application it was impossible for Mr. Morse to
operate his instrument at a distance ; that Prof. Henry's
experiments were witnessed by Prof Hall and others in
1832, and that these experiments showed the possibility
of transmitting to a distance a force capable of producing
mechanical effects adequate to making telegraphic
signals ; that Mr. Henry's deposition of 1849 ... .
is strictly correct in all the historical details, and
that, so far as it relates to Mr. Henry's own claim as a
discoverer, is within what he might have claimed with
entire justice ; that he gave the deposition reluctantly,
and in no spirit of hostility to Mr. Morse ; that on that
and other occasions he fully admitted the merit of Mr.
Morse as an inventor ; and that Mr. Morse's patent was
extended through the influence of the favourable opinion
expressed by Prof. Henry."
The conclusion therefore which must be arrived at, and it
is one of no small importance in the history of electrical and
telegraphic science, is that to Prof. Henry, and not to Prof.
Morse, is unquestionably due the honour of the discovery
of a principle which proves the practicability of exciting
magnetism through a long coil, or at a distance, either to
deflect a needle or to magnetise soft iron.
Prof. Morse's services to science as a successful applier
of this principle in its practical details are so unquestion-
able, that we feel we are but doing a duty in setting this
question right on this side the Atlantic.
NOTES
The following are the names of the candidates who have been
selected by the Council of the Royal Society for admission into
that body at the forthcoming annual election : — Surgeon-Major
Andrew Leith Adams, Prof. W. G. Adams, F. Le Gros Clarke,
M.R.CS., Prof. John Cleland, M.D., Dr. M. Foster, Dr.
Wilson Fox, Dr. Arthur Gamgee, Rev. Thomas Hincks, ProC
W. Stanley Jevons, Prof. T. Rupert Jones, Dr. George Johnson,
Major T. G. Montgomerie, R.K, Dr. E. L. Ormerod, E. J.
Routh, and Dr. W. J. Russell.
At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, held on
Monday evening last, a letter was read addressed to the Presi-
dent by Dr. Kirk, H.B.M. consul at Zanzibar, in which that
gentleman expressed himself very hopefully of Dr. Livingstone's
safety. He thinks there is nothing discouraging in the last news
received of him, and that we cannot expect to hear again unti
the war at Unyanyembe is closed.
H.R.H. THE Duke of Edinburgh will hold a reception on
Saturday evening next in the Picture Galleries of the International
Exhibition and in the Royal Albert Hall, on behalf of the Prince
of Wales and the Royal Commissioners.
We understand that Lieut-Colonel Strange, F.R.S., will
exhibit at the ordinary meeting of the Royal Society on Thurs-
day, May 2nd, the Great Theodolite designed by him for the
Great Indian Trigonometrical Survey of India, and will read a
paper descriptive of it
The electors of the Waynflete Professorship in Chemistry at
Oxford have given notice that it is their intention to proceed to
the election of a Professor some time in Act term next. The
endowment assigned to the Professorship is 600/. per annum.
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5^0
NATURE
{April 21, 1872
payable out of the revenues of Magdalen College. The residence
required by the College ordinance is six calendar months, at
least, between the loth day of October in every year and the first
day of the next ensuing July. By the same ordinance the Col-
' lege may require certain services from the Professor ; but the
functions and duties of the office are mainly regulated by a statute
of the University, the provisions of which, as well as of the
College ordinance, may be obtained from the President of Mag-
dalen, to whom persons intending to become candidates are re-
quested to send in their names, and any papers which they may
wish to present to the electors in support of their application, on
or before the i8th of May.
' The next triennial prize of 300/. under the will of the late
Sir Astley T. Cooper, Bart will be awarded to the author of the
best essay or treatise on ''Injuries and Diseases of the Spinal
Cord.^ The essays or treatises shall contain original experiments
and observations, which shall not have been previously pub-
lished, and each essay or treatise shall be illustrated by prepara-
tions, and by drawings, which shall be added to the.?.[useum of
Guy's Hospital, and shall, together with the work itsvlf, become
henceforth the property of the Institution. Essays must be sent
in to Guy's Hospital on or before January i, 1874. If written
in a foreign language they must be accompanied by an English
translation.
Radcliffe Studentships for persons studying medicine, and
desirous of making use of the museum and lectures at Oxford,
have been awarded to Mr. Francis T. Carey, of Guy's Hospital,
and Mr. C. R. B. Keetley, of St Bartholomew's Hospital, on
the recommendation of Sir James Paget, Sir William Gull, and
Dr. John Ogle ; and to Mr. Farington M. Granger, of the Hos-
pital of Leeds, on the ^commendation of T. P. Teal, M.A.,
M.B.
M. Stewart of Rossall School has been elected to the Ex-
hibition of 50/., at St John's CoUege, Cambridge, tenable for
three years, for Natural Science. The examiners also honour-
ably mentioned Anderson, of Rugby School, and King's College,
London. There were seven candidates. The examiners were
— Chemistry, Mr. Main ; Physics, Mr. A. Freeman ; Physio-
logy, Dr. Bradbury ; Geology, Mr. Boimey ; Botany, Mr. Hiem.
Captain G. S. Nares will, on his arrival in England from
the Mediterranean, commission the unarmoured screw corvette
Challenger for special exploring and surveying duties in the
Pacific. The Challenger is a vessel of 2,306 (X472) tons and
1509 (400) horse power.
It is proposed, according to the American Naturalist^ to add a
department of Science to the executive branch of the United States
Government. It is to be composed of the Storm Signal Corps
of the army, the Lighthouse Board, and the Coast Survey Bureau
of the Treasury, and the Hydrographic Bureau of the Navy.
We hear that a proposition is on foot to establish an Agricul-
tural-Meteorological station at Montrouge, near Paris, under the
superintendence of Bf. Ch. Moureaux.
A COMMUINCATION to the Corporation of Brown University,
in America, was recently presented from Colonel Stephen T.
Olney, making a munificent offer of his herbarium and books on
botany, on condition that a suitable building should be provided
for their reception. It was referred to a committee.
The officers of the Boston (U.S.) Young Men's Christian
Union, recognising the importance of scientific studies and the
need of encouraging scientific tastes, have determined to establish
in the rooms of the Union a natural history cabinet. Their
object in providing such a collection is to foster the growing
taste for science among the young men of Boston, and to open a
new source of instruction and amusement to the members of the
Union.
A VERY interesting collection of water* colour drawings made
by Mr. W. Simpson, on the various excavations below the
modem dty of Jerusalem, which have been carried on for the
past three years by the Palestine exploration, nnder the superin-
tendence of Captain Warren, of the Engineers, is now placed for
exhibition in the Gallery, 48, Pall Mall. Most of the drawings
are taken in the excavations or in the sacred tombs and caves ;
but the artist has made his series complete by two or three
which represent the massive walls of Jerusalem as they are now
to be seen above ground, as well as that part of them which has
been discovered at the depth of 125 ft
At the meeting of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical
Society on March 19, the President, Mr. E. W. Binney, read
an elaborate paper, entitled ''Additional Notes on the Lanca-
shire Drift Deposits.''
At the Annual Meeting of the Bengal Social Science Assoda-
tioD, Dr. Ewart, the president, delivered an excellent address
on the necessity for the introduction into the schools preparing
students for the entrance examination of the University of Cal-
cutta, of the study of the rudimentary principles of the natural
and physical sciences. Although the University was avowedly
founded on the model of the London University, the traditional
policy of the older Universities is apparent in the exclusion of
Science ; and a movement commenced last year to introduce ex-
amination in various branches of science has at present failed.
Dr. Ewart points out with great force the injury which the higher
education has suffered in England from a similar course, and that
the "existing metaphysical system of education is fast flooding
the country with a class of gentlemen who cannot find occupation
suitable to the kind and nature of the training they have received. "
'' Are we to wait here," he inquires, " simply to follow in the
wake of England in this matter ? Is India to go through a long
embryo state of preparation like the Western nations, extending
over many centuries? ''
A NEW technical paper has been started at Brussels, entitled
Chromque de t Industrie^ answering to our English papers, the
Engineer and Engineering.
Dr .L. Pfsiffer, of Cassel, has published the two first parts
of a work which will be indispensable to every systematic
botanist, "Nomendator Botanicus," being an alphabetical
enumeration of the names of all classes, orders, tribes, families,
divisions, genera, sub-genera, and sections of plants, published
down to the end of the year 1858, with copious references to the
authorities, systematic arrangement, synonymy, and first publi-
cation. From the care evidenced in the parts already published,
the work will supply a desideratum long felt in botanical liters*
ture; and the author, who is an amateur man of science holding
no official position, deserves the thanks of all botanists. Ar*
rangements are made by which the work may be carried down to
the present time.
Mr. C. p. Hobkirk, of Huddersfield, announces as in course
of preparation, A Synopsis of the British Mosses, in i voL 8va
The long-expected translation of Le Ma6ut and Decaisne's
"Traite G^n^ral de Botanique," by Mrs. J. D. Hooker, is an-
nounced by Messrs. Longman as in the press.
Messrs. Bradbury and Evans have in the press *' Botany
for Banners," by Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R.S., a portion
of which has already appeared in the columns of the Gardner:
Chronicle,
A very interesting series of articles on the animals contained
in the Crystal Palace Aquarium, by Mr. Edward Newmao,
F.US., is now being published in The Field,
The Catalogue of Microscopical Preparations in the Quekett
Microscopical Club, consisting of about 2,000 slides, is chiefly
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April 2^, 1872J
NATURE
511
of interest from the plan on which they are classified. The
arranging and cataloguing a large collection of microscopical pre-
parations in a satisfactory manner is admitted to be a work of
considerable difficulty. In the present instance the catalogue ii
divided into five groups, containing Vertebrata, Tnvertebrata,
Phanerogamia, Cryptogamia, and Mineral Substances. Each
of the groups VerteSrata and Invertebrata is again subdivided
into orders ; and the Phanerogamia into stems, fibres, cell struc-
ture, cuticles, hairs, pollen, seeds, and starches. The Crypto-
gamia are subdivided into ferns, mosses, fungi, characete, algae,
desmids, and diatoms. The minerals are without subdivision.
Although this classification is open to some objections, yet, on
the whole, it was perhaps about the best which could have been
done with the materials ; and the catalogue, which is on sale for
the benefit of microscopists generally, will furnish a long list of
objects for those who are collecting. In some of the subsections
— ^as, for instance, the hairs of bats, fructification of ferns, and
microscopic seeds — ^the cabinet appean to be remarkably com-
plete. Indeed, it is doubtful whether these sections can be
equalled in the cabinet of any other society.
In a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, brought before
the French Academy on February 26, a report is given of the
eaxthquake shock felt at Malaga on January 28 at 3^ i™ P.M.
The undulatory movement lasted from four to six seconds, and
subterranean noises were heard previously to the shock. The
direction was from north to south. No damage is reported.
The American Jmmal of ScUnce gives an account of the
earthquake of the 9th of January experienced in New England.
It occurred over a considerable portion of Eastern New England
and the SL Lawrence Valley, at a few moments before 8 P.M.
on January 9. It was felt sJong the St Lawrence^River to a
distance of 200 miles north-east and 60 miles south-west from
Quebec, and at various points of New Hampshire and Maine.
The disturbance was greatest at Quebec, where some walls were
cracked, and large fissures caused in the ice bridge over the river.
The shock occurred there at 7*54 P.M. and lasted about thirty
seconds, being accompanied by a low rumbling sound. At
Lancaster, in New Hampshire, there were two distinct shocks,
each lasting but a few seconds, the last being the most violent
The direction of vibrations was well defined, and approximately
west to east. Probably the true direction was from a point
somewhat south of west, which would coinckle nearly with the
course of the St. Lawrence River, and with the shorter diameter
of the region shaken. At Quebec and Bangor slight shocks were
felt at 3 P.M. and 11 P.M. on the same day.
The towns of Dresden, Pema, Schandau, Chemnitz, Boden-
bach, Wurmar, and Rudolstadt, were visited almost simulta-
neously by a succession of earthquake shocks between three and
four o'clock on Wednesday, March 6. They continued to recur
during an hour, and in some instances during several hours.
Little damage was done.
A CORRESPONDENT of the Times, telegraphing from Alex-
andretta, states that half the town of Antioch was destroyed by
an earthquake on April 3. Fifteen hundred persons were killed.
Great distress prevails in consequence. The shock was also felt
at Aleppo, but without any damage being done.
We have received the second part of the Proceedings of the
Bristol Naturalists' Society for 187 1. Like other similar publi-
cations which we have had occasion to notice recently, it con-
tains no original articles bearing on the natural history of the
district, or containing original observations. The proceedings
of the Sections are also rather scant, though they bear evidence
of some work having been done in Geology and Entomology.
We have received a series of chemical Libels published by
Messrs. Mottershead and Co., of Manchester. The labels are
printed in good legible type, better than is usual in such cases,
the backs being gummed ready for use. No definite system of
chemical nomenclature has been used, in many instances the
common or old names of the reagents are given, although perhaps
in some cases to the sacrifice of scientific accuracy. Contrary to
the usual practice, no symbols are attached, the publishers pre-
ferring to leave space for the insertion of these, according to the
views held by each chemist. At the end of the reagents a number
of slips are attached, u*ith the words " pure, " " commercial," &c. ,
to qualify the foregoing labels. The total number given is con-
siderable, forming a very good and cheap series (9^. )
OBSERVATIONS OF THE AURORA BORE A LIS
OF FEBRUARY^ &> 5, 1872 *
'T'HE splendid aurora by which our sky was illuminated yester-
-■■ day evening was remarkable for the great variety of appear-
ances which it displayed, for its intensity, its duration, and lastly
for the large expanse of sky over which it spread. In fact it ex-
hibited collectively all the principal phenomena observed in
former appearances of this meteor: that is to say, luminous arches
of various colours, dark arches, moveable clouds of red and green
colour, bright rays both isolated and united in large bundles, dark
rays, diverging and converging rays, red pillars, changes of
colour, &C., &C. It lasted from about six o'clock till after mid-
night, whereas in most cases the duration of the phenomenon
does not exceed a few hours, and is not unfrequently less than an
hour. The auroral light, under various forms and colours, ex-
tended over nearly the whole of the sky, whereas it is usually
limited to the northern region.
The want of magnetic instruments prevented me from foresee-
ing by their perturbations the approach of the phenomenon, so
that I did not perceive it till about 6h. 30m., by which time it
was already developed in vast proportions. I arrived, however,
in time to observe all the principal phases, and to analyse the
various coloured lights with the spectroscope.
Although the numerous phenomena observed in this aurora
did not present anything actually new, still their detailed descrip-
tion will be of great advantage to science, as exhibiting the order
of their succession and their mutoal relations and dependences.
Such scope, however, could be attained only by a long and
systematic description ; and for the present I must limit myself to
an account of my spectroscopic observations.
The greenish yellow light which illuminated certain arches and
isolated douds, and likewise the part of the sky near the mag-
netic meridian, appeared, when examined by the spectroscope, to
be monochromatic, its spectrum being almost wholly concentrated
in a beautiful green line, the position of which was very near the
division 1 241 of Kirchhoff's scale.
In the brightest parts nearest to the magnetic meridian, and in
a few yellow rays near the zenith, I discovered, by means of the
spectroscope, a second green line situated towards the blue, and
corresponding very nearly with the division 1820 of Kirchhoff's
scale. The line 1241 is near a known line of iron, and 1820 is
near a known line of atmospheric air.
The second green line was very much less bright than the
first, but nevertheless very distinct Between these two lines
were traces of several other faint lines, the position of which I
was unable to determine.
On the decidedly red mass I could not make out any distinct
bright line, but only certain bands of continuous spectrum. On
the yellow-red mass I detected the bright line 1 241, without any
distinct lines in the red.
The spectroscopic observations were continued with the same
results till about the middle of the night, when the aurora had
almost entirely vanished.
The atmospheric conditions during the phenomenon were
normal, only a few masses of cloud being seen from time to time
near the horizon ; and I observed an appearance which seemed
to me especially worthy of notice —namely, a continuous glow
proceeding from the horizon towards the S.S.E., by which some
clouds and a stratum of mist were lighted up almost continuously
* Traulated from the Gautla UfficiaU dilRetnp d'Jtalia, Feb. 6.
oqIc
5"
NATURE
{April 2<,, 1872
and with considermble brightness, chiefly from half-past eight to
ten o'clock.
During the phenomenon several falling stars were observed,
and a magnificent bolide in the Great Bear at 8h. 30m., but this
was probably accidental.
Tins evening, in the expectation that the aurora borea^is might
reappear, I bc^|an to observe the sky as soon as twilight was
over, and I perceived a faint glow, a kind of phosphorescence, dif-
fused over the whole sky, but wiUiout any decided appearance of
boreal light
While waiting for more imposing phenomena, I directed the
spectroscope towards the zodiacal kght, to ascertain whether its
spectrum could be observed at Rome, as it had been observed on
the Red Sea on the evening of the I itb. and the morning of the
1 2th January last
Angstrom, in 1867, found the spectrum of the zodiacal light to
be monochromatic, consisting of a single green line, to which
he assigned approximately the position 1259 on KirchhofiTs scale,
the same that he had determined for the green line of the aurora
borealis ; and I myself, on the days above mentioned, was able
to perceive in the zodiacal light, not only this green line, but near
it and towards the blue, a band or zone of apparently continuous
spectrum.
This evening at seven o'clock, I was able to discern the same
spectrum in the light above mentioned ; and on directing the
spectroscope to other points, I found that this spectrum showed
itself in all parts of the heavens from the horizon to the zenith,
more or less defined in dLFTerent parts, but everywhere as bright
as in the zodiacal light. The observatory assistant. Dr. di
Legge, likewise obs^ed this spectrum distinctly, in various
parts of the heavens.
This fact, which corroborates an analogous observation made
by Angstrom in 1867, appears tome of the greatest importance,
inasmuch as it demonstrates the identity of the zodiacal light
with that of the aurora, and thereby tends to establish the iden-
tity of their origin, and to unite into one these two mysterious
phenomena. L. Respighi
Observatory of the Royal University of CampidogUo,
Feb. 5, 1872.
PHYSIOLOGY
Note on Recurrent Vision*
In the course of some experiments with a new double plate
Iloltz machine, belonging to the college, I have come upon a
very curious phenomenon, which I do not remember ever to
have i-een noticed. The machine gives easily intense Leyden
jar sparks from seven to nine inches in length, and of most daz-
zling brilliance. When, in a darkened room, the eye is screened
from the direct light of the spark, the illumination produced is
sufficient to render every thing in the apartment perfectly visible ;
and what is remarkable, every conspicuous object is seen twice
at least, with an interval of a trifle less than one quarter of a
second— the first time vividly, the second time faintly ; often it
is seen a third, and sometimes, but only with great difficulty,
even a fourth time. The appearance is precisely as if the object
had been suddenly illum'mated by a light at first bright, but
rapidly fading to extinction, and as if, while the illumination
lasted, the observer were winking as fast as possible.
I see it best by setting up in front of the machme, at a dis-
tance of eight or ten feet, a white screen having upon it a black
cross, with arms about three feet long and one foot wide, made
of strips of cambric. That the phenomenon is realiy subjective,
and not due to a succession of sparks, is easi>y shown by swing-
ing the screen from side to side. The black cross, at all the
periods of visibility, occupies the same place, and is apparently
stationary. The same b true of a stroboscropic disc in rapid
revolution ; it is seen several times by each spark, but each time
in the same position. There is no apparent multiplication of a
moving object of any sort.
The interval between the successive instants of visibility was
measurol roughly as follows : — A tuning fork, making 924
vibrations per second, was adjusted, so as to record its motion
upon the smoked surface of a revolving cylinder, and an electro-
magnet was so arranged as to record any motion of its armature
upon the trace of the fork : a key connected with this magnet
was in the hands of the observer. An assistant turned the
• From the American Journal of Science and A rt for April By Prof.
C. A Yoang, of Dartmouth CoUego.
machine slowly, so as to produce a spark once in two or three
seconds, while the observer manipulated the key.
In my own case the mean of a dozen experiments gave o»'2a
as the interval between the first and second seeing of the cross
upon the screen ; separate results varving from 0*17 to c^'Tp,
Another observer found C '24 as a result of a similar series.
Whatever the true explanation may turn out to be, the phe-
nomenon at least suggests the idea of a re/Uciion of the nervous
impulse at the nerve extremities — as if the intense impression
upon the retina, after being the first time propagated to the
brain, were there reflected, returned to the retina, and from the
retma travelling again to the brain renewed the sensation. I
have ventured to adl the phenomenon "Recurrent visioiL"
It may be seen, with some difficulty, by the help of an induc-
tion coil and Levden jar ; or even by simply charging a Leyden
j vc with an old-fashioned electrical machine, and dist:har^o£ it
in a darkened room. The spark roust be, at least, an inch in
length.
Hanover, February 9
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS
Annates de Chimie et de Physique, July and August, 1871.
This number contains the second portion of a very lengthy
memoir by M. Berthelot on explosive agents in general ; thu
half of the communication deals with dynamite, gun cotton,
picric add and potassic picrate. At the end of the memoir a
general table is given which shows the amount of heat generated
and the volume of gas formed by one kilogram of substance ;
the product of these two numbers will of course give the relative
effects produced by each compound ; the numbers given show
that if nitroglycerine produces an amoimt of force equal to 94,
picric add equals 54, gun cotton 50, potassic picrate 34, whilst
gunpowder has only an explosive lorce equal to 14. M. Janssen
contributes a very valuable paper on the atmospheric lines in the
solar spectrum. He finds that the bands observed by Brewster
and Gladstone can be resolved into fine lines comparable to the
solar lines properly so called, and that the atmospheric lines are
more numerous than the solar lines in the red, orange, and
yellow portions of the spectrum. The atmospheric Imes are
always visible in the solar spectrum, some lines it is true almost
disappear when the sun is very high, but they are those whidi
are never very intense ; the author finds that the intennty of the
atmospheric lines observed at the horizon is about fifteen times
as great as when observed in the meridian. M . Janssen has also
examined the spectrum of the moon and stars, and more particu-
larly of Sirius and a in Orion ; he has not succeeded in observing
any new lines whatever in the spectrum of the moon, proving
that our satellite cannot have any appreciable atmc^pbere.
M. Raoult has found that a solution of cane sugar sealed up in
vacuo and exposed to light for five months is {Murtially chai^ged
into glucose. Amongst the other original memoirs there is a
very long one by Dr. de Coppet on the temperature of congela-
tion in saline solutions. There are also a considerable number of
abstracts of papers from foreign journals, nudcing up altogether
a very bulky number.
The Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club, No. 18, April
1872, contains the following three communications : — ^** Observa-
tions on the Polyzoa, by A. H. H. Lattey, M-R-CP.** This
paper is chiefly devoted to the preparation of the Polyzoa for the
microscope, so as to exhibit them in permanence with the ten-
tacles expanded.—" On the so-called * nerve* of the Tooth," by
T. C. White, Hon. Sec. The prindpal elements met with in a
microscopical examination of what is popularly termed the
** nerve '^ of the tooth, are here indicated, and suggestions are
given to assist in the more complete examination of tooth-
structure. — ** On the Internal Structure of the Pulex irritans,** hj
W. H. Furlonge. Tbis is a second communication on the
struc ure of the flea which has been submitted to the dub by its
author. The first was occupied chiefly in the examination of
external organs, the present is devoted to internal structure,
commencing with the alimentary and digestive system, then
fuUow remarks on the respiratory system, and finally observa-
tions on the reproductive sjrstem. The embryolqgy is left
untouched, to form the subject of a third and concluding
paper, which will then embrace the life history of one of
the commonest, but not the least interesting, of British insects.
The clttb announced its list of excursions lor the season com*
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NATURE
513
mencing April 6, and teiminating October 5. There are fifteen
excursioQt, of which fourteen are announced for Saturday after-
noons, one whole day excursion, and one day excursion ending
with the excursionists* annual dinner. The annual soirie of the
club was held at University College on Friday evening, March
22, and was attended by about 1,200 persons.
Journal of tfu Chemical Society^ February. — Dr. Arm-
strong contributes a paper "On the nitration products of the
dichlorophenolsttlphonic adds," being a continuation of his
researches published in recent numbers of this journal. The
next communication is on Eulyte and Dyslyte, by H. Bassett,
being a re-examination of these bodies, which were briefly de-
scribed by Baup in 185 1. The third and last original communi-
cation is by Dr. Howard, " On Quinicine and Cmchonicine and
their salts. Some time since the author gave an account of an
amorphous alkaloid from cinchona bark, the properties of which
distinguished it from those already described. Further investiga-
tions, however, have shown that it is probably identical with
quinicine, first obtained by Pasteur by the action of heat on
quinine. The author finds that the quinicine obtained from
quinine, and that obtained from quinoidine, are identical in their
properties. Several salts of ctnchonidne have been prepared ;
there is conuderable resemblance between them and the qumicine
salts, although the former are somewhat more soluble. - The same
identity is observed between the cinchomdnes obtained from cin-
chonine and from cinchonidine as was observed in the case of
auinidne. The action of these alkaloids on polarised light confirms
le identity already mentioned. Thus, the quinicines prepared,
dther from quinine (which possesses a strong left-handed rotation),
or from quinidine (which has a right-handed rotation), exhibit a
eeble right-handed rotation, which, in each case, is almost
identical. The abstracts of papers in foreign journals occupy
seventy-pages, and, as usual, are of great interest
Verhandiungen der k, k, geologischm ReUhanstaU yi Wien,
Nos. 3 and 4. The articles in these numbers are for the most part
of local interest ; but we notice a short sketch of the geological
stmctnxeof East Greenland by F. Toula— some of the fruiu of
the last German expedition — which will be read with interest
Literary and other notices, as usual, occupy considerable space
in the proceedings.
The Gtolorical Magazine for April 1872 (Na 94) opens
with an excellent artide from the pen 01 Mr. W. Davies,
of the British Museum, on the rostral prolongations of the sin-
gular Liassic Fish, described by Agassiz undei the name oiSqualo-
raia pdyspondyla. The two projecting processes from the snout
of this fish were regarded by I)r. Riley and Prot Agassiz* as
forming a single rostrum ; but Mr. Davies argues with justice
that the upper one is reall3r a cephalic spine analogous to that
met with in a similar situation in the male Chimseridae, and that
it was employed, as by them, in conjunction with the elongated
rostrum, for securely clasping the female. Mr. Davies refers to
other points in the anatomy of this curious fish, which he
illustrates with a large plate. — Prof. Dyer commences the
description of some remains of coniferous plants from the
lithographic stone of Solenhofen; the form here described is
named by him AratuariUs IiaberleinH.^YTom Mr. Searles
Wood, jun. we have a paper on the climate of the post-
glacial period, and a reply to Mr. James Gdkie's Correlation
of the Scotch and English Glacial beds, whilst the last-men-
tioned author contributes a fifth paper on Changes of Climate
during the Gladal epoch. —Some points in the Geology of
the East Lothian coast, form the subject of a paper by Messrs.
G. W. and Y. M. Balfour, in which they describe the peculiar
relations existing between the porphyrite of Whitberry Point
and the adjacent sedimentary (sandstone) rocks, the latter being
found to dip on all sides towards the mass of porphyrite. The
authors suppose the porphyrite to have been erupted through a
•mall orifice, and to have caused the depression of the sedi-
mentary beds by pressure.
Tub original artides in the March number of the American
Naturalist are not so numerous as usuaL Prof. J. D. Biscoe
commences with a description of the breathing-pores or stomates
of leaves. — Prof. H. W. Parker describes the meteorological
phenomena witnessed in the western prairies, induding the very
common occurrence of parhelia in mock suns. — Dr. R. H.
Ward has some remarks on uniformity of nomenclature in re-
gard to microscopical objectives and oculars, of considerable
mterest to microscopists.— The most important artide is " On
the Stone Age in New Jersey," by Dr. Chas. C. Abbott, illus-
trated with a number of woodcuts of the rude implements and
utensils found throughout that State, the relics of its original
Indian inhabitants.
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES
London
Geologrical Society, April 10.— "Notice of some of the
Secondary Effects of the Earthquake of the loth January, 1869,
in Cachar." Communicated by Dr. Oldham, of Calcutta, with
remarks by Mr. Robert Mallet, C.E., F.R.S. This earthquake
was a severe one, being strongly fdt in Calcutta, distant from the
meizoseismic area about 200 miles, and far into the plain of
Bengal. The effects were examined on the spot a few weeks
after the shock by Dr. Oldham, who anticipates being able to fix
the position and depth of the centre of impulse by following the
same methods as those first employed by Mr. Mallet with respect
to the great Neapolitan earthquake of 1857. These results nave
not yet been received ; but Dr. Oldham has forwarded an ex-
tremely interesting letter on the circumstances of production of
very large earth-fissures, and of the welling up of water from
these, derived from the water-bearing ooze-bea, upon which re-
posed the deep-clay beds in which the fissures were formed. Dr.
Oldham rightly views all these fissures, which were all nearly
paralld to and not far distant from the steep river banks, as
"secondary effects," and not due to fractures produced by the
direct passage of the wave of shock. He also shows that the
welling up or overflowing of the water in the fissures was a
secondary efiect also, and negatives the notion entertait ed on the
spot of mud- volcanoes, &c., having originated at those fissures.
The chief aim of Mr. Mallet's remarks was to psiot out the
importance to geologists of rightly comprehending the dynamics
of production of these phenomena, and to show that the older
notions of geologists as to earthquake-fissures are untenable. He
explained clearly, aided by diagrams', the train of forces by which
the elastic wave of shock, on passing out of the deep-clay beds
where these have a free side forming the steep siver banks, dis-
lodges certain portions and throws them off towards that free
side — and that this is but a case of the general law in accordance
with which such elastic waves behave towards more or less in-
coherent deposits reposing on inclined or on levd beds, under
various conditions. Mr. Mallet also explained the dynamic
conditions under which the water from water-bearing beds, sndi
as that of ooze beneath the Cadiar clajr beds, becomes elevated
in the fissures formed, and gave approximate expressions for the
minimum height to which the water can rise in relation to the
velodty of the dastic wave partide. The paper concluded with
some explanatory remarks upon the contmual noises, like the
irregular fire of distant artillery, heard long after the shock had
passed, and when the country had become perfectly quiescent
The noble collection of photographs which were made by Dr.
Oldham, and forwarded to Mr. Mallet, illustrative of the physical
features of the huge earth- fissures and other effects of this earth-
quake, were exhibited to the Fellows present, and are well
worthy of attentive study. Sir Henry James inquired whether
there was any trace of nssuring in the lower beds beneath the
slimy ooze. Mr. Scott wished to ascertain the author's opinion
as to the possibility of predicting earthquakes on meteorological
grounds, as had been done by M. Boulard, several of whose
prophecies were said to have been fulfilled. Mr. D. Forbes
gave some details of the earthquake of Mendoza, a town situated
on a vast alluvial plain at the foot of the Andes, in which the
phenomena remarkably coincided with those detailed by Dr.
Oldham. In that case he found that the rumours as to fire and
smoke having been emitted from fissures were entirely without
foundation, the presumed smoke having been nothing but dust.
The earthquake was felt over a distance of 1,200 miles ; and
wherever the firm rock came to the surface there was no trace of
fissure, though portions of the rock were overthrown. But in
the plain, consisting of 30 or 40 feet of alluvial soil, the whole
ground was in places fissured, and in some distiicts the surface
completely furrowed, and even the turf turned over. He had
witnessed numerous earthquakes, and in some cases had been in
deep mines during their occurrence, when the sound only could
be heard, and he could testify to their effects bdn^ confined to
the surface. The direction of the fissures was invariably at right
angles to the line of ihock. In South America all Uie canh*
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NATURE
[April 25. 187a
quakes could be traced to yolcanic centres. The President in-
quired as to the distinction to be drawn between the primary and
secondary effects of earthquakes, and whether the author thought
that no nssures were attributable to the direct action of earth-
quakes. As to the cause of the sound, like that of a cart
carrying iron bars or of an artillery waggon, he wished for further
information. Mr. Mallet, in reply, explained that fissures only
take place where masses were comparatively free in one direction.
They might extend to enormous depths, though they often
closed in rapidly. With regard to the power of predicting
earthquakes, he disbelieved in it wholly, and considered that
any fulfilment of such prophecies must be due to accident ;
earthquakes are so numerous, that the chances of such fulfil-
ments are great The blow or impulse originating earthquakes
could not be attributed solely to one cause. It arose often from
deep subterranean volcanic action ; but it also— especially in the
case of long-continued tremors, like those of Comrie or Pienerol
— arose from the breaking up or the grinding over each other of
rocky beds at a great depth, through the tangential pressures
produced in the earth's crust by secular cooling. The arrested
impulse of the fall of the Rosberg in Switzenand produced a
sensible earUiquake. Fissures in hard rock could not be pro-
duo^ directly by the shock, because the velocity of impulse in
such rock greatly exceeded that of the elastic wave particle.
The earth's crust was at present not in a state of tension, but of
compression, through secular cooling.
Zoological Society, April 16. — Dr. £. Hamilton, vice-
president, in the chur. A letter was read from Dr. R.
Schomburgh, of the Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South
Australia, containing an account of the apparently reasonable
conduct of a monkey kept in the gardens. — Mr. A. H. Garrod,
Prosector to the Society, read a*paper on the mechanism of the
gizzard in birds, in whidi he enaeavoured to show that the or-
dinary action of this organ was that of compression, and not of
trituration as usually understood. — A communication was read
from Dr. John Anderson, on a supposed new monkey from the
Sunderbunds to the east of Calcutta, allied to Maccacus rhesus, —
A communication was read from Mr. W. H. Hudson, containing
remarks on the birds of the Rio Negro of Patagonia, as observed
during a recent visit to that loctmty. To Uiis was added an
appei^ix, by Mr. Sdater, giving a scientific account of Mr.
Hudson's collections. — A conmiunication was read firom Mr. R.
Swinhoe, containing descriptions of two new pheasants (Phasu
anus elUoti and Pucrasia darwini) and a new Uarrulax {G. picti"
coliis) from the vicinity of Ningpo, China. — ^A paper by Mr. F.
Moore was read containing the descriptions of a large number of
new species of Indian Lepidoptera. — Mr. £. W. H. Holdsworth
read notes on a Cetacean observed on the west coast of Ceylon,
remarkable for possessing a long, straight dorsal fin, and known
to the natives as the " Palmyra fish.'^Dr. A. Giinther read a
paper on a collection of reptiles and amphibians made at Metang,
m the district of SarawiUc, Borneo ; to which was added a
synopsis of the known species of these classes hitherto recorded
from that bland. These were stated to be altogether 153 in
number.— Sir Victor Brooke, Bart, gave a description of a sup-
posed new species of gazelle from Ugogo in Eastern Africa,
which he proposed to designate Gazdla granti,
Linnean Society, April 18.— Mr. G. Bentham, president, in
thechair. Mr. M. E. Grant-Dnff, M. P., was elected a fellow.— The
President announced the death of Prof. v. Mohl, one of the foreign
members of the society. — Prof. Oliver described four new genera
of plants recently received at the Kew Herbarium, i. A new
genus of Begoniaoese, firom New Grenada, of special interest, as
3ie order at present consists only of the large genus Begonia, and
another monotypic one from the Sandwich Isles. It resembles
in habit the senes of Begonia with thin membranous leaves not
cordate at the base ; but is very aberrant from the typical genus
in possessing a single monophyllous perianth, and being
moncedous, &e male flowers possessing only four stamens, which
are apparently didynamousy and give the plant an external re-
sembumce to Gesneraceae, the ovary, however, is that of typical
Begonia, Frot Oliver gives this new genus the name Begoniella.
It does not SLppear to throw any light on the difficult affinities of
the order. Tht three other genera are from Dr. Maingay's
collection from the Malay Peninsula. The first is a new genus
of Hamamdidse, Maingayoy in which the caljrx is perfectly dosed
in the bad, and afterwards ruptured. The order is of interest as
going back at least to the Miocene period, and still existing in
both bemisplieres. The two'other new genera belong to the craer
Olacinese. The first, CUnolophon, is one of the few genera of the
order with opposite leaves. The second, Pleieoearpa^ indodes
two species from Malacca and Borneo. — Prof. Thisdton Dyer oa
the Assam tea-plant The Chinese tea-plant is not known in the
wild state. The Assam tea-plant may be its indigenous form, but
presents well-marked differences. — Dr. -Braithwaite on Zoopsis^
Hook, and Tayl., a genus of Hepaticeae.
Chemical Society, April 18.— The president. Dr. Frank-
land, F.R.S., in thechair. — ^The secretary read two papers by
Mr. E. A. Letts, '* On benzyl isoc3ranate and cyanurate," and
*' On a compound of sodium and glycerine." — Prof, Himly, of
Kiel, who spoke in German, gave an account of a new method
of determining the carbonic acid in sea- water, and of an appara-
tus for collecting the water at great depths, which could be im-
mersed to the required distance bdow the surface, and then
dosed by means of stop-cocks. These are turned by powerful
springs released at the proper moment l>y an electro-masnet — ^Dr.
E. T. Thorpe followed with notes on the action of pnosphorus
pentasulphide on tetrachloride of carbon, and on the degree of
solubility of silver chloride in strong nitric acid. — Dr. Hofmann,
F.R.S., then gave a brief account of the new phosphoms basest
which he had recently obtained by the action of alcoholic iodides
on iodide of phosphoninm on the presence of zinc oxide, and
illustrated his remarks by several striiong experiments.
Mathematical Society, April n.—Prof. Cayley, F.R.S.,
vice-president, in the chair. — Prof. Cayley gave an account of a
paper "On the Mechanical Description of certain Sextic Curves."
— Mr. Roberts then exhibited an apparatus for the description
of such curves as had been alluded to by ProC Cayley ; and
further drew attention to an analogous manner in which certain
surfaces of the fourth degree may be generated. — A discussion
followed upon some questions proposed in which the chairman,
Profl Crofton, Messrs. Cotterill, Merrifidd, Sprague, and others
took part.
Photographic Society, April 9.— James Glaisher, F.R.S.,
in the chair. A paper on Merget's Mercury-Printing Process
was read, and some photogpp^ produced by its means were
shown. The photographic image is produced by the reduction
of silver, or other precious metal, salts, by mercuric vapour,
which has been in the first place collected upon a dich^ obtained
in the camera. The process is not yet suffidently ehU>orated to
be of much practical value. — A paper "On the Photographic
Image upon a Bichromate Film '^ was read by Mr. H. Baden
Pritchard, who demonstrated by a few examples the rapidity
with which the image, once started by light upon a carbon tissue,
contmues to acquire vigour after the lioter has been withdrawn
from the action of the solar rays.
Victoria Institute, April 15.— The Rev. J. G. Wood "On
the Rationality of the Lower Animals." He gave various
instances of the instinct and rationality of different animals in-
habiting various portions of the globe, and dwdt prindpally on
the latter, which he considered many animals to possess, though
in a very limited sense. An interesting discussion followed, in
which Captain Petrie pointed out that nad the animal creation
no rationality, or rather intelligence, it would be without an
attribute, which helped to make it more subservient to man's
wants. The Rev. C. A. Roe pointed out that the reasoning
powers of man were different from the reason possessed b>
animals, which was exceedingly limited, and of a peculiar
nature.
Manchester
Literary and Philosophical Society, March S— E. W.
Binnev, F.R.S., president, in the chair. **0n Chaises in the
Distribution of Barometric Pressure, Temperature, and Rain*
fidl under different Winds during a Solar Spot Period," by
Joseph Baxendell, F.R.A.S. — "Further Experiments on the
Rupture of Iron Wire," bjr Mr. John Hopkinson.
Physical and Mathematical Section, November 7, 1871. —
Alfred Brothers, F.R. A.S., vice-president, in the chair. " On
Changes in the Distribution of Barometric Pressure, Temperature,
and Rainfall, under different winds, during a Solar Spot Period,"
by Joseph Baxendell, F.R.A.S.
December 5, 1871. — Mr. Thomas Carrick in the chair. " On
the Distribution of Rainfall under different Winds, at St Peters-
burg, during a Solar Spot Period," by Joseph Baxendell,
F. R. A. S.
February 27.— E. W. Binney, F.R.S., vice-president of the
section, in the chair. " Results of Observation^ regirtered at
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April 2$, 1872J
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515
Eccles, on the Direction and Range of the Wind for 1869, as
made by an Automatic Anemometer for Pressure and Direction,"
by Thomas Mackereth, F.R.A.S.— "On Black Bulb Solar
Radiation Thermometers exposed in various Media," by G. V.
Vernon, F.R.A.S.— Note " 6n the Relative Velocities of diffe-
rent Winds, at Southport, and Eccles, near Manchester," by
Joseph Baxendelly F.R.A.S.
Cambxidgx
Philosophical Society, March xi. — Mr. E. H. Moigan, of
Jesus College, and Mr. J'. W. Cartmell, of Christ's College^
were elected fellows. The following communications were
read : — (i) By Mr. Hiem, "A monograph of the Ebenacecty
This elaborate paper will shortlyappear in the Society's Trans-
actions. (2) By Dr. Bacon, "The influence of human genera-
tions on the production of insanity." The author brougnt for-
ward statistics to prove that insanity was proportionate to poverty
—the greatest number of insane persons being found in the
poorest districts. Hence he considered that ameliorating the
condition of the people was of the first importance in the attack
on this disease. (3) By Mr. J. W. L. Glaisher, "Supplement
to a table of BemoiSli's nvnMrs."
Edinburoh
Royal Society, March fi&—Sh- Robert Christison, Bart,
president, in the chair. — "On the Extraction of a Square Root
of a Matrix of the Third Order," hy Prof. Cayley.— "Second
Note on the Strain-Function," by Prof. Tait— "Note on the
Rate of Cooling at High Temperatures," by ProU Talt— " Notice
of a Whinstone Boulder with Artifidid Markings and Grooves
on it," by Mr. D. Mike Home, LL.D.— "Notice of the
Fruithig of the Ipecacuan Plant in the Edinburgh Royil Botanic
Garden," by Prof. Balfour.
Royal Physical Society, March 27.— Mr. C. W. Peach,
president, in the chair. Note on the occuirence of the Hoopoe
\Upupa £Ms) at Freugh, Stoneykirk, Wigtownshire, by Rev.
George Wilson. The specimen, a male in Mrfect plumage, was
shot by Mr. Cunningham on March 16. — ^Notice of a species of
Mason Ant on the Isle of May, by Tames M'Bain, M.I>. Dr.
M'Bain visited the Isle of May on Feb. 16, and obtained speci-
mens of the ants, with eggs, larvae, and attendant aphides. The
ants since then had been kept in glass vessels, and one of the
artificial Formicarias was exhibited to the Royal Physical Society.
There appeared to be two species of ants in the colonies, one of
which corresponded with the specific characters of the yellow
ant, Formica flava^ and, being in doubt as to the specific name
of the brown ant, specimens of each were sent to the |British
Museum. Mr. F. Smith, a distinguished authority on the Hymm'
optera^ stated that "there are two species and two genera in
the quiU — one is Fornncaflaeva^ the other is Myrmica ruginodes*
The Formica is at once known by its single lamina, node (or
scale) between thorax and abdomen ; the Myrmica has two nodes,
and also a sting. These ants commonly occupy opposite sides of
the same hillodc"— " On the VegeUble and Animal Life found
in Natural Waters," by Dr. Stevenson Macadam. — Notes of a
Tour in Auveigne, with an exposition of some of the most
Illustrative minerals of Central France ; and remarks on the
nidification of some species of the family Mytilida, by Mr. D.
Grieve. — Analysis of "The Albert Limestone," Balmoral, by
Mr. J. Falconer King. — Vtot Walley exhibited a curious ex-
ample of malformation in a newlv-bom calf. The upper part of
the skull was undeveloped, it had no apparent forelegs, only
rudimentary and imperfect Undlegs, a rudmientary tail, and was
otherwise imperfectly developed.
Glasgow
Geological Society, March 21. — Mr. James Thomsouj
vice-president, in the chair. — " Some Recently-exposed Sections
in the Paislev Clay-beds, and their Relation to the Gbuaal
Period," by the Rev. William Fraser, of Paislev. These clays
presented the following general order : — (i) Underlying all was
the old boulder day or till, the conditions of which were alto-
gether unfavourable to life. It represented a cold, bleak, and in
part tumultuary period. (2.) Immediately above this was a lami-
nated day, whose texture was in every way distinct from the
preceding. It was generally shell-less and stondess and beauti-
fully laminated, the structure being at times so regular as to re-
semble the edge of a closed book, and specimens kept for a year
or two have shown a texture and taken a polish like jasper. (3.)
Above the laminated day, which was usefiil hi brickmaldng,
there occurs a thick bed in which shdls of arctic and boreal
types are foimd — Tdlina proximo^ Panopaa nort/fgica, Pecten
islandicust Cyprina islandsca, and others too numerous to
specify. Geologists loved the layer for its shells, whidi
tne brick-field proprietors regarded with an intense^ dislike.
(4.) Next in order b the day cbieAj used in brickmakinff. In
it iht glacial shells are not to be found ; the last whioi dis-
appears is the Cyprina islandica. But in these days, indeed in
all above the laminated clay, small and large stones, up to
boulders of several tons in weight, are abundimt In some in-
stances they bear longitudinal scratches, but they are deposited
so irregularly thai their lines lie in every direction ; showing that
while the origin of the lines or striae was to be ascribed to the
period and the processes of the boulder clay, the transport and
distribution of the materials was connected with suosequcnt
movements and the mdting of floating masses of ice. At the
dose of the formation of this clay, and on its surface^ appeared
patches of a well-known shell, Mytiius edtUis^ the common
mussel. (5.) Qosing the series is a covering of varying thick-
ness, and composed of various materials. There sometimes
appeared near the surface a coarsdy laminated clay, which had
occasionally been mistaken by observers for the more finely
laminated dav to be found at the commencement of the series.
A long period, however, must have intervened between the two,
and he suggested a careful scrutiny as to the fiicts connected with
these two custinct days.
Dublin
Royal Geological Society of Ireland, February I4.-^
Francis M. Termings, F.CS., in the chair. The honorary secre-
tary, Dr. Alexander Macalistet, read the annual report of Uie
counciL The following officers for the ensuing year were
then dected by ballot :— President— Dr. Alex. Macalister. Vice-
presidents — B!arl of Eimiskillen, Colond Meadows Taylor, J.
Emerson Reynolds, Rev. H. Lloyd, F.R.S., and Sir Richard
Griffith, Bart Treasurers — William Andrews and Dr. Samud
Downing. Secretaries — Rev. S. Haughton, F.R.S., andEdwud
Hull, F.R.S. Council— Sir Robert Kane, F.R.S., Alphonse
Gages, B. B. Stoney, W. Frazer. Dr. Alex. Carte, W. H. S.
Westropp, C.R.C. Tichbome, F.C.S., Rev. Maxwell Close,
Francis M. Jennings, F.C.S., Dr. Ramsay H. Traquair, Dr.
T. Barker, J. Ball Greene, W.H. Baily, F.G.S., W. OgUby,
F.G.S., and R.A. Gray.— Prot Hull, Director of the Geo-
logical Survey of Ireland, read a paper on a remarkable
fault in the New Red sandstone of Whiston, Cheshire.
The position of this fault is marked on the geological survey
maps of Lancashire (one inch map 80 N.W.) as forming the
boundary between the little isolated tract of coal measures, one
mile west of Rainhill Station and the New Red sandstone. The
fault ranges in a nearly meridional direction, and on the west the
upper coal measures, with spirorbis limestone (first discovered by
Mr. Biimey, F.R.S. ), are brought to the surfao^ and on the east
the upper mottled sandstone of the Bunter division of the Tiias.
The Corporation of St Hden's, in ordor to increase the water
supply of the borough, conmienced sinking a well, on Mr. HuU'a
reconunendation, at a distance of 200 yarns from the fault in the
New Red sandstone dose to Cumber Lane Bridge.* This well
was cacried down 75 yards, and from the bottom a bore hole^
I Sin. diameter, was driven 35 yards farther ; but at X04 yards
from the surface it passed through the fault, and entered hard
micaceous sandstone of a purple colour belonging to the upper
coal-measures. As the horizontal distance from the outcrop of
the fault where it crosses the railway is 200 yards, and the depdi
104 yards, it appears that the slope of the fault is about two
horizontal to one vertical, or 28" firom the horizontal The usual
slope of the fiuilts in South Lancashire being two vertical to one
horizontal, such a result was unexpected, and as the thickness
of New Red sandstone was thus reduced below the calculated
amount the quantity of water obtained (about 400,000 gallons
per day) was consequently much less than that required and
antidpated.
February 22. — A paper was read from Mr. G. Ht Kinahan
" On the Formation of Valleys and Lake-basins^ with special
reference to Lochlomond." The author dissented from the
views which had been put forth by several eminent geologists as
to sub-aerial denudation ; and held that the prindpal valleys
both in Scotland and Ireland lay along lines of faults or fissures
* This site was sdected, not as being the best for water supply, butthebeel
availaUe.
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{April i%, 1872
in the subjacent rocks. In the highlands of Scotland, so far
as he had observed, there was not a valley, ravine, or lake-basin
unconnected with a break or fault in the strata ; and instanced
particularly the Caledonian Canal, Loch Awe, Glencoe, Loch
Fyne, and Lochlomond. He considered the deep parts of the
latter lake were due to the meeting or crossing of two or more
breaks, where consequently the rocks were fractured to a greater
extent. Some of the dislocations, he was inclined to think, had
been post-glacial.
Paris
Academy of Sciences, April 15. — M. de Saint- Venant read
a memoir on the intensity ot the forces capable of deforming
ductile cylindrical blocks placed under various conditions. — M.
J. Boussinesq read a memoir on the influence of the centrifugal
forces upon the varied permanent Bow of water in prismatic
channels of great width. — M. de Saint- Venant presented a note
by M. £. Combescure on a process of integration by successive
approximations of the equation
in plastic dynamics. — MM. P. A. Favre and C. A. Valson pre-
sented a continuation of tlieir researches upon crystalline disso-
ciation. This paper contains tbe first part of their investigations
on the alums. — A note by M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran on the
spectrum of the vapour of water. The spectrum was obtained
by passing an induction current through a tube filled with rarefied
aqueous vapour ; the spectrum consists of white stratifications,
the light of which is resolved into four principal lines. —
Sever^ papers relating to auroras were read, including
a note by M. Chapelas on polar lights observed in Paris
on the evening of April 10 ; one by M. Tarry, communi-
cated by M. Le Vcrrier, on the prevbion of magnetic
auroras by means of terrestrial currents, as applied to the
aurora of April 10 by M Sureau ; a general investigation of
auroras by M. Heis, including a long list of parallel occurrences
of such phenomena in the northern and southern hemispheres
during the years 1870 and 1871 ; and a note by M. Linder on
the theory of auroras, in which the author concludes that they
are electro-magnetic phenomena which have their seat chiefly in
the upper regions of the atmosphere. — M. Loewy presented a
note on the discovery of two new planets, 119 and 120, one
observed in Paris on April 9 by M. Paul Henry, the other at
Marseilles on April 10 by M. Borelly. The positions of these
planets on April 11-13 are given. — M. Berthelot read a note on
the heat of formation of the oxygenated compounds of nitrogen.
— M. A. Gillot presented a claim of priority with respect to a
paper read by M. Gruner on January 22 on the action of oxide
of carbon on iron and its oxides. — M. Cahours presented a note
by MM. L. Dusart and C. Bardy on the phenoles. — M. Bous-
slngault presented a note by M. A. Muntz on the statics of the
cultivation of hops, containing a statement of the elements
assimilated by the hop plants grown upon thirty-eight ares, and
upon one hectare of land at Worth. — A note by M. C van
Bambeke on the first effects of fecundation upon the ova of
fishes and on the origin and interpretation of the mucous or
glandular lamella in &e osseous fishes was presented by M. de
Quartrefages. The author stated, as the result of his researches,
that under the influence of fecundation the germinal disc of the
egg in osseous fishes divides into two layers, of which the upper
one becomes segmented, whilst the lower one forms an interme-
diate layer between the segmented blastoderm and the vitelline
sphere, and accompanies the former in its development around
tne latter. He regards the thin central portion of this intermediate
layer as Uie homologue of the mucous lamella. — M. A. Gaudry
read a paper on the fossil animals of the L^beron in Vaucluse.
These fossils are chiefly mammalian, and present a remarkable
anology to those of the Miocene deposits of Pikermi in Attica,
investigated some years since by the author. — M. A. Brongniart
presented a note by M. de Saporta '* On the more precise deter-
mination of certain Jurassic Coniferous Genera by Observation
of their Fruits." The genera here referred to are Brachyphyllum,
Pachyphyllum, Echinostrobus^ Cunninghamia^ Widdringtonia,
Pakeocyparis (a new genus proposed for some species described
as belonging to Thuyites), and Phyllostrobus (a new genus allied
to Thuja). — M. de Quatrefages communicated a note by MM.
£. Massenat, P. Lalande, and Cartailhac " On the Discovery of
a Human Skeleton of the Reindeer period at Laugerie-Basse in
the Doidogne." — M. A. Milne-Edwards read some researches
npon fossil birds, containing a sort of summary of the results of
his long-continued investigation. — ^M. L. V. Turqoan snboaitted
to the judgment of the Academy the description of an appiratos
for indicating the presence of fire-damp in mines.
BOOKS RECEIVED
Foreign. — (Through Williams and Norsate.>— Anotomisdie-sjrtteiiiadsdie
Beschreibung der Alcyonarien, x^ Abthetlung, die Pemutulideii : A. KoDi-
ko*.— Morphologic u. Eatwickelunffs-geschichte des Pennatulidenstammes,
nebstallgemeinen BetrachtungenzurDescendoizlehre: A. Kdlliker. — Beitri^e
zor Anatomie der PlattwOrmer : Sommer u. Landois. — Index der Pctr^^raphie
u. Stratigraphie der Schweiz u. ihrer Umgebungen : B. Studer. — Geschichte
der Himmelskunde nach ihrem gesammtea Umfange, Parts t^ : J. H. t.
Midler. — Hydra, eine anatonuKhe entwickeluogs-geschiditlicne Unter
suchung : Dr. N. KIeinenber)(.
DIARY
THURSDAY, April as-
Royal SoasTV, at 8.30.— On a Supp(»ed Periodicity in the Slements tA
Terrestrial Magnetism, with a Period of a64 Days : The President. — Coth
tributionsto Formal Logic : A. J. EUis, F.R.S.
London Institution, at 7.3a— On the Effecu of Certain Faolts of Visioa
on Painting, with e^>ecial reference to the Works of Tum^ and Mulrea'ly :
Dr. Liebretch.
Royal iNSTrruTiOM, at 3.— On Heat and Light : Prot TyndaU, F.R.S.
FRIDAY, ApmtL a6w
Royal Institution, at 9.— On the Genius and Character of the Modem
Greek Language : Prof. Blackie, F.R.S.B.
QUBKBTT MICKOSCOPICAL ClUB, at 8.
SATURDAY, April ay.
Royal iNSTiTtmoN, at 3.~The Star-Depths : R. A. Proctor.
GovBRNMBNT ScHOOL OP MiNBS, at 8.— On Ge<dogy : Dr. Cobbold.
SUNDAY, AntiL^S,
Sunday Lbcturb Socibty, at 4.— On Geographical Influences on Uistorr :
Prof. John Young. M.D.
MONDAY, April 29.
Zoological Socibty, at x.— Anniversary Meeting.
London Institution, at 4.— Elementary Botany, with spcdal referance to
the Classification of Plants : Prof. Bendey, F.L.S.
TUESDAY, April 30.
Royal Institution, at 3. — On the Development of Belief and Custom
amongst the Lower Races of Mankind : £. B. Tylor, F.R.S.
WEDNESDAY, May x.
Royal Institution, at a.— Annual Meeting.
Society of Arts, at 8.— OnTelegraphv without Insulation, the meaa5 of
cheapening Internal Cwnmunication : H. Highton.
Microscopical Socibty, at 8.
THURSDAY, May a.
Royal SoasTY, at 8.30.
Society op Antiquaribs, at 8.30.
LiNNBAN Society, at 8.~On Altberiin eduiu : Seiior Con«ade MeOo.
Chemical Society, at 8.
Royal Institution, at 3.— On Heat and Light: Pro£ Tyndall, F.R.S.
CONTENTS Pace
A Physical Observatory 497
Lankbstbr's Physiology 497
Our Book Shblp . 498
Letters to the Editor: —
Spectroscopic Nomenclature. — Capt. T. Herschbl, F.R.S. ... 499
Turner's Visioii : W. M. Williams, F.CS. 500
The Adamites.— C S. Wake 500
Meteor.— T. Fawcett 501
A Waterspout.— J. Gray 501
Cuckoo's Bggs — T. H. Potts 501
: Sun-spots and the Vine Crop.— Arthur Schuster 501
Tide Gauge. — Elliott Brothers 501
Colour of the H]rdrogen Flame 501
The " Cheironectes pictus."— Lieut J. E. Mervok. R.N. ... 501
Ocean Currents. By J. Croll, F.RS 50*
The Fossil Mammals op Australia. By Prof. Owen. F.R.S. . so3
The Connection between Colliery Explosions and Weather.
By Robert H. Scott, F.R.S., and W. Galloway 504
The Tbmperaturb op the Surpace op thb Sun. By Capt. J.
Ericsson. {IViik fllusiratums.) 50s
The Cyclone in the West Indies. By Bishop Wbsterby . . 507
Propessor S. F. B. Morse 509
NOTBS 509
Observations op the Aurora Borbalis op Fbbruary 4 and 5,
xSya. By Prof. L. Respighi 511
Physiology:— Recurrent Vision. By ProC C A. Young . . . . si»
SCIBNTIPIC SeBIALS 512
SoaBTIES AND ACADEMIBS • 513
Books Received 516
Diary 516
Erratum. — Mr. J. J. Hall requests us to correa an error in the
"Contents"of our last number, whereby he is described as "rRS."
instead of " F.M S."
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